Read on, my friends, read on.

The title of this chapter is from the Lion King

I only own my characters

Chapter Fifteen

Can you feel the love tonight?

"Okay, just pull it...over his ears…"

"Ow!"

"I don't know if it'll fit, Zoey."

"Well, it's the biggest size they had for this."

"I can't get my head through!"

"No, no, you can...just…"

"Hurk...umph!"

"There."

I stand back and smile widely. Faolan stares at me, his fur disheveled. Madison and I have decided to make him look more human by putting clothes on him. So, in the morning after our girl's day with Jane, Darcy, Pepper, Betty, Mom, and Natasha, we went and bought some stuff. Right now, he's wearing a green, wool, christmas sweater with white reindeer and snowflakes.

Madison reaches down into her shopping bag and pulls out a pair of blue and black pants. "These should be easier to put on." she says, lifting them up.

"Wait," I say, "What about his tail?"

Madison pauses, looking at the pants. Then, she gives them to me and says, "Rip a hole with your claws."

I take them and let my claws unsheath. It's a little hard, since my claws aren't the sharpest things in the world, but I manage to slice two decent-sized holes in the pants.

I hand them to Faolan, and he takes them with a doubtful look. I roll my eyes, and then Madison and I help him put them on. She was right- they are way easier to slip on him than the sweater.

Soon, we have a human-ish wolf mutant standing in front of us.

I laugh at his appearance and then put on my sweater. Madison and I got matching ones; cranberry red with polar bears on it. And why are we putting on such clothes? Well, since today's Christmas Eve, Uncle Tony was awesome enough to rent part of Central Park for us. Oh, the power of money.

"Okay, guys," Uncle Tony says, walking up to us, "Are you ready?"

"Yup," I reply, putting on my white hat with red snowflakes a red puffball. Madison puts on a grey one with reindeer on it. I reach into the bag and pull out Faolan's hat; a grey and black cottony thing with a white puffball. Kinda looks a little raccoon-ish, but whatever.

"Lean down, Faolan." the wolf mutant does as I say and leans down. I plop on his hat, quickly cutting two slits for his ears.

He straightens up and looks around. "These human 'clothes' are weird."

"Yeah, but they'll save you from getting a frostbite," Darcy says, walking up to us. She tilts her head up and looks at Faolan, "You look cute in those."

He blushes and I laugh, putting on my scarf.

Uncle Tony walks towards Pepper, who's looking adorable in her winter clothes. I swear, with her strawberry-blond hair and her perfect rosy cheeks- she should be a winter clothes model. "Come on, the longer we stay here, the less time we have for fun." Uncle Tony says, leading us to the elevator.

The team (and their girlfriends) follow him across the living floor and again we squeeze into the elevator. Faolan groans as it goes down. It takes a minute or two to get to the main floor, since the building is so tall. When the doors open, Faolan is once again the first to dash out.

I step out and look around. The main floor seems more like a lobby in a really fancy hotel than simply the first floor in a home.

"So Peps, me, Bruce, and Betty in one car." Uncle Tony says as he struts out of the elevator, "Clint, Tasha, Jane, and Thor in another. And then Darcy, Steve, Luna, Zoey, Madison, and Faolan…."

He looks at us, "That's not going to work. How 'bout you guys take the pickup truck? Then two can go in the front, two in the back, and two in trunk."

"Two in the trunk?" Mom exclaims, "That's dangerous! There's no top!"

"Don't worry, Mom." I say casually, "Faolan and I have claws. We can hang on."

"But…" she says, drifting off, "Wait, isn't that illegal?"

Uncle Tony waves a hand, "Ah, whatever. I'll bail you guys out if you get caught." Mom still looks uncertain, but then Madison asks, "Wait….wait, pickup trucks aren't four-seaters."

"Some are," he states, "And mine is. Now let's go have some fun!"

Before we can say anything else, he walks down to the basement where the cars are. His group follows. Clint shrugs to Natasha, and then they follow along with Jane and Thor.

I look at my group: Darcy, Steve, Luna, Madison, and Faolan. There's an awkward pause, and then I say, "Sooo..."

Darcy raises her hand, "I'll drive. Come on."

Oh no, Madison says in my head, Darcy's driving. Lord save us.

I inwardly giggle and say, Hey, who's going in the back without seatbelts? Beside me, Madison smirks as we walk down stairs.

Before we go, though, I call out loudly, "See ya later, Jarvis!"

"Good-bye, Miss Colt. Have a wonderful day."

Yeah, he and I are, like, best friends now. Mmm, hmm. I just don't like how he calls me Miss Colt.

I close the door and enter the basement. And it is, well, big. And has a lot of cars in it. "Here." I jerk around to see Uncle Tony tossing keys to Darcy. She clicks a button and somewhere there's a faint honk of a car.

