Story Of A Girl
Nayru: EEK! NO UPDATES IN ALMOST THREE MONTHS! MUST POST NEW CHAPTER NOW!!!!
Chapter 15: Dix And The Wolf! No Need For Christmas!
Cliff burst in, snow still clinging to his hair. He carried a bundle of presents and cards along with a box of firewood. Christmas was approaching rapidly, the Christmas Eve rising, and they had barely started with their gifts. Rae had her hair tied back with tinsel and ribbons; the ones that were supposed to go on the gifts. Holly and mistletoe was hung all over the house, and Cliff often followed Rae under the mistletoe for the purpose of a quick kiss. Their life was happy, and as the holidays neared, they couldn't be happier.
"Rae, please grab something!" Cliff cried cheerfully under the stack. Rae stood up, and took a large stack of presents from him. He noticed that she was in her Santa outfit. She was too slim for most of it, but the top fit her fine, especially around the "big bowl of jelly" part. She was about three and a half months pregnant, and it was obvious. "Thanks, love. Let's wrap these, and then we'll go out and do the tree!"
"No problem Cliff... wow, my first Christmas on the farm, and I'm spending it with you! How much better can this get?"
"I dunno..." Cliff grabbed a prewrapped package, and put it under the tree they had inside. He hung a tag that read "Do Not Open Til X-Mas".
"Is that for me, dear?"
"Nope, not for you! Don't touch!" He put another present under the tree, prewrapped. He began to wrap some of the others. "And I got everything you put on the list. Did you get the work on the farm done?"
"Yeah! Took care of the cow, fed the dog, cleaned the house, brushed the horse..."
"Where is Dix, anyway?"
"I don't know." Rae shrugged. "I'm sure she's around."
"Where is around?" Cliff rose an eyebrow as he tied a bow.
"She always turns up."
"If you say so." Cliff put the present under the tree. As he started another, Rae sighed deeply.
"Our finances are low. We might have trouble if we can't pick them up."
"How low?"
"We're about... a hundred gold away from debt."
"Shit..." Cliff sighed. "And then the presents..."
"And then the baby..."
"We could be in big trouble." Cliff rubbed his forehead.
"Well... cheer up! It's Christmas!" Rae smiled brightly. "We'll make it somehow!"
"Somehow..." Cliff mumbled, looking at the ground.
"Rae! Cliff!" Karen called from outside the door. "You can wrap your gifts later, come and help put the popcorn and lights on the tree!"
"Coming!" Rae called, leaping to her feet and running outside the door. "Lookit me, I'm Mrs Claus!" Cliff heard
Karen laugh as she and Rae walked away. Cliff followed behind them, eyes drifting to the presents that he wished he hadn't bought.
"Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Ding-dong, ding-dong..." Kai, Harris, and Rick were all singing ridiculously cheerfully, waving glasses of eggnog in the air. Elli and Ann were hanging popcorn strings on the enormous Christmas tree in the center of the field, giggling. Mary and Gray were hanging bright star lights from the bigger branches. Karen and Rae had begun to hang cranberry strings and bulbs. Cliff stared at the tree, looming over him in the night sky.
"Wow...!" He whispered.
"Cliffy!" Kai cried eagerly. "Drink up, man! Every last one of us is flat broke this Christmas, so let's not waste this!" He tossed Cliff a bottle of rum and a jug of egg nog.
"You guys too?" Cliff chuckled.
"Ah, everyone's broke this time of year, don't you sweat it!" Karen called down from her ladder. She was slightly off balance- her stomach just as stretched as Rae's. "Trust me, once the cow milks again, we'll be rolling again!"
"Heh, yeah... why worry? It is Christmas." Cliff smiled. Just then, a grey wolf trotted onto the farm, carrying a wolf pup in his jaw. Cliff dropped the jug in fright. "Guys... that's a wolf." He pointed, and they all looked. The group fell silent and still, as the wolf nosed a giant pit in the snow, and placed the pup in it. A smaller wolf put a pup in as well. The two wolves went back and forth, bringing pups from elsewhere into the pit. Finally, the small wolf laid on the pups. Rae watched, her eyes narrow.
"I just realized something. Dix is still missing. And there are wolves about."
".... You think they..." Karen looked at her.
"I think I've lost my dog." Rae whispered.
"Let's go look for her." Karen smiled, patting Rae on the shoulder. They jumped off the ladder, causing both Cliff and Kai to jump in panic.
"I'll go with." Gray rose, and ran off the farm, with Karen and Rae following. They were calling Dix's name. Cliff grumbled.
"She worries now that the dog is eaten?"
The tree was almost fully decorated by the time Gray, Rae, and Karen returned.
"No sign of Dix." Rae sighed. Cliff hugged her consolatively.
"It's alright... we'll get a new dog..."
