Elbridge Means

Elbridge Means is a British man who is the main character in Benny, Leo, Johnny, Rae and Ripe Olive. He is a widower with brown hair, a Verdi beard, and a slightly-curled mustache. He wears glasses and a suit. His home is in a farmhouse in Nottingham.

Role in Story
His wife, Abigail (neé Custis) died on February 3, 1840 (at the age of 31, as she was born on October 14, 1808), a month and a day before the events of the story. After laying a flower on her grave, Elbridge goes home to witness Abigail's black mare, Empress, give birth to a foal, who (much to his delight) turns out to be female, and therefore name her Ripe Olive for both her fur and the olive-green eyes. However, the next day, March 5, the mother horse is stolen by a horse thief, leaving him to take care of Ripe Olive by himself until May 13. However, he does get help from the team when they arrive. He then gets a break as Rae prepares dinner that evening. It is revealed that although he likes Rae, he doubts she will replace Abigail as his wife due to her being a lioness (much to the dismay of Benny because he is a beast and is married to Sunlight, who is a Tauren, and that of Leo because he is a lion and is married to Aurora Rose, who is a Worgen). Later, during bedtime, Talon and Maggie split up in respectively warning him and the rest of the team about Dwight Anders' scheme to take and kill Ripe Olive for meat, causing them to leave (by Arofighter) for what is later decided to be Mount Carmel for four years.

Four years later, on May 14, 1844, the team starts to take Elbridge and Ripe Olive back to their home so they can go to their own. However, in the process, the Arofighter breaks down, causing Benny to stay behind and fix it, Claw and Fang to carry Ripe Olive over, and Rae to use her magic to turn everyone else (including herself and Elbridge) into mercreatures, to swim the remaining 3/10s of the way back to England, where they land on the Hampshire county. They turn back into their normal selves, and Elbridge rides on Ripe Olive back home with the team following them until the Arofighter is fixed and Benny catches up with them. The journey home continues on the Arofighter.

As Elbridge and Ripe Olive finally are home, they find out that Dwight Anders and Heath Lynx and Dwight's mute assistant Spiro (and the former's bull O'Toole) have trespassed into their barn. Dwight knocks Elbridge unconscious and steals Ripe Olive, much to Elbridge's sorrow and regret (for thinking Dwight had been captured after all those years) when the team tells him about it, but they comfort him (especially when Rae tells him it wasn't his fault). He loses hope and apologizes to the team for them delaying their trip home, but they help him regain confidence. Once that is so, they catch up to the bad guys, who are on their way to Portugal (as revealed via scanners on the Arofighter).

Once they catch up, Elbridge, without any concern with whether or not Dwight has a gun, gets out of the Arofighter, only to end up in the water. Claw lifts him onto the bad guys' ship. Elbridge demands Ripe Olive back, Spiro gives him her namesake: an actual black olive, but he is not fooled. Dwight refuses and blames Elbridge for him waiting days in the barn, causing an argument. Dwight then reminds Elbridge of the adversity he had gone through taking care of Ripe Olive after he was widowed and she was orphaned (that's right, Dwight reveals to Elbridge that he had taken and killed Empress, which Elbridge had already known) and offers him a life without adversity and a chance to marry a new wife in exchange for forgetting about Ripe Olive. Elbridge denies it, much to Dwight's wrath. Dwight threatens to drown him for it. Elbridge begins to free Ripe Olive, but is stopped by Dwight, whom he fights with when the latter takes out his machete, and Rae uses her brooch to give the former a sword and a shield. While the opponents are fighting, Dwight claims Elbridge's new friends are being taken by poachers, causing Elbridge to look back just as Rae tries to warn him it's a trick. Johnny warns him to look back, which he does just as Dwight pounces on Elbridge. However, Elbridge kicks him over the edge of the boat and then frees Ripe Olive.

Back home, Elbridge feeds Ripe Olive and serves a surprise dinner (which is roasted chicken, baked potatoes, rolls and peas), and then dessert (which is raspberry jelly [gelatin]) as thanks for. He later bids his new friends good-bye as Rae reminds him not to lose hope no matter what.

Trivia

 * Elbridge certainly was named after James Madison's unshared Vice President Elbridge Gerry.
 * Elbridge is (so far) the only one other than Sunlight to call Rae a "kitty-cat", but that is because of Sunlight, but he only did it once. Also, thinking that "Rae" is a boy's name due to pronunciation, he calls her "Rachel" instead.
 * It is revealed that Elbridge gets uncomfortable when (specifically) Rae is teased about him being his boyfriend and told to kiss him.
 * At the end, Sunlight suggests Elbridge join the team, even with Ripe Olive, but it never happens for various reasons.