[Pokechu12]

The two RPW's in this story is Ian(owned by Dissimulodeerling.) and Arn(owned by me) (Link to their refs)
I'm not 100% sure how much this counts for but I can quess (55+24)•2=158, I think, since it's 700 words and 3 of the prompt words and then it's about another persons wolf so yeah <3

{707 words}
The two pup where racing each, running along the shoreline. Sometimes one of then stumbled and tumbled to the ground, making the other skid to a halt to wait for their sibling to get up again before they continued their game. They laughed and pushed against each other to be the one in the lead. Sometimes it made both of them fall to the sand, making them lay there for a moment just laughing. But before long they were up again, running.

Suddenly one of them, the blue grey pup with the dolphin tail, stumbled right into their sibling, making both of them fall down on the sand. They laughed and rolled around, playfully wrestling, trying to pin the other down. After some minutes the grey blue one managed to hold down their smaller sibling.
"Look Ian, I won!" They said laughing. The smaller one, Ian snorted and shook their head with a smile on their face.
"Yeah that you did," they replied with a laugh. The blue grey one giggled and flopped down on the other, laying their head down on the others stomach.
"Arn..." Ian sighed, trying to push the other away with a paw.
"No... don't wanna," they mumbled, closing their eyes.
"Arn we should get back to Dad and Papa..." they mumbled, rubbing their head against their brother's.
"But I don't wanna, the others will just take all their attention anyway..." he said sadly, burrowing closer to the other.
"Arn..."
"Please?" They whispered, looking up the other. Ian sighed but nodded, making the other let out a deep breath before they closed their eyes again. Ian frowned as he looked down at his brother, this wasn't like them, they were always so sarcastic and sure of themselves, what had happened to make him like this?

The two pups laid there dozing in the sun for a long time. As the sun started to descend over the ocean and the sky started to darken they slowly woke from their slumber. Arn hummed lowly and rubbed his head against his brother's.
Suddenly a screech could be heard from above, making both of the brothers jerk awake, jumping up, eyes flickering around for what made the sound. Suddenly Arn growled, making Ian swirl around to look the same way as his brother. A pair of seagulls was hovering in the air above them, screaming at them angrily. Arn gulped and slowly backed away, starring at the birds fearfully.
"Ca-can w-we g-go now?" They whimpered. Ian nodded towards the other, before both of them swirled around and started running towards the tree line. The screams of the bird could be heard even after they crossed into the forest and had left the beach behind them. After some minutes of running they both stoped and stood panting, trying to catch their breath.
"Let's never do that again," Arn said breathlessly.
"Agreed," was Ian's answer.

They staid like that for some minutes, trying to catch their breath and get the image of the evil bird out of their heads.
"Okay, but we should go now, other wise Dad and Papa are going to kill us," Ian said as he straightened and shook himself one to get some of the sand out of his fur.
"Yea-yeah," Arn said, still taking deep breaths trying to calm down.
Ian nodded to himself, looking around to try and figure out where they where. After a moment he shook his head, sighing.
"We have to go back to the beach, otherwise we will have to idea what way to go," he admitted, head lowered.
"It's okay Ian, let's just go, I wanna get home," Arn sighed and bumped his head against his brothers side before he turned the way they had come and started walking back to the beach.

Some time later they reached the now much darker beach, now thankfully devoid of any screaming birds. Ian looked around, trying to spot the lights from the lighthouse.
"There," Arn said, pointing with a paw towards their left. Ian nodded and nuzzles his head against his brothers for a moment before he turned towards the light shining out over the ocean.
Silently the two brother wandered home, peacefully without a single tumble to the sand.

" You two seem very close as brothers, and hopefully you got home safely after dark! qwq 158 tokens to you as you said. "

I have chosen to write about my wolves, Sebastian and Ciel, and Undead Renegade's wolf, Grell. (Black Butler beach scene, anyone? ;) )
As per UndeadRenegade; Grell is definitely OOC in this story.

Week 1 - Summer Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8
Total Amount of Words Written: 1,102
Tokens: ??? (Over 85, probably closer to 298 (149 doubled for writing about someone else's wolf, I think?) if I've done my calculations correctly - but I'm not 100% certain that this is correct.)

Ciel sighed, feeling exasperated. His paws were burning on the sand. "Sebastian, why are we stuck on this hot beach? I thought we were supposed to be celebrating Winter!"
"My Young Master," Sebastian said quietly, a smirk on his face as he laid out a towel, "We ARE celebrating Winter. As you'll recall, we're here on a business trip, no longer are we confined to the cold winters of London."
"I thought it was cold everywhere," he grumbled. "Why can't it be cold?"
Sebastian smiled, handing the smaller wolf a parasol. "You can use this for shade."
"An umbrella? For shade? Goodness, you're a moron."
Sebastian ignored his master's jab and set it up, propping it upright using a pile of sand. "Master, why is it that the other servants did not come with us for this trip?"
"You darn well know, jerk. Must I spell everything out for you?"
"I was merely asking an inquiry, My Lord."
He rolled his eyes and fanned his face with a paw. "Fine then, I'll tell you what you already know, I suppose. Mey-Rin is a klutz, Finny is an idiot, and Bard burns everything his paws touch. Tanaka just drinks tea all day long. You're really the only servant worth having around here, Sebastian."
"I am flattered, Young Master."
"Don't be. You're here on business, not to have fun."
Silence stretched on, the only sounds reaching the two wolves' ears being the roar of the ocean and the cries of sea gulls.
Suddenly, a red blob appeared on the horizon on the farthest end of the beach. Ciel frowned. "Sebastian? What is that?"
Sebastian glanced over, and with an alarmed expression on his face, stood from his seated position. "Excuse me, My Lord. I have a pest to rid myself of."
Ciel rolled his eyes. "Not Grell again," he muttered sourly. "While you're up, get me an ice cream, would you? I'm parched."
With a slight bow, Sebastian nodded. "Of course, My Lord."
Ciel slipped on his sunglasses. With a dismissive wave of his paw, he shooed the demon off.
Sebastian raced forward, tucking his pocket-watch into his pocket. He stopped when he came less than a foot from the other demon. "Grell Sutcliff," he said quietly.
The other wolf started. "Goodness, Sebby! You startled me - not that I'm complaining." He batted his long eyelashes at the other wolf, nearly equal in height with him.
Sebastian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What are you doing here, Grell?"
"Why, Bassy, you little devil! Don't you know why I've followed you and your bratty little master here?"
Sebastian's eyes glowed magenta. "Speak ill of me if you wish, but leave the Young Lord out of our spat."
"Ooooh, have I irked you, Sebby?"
"And please, stop calling me that."
"Aw, and I was just starting to have some fun, too. Well, Sebby, if you really must know - I followed you here because of the lovely time of year! Winter, the time when lover's hearts are opened wide to the possibility of finding the right one for each other. Perhaps your heart is open to me now, Sebby?"
Sebastian shoved Grell over, burying his muzzle into the sand. "If you try anything as utterly ridiculous as the stunt you've become so obsessed with performing, you will have dire consequences for your actions. Do you understand me?"
Grell nodded, mumbling something Sebastian couldn't catch.
He released the other wolf's skull.
He popped up, spat out sand, and glanced up at Sebastian. "Goodness, you're so strong, Sebby! Do that again."
Sebastian groaned. "Please, don't speak like that," he muttered, turning tail on the other demon.
"Ooooh, have you decided to punish me, Sebby? I'd gladly take any pain you'd inflict, darling!"
Sebastian sighed. "Unless you truly irk me, no, I won't be laying a claw on you - particularly in the way you're so fond of thinking of."
"Come now - you know how I feel about you! Is there ever any hope for us?"
"Perhaps," Sebastian said sarcastically.
Grell swooned. "Oh, Sebby! Please, say that again!"
With a roll of his eyes, Sebastian quickened his pace. "I am here on a business trip, Grell. If you truly wish to be near me, you'll have to keep that mouth of yours shut."
"Of course, Sebby!" he said, not missing a beat as he kept pace with the other demon.
They reached Ciel once again. "This was the red dot we saw off in the distance. Unfortunately, I was unable to lose him."
"Lose me, Sebby?! You'd never lose me, darling!"
Sebastian pursed his lips, but said nothing. "Young Master, I neglected to give you a sunhat. Allow me to tie one 'round your neck?"
"Certainly," Ciel said with a nod of his head.
Sebastian got to work putting on both sunhats - one for himself and one for Ciel.
"Oh, I'd just hate to get sunburned, no matter how beautiful a shade of red it would be," Grell murmured. "Do you have a sunhat for me as well, Sebby?"
"I merely packed enough for the Young Lord and myself."
Grell pouted. "Well, that's not very nice." Suddenly, something caught his attention and he darted off. "I'll be right back, Sebas-chan!"
Sebastian did his best to keep his fangs in his mouth.
Ciel noticed his discomfort. With a boyish smirk, he asked, "Something on your mind, Sebastian?"
"That absurd wolf will not leave me be. He knows full well I could grind him into sand in a mere moment's notice...why, you remember the first time we fought - I nearly beat him, and would have, if it had not been for your Aunt interfering, My Young Lord."
Ciel nodded. "I remember it well. At least my Aunt is gone, now. She won't be bothering us for-"
Grell raced back, and threw a beach ball in Ciel's direction.
Sebastian acted before the orb would strike his master. He hit it back at Grell so hard it toppled over the red and grey wolf. He spun head over paws as he tumbled through the air, landing with his paws sticking up out of the ground. Sebastian could just hear him say, "I could just eat you up, darling!"
With another sigh and a shake of his head, Sebastian turned back to Ciel. "My apologies, Young Master. I will fetch you some ice cream now, if that would please you."
"Yes it would, Sebastian. Thank you. And...get something to put that idiot to sleep, would you?"
With a smirk of his lips and a flash of magenta in his eyes, Sebastian bowed. "Yes, My Lord."

" Hehe, seems as if Grell's overly affectionate nature isn't shared, especially not by Sebastian. cx 298 tokens to you, as your calculations were correct! "

Nirvelli and Hamish belong to me.

Code: Select all

"Ow, hurry up and lets get off the beach! The [b]sand[/b] is hot today!"
A young Nirvelli darted to the side, ears back before watching their slightly older cousin, Hamish - who was holding his [b]sunhat[/b] by the brim to ensure it didn't fly off.
"Are you really just holding your hat? What about the rest of our stuff!" Hamish stopped besides them and sighed, catching his breath, but still managing to give his cousin a slight glare.
"Well, why didn't you grab anything? You have hands."
"They're sensitive to the heat!" Nirvelli, making up excuses, turned and stomped away, slightly angry at the fact that they had expected to be carrying something at this age...they just wanted to leave the beach - not only did they dislike [b]the ocean[/b], despite their tail, but it was way too hot on a day like this, and without sunblock they couldn't really wander into the water, their hat would float away...
"I'll go get our things once you're in the car...since you're so 'sensitive', you can sit there and watch the [b]sea gulls[/b] fly off." Hamish muttered, unlocking the car as Nirvelli went to go in, before he turned and headed back
Nirvelli only rolled their eyes, watching the birds go by...Hamish sure would have trouble packing everything in the car...perhaps they should go help like they had suppose to have done in the first place? But Hamish probably had it all under control, even after they saw him struggling with the [b]parasol[/b] in order to have it neat and tidy, and they sighed, getting out of the car before heading over, picking up their deflated [b]beach ball[/b] on the way.
"Sorry Ham...guess I'm used to not doing much." they managed to grin at that, to which Hamish snorted, shaking his head but grinning himself.
"Just help me out, will you."

Nirvelli's [b]sunglasses[/b] were the last thing to be picked off the beach before they headed to the car, which had been packed with all of their things from this journey. "Thanks for actually helping...would've taken me two hours to do it by myself." Hamish sneered, to which Nirvelli shook their head, going to get into the car as their cousin started the engine.
"I suppose...but all that hard work is making me crave [b]ice cream[/b]...please?"
Nirvelli gave their cousin the puppy eyes, to which he dryly asked if Nir was going to pay for it...obviously not.
But it did leave a smile on his face, and the two did indeed get their cold reward after leaving the beach...well, at least they had fun.
Even after Nirvelli 'accidentally' shoved her ice cream into Hamish's unsuspecting face.

" You two also seem really close, even if Nirvelli did leave Hampshire after first to clean up all the stuff. cx 89 tokens to you! "

Esker & Roary are both mine!

"Ow!" Esker howled as a beach ball slammed into his shoulder. "Why are we here, Roary! Christmas is the time of snow, not sand! You drink hot cocoa by the fire, not lick cold icecream by the ocean! This isn't Christmas... This is a summer day!"

"Exactly! Thats what they want you to think," Roary pushed up against Esker and looked him straight in the eye. "but if you outsmart them..." He grinned a wide and sly smile.

"They? Them? Who!?" Esker whimpered out.

"Them! Ugh. Dude seriously, who do you think I'm talking about? The figures of Christmas, of course!" Roary sighed out in disbelief.

"Uhm. Which Christmas figures?" Esker looked down and pawed the sand.

"Any, Esker! Comet or Cupid! The spirit of Christmas future! Elves from the north pole! Even Santa himself would be great! Anything magical." Roary kicked the sand, scaring the nearby sea gulls. "I bet you don't even believe in my studies."

"No, no! I do, I think your studies are neat! In fact, I'll help you with your search!" Esker confidentiality bolted out.

"Oh?! Really?!" Roary's disappointed tone of voice changed. "Then put these on!" Roary gave Esker a spare pair of sunglasses. "Just look around here then, meet me back in an hour, we can search around town later for anything suspicious." Roary added just before Esker darted off.

Roary trotted through the sand standing low down like a leopard stalking prey.
"Agh. This is useless, no one is at the beach on Christmas eve, an elf certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to be out in the open like—" Roary stopped his rambling and tilted his head as he noticed movement under a blanket below a green parasol. "Ah. Maybe not all elves are as smart as I thought!" Roary stealthily crawled over to the blanket. "Gotcha now!" He screamed as he ripped away the blanket, revealing a bird. "Who do you work for?!" He grabbed ahold of the bird.

"Roary!? What are you doing?" Esker yelled as he advanced toward Roary at full speed. "I... I heard... you scream." He said out of breath. Esker looked down to see the bird pinned beneath Roary's paws. "Roary... It's just... a bird... Let it free."

