Daddy I Wanna Be A Kitty!
"I can't wait until next week," Kyle said happily. The entire month of October Ms. Taylor explained Halloween to her students and let them participate in Halloween-related activities and art; the teacher would read spooky stories to them and every Friday they would sing a different song.
"I'm going to be a skeleton, oooh that's a really scary looking pumpkin Aei," Kyle continued, coloring in his pumpkin, decorated with dinosaurs. "Have you decided what you want to be?"
Aei Lynn shrugged, coloring in her black cat on the orange pumpkin. A smile then crossed her face as a costume came to mind.
"I think I'm going to be a cat," she said.
"Cats aren't scary though Aei Lynn."
"I don't want to be scary Kyle. I just want to have fun."
*****
Aei Lynn and Couvea returned to their apartment, which they'd been decorating nearly all month. Tonight they were going to carve their first official pumpkin. Couvea was glad to see his daughter in such a high Halloween spirit. A plastic green multi-jointed skeleton hung on the door, grinning with a jaw full of decaying teeth and insects. In the top corners of the door they'd put up cotton cobwebs and plastic spiders.
The two got out of the car and Couvea retrieved the rather large pumpkin from the back seat. Aei Lynn followed him to the door and inside, closing the door behind them.
"Now," Couvea said with a grin, "how do you think we should make this?"
"Let's make it scary," Aei Lynn said as she pulled out a chair for herself and climbed into it.
"Are you sure? Scary, hm..." He went to his desk and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. Setting his materials down on the table, he took a seat next to Aei Lynn and began drawing. Big eyes, little eyes, narrowed eyes, pointed noses, and thin lips; fangs, pointed ears, and anything else that popped into his head.
"Those are really good daddy, do you think I'll be as good at drawing as you?"
He nodded and smiled, "I think you'll be good in any kind of art you take part in. These scary enough for you?"
Aei nodded and pretended to shiver in fear.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Couvea said, playing along yet at the same time being sincere. Aei Lynn smiled happily and hugged her father's waist.
"I like the narrowed eyes best," she said, lightly tapping the sketch. "And the fangs too."
*****
The two admired their scary pumpkin. It was a feral looking cat creature with narrowed eyes, large pointy fangs, and ears pinned back. Couvea was very proud of it and Aei Lynn admired it at a distance---hiding behind her father and peeking out at it from his side.
"Too scary?" He asked.
After a long pause Aei Lynn shook her head, "Nope."
Couvea chuckled a bit, "My brave little girl. Have you decided what you want to be yet?"
"Yup. Daddy I wanna be a kitty!"
Couvea raised a brow slightly. ~A cat? She wants to be a cat? I thought she'd say a ballerina or a vampire, or something classic. Well...At least she's being original. That's my girl.~
"Is something wrong daddy?"
"Oh, no. Of course not," he replied, smiling now. "You can be a kitty for Halloween if you really want to and tonight after dinner we'll go to the Party Shop to get your costume together."
"Aren't you dressing up too?"
~...That hadn't crossed my mind. When did parents start dressing up with their children to take them trick-or-treating?~ He thought. ~I guess I could go as a vampire, I look enough like one. I wouldn't have to *do* anything. Couvea, you're a genius.~
"Of course I am," he said.
"We can both be kitties then, right daddy?"
~I wasn't expecting *that*...Well, why not...Dressing up as a cat just to match your daughter and make her happy doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all.~
"Right Aei Lynn," he said.
*****
After dinner, Couvea and Aei went to the Party Shop to gather what they needed for their costumes. Black face paint, black velvet shirts and pants, black furry tails and cat ears, leather collars, and black fuzzy gloves.
"All right Aei, time for bed," Couvea said after he put their costume supplies away.
"Aww, okay daddy," she said, following him to her room. She was excited and bouncy; Couvea wondered if she'd actually go to sleep on her own or if he'd have to use his powers on her.
"I'll go to sleep daddy."
Couvea blinked a moment then smiled, "You read my thoughts?"
"Yep," she replied.
"Well that's very good that you've learned to control that better, but no more swimming about in my thoughts."
He then tucked Aei Lynn in and formed a mental barrier, just to make sure she wouldn't do it again by accident. ~She doesn't need to know all my intentions yet. What Aei Lynn needs is me being her father first and foremost.~
*****
~Finally, Halloween night.~ Couvea thought as he looked in the mirror, dressed in his cat costume. ~I'm all fuzzy...Well, it's different. Much more so than dressing as a vampire.~
"Aei, are you ready for the face paint?" Couvea called to her from his room. He'd already applied the black face paint to himself for whiskers on the sides of his face and on his nose.
