The Gift (Mythklok Seasonal)
Dec. 20th, 2011 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tikificTitle: The Gift (Mythklok Seasonal)
Author: tikistitch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Boon gets a Yule gift.
Warnings: Slobber.
Notes: In case you hadn't figured this one out, there's not gonna be a new MK chapter before I leave for India. Chapter 81 is gonna be a bit of a downer, and I'm angsty enough as it is over the holidays. So, have some fluff instead.
Lord Ganesh strode into the living room at his lovely residence at the foot of the HImalayas. He stood surveying the scene for a moment, hands on hips, nodding in approval. And then he collapsed onto a large, comfortable couch, sighing deeply, letting his head loll back against the backrest, and stretching out his long legs. He grinned, kicking off his shoes, and stared for a while at the ceiling, thinking of nothing in particular.
“OK, here we go.” Ganesh looked up to the sound of Charles' voice. Charles was holding onto the back of Elias' coat, as the boy currently had his arms full of a goodly chunk of his large retinue of plush companions.
“You wanna set those guys in your room, Boon?” asked Charles. Elias nodded and went roaring off.
Charles approached Ganesh, who reached out and tugged the angel into his lap.
“Everywhere he goes, it's running,” said Charles. “Where does he get the energy?”
“Pity you don't recall a lot of your childhood. I could tell you some stories....”
Elias soon ran back, puffing. “Wan da lap!” he declared, pointing at Charles.
“I was here first. I got Baap's lap,” said Charles smugly.
“NO! Wan da lap!” Elias giggled, clambering onto the couch beside Ganesh. He then attempted to dislodge Charles from his perch by a clever gambit of pushing and tickling. It all very quickly devolved into more of a laughing heap than a wrestling match.
Ganesh nodded to one of his silent servants and began to extricate himself from the small pile of angels covering his person. “We're ready to bring it out,” he told Charles.
“Oh. Uh,” said Charles, who had started looking doubtful. A silent servant brought out a plastic container and set it on the floor. “You sure about this?” Charles whispered to Ganesh.
“Yes. We've talked it over rather extensively,” chuckled Ganesh.
“But he's still so little!”
“Lady Raziel personally made the selection.”
“Yeah. Raziel,” said Charles, rolling his eyes.
“Sariel, kindly cease fretting. It will be fine. Elias!” Ganesh said to his son, who knew by now being referred to by his proper name meant he probably ought pay attention. “We have a very special Yule gift for you this year, from Lady Raziel and Lord Wotan.”
“Uh-huh,” said Elias, eyes now big and round with wonder at the magic word, “gift.”
Ganesh signaled his servant. A door on the plastic carrying case was opened. And suddenly, something very black streaked across the living room floor, and Elias was flat on his back, his face being ministered to by a chubby black wolf puppy.
Elias remained frozen, as if paralyzed, for a long moment. Ganesh grabbed Charles' shoulder to prevent him immediately rushing in to the rescue.
Elias at length managed to maneuver himself into a sitting position. He stared at the animal, bewildered. “Buppy?” he croaked.
The small wolf pirouetted and emitted a small yelp, as if in sheer joy of being recognized as such.
“BUPPY!” reiterated Elias, who was now on his feet, running around like a madman as well.
“All right, let us go out to the courtyard for some exercise,” said Ganesh, herding the two small beings towards the door.
Now it was Charles' turn to collapse onto the couch. He reached for his Dethphone and, seeing the text message, hit a button on his speed dial.
“Everything go OK?” came Raziel's voice.
“I think so.”
“They getting along?”
“I think my kid has actually gone insane with happiness.” He frowned as he heard Raziel snickering.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“I dunno. Does this make me a grandfather?” He cringed as Raziel laughed some more. And then he heard Wotan's voice in the background.
“Oh right,” said Raziel. “Wotan says you gotta Name 'em. That's important.”
“Don't tell me there's a fucking ceremony!”
Raziel was laughing again, damn her. “I dunno. You can give him extra kibble.”
“The wolf or the kid?”
Charles hung up the phone and went to stand in the doorway. Child and beast were now engaged in some kind of complicated game that looked to be a combination of fetch and keep-away.