"Fine..." Roary resistantly groaned.
"Roary if you just come with me we can have a nice Christmas, okay? Just us two pals!" Esker put his paw on Roary's shoulder.
"Well, I guess... What else is there to do?" He hesitantly responded. "Can we still walk around town later though?"
"Of course we can, buddy." Esker grinned. [428 Words]

" And 81 tokens for you! Whilst it might not have been the Christmas that Roary might have been imagining, hopefully you two had a good time after yourquick trip to the beach. And thanks for letting that poor bird go "

Sorry for the major delay, weekly prompts will be changing asap.

[booklover789]

RPWs in this story:
Elodie
Striker
Halcyon
Natashia
Oyster
Toffee
Beetle
Bard
James
Ning Cacao
Stitchious Pumpkin

My RPWs:
Elodie
Natashia (Nat)
Oyster
Toffee
Bard
James
Stitchious Pumpkin (Stitch)

fauxfawn's RPWs:
Striker
Halcyon
Beetle
Ning Cacao (Ning)

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Week 2 - Winter Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8

Total Words Written: 1729

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, then I should have 438. [(90+65+64) X 2]

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The pups were all jumping up and down, the younger ones yipping happily as they did their individual tasks in the living room. Their parents were out Christmas shopping, and wouldn't be home for another few minutes or so. The pups were taking full advantage of this - what their parents didn't know wouldn't kill them, right?
Toffee was sitting calmly, observing her brothers and sisters, a small smile on her face. Mute by choice, she rarely spoke - she preferred to live in silence than to speak unnecessarily.
Bard, Beetle, and James were having a tug-of-war on their turquoise rope toy, each grasping with his teeth and pulling as hard as he possibly could have. Beetle was winning, but Bard was quickly gaining ground. James soon gave up, and with a haughty flick of his head, pranced over to where Toffee was sitting. He sat next to her and gently leaned his head over, his half-flop ears resting on her cranium. "Hey, sis. You enjoyin' this party?"
Toffee nodded.
"Good. Say, you lookin' forward to Christmas tomorrow? I hope I get that makeup kit I wanted. I could do your eyes in the loveliest shade of pale green..."
Toffee smiled.
"If I don't get that, I'm hoping for that set of pink feather boas. They're such great accessories - they keep me warm and looking fabulous! And, of course, if you wanted one, I'd let you use one, Toffee. You are the best sister ever, after all."
Toffee smiled again, butted her head against her brother's, and went back to observing the scene before her.
Natashia was on top the mantle, fireplace blazing to life beneath her. She showed no fear as she narrowed her eyes and threw her grappling hook, smiling with a determined glint in her eyes as it caught on the ceiling fan. "Oyster! Operation Tree Topper is a go!" she said. Letting go of the mantle after securing the rope to her waist, she swung forward, star in her paws. She glided through the air and landed gracefully at the top of the tree, balancing carefully at the mess of branches at the top. It being a fake tree, she knew she didn't have to worry as much as she did if it had been real - the real trees were far more unsteady and were not easy to balance upon. Having this one be fake was the easiest thing for her to deal with at this point in time, and since the pups had all agreed that Natashia was the more lithe of the group, she would be the one to surprise her parents with the light-up topper already placed at the top of the tree. The trick was the get it done before their parents got home.
Oyster watched anxiously from the base of the tree. "Be careful, sis!"
"I'll be fine!" his twin called down. "Chillax, brother."
"It's hard to 'chillax' when my twin sister is up there trying to kill herself!"
"Calm down. We took a vote, remember? No one else thought that they'd be able to do this. Plus, you know how good I am at balancing."
Oyster just swallowed nervously, casting anxious glances every so often up at Natashia, towering above him at the very tippy-top of the Christmas tree.
Bard took the opportunity to speak up. "According to the lack of wind drag and her current weight, statistically-speaking, she should be perfectly fine."
Beetle nodded. "Seeing as she's so small for her age, her weight shouldn't even be a problem."
"You're not helping," Oyster glowered.
Halcyon trotted out, body covered in glitter. "So, I just need y'all to put your paw prints on the card I made for Mom and Dad - " He froze upon seeing the hectic scene before him. He sighed, rubbed his temples, and breathed in deeply before continuing. "Guys, what have I told you about acting up around the holidays?"
Oyster nodded. "I tried to - "
"Oh, shut it!" snapped Natashia, placing the star upon the highest bough. "You were behind this entire thing, Chief Engineer."
Oyster blushed. "I may have technological smarts, but I'm not very good when it comes to actually executing plans...I get too nervous. Besides, I mostly take orders from Captain Caspian - I don't really run the ship."
Natashia rolled her eyes, backflipped off of the tree, and fell backwards. She spun through the air, expertly stopping just five inches from the ground as the rope snapped taut. She turned, climbed back up the rope to the ceiling fan, and untied herself. "Anyone want to catch me?"
No one volunteered.
She huffed. "Fine. I'll do it myself." She then smirked and flipped off of the fan, landing on her paws on the carpeted floor.
Oyster breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that, Nat! I don't know what I'd do without you..."
She smiled, slung an arm around his shoulders and leaned her head against his, her hair tickling his scalp. "You won't lose me anytime soon, little brother."
"I'm only younger by three minutes," he protested.
"Yup - but that still makes me older!"
"GUYS!" Halcyon interrupted. "I seriously need signatures, here. Get in a line and sign the card, would you?"
James trotted over first, stuck his paw into the pink glitter-filled paint, and sloppily slapped it down onto the paper. "Is there a way we can make this more fashionable? Perhaps more...festive?"
"Any ideas?" Halcyon shot back, knowing that James would suggest something outlandish that could never be completed, but still wanting to hear his younger brother out.
"Well, glitter is an excellent choice, but if you really want to make it pop, why not use heat-ingrained mechanisms to make the paint rise up off of the page?"
Halcyon blinked. "Do we have time for that?"
James's tail drooped. "No."
"Then we don't do it. Next!"
Stitch barrelled around the corner, a grin upon his impish face. The youngest pup of the house, he was still getting used to the slippery tile floors and gruff carpet. With the worst eyes out of everyone in the house, he was known for tripping over his own paws, at times. "Hey, guys! Whatchya doin'?"
"We're all signing this cool card Halcyon made for Mom and Dad. Want to join?" Natashia said, lifting her paw daintily from the page, leaving a perfect imprint of an orange paw.
Stitch smiled, raced over, and sloppily placed his mark on the paper - even more sloppily than James had, as he splashed navy blue paint everywhere.
Halcyon winced. "I know you have trouble seeing, buddy, but please be a little slower, okay?"
Stitch nodded, suddenly serious. "Sorry, Halcyon."
"That's okay. Hey, Natashia - could you get him cleaned up?"
"Why me?" she protested. "Oyster! You do it."
"Can't - I'm on vacation." He lifted his paw from the paper, leaving a mint green marking in its place.
Toffee nudged Halcyon's ear.
"You'll do it?" he asked Toffee, his head naturally tilting as he asked the question.
Toffee nodded.
"Good - thanks. Take him to the sink, would you?"
She placed a paw on her younger brother's shoulder and led him to the sink. After she got him cleaned up, he smiled up at her. His eyes flashed. "Can I get my jingle bells on?"
Toffee frowned and tilted her head.
"Oh, well, I mean my collar. You remember...right? The one Mom got me for my birthday!"
Toffee remembered. With a smile, she nodded. Her paw didn't leave his elbow.
"You wanna help me?"
She nodded again.
"Okay!"
The two set off, not to return for several minutes. Stitch trotted out, jingling with every pawstep.
Oyster was sitting, chatting with Natashia in the corner. Her equipment had been put away, and no trace of a grappling hook or goggles could be seen anywhere. Halcyon was folding his card with James's help. Beetle and Bard were having some rapping competition - from what Toffee could hear, Beetle was winning with a rap about dung beetles against Bard's rap about flight mechanisms. If she wouldn't have known her brothers better, she would've said that they were singing Christmas carols - but they would rather rap than sing any day of the week.
Stitch looked over at her. "Can we watch a movie?"
Toffee nodded and walked him over to the couch.
Ning Cacao suddenly emerged from the backroom, a massive pile of presents in his paws as he teetered out, placing them gently beneath the tree. He didn't say much to anyone, normally, being a very introverted pup. Instead of making conversation, he joined Toffee and Stitch on the couch. His sweater was the loveliest of the bunch, with a red knitted base and cotton-ball-like snowflakes dotting the festive fabric - each pup had gotten a sweater for Christmas last year from their father, Striker, but Striker really didn't have the best fashion sense, so the only pup who hadn't gotten an ugly jumper was Ning.
After their movie finished, all the pups stretched, wondering when their parents would be home.
Stitch looked over at Halcyon, who'd joined them along with all of their other siblings to watch the movie. "When's Santa going to get here?"
"Santa Claus? You mean Father Christmas?"
"Yup."
"Oh, he'll get here when he gets here," Halcyon said with a smile.
The door creaked open, and in Elodie and Striker trotted. They were soon ambushed by what seemed like hundreds of squealing voices and licking tongues and wet noses as their children swarmed them. "Mom! Dad!"
Elodie laughed. "Now, you all need to give us some room to put your gifts in here. Please go back to your rooms, okay?"
Striker nodded. "Do as your mother asks, or you won't get any gifts!"
Each pup raced to the back of the house, staying in his or her room until summoned to the living room once again. When they trotted out, their eyes widened. The tree was filled to bursting!
"Where did you get all of this?" Natashia asked in awe.
"We went to The Grotto, of course!" Striker smiled down at his children.
"It's a new store that opened up in town. They've got all sorts of goodies there," explained Elodie. She glanced at the clock, noticed the hour, and then ordered her children to bed. "Get some sleep, my dears. Tomorrow we wake to find out what Santa's brought all of you."

[booklover789]

(Here's a second piece, as I'm in a writing mood today! )

RPWs in this story:
Bartók (Bar) (Belongs to me)
Bertók (Ber) (Belongs to fauxfawn)

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Week 2 - Winter Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8

Total Words Written: 1247

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, then I should have 338. [(40+65+64) X 2]

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Months after the accident, Bartók awoke again. Spending Christmas in the hospital wasn't a pleasant experience, but he knew his own foolish actions had placed him here, so he couldn't complain. As he stretched out a paw and grasped the button, he remembered the moment he'd woken up.

His eyes creaked open. He sleepily registered his brother, bent over his bed, tears streaming down his muzzle as he grasped at his little brother's paw. Bartók smiled weakly, squeezed his brother's paw, and glanced over at him. "So, what's for dinner?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Bar!" he yelped, squeezing the paw harder. "You're...you're alive! Oh...I didn't think....I d-d-d-didn't know..." His tears streamed down his face as he hugged his brother close. "You're here. You're still here with me. Oh...Bar...I'm never letting you go again."
"Could you loosen your grip, at least?"
He chuckled self-consciously and let his brother breathe.
Soon after, the young one was fast asleep once again, unable to keep his eyes open.

A few days later, he was strong enough to question his brother, who'd been there every waking moment for the past few days. Bartók looked up at him and asked, "How long have I been out? The...the last thing I remember is...is that alleyway...the darkness growing with the twilight...stars overhead...glittering in the sky..."
"You were there for a few hours before the EMTs found you and brought you here."
"How long have I been here? And...where is 'here'?"
Ber laughed, a sad smile on his face. "Sorry - I should explain. You're in the hospital, but a different wing than we normally see when we go in to get your gasmask filters changed periodically. You're here because of your..." He broke off, choking, trying to get the words out. "Your...dire conditions."
"How long have I been here?" he asked again, his eyes starting to wake up more as his sluggish brain tried to process all of this information.
He shook his head, unable to respond.
"How did you find out about this? You were working, right? At that grocery store..."
"I quit."
"You what?!"
"I couldn't keep that job for long, anyways, Bartók. It wouldn't have worked out."
Bartók frowned. "C'mon. You quit because it wouldn't have worked out? You care more about your work than to just up and quit!"
"I stopped working because of you. I cared too much to let you slip through my paws again." His eyes filled with tears.
"How long have I been out, Ber?"
"A few weeks."
"Have I been responsive?"
"Very little...until today." His brother sniffled.
Bartók smiled and squeezed his brother's hand again. His own eyes filled with tears. "It's okay, Ber. I'm okay."

He pressed the button hanging from the ceiling, calling the nurse into his room. "Is my brother back yet?"
"He'll be here in about three minutes, Bartók."
"Thanks. Why did he leave, anyways? That's not like him at all...he said he'd always be here for me..."
"He'll be back soon, Bartók. He told me to make sure you knew that. He loves you very much - he won't just abandon you...especially now, during Christmas day. He wanted to fetch something to cheer you up."
"Oh," Bartók said, pondering what his brother would have thought was so important to just up and leave him in the hospital alone.
"Do you need anything?"
"A glass of milk would be nice, I suppose..."
"Of course. Hot or cold?"
"Cold, please."
"Do you want cookies? One of the nurses made some for all the patients in this wing."
"Oh, thanks! Sure. Could I have two - one for me and one for my brother?"
"Of course, dear." The nurse smiled and waved before she darted out to get what Bartók had politely asked for.
A few minutes later, she returned with the tray of milk and cookies. With a kind smile, she placed them on his lap. "I trust you're well enough to feed yourself?"
"Yup. You new here?"
"I joined on yesterday to help with the holiday rush."
"You're nice," Bartók said with a smile. "Thanks for the cookies and milk."
"Certainly. My pleasure, young wolf. If that's all, then I'll be on my way?"
"Sure. When's my brother coming in, again?"
"About a minute now, young sir."
"Thanks. Merry Christmas!"
"You too, Bartók." With a smile and a flash of her green eyes, she left.
Ber showed up a few minutes later, before Bartók had even had time to sink his teeth into his cookie. He was dressed like Santa Claus, with the red suit, hat, and two jingle bell bracelets around his wrists, the bells jangling as he moved. In his paws he held a jumper, green- and red-striped for the holiday season. It looked rather festive, if Bartók had to even say so himself.
Bartók smiled. "Brother! You really did come."
"Of course," he said, a smirk in his eyes. "I brought you gifts. Merry Christmas, little bro."
Bartók rolled his eyes. "Another ugly sweater?"
"Hey! I thought this one was better than three years' ago sweater, right?"
"I suppose," he said, unwilling to budge from his stubborn position.
Ber smiled, throwing his younger brother a look of 'suck it up, cupcake,' before slinging the sweater over Bartók's head, careful not to get it tangled up in the wiring the pup was still hooked up to. "So my second gift for you is a copy of your favorite movie, you know, the one with the carols and that one movie star you like so much? Yeah, that one. I looked everywhere for it - finally found it online."
Bartók held the copy in his hands, a smile lighting up his face. "This is great. Thank you, Ber!"
"But the biggest surprise isn't anything I can give you to hold, Bar."
"What is it, Ber? I mean, I haven't gotten you anything...I've been cooped up in here for the past several months, after all, and...I just...I want to give you something in return, big brother."
"That's okay - you'll have time to get me something later, I promise. Besides, just having you back is the best Christmas gift you could give me."
Bartók smiled, glancing down as he was unsure of what to say.
"Anyways, the last and biggest gift I have for you - do you know what it is?"
"A trip to Hawaii?"
Ber laughed. "I wish! No, it's something smaller than that. I built you something."
"What is it?"
"I can't give it to you - I have to show you, once we get out of here. I built us a grotto."
"What?! A grotto is normally a rock cave. How did you build that?!" Bartók asked, his eyes alighting with surprise and happiness.
"It is a cave. I found a good-sized rock and hired somebody else to carve it out. I then put it underneath the house and connected it to the gym in the basement. So...we can both use it, if you want us to."
"So...it's underground?"
"Yeah...is that okay?"
"It's perfect! It'll be cool down there 24-7 thanks to the soil keeping the heat out! That's great!"
Ber smiled. "I'm happy you like it."
His eyes filled with tears. "This is the best thing I've ever gotten for Christmas. Thank you, Ber! Thank you so much!"
Ber hugged his little brother. "I love you, Bartók."
"I love you too, Bertók."
"I'll never lose you again."
"No, you never will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."