"Good luck finding it." Uncle Tony says before walking away.

Darcy turns to us, "Alright. Let's split up and find it."

Ten minutes later…

"There's it is!"

Steve and Luna catch up to us. Madison and I had found the car. Yes, yes, thank you very much.

"Come on, Darcy!" Madison calls, her voice echoing through the basement, "Tony left, like, ten minutes ago!"

"Coming!" comes a faint reply. There's a grunt, and then, "You know what? Whatever!" Then, I watch as Darcy climbs on top of a car and starts towards us, hopping from car to car. Faolan follows her.

"Let's go!" Darcy climbs into the driver's seat. Steve and Mom share a look, and then Steve climbs into the other front seat. Meanwhile, Madison and Mom go in the back seats.

"Come on." I say to Faolan and heave myself into the trunk. Turning around, I help Faolan inside as the truck starts humming. Right when Faolan sits down, the truck backs up quickly. I yelp and cling on with my claws as Darcy pulls forward and starts driving.

Madison was right. Lord save us!

Darcy turns out to be a pretty reckless driver. Either that, or she just really wants to get to the park. By the time we get to the streets, Faolan and I are pressed flat on the floor, claws outstretched and hooked onto something.

"Slow down!" I yell at the top of my lungs. The only response I get is a fierce jolt, which knocks me to the side.

"Guitain!" Faolan yelps. "I'm okay!" I say, clinging onto the floor.

Hahaha! Are you alright? Madison says in my head, I feel your fear.

You feel my fear? I reply, outraged, Seriously? No, you have no right to comment on what's happening!

Okay, okay, fine.

I growl and close my eyes, wishing for this to be over. Thankfully, Central Park is only about ten minutes away from here. Unfortunately for me and Faolan, it feels like an hour long rollercoaster.

Soon, I feel the pickup truck slowing down and open my eyes. Warily, I lift my head just in time to see the car drive into a parking space way too quickly and make a jolting stop.

Groaning, I pick myself up and get on my knees. Next to me, Faolan shakily gets to his paws and jumps out of the truck. I follow him, but I have a less graceful landing. From the looks of everybody's faces as they get out of the truck, I can tell they didn't have much of a better time.

"Next time, I'm driving." Mom says, rubbing her elbow as if she had hurt it. Steve sighs, "Yes, please."

Darcy looks as if this was the most normal thing in the world. I don't know which, though; her driving, or people telling her that they're driving next time.

"There you guys are!"

I turn around and see Pepper walking towards us. When she reaches us, she says, "Come on, we've already got a spot."

"What do you mean?" I ask, following her as she leads us to the park, "Uncle Tony rented, like, half the park."

She glances at me, "Uncle?"

I wave my hand, "Long story."

She smiles and says, "He only got enough for you guys to play in the forest."

I perk up, "Forest?" Forests mean trees, and trees mean climbing, and climbing is fun! I look at Madison and see excitement in her eyes.

Pepper laughs and says, "I'm guessing you like forests."

I shrug and reply, "My sister and I like to climb."

Just then, we enter the park and my eyes widen. Next to me, Madison gawks. "Whoa." she breathes.

Central Park looks like a winter wonder land. The ground is covered perfectly in a blanket of snow, and the sunlight from above makes it sparkle. The many different kinds of trees, some of which have lost their most of their leaves, are also dotted with the perfect amount of snow. In the distance, I can see a forest of evergreens. There are frosted stone pathways, bridges with rivers underneath, outcroppings of rocks with kids playing on them, lakes, and other cool things. It is just…. beautiful.

I barely notice Darcy coming to stand next to me. "Wow," she says, sounding impressed, "This is going to be a fun day."

Pepper leads us over to the part of the park that Uncle Tony rented. If anyone notices anything off about our group, specifically the fact that there's a wolf mutant, they don't say anything. While we walk, I explain to Faolan what everything is.

"And those are called trees." I say, pointing to the trees, "There are many different kinds. Most lose their leaves in the winter, but others, like evergreens," I point to the evergreens in the distance, which seem to be bigger since we're walking towards them, "keep their needle-like leaves all year and stay green. And this thing we're walking on- it's called a bridge. People usually build them over water. The water underneath this bridge is called a river. They lead to a lake, which is basically a big pool of water."

I pause to take a breath. Faolan's looking around in wonder at all the new things, all the things he has missed in the years that he was trapped in the lab.