"I don't want a new dog, I want my Dix!" Just then, there was a bark. "DIX!" Rae cried, running towards the barking; and the makeshift wolf's den.
"Rae, don't!"
"DIX!" Rae leaned into the den, and Cliff ran towards her. "Look, Dix!" Indeed, Dix was sitting in the den, the pups attached to her. "Look, look, Dix has puppies!"
"With the wolf?!" Cliff cried in shock.
"Yeah, wolves and dogs are related." Rae grinned, petting Dix happily. "We have wolfies!"
"Oh great... well, maybe we'll have a merry Christmas after all. We have our dog back." Cliff smiled awkwardly. "And we still have each other." Just then, the church bells rang in midnight, striking twelve pristine bells that echoed through the clear night. "Merry Christmas, Rae."
"You too, Cliffy."
That morning, Rae bounced out of bed, and to Cliff's side of the bed.
"It's morning! It's Christmas moooooorning! Wakey wakey presents presents funtime yes yay!"
"Mmrr... innaminit...." Cliff yawned widely, scratching himself.
"PREEEEESENTS! I got you a present, present, present!"
"Prsns?"
"Yeah, presents! I'll go make your coffee!" Rae bounced away, flowers and sunshine all over. Cliff rolled out of bed, regretting the egg nog.
"How are you so chipper?" He yawned again, stretching out.
"I slept well! You toss and turn a lot, silly!"
"Mhm... do you want your present first... or the baby's?" Cliff asked, as he trotted down the stairs.
"The baby's? You got the baby a present?" Rae handed Cliff a cup of coffee, looking surprised, leaning out of the kitchen.
"Of course. Here's yours." Cliff smiled, handing Rae a box. Rae opened it, and took a book out of it.
"Wow... Utopia!" She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. "I've heard this book was great!"
"Heh... I knew you'd like that." He kissed her on the forehead. "Now for your present." Rae took a box out of her pocket and handed it to Cliff.
"Ooooh...!" He grinned, stripping the paper off the box. "A pocket watch!" He chuckled, taking it out of his pocket.
"So you'll always have a little time for yourself." Rae grinned. Cliff laughed happily, and took the small box he'd put a "Do Not Open Til X- mas" tag on the night before and handed it to Rae.
"I'll need no time for me." He clipped the watch to his belt. "That one is for the baby." Rae opened it, and took out a key. She looked at Cliff, raising an eyebrow.
"Isn't it usually a plastic keyring...?"
"Rae... remember the large locked closet we have in our room? The one we don't use?" He smiled.
"You didn't!" Rae cried eagerly. Cliff grabbed her hand and partially dragged her up the stairs into their room and to the door. He unlocked it with the key, and flung the door open.
"I did!" The room was converted into a small bedroom. Cliff had taken out the racks and painted the walls blue with little animals. He'd carpeted it in bright green like grass. There were a few shelves on the wall, and a set of dresser drawers. There was a square traced onto the wall. "I want to put a window there, and there's no furniture yet, but I tried to get it done by today! Everytime you went out, I always tried to do something, and eventually I got to this. This is all I have to show for a lot of work." He grinned. "My present to our lil'un is to finish this before it's born; furniture and everything!" Rae threw her arms around Cliff.
"I love you!" She squealed. "Now come on, it smells like paint in here, let's go deliver presents!" Rae dragged Cliff down the stairs and outside into the snow.
Dix stared up at her much larger mate, communicating to him in silence. The grey wolf surveyed the litter of pups calmly, then Dix. It barely looked up as Rae and Cliff burst outside.
"Shh, look, it's the wolf..." Rae murred softly to Cliff.
"That must be Dix's boyfriend." Cliff whispered back.
"Strange, that a wolf and dog would mate."
"Wolves and dogs /are/ related. I suppose Dix has odd tastes."
"But she made a good choice." Rae nodded. The wolf trudged away. "Oh!"
"Don't worry; typically, wolves are faithful to their mates. They always come back." Cliff smiled. "He'll protect your dog."
".... Yeah..." Rae whispered, hugging Cliff happily.
Late that night, Cliff, Rae, Karen, and Kai all sat on the roof again.
"There's one." Rae pointed to a shooting star.
"There's another." Karen pointed to another.
"There's two more!" Kai gestured to a few comets flying over them.
"Make a wish..." Cliff laughed.
"I wish... that next chapter, we could do a special on the coming of spring!" Rae wished.
"I wish for a chapter on the New Year's Day!" Kai cried.
"I wish for a chapter on that damn haunted house already!" Karen pleaded.
"Nice wishes." Cliff grinned. "Now, let's see what the audience likes! Whose wish will come true? Find out next time on... STORY OF A GIRL!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Nayru: Your options are 1) New Year's 2) First Day Of Spring 3) The Haunted House
Xiao: Please vote and review!!!