Ganesh smiled over at Charles and then called, “Elias!” The gamboling stopped, and both were soon lined up in front of Ganesh, Elias' cheeks rosy pink from exertion, the small wolf's pink tongue lolling out to the side. “Now, you understand this is a big responsibility?”
“Uh-huh!” Elias told him. “Boon id da bid boy!” he assured his father, the small wolf slapping it's chubby tail on the ground for emphasis. Charles noticed for the first time the wolf had light colored tufts on the tips of his ears.
“Wotan says he needs a Name,” supplied Charles.
“Yes, that is a very good idear!” said Ganesh. “Now, you need to think of a Name for your puppy....”
Elias and the dog exchanged a glance. “MUGGATOAD!” squealed Elias. The dog produced a squealing little bark of approval.
It was Charles and Ganesh's turn to exchange glances. “Murgatroyd?” guessed Charles.
“It's you force-feeding him those Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” Ganesh grinned.
“I'll admit, not as good as the old Warners, but they had their merits.”
“All rightie. Er. Murgatroyd!” said Ganesh, addressing the wolf. The small wolf sat at attention, dark eyes blinking up at him. “My son, Elias, has bestowed a Name on you. Will you accept this Name, and by doing so, accept him?”
The wolf yipped and jumped up on Elias, who thumped down on his butt, and then giggled as he was bathed in wolf kisses.
“I will take that as a yes,” concluded Ganesh.
The laptop screen was filled with what appeared to be two small, squashed noses.
“Kids!” came Raziel's voice. “They don't wanna see your horrible faces! Back up!”
There was much giggling, and then the faces of Liam and his sister Abby came into focus.
“Id da buppy! Id Muggatoad!” Elias breathlessly told his cousins, holding up the small wolf up to the web cam. Murgatroyd curiously licked at the images of the twins.
The twins squealed and suddenly could be seen scampering away from the screen. “Mummy! Daddy! Boonie ha da puppy! Boonie ha da puppy!”
“Yeah, well, let's take a look,” said Raziel. “Awwww! What a cute little face.”
“Id Muggatoad!” Elias told her.
“Murgartroyd?” asked Raziel.
“Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” explained Charles, who was sitting in back.
“Oh. Not as good as the Warners, but they had some merit.”
“That's supposed to be a WOLF?” barked Wotan. “Little small for a dire!”
“But look how cute his little face is!” protested Raziel. “He was the little runt. Weren't you?” she asked the wolf.
“My raven, are you telling me you picked this one for its looks?”
“That. And when a couple of his bigger brothers tried to bully him, he knocked them the fuck over.”
“Heh. That's the spirit,” grinned Wotan. “All right, can he HOWL?”
“How'?” asked Elias.
“Can't be a proper pack animal if you can't howl! Like this!” And so saying, Wotan produced a rather incredibly awesome wolf howl.
Elias and Murgatroyd stared at each other in astonishment. And then both launched into a quite passable imitation of Wotan, albeit many octaves higher.
“There ye go!” said Wotan. “That's a proper wolf howl!”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Wotan,” said Charles, covering his ears as both boy and wolf continued their yelping.
“Now, Sariel, I'd wait a while before you try to introduce him to those persnickety yard wolves of yours. They're a bit cliquish, that lot. You can bring him up here, when you're ready. Geri and Freki will take to him. They took in that fool cat.”
“Geri and Freki aren't bright enough to know what's a wolf and what isn't,” laughed Raziel.
“Geri and Freki are brighter than some humans I can name!” argued Wotan.
“That's not saying much.”
“Mummy!” squealed one of the other of the twins. “Need da puppy!”
“You guys need a puppy?” asked Raziel.
“Uh-huh!” they bleated.
“Yeah, I think along with the two stupid wolves you already have, plus the ravens and horses and a Siberian tiger and a dead goldfish and a baby bearcat demon who's as big as a rhino – that's exactly what we need!” said their mother as the screen went dark.
“All rightie,” said Ganesh. “I must be off to EKC headquarters for an hour or so. Will you three be all right on your own?”
“Yeah, we'll be fine,” said Charles.
“Are you certain? I could call mother....”
“Ganesh! I manage a metal band! This is one wolf! And, it's not even very big.”
“I must admit, you have a point there. Well then, I will see you later.” And so saying, Ganesh leaned over and gave Charles a quick kiss, and then disappeared.
