Writer's Showcase Soiree December - Family and Sec

[Hana]

​

SEASON'S GREETINGS, PEOPLE OF IWAKU!

As the month of December rolls in, comes a time where we take time to reminisce on the year we had so far, the good times had with friends and family, and the next year close at hand.

Holidays are just around the corner, and with this comes the tradition of gathering with family and friends to celebrate and stay warm through the winter. Many choose to show their affection and familial ties by putting together gifts and feasts of holiday food, or simply enjoying time away from work and school to be with the people they love.

Keeping in the spirit of these core values and traditions, why don't we write together about family themes, but with a different take on reunions and gathering?

This month, the soiree's theme revolves around the keywords:

Family Secrets

Every family has its history, and in turn secrets that they may or may not rather keep buried...

Mysteries

Only sometimes, these secrets don't quite stay as secret as intended.

Traditions and Rituals

What does a family do upon gathering together? What rituals or traditions do they share?

Holidays

Unexpected things can happen when relatives who don't normally see each other gather together for the holidays.

Are you getting a feel for this month's event, now? We thought that family and mystery themes would be an interesting combination, and just enough to give people a challenge. Every family unit has its own little idiosyncratic traits and traditions and little secrets among the members. With this in mind, we'd like to see what you could come up with. Be it magical or supernatural, or mystery and suspense, what comes to mind when we give you these prompts?​

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THIS MONTH'S PROMPTS

• A family (extended to relatives) gathers 'round during one holiday to celebrate or commemorate together, but during one particular holiday something unexpected happens...​
• The children knew there was something special about this holiday, but only once they are of age or it is 'the right time' as dictated by their elders are they allowed to see or participate in their family's special tradition.

Bonus Credit

• Use a winter setting. (Adds 1 more ticket)
• Use the point of view of an animal (such as a family pet) to narrate. (Adds 2 more tickets.)
• Use a ritual of any sorts within the story or submission. (Adds 3 more tickets.)

Need help? Here's an outline for creating a ritual, created by @WhisperingWillows

Ritual Sheet

Ritual Name:
Purpose for Ritual: [ Why does your character's family do this?)
Items for Ritual?: [Does the ritual require any items to perform it?)
Ritual Actions: [Brief description on how the ritual is enacted.)
Frequency: (how often does this ritual occur)

THE HONOR ROLL AND PRIZES

To preface this, I would like to extend an apology to our participants from the last soiree in October. November has been a hectic month for most of us in the team, with IRL concerns and matters or illness taking us away from our Soiree duties. We are working on getting back on track this month, and hopefully December will prove less hectic. Expect to see the Honor Roll up and posted soon this month, as well as our team reviewers giving their feedback to your past submissions. Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience. And hopefully, we can learn how to mold and plan better for future events.

The Honor Roll will be a list of 10 participants who have fulfilled criteria and standards for events, and these points will be carried over from past soirees - in this case the last one from October. If you have participated in the last Soiree, yes, you have a slightly increased chance of winning our freebies and gaining a spot on the list. Participate more in future Soirees, and more and more chances will be opened up.

The October Soiree's prizes will be distributed soon and are separate from this month's event.

For this month, participants all have redeemable tickets as soon as they submit their works, and fulfilling Extra Credit adds more tickets, therefore adding more chances in what will be a randomized lottery to determine the winner of our varied freebies. As stated before, Honor Roll participants retain a special advantage due to fulfilling criteria and standards.

Free Art Request from [Insert Staff Artist Name Here]
Free Div Box or BB Code Character Sheet or Formatting from @WhisperingWillows
Free Character or Roleplay Banner from [Insert Staff Photomanipulation Wiz Here]
Free Character Playlist put together by [????]

People also have a chance to get the COOL THANG user banner under their names for one month. In following soirees, the more you regularly participate, the higher your chances of one day getting that fun user banner.

These coupons can also be gifted to friends, so if you have friends you'd like to help out or cheer up and you have a coupon you don't really get to use, why not make someone else's day? Or to add a bit of holiday cheer and give a unique gift?

