St. Lupon's Day
by ~megers67
Dr. Delbert Doppler steadied Delilah as they approached a fair sized house on the edge of what could be the only "city" that Montressor had. Though even that was considered a stretch of the imagination by most. As he eased his mulebeast towards the stable, he heard some voices quickly approaching him.
"Uncle Delbert! Uncle Delbert!"
He smiled to himself as he climbed off of the rider's seat and unhooked Delilah from the carriage. It wasn't long before he felt four pairs of arms wrap around his waist eagerly. He didn't always get on with the children he came across, but he had to admit that he had a soft spot for his nieces and nephews. "Well it is certainly a pleasure to see you again children." He hugged each of the six year-olds in turn, making sure not to spend more time with any one of them.
As he hugged the last child, he noticed a particularly enterprising nephew search his vehicle. "Jacob, those are for later!" He took the bag of wrapped gifts from under the driver's seat before they could be found and held it out of the children's reach. The sight of the bag of gifts was enough to excite them once more. It was St. Lupon's Day after all. It wasn't the religious holiday that it was in its antiquity, but the gift-giving tradition remained strong as ever.
"Alright, leave your uncle alone." A raven-haired felinid appeared in the doorway. Her apron was stained with the various aspects of dinner she had been helping to prepare all day long. She ushered the reluctant children back towards the house to the relief of the astronomer.
"Your children are as energetic as ever, Helen." He set the bag on the ground so he could hug his sister-in-law properly. "I assume that I'm the last to arrive?"
"Right as always Delbert." She smiled and returned his greeting before pulling back. "Now, come inside and I'll get you a nice cup of tea." Before Delbert could respond, he was ushered inside just like the kids were.
"Alright Helen, alright." He couldn't help but chuckle as he managed to grab a hold of the bag of gifts. The merriment was short-lived, however since crossing the threshold meant he had to socialize with his brothers. He didn't hate them; should the need arise he would help them in an instant. Growing up they hadn't been exactly... kind. At least that was one way of putting it. They have of course matured since then, but the scars remained and now he had to get through an evening pretending that he was enjoying the inane chatter.
Like clockwork, he heard the booming laugh of Raymond, the largest of his siblings. He was a strong man, but wasn't huge. He was simply larger than his small-to-average-sized siblings. His dirty blonde hair was kept short and close to his scalp, which only served to exemplify the simple tastes he had always had. It was most assuredly befitting a port merchant. Delbert rounded the corner and finally entered the living room to see Raymond and Christopher sitting comfortably on the couch and armchairs that were spread about the room.
"Delbert! About time! We were wondering if you were going to make it!" Raymond stood to greet his brother with a firm handshake. Maybe a little too firm. Delbert did his best to keep a reasonable face and contemplated whether or not his brother thought it was some sort of contest.
"Yes, there were a few delays, but we made it here in one piece." When his brother released him to return to the armchair he had previously occupied, Delbert discreetly shook out his hand, opening and closing it experimentally. "In any case, your house looks as marvelous as always Chris."
"Says the man living in Gran's old manor!" He laughed and encouraged Delbert to join them. Christopher had light brown hair and a closely trimmed beard to match. He had a lean but sturdy build that wasn't exactly muscular. Leaning back, he called to the kitchen without leaving his seat. "Judy! Bert's here!"
A heavily pregnant blonde felinid bustled out of the kitchen with a tray of drinks in hand. "Oh, I know dear, Helen told me. I trust that your trip went well then?"
The astrophysicist quickly got up to take the tray from her, helpfully. "It went quite well despite the delays. How are you doing? When are you due?" Setting the tray down on the coffee table, he took a cup of freshly brewed tea. He chose not to sit down so that she may instead.
"Oh I'm just fine, Delbert. They really do love to kick though, especially at night. You're going to have new nieces and nephews within the month!" She took the opportunity to take a seat next to her husband without even bothering to remove her apron that she had been cooking all day in.
Suddenly, Delbert felt something hit him playfully. "Finally!" A female voice exclaimed from behind him. "Really Delbert, you need to be more punctual or at least leave earlier!" Turning around he saw a thin brunette with a spatula in her hand. She wore an annoyed expression before it melted into a smile, unable to stay mad at him. She flung her arms around him and laughed. "It's been too long you know."
"It really has." Delbert genuinely smiled for what felt like the first time that evening as he hugged Melissa. He was always closer to his sister than his brothers. He was about to say more but was cut off by the ringing of a timer from the kitchen.
Judith, who had just gotten comfortable, sighed. "Well girls, it looks like it's back to the kitchen." With some difficulty she lifted herself up from the couch and waddled back to the kitchen.
Concerned, Delbert watched her leave. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?" She was far along in her pregnancy and personally felt that she should rest, especially given the average size of Canathidian litters.
Melissa watched his gaze and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, Delbert, BUT the men will be washing the dishes after dinner." Growing up with three brothers, she had learned to become outspoken and stubborn. She wasn't going to let her sister-in-law over work herself. Not on HER watch. She made a point to glare at Christopher before the man could protest and went into the kitchen with Helen.
"Ha! Bertie! Sometimes I think you're a felinid stuck in a canid body!" Raymond laughed at his assuredly witty observation as Christopher chuckled in amusement.
"There's nothing wrong in at least offering to help." He did his best to hide the bitterness towards the comment. He knew his brother was just joking, but Delbert never really appreciated his humor. He sat down in a vacant armchair with his tea and took in its warmth. There was an awkward silence before he finally managed to find one of his pocket small-talk conversation topics. They were never his strong suit. "So Ray, how's the store these days?"