[Pokechu12]

RPWs in this story:
Elodie
Striker
Halcyon
Natashia
Oyster
Toffee
Beetle
Bard
James
Ning Cacao
Stitchious Pumpkin

My RPWs:
Elodie
Natashia (Nat)
Oyster
Toffee
Bard
James
Stitchious Pumpkin (Stitch)

fauxfawn's RPWs:
Striker
Halcyon
Beetle
Ning Cacao (Ning)

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Week 2 - Winter Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8

Total Words Written: 1729

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, then I should have 438. [(90+65+64) X 2]

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The pups were all jumping up and down, the younger ones yipping happily as they did their individual tasks in the living room. Their parents were out Christmas shopping, and wouldn't be home for another few minutes or so. The pups were taking full advantage of this - what their parents didn't know wouldn't kill them, right?
Toffee was sitting calmly, observing her brothers and sisters, a small smile on her face. Mute by choice, she rarely spoke - she preferred to live in silence than to speak unnecessarily.
Bard, Beetle, and James were having a tug-of-war on their turquoise rope toy, each grasping with his teeth and pulling as hard as he possibly could have. Beetle was winning, but Bard was quickly gaining ground. James soon gave up, and with a haughty flick of his head, pranced over to where Toffee was sitting. He sat next to her and gently leaned his head over, his half-flop ears resting on her cranium. "Hey, sis. You enjoyin' this party?"
Toffee nodded.
"Good. Say, you lookin' forward to Christmas tomorrow? I hope I get that makeup kit I wanted. I could do your eyes in the loveliest shade of pale green..."
Toffee smiled.
"If I don't get that, I'm hoping for that set of pink feather boas. They're such great accessories - they keep me warm and looking fabulous! And, of course, if you wanted one, I'd let you use one, Toffee. You are the best sister ever, after all."
Toffee smiled again, butted her head against her brother's, and went back to observing the scene before her.
Natashia was on top the mantle, fireplace blazing to life beneath her. She showed no fear as she narrowed her eyes and threw her grappling hook, smiling with a determined glint in her eyes as it caught on the ceiling fan. "Oyster! Operation Tree Topper is a go!" she said. Letting go of the mantle after securing the rope to her waist, she swung forward, star in her paws. She glided through the air and landed gracefully at the top of the tree, balancing carefully at the mess of branches at the top. It being a fake tree, she knew she didn't have to worry as much as she did if it had been real - the real trees were far more unsteady and were not easy to balance upon. Having this one be fake was the easiest thing for her to deal with at this point in time, and since the pups had all agreed that Natashia was the more lithe of the group, she would be the one to surprise her parents with the light-up topper already placed at the top of the tree. The trick was the get it done before their parents got home.
Oyster watched anxiously from the base of the tree. "Be careful, sis!"
"I'll be fine!" his twin called down. "Chillax, brother."
"It's hard to 'chillax' when my twin sister is up there trying to kill herself!"
"Calm down. We took a vote, remember? No one else thought that they'd be able to do this. Plus, you know how good I am at balancing."
Oyster just swallowed nervously, casting anxious glances every so often up at Natashia, towering above him at the very tippy-top of the Christmas tree.
Bard took the opportunity to speak up. "According to the lack of wind drag and her current weight, statistically-speaking, she should be perfectly fine."
Beetle nodded. "Seeing as she's so small for her age, her weight shouldn't even be a problem."
"You're not helping," Oyster glowered.
Halcyon trotted out, body covered in glitter. "So, I just need y'all to put your paw prints on the card I made for Mom and Dad - " He froze upon seeing the hectic scene before him. He sighed, rubbed his temples, and breathed in deeply before continuing. "Guys, what have I told you about acting up around the holidays?"
Oyster nodded. "I tried to - "
"Oh, shut it!" snapped Natashia, placing the star upon the highest bough. "You were behind this entire thing, Chief Engineer."
Oyster blushed. "I may have technological smarts, but I'm not very good when it comes to actually executing plans...I get too nervous. Besides, I mostly take orders from Captain Caspian - I don't really run the ship."
Natashia rolled her eyes, backflipped off of the tree, and fell backwards. She spun through the air, expertly stopping just five inches from the ground as the rope snapped taut. She turned, climbed back up the rope to the ceiling fan, and untied herself. "Anyone want to catch me?"
No one volunteered.
She huffed. "Fine. I'll do it myself." She then smirked and flipped off of the fan, landing on her paws on the carpeted floor.
Oyster breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that, Nat! I don't know what I'd do without you..."
She smiled, slung an arm around his shoulders and leaned her head against his, her hair tickling his scalp. "You won't lose me anytime soon, little brother."
"I'm only younger by three minutes," he protested.
"Yup - but that still makes me older!"
"GUYS!" Halcyon interrupted. "I seriously need signatures, here. Get in a line and sign the card, would you?"
James trotted over first, stuck his paw into the pink glitter-filled paint, and sloppily slapped it down onto the paper. "Is there a way we can make this more fashionable? Perhaps more...festive?"
"Any ideas?" Halcyon shot back, knowing that James would suggest something outlandish that could never be completed, but still wanting to hear his younger brother out.
"Well, glitter is an excellent choice, but if you really want to make it pop, why not use heat-ingrained mechanisms to make the paint rise up off of the page?"
Halcyon blinked. "Do we have time for that?"
James's tail drooped. "No."
"Then we don't do it. Next!"
Stitch barrelled around the corner, a grin upon his impish face. The youngest pup of the house, he was still getting used to the slippery tile floors and gruff carpet. With the worst eyes out of everyone in the house, he was known for tripping over his own paws, at times. "Hey, guys! Whatchya doin'?"
"We're all signing this cool card Halcyon made for Mom and Dad. Want to join?" Natashia said, lifting her paw daintily from the page, leaving a perfect imprint of an orange paw.
Stitch smiled, raced over, and sloppily placed his mark on the paper - even more sloppily than James had, as he splashed navy blue paint everywhere.
Halcyon winced. "I know you have trouble seeing, buddy, but please be a little slower, okay?"
Stitch nodded, suddenly serious. "Sorry, Halcyon."
"That's okay. Hey, Natashia - could you get him cleaned up?"
"Why me?" she protested. "Oyster! You do it."
"Can't - I'm on vacation." He lifted his paw from the paper, leaving a mint green marking in its place.
Toffee nudged Halcyon's ear.
"You'll do it?" he asked Toffee, his head naturally tilting as he asked the question.
Toffee nodded.
"Good - thanks. Take him to the sink, would you?"
She placed a paw on her younger brother's shoulder and led him to the sink. After she got him cleaned up, he smiled up at her. His eyes flashed. "Can I get my jingle bells on?"
Toffee frowned and tilted her head.
"Oh, well, I mean my collar. You remember...right? The one Mom got me for my birthday!"
Toffee remembered. With a smile, she nodded. Her paw didn't leave his elbow.
"You wanna help me?"
She nodded again.
"Okay!"
The two set off, not to return for several minutes. Stitch trotted out, jingling with every pawstep.
Oyster was sitting, chatting with Natashia in the corner. Her equipment had been put away, and no trace of a grappling hook or goggles could be seen anywhere. Halcyon was folding his card with James's help. Beetle and Bard were having some rapping competition - from what Toffee could hear, Beetle was winning with a rap about dung beetles against Bard's rap about flight mechanisms. If she wouldn't have known her brothers better, she would've said that they were singing Christmas carols - but they would rather rap than sing any day of the week.
Stitch looked over at her. "Can we watch a movie?"
Toffee nodded and walked him over to the couch.
Ning Cacao suddenly emerged from the backroom, a massive pile of presents in his paws as he teetered out, placing them gently beneath the tree. He didn't say much to anyone, normally, being a very introverted pup. Instead of making conversation, he joined Toffee and Stitch on the couch. His sweater was the loveliest of the bunch, with a red knitted base and cotton-ball-like snowflakes dotting the festive fabric - each pup had gotten a sweater for Christmas last year from their father, Striker, but Striker really didn't have the best fashion sense, so the only pup who hadn't gotten an ugly jumper was Ning.
After their movie finished, all the pups stretched, wondering when their parents would be home.
Stitch looked over at Halcyon, who'd joined them along with all of their other siblings to watch the movie. "When's Santa going to get here?"
"Santa Claus? You mean Father Christmas?"
"Yup."
"Oh, he'll get here when he gets here," Halcyon said with a smile.
The door creaked open, and in Elodie and Striker trotted. They were soon ambushed by what seemed like hundreds of squealing voices and licking tongues and wet noses as their children swarmed them. "Mom! Dad!"
Elodie laughed. "Now, you all need to give us some room to put your gifts in here. Please go back to your rooms, okay?"
Striker nodded. "Do as your mother asks, or you won't get any gifts!"
Each pup raced to the back of the house, staying in his or her room until summoned to the living room once again. When they trotted out, their eyes widened. The tree was filled to bursting!
"Where did you get all of this?" Natashia asked in awe.
"We went to The Grotto, of course!" Striker smiled down at his children.
"It's a new store that opened up in town. They've got all sorts of goodies there," explained Elodie. She glanced at the clock, noticed the hour, and then ordered her children to bed. "Get some sleep, my dears. Tomorrow we wake to find out what Santa's brought all of you."

" I counted 135 tokens for the word count, 64 for all eight prompts to make 199, before doubling it to make 389 tokens! Such a sweet idea for all you pups to not only make a card, but also put the star on top of the Christmas tree for your parents! "

(Here's a second piece, as I'm in a writing mood today! ;) )

RPWs in this story:
Bartók (Bar) (Belongs to me)
Bertók (Ber) (Belongs to fauxfawn)

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Week 2 - Winter Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8

Total Words Written: 1247

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, then I should have 338. [(40+65+64) X 2]

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Months after the accident, Bartók awoke again. Spending Christmas in the hospital wasn't a pleasant experience, but he knew his own foolish actions had placed him here, so he couldn't complain. As he stretched out a paw and grasped the button, he remembered the moment he'd woken up.

His eyes creaked open. He sleepily registered his brother, bent over his bed, tears streaming down his muzzle as he grasped at his little brother's paw. Bartók smiled weakly, squeezed his brother's paw, and glanced over at him. "So, what's for dinner?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Bar!" he yelped, squeezing the paw harder. "You're...you're alive! Oh...I didn't think....I d-d-d-didn't know..." His tears streamed down his face as he hugged his brother close. "You're here. You're still here with me. Oh...Bar...I'm never letting you go again."
"Could you loosen your grip, at least?"
He chuckled self-consciously and let his brother breathe.
Soon after, the young one was fast asleep once again, unable to keep his eyes open.

A few days later, he was strong enough to question his brother, who'd been there every waking moment for the past few days. Bartók looked up at him and asked, "How long have I been out? The...the last thing I remember is...is that alleyway...the darkness growing with the twilight...stars overhead...glittering in the sky..."
"You were there for a few hours before the EMTs found you and brought you here."
"How long have I been here? And...where is 'here'?"
Ber laughed, a sad smile on his face. "Sorry - I should explain. You're in the hospital, but a different wing than we normally see when we go in to get your gasmask filters changed periodically. You're here because of your..." He broke off, choking, trying to get the words out. "Your...dire conditions."
"How long have I been here?" he asked again, his eyes starting to wake up more as his sluggish brain tried to process all of this information.
He shook his head, unable to respond.
"How did you find out about this? You were working, right? At that grocery store..."
"I quit."
"You what?!"
"I couldn't keep that job for long, anyways, Bartók. It wouldn't have worked out."
Bartók frowned. "C'mon. You quit because it wouldn't have worked out? You care more about your work than to just up and quit!"
"I stopped working because of you. I cared too much to let you slip through my paws again." His eyes filled with tears.
"How long have I been out, Ber?"
"A few weeks."
"Have I been responsive?"
"Very little...until today." His brother sniffled.
Bartók smiled and squeezed his brother's hand again. His own eyes filled with tears. "It's okay, Ber. I'm okay."

