Inuarashi isn't a wolf mink, but I was trying to make it work with one of my favorite holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival (moon cakes are delicious). And then I realized that it was Marco's birthday the following day so that kind of took over... Anyway, hope you have a chance to check out the moon the night of October 4th and eat some moon cakes~

"Awoooooohhhhhhrrruuuuuurururururuhhhhhh~"

Thatch sat up. Pretty sure his alarm clock was supposed to make a metallic ringing sound, not the sound of a cow in labor. He looked at the clock. It was silent and sleeping peacefully, unlike Thatch.

"Whooaaaaaruuuuuuuuuuuuuruuruur~"

It sounded like it came from outside. Deciding he should probably investigate this, since ignoring it wasn't going to help him sleep, he headed out to locate the origin of the sound.

He walked out to the deck and saw Marco, Namur, Vista, and Izo sitting around and watching Inuarashi. Inuarashi's beagle snout was pointed towards the sky, emitting the strange sound that woke Thatch up.

Thatch sat down behind the other four men. "So, uh, what is he doing?" he asked them.

Vista leaned back and whispered, "singing. I think."

"Ok. Um. Why?"

Izo handed him a cup of sake and a plate of moon cakes, neatly cut into wedges. "We were admiring the full moon but Inuarashi may have had too much to drink."

Inuarashi's acute sense of hearing picked up what Izou said and he stopped singing momentarily to defend himself. "Awhoooaaaarr-I'm not drunk-ruuuuuuururuur~ It's in my instincts to honor the moon by howling. Whooooarrrrrrawwwwwwoooo-hic-excuse me-oorrruuuuurrrrr~"

"Will he also be the one to lead the happy birthday song for Marco?" Thatch joked.

Marco tried to silence Thatch before the giant dog got any ideas but it was too late. Inuarashi's ears perked up again. "Wait. Marco, it's your birthday?"

Defeated, Marco checked the time. "Well, it's past midnight, so technically it is, yoi."

"Wha-Why didn't you tell me? Okay, this next song is in honor of you, Marco! WHOOAOAOAARRRRR~" and Inuarashi then began to belt out more howling but at twice the decibel as before.

Thatch refilled his cup. "No way I'm listening to this sober."

It wasn't long before Thatch and Inuarashi were both so drunk that the howling then became a duet. Their audience didn't seem to mind; sure, it sounded terrible, but it was nice to just have fun like this.

Thatch shakily stood up. "Since-since-since-since it's your birdday, Marco," he snickered at his own pun, "I got to bake you a cake!" He wobbled towards the kitchen as he talked to nobody in particular. "C'mon, 'sgo bake a birdday cake!" The door to the kitchen closed behind him but it opened back up again a few minutes later.

"Marco! Marco!" Thatch shouted from the door, with a hint of panic in his tone.

"What is it, yoi?" Marco shouted back.

"I-I-I can't find them!"

"Find what, yoi?"

"Eggs! I need eggs for the cake but all I found were dishes!"

Marco sighed. "Have you tried checking the fridge, yoi?"

"Marco, ca-can't you just lay some eggs? Why we got to spend money on eggs when you could just make them?"

If Izo, Vista, and Namur were trying hard not to laugh, they definitely weren't trying very hard. Marco stood up and headed towards Thatch, cracking his knuckles.

"How about I go help you look for them, yoi?"

Nobody needed ears as good as Inuarashi's to hear the sound of Marco's fist making contact with Thatch's jaw.

/

"Morning, Th-whoa, what happened to you?" Ace stared at the giant bruise on Thatch's face.

To be completely honest, Thatch wasn't sure. He only remembered howling and a full moon last night. When he woke up, he had a massive hangover but it didn't hurt as much as his jaw. When he got to the kitchen, he found a bowl of unfinished cake batter and a sign on the fridge, angrily scrawled in Marco's handwriting, which read, "EGGS IN HERE." Thatch had a feeling he should just finish baking the cake and hopefully, it would put the phoenix in a good mood today.

"Morning, Ace. I was pretty drunk last night and I probably fell."

"From where? The crow's nest?"

"I think it was a bit bigger than a crow," Thatch mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Hey, want to light these candles for me?"