Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is a copyright of Mondo Media
Happy Tree Friends: Blood & Fire
Chapter 03 – Accepting Death
"Moonlight, are you home?" asked Flaky, letting herself and Flippy in as they realized the door was unlocked. "Moonlight?" she repeated. They found her curled up on the bed in her bedroom, clutching her mother's photograph in her claws as she sobbed. Flippy noticed the fur around her arms were soaked. 'Was she crying all night?' the red porcupine wondered as she sat next to her; attempted to lift the wolf's chin.
The sudden movement felt quite foreign to her. Sad blue orbs pooled with tears as she noticed Flaky, but then widened into fright as she realized Flippy was in the room. "How – you – I mean –!" she stammered, backing up and yelping as she fell off the bed. The photograph flew out of her hand and drifted onto the covers. "I-I-I thought…I mean…" she whimpered, shivering like a frightened mouse.
"It's okay. Flaky told me everything as soon as I revived at the hospital," said Flippy. As he proceeded to help her up, Moonlight shifted away from him. "I'm alive, alright?" he said, trying to add amusement in his voice, "See? I'm right here – in one piece too."
"I can't fucking believe it!" Flipqy yelled in his head, "She killed me!" Flippy expected to hear more yelling and cursing, but instead he heard a softer tone. "Flippy, I mean it when I say this – stay away from her…" whispered Flipqy.
"Would you excuse me, honey?" asked Flippy. Flaky nodded and resumed to trying to talk to Moonlight. After finding the bathroom, Flippy stared hard into his reflection – sure enough, Flipqy appeared. But he wasn't smirking or sneering this time…he looked terrified. "Well, this is a first…" said Flippy, "What's gotten into you?"
"I hate to admit this, but…" confessed his alter ego, "She's as bad as I am. I mean, come on! You must've seen what she did when I took over your body."
"All I saw was a wolf defending herself," countered Flippy, "And you were caught off guard." Flipqy wanted to say more, but all that came out was a whimper. "What? Don't tell me you're scared of an innocent wolf," asked Flippy, resisting his urge to laugh.
"It's not funny!" Flipqy yelled. Flippy rolled his eyes and left the bathroom, but Flipqy wasn't done talking yet. "Seriously, something's wrong with her. Stay away until she's –"
"End of discussion!" the war veteran ordered, and for the first time in his life, his alter ego didn't talk back. "Good…" he sighed in relief, walking back to the bedroom. "Moonlight, are you okay?" he asked; said wolf was back on the bed, hugging her knees.
"Do I look okay?" came the bitter reply. Flaky shrugged and turned to the photograph; picked it up and noticed similarities between her and the wolf in the picture – the only difference was the white fur markings, black hair and emerald-green eyes that made Moonlight an almost contrasting version of the wolf in the picture. "Starlight…" the wolf whispered.
"Excuse me?" said Flaky. Moonlight reached out and took the photograph from her hands; stared at it gloomily for what seemed like an eternity. "Mom's name is Starlight," the wolf finally spoke, "I lost her in a fire."
It was Moonlight's 10th birthday. As usual, the house was empty except for two wolves – her mother never invited guests to their home for security reasons; only let her out to play as long as she's with her.
"Happy birthday, my little puppy~!" greeted Starlight as she hugged her daughter. Said 10-year-old giggled as she nuzzled noses with her mother and wagged her tail excitedly. "Stay right here. I'll make sure your cake's all ready," she gushed as she walked to the kitchen. Moonlight cheered as she hugged a teddy bear – her mother had just given it to her this morning when she woke up. Along with it came a purple bow (which was used to tie her then-shoulder-length hair into a ponytail) and a star pendant identical to her mother's.
Everything was fine…until she turned around and saw the orange flicker of flames in the kitchen. "Mom!" she screamed, dropping her bear and running to the kitchen – only to be blown backwards by an explosion. She swore she could hear her voice. "Mom, no!" she screamed louder as flames surrounded her. "MOM!" she screamed once more. Smoke filled the room and she began to choke, gasping as she tried to escape…but the smoke was too thick and she blacked out on the floor seconds later.
When she came to, she was outside and alone on the grass. Scorch marks and dirt covered her once-clean soft fur. Her hair had come undone – the purple bow was torn up. The billowing smoke and the roaring flames made one assumption crystal clear – her home was ablaze, and with it, her mother…
Moonlight was sobbing again while her hair acted as a curtain to hide her face. "Ssh…" comforted Flaky as she hugged her, "There, there…" Flippy sighed, telling himself he never broke down like that – or did he? 'I don't think that matters,' he thought.
"Guys, about yesterday…" said Moonlight as she looked up with reddened eyes, "One: I'm sorry. Two: How are you still alive after I mutilated you?" Flippy and Flaky looked at each other and shrugged.
"Death isn't permanent here," Flaky replied nonchalantly, "No matter how anyone dies, they always come back good as new the next day." Moonlight cocked her eyebrows in disbelief. "That is…" Flippy added, "If you stay within the town. If you die outside of it and not get brought back by midnight, you're history." The gray-black-and-white wolf only stared at them with a straight face, not buying their story. "Nobody knows how or why it turned out that way," he added, "Even Sniffles couldn't make heads or tails of it."
"But enough of that," Flaky intervened, "Flippy and I are here to tell you something else." He then pulled out a pamphlet from his pocket and handed it to a now-curious Moonlight. "We thought this could be the best opportunity to have you introduced to everyone in town," the green bear suggested.
