Book 3: Breaking the Ice
Me: Hey, guys! A.G. Wicked said I accidentally put chapter five up again. My bad, ya'll! I fixed it. Well, my mom threw my eight-months pregnant aunt a baby shower today. It was fun. I sucked some helium out of a few balloons and went around either singing or laughing. Before I bore you, here is chapter six. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Family Matters
Jenna's eyes slowly opened and let out a quiet yawn. She looked up indolently to see Buck was still asleep. He had one arm around her and the other arm was resting on his stomach. She smiled sadly. She had another nightmare last night and finally considered to sleep with him.
Jenna still felt bad about last night. First, there was telling Celine the truth, which caused her to hit her, tell her she hates her, and run away. Then, there was Buck constantly comforting her and telling her everything was going to be okay. Now, the nightmares that kept bothering her has lead Buck wanting to lay with her overnight. Oh, had she regretted it all.
The she-weasel was careful about not waking Buck from his sleep as she crept out of their room to get out her art material she secretly made by herself while Buck was showing Celine the medical flowers that grew in the 'Garden of Health', as Roxanne named it. Its location was, at least, forty-five miles west of their cave. Rosalina and Roxanne decided to tag along with them just for the heck of it that day, so she was all by herself.
Jenna found a large boulder in the far corner near the entrance of the cave and decided to make her painting on it. She picked up her makeshift paints and other things over to it and began her work. She took out a paintbrush she made with a twisted twig and some thick, bluish-reddish feathers and dipped it in a black substance to make an outline. She had made an outline of a weasel kit, similar to Celine's.
She carefully rinsed the brush in a nearby puddle before continuing. Thirty minutes passed when Jenna was almost done with her portrait. She had painted the bright-eyed kit's eyes a dark shade of green, the kit's arms, paws, legs, and feet brown, the star-shaped birthmark on the kit's right shoulder white, and the kit's dress the same shade as hers. For Celine's short hair, Jenna glued pieces of bark on it with some tar she found on a tree to give it a coarse texture, being careful not go outside the lines as she did so.
Jenna took a step back to admire her work. While she stared at the portrait sadly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to the owner. "That's a beautiful painting." She looked up to see Buck staring back at her.
"You were asleep for thirty minutes. I thought maybe I would do something to clear my mind. Sorry if I had you worried."
"It's fine." There was a brief silence before Buck spoke again. "I like your painting. Is that supposed ta' be Celine?" Jenna's baby blue eyes stared blankly at the portrait again as she nodded.
"I wanted to make an apology gift for her when she comes back. When she sees it, I'll tell her I'm sorry and that I hope she likes it." Buck smiled. Ah, Jennifer. Always thinking of others. He thought to himself. He rested his chin on top of Jenna's head. Jenna nuzzled him lightly below his chin and entered his embrace as they both continued looking at the smiling portrait.
A loud yawn erupted from the other room, interrupting the amity and discreet the couple briefly enjoyed. Their eyes widened when they saw Rosalina coming out of the room with a drained look on her face. Her black hair was messy, as anyone would expect when waking up. Her usually clean and silky snow-white and black-speckled fur was in all directions and dirty, and she was limping a bit as she walked. They didn't know if it was from fatigue or if it was because of an injury.
Jenna got out of Buck's grasp to give Rosalina a tight hug. She lazily hugged her back and almost fell down when Jenna let her go, but Buck caught her. He picked her up and placed her on the moss couch. "Rosy, no offense, but you look horrible."
"I know." She groaned tiredly. Her eyes closed and her body leaned against the couch. Rosalina continued, "We had to run for, I don't know how long, to get her. We lost her along the way, and we were so tired. We camped in a nearby tree until I heard Celine scream."
She told them about how she had to fight a huge cave snake to save Celine's life and how she almost died if it weren't for her sister, even though she told her not to come along. "Wow! You went through all that trouble just to bring her home?" Jenna asked.
Rosalina let out another yawn before replying, "Yeah! We had to walk several miles to get here after that incident. I didn't want to be out there with more danger ahead. I just wanted to get home so that I didn't have to walk another several flipping miles. If you don't believe that Celine's home, you can see for yourself if you like, but the view will not be pretty."
"All right, lass, why don't you get more rest? You look like you still need some." Buck patted Rosalina's shoulder before getting up with Jenna to leave Rosalina to herself.
"I'm going to take a bath first. Like you said, and what I think as well, I look horrible." Rosalina yelled after them. Once they were out of her sight, she got up from the moss couch to the exit of the cave, only to fall down in exhaustion. She slowly picked herself off the ground and sighed, "Yeah, sleep first. Then, it's bath time for me."
Buck and Jenna walked into the girls' room quietly so to not wake the two sleeping she-weasels and the baby pterodactyl that slept on Celine's right side. Jenna knelt down to Celine's level and gently cupped the kit's cheek.
"Celine, sweetie, can you hear me?" Jenna waited for a response, a single move, one word to escape Celine's mouth. Buck got on his knees beside her with a paw on Jenna's shoulder. The female was trying to keep from crying, but seeing this sweet, innocent girl in front of her, injured and unresponsive, wasn't helping at all.
