Chapter 2

That night, Striker was in his room, wagging his tail as he happily looked at the portrait of himself, his wives, and kids and was glad to spend the rest of the week off with his family and friends.

Serenity and Maria watched in amazement as their husband/father wagged his tail. Even Maria giggled, finding it adorable and silly.

Striker paid no attention because he was in his happy state, not even when they entered the room.

"Hmm...somebody must be wagging that tail," Serenity mused.

A young boy stepped into the room. "Hey, Dad, are you excited for the rest of the week?"

Striker didn't answer. He continued to wag his tail.

"Uh, Dad?" Seth walked over to the side of his father, but was hit in the face by his father's tail. "Ow!" He covered his face with his hands.

Striker gasped as he stopped wagging his tail, which rattled in concern and turned to see his son. "Oh, I'm sorry, boy. I didn't see you." He got into a sitting position. "Let me see. Are you bleeding?"

Seth slowly uncovered his face, so his father could see it. On his son's face, he saw no scars or any trace of blood on his face or nose. He looked at his hands and saw no blood on them, either.

"Was Dad not watching where he was wagging his tail?" a female asked Seth with concern.

"Yeah, but I stopped to realize he was hurt, Kore," Striker answered for her, "He wasn't bleeding or scarring or nothing. I checked."

"It's okay, Dad," Seth said, "You just seemed happy about something."

"Yeah, I got too eager to spend time with all of you guys as long as someone gives us space."

Kore and Serenity gestured to someone staring at the touching moment, making Striker face him. Striker got off the bed and closed the door on his face.

Everyone was lying in their beds. Striker and his wives in one, Striker's kids in another, and I.M.P. in the last one.

"I gotta say, Striker wagging his tail was cute," Blitzo said.

"It sure was," Millie agreed, "But I wasn't spying."

"He didn't mean to hit Seth with his tail. It was an accident."

"I know. Sometimes, he gets carried away, especially when he's happy."

"He does it to me, too, once in a while," said Moxxie, "But not on purpose."

"True that, Mox," Millie said.

"I think all imps wag their tails when they're happy."

"Same," Blitzo agreed.

In another room, Kaitlin asked Striker, "Are you excited to spend time with us?"

Striker smiled at her. "Is that a serious question?"

"I heard you got excited, Clayton, in a good way," Jane told him.

"Yeah, I can be too excited for my own good since I didn't see Seth walk in the room."

"But at least you checked for scars and blood and there was none," Kore added, "And you did apologize."

"That I did." Striker yawned. "Think of all the things we could do together like hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, kayaking, boat riding…" Striker trailed off as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Sweet dreams, Clayton," Jane whispered as she got up to tuck him in and returned to her bed.

"Nighty, night, Striker," Kaitlin whispered tenderly.

"Sleep tight," whispered Kore.

"Aww," Serenity fawned as she saw Striker finally asleep and watched his tail wagging as if he had a good dream. Then she and the others started to lie down in their beds.

Striker and his family were on canoes. Striker, Kaitlin, and Adeline were in one. Serenity, Kore, and Seth were in another. Jane, Maria, and Jake were in the last one.

They started to maneuver by using their paddles. The children watched and learned what their mothers and father could do. Everyone on each canoe smelled the fresh air around them and enjoyed the great outdoors.

Birds chirped as they flew around them.

On the grasslands, deer, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and moose watched the imps on canoes in the river.

"Bunnies!" Maria exclaimed, gesturing to the rabbits with the other forest animals on land.

"Yes, bunnies," Serenity said.

Striker smiled and chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm.

"Birdies!" Adeline gestured towards birds.

"Yeah, birdies," Kaitlin said.

"Hey, Jake, do you see the foxes?" Seth asked Jake, gesturing towards the foxes.

Jake looked where Seth was pointing. "Yeah, they're pretty."

"Yeah, foxes are pretty," Striker agreed and he breathed deeply into the fresh air.

Outside the dream, Striker smiled and sighed contentedly in his sleep along with his tail wagging and rattling. He shifted into a different position, making himself comfortable, still deeply asleep. He snuggled into the warm and cozy blankets and nuzzled into the soft and squishy pillow.

He breathed deep breathes and snored with his body rising and falling.

This didn't faze his wives because they were used to it.

Luckily for Blitzo, he didn't hear Striker's snoring because his door was closed. Blitzo slept peacefully, despite Moxxie snoring, which wasn't loud.

Sometimes, Moxxie and Millie would cuddle with each other in the same bed, nuzzling into each other's embrace, keeping each other warm.

In the children's room, Adeline, Jake, Seth, and Maria were snuggling comfortably into their own beds, caressed by their warm blankets and rubbing their heads against the soft, squishy pillows. Like their father, their tails wagged and rattled every now and then.