Idea credit – Nekogirl001
Well, this little series I've started needs very little explanation – indeed, the plots should all seem very familiar to you. The whole point of this is Gordon, Waffle, Blik, and Katilda telling episode stories to Beth, Marie, and Daniel – Blik and Katilda's kittens from Daddy Blik, if you'll recall. And that's pretty much it. Short 'n' sweet 'n' simple. Forty chapters of familiarity. By the way, this won't all be done in one shot – this is for when my brain is dead and I can't make any progress on anything else. I find that when I want to write but can't do anything plot-heavy, doing something light and fluffy helps get me into shape. Therefore, exercise! Splee! I plan to add my own little back story to each of them in order to keep it more interesting – so, basically, my take on something familiar and then my own little story. Kind of like a continuation of "From Kittens To Cats" until that took a pit stop in Depressingville.
Also, note for this one - the flashback for this came from old notes for "From Kittens To Cats". It was a chapter that ended up dropped, but I liked it so much that I tweaked and returned it. DELETED SCENE YAY.
STORYTIMES
Challenge: "Memories"
Timeline: Does it matter?
Required Reading: None
Rating: G
"Here, mousey mousey mousey..." A chubby black kitten crouched outside of a mouse hole, a wicked grin on his face. "C'mon, mousey mousey... come on out... I won't do much... just wanna eat ya..." His tail waved frantically. "Just wanna catch ya and eat ya and feel your delicious mousey meat melt in my mouth..."
"Danny?"
"ACK!" The kitten went rigid in shock from the voice behind him. All of his fur stood up straight, including his tail, which puffed up to twice its width.
"Aw, what, did poor Danny get scared?" the voice continued.
"Ugh... hello, Beth," Danny grumbled, his fur slowly returning to normal after being assured that there was no threat. "What do you want?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the mouse hole.
"Mom said it's dinner time," the blonde-furred kitten said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm hunting mice. What does it look like?" Danny asked, not moving.
"You're going to ruin dinner."
"Don't scold me, you're just my sister," Danny snapped. "Is Uncle Gordo cooking tonight?"
"Yeah."
"I'd rather have mice, thanks."
"Like you'd ever catch one..." Beth walked in front of her brother, between him and the mouse hole, and crouched down, her paws on her knees.
Danny looked up at her, his yellow eyes narrowed. "Of course I will! I'll catch plenty!"
"Really? Never saw you catch even one," Beth replied.
"Neither have you!" Danny retorted.
"That's because I haven't tried yet," Beth explained. "You, however, have been trying all day every day for the past week, and nothing. Absolutely nothing. Give up and come to dinner."
"I'm not eating haggis again," Danny said. "Now move."
"OK, I'll move... and so will you." Beth walked around behind Danny, grabbed his tail, and tugged.
"BETH!" he snapped. "Beth, that hurts, stop that!"
Beth ignored her brother's cries and pulled again, actually managing to pull Danny back away from the hole a little bit. "Why should I stop? It's working!"
"Cut that out!" Danny continued yelling, making no effort whatsoever to move on his own volition.
"Then come to dinner before mom and dad scream at both of us!"
"Ugh... fine," Danny grumbled, pushing himself to his feet. "Drop my tail and I'll go." Once Beth complied, Danny headed down the hall toward the kitchen without a word.
"Oh, Danny..." Beth chuckled, shaking her head. "You never will learn, will you... when mom tells me to get you to do something, I WILL manage..." Satisfied that she had gotten Danny to move, she headed towards the kitchen herself.
"But Blik, this thing is ITCHY..."
"Yeah, well, if you're going to come with us, you're going to wear it. End of story."
Meanwhile, Blik and Waffle stood in the kitchen, arguing as usual. Both of them were dressed for an event; in Waffle's case, perhaps for the second time in his life.
"I haven't worn this since I almost got accepted into Special Meadows..." Waffle said, frowning down at his white suit and tugging at the bow tie.
"It's the only appropriate thing you've got," Blik said. "You'll wear it and you'll like it."
"But I didn't wear it last time and they let me in..." Waffle protested, reaching to scratch the spot on his neck where the tag of the shirt rubbed against his skin.
"You're NOT wearing that stupid hat, Waffle! Geez, it's hard enough to believe that you're the first cat in Bakersfield to have ever felled Squeakus... it's even harder to believe when you're wearing a BEANIE."