I look up and spot a large bird on a tree branch. I point at it and say, "That's an Urban Hawk. It's a type of bird. And that's a duck." I point to the fowl in a pond. I look up and see more birds, "And that's a finch. And a wren. And-"

"This is a lot to memorize." Faolan comments. I look at him as we get off the bridge, "You don't have to memorize all of it. It's just fun to know. And I'm a bird fanatic, so…"

Faolan leans down and picks up some snow with his forepaw. Unlike everyone else, he refused to wear gloves. Looking up at me, he asks, "This is snow, right?"

I nod.

He looks at the snow and shakes it off his paw. "I don't like snow. It's cold. Is there anywhere without snow?"

Again, I nod and say, "Where I live, it never snows. But snow is fun! Sure it's cold, but you can do a lot in it."

"Hey, guys!" I look away and see Jane waving at us. The team and all the women are there on various blankets. It looks like they made a camp near the evergreen forest. I watch as Clint and Natasha attempt to make a fire. Most likely illegal, but...

As we walk over to them, Faolan asks, "Like what?"

I look at him, and then remember what I had said a few seconds ago.

"Oh, right!" I say, and then get a mischievous look, "Well…."

I turn away and lean down, quickly making a snowball. Then, I whirl around, jump back, aim, and throw it. The snowball flies and lands splat on his face.

He yelps at the cold and looks at me in shock. I laugh and take a few steps back. After a moment, his eyes light up and he shakes the snow away before leaning down and making a snowball. I quickly make my own, but suddenly cold explodes on my side and I jerk in surprise. Faolan grins and I throw my snowball, hitting his shoulder.

He jumps back and then leans down. With a mighty paw, he sends a mini avalanche of snow towards me. I gasp at the cold as the snow somehow finds its way to my skin. Letting out a wolf-like yelp, I run away as he starts chasing me.

Madison's POV

I turn around, looking for Zoey, who seems to have disappeared. Then, I see her and Faolan running towards the clump of evergreen trees, chasing each other and both looking very wolfish.

Sighing, I turn back around and sit down next to Tony. He's nursing a cup of coffee, and glances me as I start making hot chocolate. Turning around, I watch my sister with that wolf boy as they play.

Tony glances at me again but continues paying attention to his coffee.

I narrow my eyes at Zoey and Faolan, and then scoff, "I tell ya, Tony. This stinks."

Tony gives me a weird look, "Oh, sorry." He pulls his coffee away from me and leans over to grab some sugar. I roll my eyes, "No, not the coffee. Them!" I gesture to the two lovebirds. "Him," I roll my left hand, "Her." I roll my right hand, "Alone." I bring my hands together and pull them to my chest.

Tony raises an eyebrow in confusion, "What's wrong with that?"

I let out a breath, the air in front of me billowing in the cold. Then, I say in a singsong voice, "I can see what's happening."

"What?" Tony asks, bewildered by my sudden song.

I grimace and shake my head, "And they don't have a clue!" I gesture to Faolan and Zoey.

"Who?" he asks, still confused, and turns around.

"They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line," I sing, and then pat Tony's arm with the back of my hand, "Our trio's down to two." I hold two fingers.

"Ohhh." he realizes, and then looks at me knowingly. I make dramatic gestures and sing, "Ze sweet caress of twilight." I press up to Tony and make rainbow hands, looking off into the distance, "There's magic everywhere."

I pull away and sing, "And with all this romantic atmosphere." I shake my fists, "Disaster's in the aiiiiiiiiiirrr!"

Zoey's POV

I laugh as Faolan chases me right into the evergreen forest. I morph into the Wolf so I can run a bit faster. Above me, there's the sound of a snowball smacking into something, and suddenly I'm covered with the snow that had settled on the tree.

Laughing, I fall to the ground and let Faolan catch up. "Clever." I bark and he laughs. Shaking my pelt, I get up and continue walking through the woods. Faolan walks beside me, not bothering to rear up on his hind legs because nobody else is in the forest. My ears perk, for some reason, I can faintly hear singing; "Caaan you feel the looove tonight? The peace the eeevening briiiings."

I look at Faolan and ask, "Can you hear that?"

His ears perk, and he replies, "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I hear something. It's probably not what you're hearing, though."

We continue walking, and I hear, "The world for once, in peerfect harmony. With all it's living things." Hmm...weird. It's as if the birds are singing it. But...I've heard this before. Where-

"Hey, look!" Faolan's bark snaps me out of my thoughts, "It's a...it's a… a…. a lake!"

I follow his gaze and see a fat river running underneath a pretty bridge. Smiling, I shake my head, "That's a river, but good try."

We walk towards the river. Bending down, I start lapping at the water. I almost gasp at its cold, and notice Faolan shiver as he drinks. Abruptly, he stops and lifts his head, ears perked as if he's trying to hear something. I pause and look up at him before continuing.