Charles took out his laptop and sat on the couch and for a time watched Elias tearing around the with his newest friend.
His phone rang. He picked it up. “Dick! It's nice to hear from ya. The venue...? Well, why won't they...? Yeah, I understand. I understand. You're not good leaving the house yet...? No, that's fine, that's fine I understand. I understand completely.”
Charles lowered the phone from his ear for a moment and cast a wistful glance at Elias. He sighed, making a decision.
“Dick. Do you think it would help if I went down there? Personally? Well, I'm kinda watching my kid, but I could make it quick. Oh, he's happy, we got him a puppy. Yeah, a puppy. No, it's not a Rottweiler. It's a wolf. Yeah. Pretty cool. Anyway. I'll see what I can do. Yeah. Bye.” He stood. “Boon! We gotta go.”
After he had gotten Boon wriggled into a coat and Murgatroyd wriggled into a leash, he stood in front of them. “OK, I guess I'm the alpha wolf now. Murgatroyd!”
The little wolf yipped and panted, showing pink tongue.
“Uh. Don't piddle everywhere. You're not William Murderface. And, uh, look after my kid.” Murgatroyd yipped in what was apparently assent, so Charles grabbed the leash, and a few steps later, he, Elias and the wolf were walking through an alleyway in the back of a theater. A small knot of men with cameras, paparazzi waiting for people coming out, gave them a bored glance. Charles cursed the fact that he couldn't actually Walk all the way inside the theater, but was also thankful that these camera clowns wouldn't be paying much attention to some guy walking his dog with his kid.
“Charles? Charles Ofdensen?”
Charles cursed and increased the pace without, as he longed to do, breaking into a run. One of the photographers, a young man with a small goatee and horn rimmed glasses, had broken from the pack and begun to run over. As Charles approached the door, he grabbed the back of Elias' coat and literally swept the boy inside, blocking any view of him with his body.. “Stay inside, I'll be right there,” he whispered, turning on his heel.
Charles stuck out a hand, expertly grabbing the photographer's telephoto. “No pictures of the kid,” he said. “You can take pictures of me. I'll even pose.”
“Is that your kid, Charles?” asked the photographer, trying unsuccessfully trying to wrest his camera from Charles' surprisingly strong grip.
“No pictures of the kid,” Charles repeated, lens in one hand, Murgatroyd's leash in the other. The small wolf tilted its head and looked up curiously at the paparazzo.
“What are you gonna do, old man? Break my camera?” taunted the photographer.
Charles yanked on the camera, pulling the photographer close to him. “I'll break your face,” he said. And then he turned and stormed inside.
“Ofdensen. He doesn't like you fucking with his kid,” said one of the older photographers, scratching his belly.
“Why should his kid be special?” asked the first photographer, who was irritably examining his camera for damage.
“Come on. It's a kid.”
“I'm gonna get a fucking photo if it kills me.”
The older photographer frowned at his goateed colleague. “It might.”
Charles was crouching next to a waiting room chair where Elias was concentrating on his electronic pad. “OK. We're just gonna take off for a minute to do daddy business. And then we'll get back home, and you guys can play. OK?”
“Uh-huh!”
“OK,” said Charles rising. “OK, uh, Murgatroyd. You're in charge now.”
The wolf, sitting on the floor next to Elias, gave a tiny yip and a little wag of its tail.
“So, what I think Dick was saying-” Charles began as a couple of businessmen ushered him into the office and closed the door.
Elias kicked his legs and smiled over at Murgatroyd. The waiting room was empty, except for the two of them. Elias tried howling, and Murgatroyd howled back. He grinned, and went back to his artwork for a time. It was cool being a wolf! Maybe cooler than being a grownup. Sometime grownup stuff seemed a little boring. It made his Daddy frown. He was working on a nice picture that would make his Daddy smile.
He became lost in his work for a while, but glanced up when he heard a funny little noise from Murgatroyd. It was a surprisingly deep little rumble. Elias looked up from his art piece. There was a man standing in the waiting room now. He was one of the men with the cameras from outside. Elias' Daddy didn't seem to like him very much.
The man was focusing his camera on Elias now. This puzzled Elias, as the man was not his Uncle, nor anyone who might like to take a picture of him.