"But I like my beanie," Waffle said. "It makes me feel important. You get to wear your important hat..."
"My important hat doesn't make me look like an idiot," Blik said, reaching up and slightly adjusting his captain hat.
"At least you don't have to wear a stupid suit!" Waffle whined.
"If you're going to keep complaining, just think about how lucky you are that you're not wearing THAT," Blik said, pointing over by the stove. Waffle looked where Blik had indicated; Gordon was standing at the stove, clad in full knight's regalia, oblivious to his brothers' conversation.
"It does look uncomfortable..." Waffle conceded, "...but Gordon LIKES his armor! Just as you like your captain hat and I LIKE MY BEANIE!"
"What are you two arguing about now?"
Waffle and Blik turned to the doorway to see the new speaker. Katilda leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed. Next to her stood a female kitten with black fur and brown hair. Unlike Katilda, her hair wasn't tied at all; she simply let it fall down to her feet.
"Hey, Katilda," Blik greeted. "You say that like Waffle and I argue all the time."
"We DO argue all the time," Waffle pointed out. "Well, actually, you just yell at me and I complain a little bit but then I just go and do whatever you were yelling at me to do, but-"
"Zip it," Blik snapped; predictably, Waffle obeyed.
"So, what WERE you guys arguing about, anyway?" Katilda asked.
"Waffle got picked to do some speech at the Mouse Hunters' Ball tonight," Blik answered, "and I'm trying to explain to him that if he's going to be doing something like that, he has to dress the part, but NO, he wants to wear some stupid hat."
"What kind of hat?" asked the kitten.
"It's my important hat... it's a beanie!" Waffle said, beaming proudly. "It's really cool, Marie, has a propeller and everything! I love my hat..."
"People looked at us like we were NUTS last time, Waffle," Blik said. "Not to mention that they kept coming up to me and asking what your problem was. Maybe you don't have a reputation to uphold, but I sure do!"
"Blik is right, you know, Waffle," Gordon said without turning away from the stove.
"Since when have you been listening?" Blik asked.
"The whole time," Gordon said simply. "Waffle, I know you love the hat dearly, but you can wear it around the house anytime... but tonight, you've been given an honor!" Gordon turned around, hopped down from his stool, and put his fist to his chest.
"Great, another honor rant..." Blik groaned and rolled his eyes, but his expression quickly changed from exasperation to shock. He started ahead, his eyes widened. "Uh, Gordo-"
"For your achievement, Waffle, you've been selected!" Gordon continued on, ignoring Blik's complaint.
"Uncle Gordon?" Marie started timidly, but she too was ignored.
"You're part of an elite few!" Gordon continued on.
"Gor... Gor, turn around, your-" Waffle started, but didn't manage to stop Gordon's speech.
"One of the top hunters in Bakersfield!"
"Gordon, I know you like these speeches, but-" Katilda, too, failed to snap Gordon out of it.
"Not many cats are chosen for this, Waffle! Make the most of it! You may not like the suit now, but wait until tonight, pictures will be taken, and when you see those pictures of you looking your best-"
"COOL!" Danny exclaimed, having appeared in the doorway behind his mother in the middle of Gordon's speech. Beth stood behind him, giggling.
"Eh... what's 'cool', exactly, Danny?" Gordon asked, confused. "Normally you don't seem into my speeches..."
"I don't think he cared about the speech," Beth said. "We've just never seen dinner burst into flames before."
"What are you – GAH!" Gordon cried, turning to his meal. The liquid in the pot had begun bubbling over, and whatever solids Gordon had placed inside had caught fire.
"FIRE! FIRE!" Gordon continued squealing as he darted across the room for the fire extinguisher. There was nothing the others could do; before they could react, Gordon was already spraying the extinguisher's fluids at the stove, still screaming.
"...so," Beth started after a few seconds of no one saying anything. "Do we still have those microwave pizzas in the freezer?"
Approximately an hour later, all seven cats were sitting around the table, each with their own pizza in front of them. Gordon had doctored his with an unidentified meat product and several spices; the rest simply had pepperoni.
"Thanks for getting Uncle Gordon to talk so much, Uncle Waffle," Danny said before taking a huge bite out of a slice of his pizza and washing it down with a gulp of root beer. "I really didn't want to eat haggis stew, or whatever he was making."
