Meet Stocking Head
A.N. Stocking Head is an OC by BigMoose01 based on and inspired by a stuffed dog at his grandparents' home that looks just like him, and I do have Moose's permission to use him in these oneshots. In fact, it was actually his idea, since we introduced him into our Blue's Clues headcanon as Blue's special male friend (if you know what I mean), and when he asked me if I had plans to feature him in these oneshots, I just couldn't say no, and here we are.
A.N.2. I must apologize this installment took so long to get here. I've just been busy deciding who Stocking Head's owners would be among other things. Nevertheless, it's here now, so please enjoy.
One Friday afternoon, Blue and Sprinkles were playing in the park with their best friends Magenta and Periwinkle. Blue and Magenta were swinging on the swings while Sprinkles and Periwinkle played with some toy construction vehicles in the sandbox. Blue and Magenta were having a contest to see who can swing higher than the other.
"I bet you can't swing higher than me!" Blue grinned.
"Try me!" laughed Magenta.
The two pups swung higher and higher on the swings, trying to out-swing the other, but it wasn't long before Blue spotted something that caused her to put her swinging to a stop. Magenta noticed this, and she braked her swing too.
"What happened, Blue?" she asked. "I actually thought you were gonna beat me."
"Look over there." said Blue, pointing.
Blue pointed over to a male anthropomorphic brown and white Basset Hound who wore a red, white, and green stocking cap with a white pom-pom on top who was playing on the slide by himself.
"Who's that over there on the slide?" Blue asked. "I've never seen that kid before."
"Neither have I." said Magenta. "He must be new to the neighborhood."
"Guess so." shrugged Blue. "Let's go talk to him."
"Good idea." said Magenta.
Blue and Magenta got off the swings and went over to the Bassett Hound, who was just coming down the slide.
"Hi there." said Blue. "My name's Blue, and this is Magenta. What's your name?"
"My name is Stocking Head." the Bassett Hound replied. "It's because of this hat I've always wore."
"Looks nice." said Blue.
"Thanks." said Stocking Head.
Back at the sandbox, Sprinkles and Periwinkle had noticed the former's sister and her friend talking to Stocking Head.
"Hey, Peri, who do you think that is?" Sprinkles asked his feline friend.
"I don't know." said Periwinkle. "But I'd like to find out."
With that, the puppy-kitten duo abandoned their toys and went over to Blue, Magenta, and Stocking Head, who immediately recognized the newcomers.
"And who might you be?" he asked.
"Stocking Head, this is my little brother Sprinkles and my other next-door neighbor Periwinkle." said Blue.
"Nice to meet you both." said Stocking Head as he shook hand-paws with Sprinkles and Periwinkle.
"Nice to meet you too." replied Periwinkle.
Just then, the quintet heard the voice of Periwinkle's grandfather, Mauve.
"Periwinkle, it's time to go home!" he called.
"Coming, Grandpa!" Periwinkle replied before turning back to the group. "Well, I gotta go now. It's about time for us to start preparing for the Sabbath."
And with that, Periwinkle left. Blue then looked at Sprinkles and Magenta.
"We better be going, too." said Blue. "Pretty soon it'll be our dinnertimes too."
"Right." nodded Magenta.
Just then, Sprinkles had an idea.
"Say, would you guys like to come over to my house for dinner tonight?" Sprinkles asked.
"I don't think so." said Magenta. "I've already got plans for tonight."
"But me and Sprinkles might be able to come." said Blue. "We'll just ask Steve, Joe, and Josh. Come on, Sprinkles."
"Can I come too?" asked Stocking Head. "I figured it might make sense for me to ask them too."
"Sure." nodded Blue. "Just follow us."
Blue and her brother took Stocking Head over to where Steve, Joe, who was wearing his red shirt, and Josh were. Steve was engaged in conversation with Magenta's owner, Miranda, on a bench while Joe and Josh played a game of chess. Blue quickly introduced her new friend to her owner, his brother, and their cousin. Then, Miranda rose up to leave with Magenta.
