Everyone was eating, devouring the meat before them with eagerness. It was truly good food, of course, it was made by the beta of the pack, Aly's own mother, but she didn't say it was good just because her mum made it. Oh no, her mum was quite the cook, so it was rather making Aly more annoyed in the fact she couldn't enjoy such a fabulous meal by herself. She fidgeted, squirming in her chair, trying to not flinch each time she got a warning look shot her way. Finally she felt a hand grasp her shoulder, she turned slowly and looked up into the stern eyes of her father, she winced,

"Hiya, dad…." He raised a brow,

"Mind telling me why you are dancing in your seat? Please, enlighten me, because you obviously can not wait until after dinner. Come on, tell me Aly."

"Uh….. Uh….. I…." She stuttered, trying pointlessly to think up a plausible excuse.

"Fenrir." Harry said warningly, the man ignored it, continuing to look at his daughter. The girl blushed and looked away from his stern gaze, beginning to fidget once again.

"Dad, may I be excused, please?" She said, her tone begging, clasping her hands in front of her face, her eyes pleading, he sighed and nodded consent, she jumped to her feet and shot out of the large room. She ran to the river that flowed behind the house and jumped in, plunging into the icy-cold water. She shivered fiercely and began to scrub herself desperately, trying her damndest to get rid of the moronic itch.

"What on earth are you doing?" A deep voice inquired, she yelped in shock and wrenched around, and loosing her balance she squeaked as she toppled backwards into the water. She came up quickly, pouring water, coughing and spluttering, water spurting from her nose and mouth. A hand pounded her back; she gagged slightly, and then shoved the hand away. She lifted watering eyes to her brother, he sat there, worry and concern filling his gaze.

"Ki, why are you here?" She asked, rather than answer his question; he rocked back on his heels, tilting his head to the side,

"Well, that's real nice, I'm oh so glad I came back to see you little sister!"

"I'm the same age as you!"

"Nuh-uh. I'm five minutes older."

"So? That's five minutes! Big deal!" She sighed and glanced to the side and smiled,

"Hello Belenus Borvo, how are things?" The creature sitting on her brother's shoulder smiled,

"There is no need to be so formal my dear, call me Belenus if you wish. And, things are going surprisingly well; we have finally found a nice den. It is quite wonderful." Aly smiled, and then giggled at the goofy grin on her brother's face. But her happiness was broken by the mad desire to scratch again, and she did just that, scratching at her head frantically. Ki blinked and watched his sister, until suddenly she snarled and turned into her wolf, biting and scratching frantically, growling angrily all the while. He watched her for a while more, until it hit him. She was scratching because she was itchy; she was itchy because she had fleas….. He yelped and scrambled back, stumbling and landing on his bum. She looked at him oddly, her black-and-white fur ruffling. He put his hands in the air,

"Hey, you know I love ya and all, but, stay over there." She shook her head and switched to her human form,

"What the hell is all this about, Ki?" She took a step forward, and he scrambled back slightly, he hurried to his feet, and continued to hold up his hands, she advanced, he retreated, until he spun and all out ran to the house, his sister right on his heels. They ran up the stairs, into the building, up and down the halls, Ki yelling at her to keep her distance, Aly yelling back. Until finally Ki collided with a broad chest, the force of his collision knocking him flat on his back, and making the wall of a chest take a shocked step back.

"Ki, what on earth are you doing?"

"Ah! No! Aly! Stay away!"

"What is going on?" A new voice inquired, coming up behind Aly, who looked about ready to cry,

"Mum! Ki's being mean and running away from me!"

"Ki! Play nice with your sister! I would have though you two would have grown out of this sibling-hating nonsense. You know you love each other, quit acting like you don't!"

"But mum!" Ki protested,

"No buts! Apologize to your sister and play nicely! You've been gone for nearly a year, at least try to get along for the time you're here."

"But… But…. Fleas!" He said desperately, Harry blinked, and then looked at Aly, who was, again, scratching herself frantically. Harry bit his lip then a strangled choking bubbled up from his throat, his face turned red from the effort of holding in his laughter, he gave up the battle and laughed loudly, holding his stomach.

"Come along my child, we'll get rid of your fleas."

"I don't have fleas!" She yelled, face flaming with embarrassment, Fenrir chuckled,

"My daughter, I believe you do. It is perfectly normal, do not be embarrassed."

"Yes, your Father gets them quite a lot…. Comes from rolling about in the grass I suppose."

"I do not roll about in the grass!" Fenrir contradicted, a slight blush forming on his cheeks, Harry lifted a single brow,

"Is that so, my husband?" Fenrir's blush deepened and he looked down, Harry chuckled and patted the man's cheek and kissed him on the lips before turning and leading his daughter out to the stream. He smiled at her, and told her to undress, she obeyed, and he pushed her gently into the cold water, pushing down on her shoulders so that she was sitting. He sat behind her, and popped open the top of the bottle he had brought. He squeezed some of the special shampoo into his hands, and began to rub it into her hair. She smiled gently and relaxed into her mother's caring, gentle touch. Harry smiled and made sure to get the shampoo rubbed in deeply, massaging it into her scalp before dipping cupped hands beneath the surface of the water and lifting them, splashing the water onto her head, washing the shampoo out with easy care. When Harry was satisfied with the treatment, he helped her from the water, and wrapped a towel around her as she shivered. They shared a gentle smile, looking over when they heard a shy approach. Kelly stood there, a dress draped over his arm, he offered it to Aly, and she took it with a grateful smile, kissing her overly shy brother on the forehead. He smiled, and she smiled back, before dropping the towel and pulling the dress on, it clung tightly to her wet body. She shivered again, and leaned into her mother's hold. Harry smiled, and led her inside, he took her into the bed chambers and gently pushed her down before the fire, she sat there quietly, before leaning back and placing her head in her grandfather's lap. James smiled at his granddaughter, gently stroking his fingers through her wet hair. Her hair was an odd combination of Harry's and Fenrir's, all over black and to her shoulders, where the tips spiked and lightened to silver so light it was almost white. She closed her eyes and smiled gently. Suddenly a gentle hand was rousing her; she opened her eyes and looked around blearily. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. Her mother and father, and grandparents were looking at her, amusement in their gazes. She looked at her mother, before blinking at an offered object. She tentatively reached out and took it; she sniffed and wrinkled her nose, trying to shove it away,

"It stinks!" Harry smiled, and shook his head, handing it back to his daughter,

"You have to wear it darling."

"No! It's ugly and smells bad!"

"It's a flea collar, it's supposed to smell bad, and of course it won't be fashionable, it is a collar after all."

"Why do I have to wear it?"

"Because, I do not want you spreading fleas to the rest of the pack." Her father put in, managing to look stern even though he was grinning. She sighed and took it back, wrinkling her nose and snapping it in place around her neck. She sighed and shifted, it rubbed roughly against the bare skin of her neck. She sniffed then nearly gagged, the scent was far worse on your own skin. She stuck out her tongue and pretended to barf. She sighed again and looked at her family. They all watched her in amusement, she glared, then stood and walked out, sitting on the riverbank and pouting. She didn't know which was worse, being friggin' itchy all the time, or wearing a stinky, ugly collar around her neck. Yeah, fleas absolutely sucked.

Author's Notes~

So, yeah. ^^ I thought it was rather funny. Ideas inspired by Deviant member Tack-a-buff, in his yaoi KibaxShino stories, Fleas and Fleas 2. This is Aly, now I have six girls and three boys left to do. I hope you enjoyed this one, and I hope you enjoy the ones to come! ^^

Signed~

Hades Tsukiko