The tiny rumble sounded again, and then something black streaked across the room, and the man with the camera was stretched out on his back, Murgatroyd atop his chest, yipping for all he was worth in the photographer's face.
“Get OFF me!” yelled the photographer, raising a hand at the pup. And then there was a terrible yelp, and Murgatroyd sank sharp little wolf teeth into the soft bit of the photographer's hand, right in the flesh between his thumb and forefinger.
“Aiiiiii!” yelled the photographer. “Get off! Get off!”
But then the photographer felt himself yanked up by the collar. The horrible dog thing had finally released his grip, but now he found himself face to face with Charles Ofdensen, who looked furious and weird. His eyes – there was something fucked up about his eyes. They seemed reflective.
“I said, no pictures of the kid,” Charles Ofdensen whispered. And so saying, he yanked the camera off the photographer's neck strap, and hurled it against the wall, where it shattered to bits.
The businessmen who had been inside the office with Charles were now out in the waiting room, watching as well, big grins pasted on their faces.
Charles turned to Elias. “Come on,” he said, extending a hand.
“Made da petty bidchur for Daddy!” Elias told him brightly, holding up his electronic pad.
“Aw, that's so nice. That's a good one! Come on, Murgatroyd!” said Charles, and then he, Elias and the wolf exited the waiting room.
The photographer stared forlornly at his broken camera.
“Murgatroyd?” he asked, just as a couple of rather large security guards entered the waiting room.
“Those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” said one of the businessmen.
“Not as good as the old Warners,” said the other businessman, “but they had merit.”
The dog bed which had been carefully set up at the end of Elias' bed was empty.
Instead, up on the bed, underneath the covers, head up on the pillow alongside his owners', lay Murgatroyd.
A soft toy was clutched in the wolf pup's mouth. Charles carefully extricated it and, frowning and wiping off the worst of the doggie drool, carefully tucked the dampened plush angel, Wunge, next to Elias.
“Murgatroyd might need a bit of instruction regarding what is and isn't his,” whispered Ganesh, draping an arm of Charles.
Charles watched the two snoring beings in silence for a moment. “I think he knows what's his,” he finally said.
Author: tikistitch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Boon gets a Yule gift.
Warnings: Slobber.
Notes: In case you hadn't figured this one out, there's not gonna be a new MK chapter before I leave for India. Chapter 81 is gonna be a bit of a downer, and I'm angsty enough as it is over the holidays. So, have some fluff instead.
Lord Ganesh strode into the living room at his lovely residence at the foot of the HImalayas. He stood surveying the scene for a moment, hands on hips, nodding in approval. And then he collapsed onto a large, comfortable couch, sighing deeply, letting his head loll back against the backrest, and stretching out his long legs. He grinned, kicking off his shoes, and stared for a while at the ceiling, thinking of nothing in particular.
“OK, here we go.” Ganesh looked up to the sound of Charles' voice. Charles was holding onto the back of Elias' coat, as the boy currently had his arms full of a goodly chunk of his large retinue of plush companions.
“You wanna set those guys in your room, Boon?” asked Charles. Elias nodded and went roaring off.
Charles approached Ganesh, who reached out and tugged the angel into his lap.
“Everywhere he goes, it's running,” said Charles. “Where does he get the energy?”
“Pity you don't recall a lot of your childhood. I could tell you some stories....”
Elias soon ran back, puffing. “Wan da lap!” he declared, pointing at Charles.
“I was here first. I got Baap's lap,” said Charles smugly.
“NO! Wan da lap!” Elias giggled, clambering onto the couch beside Ganesh. He then attempted to dislodge Charles from his perch by a clever gambit of pushing and tickling. It all very quickly devolved into more of a laughing heap than a wrestling match.
Ganesh nodded to one of his silent servants and began to extricate himself from the small pile of angels covering his person. “We're ready to bring it out,” he told Charles.
“Oh. Uh,” said Charles, who had started looking doubtful. A silent servant brought out a plastic container and set it on the floor. “You sure about this?” Charles whispered to Ganesh.
“Yes. We've talked it over rather extensively,” chuckled Ganesh.
“But he's still so little!”
“Lady Raziel personally made the selection.”