"Ready," Aei said as she trotted into his room. A black kitten with blue hair and icy blue eyes came into his room, fuzzy and adorable.
~Well my little girl certainly does make a cute kitty.~
"Now, come here and hold still so I can put this on your face," her father said. Aei Lynn did as told, giggling only after her father was finished.
"That tickled daddy!"
Couvea grinned and chuckled, then turned her around to face the mirror. Aei Lynn smiled happily.
"Well let's be off then. We'll go get Kyle and then walk around," said Couvea.
*****
The two cats and skeleton made their way around the neighborhoods quite well; the children were complimented on their costumes and Couvea was complimented on his dedication as a parent. Some of the people on candy duty even gave him some candy.
"Daddy, do we have to go down this block?" Aei Lynn said.
"Yes Mr. Devasc..." Kyle said.
"Nothing's wrong with this block you two. It's just like all the others. See, the porch lights are on, they're ready for you," said Couvea. "Now go on and I'll be right here, there's only three houses."
The skeleton and the cat crept over to the three houses, looking around them cautiously. They relaxed after they'd gotten their candy and began heading back toward Aei Lynn's waiting father. Three howls cried out as three werewolf masked teens ran out to the two younger children.
"I told you not to come here," said one of them as he grabbed Aei Lynn's arms. Aei Lynn screamed and the other two surrounded Kyle. Obviously they hadn't seen Couvea. He used this to his advantage and dashed toward the two bullies surrounding Kyle, picking up the boy and, still running, carried him up to the single "werewolf". He put the boy down and grabbed the fake lupine by the shoulder.
The instant Couvea made contact with the boy's shoulder, images flashed before his mind's eye. The boy was a fifth grader. Another image showed a rainy day and the boy's view of Aei Lynn sitting in the school's water fountain, soaked and near tears.
~So, he's the one that bullied her. We'll see about that.~
He turned the fifth grader around, pulling his brown furred rubber mask off and looked the boy in his eyes, locking eye contact with him. Kyle went over to Aei Lynn and walked with her to Couvea's side, feeling it was safest there.
"Leave her alone," Couvea growled with a slight hiss. "Leave Aei Lynn *and* Kyle alone."
"O...Okay," said the fifth grader.
Couvea nodded, letting go and gently taking Aei Lynn's and Kyle's hands.
"Are you two all right?" Couvea asked. The cat and skeleton nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to our homes, check the candy, and enjoy the rest of the night."
"I can't wait until next week," Kyle said happily. The entire month of October Ms. Taylor explained Halloween to her students and let them participate in Halloween-related activities and art; the teacher would read spooky stories to them and every Friday they would sing a different song.
"I'm going to be a skeleton, oooh that's a really scary looking pumpkin Aei," Kyle continued, coloring in his pumpkin, decorated with dinosaurs. "Have you decided what you want to be?"
Aei Lynn shrugged, coloring in her black cat on the orange pumpkin. A smile then crossed her face as a costume came to mind.
"I think I'm going to be a cat," she said.
"Cats aren't scary though Aei Lynn."
"I don't want to be scary Kyle. I just want to have fun."
*****
Aei Lynn and Couvea returned to their apartment, which they'd been decorating nearly all month. Tonight they were going to carve their first official pumpkin. Couvea was glad to see his daughter in such a high Halloween spirit. A plastic green multi-jointed skeleton hung on the door, grinning with a jaw full of decaying teeth and insects. In the top corners of the door they'd put up cotton cobwebs and plastic spiders.
The two got out of the car and Couvea retrieved the rather large pumpkin from the back seat. Aei Lynn followed him to the door and inside, closing the door behind them.
"Now," Couvea said with a grin, "how do you think we should make this?"
"Let's make it scary," Aei Lynn said as she pulled out a chair for herself and climbed into it.
"Are you sure? Scary, hm..." He went to his desk and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. Setting his materials down on the table, he took a seat next to Aei Lynn and began drawing. Big eyes, little eyes, narrowed eyes, pointed noses, and thin lips; fangs, pointed ears, and anything else that popped into his head.
"Those are really good daddy, do you think I'll be as good at drawing as you?"
He nodded and smiled, "I think you'll be good in any kind of art you take part in. These scary enough for you?"
Aei nodded and pretended to shiver in fear.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Couvea said, playing along yet at the same time being sincere. Aei Lynn smiled happily and hugged her father's waist.
"I like the narrowed eyes best," she said, lightly tapping the sketch. "And the fangs too."
*****
The two admired their scary pumpkin. It was a feral looking cat creature with narrowed eyes, large pointy fangs, and ears pinned back. Couvea was very proud of it and Aei Lynn admired it at a distance---hiding behind her father and peeking out at it from his side.
"Too scary?" He asked.
