by WolfWinter » Sun Dec 10, 2017 11:35 pm
Username: WolfWinter
Name: Roland Xylier
Gender: Male
Gender for breeding: Male
IMPRESS ME:
Roland paced around the courtyard. He was usually more patient than this, but he'd been waiting for over an hour. He'd seen people come and go into the room. He wanted to peer in through the windows to see what was going on, but he'd been shooed away by almost everyone remaining in the room. His best friend had come out to him, also having been shooed out from the room now. Mikael put a hand on his shoulder.
Roland leaned against his friend, and sighed. This was stressful. He didn't know how humans could handle this every time. He thought about his children. He didn't remember them being as stressful as this. A nurse came running out and went towards the kitchens to gather up more supplies. The doctor had given them a list of supplies to keep on hand. A few things he hadn't known what they were for until one of the doctor's nurses saw him looking confused.
Dusk was fast approaching, the lights kicked on. Roland and Mikael looked at each other cautiously, and then they heard it. Mikael didn't think, and ran full pelt towards the room. Everything was quiet for a moment, and He came back into the doorway and shouted at Roland.
"I'M A FATHER! COME AND SEE!" he yelled, excitement, love, and fear, dripping in equal parts.
Roland trotted over to the doorway, and ducked to enter. He saw Lana lying in the bed with a bundle wrapped in her arms. Mikael held out his arms and was tenderly handed the child. Gently rocking the child, he walked over to Roland. The doctor expertly weaved around his tail, and so did some of her nurses. Mikael looked up at him, eyes full of those three emotions.
"It's a girl, isn't she beautiful?" he said, holding the child out enough for Roland to see.
The little girl seemed content, with her mop of dark hair like her father. When she noticed him, she reached a tiny fist out to his muzzle. He lowered it enough for her to touch his muzzle. Mikael beamed. Then he brought her back to Lana. He followed carefully; the nurses and and family were helping clean up. Lana looked up at him, and grinned. He carefully lay down beside the bed so she didn't have to look up at him.
"She's beautiful. Hopefully you both have a name picked out in case you had a girl since you refused to find out what she was beforehand," he said, gently joking with the exhausted new parents.
Lana looked over at Mikael, and a look passed between them before Lana responded, "Natalie. Her name is Natalie."
He looked outside the window then, and saw the snow falling outside. This was a very special Christmas indeed. He stayed late to talk to them both, before he took his leave. He made sure to get a few things they needed before he left. As he walked home he thought about everything that had brought him this far. Currently all of his own children were grown and had made lives of their own.
He had made sure to send cards to each of them a few weeks ahead of time, because the weather was more unpredictable than it was predictable. The sight of his house was a warm thing in his heart. He walked up the steps to the porch and unlocked the door. The tree glittered cheerily, even though there was no one waiting to open any gifts. Roland went to the kitchen, and didn't notice one lonely little package under the tree.
It wasn't until after he had eaten and was reading on the cushions that he he noticed it. He had turned his head and the light caught on the ribbons. Roland reached over to grab it. It was barely larger than his paw. There was no card to say who it was from. He gently pulled on the ribbons and untied the little box. When he opened he saw a framed picture of his childhood home with him in front. He carefully took the picture out and stared at it for a long time.
The next few years saw him acting as a a giant fuzzy uncle to little Natalie. He saw her first steps, was there to hear her first word, watched her triumphantly climb a tree. The holidays were the only reminder that he wasn't "true" family as some people would say. Mikael's family didn't mind him, but a few of Lana's most definitely did. One year, on Natalie's seventh birthday, it all came to a head.
As usual, Roland was bringing over his gifts for everyone to his friends' house. He walked up the long cobbled drive with his makeshift sledge of items; and was greeted with Lana's father's disapproving gaze. He ignored it, and continued on to the main house. Natalie and her younger brother (the family grew a few years ago) came dashing out when they saw him. Little Zach toddled over as fast as he could in the winter gear to help his sister carry the gifts inside. She carefully handed him one of the lighter ones, and he giggled as he carried it inside.
Lana and Mikael both looked at them, and laughed. Mikael held the door open as Lana went to help him unload. Now, on this sledge was a very heavy box, that was unadorned. Mikael and Lana knew what it was by looking at it, because they had all discussed who would get what for the kids so there would be no accidental duplicates of gifts. It was for Natalie. That year she had spoken nonstop about wanting a "big kid's" bike.
She even told them what color she'd like it to be, a dark shiny blue with streaks of silver. Now, Roland looked and couldn't find any bikes to match that description, so he got a good sized bike for her and painted it the desired colors. He pulled out the air compressor, bought the paint, and painted it. He even painted the training wheels to match the bike's colors. The plan for the bike was to pull it out of the box while the kids were sleeping and leave it by the tree with a card and a silver bow.
As the last of the gifts were brought inside, Lana's grandmother came out. She didn't like Roland, and never had. His antlers were a particular favorite on why he was an unsuitable baby-sitter; because after all, they were very sharp and the children could easily slip and hit his head, or fall on him while climbing. Nevermind the fact that none of them had ever been harmed by his horns, or his claws, or any other thing that she would name.
One of Mikael's nieces was sitting by the large and heavy box with Natalie. They were trying to think of what might be in it.
WIP
Last edited by
WolfWinter on Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.