“Yeah. Raziel,” said Charles, rolling his eyes.
“Sariel, kindly cease fretting. It will be fine. Elias!” Ganesh said to his son, who knew by now being referred to by his proper name meant he probably ought pay attention. “We have a very special Yule gift for you this year, from Lady Raziel and Lord Wotan.”
“Uh-huh,” said Elias, eyes now big and round with wonder at the magic word, “gift.”
Ganesh signaled his servant. A door on the plastic carrying case was opened. And suddenly, something very black streaked across the living room floor, and Elias was flat on his back, his face being ministered to by a chubby black wolf puppy.
Elias remained frozen, as if paralyzed, for a long moment. Ganesh grabbed Charles' shoulder to prevent him immediately rushing in to the rescue.
Elias at length managed to maneuver himself into a sitting position. He stared at the animal, bewildered. “Buppy?” he croaked.
The small wolf pirouetted and emitted a small yelp, as if in sheer joy of being recognized as such.
“BUPPY!” reiterated Elias, who was now on his feet, running around like a madman as well.
“All right, let us go out to the courtyard for some exercise,” said Ganesh, herding the two small beings towards the door.
Now it was Charles' turn to collapse onto the couch. He reached for his Dethphone and, seeing the text message, hit a button on his speed dial.
“Everything go OK?” came Raziel's voice.
“I think so.”
“They getting along?”
“I think my kid has actually gone insane with happiness.” He frowned as he heard Raziel snickering.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“I dunno. Does this make me a grandfather?” He cringed as Raziel laughed some more. And then he heard Wotan's voice in the background.
“Oh right,” said Raziel. “Wotan says you gotta Name 'em. That's important.”
“Don't tell me there's a fucking ceremony!”
Raziel was laughing again, damn her. “I dunno. You can give him extra kibble.”
“The wolf or the kid?”
Charles hung up the phone and went to stand in the doorway. Child and beast were now engaged in some kind of complicated game that looked to be a combination of fetch and keep-away.
Ganesh smiled over at Charles and then called, “Elias!” The gamboling stopped, and both were soon lined up in front of Ganesh, Elias' cheeks rosy pink from exertion, the small wolf's pink tongue lolling out to the side. “Now, you understand this is a big responsibility?”
“Uh-huh!” Elias told him. “Boon id da bid boy!” he assured his father, the small wolf slapping it's chubby tail on the ground for emphasis. Charles noticed for the first time the wolf had light colored tufts on the tips of his ears.
“Wotan says he needs a Name,” supplied Charles.
“Yes, that is a very good idear!” said Ganesh. “Now, you need to think of a Name for your puppy....”
Elias and the dog exchanged a glance. “MUGGATOAD!” squealed Elias. The dog produced a squealing little bark of approval.
It was Charles and Ganesh's turn to exchange glances. “Murgatroyd?” guessed Charles.
“It's you force-feeding him those Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” Ganesh grinned.
“I'll admit, not as good as the old Warners, but they had their merits.”
“All rightie. Er. Murgatroyd!” said Ganesh, addressing the wolf. The small wolf sat at attention, dark eyes blinking up at him. “My son, Elias, has bestowed a Name on you. Will you accept this Name, and by doing so, accept him?”
The wolf yipped and jumped up on Elias, who thumped down on his butt, and then giggled as he was bathed in wolf kisses.
“I will take that as a yes,” concluded Ganesh.
The laptop screen was filled with what appeared to be two small, squashed noses.
“Kids!” came Raziel's voice. “They don't wanna see your horrible faces! Back up!”
There was much giggling, and then the faces of Liam and his sister Abby came into focus.
“Id da buppy! Id Muggatoad!” Elias breathlessly told his cousins, holding up the small wolf up to the web cam. Murgatroyd curiously licked at the images of the twins.
The twins squealed and suddenly could be seen scampering away from the screen. “Mummy! Daddy! Boonie ha da puppy! Boonie ha da puppy!”
“Yeah, well, let's take a look,” said Raziel. “Awwww! What a cute little face.”
“Id Muggatoad!” Elias told her.
“Murgartroyd?” asked Raziel.
“Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” explained Charles, who was sitting in back.
“Oh. Not as good as the Warners, but they had some merit.”