OUTDOOR DISCO NIGHT
Venue: Happy Tree Park
Time: 8pm – 12am
"Disco? Tonight? But I can't dance…" said Moonlight, blushing in embarrassment. Flaky explained she didn't need to if she doesn't want to; the couple couldn't really dance themselves. "Well…I could use some fresh air," the wolf replied, her smile finally returning to her lips. "That's better~!" cheered the porcupine as she hugged the now-giggling wolf.
Later that night, about 30 minutes before the party – decorations were still being put up and the catering had just arrived; only about half the town was there. Disco Bear (he hosted the party) was trying to flirt with Petunia and Giggles while the said girls ignored him as they tied balloons to some branches; Cuddles and Toothy were helping Handy with the banner. Flaky decided to help with the balloons…but after accidentally popping a few of them, she decided to help Lumpy and Nutty with the party food instead – and also try and keep the squirrel away from the candy.
"Oh yeah~!" purred Disco Bear as he spied Moonlight; immediately danced his way to her. "Here comes trouble…" Flippy growled under his breath, lightening up as he added, "Just try not to escalate it. I'll be with Flaky if you need anything." Sounds of giggling were then heard as Flippy tickled his girlfriend, almost making her drop some pizzas. "You must be the new girl the town heard about," breathed Disco, "I must say – you're hotter than I thought you were."
"Um, thank you…" replied Moonlight, grooming her tail as she tried to hide her nervousness. 'He's not that bad…' she thought. "So…wanna take the first dance number once the party starts? It's okay if you can't move right, baby – I'll lead and you follow," he suggested, holding her close by the waist. 'Okay, this is so wrong!' she mentally screamed, faking a giggle as she twisted away from him. "Something wrong?" asked the now-confused orange bear.
"I…uh…" she whimpered, "Well, you see, I –"
"I think you're scaring her," replied another male voice. 'That's not Flippy,' she noted, turning around to find a blue flying squirrel. "She's new here, so I don't think she's up for a first date right off the bat," he added.
"I was only trying to ask her out to dance," said Disco, trying his best not to look irritated. Moonlight clutched her tail in embarrassment. "But okay, she was probably saying 'no' the whole time," the bear sighed, heading back to Giggles and Petunia.
"T-Thanks…" she stammered, "Who are you anyway?"
"Splendid the Flying Squirrel~!" he boasted; giggles bubbled out from the gray-black-and-white wolf. "You're Moonlight, I presume?"
"Yeah, I moved in two days ago," she explained, "Next to Flippy's." At the name, he froze. "W-What something I said?" she asked as Splendid glanced at Flippy, who was wrestling playfully with Flaky while being cheered on.
"You live next to him?" the blue flying squirrel asked uneasily, earning a nod from the shy wolf. "Well, as long as you stay out of trouble – and his fits – you're safe." Moonlight looked at him as if he were crazy. "Let me guess…you've seen him 'flip' already," he said, earning another nod. "I'm surprised you're still alive…" he added, incredulous, "He usually kills anyone nearby when in that state."
"She didn't need to know that, Splendid…" Flippy growled as he walked over. Flaky rushed over and stood between the two; beckoned Moonlight to help out and therefore walked her away from the scene. "What are you doing here anyway?" asked Flippy.
"A superhero needs a break once in a while," Splendid explained, "You can't expect me to go on saving everyone whenever they needed it."
"Saving? You kill most of them in the process," countered Flippy, "Remember the comic convention? I haven't been there – I'm not even a fan anyway – but it was all over the news."
"That was an accident, okay? Just like all the other –!" Splendid yelled. By now everyone was looking at them. "Don't mind us – it's just some…manly…talk," the hero lied, thumping his chest. Moonlight giggled once more as soon as everyone resumed what they were doing. "Showoff," mumbled Flippy, but then realized his attention was on the newcomer. "Cute, isn't she?" he asked, lightening up the subject.
"Cute, my ass!" cursed Flipqy, "She's a dangerous bitch!"
Flippy opened his mouth to say something, but then Lumpy's scream cut him off – the moose happened to be carrying some metal trays when he tripped on his own feet, and the sharp edge of one tray flew straight for the startled wolf, cutting her in half at the waist. Splendid immediately shoved the bear away from the scene while he rushed over, making Flippy go SMACK against a tree (but fortunately didn't flip out). "Sorry!" the blue squirrel called, kneeling before a paling wolf.
"I-I'm okay…" she winced, "I'm…" but she fainted from massive blood loss. Flaky ran over to Flippy who was dizzy from the hit. Splendid carefully picked up both wolf halves and flew her straight to the hospital.
It was morning when Moonlight recovered; a sudden flashback startled her awake. "Calm down, you're fine," soothed Splendid as he sat next to her. The wolf immediately checked herself for last night's injuries – but to her amazement, it's as though she was never –
"You died at the party – I brought you here," Splendid explained, "Flippy wanted to check on you, but…you know." The wolf could recall what she has been told…
"Death isn't permanent here. No matter how anyone dies, they always come back good as new the next day." / "That is…if you stay within the town. If you die outside of it and not get brought back by midnight, you're history." / "Nobody knows how or why it turned out that way. Even Sniffles couldn't make heads or tails of it."
"They weren't kidding…" Moonlight breathed, "So…I really died?" She checked her waist again just to make sure; stretched and turned and realized she's still in one piece.
"I know this is all too weird to take in," Splendid admitted, "But you'll get used to it. The best way is to think about it as a bad dream. As for the party, Disco Bear decided to postpone it until you're better." He chuckled as Moonlight still seemed stunned about her 'death'. Finally shaking it off, she discharged herself from the hospital and allowed Splendid to walk her home.
