1
"Roast Beast? Do we hunt?"
Jack paused and leered at Owen as he gasped with glee and Jack swaggered over to lean against the table, "Yes Luc. Yes. We hunt."
Luc made a sound of glee and Owen leaned in to whisper softly, "Don't tell the mates, it's tradition that it's a surprise."
Jack and Owen looked at each other with furtive glances, knowing full well Tosh and Ianto were going to kill them if they left for another bloody adventure but Luc was already reaching for his bow so they raced for the truck before anyone else saw. Of course Gray was already sitting in the back with his knife clutched in his hand.
The boys were on the hunt.
Ianto looked up as the truck roared out the gates and frowned, looking over at Tosh who was kneeling by a box, "Where are they going? I thought we were going to do the bloody decorations and w eneed to talk trees!"
"Maybe they went to get a real one?" she said and then sighed, "Owen went with them, I doubt it's a tree. You know he hates Christmas trees after that whole…one is trying to eat me…thing last year."
"Well, if they are late back I will kill them" Ianto said calmly as Rhiannon entered with another box, "Ah, that one is for your house Sissy, those are pink and silver."
"Oh!" she squealed with glee and Tosh smiled as she looked into the box and nodded, "Lovely."
"So, we have our colour themes?" Ianto asked with that authoritive stare and both women nodded happily as a frown started to form and Ianto looked around, "Where's Rhys and Andy? They were supposed to be represented here for this decoration committee."
"Well, I chose pink and silver." Rhiannon said with a smile, the box getting peeked into again.
"I chose red and gold" Tosh added, her own box overflowing and she knew this didn't include the lights they were going to put on their houses as well.
"And I was going to do the blue and silver theme but Andy asked for that, all Heddlu and all, but where are they?" Ianto sighed, "Instead I went for green and gold."
"Traditional, sounds lovely and really warm" Tosh soothed as she wondered what was going on, Looking out the window "There's Rhys, he is carrying some of the light boxes."
"Ah" Ianto relaxed, "The boys did say they wanted to unroll the strands to check the bulbs before they went up, no doubt they are covering the back lawn. Rhys is good with heights."
"Can we go see?" Rhia perked up, "I want to get the white whites"
"White whites?" Tosh asked.
"Off white, blue white, grey white, white white, yellow white" Ianto intoned, "There are different whites."
"OK" Tosh said slowly as Byrd entered with a large bell in her hands, ringing it gently.
"Tadda. It doesn't make a lot of noise" she frowned.
"It's a cow bell" Ianto sighed, "Dadda got it at the market and he is totally insane. It is nothing like a reindeer one."
"Do reindeer have bells?" she asked as her hands stilled, her head cocking to one side as a baby snuffled. She smiled and looked down at one, then crooned softly, "It's OK Blaine. I'm right here, Byrdie is right here."
"It's so sweet how she acts like they belong to her" Tosh said happily as the bell was handed to an eager Hero for a closer look, his eyes wide like he had been given a gift from the gods.
Ianto ducked his head and pretended to examine his slippers, "Well, I have rubber soles so let's go do the lights then maybe those men will be back by the time we are done, yeah?"
The women nodded and they rose to go examine all the pretty lights as Byrd settled on the floor with her harem…er…friends.
Dahlia looked up from her needlework and smiled softly as she watched the little ones all play, so sweet.
Like a little clowder of cats.
Ianto and the women spent the next few hours looking at lights and then heard the roar of the truck, turning to watch the mighty hunters return. It wasn't until they triumphantly dropped the back tray to reveal their prize that the real problem started.
Byrd looked at the sixteen pointer stag and started to scream with horror.
"You killed one, Daddy you killed one of Santa's deer, how could you!" she screamed, her hands flapping dramatically and she looked so much a Harkness as spittle flew that Ianto clapped a hand over his mouth to hide the involuntary snort.
"What? This is a deer, not a Reindeer!" Jack replied soothingly.
"Technically, we did kill it in the rain" Luc argued as Gray nodded his agreement, "We hadn't seen one for ages and it came out of the rain."
"Yeah, I think that means it is one" Gray agreed.
"I will never forgive you" Byrd snarled, "How could you!"
"But love…"
"Daddy, you killed Christmas!"