“That's supposed to be a WOLF?” barked Wotan. “Little small for a dire!”
“But look how cute his little face is!” protested Raziel. “He was the little runt. Weren't you?” she asked the wolf.
“My raven, are you telling me you picked this one for its looks?”
“That. And when a couple of his bigger brothers tried to bully him, he knocked them the fuck over.”
“Heh. That's the spirit,” grinned Wotan. “All right, can he HOWL?”
“How'?” asked Elias.
“Can't be a proper pack animal if you can't howl! Like this!” And so saying, Wotan produced a rather incredibly awesome wolf howl.
Elias and Murgatroyd stared at each other in astonishment. And then both launched into a quite passable imitation of Wotan, albeit many octaves higher.
“There ye go!” said Wotan. “That's a proper wolf howl!”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Wotan,” said Charles, covering his ears as both boy and wolf continued their yelping.
“Now, Sariel, I'd wait a while before you try to introduce him to those persnickety yard wolves of yours. They're a bit cliquish, that lot. You can bring him up here, when you're ready. Geri and Freki will take to him. They took in that fool cat.”
“Geri and Freki aren't bright enough to know what's a wolf and what isn't,” laughed Raziel.
“Geri and Freki are brighter than some humans I can name!” argued Wotan.
“That's not saying much.”
“Mummy!” squealed one of the other of the twins. “Need da puppy!”
“You guys need a puppy?” asked Raziel.
“Uh-huh!” they bleated.
“Yeah, I think along with the two stupid wolves you already have, plus the ravens and horses and a Siberian tiger and a dead goldfish and a baby bearcat demon who's as big as a rhino – that's exactly what we need!” said their mother as the screen went dark.
“All rightie,” said Ganesh. “I must be off to EKC headquarters for an hour or so. Will you three be all right on your own?”
“Yeah, we'll be fine,” said Charles.
“Are you certain? I could call mother....”
“Ganesh! I manage a metal band! This is one wolf! And, it's not even very big.”
“I must admit, you have a point there. Well then, I will see you later.” And so saying, Ganesh leaned over and gave Charles a quick kiss, and then disappeared.
Charles took out his laptop and sat on the couch and for a time watched Elias tearing around the with his newest friend.
His phone rang. He picked it up. “Dick! It's nice to hear from ya. The venue...? Well, why won't they...? Yeah, I understand. I understand. You're not good leaving the house yet...? No, that's fine, that's fine I understand. I understand completely.”
Charles lowered the phone from his ear for a moment and cast a wistful glance at Elias. He sighed, making a decision.
“Dick. Do you think it would help if I went down there? Personally? Well, I'm kinda watching my kid, but I could make it quick. Oh, he's happy, we got him a puppy. Yeah, a puppy. No, it's not a Rottweiler. It's a wolf. Yeah. Pretty cool. Anyway. I'll see what I can do. Yeah. Bye.” He stood. “Boon! We gotta go.”
After he had gotten Boon wriggled into a coat and Murgatroyd wriggled into a leash, he stood in front of them. “OK, I guess I'm the alpha wolf now. Murgatroyd!”
The little wolf yipped and panted, showing pink tongue.
“Uh. Don't piddle everywhere. You're not William Murderface. And, uh, look after my kid.” Murgatroyd yipped in what was apparently assent, so Charles grabbed the leash, and a few steps later, he, Elias and the wolf were walking through an alleyway in the back of a theater. A small knot of men with cameras, paparazzi waiting for people coming out, gave them a bored glance. Charles cursed the fact that he couldn't actually Walk all the way inside the theater, but was also thankful that these camera clowns wouldn't be paying much attention to some guy walking his dog with his kid.
“Charles? Charles Ofdensen?”
Charles cursed and increased the pace without, as he longed to do, breaking into a run. One of the photographers, a young man with a small goatee and horn rimmed glasses, had broken from the pack and begun to run over. As Charles approached the door, he grabbed the back of Elias' coat and literally swept the boy inside, blocking any view of him with his body.. “Stay inside, I'll be right there,” he whispered, turning on his heel.
Charles stuck out a hand, expertly grabbing the photographer's telephoto. “No pictures of the kid,” he said. “You can take pictures of me. I'll even pose.”