"So, see you next Friday?" Steve asked Miranda.
"I'll be there." replied Miranda as she and Magenta started to leave.
Afterwards, Stocking Head gave Steve, Joe, and Josh his invitation to dinner. The three men thought this was an excellent idea.
"That sounds wonderful." said Steve.
"Yeah, what better way to get to know new neighbors?" agreed Joe.
"Suppose you come home with us, Stocking Head." added Josh. "That way, we'll drive you home and you can show us the way."
"Actually, how about we have my owner lead the way from here?" asked Stocking Head. "Then you guys can follow in your own vehicle."
"You know, that would actually make much more sense." said Steve. "Where is your owner right now?"
"Right here." said a voice.
A woman in her mid-thirties then approached them. The woman had long platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore a light green shirt in a floral pattern with a white collar and cuffs, purple bell-bottoms, and silver knee-high boots. Around her neck was a silver star pendant necklace and she was also wearing a silver glitter hairband in her hair.
"Hello there." said the woman. "My name is Roslynn Whitney, but you can call me "Rosie" or "Rose"."
Steve, Joe, Josh, Blue, and Sprinkles all introduced themselves to Rose as they shook hands with her. Stocking Head then informed his owner that they had agreed to come to their house for dinner, and Rose readily agreed to show them the way. After Sprinkles retrieved his toy from the sandbox, She led the group to the parking lot, where a four-door 1957 Chevrolet Belair in a beautiful surf green color was parked next to Steve, Joe, and Josh's shared 1973 Volkswagen Thing. Steve, Joe, and Josh immediately began looking over the second vehicle.
"Boy, what a sweet ride." said Steve. "Pretty snazzy color, too."
"Thank you." said Rose. "My husband restored and re-painted this car just for me. All by himself."
"Well, he sure did a good job." said Joe. "That pair of green fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror is a nice touch too."
"And that green apple-scented air freshener too." added Josh.
"That was one of my husband's hobbies." Rose said. "Restoring old cars. But anyway, I think we've wasted enough time already. We best be on our way now."
everyone got into their respective vehicles and were soon on their way. They soon found themselves driving up a long and winding driveway.
"Wow." said Steve, who was at the helm of the Thing. "I've never driven up a driveway this long before. Hopefully there will still be enough gas left over to get us home."
Both vehicles soon pulled up to a large two-story mission-style house. Blue and Sprinkles gazed at the house as they exited the Thing with their owners.
"That's a big house!" gasped Sprinkles.
"I know!" agreed Blue. "It looks like a castle the way it's built!"
"Just wait 'til you see the inside." said Stocking Head.
Rose then opened the door and led the group inside, where in the kitchen was a tall ruddy-haired and green-eyed young man in his early thirties with a muscular build and clothes in a red and black flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the tail tucked into a pair of jeans, a concho belt, and a pair of brown cowboy boots stirring something in a pot.
"What's on the menu for tonight, Clint?" Rose asked.
"A true favorite amongst us Southerners." the young man, Clint, replied in a Southern accent. "Southern fried chicken with white gravy, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and biscuits."
"Mmm, sounds good." said Sprinkles as he licked his lip.
"Girls!" Rose then called. "Come downstairs! We have guests!"
Two girls then came down the stairs. One of them was a buttery blonde blue-eyed girl in her early teens and the other was elementary school-aged with neck-length black hair, blue eyes, and a darker skin tone than the first girl. The first girl was dressed in a red sweater vest with black lining over a white button-down shirt, white bell-bottoms, and brown platform shoes. The second girl's attire consisted of a white t-shirt with a green-and-yellow tie dye pattern, khaki shorts, a brown fringe vest, brown leather closed-toe sandals on her feet, a sunflower headband, a turquoise bracelet on each wrist, and a sunflower pendant necklace around her neck. Rose introduce the older girl as her daughter Sarah and the younger girl as Jazz, her adopted daughter.