He pressed the button hanging from the ceiling, calling the nurse into his room. "Is my brother back yet?"
"He'll be here in about three minutes, Bartók."
"Thanks. Why did he leave, anyways? That's not like him at all...he said he'd always be here for me..."
"He'll be back soon, Bartók. He told me to make sure you knew that. He loves you very much - he won't just abandon you...especially now, during Christmas day. He wanted to fetch something to cheer you up."
"Oh," Bartók said, pondering what his brother would have thought was so important to just up and leave him in the hospital alone.
"Do you need anything?"
"A glass of milk would be nice, I suppose..."
"Of course. Hot or cold?"
"Cold, please."
"Do you want cookies? One of the nurses made some for all the patients in this wing."
"Oh, thanks! Sure. Could I have two - one for me and one for my brother?"
"Of course, dear." The nurse smiled and waved before she darted out to get what Bartók had politely asked for.
A few minutes later, she returned with the tray of milk and cookies. With a kind smile, she placed them on his lap. "I trust you're well enough to feed yourself?"
"Yup. You new here?"
"I joined on yesterday to help with the holiday rush."
"You're nice," Bartók said with a smile. "Thanks for the cookies and milk."
"Certainly. My pleasure, young wolf. If that's all, then I'll be on my way?"
"Sure. When's my brother coming in, again?"
"About a minute now, young sir."
"Thanks. Merry Christmas!"
"You too, Bartók." With a smile and a flash of her green eyes, she left.
Ber showed up a few minutes later, before Bartók had even had time to sink his teeth into his cookie. He was dressed like Santa Claus, with the red suit, hat, and two jingle bell bracelets around his wrists, the bells jangling as he moved. In his paws he held a jumper, green- and red-striped for the holiday season. It looked rather festive, if Bartók had to even say so himself.
Bartók smiled. "Brother! You really did come."
"Of course," he said, a smirk in his eyes. "I brought you gifts. Merry Christmas, little bro."
Bartók rolled his eyes. "Another ugly sweater?"
"Hey! I thought this one was better than three years' ago sweater, right?"
"I suppose," he said, unwilling to budge from his stubborn position.
Ber smiled, throwing his younger brother a look of 'suck it up, cupcake,' before slinging the sweater over Bartók's head, careful not to get it tangled up in the wiring the pup was still hooked up to. "So my second gift for you is a copy of your favorite movie, you know, the one with the carols and that one movie star you like so much? Yeah, that one. I looked everywhere for it - finally found it online."
Bartók held the copy in his hands, a smile lighting up his face. "This is great. Thank you, Ber!"
"But the biggest surprise isn't anything I can give you to hold, Bar."
"What is it, Ber? I mean, I haven't gotten you anything...I've been cooped up in here for the past several months, after all, and...I just...I want to give you something in return, big brother."
"That's okay - you'll have time to get me something later, I promise. Besides, just having you back is the best Christmas gift you could give me."
Bartók smiled, glancing down as he was unsure of what to say.
"Anyways, the last and biggest gift I have for you - do you know what it is?"
"A trip to Hawaii?"
Ber laughed. "I wish! No, it's something smaller than that. I built you something."
"What is it?"
"I can't give it to you - I have to show you, once we get out of here. I built us a grotto."
"What?! A grotto is normally a rock cave. How did you build that?!" Bartók asked, his eyes alighting with surprise and happiness.
"It is a cave. I found a good-sized rock and hired somebody else to carve it out. I then put it underneath the house and connected it to the gym in the basement. So...we can both use it, if you want us to."
"So...it's underground?"
"Yeah...is that okay?"
"It's perfect! It'll be cool down there 24-7 thanks to the soil keeping the heat out! That's great!"
Ber smiled. "I'm happy you like it."
His eyes filled with tears. "This is the best thing I've ever gotten for Christmas. Thank you, Ber! Thank you so much!"
Ber hugged his little brother. "I love you, Bartók."
"I love you too, Bertók."
"I'll never lose you again."
"No, you never will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."

" Such a heartwarming Christmas tale! ;w; I wish the two of you brothers the best 298 tokens to the both of you! 85 for the word count with 64 for the prompts times by two. ^^

Sorry for the massive delay everyone, but hope you all had/are having happy holidays regardless!

[nightshyne]

@bal - thank you for headcanoning with me it really helped


RPWs featured; xx
Roiz | Vixen | Schade | Shay | Wisp* | Nick | Liliaz | Crowley | Carver* | Abel | Eve | Juliette**
*owned by wolf ;;
**mentioned

Word count; 5621

Words used: 8/8
Fireworks | Resolution | Countdown | Party | Gathering | Midnight | Confetti | Celebration

Tokens collected; *cracks knuckles* I think this is right oops.
545 (word count)
64 (prompt words)

(545 + 64) x 2 = 1218 :')


**STORY LINKED HERE :D**

[booklover789]

Marking 'til I can finish my story and post it in its entirety.

Week 3 - New Years Prompt - List of Words Used: 8/8 (Party - Gathering - Confetti - Celebration - Midnight - Countdown - Fireworks - Resolution)

RPWs: Shalidar, Aldora and Melody
(Shalidar and Aldora belong to Pokechu12, and Melody belongs to me.)

Total Words Written: 925

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, I should have 278 [(75+64)x2]. (925 words total = 75 - 8 words used = 64 - doubled for writing about someone else's wolf)



Melody looked around the party, wondering why she had even decided to come along. The gathering had so many wolves; the crowd was starting to make her anxious. Sure, it was New Year's Eve, but she didn't even celebrate it! Why had she let her mother persuade her to come along? Melody cast a concerned glance in her mother's direction, but the wolf paid her no mind - she was too busy chatting up a group of her friends. She took a breath and decided to move from the center of the room to the walls. As she pushed her way gently through the throng of RPWs, she bumped into one on accident, and apologized quietly. "Sorry," she murmured.
They snarkily whipped his tails around them, an indignant look on their face. Their red and ice-blue scarf hung limply around their skinny neck, their blue fur with brown, gold, and yellow highlights shining under the Christmas lights still strewn about the ceiling of the home. Confetti had been burst out earlier in anticipation of the event, and some of it was still clinging to their pink paint. Their long, bat-like ear and normal ear flung back, a sniveling grimace on their features. "Excuse YOU," they snidely stated.
"Sorry - I didn't see you there. It is rather crowded in here..."
"No excuses. Watch where you're going next time, pup."
She glanced down, different-colored eyes staring at the carpet as she made a wide arch around the upset wolf.
They sneered at her as she limped off. "And you can't even walk right, you silly girl!"
Melody sighed as she continued to plod onward. She'd been born with a birth defect - her back right leg had never been there, but she'd never been able to walk without it...she never could quite get the hang of it, what with her weak other legs and her constantly-sickly state in childhood. Her parents had graciously made her a mechanical back leg, and that helped her substantially to be able to move around easily. It had been permanently attached to her through screws and bolts and wiring; she was careful to never get it wet. As she made her way to the wall, she smelled alcohol somewhere in the room, and knew that the wolves would be getting tipsy soon...not that she'd drink any - it wasn't to her liking.
She stood quietly beside another wolf. A slight glance at her told Melody all she needed to know - the wolf was probably an outcast, much like herself, with several legs and a pair of beautiful butterfly wings. She was gorgeous. She glanced over at Melody and smiled. "Hello."
"Oh, um, hi," she stuttered out. "Your wings are pretty."
"Thank you. What are you doing here at the party? I haven't seen you around here. Are you new to town?"
"Yeah...my mom recently moved here, so I had to come along."
"Your dad? Where's he at?"
"Dad works on cars - he's a mechanic. He works in a different city, and comes home on the weekends."
"Not holidays?" she asked quietly, tilting her head as her eyes glinted in the dim light.
Melody was started - the wolf had four eyes! She took a few breaths before continuing, the fright clearly showing on her face. "Sorry, um, no. He's not here now. If you want to meet him, you could always just - "
"Oh, no...sorry for the confusion. I was just wondering." Her curled tongue flicked out and then back into her mouth.
"If...if you don't mind my asking...what are you?"
"My name's Aldora," she said with a smile and an outstretched paw. "What's your name?"
"I'm Melody Toile." She shook the other wolf's paw.
"What a lovely name. I'm a Rainbow Paint Wolf, just like you."
"You look different. I'd wondered if perhaps you were a sub-breed. My father knows a few demons, one angel, and a few wolves with paint powers...you look like you could be one of them."
"Well, I'm not a ghost, that's for sure!" she said with a chuckle. "I suppose I've got some butterfly blood in me, or something."
"Oh."
"What happened to your leg?"
"Born that way," Melody said with a sigh. "Other wolves stare at me all the time. I don't like it."
"You'll get used to it," she said calmly. "You'll never stop noticing, but it will become normal for you. Don't worry - it will lessen as you get older. Wolves don't pay as much attention to oddities anymore. The world is changing, and becoming more accepting of wolves like us - the misfits, those who don't fit into the societal norms."
"Yeah...I guess you're right. Thanks for that reminder," Melody said with a smile, her cat tail flicking happily as she sat down.
"You've got some cat blood in you, with a tail like that."
"Yeah...somewhere along the line. Not sure how far back, but it clearly skipped at least one generation; my parents look pretty average."
Aldora nodded, sitting down beside Melody and becoming quiet as she glanced around her environment.
The celebration was nearing a close - it was nearly midnight, after all. As the countdown began, Melody smiled. As it reached 0, fireworks burst outside, the sound streaming into the house and echoing off of the large, vaulted ceilings.
Aldora glanced down at Melody. "Do you have any resolutions?"
"Do you?" she asked, diverting the attention from herself.
"Yes...but they're not important."
"Well, I do have one..."
"What's that?"
Melody smiled. "To have a better 2017 than I did a 2016."
Aldora smiled. "Cheers to that."

[Pokechu12]

@bal - thank you for headcanoning with me it really helped


RPWs featured; xx
Roiz | Vixen | Schade | Shay | Wisp* | Nick | Liliaz | Crowley | Carver* | Abel | Eve | Juliette**
*owned by wolf ;;
**mentioned

Word count; 5621

Words used: 8/8
Fireworks | Resolution | Countdown | Party | Gathering | Midnight | Confetti | Celebration

Tokens collected; *cracks knuckles* I think this is right oops.
545 (word count)
64 (prompt words)

(545 + 64) x 2 = 1218 :')


**STORY LINKED HERE :D**

" Woah despite the length this story is super engaging! I'll be honest I wasn't a massive fan of Nick at the start, though after his trip back to Liliaz's camp I became moreso in his favour. |"D And let me take a moment to appreciate Shay and Roiz's relationship, and the way Vixen and Wisp go along with it. cx
1218 tokens! "
I'll check the token count tomorrow when I'm not tired orz, though that looks about right.

@booklover
" Can't wait to read your story as well once it's done! ^^ "

Again sorry for the delay! I've been nothing but late for this event I apologise ehhh,,
But for the last week, all the prompt words count for 10 tokens, and there are 10 of them this week. :'3 This will run till the 10th, then this side of the event will be closed as well once I rollover the rest of the tokens.

[booklover789]

THIS IS STILL A WIP - I'M STILL WRITING THE STORY. SEEING AS THIS IS THE LAST ONE, I WANT TO GO ALL OUT FOR THIS.

Week 4 - Winter 2 Prompt - List of Words Used: 10/10 (-Chilly -Frost -Mist - Warm -Snowball -Ice Skating -Sledging -Mittens -Blanket -Igloo)

RPWs: Melody, Circus, Echo, Yohioloid, Tone Rion, Tock, and Bucky
(Melody, Circus, Echo, Yohioloid, and Tone Rion belong to me; Tock belongs to ☁Lady Raincloud☁; Bucky belongs to PolarizedVertigo)

Total Words Written: 5,941 (proof: http://bookiesrpwsandotherchars.weebly. ... 1_orig.png )

Tokens Earned: If my calculations are correct, I should have 1,350 [(575+100)x2]. (5,941 words total = 575 - 10 words used = 100 - doubled for writing about someone else's wolf) (You have no idea how long this took to figure out. I did it first, couldn't figure it out because I did it twice and got two separate answers, then I asked my brother for help, and he got a different answer than both of mine, and then we asked our mother for help, who got the same answer as my brother did, so...I went with that answer...I'm really hoping this is correct.)