The couple gasped when Celine blinked her eyes open to see her foster-parents staring back at her. Her vision was blurry at first, but once she regained her vision, she was glad to see them again. Happy and sad tears fell from her cheeks and down her face as she grinned at them. "Mommy, daddy, I'm sorry." She managed to get out weakly.
"Celine! Oh, thank gosh you're okay!" Jenna held the kit in her arms, sobbing softly into her hair.
"Mommy, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Celine's body shook violently in her foster-mother's arms. Remy woke up from all that was going on. He turned his head and saw two adult weasels embracing his friend. He let out a small happy chirp, catching the female's attention.
"Celine, who is this?" Jenna asked. Celine felt her foster-mom release her from their hug and she saw why. She lay at Remy's side and smiled while drying her eyes, "Mommy, daddy, this is my friend, Remy. I met him when I was hiding in the cave. He was hiding from Rudy, too. I think he may have a broken wing. I examined it and it looked broken. Do you think he can stay here until his wing gets better?"
Buck looked at the baby pterodactyl's wing then back at the kit. She really looked like she wanted to help him. Her gaze seemed to be begging him to let her dactyl friend stay here until he's completely healed. Sighing in defeat, he said, "All right. We'll help him, but you're going ta' have ta' help us take care of him, since he's our guest."
Celine hugged him and calmly thanked him. She turned her head to face Jenna, who was gently petting Remy's head. He seemed to be enjoying it because of the smile on his face. "Mom, can I talk to dad for a moment?" Jenna looked up from Remy to the brunette kit. Her expression turned into an understanding half-smile as she quietly nodded and left them alone with Remy following behind.
Buck remembered that he was going to punish her. Celine saw the serious look on his face and instantly knew that she was in hot water. That's when she did a little role-play. "Celine, you're grounded!"
"But, dad…" she said in her real voice in a sad tone.
"No excuses! You nearly made your motha' have an emotional breakdown." She mocked Buck's accent, shocking him. She's never mocked him before. Sure, sometimes she would try to talk like him, but not in a mean way. The male listened on.
"I'm sorry!"
"I know, but you're still grounded!" Once Celine was done, she was staring at Buck, panting with a slight angry look on her face. Buck was shocked. What was that all about? Was that really necessary? Buck looked at her with the gape still on his face.
Snapping out of it, he placed a paw on her shoulder. "Celine…"
"You know what; I'm going to punish myself. I'll stay away from the outdoors, or even forbid myself from having a play-date with Eggbert, Shelly, and Yoko for two weeks. Heck, I'll do all the work around here!"
"Celine!" Buck snapped. Celine stopped babbling after she heard him yell. She averted her gaze to hide her tears as she sobbed softly. Buck's eye softened. Why did he yell at her? She just got home. She's wounded, dirty, and under the weather. Now, here he is making it worse.
Buck sat down next to her with his arms around her in a loving embrace. Celine felt one of the male's paws running through her messy hair and held on to him. "Celine, dear, I'm sorry. You just go' home last night and you're scratched up pretty badly."
Celine's green eyes were staring up and down her arms once he mentioned her scratches. She felt fingers lightly touching one of the scratches. She winced at the stinging feeling the pressure left on her. "It still hurts." Celine said softly. She looked up at him sadly.
Buck sighed. He wished there was some way he could heal the kit's shallow cuts and scratches. That's when he remembered the day he first met Rosalina and Roxanne. He remembered that he used some sort of flower to heal Rosalina's abrasions that were caused by a monster of a step-dad. Eventually, the twins' step-father was exonerated, even though he was deceased before they really did forgive him.
Dark, forest green eyes stared back at a deep blue eye as Buck and Celine stared at each other. "Celine, stay here. I'm going ta' fix those scratches of yours."
"Okay. Oh! Dad, let me punish myself." Celine called after him.
"We'll worry about your punishment after we patch you up." Buck stated with a nod. Jenna brushed past him as he left. She didn't really worry about him. She overheard where he was going to be. This would be the perfect time to talk to Celine. The female walked over to the kit and sat down.
"Hey, mommy." Celine tried to grin, but seeing Jenna after she ran away was too much for her. She figured she'd be mad at her. To her surprise, all she saw was a gentle and sad expression on her adoptive mother's face. She could feel her body quiver, frightened of what Jenna was going to say to her.
"Celine," Jenna sighed. "I don't blame you for being mad at me. It was my fault that I told you at such a young age. This is my fault that you're like this." She and Celine hugged each other tightly, not wanting to let go. Everything was silent and peaceful until they heard a loud yawn coming from Roxanne.
They both giggled. "I forgive you. At least I know that my real parents aren't alive anymore and that you, Buck, and the twins were trying to protect me by not telling me. Hey, let's leave Roxanne to her beauty sleep." Celine suggested with a smile. The two she-weasels got up from Roxanne and Celine's bed and left, leaving a snoring Roxanne behind.