"If you'd just try it..." Gordon started to say, but gave up, knowing he wasn't likely to change his nephew's mind.
"Where are you guys going again?" Beth asked. "I know it's something to do with mousing, but..."
"A bunch of mousers go, stand around, talk, eat some finger foods, a couple of accomplished mousers give speeches, there's an awards ceremony..." Blik listed off the night's events.
Beth slightly cringed. "Sounds pretty stuffy, if you ask me."
"It's the kind of thing you really can't appreciate until you're older," Gordon said, biting into his own dinner. A glob of sauce dropped onto his armor.
"Why did you guys take up mousing?" Marie asked as Gordon wiped at the stain on his outfit.
"Our mom taught us," Blik said. "Well, me, anyway. I, being a good brother, passed what I knew down to Gordon and Waffle."
"It wasn't just you, I helped Waffle, too..." Gordon stopped what he was doing for a few seconds to point that out, and then resumed his cleaning attempt.
"Whatever," Blik blew him off.
"Wasn't the first mouse you tried to catch Squeakus himself?" Waffle asked Blik. Blik shuddered.
"Ugh, don't REMIND me..."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that!" Gordon said, finally through. "How did that go, exactly? Besides the obvious?"
"I REALLY don't want to talk about this!" Blik snapped.
"But we all want to know!" Katilda said. "Don't you, kids?" Marie, Beth, and Daniel all chimed in excitedly.
"Yeah!"
"I wanna know, too!"
"Tell us about Squeakus!"
"All right, all right, fine," Blik grumbled, putting his half-eaten slice of pizza back on his plate. "It was the same day mom started teaching me how to hunt..."
"Silence and stillness... that's the key," whispered the brown mother cat, crouched in what was otherwise complete quiet. Aside from two cats, the entire house was completely deserted. The two sat in hunting position on the living room carpet, with no sound except for a faint clock tick and the mother's whispering. Moving as little as possible, she turned her head to look at her son. The little black kitten was crouched identically to his mother, but his tail was waving wildly, a wicked grin on his face.
"Stillness," Audrey repeated. "Mice are skittish and will flee at the slightest movement. Try to keep your tail still."
"Aw, but mom..." Blik complained in a harsh whisper. "I can't! I'm too excited! I'm actually gonna catch a mouse today!"
"You won't if you're fidgety," Audrey pointed out. "Now, once you're completely still and you're certain the mouse doesn't see you, you move forward just a bit, like this..." Audrey extended one paw all the way, waited a few seconds, then moved the rest of her body forward. "Do it slowly. Go too fast and you'll be caught. Now, go on, you try."
Blik nodded and repeated his mother's movements. Due to his small size, even for his age, it took him a couple tries before he was finally next to his mother. "Like that?" he asked her.
Audrey nodded. "And then, when you're close enough... you wait... and when the time is just right... you POUNCE!" At the word "pounce", Audrey leaped forward as if she was jumping on something; however, there was nothing to catch. She simply landed on the carpet. "Now, if I was actually hunting something, it'd be right under my front two paws. That's how you're supposed to land. Pretend the mouse is about... here," she said, tapping a spot on the floor with her paw. Blik nodded, leaned back a little bit, and sprung. Unfortunately for him, he miscalculated the jump; he landed past the point and slid a few more inches forward.
"...I missed," Blik said, a vacant look in his eyes. "I missed."
"Well, it was your first try-" Audrey started to say.
"I MISSED!" Blik shouted. "I can't believe I missed! I wasn't supposed to! How am I supposed to be a world champion mouser if I'm just going to miss the pounce?"
"Relax, Blik, relax," Audrey urged. "You're not going to get it perfect your first try."
"Well, I'm supposed to," Blik pouted. "I'm Mr. Blik! I'm supposed to be able to do this!"
"We've talked about this," Audrey said. "Narcissism will get you nowhere. What you have to do is PRACTICE. Let's try again... pounce here," she instructed, indicating another spot on the floor. Blik reared back, sat for a few moments, and leaped. Again he misjudged the jump; Audrey cringed as her son went flying into an end table. It was only luck that prevented the plant on the table from crashing to the ground from the impact.
"It'd be easier if I actually had something to chase," Blik said. "I'm gonna go upstairs and get Gomez." Audrey reached and grabbed his tail before he could make it very far.
"No, you're not," she said simply.
