Chapter 8: Bluey
"Alright, time to get up kids!" Wendy said, walking to the back of the caravan. She'd been in charge of watching the children the night before which meant she also had morning wakeup duty. The kids were getting older, which meant there were some slight complications to the sleeping arrangements.
Judo had had her first experience of "shark week" a few months prior, and Bluey wasn't too far behind. They were both nearly ten, so it had been expected that it would happen soon, but it had still been a slight shock to their parents it had happened nearly two years ahead of average. This meant that the two were assigned separate beds (before they'd shared with others) for sanitary purposes, and this had squished some of the other kids together.
Monti and Warrin were both still able to fit into one bed relatively comfortably (being only seven and four), but it was much harder for Lucky and Chucky to share. Lucky was officially in puberty, having just hit twelve, and he'd started sprouting up. This, coupled with the fact that Chucky had always been on the bigger side for his age, meant that the two brothers barely squeezed into a bunk. This filled the four bunks in the caravan, but didn't finish the sleeping arrangements. Muffin and the three youngest Heelers were in the front part of the vehicle. Muffin slept on the other side of the fold-out cot that the adult watching them was on, and the three infants shared a pop-up playpen. It was tight living quarters.
Bluey stretched as she looked up at the ceiling, she turned to face the center, looking at the others. "Morning." She mumbled, turning over and scooting toward the ladder down. It was that time of the month, so she quickly went to the bathroom to take care of some "feminine needs" before returning to the others, adjusting her pad slightly before brushing her fur back over everything. I still can't believe mum's been doing this for thirty years!
"Morning Bluey." Judo replied, getting out of bed. She quickly folded the sheet and blanket back into place before going to her mother to help with the young ones.
The boys more or less stampeded out of bed, brothers shoving each other as they went down the narrow hall to the door that left the caravan.
"Quit it Lucky!" Chucky said, shoving his older brother as he intentionally took a long time to plod down the hall, blocking both paths past him.
"Make me!" He replied, shoving his brother back, accidentally knocking into Monti in the process.
"Hey! Watch it!" Monti frowned as he crossed his arms.
"Can you guys hurry? I need to take a bush wee real bad!" Warrin said, hopping back and forth from leg to leg.
Bluey rolled her eyes as she stood at the back of the line to exit. "Boys, come on!"
Monti and Warrin turned to face her, "Sorry, but Lucky's being a real cunt and blocking the path." The older Bell brother explained.
"Hey! I'm not a cunt! You're a cunt!" Lucky replied, bracing against the door to block it until he was done his argument.
"You're both cunts, now move!" Bluey replied, pushing all four boys out the door and into the dust.
The adults were already up and about. In the last two weeks since the group had returned from Darwin the work on the new castle had taken shape.
"Morning boys, Bluey." Nate said, walking past as he drank some coffee and carried a large board over his shoulder toward a half-built wall.
Muffin and Judo hopped down the steps behind Bluey. Muffin's tail wagged as she charged her older brother and leapt for a hug. Nate's eyes widened slightly, but he knew the drill by this point, so he dropped the coffee and board carefully, then embraced the grey ball of terror that was his sister. "Morning Muffy."
"Hi Nate!" She smiled, nuzzling into his side. "Can you play today? Yesterday you said you could, but we only did a little at night."
"I know, I'm sorry Muffy, but I promise I'll try my best today. Ms. Judo and I have to make sure construction goes well on the new castle, so Aunt Chilli will be watching you all again today for school."
Muffin groaned. "But school is BORING!"
Nate smirked, "What, just because you're the best reader in your group?"
Muffin and Warrin had joined the others at school, and they, along with Chucky, made up the youngest group. Because of the age gap they couldn't handle the same stuff that Monti, Bluey, and Judo did, and especially not what Lucky was doing. "Yeah! But Aunt Chilli says maybe in a few months I can do some stuff with the other group sometimes."
Nate patted her head, "How about this, you do your best at school-and Aunt Chilli says so-and I'll make sure we get twenty minutes to play together before dinner. Sound like a deal?"
Muffin's eyes lit up, "Deal!" She looked up at Nate, "Pinkie promise?"
"Pinkie promise." He nodded, the two exchanging a pinkie swear.
Nate hugged Muffin goodbye and grabbed his things, continuing back to the castle where most of the other adults were working. Wendy stepped out of the caravan, Chris and Mary under one arm and Lee under the stump, carefully cradled in her nook. "Alright, while I get these three taken care of, go ahead and get yourselves breakfast. Chilli will be ready for school shortly."
"Yes Miss Wendy." Bluey, Monti, Warrin, and Muffin chorused.
"Yes Mum." Judo, Lucky, and Chucky replied.
Wendy smiled, before kissing Judo on the forehead before doing the same with Lucky and Chucky, despite Lucky's slight protests that he was getting too old for it.
"Miss Wendy… Mum… Ugh! No!" He said, slouching slightly.
"Lucky Percival Retriever-Spitz." Wendy warned, Chucky giggled at his older brother's full name. "Do you find something funny Charles Gregory?"
Chucky shook his head no.
"I promised your parents I'd look after you if anything happened, and I intend to do so. Now if I want to give you a peck on the forehead, I hardly think it's the end of the world."
"Fine." He replied, allowing her to do so.
She pecked his forehead before standing back up, "Go ahead and get some food. Chop! Chop!"