"Girls, would you mind showing our guests around the house while me, Clint, and Stocking Head set the table?" Rose asked.
"Yes, Mom." said Sarah. "This way, guys."
Sarah and Jazz then began touring Steve, Joe, Josh, Blue, and Sprinkles around the property. Their first stop was the backyard, where they saw a large in-ground swimming pool and a patio set up with wicker furniture and an outdoor kitchenette complete with a grill and fireplace. Josh gave a low whistle as he and his cousins scanned the place.
"This is so much nicer than our patio back home." he said.
"Yeah, it sure is." said Steve. "I'd love to get my hands on one of those outdoor kitchenettes. I've heard those are very trendy."
"But pretty expensive, too." said Joe. "I've heard that those things cost an arm and a leg."
Jazz then went over to the edge of the pool, slipped off her sandals, and dipped her feet into the water, and sighed happily as she felt the cool water ripple around her ankles.
"So refereshing." she smiled.
"Yeah, the pool is Jazz's favorite thing." Sarah said. "Some days she'll want to go for a swim, other days she'd just rather sit on the edge of the pool and soak her feet, like she is doing here."
"In fact, I actually like being outside more than anything." said Jazz as she lifted one foot out of the water and watched the water drip off it. "Especially when it's bright and sunny like today, because like to feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair, and most of all, the grass under my bare feet."
"Yeah, on days like this, it's not really uncommon for us to see Jazz playing outside barefoot." Sarah then said. "Mom's okay with it, though, as long as she remembers to clean off her feet afterwards when she comes back into the house."
After a few more minutes, Jazz decided she had spent enough time by the pool, so she got up and went over to a small shed-like structure on the other end of the pool, where she took a towel from a rack hanging on the door, then sat on the ground to dry off her feet. This was followed by her replacing the towel on its hook, then returning to the others where she slipped her sandals back on, then took the others inside. The next stop on the tour was large a room with a a bumper pool table, a regular pool table, an air hockey table a standard table with chairs, and a shelving unit packed with board games.
"This is the games room." said Jazz. "I don't think I need to explain what this is used for."
"Indeed not." chuckled Steve.
Just then, a ringing sound was heard.
"Come and get it!" Clint's voice boomed from downstairs.
"I guess we'll have to continue the tour later." Sarah giggled with a shrug.
After washing up in the bathroom, the group made their way into the dining room, where generous portions of golden-brown fried chicken breasts, steaming ears of sweet corn, hot biscuits, and creamy mashed potatoes were waiting for them, as were coupe glasses of iced sparkling white grape juice.
"That looks scrumptious." said Steve as everyone took their places.
Once everyone was seated at the table, Rose said grace for the meal, then everyone began eating.
"So, Stocking Head, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Blue asked.
"Well, if you haven't guessed yet already, I'm a little bit well off." Stocking Head replied.
"Yep, we figured that out right away." said Joe as he took a bite out of his ear of corn.
"But, I kinda meant more about you as an individual." said Blue. "You know, what you like to do and all that?"
"Oh, yeah." said Stocking Head. "Well, for one thing, one of my favorite hobbies is reading. Another is hanging out with Jazz and Sarah."
"That's nice." said Steve as he took a sip of his drink. "What about you, girls?"
"Well, me and Jazz go to a K-12 school." Sarah explained. "Clint drives us in his pickup truck."
"What's a "K-12 school"?" Sprinkles then asked.
"A K-12 school is a school kids of all grade levels attend together." said Josh.
"That's right." added Jazz.
"Outside of school, one of my passions is horses." said Sarah. "I actually take horseriding lessons on the last Friday of every month, though in December, they move it to the last Thursday, due to Christmas."
"As for me, I like to research about Ancient Egypt." Jazz added. "I wanna be an Egyptologist when I grow up."