Anyone up for a robotic/mechanical Christmas? *pleased grin*

Code: Select all

Echo and her mother, Tone Rion, trotted alongside one another.  The [i][u]chilly[/u][/i] air nipped at their noses - Echo didn't even flinch at the colder weather, seeing as the circuitry from her antennae also connected to her nose and thus rendered most of her face unable to feel hot or cold.  [i][u]Frost[/u][/i] lay as a blanket over the grass, though the two Rainbow Paint Wolves trotted along the icy sidewalk.  [i][u]Mist[/u][/i] and fog lay ahead of them, blurring their vision if they looked too far ahead to the horizon.
Tone Rion was lost in thought.  [i]How amusing[/i], she thought with a sad smile, [i]well, not in a funny way, but in a 'that's just how ironic life is' way...my family has been cursed to have leg mutations for as far back as I can trace back.  No matter how many generations I follow back, the pattern is always the same - first it starts with my great-great-great-great-great grandmother, who was born with an extra paw.  Then her daughter was born missing a paw.  Her two daughters were born with leg mutations, and their daughters were born without legs.  It's the trait that is always passed down - the genes are too strong to be bred out.  She glanced over at her daughter, sadness filling her eyes.  And now we get to my sweet baby.  While I was born without my left front leg, she was born with two extra appendages - one on backwards.  Neither of our disabilities have slowed us down...but that's not what's ironic.  What's ironic is that, well...I use technology to keep me living normally.  My leg isn't real, and uses technology to keep running and moving smoothly; circuitry keeps the leg well-oiled and not stiff in this cold weather.  The portion that connects to my flesh hurts and stings with the ice-filled wind tearing at my fur, obviously, but I am blest to be able to walk at all.  My sweet darling child...Echo, you will never know a life without technology embedded into your skull.  Born completely normal, it was my own mistake that put you where you are today.[/i]
Echo glanced over at her mother, stopped walking, and tilted her head.  Her screen flashed words.  [b]MAMA, WHAT WRONG?[/b]
Tone Rion shook her head, getting back to the present moment.  "Hm?  Oh, nothing, sweetie."
Echo's eyes narrowed just slightly.  Her antennae flicked downward, much like ears laying flat against a skull.  [b]DON'T BELIEVE YOU.  YOU LYING?[/b]
Tone Rion looked away, tears filling her eyes.  "I'm fine, sweetie.  Just thinking of something sad."
Echo beeped, the only sound she could verbally make.
Her mother didn't turn around.
Echo placed a paw on her mother's shoulder and yanked her back, forcing her head down to look into the screen at her shoulder.  [b]TELL ME TRUTH.[/b]
Tone Rion nodded, pushed lightly against Echo's paw until her daughter removed it, and then straightened up to look into her daughter's eyes.  "My darling...you don't remember, obviously, but when you were a baby...I didn't mean for it to happen, but...I...I tried to plop you back into my pouch, but I missed, and...I dropped you.  You were in surgery for several weeks after that.  That...that's why you're mute, darling.  Oh, my sweet baby...I destroyed what life you could have had that was normal.  I know you can't understand what 'normal' even is, because your 'normal' isn't anyone else's 'normal.'  I've truly tried to help you, my sweet - I've tried my hardest to push the past behind me, but every time I look at you I'm reminded of my failure as a mother.  Now you've got a loving mate, and you may be having children of your own someday...and I haven't...I...I haven't..."
Echo placed a paw gently on her mother's shoulder.  [b]MAMA.  PLEASE DON'T CRY.[/b]
Tone Rion sniffled.  "I can't help it dear.  I'm sorry."
[b]DON'T FEEL BAD.  I LOVE YOU.[/b]
"But I hurt you!  I hurt the one thing I said I'd never destroy!  I hurt you so badly, doctors didn't think you'd live through it!  Oh, we were all so surprised when you came back...but you were never a normal pup.  You only had one friend growing up - and you ended up marrying him, heh.  Anyways, you see differently because your eyes had to be replaced, you hear differently because of your antennae, you can't even speak other than beeping and booping like a computer would, and you can't ever feel anything on your face...not fully, anyways."
[b]NOT FULLY NUMB.  CAN FEEL SOME.[/b]
"Yes, but even your speech-"
[b]MUTE, MAMA.  REMEMBER?[/b]
"Well, what I mean is...even your readouts on the screens are garbled.  You'll forever be cursed to be viewed as something lesser than intelligent because your screens are only so long and can't pick up on your thoughts perfectly.  There are imperfections that will never be solved!  Echo, my sweet darling...you're so smart, but other wolves think of you as stupid because they only believe what their eyes tell them.  They don't see you for who you are...and I'm to blame for that."
[b]NOT TO BLAME.  SOCIETY WRONG, NOT YOU.[/b]
"I know that society's views on disabled individuals is bad...I've known that for years myself, what with this blasted leg problem...but I never wanted you to have difficulties, Echo.  I knew when I was pregnant that you'd already be ostracized - I knew you'd have more than four legs or paws...and you ended up getting two more, not just one!  Oh, that was nerve-wracking enough...but then to add on the inability to show emotion on your face - which, yes, has improved drastically since you met your mate, Seren, and I'm quite pleased about that, darling - and the inability to speak, and....sweetie, I thought you'd be alone forever."
[b]NOT ALONE.  HAVE YOU, AND DAD, AND SEREN.  SEREN...I LOVE SEREN.[/b]
"Yes, I know you do, darling...and I couldn't be happier for the both of you."  Tone Rion had finally managed to calm herself.  Tears were no longer flowing from her face.  "Sweetie, I'm so pleased you've found someone who accepts you and loves you for who you are.  I feared that my mistake would hurt you for all of your life."
[b]DON'T BLAME SELF.[/b]
"I can't do anything else, darling.  My Echo...my sweet Echo Primadonna...I am to blame for who you are today.  I failed, and hurt you beyond repair.  I'm...I'm so sorry for that, sweetie."  Tears pooled in her eyes.
[b]MAMA.  STOP.[/b]
"Stop what, darling?  Apologizing?  I don't think I can, honestly."
Echo leaned forward and touched her antennae to her mother's cranium.  "Stop."  Her robotic voice reverberated through the bones of her mother's skull, entering into her mind from the passageway the antennae's circuitry and electrical output initiated.  The only way Echo could speak was by doing this, and it tended to freak wolves out, so she generally didn't do this to those she didn't trust.  "Please, Mama.  Don't be so hard on yourself.  You're loved by me and so many other wolves.  Why beat yourself up over what happened in the past?"
Tone Rion sighed as she responded.  "Darling, the problem is that it's my fault you are the way you are today, and - "
"What, so I'm a freak?  I thought you said you loved me and that would never change, Mama."
"No, you're right...you're beautiful, Echo.  You aren't a freak."
"Then why do you feel badly about what happened to me?  It was clearly destiny working in a way you didn't understand."
"What do you mean?"
"If I wasn't disabled, I would never have met Seren.  I would never know true happiness.  It is because of my weaknesses that I am strong.  Your mistake worked out for my benefit."  Suddenly, a flash of insight erupted in her brain.  "Mama, is the reason you never tried to have pups again..."
"Yes," Tone Rion said sadly.  "After my failure to properly care for you...I was afraid to try again.  Your father seemed certain that we could have fairly normal pups, but...I turned him down every time until he just stopped asking."
"You could always adopt."
"There aren't many children nowadays who are available for adoption, sweetie."
"Well, I'm not a failure, Mama.  I've done so much with my life.  I'm happy living the way I am now."
Tone Rion understood.  For the first time in her life, she was able to breathe easily.  She looked at her daughter with new eyes.  "My darling...you're right.  You are an absolutely astonishing wolf, talented and able to beat any odds you face.  You're my daughter - not some hunk of metal or a husk of a wolf.  You are beautiful, just the way you are.  I've always believed that...but now you've helped me understand it in a new way.  Thank you."  She leaned forward and hugged her daughter, breaking the connection between her cranium and Echo's antennae.
Echo smiled and hugged her mother back.  When they separated, words flashed on the screens as her antennae bent.  [b]WE GO INSIDE NOW?  GET [i][u]WARM[/u][/i]?[/b]
Tone Rion chuckled.  "Certainly.  It is chilly out here, isn't it?  Let's get inside.  I think your father has invited some new friends over to the house.  Perhaps you'll get along with them."
[b]NEW WOLVES?  OKAY, I'LL TRY, MAMA.[/b]

Melody was walking the streets alone, leaping through mounds of snow as she overheard [u][i]snowball[/i][/u] fights going on to her right.  To get to Yohioloid's house, she had to pass the frozen pond, where Rainbow Paint Wolves were [i][u]ice skating[/u][/i].  There was a hill in the distance, but even from far away Melody could hear the yells and yips from pups sledding down.  Melody smiled, remembering her mother had always pronounced that word differently - Melody had always said "sledding," but her mother had insisted upon pronouncing it "[i][u]sledging[/u][/i]."  Her grandmother had called it "tobogganing."  Melody shrugged - [i]to each his own[/i], she supposed.  She shivered in the frosty air and decided to pick up her pace.  Her mechanical leg wasn't hurting her too badly on this cold winter day; thankfully the pain pills she would be on for most of her life killed what little pain she did feel...even from the chilly weather.  She just had to be careful to not get snow or water or ice into the actual mechanics of her leg - as long as she was careful, she'd be fine.  The exterior shell was pretty strong; it was only if she was submerged that she wouldn't be able to do anything, as the mechanism would lock up and cease to work properly.
She took the next right at the fork in the sidewalk and arrived at Yohioloid's house.  There were lights strewn on the bushes and carefully lined around the perimeter of the roof; it looked very festive.  Melody found herself wondering if Circus would be there.  Circus and she had met a few months back when he'd gone out to get some milk at the store.  They were both looking for chocolate milk, and there had been one container left.  Instead of taking it for herself, Melody allowed Circus to take it and instead got a bottle of chocolate syrup and a container of 2% milk for herself - she'd just make her own.  The two had gotten to chatting, but Circus had to dart off before night fell - Melody thought he might have had nyctophobia, and was concerned about him getting home safely in the darkness.  She had been writing him back and forth for some time - they were pen-pals.  She later visited him, but only during daylight hours - his parents required that much.  She figured it was just because they wanted to make sure he was safe and that nothing was going to happen to him at night, but Melody still thought it just a bit odd considering his age.  He was a young teen - he knew how to take care of himself, right?  I mean, the shy little dude could pack a punch if he needed to - he was scrappy, that was certain.  Melody shook her head, pushing the memory away.  She took the stairs up to the front door, knocked, and entered.
The first Rainbow Paint Wolf she saw she didn't recognize - it was a large wolf with a mechanical clock inserted in the middle of his body.  He looked like a Saint Bernard, what with his lovely cream and brown fur.  His bright blue and red sparkling paint glittered under the Christmas lights upon the tree in the corner of the room.  He turned and smiled in her direction, but then got back to his conversation with Yohioloid.
An odd-looking wolf trotted over to her - she didn't have a symmetrical design, and was half black-half white.  As Melody stared at her, she lost herself in thought.  [i]Her eyes are haunting - they are multicolored orbs devoid of expression.  Her ears are gone, and in their place are two antennae that bobbed with every step she takes.  Her legs...are there SIX of them?![/i]
The wolf reached Melody and tilted her head.  She pointed to her screen with her foremost paw, and Melody looked down to see words flashing on it.  [b]WELCOME.  MY NAME ECHO. YOHIO MY FATHER. TONE RION MY MOTHER.  WHO YOU?[/b]
Melody gulped.  "My name is Melody...um...can you hear me?"
[b]CAN HEAR.  CAN'T SPEAK - MUTE.[/b]
"Oh, well, that's okay.  My mother said that I should get out a little more, and this Christmas party seemed like a nice idea.  I decided to come along."
[b]YOUR MOTHER WHOM?[/b]
"My mom's name is Mrs. Toile."
[b]MRS. TOILE.  MAMA KNOWS HER.[/b]
"Yes, I think she has mentioned your mother before," Melody said, thinking back to that one time where her mother had mentioned something about a certain 'Ms. Rion.'
[b]YOU KNOW OTHER WOLVES HERE?[/b]
"Um...I was looking for my friend, Circus...is he here?"
[b]CIRCUS LATE.  WILL BE HERE LATER.[/b]
"Oh, um, thanks."
[b]YOU KNOW ANYONE ELSE?[/b]
"Who is that wolf with the clock?"
[b]HIS NAME TOCK.  HE LIKE ME.[/b]
"Is he...is he an automaton?"
[b]NO.  JUST PART-MACHINE.[/b]
"Oh, so you're the same?" Melody inquired, tilting her head.
[b]YES.  HEAD AND ARMS ARE MECHANICAL - OTHER PARTS ARE NATURAL.[/b]
"All six of your arms?"
[b]JUST THE FRONT TWO.  SEE SCREENS?[/b]
Melody smiled.  "Yes, I understand."
[b]YOU MECHANICAL, TOO?  LEG?[/b]
Melody nodded.  "Yeah, I was born without it...but I never learned how to walk properly, so my parents made me this leg - rather, my father made it and my mother drew up the plans."
[b]LOOKS NICE.[/b]
"R-r-really?"  Melody was dumbfounded.  "You really think so?"
[b]YES.  NOT LIE TO YOU.[/b]
"Oh, um...well, uh, thanks, then, I suppose."
[b]YOU'RE WELCOME.[/b]
Silence stretched between the two of them.
Echo's antennae suddenly perked up.  [b]SEREN NEEDS HELP IN KITCHEN.  PLEASE ENJOY PARTY.[/b]  With a nod of her head, she turned to leave.
"Oh, um, thank you."  Melody nodded meekly, skirting away from the wolf.  She hung to the walls, observing Echo chatting with the wolf she assumed to be Tone Rion.  Another green wolf came out of the kitchen, a Santa hat on his head.  He clung to Echo like a shadow, and never left her side.  Melody wondered who he was, and figured that he was the 'Seren' Echo had mentioned.  Perhaps he was a relative or a potential mate to the white and black Rainbow Paint Wolf.  Melody found herself smiling.  [i]I'm happy she was able to find someone who loves her, even if he is just family.  That's really nice.  I guess that means...well, if she can find someone, I guess I can find someone, too.[/i]
She observed the party-goers, and when Tock was alone, she trotted over to him.  "Hello.  I'm Melody.  Pleased to meet you, sir."
Tock smiled and held out a paw.  "Please to meet you, Melody.  Is your mother Mrs. Toile?"
"Yes, that's her," she said with a smile.  "You've met her before?"
"Briefly, yes.  Not well enough to get to know her.  I'd love to chat with you, however, if you have the time."
"Certainly."
"What would you like to talk about?"  His voice was calm and orderly.  He gave off a vibe like that of a fatherly-figure would.
Melody felt relaxed talking with him.  "Well...I don't know much about clocks.  Could you tell me some stuff about that?"
Tock's eyes lit up.  He loved teaching others, and adored giving advice; he knew he could do both with the blue wolf in front of him, and decided to take advantage of the situation presented.  "Certainly, young one!"

Circus's parents were not looking forward to their pup leaving the house.  His father had already voiced his concerns, and was now sitting in the kitchen reading the newspaper.  His mother hadn't let go of her stubborn position as of yet and was standing by the door with him.  She was anxious.  "Please, sweetie...don't leave.  We need you to to be safe."
Circus rolled his eyes as he slid on his [i][u]mittens[/u][/i].  He shrugged off the blanket he'd been under and slipped on his jacket, hat, and scarf.  "Please don't worry, Mom.  I'm just going over to Yohioloid's house.  You know him - heck, Dad's known him for years!"
"I know..."
"You trust him, then."
"It's not that I don't trust him, darling.  It's just that..."
"What?  What's the problem, Mom?  Are you really afraid I'll turn?"
"You haven't done so yet this month, sweetie!  I'm concerned that tonight will be the night you change!"
Circus sighed, straightening his jacket  and hat.  He fiddled with the buttons and zipper on the bulky overcoat.  "Mom, I'll be fine."
"I want you to be safe.  I also don't want you hurting anyone out there!  We both know you become unstable when you change, sweetie..."
"Really, is that so?" he spat back.  He had to calm down his raging emotions - he'd gotten a horrible night's sleep, and knew his snappish responses were just because he was cranky.  "Sorry, Mom.  I know you care about me...it's just that I'm tired.  I'm tired of having to stay inside every night, and not go out and chill with the few RPWs I count as my friends.  I am tired of living in fear.  If I change, I change.  And it's not like I'll be where there are a ton of wolves I could potentially hurt, either.  It's not as if I'm going to market night, where crowds of wolves will be in one place at one point in time!"
His mother sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.  She didn't say anything.
"Mom, I'll be okay.  Plus, I might not even change tonight."
She decided to respond.  "But you still might.  There's always that possibility."
"And I can't live on 'what-ifs.'  I'm tired of living like that.  That's not life - that's lack of freedom."  He paused before continuing, letting that sink into his mother's head before landing his next verbal blow.  "Mom, I care about you, which is why I'm pointing this out.  Yohioloid is a father and husband, yeah?  Well, his wife's got that bionic leg, and his daughter is basically half-machine, anyways.  If something does go wrong, I'll be in safe paws, yeah?"
"Perhaps...but he doesn't even know you have this curse!  He doesn't understand it!"
"And whose fault is that?" he asked calmly.  "You and Dad ordered me to keep it a secret.  I don't understand why you'd do such a thing.  Your closest friends would understand.  Yohioloid has known Dad for years.  Why haven't you approached him about this before?"
"Because it doesn't concern him.  This is a family matter - why bring him into it?  He's not related to us."
"I'm going to tell him tonight," Circus said quietly.  "I'll tell him not to tell a soul, and to keep it a secret.  But maybe he could actually help me with this.  Maybe he can reverse the horrible thing..."
"No one can!" she yelled, her calm exterior cracking in two.  "You know that!  We know that!  NOTHING we do will cure you!  Our mistakes are what made you like this!"
Circus pulled the hat on harder over his ears, blocking out his mother's yelling.  "I'm still going to try."  He opened the door and slipped out into the dusk, slamming it behind him.