Nayru: EEK! NO UPDATES IN ALMOST THREE MONTHS! MUST POST NEW CHAPTER NOW!!!!
Chapter 15: Dix And The Wolf! No Need For Christmas!
Cliff burst in, snow still clinging to his hair. He carried a bundle of presents and cards along with a box of firewood. Christmas was approaching rapidly, the Christmas Eve rising, and they had barely started with their gifts. Rae had her hair tied back with tinsel and ribbons; the ones that were supposed to go on the gifts. Holly and mistletoe was hung all over the house, and Cliff often followed Rae under the mistletoe for the purpose of a quick kiss. Their life was happy, and as the holidays neared, they couldn't be happier.
"Rae, please grab something!" Cliff cried cheerfully under the stack. Rae stood up, and took a large stack of presents from him. He noticed that she was in her Santa outfit. She was too slim for most of it, but the top fit her fine, especially around the "big bowl of jelly" part. She was about three and a half months pregnant, and it was obvious. "Thanks, love. Let's wrap these, and then we'll go out and do the tree!"
"No problem Cliff... wow, my first Christmas on the farm, and I'm spending it with you! How much better can this get?"
"I dunno..." Cliff grabbed a prewrapped package, and put it under the tree they had inside. He hung a tag that read "Do Not Open Til X-Mas".
"Is that for me, dear?"
"Nope, not for you! Don't touch!" He put another present under the tree, prewrapped. He began to wrap some of the others. "And I got everything you put on the list. Did you get the work on the farm done?"
"Yeah! Took care of the cow, fed the dog, cleaned the house, brushed the horse..."
"Where is Dix, anyway?"
"I don't know." Rae shrugged. "I'm sure she's around."
"Where is around?" Cliff rose an eyebrow as he tied a bow.
"She always turns up."
"If you say so." Cliff put the present under the tree. As he started another, Rae sighed deeply.
"Our finances are low. We might have trouble if we can't pick them up."
"How low?"
"We're about... a hundred gold away from debt."
"Shit..." Cliff sighed. "And then the presents..."
"And then the baby..."
"We could be in big trouble." Cliff rubbed his forehead.
"Well... cheer up! It's Christmas!" Rae smiled brightly. "We'll make it somehow!"
"Somehow..." Cliff mumbled, looking at the ground.
"Rae! Cliff!" Karen called from outside the door. "You can wrap your gifts later, come and help put the popcorn and lights on the tree!"
"Coming!" Rae called, leaping to her feet and running outside the door. "Lookit me, I'm Mrs Claus!" Cliff heard
Karen laugh as she and Rae walked away. Cliff followed behind them, eyes drifting to the presents that he wished he hadn't bought.
"Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Ding-dong, ding-dong..." Kai, Harris, and Rick were all singing ridiculously cheerfully, waving glasses of eggnog in the air. Elli and Ann were hanging popcorn strings on the enormous Christmas tree in the center of the field, giggling. Mary and Gray were hanging bright star lights from the bigger branches. Karen and Rae had begun to hang cranberry strings and bulbs. Cliff stared at the tree, looming over him in the night sky.
"Wow...!" He whispered.
"Cliffy!" Kai cried eagerly. "Drink up, man! Every last one of us is flat broke this Christmas, so let's not waste this!" He tossed Cliff a bottle of rum and a jug of egg nog.
"You guys too?" Cliff chuckled.
"Ah, everyone's broke this time of year, don't you sweat it!" Karen called down from her ladder. She was slightly off balance- her stomach just as stretched as Rae's. "Trust me, once the cow milks again, we'll be rolling again!"
"Heh, yeah... why worry? It is Christmas." Cliff smiled. Just then, a grey wolf trotted onto the farm, carrying a wolf pup in his jaw. Cliff dropped the jug in fright. "Guys... that's a wolf." He pointed, and they all looked. The group fell silent and still, as the wolf nosed a giant pit in the snow, and placed the pup in it. A smaller wolf put a pup in as well. The two wolves went back and forth, bringing pups from elsewhere into the pit. Finally, the small wolf laid on the pups. Rae watched, her eyes narrow.
"I just realized something. Dix is still missing. And there are wolves about."
".... You think they..." Karen looked at her.
"I think I've lost my dog." Rae whispered.
"Let's go look for her." Karen smiled, patting Rae on the shoulder. They jumped off the ladder, causing both Cliff and Kai to jump in panic.
"I'll go with." Gray rose, and ran off the farm, with Karen and Rae following. They were calling Dix's name. Cliff grumbled.
"She worries now that the dog is eaten?"
The tree was almost fully decorated by the time Gray, Rae, and Karen returned.
"No sign of Dix." Rae sighed. Cliff hugged her consolatively.
"It's alright... we'll get a new dog..."
