The cold winter breeze nipped at her nose as she laughed and ran around. Her cheeks bright red, Holo and Lawrence watched from under a tree as the cub slowly began to roll the snow into a ball. Watching the ball grow larger, Holo rested her head against Lawrence's shoulder. A smile crossed both of their faces as the cub came running over.
"Daddy," she quickly spoke, "will you help me put the body on the snowman?"
"Of course Horo." He replied, standing slowly and walking over with her.
As he lifted the body and sat it on the snowman, Holo began to remember all the times she shared with Lawrence; the good and the bad. As the cub placed carrot on the center of the top ball, she laughed as Lawrence placed bronze coins as the eyes and mouth. Watching them both, she placed a hand over her stomach. "You are a bit restless today." She spoke aloud as Lawrence and Horo came over. As they did, she rose to her feet and followed Horo who was pulling on her sleeve. Showing her the snowman, Horo smiled widely with her wolf fangs showing. Giggling about how small they are, Holo and Horo began to walk back to Lawrence and began to walk towards the wagon. Holo sighed as she took one last look around the forest they stood in. It had been almost months since the last time they had traveled out this far.
Helping them both on the wagon, Lawrence sat next to Holo and patted Horo's head as she sat in the back. "Now you sit still, and don't eat those apples back there. We are making pie with those!" Lawrence said as he turned back around and shared a smile with Holo.
"She gets that from you." He laughed.
"She does, but we wouldn't want her any other way, would we?"
"No," Lawrence replied, turning back to see her eating an apple, "we wouldn't."
Riding back into town they stopped in front of the home Lawrence had built months ago. The apple tree stood strong under the weight of the snow; yet it's leaves long gone. Walking upon the snowy path leading to the door, Horo began to dance within the snowfall, singing to herself. She soon took hold of her mother's hand when she was called. Entering the home, the warm orange flame warmed their frozen faces as Lawrence took their coats and placed them on top of the mantel. As he finished baking the pie, he turned back to them; Holo and Horo crept silently into the bedroom. Lawrence couldn't help but smile as he watched the two sneak in. He took a few silent steps and leaned into the doorway; They both sat on the bed, chuckling about how they thought they outsmarted him. He put his back to the wall next to the door, trying not to laugh as he began to look around for something to catch their attention.
"Well," he said aloud, "I guess all this apple pie is going to go to waste."
He heard Horo's small feet began to move closer to the door until he heard Holo poorly whisper to her; "Don't fall for his trick!" She snickered.
"And boy, is this a lot of ale to rid of..."
"Let's go, Horo."
With a laugh, he caught the cub in his arms, resting her on his arm and sharing a humorous glance with Holo. They laughed for a moment, then moved to the table in front of the fireplace. Setting down the pie and ale, he placed three plates next to the pie and two mugs. He filled both of them with water instead of ale. Holo looked at him with a strange and unsatisfied look. Lawrence smiled as he sat the pitcher off to the side; "I don't think that little guy or gal would like ales this early."
They shook their heads as smiles crossed their faces. Horo rubbed her mother's stomach as she felt for a kick. Horo and Holo smiled widely as she felt a kick from the baby. "They kicked, they kicked!" Lawrence smiled as he watched the two from across the table. His gaze went from Horo to Holo as he began to recall the many times they had when he was a traveling merchant, but those days were behind him, it seemed, and all was peaceful.
Suddenly, three loud knocks came from the door. Wiping his mouth and moving to the door, Lawrence cracked it open to let very little cold air in. As he looked through the crack, a familiar face met his gaze; "Marc Cole!"
"Lawrence! Its been a while. I haven't seen you lately so I decided to come and visit you myself." He said with a smile.
"That's very generous. Say, would you like to come in and have a slice of pie?"
"No, thanks. I was hoping that I could talk to you about some things; a little walk and talk?"
"That would be great. Give me just a second to grab my jacket."
Shutting the door behind him, Lawrence hurried to the mantel and slid on his warm and dry jacket. As he passed her, he met Holo's annoyed look upon her face.
"It'll be only a minute or so."
She sighed; "Fine."
He smiled as he neared the door. He turned back to face the two.
"Love you, Holo. love you, Horo!"
"I love you daddy!"
Holo smiled back and shook her head; "I love you, Lawrence."
Stepping out into the cold weather, he and Marc began to walk down the road as they talked about where they had ended up; "I'm still living in Kumersun with my wife. Now that I have a little guy running around the house, I don't have too much time to myself anymore. I guess its the same for you too, huh Lawrence?"
"Yes, it would seem that way. I don't mean to brag, but I have another one coming real soon."
"Really," Marc said as he turned his head to look at Lawrence, "you two must really love each other than."
"If that's what you want to say," Lawrence chuckled "so be it. Anyways, I know you don't just show up out of the blue, so why did you come here?"
Marc sighed as they turned past a fallen oak tree. He couldn't seem to find the words, but managed to make his sentences; "There's this new demand for some items, and I was wondering if you could get some to me at my stand. You know, like the old days."
"Marc," Lawrence sighed, "you know my merchant days are behind me. Between Holo and the children, I don't think I'd be able to help you."
"Lawrence, you managed to almost single handily crashed the market, you survived through poverty, and you still have the patience to hear me out. I think you are more than ready to do this. And besides, it's a favor, so I'll pay you. How does that sound, my old friend?"
Lawrence thought for a moment as he watched the snow slowly fall onto the ground. As they approached his house once more, he finally gave Marc an answer that was perfect for the situation; "Let me ask my wife."
Hey everyone, ClasslessToast here. So I haven't been posting anything on fanfiction for a long, long time, and I thought since I'm waiting for something that will sadly never come (a.k.a Season 3 of Spice and Wolf anime), I thought I'd write this. If you would like me to continue, please leave a response. I know the Spice and Wolf community is large, so I'm hoping this will satisfy many of you fans. Anyways, I want to thank all of you who have read my stories and liked them. Until the next chapter, see you all later!