This is chapter one! I hope you like it :)

~SkulduggeryCain~

The human had arrived on the 12th of February, 2011. She had long brown hair and piercing blue eyes, eyes which seemed to pass straight through anything their gaze passed over. She was intelligent, polite and with excellent behaviour; these were qualities which the animals of Karakura recognised in a worthy friend. After about a week of her living in Karakura she knew most of the animals very well.

One animal she became close to in particular was Lobo; one of the grumpiest, crankiest, most unsocial animals in the whole of the town. Although he was well-known for his moody temperament and his harsh comments, he was a good person to be around and he knew a lot about various things.

In the first week of her stay he taught her how to catch fish and bugs, a regular pastime which many villagers enjoyed. He explained to her about the fishing tourneys and the bug-offs, gave her the dates of all of the events and even showed her around the town. The other animals were quite amazed; they had never seen Lobo so friendly and helpful. Wolfgang in particular was surprised. He and Lobo were brothers, close brothers at that, and Wolfgang was usually never surprised at anything his sibling did. This however threw him off. So one day, while the girl and Lobo were out fishing, he picked up his rod and joined them by the sea. He took the opportunity to get to know the girl a bit better, to try and understand how his brother's attitude had changed. It wasn't hard to see. After a mere few minutes of talking with her, you could understand why anyone would want to be her friend. She was kind, helpful, smart, funny… and most of all, she was respectful. She understood things, didn't press people. Wolfgang just knew that he too would enjoy being her friend.

"So, George," Wolfgang began, addressing the human, for this was her name. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," George smiled across at the wolf as he reeled in a catch. "How about you?"

"I'm also good," Wolfgang replied, grinning. "Just a bit surprised, you know. My brother has never been this social. I'm sure that you've already heard about his usual moody demeanour?"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of how he is supposed to be usually," George laughed. "I do find it rather strange, though. If he was really like that before, how come I've made such a difference?"

"You haven't."

George and Wolfgang both looked at Lobo, who was standing behind them with his arms folded. The two had almost forgotten that he was there, but now he had made them realise he was still with them.

"What do you mean?" Wolfgang's voice was steeped in confusion. "You were a moody old grouch before, and now that George is here, you've adopted a whole new attitude. How can you say that she hasn't made a difference when it's obvious that she has?"

"It wasn't her that changed me," Lobo narrowed his eyes. "I've always been like this. It's not that I wasn't social before – just that nobody bothered to talk to me."

George glanced at Wolfgang with a quizzical expression on her face. Her blue eyes scanned the older wolf's face, realising after a few seconds that he was just as confused as she was. He too didn't have a clue what Lobo was getting at, even though he had said it so matter-of-factly and with words which were easy to understand.

"So, are you trying to say that the only reason you were moody was because nobody ever spoke to you?" George blinked a few times. "But surely Wolfgang spoke to you, and you spoke to the others?"

"Yes, I spoke to them," Lobo reached up and pinched the bridge of his snout. "But they didn't really act all that friendly. I'm not really sure why. It's a two way thing, I guess. I'm moody, so people don't want to approach me. People don't approach or talk to me, and that's what makes me grumpy. George, because you didn't know me, you approached me and talked to me, so that made me happy instead of grouchy. I suppose I have you to thank after all. I mean, people are actually talking to me now, so…"

George smiled uncertainly. She didn't really understand just how much of a favour she had done for Lobo, however Wolfgang understood completely. A few seconds after Lobo had finished speaking he laughed, making both his younger brother and George jump. His loud barks echoed across the water, carrying far out to sea and in all directions before finally fading away to nothingness.

"So what you're basically saying is exactly what I originally thought!" Wolfgang shook his head exasperatedly, the hysterical tone still in his voice. "I said that it was down to George that you've become so cheery and helpful, but did you agree? Noooo!"

Wolfgang walked over to his sibling and ruffled his head fur. Lobo looked mildly amused by his brother's antics, yet also a bit annoyed with him for completing such an embarrassing gesture in front of his friend. George laughed as the two stood together, finding it very funny how the two were completely different yet behaved in almost the same way. She had only been in Karakura for a week but she already felt like she had known the two for years. One thing was for certain; she wasn't looking to leave Karakura any time soon.

Blathers was shaken awake by the coarse feathers of Celeste ruffling his own. She was gripping his wings tight and shaking him from side to side, shouting his name at the same time. Her voice suggested that she was greatly excited about something; however her rough man-handling also made him think that she wasn't in such a great mood.

"Will you wake up you dozy old fart!" Celeste complained, her tone containing a new edge as she became even more annoyed. "There are visitors in the museum! Visitors, I say! Now wake up!"

Blathers instantly became alert. He jolted upright, smoothed down the feathers which Celeste had creased and tried to make himself look approachable and helpful. After months of practice and longing, he did rather well at it. He definitely looked approachable. He almost looked helpful.

He also looked desperate, pale and really, really happy. These were the first visitors the museum had had within its walls for months. It was surprising to Blathers that someone had finally showed up after so long. After a moment he realised who it would probably be. Then again, it could be anyone. They might not even be visiting the museum, but rather the coffee shop downstairs.

It was Saturday, after all. KK. Slider visited on Saturday nights, jamming out his tunes for his animal fans which regularly showed up to his basement gigs. On this day, most of the animals would enter and instantly turn left for the downward staircase. They didn't even glance at any of the hallways into the exhibits.

While all of these thoughts ran through Blathers' head Celeste reappeared in the lobby. She was leading a group of three visitors, two males and one female. This threw Blathers' presumptions off completely. After a moment though, he realised that he should have known who would be visiting.

The newbie. The most recent arrival. The latest person to live in Karakura.

The visitors were none other than George, Lobo and Wolfgang.