"I don't want a new dog, I want my Dix!" Just then, there was a bark. "DIX!" Rae cried, running towards the barking; and the makeshift wolf's den.
"Rae, don't!"
"DIX!" Rae leaned into the den, and Cliff ran towards her. "Look, Dix!" Indeed, Dix was sitting in the den, the pups attached to her. "Look, look, Dix has puppies!"
"With the wolf?!" Cliff cried in shock.
"Yeah, wolves and dogs are related." Rae grinned, petting Dix happily. "We have wolfies!"
"Oh great... well, maybe we'll have a merry Christmas after all. We have our dog back." Cliff smiled awkwardly. "And we still have each other." Just then, the church bells rang in midnight, striking twelve pristine bells that echoed through the clear night. "Merry Christmas, Rae."
"You too, Cliffy."
That morning, Rae bounced out of bed, and to Cliff's side of the bed.
"It's morning! It's Christmas moooooorning! Wakey wakey presents presents funtime yes yay!"
"Mmrr... innaminit...." Cliff yawned widely, scratching himself.
"PREEEEESENTS! I got you a present, present, present!"
"Prsns?"
"Yeah, presents! I'll go make your coffee!" Rae bounced away, flowers and sunshine all over. Cliff rolled out of bed, regretting the egg nog.
"How are you so chipper?" He yawned again, stretching out.
"I slept well! You toss and turn a lot, silly!"
"Mhm... do you want your present first... or the baby's?" Cliff asked, as he trotted down the stairs.
"The baby's? You got the baby a present?" Rae handed Cliff a cup of coffee, looking surprised, leaning out of the kitchen.
"Of course. Here's yours." Cliff smiled, handing Rae a box. Rae opened it, and took a book out of it.
"Wow... Utopia!" She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. "I've heard this book was great!"
"Heh... I knew you'd like that." He kissed her on the forehead. "Now for your present." Rae took a box out of her pocket and handed it to Cliff.
"Ooooh...!" He grinned, stripping the paper off the box. "A pocket watch!" He chuckled, taking it out of his pocket.
"So you'll always have a little time for yourself." Rae grinned. Cliff laughed happily, and took the small box he'd put a "Do Not Open Til X- mas" tag on the night before and handed it to Rae.
"I'll need no time for me." He clipped the watch to his belt. "That one is for the baby." Rae opened it, and took out a key. She looked at Cliff, raising an eyebrow.
"Isn't it usually a plastic keyring...?"
"Rae... remember the large locked closet we have in our room? The one we don't use?" He smiled.
"You didn't!" Rae cried eagerly. Cliff grabbed her hand and partially dragged her up the stairs into their room and to the door. He unlocked it with the key, and flung the door open.
"I did!" The room was converted into a small bedroom. Cliff had taken out the racks and painted the walls blue with little animals. He'd carpeted it in bright green like grass. There were a few shelves on the wall, and a set of dresser drawers. There was a square traced onto the wall. "I want to put a window there, and there's no furniture yet, but I tried to get it done by today! Everytime you went out, I always tried to do something, and eventually I got to this. This is all I have to show for a lot of work." He grinned. "My present to our lil'un is to finish this before it's born; furniture and everything!" Rae threw her arms around Cliff.
"I love you!" She squealed. "Now come on, it smells like paint in here, let's go deliver presents!" Rae dragged Cliff down the stairs and outside into the snow.
Dix stared up at her much larger mate, communicating to him in silence. The grey wolf surveyed the litter of pups calmly, then Dix. It barely looked up as Rae and Cliff burst outside.
"Shh, look, it's the wolf..." Rae murred softly to Cliff.
"That must be Dix's boyfriend." Cliff whispered back.
"Strange, that a wolf and dog would mate."
"Wolves and dogs /are/ related. I suppose Dix has odd tastes."
"But she made a good choice." Rae nodded. The wolf trudged away. "Oh!"
"Don't worry; typically, wolves are faithful to their mates. They always come back." Cliff smiled. "He'll protect your dog."
".... Yeah..." Rae whispered, hugging Cliff happily.
Late that night, Cliff, Rae, Karen, and Kai all sat on the roof again.
"There's one." Rae pointed to a shooting star.
"There's another." Karen pointed to another.
"There's two more!" Kai gestured to a few comets flying over them.
"Make a wish..." Cliff laughed.
"I wish... that next chapter, we could do a special on the coming of spring!" Rae wished.
"I wish for a chapter on the New Year's Day!" Kai cried.
"I wish for a chapter on that damn haunted house already!" Karen pleaded.
"Nice wishes." Cliff grinned. "Now, let's see what the audience likes! Whose wish will come true? Find out next time on... STORY OF A GIRL!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Nayru: Your options are 1) New Year's 2) First Day Of Spring 3) The Haunted House
Xiao: Please vote and review!!!