GENERAL SUBMISSION RULES

This month's Soiree will run its course throughout the 12th of December to the 30th, using the site's standard time. This will have only one part, giving participants 18 days to submit their works. Anything past the deadline will no longer be accepted, as the next month is set aside for another sitewide event.

To submit your entry, just post your finished work in the thread we will set up for submissions. A Contest Runner will copy and move it to the opening post so that it will be visible to those who want to post reviews. To make sure that the Soiree team will see it, please remember to tag @Hana or @Sen in your submission.

• All entries must be submitted before the deadline dates set for each respective part of this event. Entries submitted past deadlines will no longer be reviewed; the staff reviewers all have limited time to read and review all entries. We can only help those who have submitted within those dates.
• Only one entry per part is allowed per person.
• Entries must fit within the given criteria for each challenge.
• Participants must write original entries for the challenges; they may not take concepts from original published works and use them in their submissions. Inspiration from published works is of course allowed; however the point of this activity is a creative exercise to help members create their own works.
• Plagiarism isn't allowed and if a participant is caught, they face the possibility of being banned from the Soiree.
• Submissions have a word limit of 5,000 words, but the recommended length is 3,000 words so as to not overwhelm the reviewers and the staff who will be reading over the entries. Other participants are also encouraged to read each other's entries; constructive critiques and comments are part of these exercises.

We look forward to seeing members' participation in this month's soiree! Expect the giveaways from October to be sorted and given out this week.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

BLOGS AND HOLIDAYS!!!

@Hana @Sen

 

[RiverNotch]

Festivus - Wikipedia ? xD

 

[IntrusivePenDesperateSword]

@Sen @Hana

I call this story Holidays and Salt.

Again, it's a little short. I apologize in advance.

[spoili]
I wore chains. Stronger than anything I've ever known, they tied me to the wall with a force stronger than anything I'd be able to apply to them. I stood there for days, maybe weeks, for their amusement and some foreign "symbolism". It meant nothing to me. Well, aside from enslavement. Their humiliating cheers and scarce feeding made my stay more unbearable by the day. I knew I was unlikely to survive.

It had all been so simple, back in the days of my childhood. I and my assumed family spend our days peacefully about our humble settlement, growing, learning. The summers were the best. Oppositely, the winters were harsh, but we survived together. We managed to stay warm, all members intact. No one would ever have predicted their arrival.

None of us would have seen it coming. But there they were, marching in with their axes and surplus of other tools tailored for our destruction, concealment and, perhaps worst, preservation. Under their attack, it was all so confusing. I tried to check for anything my family wanted to say, if there was anything I should be aware of. I had no reply. It was silent. No one said a word, besides some low buzzing that definitely sounded not like insects, thankfully.

There it was, the first axe chop. While my body was going wild over tissue damage, I was capable of overlooking the pain to warn my family. I cried out, or at least tried to, but nothing came out. Their attacks on he had me muted and fallen to the floor. Fallen. Defeated.

Transported far away from everything I knew.

They tied me up, in a strange, net-like substance of plastic. Already now I could feel the effects of being metaphorically uprooted from my family as I was. I was getting tired. And thirsty. My perception of my surroundings was faltering, I was losing consciousness…

I awoke. I still felt terrible, but I was awake. First now I noticed where I was. Imprisoned in my very own net, I was deposited on the top of several others of my kind, seemingly in just as bad a shape. But none seemed familiar to me. Were there other settlements of my kind around? There were more. My family stretched far and wide into the world.

My hope rekindled, it was immediately put out by the realization that despite there being more of my kind in the world, these slave traders knew of them still. Their axes and plastic ropes in hand, they must have conquered most of the world, for all I knew.

I waited, and waited. The cold was getting unbearable on level with my thirst and hunger. I was practically blind to my surroundings at this point, so deeply had my disorientation gotten the better of me. Speak to me fellow specimen below me, I could but dream of doing. Their attacks had made me as incapable of communicating, as much as listening. I could only wait.

What was that? I was forcefully woken up from my exhaustion-induced slumber. Something was touching me, picking me up, taking me away. I heard a buzzing that sounded like a conversation, and thankfully not like insects. Some more noises unlike conversation, and heat. Finally, the biting cold loosened its grip. I was nonetheless starving, but it helped.

