[Pokechu12]

closing this at around 8pm GMT tomorrow! Please have your stories done by then if possible. ovo

[Pokechu12]

-snip-

" Mmmm, what a great way to kick off the end of a great event! This story was a cool insight into all these oddly amazing wolves lives, to which I hope go as well as the start of the party seemed to! The relationship between Echo and Tone Rion in the beginning is also very sweet with Echo comforting her mother's seemingly greatest secrets and fear. nwn <3 A whopping 1,350 tokens for you! "

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."

" Ah, a nice way to spend the new year by finding a new acquaintance much like yourself! Even if you did have to bump into a... meaner wolf first, heh. ^^; 278 tokens to you!

[center]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

" Hmm, so that's 55 for the word count and 30 for the prompt words... 75 tokens! Should you have the time to finish this story before the event closes completely, do message me, I'd love to read the rest! [As wellas give you the rest of your tokens should you do so.] Though already this looks to be shaping out good, Edwyn is quite the solitary type, eh? "

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.”

" Ah Ruby and Sapphire are such an adorable pair, as well as their parents! It's a shame that the other Red shouted at the kids, though all seemed to end reasonably well in the end. As for the family gathering, I'm really hoping that a fight didn't break out between Michael and Sasuke for the sake of the children. ^^" 1240 tokens for both stories!

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And with that, this concludes this part of the holiday event! I've given out all my tokens I'm afraid, and whilst it's been a blast, my artsy friend and I better be heading home now.... ;w; Though I hope that you all had a great time writing all these amazing stories! All of them surely put a smile on my face. <3 And without further adieu, goodbye for now! "

Thank you for joining me during the month this was running, everyone who participated once or more can receive 35 tokens as a participation gift! Thank you all, for participating and dealing with my mishaps. ^w^

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Thank you fro still counting mine! I still have half a mind to finish it but I'm not sure I have time, though thank you fro the prompt! Gave me a bit of a character update for Edwyn with the "completed" version of the story I did not finish. cx