Somebody suggested carving pumpkins for Halloween.  Birch was all over that idea:

Birch heard the word “swashbuckle” and it brought to mind a problem she was having with her weapons.  They were getting caught on her sash.  The idea of a buckle and a belt seemed a grand solution… so she put me to work.

In the summer of 2015 there was an event near the ocean in Oregon.  Piracy arose and pirates emerged.  One of them followed me home.  She is Birch the Cabin Boy.  She has disguised herself as a boy in order to join the pirate band lead by Back from the Dead Red – a bloodthirsty and stylish female pirate.  Birch is not exactly bloodthirsty but she does have an eye for a fine weapon.