Not too soon later, what I assumed were my new owners placed me in what I assumed was my new prison. It was warm, yes, and they even helped with my thirst and hunger as much as they saw fit, but I was still detatched from my home. The longing was killing me. I could hardly drink the water I was given, it just reminded me of home.

What's more, I was no doubt little less than decoration and an object of ridicule. It started a few days after my arrival. Noises of cheering and not insects buzzed around me, rustling and jingling accompanying them. They were children. Clearly they found it all hilarious. I didn't. Hopping around me in joy, they burdened my limbs with chains, hanging on me the most eye-catching of glittery adornments, all of whom I despised. As if they hadn't had enough, they topped it - me - with a foreign metal object made to fit one's head.

I had decent amounts of food, and water like it. I was warm. I was never abandoned, but was that really beneficial? The people here gave me only side glances, and even then it was only for the glory of their prideful decoration of my body. Nonetheless, my stay was only a sort of half-comfortable, ashamed stasis.

Days melted into each other, my homesickness seemingly inducing actual nausea. Or, that might just have been my mind playing tricks on me. It was getting harder to tell what was actually happening from what wasn't. Once in awhile the buzzing of conversation would louden, as if more people were there. There still were no insects, though, so that was nice. A speck of sunshine in my imprisonment.

One day, however, things got really weird. On one of the days when there weren't so many voices, a few people gathered up close to me. Like, they couldn't have been many more than three. In my chained, sickened, hurt state, I dared and could not move. I could only spectate as they were free to do whatever.

There were young ones among them. I had a hard time telling from the sight of them alone, but their voices were somewhat brighter, and they had a tendency of nagging at me, just to see how I would react or something. If I could, I would nag them back one day, to let them feel how it felt, but it can't be done. It tears me up to admit it, but I simply cannot. All I can do is stand there and let them pull at me with all their young might.

The next thing that happened shocked me. If you were in my place, you would have been shocked too. Over the course of a short span of time - it couldn't have been more than a minute - hands of various sizes scuttled over me, lightening my plastic burdens. All the colorful decorations, each one leaving me felt like being thrust meters in the air, in a fantastic display of honor, of truth. I… I was clean.

In such a rapid succession of movements, making it look /so/ simple, the hands disconnected the chains I had worn for almost a week, then taking them off me entirely.

They looked at me, then at the oldest of them. That one placed something on the floor around me. I still couldn't tell what the things were, but it was a lot of them, and they seemed to surround me in the corner I sat. There was a brief noise. It wasn't speech, but it wasn't insects either. Then, one by one, the objects around me made their existence strikingly clear to me.

Heat. Something I've every winter had been deprived of, lacking. We had managed to survive, me and my family. On my forced way here, heat had been my main concern. Since arriving in this prison, heat had been my least concern. Now, it was rising the list again.

It was candles, dotting a circumference around me, lighting up the night. They were honestly placed a bit close. I could feel the heat on my skin, intense and potentially scorching, which was the last thing I'd ever want. The buzzing of conversation and not insects begun again. The younger ones seemed curious. As if this thing with the candles was something new.

What were they saying? I had no way of accurately telling. Was that… chanting? Eh. As long as I didn't have to wear those shameful decorations for the time being, I was happy. They were free to do what they wanted, was it not putting me to shame, or in chains. Ooh, yeah, and touching me. They'd better be stopping that.

"Merry Christmas."

Um. Who said that, was outside my knowledge. The words had no voice, no tone, and as far as I knew, no meaning. I simply stood there, dumbfounded.

"Again this year," the same voiceless voice chanted, "we know you hear, now you speak out to us."

That sentence was somewhat understandable. While 'year' was a foreign concept, 'again' wasn't. 'We know you hear'? Are they aware of the fact that I can hear them? Is that the reason for all the candles and the chants? And what was speaking? The confusion drove me mad. Figuratively.

There was a click, somewhere in the back. Next flooded a myriad of sounds around the room, all of which sparked one feeling, and which made only one word appear to me: insects. I instinctively called out about the presence of insects. The reaction wasn't willfully powered, all pre-programmed behaviour. The strange thing was, I felt no pain. No bites.