Circus slipped his earphones into his ears and blasted [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIy4FacBg_E]Superchick's [i]Alive[/i][/url].  He walked in a huff along the frosted pavement.  He wasn't at all happy with his parents - they just didn't understand him.  Yeah, at least they were trying to help him by keeping him safe, but he hated it.  He despised living in this fear, without any freedom.  He no longer even felt like he was living...he just wanted to go out and do things.  He blew out a puff of air angrily.  "It's not MY fault my parents acted stupidly all those years ago...and now I'm paying for a crime I never committed," he muttered.  "Sure, they try to make it right.  They feed me, care for me...but they also keep me in that prison of a house.  If they really care so much, let's see them track me down.  They know where I'll be."  He paused, lost in thought.  [i]But they may just find me because they're too worried.  What are they worried about, anyways? I remember bits and pieces from when I'm in that horrid state - they're not pleasant, but if I can tap into my conscious brain a little bit, why can't I perfect it so that I can control myself in both states?[/i]  He sighed.  [i]I'm just so frustrated. I want to make friends.  I want to have someone there for me...and I don't have anyone, thanks to my parents' regulations about me never leaving the house at night until that one night per month comes and leaves me.  I hate how it's random - I can't even track it!  One month it'll be during the first week, and the next month the last week!  I've tried...I've tried so hard to find a pattern.  I can't.[/i]
Suddenly, a wolf raced past him.
Circus was brought back to reality rather quickly.  He looked at the wolf racing off, and wondered where he was going - the wolf had a robotic leg, and long, stringy, dark brown hair.  Circus shook his head - the wolf wasn't even going in the direction he was, which meant he wasn't enough of a concern to think about.  Circus then started walking forward, remembering he'd have to keep walking if he didn't want to freeze in the cold weather.  He'd be fine for awhile, of course - the hat, mittens, and scarf made sure of that - but he couldn't stay out in the blinding cold for much longer.
He took a breath before he walked up the steps to Yohioloid's house.  He hoped nothing bad would happen...but he'd have to pull the elder aside as soon as he walked in.

Yohioloid was standing by the tree, chatting with his wife, Tone Rion.  Circus recognized them instantly, as they'd come over to his house a few times in the past month or so to hang out with his father.  As he past the table, he noticed a cute little homemade [i][u]igloo[/u][/i] with tiny stick figures made from popsicle sticks and toothpicks - he'd wondered how Tone Rion had made it, remembering that she was rather crafty when she wanted to be.  He reached Yohioloid and took another deep breath.  He tugged on the fur hanging from the elder's shoulder.  "Sir?  Could I speak with you for a moment...alone?"  He shoved his iPod and earphones into his pocket.
Yohioloid looked down and his face lit up.  "Ah, you made it, Circus!  Melody will be pleased to see you're here - she was inquiring about you earlier."
"Mel is here?" Circus said, glancing around the room rapidly.  His eyes landed on her - she was chatting with a Saint Bernard with a clock for a body.  His expression took on one of wonderment as he scanned the room - except for Yohioloid, every wolf present had something mechanical, robotic, or automaton-like about him or her.  [i]How interesting[/i], he thought.  [i]Was that planned on Yohioloid's part?  We all have something in common, at least.  We're...we're the outcasts...those missing some part of us.  But...no.  No, that couldn't have been planned.  Yohioloid doesn't know about my curse...does he?[/i]
Yohioloid put his paw on Circus's shoulder.  "So, you wanted to chat?  Let's go to the kitchen - Seren is there, cooking Christmas cookies.  Echo does pop in from time to time, but she's trying her best to socialize with the other guests....Looks like she's doing pretty well, too."
Tone Rion kissed her mate on the cheek and patted his shoulder before stating, "I'll go speak with Tock.  I want to see how his kids are doing.  Have fun, dear."
Yohioloid smiled and glanced lovingly in her direction before he looked down at Circus.  "C'mon, boyo."
Circus absentmindedly nodded as he turned to walk into the kitchen.  They reached their destination, and he spotted Seren, a  normal, completely green RPW, save for his maroon and cream spotted, glowing paint. He had a Santa hat on his head as he hummed a Christmas tune.  "Oh, hello!"  His smile lit up his entire face.  "Pleased to see you here!  Is Echo doing okay?"
Yohioloid chuckled.  "Your love for my daughter is never unrequited.  Yes, she's doing fine.  Don't worry about her - she's just trying to learn how to socialize better.  We both know how she's struggled with that."
Seren nodded.  A [i][b]FLOOMP[/b][/i] of powder suddenly sprayed up from the bowl he was mixing.  "Oops," he muttered, grabbing a towel to wipe himself off.  "The powdered sugar always gives me trouble."
Yohioloid laughed and led Circus to the table.  "All right, boyo.  What's up?  Is something wrong?"
Circus took a breath again.  "Yohio...you're my friend, right?"
"Of course!  I've known your family for quite some time."
"You'd...You'd keep a secret for me, wouldn't you?"
"If you asked it of me and I didn't feel it was endangering anyone else, yes, of course.  The only time I spill secrets is if someone's life is in danger."
Circus nodded slowly.  "Why did you invite the RPWs that you did today?"
"Oh, I invited one other besides you, but he turned me down.  Bucky doesn't tend to like to hang out with other wolves - he's a bit skittish around them, due to his tragic past.  But the ones that did come, well, they're all friends of the family, except for Melody, who's just a newcomer I wanted to welcome to the neighborhood; be hospitable, and all.  And she's a lovely girl, so I don't regret doing that at all.  You know her?"
"Yeah, she's my pen-pal."
"Oh, that's great!  Now you get to see her in-the-flesh."  Yohioloid smiled, but still glanced down at Circus with a concerned expression.  "Was that all you really wanted to talk to me about?"
"Uh, no.  Actually...I have a secret."
"Well, you can trust me with it.  You know I won't tell a soul unless it's a dangerous secret, and in that case, I'd only tell those who would be able to help you out with it."
"Okay, then..."  He closed his eyes and tried to figure out how to even start the discussion.  "Yohioloid....Your daughter is part-robot, right?"
"Yes.  After an accident shortly after her birth, she had to have several parts of her natural body replaced with electronic and robotic counterparts due to disruption of the cellular structures that couldn't be fixed using normal medical technologies and techniques.  Why do you ask?"
"Well, you understand robotics, then...at least a little, right?"
"Certainly!  I had to care for Echo with Tone for several years until she and Seren got hitched.  Now she lives with him in a cute little house a few doors down.  We visit her frequently, particularly around the holidays - even though Seren's a mess in the kitchen, his sweets are excellent!  Talented baker, that boy."
Circus nodded, wanting to get back to the topic at hand.  "My question relates to my secret.  Yohioloid, I...um...I..."
Yohioloid caught on that Circus was stammering, unable to get the words from his tongue and into the warm air of his house.  He decided he'd rather interrupt to say something than wait for the boy to spit it out.  "Look, boyo - I've never had a son, but I was once a young pup like yourself.  Now, I understand that getting words out can sometimes be a challenge, but just know that even if I take action to help you, I will not judge you.  This is an open household to every belief.  I am here to listen to you and help if I can, okay?  I won't freak out, no matter how serious the secret is."
Circus nodded again, took a deep breath, and blurted it out.  "Yohioloid, I'm...I'm not a normal RPW.  I'm...I'm an automaton...an animatronic."
Yohioloid tilted his head.  "Could you prove that to me?  You look a lot like flesh and blood to me, boyo."
He glanced down.  "My parents were cursed when I was a baby.  They offended this wizard that came to visit them, and his punishment was that I would forever take on the consequence for their actions.  I am a normal wolf most of the time, but once a month I become an animatronic with limited memory of how to act around anyone.  The curse stipulated that this event only happen at night, and that each month it happen randomly - there's no pattern to the changing.  One month I could change on the fifth, while the next month I could change on the seventeenth.  There's no way to track it or guess when it's coming.  So, my parents have kept me locked up every night for my entire life...until today."
"You're here, yes, and it's nearly nightfall," Yohioloid said quietly.
"Yeah.  They weren't too happy about me racing out of the house; they're really worried I'll change tonight, here, in front of all these wolves."
"Well, if you do, at least I know what to do to help you out.  Echo may also be able to get through to you, considering she's part-robot herself.  Do you have memory of your time when you've changed?"
Circus looked at the wood-grain in the table.  "See, I can remember bits and pieces...but not the full night."
"How long are you stuck as an automaton?  Is it just during that night, or the next day as well?"
"However long the darkness lasts is how long my transformation lasts.  With the morning light, the spell is reversed."
Yohioloid nodded thoughtfully.  "I see.  How interesting.  Have your parents thought to contact the wizards and witches in the area?  There's a possibility that they may be able to undo the curse."
"My parents contacted Myrrddin, but even he couldn't touch the curse.  He's the most powerful warlock we know of."
"Have you tried the new group of girls that moved into Mishia recently?"
"Where's that?" Circus asked, tilting his head.
"About three hours' walk from here.  Mami is a very loving wolf - I ran into her one day while I was down in the area looking for spare robotic parts for a friend of mine.  She has two adopted children whom she protects with her spells - Bebe and Acheron."
"Oh, Acheron came to my school, once," Circus said.  "He's the little purple and gold guy with the bat ears, right?  He's pretty jumpy and energetic - couldn't get the kid to sit still until the teacher offered him cookies."
"Yep, that's him!"
"His mother's a [i]witch[/i]?"
"That's technically a secret...not many know of Mami's powers.  She's good at keeping them hidden.  Her other friends, however, flaunt theirs.  But why wouldn't they?  They help others with their powers, after all.  They've not used them for evil or misdeeds.  Mami's just very protective and secretive by nature - I'm a friend of hers, so of course I know of her full capabilities.  You shouldn't repeat that to many wolves, though - I only told you because of your circumstance."
"You think they could help me?"
"It's worth a try, right?"
"Yeah....Yeah!  Thank you, Yohioloid!"
"You're most welcome," he said as he stood.  He ruffled the fur atop the youngster's head.  "If your parents won't take you there, I'll go with you.  I can always pick up more spare parts at a store nearby where the girls live.  And I'm sure Echo and Seren would love to come along - they've never been to Mishia, and there's plenty for a young couple to do while in the area, such as sightseeing and the like.  Perhaps Tone Rion could even come along...hm, we could make it date night, perhaps.  I could even get her flowers!"  He smiled and nodded, making his mind up.
Circus nodded.  "Thank you.  I'll talk it over with my parents and see what they say."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" he said with a smile.  "Do you mind if I inform Echo and Tone Rion of your situation?  If you do change, they may be more able to help you than I am - I'm not robotic or mechanical or an automaton, so I don't know if my strategies would help you any."
Circus stood and looked at the ground, thinking deeply before answering.  "I...I suppose that wouldn't be too much of a problem, Sir.  Just make sure they don't tell the world about it, okay?"
"Of course.  Your secret is safe with us."  He smiled as he trotted off to find his wife and child.
Circus walked back out and spotted Melody.  She was chatting with Tone Rion before Yohioloid snatched his wife away from her.  Circus took that moment to walk over to her and say hello.  "Hey there, Mel."
"Circus!" she said, a smile lighting up her whole face.  She hugged him, and then took a few steps back.  "I'm so pleased to see you're here!  Have you met Tock?"
"I'll get chatting wit him later, maybe.  How're you?"
"I'll have to introduce you two, then!  He's a sweetheart - what a big teddy bear.  He looks a little scary, since he's rather big, but he's a great guy.  Anyways, I'm fine.  Mom's out shopping and Dad's working on some cars today, so I had to come to the party in their absence.  They were supposed to come with me, as Yohioloid invited the whole family.  I'm happy you could come!  Where are your parents?"
"They didn't want to come.  Dad's busy, and Mom's a little stressed today.  I decided to come alone...which they weren't happy about."
"It's not like anything bad will happen to - oh.  Oh.  Sorry!  I forgot - it's nearly nighttime.  How foolish of me."
"What?"  Circus tilted his head, confused at her apology.
"You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?  That's why you never come out at night."
Circus burst out laughing.  "No, no!  I'm not afraid of the dark!  My parents usually dictate I stay indoors at night!"
"Oh, they're just worried for your safety," Melody said, nodding her head in understanding.  "I see.  That makes sense.  Sorry about the confusion."
"That's okay," he said with a smile.  "I'm here now, and that's all that matters.  I want to have fun here, so...what do you do at parties, anyways?"
"You've never been to one?"
"Nope."
Melody smiled, reached out a paw, and waited for Circus to grab it before continuing.  "Let me show you, then, my friend."

[clouds-move-on]

Hopefully this is not too late?
UNFINISHED

Cast
Edwyn, central character
Christopher, his neighbor
Maurice, Edwyn's brother
Silas, Calliope's son
Calliope, Silas's adoptive mother




Out in the forest pines, the frost left its' blanket, and the snow drifted mournfully through the remains of bushes. Out in this wintry gloom, the lone house of Edwyn sat, nestled up against the rock face like a sad, sorry creature, withered and worn from the snow and cold, and looking just as dreary as the rest of the landscape. In it was Edwyn, seated by the window, contemplating the loneliness and the cold, and thankful to have a warm fire going in the hearth, and a letter from his family in his paws.

