Marceline grinned down at the round, blue ball of dog dangling in the air, her cool fingers wrapped firmly around his tiny paws.
Jake and Lady were nervous about letting the Vampire Queen babysit, and with perfectly good reason! But each parent was busy helping out their best friend in some way shape or form, and while their spawn were growing quickly, they still couldn't be trusted.
Charlie and Viola were busy playing a game of helicopter-tag, in which both pups flew around like maniacs and tried to smack eachother out of the air. Super fun!
Kim Kil Whan and Jake Jr. — Whom hadn't creeped the Immortal out in the least due to the fact she was weird in her own certain way and had seen plenty of freakier stuff in all her thousand years — were trying to figure out who could change the most things into the most different colors. Also super fun!
That only left T.V., the plucky if not vague oldest child. He reminded her of Finn.
They were both pudgy, blue, and had their own random way of thinking things out and getting out of sticky situations. This time, though, the little mutt was at a loss, paws wrapped around the bulk that was his entire 'corndog' body.
"What's wrong, half-pint? Did you lose your bone or something?" She smirked, plopping in the grass beside him and putting a hand on his horn so she could roll him around in a little circle. There was a growl of protest and he swatted her hand away, standing up, putting some distance between them, and sitting back down.
"Aw, c'mon…I was only playing around. Tell Marcy what's wrong." She tried again.
T.V. crossed his arms in a pout, puffed cheeks making it look all the more adorable, and he finally sighed in defeat. "…Am…Am I fat…?" He mumbled sadly.
"Are you…? What? Who in the Nightosphere told you that?" The Queen was caught completely off guard, picking him up and holding him directly in front of her face so she could see him better. "Spill, dawg."
"N-Nobody!" The boy stuttered. He'd only been around the Vampire a couple of times and he thought she was pretty cool, but he'd never seen her like this.
"Then why on Ooo would you ask me if you're fat? You're not fat. You wanna know who's fat? My dad is fat. My dad is so fat that when I was a kid, he ate my fries and then asked me to buy some more just for him!" She pulled a goofy face to lighten the mood and hopefully cheer the little self-conscious thing up.
It worked because his stub of a tail started wagging, but it wasn't too long and it fell limp once more. He looked over at his littermates and sighed heavily. Much to heavy for a kid. "It's just…Everybody else…Even Jake Jr.! They can fly…I can't…"
"What's flying got to do with — Oh…You think you're fat because you can't…Listen, dude, that's got nothing to do with it. I Vampire promise you —"
T.V.'s button nose wrinkled in confusion. "Vampire Promise? Is that even a real thing?" He asked, and she shushed him. "Totally a real thing and don't change the subject." The pup licked her finger and she set him back down on the grass, crossing her arms. "Every one of you little runts is special in your own way. Got it?"
"Well…Yeah. That's why Jake Jr. is the way she is. Right?" He tipped his head.
"Right. So don't you ever forget that! And you probably can't fly because you're not old enough yet. I didn't learn how to when I was turned into a Vampire. You know how old I was when I was bit?" She leaned down and muttered into his ear.
"No. How old?" He whispered back, interest peaked.
"I was eighteen years old. I was practically all grown up!" The Queen confessed, pulling away and throwing her arms up over dramatically. The puppy gasped.
"Whaaaa?! B-But dog's only live to be that old! I don't wanna be an old man dog like Pop when I learn how to fly!" He wailed and Marceline slapped her forehead in regret. That didn't exactly pan out the way she'd thought it would.
"No — No — Listen, kid, what I'm trying to say is just because you can't now, doesn't mean you won't be able to later. Understand?" She put a hand on his head to reassure him, the other scratching under his chin like she knows all dogs like.
"Okay. I understand. I'll get big and strong and practice and then I'll be the best flier of them all!" He barked proudly, running around her in a wide circle with his paws held out as far as they could go. Just like wings. The girl grinned and snatched him up under those wing-paws, holding him up so he could feel the wind.
"Why don't we start now?"