"Good," the voice said again. "You can hear. But you still won't say anything but 'insects' back."

Not as clear as the voice, impatient buzzing appeared in the background. As if forgetting what it was doing, the voice continued.

"Yes, yes, I'm listening, it'll speak. Just wait-" The voice stopped, and another sound continued, sounding strangely like it in the words. The buzzing was continuing. It was growing louder. And louder still.

A sort of swinging noise appeared, before a gust of wind hit me. An unfamiliar voice appeared and joined the noise. The until now firm grip around me loosened, albeit too quickly. In a jolting movement, I was shook off my feet, figuratively, and I ended up on the floor. The candles were dangerously close now. Noises continued going, louder and more energetic.

I didn't.

Time passed. My burns were getting serious, I was worrying I'd catch fire. I had just drunk, so I wasn't exactly thirsty, but I figured they weren't going to give me more water anytime soon. A pair of hands grabbed around me, and I was thrown out. Grand.

It was cold. So utterly cold. I could forget food and water. Slowly but surely I lost consciousness, my needles growing brown and dried out. It was, of course, one of the many ways to end. One would just think a tree deserved better than death by snow.[/spoili]

 

[Crimson smile]

Nine lives ​

The piece of cloth tied around my neck itched, irritating my skin and weighing my fur down under it's weight. One would think I would be used to it. After wearing it for what most would call a lifetime. And I have, to an extent. Yet, when the cloth was lifted and fingers, large and small, dug underneath soothing the irritated skin and freeing my fur if only briefly, it was heaven.

Purring, I pressed into the many hands pressing against me. My claw's sinking into the cloth of the black couch. Oh, how I love the holidays. The children come in bulk and never hesitate to come right for me. Scratching behind my ears and under my chin.

"Marissa! Jax! Come on! It's about to start." The stern drawl of my 'owner' called out beckoning the children away from me. Tail swishing in displeasure I sedately followed the two children as they scrambled up and toward the plump round faced woman. Ah, right I had almost forgot.

It's Christmas eve in the Halliwell home and the first round of the next generation was going to take their place beside their elders. An event that happens in the house on the child's thirteenth year on Christmas eve.

Of course I was the guest of Honor.

My 'owner' held the door open for me as I took my time and it closed lightly behind me. I glided over the stone footpath laid out and to the large stone alter behind the house. Careful of the snow that lay within the cracks. I hated being wet.

Wooden posts stood on each corner of the alter, holding torches that cast foreboding shadows. Stepping past the two children who had frozen by the step's up, I stepped up onto the alter and into the circle created by hooded figures and sat down on my throne. It was a red velvet pillow that stretched out a round me and lay in the center of the circle.

My 'owner' bustled the children up the steps and soon had them drowned in black cloth. Their little form's still stuck out rather awkwardly though. I paid little attention to the figures as they grabbed hands and began to chant in a tongue I had known from birth. I was no longer a kit, frightened of what I didn't know, but a wizened elder. I knew what to expect.

Only when a figure broke from the circle and help the children carry a large stone bow did I finally pay attention. Sitting up, tail twitching in anticipation, I waited for them to set it down before me before approaching the bowl. A thick liquid set inside the bowl, red in color, and I lapped some of it up. The taste was the same as always. Like cinnamon and sage.

Warm wet liquid struck me on the head, sinking into my fur and I glanced up from the bowl to find the children holding bleeding hands over my form. Their eyes shut tight in concentration and faces crunched up. If they failed they would be cast out, that much they knew. Though fail at what, they have yet to even know.

The children rejoined the figures and the chanting resumed. Filling the air as I finished drinking the red liquid. A heavy hum seemed to fill the air and I arched my back, ears erect and forward, in excitement. It was working! The children may not be dud's after all.

The first crack was always unexpected, no matter how many times it happened. Yowling, my claws sunk into the velvet pillow as I arched and howled in pain. The cracking and shifting of my bones was the only sound in the now silent night as the figures watched.

I withered for what seemed like an eternity before the pain finally began to recede. Slumping onto the pillow I waited out the remaining aches as the circle broke and conversation took over. The children running over to press their fingers into my fur, under the cloth around my neck, and beneath my chin.