Dear Edwyn.

His eyes had drifted away from the window and returned to the heading on the message- it was in a thin, wispy, cursive script, with some letters leaving long tails of ink, and had a look to it that reminded the wolf of spiderwebs.

Dear Edwyn,

I hope your doing alright up there this winter! It sure is chilly, isn't it, brother? I heard there were some terrible snowstorms around where you live, I hope your safe and warm and that cabin you have isn't in too much disrepair! It always seemed to be leaking a bit when it rained.

"Don't remind me." Edwyn mumbled gruffly with a sour grin as he looked away from the letter, and up towards the ceiling. He had repaired it for the winter, so it was holding up better now, although one corner did look suspiciously damp. "... I'm not the best repairman, even after years of living alone. Jolly."

I'm really sorry that you did not make it to mom's Christmas get together. I know, I know, your busy especially during this season, but we all really miss you... I really miss you. I still cannot believe it's been almost over a year since we talked face to face, Edwyn. I am happy you chose a life for yourself that you wanted, but do, someday, take some time to come visit. Our family's definitely been more distant lately, what with Alfonso off traveling with Eugene, and Eloise busy with her husband and kids. Thankfully, though, me and Charlotte live close by to mom and dad's to visit them, plus our kids go there often! And you really should see how fast these four are growing, yet I feel as if I just became a father the other day!

"How you manage to care for four kids at once is a mystery to me, Maurice." Edwyn said with a chuckle, thinking back to their childhood. "Ah... how mom and dad managed to care for all of us so well is a mystery, too. Man were we troublemakers... hah."

Besides this. How have you been? Is it still an exciting life you lead? And how is that trained bird of yours? I hope shes' alright, and I'm glad you have a pet now! That is always good company. Can't wait to meet her if I come down! What was her name? Silver?

Anyways, I just wanted to... catch up. I'd love to hear from you and know your safe, especially now that the weather's this cold! Oh, and, happy new year! We didn't do much on new years (you know how fireworks freak me out, hah!). Hope yours was as peaceful as ours! Or more so, it was probably quieter.

Your brother,
Maurice.

Edwyn folded the letter up again, and, getting up with a sigh, slipped into into a drawer. He would have to think up a reply, but he had mixed feelings about it. He was happy here, alone, and yet his family every so often would bother him to return home, to socialize... to not be lonely. And yet his mind had begun to doubt this life he had led so quietly the past few years, out in the woods. And it bothered him to be... wrong, was it? Was he wrong?

"We're going walking." He said, as he hurried to retrieve Silvin, the bird of prey he had been busy training for the last few months. Despite her nature, he was relatively docile, and eagerly perched on his back as they walked out the door. Perhaps it was not the best idea to go walking in snowstorm weather, but he needed to be out in the open air. To think... and he tried to avoid leaving Silvin alone.

wipwipwip

[wolf ;;]

FOUND

WORD TOTAL ;; 3,751
PROMPTS ;; 10/10
RPW’S INCLUDED ;; Red, Blue, Ruby, Sapphire (owned by me), Red (Ricael, owned by rockpelt.)
TOKENS ;; 850 (325 for word count, 100 for prompt words x 2)
I may be wrong for this token amount since I had to re-calculate a few times rip

Code: Select all

“Reeeeeeed! Where are you?!”
The mostly silent wolf, who was just relaxing on a couch within a nicely furnished lounge, let a slight scowl appear on his face as he heard the voice call for him…somewhere else in the house…really, Blue? Red sat up at that, but continued to read his newspaper as he heard footsteps begin to crash his way as the other wolf searched for him within the house.
“Red?! Red…oh, there you are.” A brown pelted wolf poked his head in, orange hair ruffled over his face. But Red was able to spot the smirk appear on his mates face as he came over.
“There you are, why didn’t you say anything?”
At those words Red was tempted to give him a good smack as if to remind him why, but Blue just chuckled. “I was only playing, you know that.”
Blue then flopped himself into Red’s lap, crushing the newspaper with it, and Red narrowed his eyes and stared at his mate…he had been reading that, you know.
“Come on, I’m more important than some lousy piece of paper with words on it. If you want to know something, ask me.” He had a wider grin as he wrapped his arms around his mates neck, who just scowled more.
Red highly doubted his words, although said nothing as Blue attempted to pull his head down – he refused, shaking his head with more of a scowl etched on his face. While it was getting [b]chilly[/b] in here, even with the presence of their newly-installed fireplace, now was now the time for cuddles.
Blue eventually pouted, pulling away and getting up, relieving Red’s newspaper, but taking it before he could grab it himself. “No, we’re going somewhere today.” To which Red opened his mouth, as if to say something – and of course, no words escaped his jaw.
“We’re taking the kids out…it’s snowing today, they really want to go have fun, it’s the first time they’ve seen snow after all.”
Their two children, son Ruby and daughter Sapphire were only at the age of five – and as it was evident, they hadn’t experienced a snowy Christmas like this before…but that didn’t mean Red himself had to enjoy it.

“Dad! Dad!! Daaaad!” the endless chorus met Red’s ears , the excited chatter of voices as he was stumbling around, managing to both carry whatever the pups chose to take, but also to help them into their clothing…after all, they did have to make sure their pups kept [b]warm[/b] and snug once they ventured out. He almost wanted to drop it all, head back to the couch and relax again, but he knew the kids would bug him until he got back up – or even Blue would try to drag him out of his comfortable spot…there was always tomorrow.
“Hurry up you three! The car won’t run forever.” The call from outside made the children pause, before they giggled and ran outside, racing for who would reach the car first, and leaving Red with carrying all their items to the car on his own, and for some reason, they had decided to bring a lot…this surely was going to take more than one trip to get all packed safely into the car, even with Blue trying to get him to hurry.

It took about thirty minutes, but eventually Red had everything in the car…and now all they needed to do was wait for the kids to finish, who had decided that instead of waiting in the car for everything to be packed, they had wanted to make a snowman, hopping outside and building what…perhaps had the appearance of one. But Red thought otherwise, looking at their children as they called him.
“Dad, this is [b]Misty[/b]!” Ruby said, and Red raised an eyebrow. “He’s a snowman! Doesn’t he look cool?” although in reality, all this ‘Misty’ was, was two piles of snow, with a bunch of rocks scattered on top…well, he did have to give them credit for creativity, but not so much for neatness…but how could he look so disappointed at two pups such as this? Red managed to smile slightly, ruffle both of them on the head slightly before picking Sapphire up, going to set her in the car.
“Dad, dad! Pick me up too, me too!” Ruby called from his place in the snow, and Red silently sighed, before turning, going back over to his son and picking him up too, the pup giggling happily as he walked back to the car and set him in the car seat, buckling him and his sister up. He held a finger up, as if to tell the two it was time to behave, before he leaned out of the car, closing the door before getting in the front…to which it appeared he was driving. Great.
Blue was kicked back in the passenger’s seat, feet up on the dashboard, although as Red got settled and put his seatbelt off, he swatted his mates feet down, earning a playful glare from Blue. Blue didn’t hold grudges, so Red knew it would be fine, and as he put the key in the car ignition, Blue complained like a child would, telling him to hurry up so they could get going already, despite the fact that Red had no clue where they were even going in the first place – this was Blue’s idea, not his. But he knew that Blue was about to offer little to no help, and so he reversed out of the driveway, turned the radio on and took off down the road, two giggling children laughing in delight.

“Take a left here! You can’t miss it!” It had been close to an hour since Red had taken directions from Blue – and by this point, he was quickly growing sick of it. Blue should be the one driving, not him.
“Just up this road is the building – looks like a huge [b]igloo[/b]! We’re nearly there kids, get ready.” Blue chattered to the two children, who had been content with playing with their own toys. But at the words that they were almost to their destination, they quickly put their toys down and began cheering happily.
At least blue had been right – this building wasn’t very hard to miss, a huge igloo shaped building on the side of the road, a banner in the front saying ‘Grand Opening!’…what was this place? Of course, it wasn’t like Red could ask, being mute and all.
He was able to find a parking space in the seeming crowded area, to which both his mate and children quickly jumped out of the car, Blue looking more like a child than Ruby and Sapphire did.
Red followed much more slowly, making sure that the car was properly parked and turned off before climbing off. He didn’t even have time to adjust when Blue grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him excitedly. “Come on, focus! We’re here, it’s time to have fun!”
Of course, without telling Red exactly what type of fun this was going to be, Blue grasped the hands of their two young children and led them quickly along the parking lot, the two young pups almost running in order to keep up, eyes bright…surely Red was missing something? The brown pelted wolf followed much more slowly than his family seemed to like, who were all waiting for him by the door impatiently before making a break for it and running inside, Ruby squealing in delight.
Red then came up, opening the door to reveal a bright, well-lit room, filled with children and their parents…skating? Red’s ears flicked back as Blue ran over, shoving a pair of shoes at him, with blades at the bottom. “Quick! The kids want to go [b]ice skating[/b], let’s go already!”
Ice skating? Was that the new hype of the month? Red had no clue, but the wolf simply shook his own head, scowling before attempting to shove the shoes back to Blue…there was no way he was going to be caught doing this, this was not something he did, even if it was for the two small children they had brought…

Ok, maybe he had lied…or maybe Blue had just threatened him to get the shoes on. Red stared down at the shoes, noticing a slight [b]frost[/b]-looking effect on the clean blades, and he scowled…this wouldn’t turn out so well, or at least, how Blue was thinking it would turn out. Truth be told, Red didn’t exactly like ice skating – or rather, he had never seemed to learn…not at all, he had taken it as a passion he could leave to someone else – like Blue or the kids, but it seemed all of that was now coming back to him, and he did, indeed, silently curse at Blue under his breath for making him do this.
“Dad, hurry up!” He rose his head as one of the children called out to him, and Sapphire came over, a bright smile settling on her face as she went to grab his hand gently with her own hands, which were covered in nice, warm [b]mittens[/b]. “You can hold my hand, dad and Ruby went off without me! And I don’t want to go alone.”
Red couldn’t say no to his sweet daughter, and gave only a nod, looking warily to the ice skating ring. Seeing her dads face, Sapphire tugged gently on his sleeve. “It’s ok, we can skate by the wall, so you don’t fall!” and Red couldn’t help but feel more light-hearted at that – although surprised that the pup had been able to detect what he was thinking…he was also glad, not wanting to upset her…he would’ve gone and done it anyway, for her and for Ruby…anything to make his two children happy, no matter if he didn’t want to be here or not.

“Look, you’re doing really well dad! Keep going!” Sapphire encouraged her dad as Red wobbled and stumbled along the ring, ears flicking nervously…but with his daughter holding his hand and actually understanding, he felt as if he could do it either way. Besides, he was doing a fairly decent job, being someone who had never done this sort of activity before. And it was all in good fun, with Red finally beginning to enjoy himself, until a very familiar voice spoke from behind the pair.
“You don’t know how to skate? Wow, and I thought you were oh so much better than me at everything.”

Red turned his head at that to see Blue skating past, a giggling Ruby on his shoulders, and he turned to his husband and daughter, a playful sneer on his face. “Looks like you’ll never be able to catch us, then. See you later, slowpoke!”
Blue then weaver through a few of the other ice skaters to get in front, recklessly with Ruby clinging to his shoulders…had that been a challenge? Red then gazed to his daughter as she spoke up.
“We have to beat them, we can’t let them win!” Sapphire had a determined glint in her eye, staring up at Red. “We have to go faster, dad! Beat them! Or they’ll rub it in our faces…”
Red was uncertain about going any faster, he was unsteady enough as it was…but for Sapphire? Red smirked himself, and gave a nod, gently gripping to Sapphire’s hand. They would do it, they would catch up.

While it happened to take them a while, and with Blue and Ruby passing the two of them multiple times, Red did build up his speed, both he and Sapphire keeping each other upright as they slowly gained on their target, Red’s eyes narrowed playfully as they soon were right behind them, Ruby noticing the pair first, and tapping Blue on the shoulder.
“Dad, they’re gonna overtake us!”
“What?” Blue turned his head, only to see both Red and Sapphire skating past, Red throwing his own sneer at the two before they moved forward, Sapphire nearly jumping in excitement – which was impossibly, really, on the ice ring.
“We did it, dad! We did it!”
Red nodded in agreement, and when looking at Blue, he could see both his husband and son pouting slightly…Red was too happy to care, happy he had won, and the fact Sapphire was happy…but perhaps he should help Ruby, too.
He slowed down, and once close enough, snatched Ruby away with a grin, leaving Blue startled as he skated ahead with the two children, who were cheering and giggling happily…now the three of them were winners.

Like young children were, ice skating soon grew bored, complaining that they wanted to move on and do something else, and nearly driving Red up the wall, despite having a good time himself just before. It was only after an hour or so that Blue finally decided that they could go, thinking they had gotten their money worth out of this, and the four quickly got off the ring, out of their shoes and left the building, Red carrying both children as they had been complaining they were tired, which provided to be a task of its own – the two combined were actually pretty heavy, much more than he expected them to be.
They soon reached the car, Blue opening the door so Red could put the two children in their car seats and safely buckle them up…now it was time to hit the road again. But it seemed as if Blue had another idea that he would want his ‘darling family’ to enjoy, hopping into the driver’s side before Red had closed the door for the pups.
Red got into the passenger’s seat, only to give Blue a look as he started the car up…what was he doing, driving the car? He was surprised…usually it was him driving, not Blue. But Blue said he had a plan, and that was simply all he said,  looking ahead at the road and almost as if he was forgetting Red of the children were there, not paying attention to anything Red attempted to do in order for him to speak.
Red eventually huffed, leaning back into his seat at he was unsuccessful in his attempt. He was sure, that just like before, this surprise wasn’t for him – but rather the two pups dozing in their seats, re-energizing themselves for the next adventure which would come soon…Red just hoped that it wasn’t something too crazy, he wasn’t up for anything like skating again.
And without realising, he soon dozes off.