Sprinkles opened his mouth, as if to ask another question, but Jazz knew right away what he was going to ask.
"An Egyptologist is someone who studies Ancient Egypt." she explained. "My biological family came from Egypt, which is why I'm so interested in learning about my heritage."
"That makes sense." said Joe. "What about you, Clint?"
"I work as Rose's butler mostly." said Clint. "But I'm also her cook, her handyman, and her gardener, among other things."
Steve whistled.
"You must have a good work ethic." he said.
"And proud of it." said Clint. "In fact, I actually have dreams of becoming a country music star."
"Clint loves country." Stocking Head explained. "In fact, when he was younger, his parents introduced him to all sorts of country music greats, from John Denver to Glen Campbell and even Charley Pride."
"They sure did." said Clint. "They even named me after Clint Eastwood, because Pa's a big fan of Westerns."
"Cool." said Blue.
Blue then looked at Sarah.
"Well, Jazz said she wants to be an Egyptologist when she grows up, and Clint wants to be a country music star. What about you?" she asked.
"I actually want to be a nurse." said Sarah. "In fact, last spring, Jazz and I took a Red Cross Training course at the school we go to. We both passed with flying colors."
"So now, both my daughters are Red Cross-certified." Rose interjected. "And I am very proud of them."
"So are we." Josh said. "Say, what about you, Rose? Stocking Head mentioned that you guys are well off. Can you explain this?"
"Certainly." nodded Rose nodded as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "My husband, Trey, was a world-renowned millionare and philanthropist. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
"Trey Whitney? The founder of Whitney Enterprises?" asked Steve. "Yeah, we heard about him and all that he did to help those less fortunate."
"Shame he's no longer with us." added Joe. "He was such a nice man."
"Yeah." said Rose bittersweetly. "Gone when Sarah was only four."
"Terrible for a kid to lose a parent at such a young age." Josh said.
"But, he still lives on in our thoughts and memories." said Rose. "And he's in heaven waiting for us to come join him. That's what the minister told me and the girls at the funeral. Besides, we've still got an evening to enjoy together, and we shouldn't let anything dampen the mood."
Everyone heartily and happily agreed. After dinner, Stocking Head, Jazz, and Sarah showed Blue and Sprinkles the playroom that Jazz and Stocking Head would frequent. There, they spent some time playing until Clint called them back downstairs for dessert. Dessert that night was a banana cream pie, which Steve loved to no end. After dessert, while Sarah went to the study to have some reading time, Jazz and the pups played some board games in her room, which was decorated with an ocean theme and even had pictures of Ancient Egyptian art on the walls, and even some scale models of the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. Currently, the quartet was playing Candy Land, and it was currently Blue's turn.
"I guess you like the ocean too, huh, Jazz?" Blue asked as she moved her piece on the board.
"Yep." said Jazz. "One summer, after Sarah finished Fifth Grade, we went to the beach for a vacation, and I loved every bit of it, so when Mom told us that we would be allowed to decorate our new rooms however we wanted to, I jumped at the chance to ask if mine could be decorated with a beach theme."
"What about Sarah?" asked Sprinkles.
"Well, red is Sarah's favorite color, so she decorated her room in almost every shade of red imaginable." Stocking Head explained. "Clint's room is decked out with a rustic theme."
"Say, that reminds me." Sprinkles said. "Where's Clint actually from?"
"Arkansas." said Jazz. "He even has a copy of the Arkansas state flag on one wall."
"Cool." said Blue.
A while later, Steve came into the room and told Blue and Sprinkles it was time to go home, so after bidding goodbye to their new friends, they got back into the Thing and began the drive back home. Along the way, Blue was looking out the window, lost in her thoughts.
"Boy, Stocking Head is sure a nice pup." she said to herself. "I wonder if and when I'll be able to see him again."
You will, Blue. You will.
The End