"Aw, c'mon, Waffle's out with Gordon, Edna, and Hovis, he'd never know..." Blik pleaded. "I want to actually chase something!"
"You're not using Gomez."
Blik sat and thought for a moment. "What if I used another newt? One that isn't Waffle's favorite?"
"No. I asked Edna, Hovis, and your brothers to go to the park for a while so I could teach you without any interruptions, and they didn't have any problems with it. The last thing they need when they come home is to find out you accidentally killed one of Waffle's newts."
"Fine," Blik grumbled. "Fine, I won't use a newt."
"Good," Audrey said, letting go of his tail.
"I'll just go look for mice myself!" he said excitedly, running off like a shot as soon as his mother let go.
"BLIK! WAIT-" Audrey called, but he simply wasn't listening.
Blik spent the next hour wandering the halls of the house, keeping his head close to the floor.
"Mouse hole, mouse hole, mouse hole..." he muttered to himself. "C'mon, it's a big house... there's got to be a mouse hole somewhere..." He went through the bedroom hall for a third time, keeping an even closer eye on the wall.
"Is this one?" he asked himself upon encountering a crack in the wall. "Open up!" he shouted, banging his fisted paw against the wall. "C'mon, mice, I know you're in the wall SOMEWHERE... come out, you cowards!" He stopped knocking after about fifteen seconds without any result. "OK, stay in there, then! That means I win! You're all cowards! You're afraid of the up-and-coming champion of mouse hunting, MR. BLIK!" he cried happily, giggling to himself. "I won and I didn't even have to work for it! I won! They knew I'd win! That's why they didn't even try!"
"Yes... so you did. Congratulations, cat," came an unknown, high pitched voice.
"Wha-?" Blik looked around frantically for the source of the speaker.
"Was just congratulating you, champion mouse hunter."
"Who said that?! Where are you?!"
"Behind you," the voice said. "You may have to look down... though not too much, since you're kind of close to the ground anyway, aren't you, tiny?"
Blik whipped around and finally noticed who was speaking to him. A small, blue mouse was standing against the wall, one hand propping him up. "Hello there. Mr. Blik, was it?"
"So you decided to face me," Blik hissed. "You were foolish to come out."
"So if I come out I'm a fool, but if I stay inside I'm a coward?" the mouse asked. "Now that's not very fair."
"I'm a cat and you're a mouse. I'm not supposed to be fair." He crouched into hunting position. "May want to run now, mouse."
"Hm... no," the mouse said. "No, I don't think I need to." He stepped away from the wall and sat in the middle of the hall, directly in Blik's line of sight. "I'm fine here."
"If you stay there, I'm just going to kill you," Blik threatened. "I'll kill you and take you back to mom and show her that I CAN catch mice. Then maybe I'll eat you."
"Sounds like fun," the mouse said. "Since you're the champion mouse hunter – stunning achievement for a kitten your age, by the way – you shouldn't have ANY problem catching me even if I DID run. So why waste my energy? Go on. Pounce me. Make it quick."
"Fine! I will!" Blik said. "POUNCE!" He jumped at the mouse – who proceeded to sidestep as Blik went sliding across the floor.
"NOT FAIR!" Blik hissed. "You moved!"
"I'm a mouse and you're a cat. I'm not supposed to be fair," the mouse said, walking back to his spot. "I'm sure that was just a fluke. You weren't ready. Bet you can catch ol' Squeakus now."
"SQUEAKUS?" Blik laughed. "Is that your name? SQUEAKUS?"
"I don't think someone named Mr. Blik should be talking, cat," Squeakus said. "So, you going to kill me or not?"
"Oh, I am! You bet I am!" Not having learned from before, Blik jumped at Squeakus again, to the same result; the mouse stepped aside as Blik flew past.
"I'm just getting warmed up!" Blik insisted. "Next time I'll-" instead of finishing his sentence, he let out a loud pained meow. Squeakus had sunk his teeth into his tail.
"Well, look at that! The mouse caught the cat!" Squeakus laughed. "Does that make ME champion now?"
"...shut up," Blik grumbled. "Just shut up and go away. Leave me alone. I'll come back for you later."
"Sounds good to me," Squeakus said. "I'm getting bored with you now. Ciao, sucker!" Blik didn't turn to see him leave, but figured that the silence and lack of teeth in his tail was a sign that Squeakus had left.
