Something of a filler chapter here. And some cute stuff with Wolf and Erskine.

Enjoy.

Chapter 9 - Morning

Valkyrie came downstairs to find Skulduggery and Erskine in the living room, lying on the couches. Both men were sprawled out and threatening to fall onto the floor. In all honesty, Valkyrie was too relieved to be concerned about how they'd wound up sleeping downstairs. What mattered right now was that Skulduggery was getting some sleep.

"You found them?" Clarity asked, walking in with wolf clinging to their trouser leg.

Valkyrie nodded. "I'm guessing Skulduggery passed out on the couch and Erskine had the good graces to tuck him in. For once, he's doing something nice."

Ignoring the jibe, Clarity carefully nudged Skulduggery back onto the sofa and shifted the coffee table away from him.

"We should leave him be," they said. "He needs-. Wolf, what are you doing?"

Wolf was clambering up onto the sofa Erskine was sleeping on. Once he was there, the little Pup sat down next to the mage and started literally petting him like a dog. His actions caused Valkyrie to snort with laughter, and made Clarity grin.

Eventually, Erskine woke up from the incessant petting. Grumbling, he propped himself up to look at Wolf irritably. The Pup just looked at him with wide eyes and wagged his tail playfully.

"Hey, there, Pup," Erskine muttered, raising a hand and ruffling Wolf's hair gently. "So I'm a dog, now, huh?"

Wolf smiled happily, and hugged Erskine tightly, making Valkyrie go 'Aaaw,' at how cute the whole thing was. Even Clarity and Erskine allowed themselves to smile gently.

"You want breakfast?" Erskine asked, sitting up. Wolf nodded eagerly, and clung to Erskine's chest when he was gently lifted up in the mage's arms. The waking party all went to the kitchen, where Clarity started preparing a cooked breakfast for a grand total of nine, Valkyrie made some drinks and Erskine used his free hand to get the dishes out.

"You never struck me as the cooking type, Erskine," Valkyrie remarked, handing Erskine a mug of hot coffee, which he gratefully took.

"That's because he's not," Clarity said teasingly, earning an indignant scowl from Erskine. "Don't let him near an oven or cooking fire unless you want him to set fire to the meal and the surrounding area."

"Hey! It's not my fault I'm not as culinary adept as others," Erskine protested. "And I do not set fire to everything!"

"Tell that to Anton after he trusted you to cook dinner whilst he wrestled me to the ground in order to get Skulduggery's leg back…"

"Dexter was being an idiot and distracted me."

"…And Saracen when he asked you to marinade and cook those barbeque ribs some twenty years ago."

"It wasn't my fault that there was a gas leak and I thought the lighter part of the cooker wasn't working!"

"Face it, Erskine; you're a culinary disaster."

Erskine glowered at Clarity. "I can make sandwiches," he mumbled.

"And even they're a mess. You drowned mine with mayonnaise last time."

"But you like mayonnaise!"

"Not that much."

They continued to bicker back and forth whilst Valkyrie watched with amusement. Wolf; who was still being held in Erskine's arm seemed to develop an interest in the mug of coffee in his guardian's hand, and unbeknownst to anyone, he reached out and pulled it towards him, tilting it and taking a sip.

"Erskine," Valkyrie interrupted. "Wolf is helping himself to your coffee. I don't think he likes it."

Erskine halted his argument with Clarity to look down at the Pup in his arms, whose face was scrunched up in distaste, ears laid down flat against his head. Erskine chuckled and brought the mug to his own lips.

"Not very nice, is it?" he asked when he finished. Wolf shook his head. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it when you're older."

Wolf flicked his ears as he looked up at Erskine strangely, only succeeding in drawing another chuckle from the mage.

Valkyrie smiled and placed a toaster waffle in… well… the toaster. When it popped out, she smeared it with chocolate spread and handed it to Wolf. The Pup grinned and eagerly took it, chomping down on the sweet treat.

"What do you say, Wolf?" Erskine asked expectantly. "You say 'thank you' when someone does something nice for you."

Wolf looked up at Valkyrie and let out a little 'yip!' when he'd swallowed the mouthful of chocolate covered waffle he was currently chewing on. Erskine sighed in defeat and ruffled the boy's hair. "Good boy."

"So when did Skulduggery finally get to sleep?" Clarity asked.

"I found him in the kitchen at three," Erskine said. "I'd say it was half an hour later when he finallypassed out."

"And it's half six now, so he's only had roughly three hours of sleep. Dexter and Saracen had better not wake him up."

"Get back here, you rascal!"

Everyone was caught off guard by the yellow-haired blur that dashed in, and the blond man who charged in after it. Dingo hid behind Valkyrie's legs, a cheeky grin adorning his features. Dexter scowled in annoyance, his hair sopping wet and wearing little more than a towel around his waist.

"Dexter, get some clothes on!" Erskine exclaimed.

"That little nuisance tried to burn me alive in the shower!" Dexter protested.

"Did not!" Dingo protested.

"Then why was the sink running?"

"Dingo," Clarity said. "Look at me, and say you didn't mess around with the sink to make Dexter's shower burn him."

Dingo's ears drooped, and when he looked at Clarity, his blue eyes were guilty to no end. "I did it," he whimpered.

Clarity sighed and shook her head. "Dingo, that's not very nice, you should know that. You could have hurt him very badly."

"Sorry, Dexter."

Dexter's scowl softened after a few moments, and he offered the blonde Pup a forgiving smile. "Don't let it happen again," he said. "Promise?"

Dingo nodded. "Promise."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to wash the conditioner out of my hair."

"You use conditioner?" Valkyrie questioned.

"A guy's gotta look his best for the ladies."

"You're unbelievable…"

"Unbelievably desirable, baby."

"Out before I shock you!"

That was more than enough to prompt Dexter to clear out of the kitchen and back to the bathroom. Dingo left his hiding spot behind Valkyrie and tottered over to Clarity, who was frying eggs and bacon, and keeping an eye on the bread in the toaster.

"Can I have some bacon, please?" he asked, adorning his almost irresistible puppy eyes.

Surprisingly, Clarity was immune to the infamous look. "When I've made enough for everyone, okay?" they said, ruffling Dingo's hair. The Pup nodded and waited patiently, keeping still for once.

Reviews are love!