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Chapter 2: Ice and Gingerbread
Calla sat on the red, plush couch, reading. Danny had quickly learned that reading was one of her favorite activities, and had taken full advantage. He enjoyed sitting beside her, soaking in the warmth she emanated. That, at the moment, was exactly what he was doing. She had, ever since discovering how bored he was by regular books, moved on to the Chronicles of Narnia. Danny liked hearing about how Aslan always took care of the children. How he wasn't always obviously there, but he was keeping them safe, making sure they didn't get killed.
Danny wondered what life would be like if his parents loved him like that. Maybe, maybe, he would snuggle up beside his mom every night, before bedtime, and he would get candy like the other kids. Maybe, life would be better. Danny liked to think so, but he didn't think too much about it. Instead, he waited, half expecting to be pushed back out of his temporary family's life. He really liked little Alder. Alder was a mix of both his parents. He had silvery hair (though Danny didn't think about how odd that was), blue eyes, and green skin. Danny liked to pretend that Alder was his baby brother. Calla approved completely.
He was allowed to sleep with them when he was afraid. He liked that. He barely even minded when the baby cried. There was snow, because, this far north, it was cold, even in barely-November weather. This was why he was curled up beside Calla. It was frigid outside, and she had refused to let him play out there without adult supervision. Danny had laughed at that, and told her that his mom didn't care if he went out into the streets, as long as he didn't pester her. Calla had drawn him in, giving him a tight hug that Danny didn't understand. So, he wasn't allowed out of Calla's sight for now, and he was reading over her shoulder.
She was reading the funny pages to herself, and when she came across one he could understand, she would read it to him. He liked Marvin lots, even when he was hard to understand. Sometimes, he pointed to one, just to get her to read it aloud. He was wrapped tight "like a pig in a blanket", as Calla called it, underneath a fuzzy blanket. He even had some hot chocolate. It had been so long since he had had something that tasted like chocolate, since he had eaten way too much, and gotten a stomachache. He liked it lots.
Just as Calla closed the papers, after giving some of the news a quick glance, and deciding it wasn't suitable for someone his age to read, after all, he had already proven that he could read well, Vlad walked in, grinning.
"Calla, my dear, care to go for a ride in the sleigh? Danny can come along, but the baby needs to stay." He sidled up behind her, rubbing her shoulders, as she relaxed into his grip.
"But the baby might wake up." She objected, weakly. She had told Danny that she wanted to go on a sleigh trip for a while, so she didn't object much.
"I'm sure he won't. Besides, being alone for only a little bit won't hurt him."
Vlad had succeeded. Calla got up, and helped Danny put a coat on. Danny pulled his hat and mittens on, and waddled almost all the way to the sleigh. Calla picked him up when they were almost at the stables, and passed him to Vlad, so Vlad could help Danny sit down. The sleigh was prepared, and so were they. The horses that Vlad owned, Dolly and Prince, took off.
The sleigh rushed away, and Danny giggled, the cold air brushing his cheeks, and turning them a flushed, slightly chapped pink. Calla drew him closer, making sure he was snug between herself and Vlad. Danny leaned forward, and looked at the cold, icy branches. While the ground was snowy, the branches of the trees, and many of the bushes, were coated in ice from the storm. Danny shivered. There were several streams on Vlad's property, and they were all covered in ice, to the point that no water could be heard flowing.
Vlad stopped the horses near one of the streams, and let his passengers get out. Danny instantly took off, stepping onto the ice with glee, and slipping and sliding, ran into a fallen tree. He stopped for several seconds, before taking a deep breath, because it really hadn't hurt that badly, and getting back up. He carefully placed his feet so as to avoid slipping too much, and returned to the ground. He darted back through the snow, listening to the funny crunches of the snow beneath his feet.
He ran around in circles, before finally returning, but not before making a snow angel. Said angel was severely misshaped, but Danny didn't care. To him, it was a master piece, and he made several more. An entire family of snow angels soon lay side by side, with marks between them, showing where he'd gotten up to make another one. The snow family now numbered 5. He liked that number. It was his age. The mommy and daddy stood beside the snow children. There were three kids. One was him, one was Jazzy, and the other was Alder. The parents were Vlad and Calla Masters. When the subjects of his picture came over to get him to return to the sleigh, he showed them it.
Calla looked pleased; Vlad wasn't quite so pleased, but he still smiled, and told Danny it was a good picture, but that he wouldn't make a very good daddy. Danny hugged him around the knees, and told him that he was the best daddy, ever. Calla picked him up, and carried him to the sleigh again, where she held him in his lap, all the way back to the mansion.
When they got back, supper was prepared by Vlad while Calla fed the baby, and it was delicious. Danny really liked her cookies, the gingerbread ones. Calla said that he could help her make a gingerbread house on the next day. She had already gotten the equipment, and she just needed two helpers. Here, she cast Vlad a meaningful look. He offered her a nod, and agreed to help her, as well.
Thus it was that after supper, the small, temporary family began the work of making a gingerbread house. Danny gleefully gobbled all the candy they let him have, and managed to messily put m&ms all over the house. Calla made a ginger-family ("no home is complete without a family") and the icing on the house was spread by Vlad. Danny offered to give Alder some candy, but he was told that Alder couldn't digest food like candy ("Babies can't digest hard stuff." "Why?" "Because they have acid, like vinegar, in their stomachs, and that acid isn't strong enough, I guess. I don't really know why." "Why?" Becauseā¦that's just the way it is, Danny."). That was perfectly fine by Danny: it meant that he got more candy than he would have otherwise.
Danny was allowed to play doctor with some of the gingerbread men, but he accidentally broke one. It dropped to the floor, breaking up on impact. Danny tensed as he looked up. Vlad looked very angry, but only for a second, before he leaned over to help Danny pick the pieces up. He had Danny wash that part of the floor, just a little bit, to make sure the floor wouldn't be sticky. Danny was glad to see that Vlad probably wasn't too angry with him, hopefully. Sometimes adults were weird.
Danny was sent to bed around eight o' clock. ("But I'm not sleepy, Aunt Calla. I'm hungry, and I want to watch the stars come out." "Are you delaying bedtime?" "Yes.") He curled up, Ursa, his toy rocketship, against his cheek, struggling to not sleep, because he wasn't sleepy, even if he was yawning, while Calla read to him. He fell fast asleep mid-story, leaving Calla to tuck him in.
How do you like my newest chapter? I hope it's okay. It took me a while to think of some more Calla stuff. I was planning on staying close to the plot, but writing a little bit more Calla fluff appealed to me. The more I know of her, the more I like her. At this rate, I might even come up with her entire history! If you couldn't tell, the rocket, Ursa, was named after the various "Ursa" constellations, Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major.
-MiaulinK