"Blik?" Audrey asked, coming down the hallway. "I finally found you... I heard you scream. Are you OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Blik muttered. "I found a mouse, but he, uh... I tried catching him, really, I did... but... he got away."
"Aw, I'm sorry, Blik, you'll get him next time..." Audrey assured him as she flattened a stray patch of fur on his forehead. "Why'd you scream, though?"
"Um..." Blik's voice suddenly grew rather quiet, and was only just loud enough for Audrey to hear. "...the mouse bit me."
"I warned you not to go hunting," Audrey sighed. "I had a feeling something like that would happen." After giving the situation some thought, a bell went off in her head. "This mouse you were going after... did you happen to catch his name?"
"Squeakus," Blik said, crossing his arms as best as he could while lying on the floor. "Stupid name..."
"I was going to warn you about that, Blik," Audrey said. "No one in Bakersfield has EVER managed to catch Squeakus. Maybe not even any cat in the world... I can't speak for them. I just know that no one here has."
"So it's all right, then," Blik rationalized. "I couldn't get him, but that's OK, because no one else can, either. I bet I'll be the first one to! I just have to practice!"
Audrey chuckled at her son's ambitions. "Who knows. Maybe it will. It could be you, or Gordon, or Waffle..."
"Are you kidding? Gordon's fat and lazy and Waffle... he's Waffle!" Blik laughed. "They could never be world-class mousers! Speaking of them, though... could you not tell them about this?"
"No promises," Audrey said with a smile. "No promises. I have to warn them about Squeakus somehow."
"Ugh... fine. Go ahead, mom. Embarrass me."
"That's what mothers are for."
"Fine." Blik groaned. "Well, if I'm going to train against Squeakus, I need to chase something... you're sure I can't use Gomez?"
"NO!"
"...and that's what happened," Blik muttered, glaring down at his plate. "I thought I could handle Squeakus, and I couldn't. There. Now you all know."
"How come mom never told me you fought Squeakus first?" Waffle asked. "I didn't find out until I went to the Ball for the first time."
"Did mom ever teach you mousing?" Blik asked.
"No..."
"Well, then."
"Dad got beaten by a mouse..." Beth snickered. "I'm sorry, but... that's funny!"
"So did everyone else!" Blik snapped. "Squeakus is a menace! A terror!"
"So no one's ever caught him? Ever?" Marie asked.
"Just one cat, as far as we know," Gordon said. "There's one cat who faced terrible odds and was almost taken down, but found the strength to defeat him for the sake of those he cares about."
"Sounds like some warrior for honor, then," Danny scoffed. "Predictable. Someone from Scotland, I bet."
"No, no," Gordon said shaking his head. "He lives right here in Bakersfield. He never looked like much, but his deed makes him one of the bravest cats in the entire city... perhaps the world!"
"Maybe not," Waffle muttered, suddenly fidgety. "I mean, like you said, he doesn't look like much... I don't think Squeakus thought so, either, so he let his guard down. I don't think the cat would be able to do it again... he just got lucky..."
"That's not like you, Uncle Waffle," Marie said. "You never put anyone down before!"
"Yeah!" Beth chimed in. "That's dad's job, not yours!"
"HEY!" Blik snapped, jumping up and standing on his chair. "BETH!"
"It's true, Blik," Katilda said, patting Blik on the arm. "Please sit back down."
"Feh."
"But why's Uncle Waffle insulting somebody like that, anyway?" Danny asked. "I only ever hear him talking about himself like that."
An awkward silence settled over the table. Waffle squirmed slightly. It took a few moments, but Beth was the first to catch on.
"Wait a minute... talking about HIMSELF – UNCLE WAFFLE?!" she exclaimed, her jaw slightly dropped. "YOU caught SQUEAKUS? You're the only one?!" Waffle nodded slightly.
"Didn't see that coming," Danny said. "He's so, er...well... he's Uncle Waffle. How the heck did that happen?"
"It was... two years ago, was it?" Gordon asked himself. "Yes, two years ago, this very date. Blik and I were preparing to go to the Mouse Hunter's Ball, and Waffle wanted to come along..."
"But there was a little snag," Blik continued the story. "That snag being, he had never caught a mouse before. EVER. He didn't even know WE were mousers. We usually just sneaked off to the ball, but he caught us, wanted to go, and, well..."