After a long pause Aei Lynn shook her head, "Nope."
Couvea chuckled a bit, "My brave little girl. Have you decided what you want to be yet?"
"Yup. Daddy I wanna be a kitty!"
Couvea raised a brow slightly. ~A cat? She wants to be a cat? I thought she'd say a ballerina or a vampire, or something classic. Well...At least she's being original. That's my girl.~
"Is something wrong daddy?"
"Oh, no. Of course not," he replied, smiling now. "You can be a kitty for Halloween if you really want to and tonight after dinner we'll go to the Party Shop to get your costume together."
"Aren't you dressing up too?"
~...That hadn't crossed my mind. When did parents start dressing up with their children to take them trick-or-treating?~ He thought. ~I guess I could go as a vampire, I look enough like one. I wouldn't have to *do* anything. Couvea, you're a genius.~
"Of course I am," he said.
"We can both be kitties then, right daddy?"
~I wasn't expecting *that*...Well, why not...Dressing up as a cat just to match your daughter and make her happy doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all.~
"Right Aei Lynn," he said.
*****
After dinner, Couvea and Aei went to the Party Shop to gather what they needed for their costumes. Black face paint, black velvet shirts and pants, black furry tails and cat ears, leather collars, and black fuzzy gloves.
"All right Aei, time for bed," Couvea said after he put their costume supplies away.
"Aww, okay daddy," she said, following him to her room. She was excited and bouncy; Couvea wondered if she'd actually go to sleep on her own or if he'd have to use his powers on her.
"I'll go to sleep daddy."
Couvea blinked a moment then smiled, "You read my thoughts?"
"Yep," she replied.
"Well that's very good that you've learned to control that better, but no more swimming about in my thoughts."
He then tucked Aei Lynn in and formed a mental barrier, just to make sure she wouldn't do it again by accident. ~She doesn't need to know all my intentions yet. What Aei Lynn needs is me being her father first and foremost.~
*****
~Finally, Halloween night.~ Couvea thought as he looked in the mirror, dressed in his cat costume. ~I'm all fuzzy...Well, it's different. Much more so than dressing as a vampire.~
"Aei, are you ready for the face paint?" Couvea called to her from his room. He'd already applied the black face paint to himself for whiskers on the sides of his face and on his nose.
"Ready," Aei said as she trotted into his room. A black kitten with blue hair and icy blue eyes came into his room, fuzzy and adorable.
~Well my little girl certainly does make a cute kitty.~
"Now, come here and hold still so I can put this on your face," her father said. Aei Lynn did as told, giggling only after her father was finished.
"That tickled daddy!"
Couvea grinned and chuckled, then turned her around to face the mirror. Aei Lynn smiled happily.
"Well let's be off then. We'll go get Kyle and then walk around," said Couvea.
*****
The two cats and skeleton made their way around the neighborhoods quite well; the children were complimented on their costumes and Couvea was complimented on his dedication as a parent. Some of the people on candy duty even gave him some candy.
"Daddy, do we have to go down this block?" Aei Lynn said.
"Yes Mr. Devasc..." Kyle said.
"Nothing's wrong with this block you two. It's just like all the others. See, the porch lights are on, they're ready for you," said Couvea. "Now go on and I'll be right here, there's only three houses."
The skeleton and the cat crept over to the three houses, looking around them cautiously. They relaxed after they'd gotten their candy and began heading back toward Aei Lynn's waiting father. Three howls cried out as three werewolf masked teens ran out to the two younger children.
"I told you not to come here," said one of them as he grabbed Aei Lynn's arms. Aei Lynn screamed and the other two surrounded Kyle. Obviously they hadn't seen Couvea. He used this to his advantage and dashed toward the two bullies surrounding Kyle, picking up the boy and, still running, carried him up to the single "werewolf". He put the boy down and grabbed the fake lupine by the shoulder.
The instant Couvea made contact with the boy's shoulder, images flashed before his mind's eye. The boy was a fifth grader. Another image showed a rainy day and the boy's view of Aei Lynn sitting in the school's water fountain, soaked and near tears.
~So, he's the one that bullied her. We'll see about that.~
He turned the fifth grader around, pulling his brown furred rubber mask off and looked the boy in his eyes, locking eye contact with him. Kyle went over to Aei Lynn and walked with her to Couvea's side, feeling it was safest there.
"Leave her alone," Couvea growled with a slight hiss. "Leave Aei Lynn *and* Kyle alone."
"O...Okay," said the fifth grader.
Couvea nodded, letting go and gently taking Aei Lynn's and Kyle's hands.
"Are you two all right?" Couvea asked. The cat and skeleton nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to our homes, check the candy, and enjoy the rest of the night."