“Is that your kid, Charles?” asked the photographer, trying unsuccessfully trying to wrest his camera from Charles' surprisingly strong grip.
“No pictures of the kid,” Charles repeated, lens in one hand, Murgatroyd's leash in the other. The small wolf tilted its head and looked up curiously at the paparazzo.
“What are you gonna do, old man? Break my camera?” taunted the photographer.
Charles yanked on the camera, pulling the photographer close to him. “I'll break your face,” he said. And then he turned and stormed inside.
“Ofdensen. He doesn't like you fucking with his kid,” said one of the older photographers, scratching his belly.
“Why should his kid be special?” asked the first photographer, who was irritably examining his camera for damage.
“Come on. It's a kid.”
“I'm gonna get a fucking photo if it kills me.”
The older photographer frowned at his goateed colleague. “It might.”
Charles was crouching next to a waiting room chair where Elias was concentrating on his electronic pad. “OK. We're just gonna take off for a minute to do daddy business. And then we'll get back home, and you guys can play. OK?”
“Uh-huh!”
“OK,” said Charles rising. “OK, uh, Murgatroyd. You're in charge now.”
The wolf, sitting on the floor next to Elias, gave a tiny yip and a little wag of its tail.
“So, what I think Dick was saying-” Charles began as a couple of businessmen ushered him into the office and closed the door.
Elias kicked his legs and smiled over at Murgatroyd. The waiting room was empty, except for the two of them. Elias tried howling, and Murgatroyd howled back. He grinned, and went back to his artwork for a time. It was cool being a wolf! Maybe cooler than being a grownup. Sometime grownup stuff seemed a little boring. It made his Daddy frown. He was working on a nice picture that would make his Daddy smile.
He became lost in his work for a while, but glanced up when he heard a funny little noise from Murgatroyd. It was a surprisingly deep little rumble. Elias looked up from his art piece. There was a man standing in the waiting room now. He was one of the men with the cameras from outside. Elias' Daddy didn't seem to like him very much.
The man was focusing his camera on Elias now. This puzzled Elias, as the man was not his Uncle, nor anyone who might like to take a picture of him.
The tiny rumble sounded again, and then something black streaked across the room, and the man with the camera was stretched out on his back, Murgatroyd atop his chest, yipping for all he was worth in the photographer's face.
“Get OFF me!” yelled the photographer, raising a hand at the pup. And then there was a terrible yelp, and Murgatroyd sank sharp little wolf teeth into the soft bit of the photographer's hand, right in the flesh between his thumb and forefinger.
“Aiiiiii!” yelled the photographer. “Get off! Get off!”
But then the photographer felt himself yanked up by the collar. The horrible dog thing had finally released his grip, but now he found himself face to face with Charles Ofdensen, who looked furious and weird. His eyes – there was something fucked up about his eyes. They seemed reflective.
“I said, no pictures of the kid,” Charles Ofdensen whispered. And so saying, he yanked the camera off the photographer's neck strap, and hurled it against the wall, where it shattered to bits.
The businessmen who had been inside the office with Charles were now out in the waiting room, watching as well, big grins pasted on their faces.
Charles turned to Elias. “Come on,” he said, extending a hand.
“Made da petty bidchur for Daddy!” Elias told him brightly, holding up his electronic pad.
“Aw, that's so nice. That's a good one! Come on, Murgatroyd!” said Charles, and then he, Elias and the wolf exited the waiting room.
The photographer stared forlornly at his broken camera.
“Murgatroyd?” he asked, just as a couple of rather large security guards entered the waiting room.
“Those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons,” said one of the businessmen.
“Not as good as the old Warners,” said the other businessman, “but they had merit.”
The dog bed which had been carefully set up at the end of Elias' bed was empty.
Instead, up on the bed, underneath the covers, head up on the pillow alongside his owners', lay Murgatroyd.
A soft toy was clutched in the wolf pup's mouth. Charles carefully extricated it and, frowning and wiping off the worst of the doggie drool, carefully tucked the dampened plush angel, Wunge, next to Elias.
“Murgatroyd might need a bit of instruction regarding what is and isn't his,” whispered Ganesh, draping an arm of Charles.
Charles watched the two snoring beings in silence for a moment. “I think he knows what's his,” he finally said.