"They agreed to teach me mousing," Waffle said. "I... wasn't that good. Blik tried teaching me by dangling a piece of paper in front of me to catch... never managed that."
"And I taught him my trick," Gordon said. "It's known as the cat breath, and-"
"Not at the table, Gordon," Blik said. Waffle nodded in agreement, his tongue out slightly.
"...fair enough," Gordon said. "You're right. Not at the table."
"So, anyway, I wasn't doing very good with their help... but then I found someone else to help me!" Waffle said.
"Who?" Marie asked. "Another mouser?"
"...no," Waffle said. "Actually-"
"He went to SQUEAKUS," Blik scoffed. "Not that we KNEW that at first, but once he told us... I can't believe how gullible you are, Waffle, by the way. He told you he wasn't a mouse and you believed him! What did you think he was?!"
"I dunno," Waffle muttered. "Just not a mouse."
"Wow, Uncle Waffle," Danny said. "That's really all I have to say... wow."
"Well, Gordon and Blik told me he was a mouse, so I got mad and went to try and catch him," Waffle said. "But he tricked me again... he told me that..." Waffle trailed off, embarrassed. "And I believed him! I'm STUPID!"
"No you're not, Waffle, no you're not..." Gordon assured.
"Yes he was," Blik said. "Squeakus told him we were MICE! He tried to hunt US!"
Beth burst out laughing. "...I'm sorry, Uncle Waffle, but... you really..." Waffle nodded sadly.
"Well, it's in the past. He knows better now. Anyway, Waffle ended up chasing us into Squeakus's mouse hole," Gordon continued.
"And that's when Waffle found out that he was tricked. AGAIN." Blik said. "Squeakus taped a picture of us in a dictionary under the word mouse. That's why Waffle fell for it."
"You could see the tape and everything... I'M AN IDIOT!" Waffle wailed again.
"Calm down, Waffle..." Katilda chimed in. "If what they're saying is true, and this Squeakus is that tricky..."
"Tricky nothing! It was a taped photograph!" Blik said. "The photo fell off the page, but Waffle STILL didn't get it... took his pea brain a few seconds to actually COMPREHEND."
"And while I stood there thinking about it, Squeakus got me," Waffle said. "Tackled me to the ground-"
"How?" Danny asked. "He's a MOUSE."
"A strong mouse!" Waffle said. "He tackled me to the ground and tied me up, just like my brothers!"
"Aye, all seemed lost..." Gordon said. "We were immobile... helpless. Nothing we could do. But then – you tell this part, Waffle!"
Waffle brightened considerably from his crying over his gullibility. "Squeakus came right next to me, in front of my face, and started laughing that he'd caught us and there was nothing we could do... but then..." Waffle smiled at the memory. "I opened my mouth wide and let out THE CAT BREATH!"
"You never explained what the cat breath was..." Marie said. "What did you do, exactly?"
"Oh, it's HORRIBLE," Gordon said. "You just let out the loudest burp that you can. The stench was so awful that Squeakus FAINTED."
"So... Waffle caught a mouse by burping?" Danny asked. "That's awesome."
"I... I guess it is," Waffle said, slightly embarrassed.
"And THAT is why he has that speech tonight," Blik said. "And THAT is why he's wearing a suit. He couldn't two years ago because it was such short notice, and he was going to last year but they wouldn't let him up to the podium in his stupid hat."
"But I'll do it tonight!" Waffle announced. "Even if I do have to wear this stinky itchy suit!"
"Well, we told the story..." Gordon said, finishing his last piece of crust. "I think it's time we got going. Katilda, you'll be fine on your own?"
"Trust me," she said smirking. "I can handle these three just fine. You guys have fun!"
"We will," Blik said, kissing Katilda on the cheek before standing up.
"If there's any left, I'll try to bring you all some cake!" Waffle, announced, waving. "Bye!"
"Bye!" the kittens and Katilda all said in unison as Gordon, Waffle, and Blik headed out the door.
"Now I REALLY wanna practice mousing..." Danny said. "I wanna catch Squeakus, too!"
"Yeah, that'd be cool!" Beth agreed, and then looked to her mother. "We're going to need something to practice with..."
Danny caught on rather quickly. "Yeah, so... mom? Can WE play with Gomez?"
"Ah, kids..." Katilda chuckled, shaking her head. "NO."