Chloe slowly opened her eyes with a tired groan. She did not want to wake up, but she had to, for Maryanne's sake. "Finally, you're awake!" The blonde she-weasel looked down at her with an impatient scowl. Before the two had the chance to quarrel, Leah and Maryanne's mom walked in, smiling at them.
Maryanne's honey-colored eyes softened at Leah and her mom's presence. She swiftly looked back at Chloe and whispered, "I'll deal with you later." Chloe rolled her eyes as she ran over to the other females and gave them a sweet smile of her own, forgetting her.
It was typical of Maryanne to forget her like that. Every time Chloe did something that made the she-weasel enraged and Leah or her mom –sometimes both- walk over to her, the blonde would go back in her fake "innocent" state. It made Chloe sick inside. She loathed her with a passion, but never admitted it unless she wanted the blonde all in her face.
"Morning, girls. Jason and his parents are outside, waiting for you, Maryanne." Maryanne's mom gave her a sincere grin. The blonde's mom was a total opposite of her. She was a nice female with dirty blonde, neck-length hair and had her daughter's golden brown eyes. Chloe and Leah loved her as if she were their mom instead of Maryanne's.
The four she-weasels walked outside and saw the said Jason with his parents, his brother, and his cousin. Stella, the teen's mom, frowned when she saw Maryanne giving her future mate a fake smile. She didn't really like what she saw in front of her, but at least she thought he was kind of cute. While she was staring at Jason, Chloe was introducing her and her sister to Jason's family.
"Check out that dark, red-headed girl." One male hit the other on the forearm and pointed at Leah. They seemed to have caught her attention, for her violet eyes met with brown ones as she turned to look at them. She hesitantly walked over to them with Chloe's arm linked with hers.
"She's coming this way." The brown-eyed male pushed Jason's brother towards her. The chocolate brown-eyed male was Maryanne's mate-to-be's cousin. His name is Lars. He was known to be quite the ladies' man. He had dark fur with a brown midsection and a mullet cascading down to his shoulders like a curtain.
Jason's brother's name was Rico. He didn't look much like his brother. He had pure, smooth brown fur all over, instead of black fur and a white midsection. His eyes were a greenish-bluish color, unlike Jason, who had almond-shaped, warm green eyes. Like Lars, he too had a mullet, but it was shorter than his.
Rico's thoughts went away when he heard someone gasp. He looked down to see Leah at his front, blushing madly. "H-h-h-hi." She stuttered softly. Poor Leah wasn't used to talking to guys. She was always so shy around them that she had Chloe walk next to her whenever she wanted to approach a male.
She would stutter so much that the male he was talking to would either walk away or just be plain rude and tell her to spit it out. That's happened four times, and each time Chloe smacked them and told them off. Jason's brother, to their surprise, was different.
"Hey." He said back. He took a couple steps back to give her some space. There was an awkward silence between them until Maryanne called for Leah. "I-I g-g-got to g-go." She stuttered again and left, pulling her gaze away from Rico's. Man, she's beautiful. I pity for her that she lives with that stuck-up princess back there. His eyes widened when he saw Maryanne hit Leah.
"Leah, you don't flirt with guys without my permission!" Leah was trying to hold back the tears as the stinging she felt on her cheek tingled nonstop. Jason's eyes widened like his brother's did. I'm marrying this brat? Somebody kill me. Poor girl. Maryanne huffed then hugged the violet-eyed she-weasel.
"I'm sorry, okay. You're to stay with me, not walk off to meet some guy."
"Hey, Maryanne! My sister's not a dog! Why don't you leave her alone, and let her do what she wants?" Chloe stood in front of her sister. Her blood boiled inside her like hot lava in a volcano that's about to erupt. How she would love to beat this blonde senseless imp in front of her. Through gritted teeth, she growled, "Hit my sister again, and I'll have you on the ground in a millisecond."
"I love how you have the guts to threaten me, Chloe, but my mom's here. So, you might not want to start a scene unless you want some trouble." Maryanne chuckled in victory when she saw the redhead's face turn read in anger and walked away. Chloe sighed irritably and turned to her sister.
"Leah, are you okay?" She didn't get a response from her. Instead, she was staring off into space, or was staring at someone. She followed her sister's gaze to see that she was staring at Jason's brother through blurry eyes. Leah felt arms wrap around her shoulders and let her eyes turn back to the miserable shade of dark purple.
"Sis, I know you like him. You'll get a chance to talk to him again. I know you will. Come on, let's go meet Jason."
"You go ahead. I'm going to get me some water with Maryanne." Chloe heard the emphasis on 'with' and nodded slowly. She wished there was something she could do to help Leah stand up to Maryanne, but she felt that she couldn't do anything. She felt useless. Her mind drifted away from the drama to her world where she felt nothing but free and happy.
Me: I'm feeling pretty bad for the ferret sisters and Celine right now. I really don't have anything else to say. So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and not the one I accidentally re-updated. Bye!
Sweethalo90 :)