"Well it's doing alright, but it's certainly seen better days. Supply prices have gone up since the pirates have gotten more ambitious." He continued to ramble on about lost shipments, taxes, smaller profit margins, and competing businesses, but Delbert tuned it out with a practiced ease. All he had to do was nod at appropriate times and let his brother talk. Personally he never found any of this interesting, but it occupied the time well enough. He would feel guilty about the deception, but he would bet money on the fact that his brothers did the same when he talked of his own profession so he wasn't particularly bothered.
A tall, darker canid with an athletic build and stiff pointed ears emerged from the hallway. "Delbert! When did you get here?" He gave his brother in-law a firm handshake.
"I just got in actually." He got along well with his sister's husband. There were times he felt like Allan was more of a brother to him than his own blood relations. Allan even helped him move into his mansion and the man had only started dating Melissa at the time. He had to keep pestering his brothers into finally agreeing to help and Christopher didn't even show up at all.
Before any kind of conversation could continue however, yelling was heard from another room down the hall. Two young boys came racing through the living room. "Jake c'mon! Give it back!" Jacob held what appeared to be a notebook just out of his brother's reach, making faces at his smaller brother.
Delbert watched the oddly reminiscent scene with growing concern before turning to their father who made no move to intervene. He sat there awkwardly, wanting so much to break up the fight in front of him, but they weren't his children. Would he be crossing some sort of line he didn't know about? Maybe he can talk to his brother. "Ray? Aren't you going to do something?"
"Oh they're fine, they can work it out."
Delbert didn't take his eyes off the escalating confrontation. "Are you sure? It's getting a bit rough don't you think?"
"They're just playing around Bert, just like when we were kids." The canid started a conversation with Christopher, content at letting the boys be.
Just like when we were kids? Raymond must have a vastly different version of events than he did because Delbert certainly wouldn't have called it 'playing'. His thoughts were cut off by a yelp and he sees Peter curled up on the ground and Jacob's hand balled up in a fist looking satisfied. Delbert looked around at the other adults. Raymond and Christopher were talking, and Allan shared his own uneasiness, but was doing nothing. Remembering back to his childhood, he recalled all the times the adults sat there unmovable as Ray harassed him. He wasn't going to be that adult any longer. Standing up he approached the boys. "Jacob, that is quite enough." He held out his hand for the notebook which the boy reluctantly gave up. "Now apologize to your brother."
"But I was just messin' around!"
The scholar furrowed his brows in a warning. "Jacob..."
"Fine, fine! Sorry Petey." He looked up at his uncle wanting to be released.
Doppler waved the boy off and helped Peter to his feet. He saw a cut on the young canid's lip. "Let's get that cleaned up shall we?" Grabbing a rag, he lead the boy to the restroom and sat him down. He wet the rag and knelt down in front of him. "This will sting a little bit." The boy hissed as Delbert pressed the damp rag to the cut. After a few moments, the bleeding stopped. "There, I don't think we even need to bandage that."
"Uncle Delbert?" Peter rubbed his lip with the back of his hand.
"Hm?" The astronomer tossed the rag into the sink not knowing where else to put it.
"Thanks for saving me."
He smiled softly and knelt back down in front of his nephew. "Don't dwell on it. Oh! I forgot to return this to you." He handed the boy a worn-out notebook.
The boy's eyes lit up with delight. "Thank you!" He gladly took the notebook and flipped through it. Delbert saw in its pages sketches and drawings; no space was wasted. Some pages however were torn to which Peter frowned. "He did it again..."
"Your brother I assume?" Delbert carefully took the notebook to inspect the damage. After a few moments of contemplation he finally spoke again. "This should be an easy enough fix."
"You can fix it?" Peter's eyes went wide excitedly.
"Of course I can. There's a trick to it that I find works best, but I'll show you after dinner." He continued past the damaged pages to look through the drawings. "I knew you liked to draw, but I never realized how much talent you have."
"Y-You really think so?" He smiled proudly before frowning. "Wait, you're not just saying that 'cuz you're my uncle are you?"
"No! I truly mean it! Here look." He turned the notebook around and pointed to a picture of a girl. "That's your sister Laura right? It looks just like her." He pointed to another figure he didn't recognize. "Now who's that?"
Peter climbed into his uncle's lap so they can look through his sketchbook together. "Oh that's my best friend Alex!" They spent the next ten minutes talking about the various pictures and sketches he had made before the boy finally asked what had been on his mind. "Uncle Delbert? Why didn't dad stop Jake?"
There was an uneasy pause as he tried to decide what best to say. "Well, I'd imagine he's simply doing what our father did when yours picked on me."
"Wait, Dad was like Jake?"
"Eerily similar in fact." He pet the boy's hair gently. "Do you have anyone you can talk to? Your mother or your sisters?"
"Well I talk to Laura... but I haven't really told mom." He looked down at his sketchbook in silence.
"I wish I can be there for you more often. But how about if I talk to your mother? If you can't go to your father, you'll at least be able to go to her ok?"
Grinning widely, Peter hugged his uncle tight. "Thank you Uncle Delbert!"
Hugging him back, he smiled warmly. "It's the least I can do." He pulled back and ruffled the boy's hair. "Now, I think dinner is just about ready. You should wash up alright?" Like clockwork, he heard Helen announce that it was dinner time. Picking the boy up out of his lap, he stood and opened the bathroom door and they joined the others for dinner.