Wolf Cub
Chapter 1 - The Family
"And the pirate was slain by the female pilot," I spoke calmly to a little grey cub who made a yawn. I could see from his eyes that it wouldn't take long before he would fall asleep. I should finish the story before he slumbered. "She hit him to the chest, and the pirate knew he was down under her feet. Her words captured his heart, and soon it was a pair that no one ever imagined... The end... Well... I hope you're ready for tomorrow."
The little cub smiled at me. "Yup, I am! But Uncle Leon and Uncle Panther and Juan will be there too, right?"
"Yeah, they will be there."
"Cool! Umm... Good night, dad. Tell mom 'good night' too."
"Night, pup," I replied softly. When he had rested himself on his pillow, I pulled up his blanket to cover him, stroke the fluff of his hair, and kissed him to the cheek. I closed his night lamp and shut his door. I then walked down to the stairs and headed to the living room, opening up the monitor.
After flipping the remote repeatedly, I heard a hover-car parking at the driveway. Finally, she returned home. The door opened, and a light-pink-furred rabbit entered. "Hey! Sorry I'm late. Too many student papers and some late submissions got in the way. You shouldn't have to wait for me."
"It's all right. I won't sleep without you beside me in bed now would I?" I told her as I approached her. I gave her a kiss and she gave me one. "He's already asleep and well... he is quite ready for tomorrow. Quite excited, to be exact." She didn't reply until we climbed up the stairs and entered our room.
"Still having thoughts about him going to kindergarten?" she asked while dressing into her sleeping gown. "Wolf, I thought we had already talked about this. He is already five years old. I think it's time for him to begin education."
I put on my white shirt and sleeping pajamas and answered, "I know that it's for his own good... It's just that... well... I spent most of the time with him around the house. It's just hard for me to adjust. I'll miss him playing at the lawn or at the living room..." I lay myself on the mattress, in which she also followed. "But yeah, I guess I'll deal with it."
"Well, well, this isn't really the Wolf I used to know," she giggled, poking my nose. "Normally you'd like being alone." She was right - I used to like being alone to clear my thoughts.
"That was until I married you and had our little pup," I told her. She really did change me. And our son permanently made me a different person. I looked at her before kissing her. "In any case, Leon will pick them up tomorrow and drop them off to school by eight. Will's awake by then."
"Oh, by the way, I hope you didn't teach your son on beating up people."
"Huh? What do you mean by that? I told him to fight back only when it's necessary... Although by the looks of it, he wouldn't be doing any fighting!" I laughed.
"Wolf!" she exclaimed. "I just said that because I heard that he is going to be classmates with Marcus McCloud."
"I see... Well, I haven't told him how I don't pretty much get along with Fox," I assured her, "and I have no plans of involving him to that. He's his own person." The rivalry after all, just involved me and Fox, not our sons.
"That's good to hear." She turned off the night lamp and said, "Good night, Wolf."
"Night, Lucy."
It was really a bit hard for me to adjust, really. Once a wolf had become more acquainted with his companions, he would have a hard time parting with them. Pack mates, after all. It took me a while to get used to it since I was able get over the idea that Star Wolf would technically stop their activities. Panther became a family of his own with his adopted son, Juan. Leon, still single, preferred to be a sly bouncer for some club, but still kept in touch with us. When I had married Lucy, I knew it would be a different life for me. And when Will came to our lives, I knew that it would be a fresh new journey for the once called Star Wolf.
I woke up the moment the alarm blared off. Still lying on the bed, I decided not to wake up my wife, but then I recalled her becoming a hyper when she woke up fifteen minutes late, complaining that she should had woke up earlier, so I might as well wake her.
"Morning, Lucy. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Mmm... Wolf...?"
"You want me for breakfast?" I chuckled. "Will's gonna be up an hour later and you're gonna go to work soon, so we better prepare." I nibbled her ears so that she would snap out, but she seemed to be a bit groggy.
"Oh Wolf... Oh... wait... It's...?"
"Seven."
"Oh dear!" She quickly popped out from bed and headed to the bathroom. As expected, she was a bit of a time-conscious person.
An hour and a half had passed and we were all in the dining room. I had cooked pancakes for everyone, with some bacon for meat. I looked at Will - I was still not used at him all dressed up for school. I better get used to though. Five days a week. Oh, and Lucy was ready to leave.
"All right, Will, you know what to do okay? Behave at school. Make new friends. Have fun!" Lucy told to the cub as she kissed her to the forehead. "And you... stay out of trouble mister!" I grinned as I kissed her to the lips. "See you later at dinner, boys!" She took the hover-car and left the house. Will and I were left at the dinner table, looking at each other intently.
"Dad... Could you still show me what you looked like with your eyepatch?!" the little cub asked while pouring syrup onto his pancake while chewing bacon. I really wanted to show it to him, but I realized that my old eyepatch wasn't around. It was probably back up in the room, but I knew Leon would arrive any minute now so I decided not to get it for now.
"Not today, pup. Maybe next time," I smiled back while rubbing his curled hair. I wiped off the syrup mess off of his muzzle. "Now, when you eat at school, you better not mess yourself, okay?"
"Yes sir!" he replied with a smile. I would be missing that smile.
A horn was heard from outside. "Looks like it's them. Come, pup, let's get you to school." I picked up his small bag and walked with him until we reached the front yard. We saw Leon driving a hover-van with Panther and the smaller black panther - his adopted son Juan, who was waving at Will.
"Ready to go, eh?" Leon asked as Panther opened the door for us.
"Yup, we're ready Uncle Leon!" my son replied back enthusiastically. I soon found him being occupied with Juan, who was showing him the panther's packed food.
"Juan, don't open your lunch box until it's recess," Panther told him, making the little feline blush and smile. "So... how did you handle this?"
"Huh?"
"I know it took you a while before you fully agreed to send your kid to school. I know I did," he told me. It looked like we both faced the same minor dilemmas. "I was afraid to let of him, but I realized that Juan needs education for his own growth."
"Yeah," I replied. "It's still hard to let go though. I'm used at him being around the house when I am not around. At least you won't worry about him when you're at work. You don't have to bring him to Krystal's. She already has a child to worry about after all."
"It seems so."
"Aww... dad, does this mean I won't be able to see Star Fox again?" Juan suddenly meowed. "It's fun there."
As Panther tried to reason out with his son, my pup simply looked confused. I hadn't really made him interact with any of the Star Fox crew. Granted, he knew about them, but the only time Star Fox had seen him was when he was only 1 year old. Maybe this kindergarten would be his first time?
"All right, we're here."
Leon stopped the hover-van. The little panther and wolf jumped out quite quickly and dashed into the small building. Panther and I carried their bags and handed them to the two.
"Be good, Little Juan! Papa's gonna be waiting for you tonight!" Panther said to his young cub, while rubbing their cheeks. Juan hugged him before going inside.
"And you too, pup! Show them what you got!" I kissed my son's forehead. I saw him nod with a big smile before entering the building as well.
We both walked into the van. "There they go..."
Leon simply chuckled, "Well, it seems like it's not just the kids who are growing up."