“Ok everyone, wakey wakey, we’re here!”
Red was jolted awake by the sound of Blue’s voice, who stared down at him momentarily before going to help the stirring children out of the car.
"Huh? Dad...where we are we?"
"I'm stil tired..."
"Its gonna be lots of fun, don't worry." Blue promised the two sleepy pups, lifting them up and managing to close the door as Red got out of the car, stretching in order to fight away the sleep...where were they?
There was a vast mountain in front of them, covered in snow. Around them, other couples and families were having the time of their lives, giggling and laughing, having fun, and Red looked to his husband as he spoke. "We're going [b]sledging[/b]!"
Both young children squealed at those words, going right away to run towards the small cabin in sight, and Red kept his gaze on Blue, scowling slightly…wouldn’t this be a little dangerous?
But Blue didn’t seem to mind, not staying around to follow his kids and make sure they didn’t get lost, dodging [b]snowballs[/b] at the same time. Red had no choice but to follow after them.

Within the next hour, the four were at the top of a smaller mountain than the one they had arrived at, safe enough for the kids to have fun. Red could only watch as children sled down, his own two getting ready in their own, begging both Red and Blue to push them down once they were both ready.
“It’s a nice view…” Blue murmured, and as Red looked around, he couldn’t help but nod in agreement. It was calm, the air full of laughter. It was tranquil…
“We’re ready, we’re ready!” The two children called out to their parents, snapping Red out of his thoughts, going to place his hands gently on the back of Sapphire, who sat behind her brother.
“Ready?” Blue had his usual cocky grin back on, and as the kids nodded excitedly, he looked at Red.
“One…two…three!”
Both males pushed the pups gently, prompting the sled to move, and eventually begin to make its way down the mountain, both children squealing in delight at the ride, and Blue took Red’s hand, suggesting that they should get down to the bottom…otherwise the pups might think they have to climb back up here to them.

It was a long journey down, surprisingly, both parents having missed when their children had finished…but as it seemed, they hadn’t tried to come back up to them…otherwise this trip down would’ve been worth nothing.
Red was out of it, even as they spotted the kids and headed over, all until he heard one snarling tone.
“You brats should watch where you’re going!”
Red looked up at that, alert, to see a tall figure loom over his two children, who shrunk back, almost in tears.
“We-we’re sorry sir, we didn’t mean-“
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you to watch where you’re going? I’d like to enjoy some time here without being mowed down by children.”
Red stormed over at that, ears flat…no one spoke to his children like that, especially not this wolf, someone who he seemed to loathe so much…even more than his worst enemies. And while they shared the same name – Red – they were not close. In fact, they would much prefer being on opposite sides of the world.
“You’re lucky I don’t give you a good lesson, I don’t think the world needs more poorly behaving, stupid-“
The second Red wasn’t able to finish his sentence, their father coming to the rescue to giving him a nice, hard punch to the lower jaw. The second Red stumbled back, not having seen them approach, but looked up and narrowed his eyes at the sight. “Well, if it isn’t Blue and the mute. These much be yours then? Of course, like I expected any better.”
Red flattened his ears at that, lashing out again – but Blue held him back, just barely, as the two children ran behind their fathers, shivering in fright.
“We’re sorry our children hit you – but really, you shouldn’t be around here with people coming down the mountain…it’s not entirely their fault, Red.”
Blue’s husband glared at the other, as the second Red scowled at those words, a growl still in his throat. “Your children must be blind, that’s all I’m saying.”
It really was a shame that Red couldn’t talk – if he could, he would surely be giving the other Red a yelling right about now.
“I must be off then, I guess. I suggest you teach your kids to stop being so annoying, don’t want them to be a waste.” Red growled, and before Blue or his husband could move or speak, he turned, quickly heading off in the other direction…but even with him gone, tension hung in the air.

Blue waited a few moments, before letting go of Red and turning to his children, a worried expression on his face. “Are you two alright? Did he do anything to you?” and when both pups gave a shake of their heads, he sighed in relief, going to hug them.
“Good…we wouldn’t want either of you to get hurt.”
“We apologised…but he just kept yelling at us.” Sapphire cried, distressed, and Red softened his gaze, going to pick up his pup and kiss her gently on the forehead…it was ok now, they were safe. Red then looked to Blue as he held the pup, before gesturing his head in the direction of the car…they had been here long enough, perhaps it was time to go?
Blue only gave a sigh at that, but nodded, picking up the sniffling Ruby and holding him close to his chest so the pup could calm down. “I guess you’re right, I doubt the kids will want to go and play again…oh well, time to head home, then.”
And so they set off, kids in their arms as they set off to their car…which could be anywhere within this parking lot, no one had paid attention.

“Red.”
Red looked up at the soft voice. They were home, had been for a while. The sun was down, two tired and sad pups curled in his lap, dozing, curled up in a [b]blanket[/b]. He stared at the face of Blue, who had peeked in, before stepping in fully, holding two mugs with a small smile. “Here, I made some hot chocolate…I left some aside in the fridge for the pups later, too.”
Blue came towards him, and when offered, Red gently took the mug, giving a nod of thanks before going to take a sip…it was nice and warm, something needed on a snow day such as the one they had. Blue then came to sit on the other side of the couch, Red taking the opportunity to rest his feet gently on Blue’s lap, who didn’t resist, instead grinning.
“Today certainly could’ve gone better…but you did have fun too, right?”
Red could see the uncertainty in his husbands face, and only gave a reassuring nod as he smiled in relief. “Good…I didn’t want this day to be a waste, you know.”
Red could see why he had thought that way…mostly for the fact of the other Red telling their kids off…he could sense there was something else, too, but he wasn’t exactly able to pinpoint it.
“…I love you, Red. You know that, right?”
Red was a little surprised at the words, seeing Blue frown slightly. Setting his mug on the coffee table nearby, his picked up his notebook and pen which were beside it and scribbling down a message before turning it to show Blue, a grin of his own plastered to his face.
[i]’I know, you idiot. I love you too.’[/i]
Blue set aside his own mug at that, Red moving his feet as he leaned in, being careful of the children as he went to give Red a gently kiss, lasting for a few moments before pulling back.
“Always and forever.”

WORD TOTAL ;; 1,695
PROMPTS ;; 10/10
RPW’S INCLUDED ;; Michael, Idabelle, Austin, Sasuke (owned by me), Ri, Pepper, Little Rock (Tiny), Christian (mentioned) (owned by rockpelt.), Madeline (owned by Pokechu12)
TOKENS ;; 490 (145 for word count, 100 for prompt words x 2)
I'm pretty sure this one is right as well, although I had to calculate twice rip

Code: Select all

“Michael.”
A voice rang through his head that…well, he sometimes came to hate, and today happened to be one of those days. Michael opened his eyes to see Ri looking back at him…not that he could stay mad at him for long.
“Come on, time to get up.”
“Where are we going?” Michael sat up, yawning as Ri explained that today the whole family…the [i]whole[/i] family was meeting up. It was the festive season, time to stay at home in a [b]warm [/b][b]blanket[/b]…not to go out and do things, ugh.
“Idabelle and her family are going to be there, too…”
Michael stopped at that, giving Ri a look before he lied himself back down, a scowl on his face. “Then I’m definitely not going, sorry.”
“You can’t just take the easy way out…I know you and Sasuke…[i]dislike[/i] each other-“
“Hate, Ri. He is pure hate.”
“-yeah well you still have to go…you can just step out, that makes you look like the lesser one, if you don’t go Sasuke will probably think you’re too scared or something. Who knows, he may even gloat.”
Michael snorted at that. “If Sasuke has any bone in his body that includes joking that he’s better, then I’m a vegetable…honestly.”
He could sense Ri now giving him an intense look, and with a sigh, he sat up once more, glaring back. “Fine, I’ll go – but only for family, I won’t be talking to him.”
“That’s fine, now hurry up or we’ll be late.”

It only took a few minutes for Michael to finally get up and get dressed, ready for what he hoped would be a nice day – of course, he didn’t check the weather before they left, and once they did leave the house he was met with [b]chilly[/b] winds.
“That’s what you get for not looking at the weather first – what did you think this was going to be, beach weather?”
Michael gave Ri a look at that. “Well maybe you could’ve told me it was cold, I would’ve dressed better. And yeah, beach weather would be nice right about now.”
“We probably have some [b]mittens[/b] in the car you could use…and when we get there, it won’t be as cold, that’s what the weather channel said today.”
Michael only huffed, getting the keys and unlocking the car before getting in – he was sure Christian, who often stayed around to help them in the mansion, would find his own way there…either way, Michael wasn’t waiting, and after getting the mittens out of the glovebox and putting them on, he put the key in the ignition, starting it up and immediately turning the heater on before reversing – of course making sure Ri was in the car.
“This ‘gathering’ better not be a waste of my time, I have better things to be doing.” Michael muttered, activating the windscreen wipers to hopefully get rid of some of the [b]frost[/b] gathering on the windows.
“All you do is sit around at home anyway, it’s nice to go out every once in a while – maybe you could take some notes.”
Michael held a growl at that, ears flicking back before he decided to just shut up for the rest of the drive…he would prefer things to be quiet, anyway.

It took them an hour or so to arrive at the location, which was a park that was covered in snow, and almost empty – except for some of their family who had already arrived. A few of their kids, mostly, including Pepper and his wide Ida, along with their youngest children…maybe this gathering wouldn’t be too bad, he always liked seeing his grandchildren…as long as they weren’t too loud or annoying or whatever children were at this age.
Despite the snow, it wasn’t that cold, and there wasn’t much wind – but despite this, Austin and his brother Little Rock were wrapped up snuggly, and it was Austin who bounded over, attempting to cling to his two grandfathers before they even got out of the car, tail wagging.
“You made it! Dad said you might not come.” Austin chirped, to which Michael just shook his head and almost forced himself to give a smile at the pup.
“Of course we came…wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Of course there was sarcasm in his voice, but the pup didn’t seem to notice, nodding happily before going back to his parents…well, it didn’t seem that Sasuke was here yet, maybe for once he wouldn’t turn up. Although this always seemed to prove unlikely, seeing as his wife, Madeline, probably forced him to come along to these events.
His mind was soon off these thoughts as something cold hit him right in the face, his vision covered in white. Spluttering, Michael went to wipe it away, seeing it had been Austin. The cheeky pup was hiding behind his parents, his mother of which looked amused, holding a [b]snowball[/b] in one hand. “You can’t get me!”

By the end of the hour, the pup was doing his best to build his own [b]igloo[/b] – but without any ice, only slow, it was looking more like a mound, which Austin was trying to dig into and make hollow…needless to say, it didn’t work, and the snow kept falling on top of him.
“Be careful, Austin!” Michael was unsure which parent had called out to the pup, his sights set on the road as a figure came in sight…or rather, two, and a scowl emerged on his face.
Other members of the family had arrived, and here Michael was, hoping that Sasuke wouldn’t turn up, but of course, there he was, wearing that stupid scarf of his – Michael had half a mind to tear it off him and start an argument, like what always happened at gatherings such as this. But which children around, he was going to try his best not to say anything…which would improve to be a little difficult, he could already tell.
The [b]misty[/b] air which had gathered was starting to disperse, and soon he was staring Sasuke right in the face, both having glares that no one else on the other side would like to receive.
“Michael.” Sasuke muttered, the only form of greeting he could actually give to the other wolf, who just snorted and said something inaudible. However, Madeline just told him to ignore it, and although he continued to glare, the two moved – probably going to greet Ida and some of their own family and other kids, who had arrived.
“I hate him so much.” Michael muttered. “Wish I could hit him in the head with a [b]sledge[/b] – or maybe an [/b]ice skating[/b] boot, that might be more fun.” He just shook his head at his own words…right, gotta act nice for today – he didn’t want the kids getting upset and this turning into a disaster. He then looked to Ri, who was giving him another look, and he gave a slight growl.
“I’ll try not to ruin things.”

“Stupid Michael.” Sasuke growled, turning his head away from the other wolf, and he looked at Madeline as she just shook her head.
“You two should try to get along, you know ~”
“It’s not that easy, Maddie.” Sasu murmured, falling quiet as they reached where Ida and Pepper stood with their children. Spotting the two, Pepper chose wisely to retreat, not wanting to be caught in Sasuke’s line of fire since he always looked to be in a bad mood…then again, he always did. Ida on the other hand looked happy to see her parents, going to hug her mother before moving to her dad – who did try to resist, and with no success.
“Come on, it’s the festive season. Cheer up, just for this one outing.” Ida insisted, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
“Thing’s would be a little better if you hadn’t invited [i]him[/i]-“
“And leave Pepper’s family out? Now that’s not very fair…I’m just asking that you get along, for the sake of Austin and Tiny.” Ida said, and as if they knew, the two kids came over, Austin nearly crashing into their legs excitedly as he went to get cuddles from his grandparents.
“Try not to argue with these two around – they’re sensitive.” Ida added, and Sasuke gave his daughter a look – Maddie seemed to agree.
“I’ll try, just for this one time.” He mumbled, before forced to pick up Austin who clung and pulled his scarf happily, and Sasuke turned soft for a pup, booping his nose for a moment before saying he would go talk to Michael about trying not to let their tempers get the best of them this one time.
“But don’t get too excited, he might just storm off and start an argument anyway.” Sasuke said to the two, putting Austin down and ruffling Tiny’s hair gently, before looking around to find where Michael was at.

“He’s coming over.”
Michael turned his head at Ri’s voice, to indeed see Sasuke heading their way, and he growled slightly…Madeline didn’t seem to be following, and he crossed his arms…what did he want.
“Look, Michael.” Sasuke growled, eyes narrowing. “I’m not here to argue with you, alright.”
“Oh really? What are you doing now, then? Talking nicely?” Michael snapped, and Sasuke flattened his ears as Ri stepped back a little, his own growl growing louder.
“I don’t want to argue around the young kids, can’t you shut it just this once? Then you can have a go at me all you want.”
Michael shook his head. “No, we’re not getting along – the kids can cry if an argument starts, it’ll be your fault like it always is, I won’t take responsibility for it, no matter who you are.”
“Michael…” Ri seemed to agree – it might be best for the kids if no arguments happened this time. With a hard glare piercing through him, and his husband giving him a more gentle gaze, Michael then looked away from the ninja.
“Fine. But I won’t talk to you, at all.” Michael huffed, and Sasuke scowled and turned away, going to head back to his wife and daughter, calling behind him.
“You won’t have to, just keep your lousy mouth shut.”