Suddenly, a familiar voice in my head sings, "He's holding back, he's hiding". I pause again and look at Faolan. "But what? I can't deciiide. Why won't he be the king I know he is? The king I see insiiiide?"

Suddenly, Faolan leaps into the river snout-first. I jump to my paws and watch as he comes back up with a fish in his mouth. It flaps as he drags himself out of the river and plops it on the snow. It wiggles and flaps, trying to get back into the river. I move to hold it down, but Faolan gets there first and attempts to grab it with his forepaws. The slippery fish slaps him and slips out of his grasp, sending him tumbling back into the water. I can't help but laugh.

"Caaan you feel the looove tonight?" I hear faintly again and roll my eyes. Oh, right, the Lion King. Probably has something to do with Madison, no doubt.

Unexpectedly, Faolan's paws wrap around my shoulders and he tries to drag me into the river. However, I don't feel like getting hypothermia, so I slip out of his grasp like the fish and send him back into the river.

He jumps out and shakes his pelt, spraying me with cold droplets. I gasp and jump onto a snowy stepping stone. I hop onto another and then jump onto the opposite shore. Faolan follows me, his pelt damp.

I try to ignore the singing voices in the wind and start running. "Come on, Faolan!" I yelp, running past the bridge. The land slopes slightly upwards, and I see an outcropping of rocks ahead. Ducks and geese are settled on it, pecking between crevices for grubs or just huddled in a group. It seems like the river is too cold for them. Lucky me.

"Faolan." I slow down and drop into a crouch. He does the same next to me and I whisper, "Hunt."

He glances at me and rumbles in amusement, "You look like a rock against the snow, little shadow."

I roll my eyes and huff, "A living rock. That's about to kill some ducks!"

I take off, sending snow flying behind me. Faolan and I charge towards the fowl and I pounce. They all take flight in one mass. Climbing up the outcropping, I leap, jaws gaping and claws outstretched to snag anything in my path. Unfortunately, I don't catch anything and start falling.

Uh oh.

Turns out the outcropping was on a hill.

As I tumble down, I thank all the gods for the snow to break my fall. Relaxing, I let myself tumble down and down until I reach the bottom of the hill. My head pops out of the snow, but it's not too long before Faolan crashes into me.

Well, Faolan and a goose.

As we try to disentangle ourselves from each other, the goose, injured, runs away as fast as it can. I laugh, despite myself, and get up. Shaking the snow off of me, I look down at a disheveled Faolan.

Once again, the voices around me sing, but seem louder this time. "Caaan you feel the loove tonight? You needn't loook tooo faarr."

Shaking my head, I help Faolan up and then we hunt down the goose. It doesn't take long to catch up, and together we kill it. Panting, I sit down on the snow and look at our prey.

Faolan watches me expectantly, and then nudges the goose a bit closer. I tilt my head, smile, and then take a few bites. It isn't much to a big wolf like me, but I silently invite Faolan to eat as well. Soon, the goose disappears and we both look up. I awkwardly notice how close we are to each other.

Flicking an ear, I allow myself to turn a little human, but still have wolf-like features. My hat starts to slip off because of my wolf ears, but I tug it on firmly and cut slits for my ears.

"Stealing through the niiight's uncertainties." I hear faintly and glance up. Mistletoe. Somebody hung up mistletoes in the trees.

I look back at Faolan. He glances at the mistletoe in confusion, and then back at me. I notice how his eyes are many shades of green. Like, the main color is forest green, but there are darker and lighter greens within them. The sunlight makes them look beautiful. I blush, wanting to look away but unable to.

You know what?

We're alone, so what the heck?

I lean forward and press my nose against his. Eskimo kiss!

He looks taken aback for a moment. Then, he laughs and presses back. I smile, feeling my heart swell up in happiness.

"Love is where they are…"

Madison's POV

"And iiif she faaalls in looove tonight," I sing softly, watching Zoey and Faolan pressed up against each other from an outcropping of rock. Next to me, Tony sniffles. Yeah, he got a cold. From falling in a river.

"It can be asuuuumed." I pause and fall into Tony's arms, unable to finish. He sings, with a stuffed up voice, "Her carefree days with us are history."

I pull away and we both sing, "In short, our pal is dooooooooooooooomed!"

We look at each other, and then burst into a shower of tears.

I had to put this is there, guys. If any of you don't know this song, I am EXTREMELY disappointed in you. The Lion King was, like, my entire childhood. If you don't know that movie, you go and watch it RIGHT NOW!

If you wanna see Zoey and Faolan eskimo kissing, go onto my profile for a link to DeviantArt. I highly suggest it.

Anyway, so we've got some romance between our two little wolf mutants. Next chapter, SHIT IS GOING DOWN!

Tally ho!

-Periwinkle Skittles (it feels weird to sign off like this)