The kids walked from the caravan toward the cooking area where a few pots of food were set up in a row. Normally the adults were up first, so they made the food and helped themselves, then ensured the kids had enough in the pots for their breakfasts when they got up. This morning it was pancakes and fruit. They'd managed to find a large supply of flour and other baking ingredients at an abandoned house about an hour from what had once been Ranken-Ranken now no longer really existing as it had been disassembled into its component parts to build the castle-and Wendy had successfully cultivated a few different berry bushes in the soil. Despite the awful soil and hot temperatures she had a gift with plants.
Bluey plated herself a few pancakes and some berries and sat at the table beside Judo. The other kids followed, and soon all seven of them were eating. After a moment Warrin spoke.
"Warrin, what are you gonna get Mrs. Chilli mum for her birthday?"
Warrin was still struggling to fully grasp the idea that Chilli and Bandit had taken he and Monti in as their children. He understood that Bluey was now his sister and Lee was his little brother, but for some reason the concept of Chilli and Bandit as parents was slightly harder for him. The four year old often called them a combination of their names and 'mum' or 'dad'.
"I'm not sure. Bluey, what are you getting mum?" Monti asked. The older Bell brother had come to terms with the fact that his parents were deceased; knowing now that Darwin was truly overrun had sealed his suspicion that his mother had perished trying to save their uncle. He certainly mourned her death, but Chilli and Bandit were kind people and he respected them as if they were his biological parents. They were mum and dad to him, even if they weren't the only people he'd ever called those titles.
Bluey scrunched up her snout slightly, "I don't know… Usually Bingo was the one to come up with ideas on gifts." Bluey sighed, it was the first birthday without Bingo around and Bluey knew it was going to be tough. Even after the world had gone to hell, she'd still always had her family. Now without Bingo she wasn't even sure how she could celebrate anything.
"Hey, it's okay, we'll figure something out." Monti smiled, gently placing a hand on his sister's.
She smiled sadly, "Thanks."
"After all, there's still three of us. We can figure it out." Warrin said.
"Yeah, we're the three musketeers! Just like Uncle Stripe told us about last week." Monti added. While Stripe wasn't as creative in his games as Bandit or Chilli, he certainly rivaled them in his storytelling. The youngest Heeler brother had a talent for weaving a narrative.
"Yeah, but there actually four musketeers…" Bluey glumly replied. "And Bingo would've been our fourth."
"Well… Okay, but we can still manage." Monti said.
"Yeah, you're D'Artagnan." Lucky said, gesturing to Bluey. "You're brave and brash."
"And Monti's Aramis, he's the thinker." Judo added.
"And Warrin's Porthos. He's loyal and outgoing." Muffin said, motioning to her adopted cousin.
"Bingo never would've been Athos, she wasn't bitter." Monti said.
"And she never would've tried to kill her wife." Chucky added. "Well, if she was married, I guess."
"Nate's our Athos!" Muffin said. "He's older, and he had to kill his step-brother."
"That is oddly fitting." Bluey commented, thinking about the parallels. "Sorry I was a bit of a downer, there, I guess sometimes I just still really miss Bingo, even if I do talk about it with mum and dad."
"It's okay." Lucky said, "Believe me, we get it."
"All of us have lost someone." Muffin said. "And it hurts sometimes more than others."
"Besides, we're all here for each other." Judo said. "And even though it hurts, we're still family, whether by blood or not." She looked at the Retrievers, "Even if that means I now have two annoying brothers." She joked.
"And we have a boring sister." Lucky retorted, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"A boring sister with too much poofy hair!" Chucky grinned.
Judo scoffed, "You're lucky I was lonely as an only child. Otherwise I'd trade you both for a pet cat."
"I'm always Lucky." The older Retriever smiled with a shit eating grin.
Muffin smacked him. "You deserved that."
He winced, "Fair enough."
"I like having a big brother." Muffin nodded. "A muscly big brother who can take me on piggy backs way longer than dad!"
"Nate is really cool." Lucky nodded in agreement.
Muffin smiled as she watched Nate help move some supplies along with Bandit and Stripe, Rad trying desperately not to get in the way as he held a bag of concrete. "One day I'm gonna find him some boy he'll like, then they'll have babies and I can be an aunt!"
Judo, Lucky, and Bluey exchanged a look. "Um, Muffin…" Bluey began.
"Two boys can't make a baby." Judo concluded.
"But Nate isn't a boy. Boys have wee-wees. Nate doesn't have one anymore, so he's a girl. Duh." Muffin said, as if it were obvious.
"Muffin, that isn't…" Lucky began before pausing, trying to think of what exactly to say. Bandit and Stripe had had "The Talk" with him not too long ago, shortly after his birthday, so he understood the basics. The horrifying, terrible basics… "Look, he's still a boy, okay? So the only way he could have kids is if he adopted."
"Oh." Muffin paused, thinking a moment. "But I'd still be an aunt?"
"Yeah." Lucky nodded.
"Okay!" Muffin smiled, her tail wagging slightly, "I can handle that!"
The others exchanged concerned looks but decided not to get involved. It was generally a bad idea to tell Muffin 'no'. If she wanted to set up her older brother, it would be fine, right?
Chilli walked over, having finished nursing Lee. She held him on her hip as she arrived at the table where the kids were finished eating. "Alright everyone, let's get cleaned up. School in five minutes, okay?"
"Okay!" The kids replied.
Bluey took her dish to the basin and washed it off. Bingo, I miss you, but I promise I'm gonna try my best to keep going. I love you, and you'll always be my little sister.
***Author's Note***
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to give the kids a chance to shine since a lot of the focus has been on the adults. Also it's nice to have a little break before some slightly heavier stuff coming up. In any case, if you liked this (or have constructive criticism) please review, I appreciate all feedback! If you want more, I have another series, "Parenting" which will be posting a new chapter soon. Thanks again for reading!