Purring in pleasure I sunk into the hands, that were much larger then before. The ritual had worked and I was young once more. Able to live another few years and teach more of the Halliwell witches to tap into their magic.

I'm awesome.
@Hana @Sen

 

[Ananfal]

Nine lives ​

The piece of cloth tied around my neck itched, irritating my skin and weighing my fur down under it's weight. One would think I would be used to it. After wearing it for what most would call a lifetime. And I have, to an extent. Yet, when the cloth was lifted and fingers, large and small, dug underneath soothing the irritated skin and freeing my fur if only briefly, it was heaven.

Purring, I pressed into the many hands pressing against me. My claw's sinking into the cloth of the black couch. Oh, how I love the holidays. The children come in bulk and never hesitate to come right for me. Scratching behind my ears and under my chin.

"Marissa! Jax! Come on! It's about to start." The stern drawl of my 'owner' called out beckoning the children away from me. Tail swishing in displeasure I sedately followed the two children as they scrambled up and toward the plump round faced woman. Ah, right I had almost forgot.

It's Christmas eve in the Halliwell home and the first round of the next generation was going to take their place beside their elders. An event that happens in the house on the child's thirteenth year on Christmas eve.

Of course I was the guest of Honor.

My 'owner' held the door open for me as I took my time and it closed lightly behind me. I glided over the stone footpath laid out and to the large stone alter behind the house. Careful of the snow that lay within the cracks. I hated being wet.

Wooden posts stood on each corner of the alter, holding torches that cast foreboding shadows. Stepping past the two children who had frozen by the step's up, I stepped up onto the alter and into the circle created by hooded figures and sat down on my throne. It was a red velvet pillow that stretched out a round me and lay in the center of the circle.

My 'owner' bustled the children up the steps and soon had them drowned in black cloth. Their little form's still stuck out rather awkwardly though. I paid little attention to the figures as they grabbed hands and began to chant in a tongue I had known from birth. I was no longer a kit, frightened of what I didn't know, but a wizened elder. I knew what to expect.

Only when a figure broke from the circle and help the children carry a large stone bow did I finally pay attention. Sitting up, tail twitching in anticipation, I waited for them to set it down before me before approaching the bowl. A thick liquid set inside the bowl, red in color, and I lapped some of it up. The taste was the same as always. Like cinnamon and sage.

Warm wet liquid struck me on the head, sinking into my fur and I glanced up from the bowl to find the children holding bleeding hands over my form. Their eyes shut tight in concentration and faces crunched up. If they failed they would be cast out, that much they knew. Though fail at what, they have yet to even know.

The children rejoined the figures and the chanting resumed. Filling the air as I finished drinking the red liquid. A heavy hum seemed to fill the air and I arched my back, ears erect and forward, in excitement. It was working! The children may not be dud's after all.

The first crack was always unexpected, no matter how many times it happened. Yowling, my claws sunk into the velvet pillow as I arched and howled in pain. The cracking and shifting of my bones was the only sound in the now silent night as the figures watched.

I withered for what seemed like an eternity before the pain finally began to recede. Slumping onto the pillow I waited out the remaining aches as the circle broke and conversation took over. The children running over to press their fingers into my fur, under the cloth around my neck, and beneath my chin.

Purring in pleasure I sunk into the hands, that were much larger then before. The ritual had worked and I was young once more. Able to live another few years and teach more of the Halliwell witches to tap into their magic.

I'm awesome.

Don't forget to tag @Hana and @Sen !

 

[PoetLore]

Brutus' Tail

I was enjoying a lovely nap on my worn, but very comfortable bad when I heard a 'thud' outside. I stretched and yawned and stretched a bit more before I felt ready to actually investigate. I swished the curtains out of the way and saw the family far in the driveway. Nothing to be alarmed about, it was just the Master and the crew returning.

I caught a glimpse of something though, wait! My tail started swishing happily. The Green thing! Oh I LOVE the green thing! They put lights and shiny things on it and a train underneath it! In my excitement I was running from the door to the window and back hoping to see more. Hurry up! Hurry up!! Why did it always take them so long to do everything?

Finally, the green thing was off the car and the master was dragging it into the grass. He always did that too. "Woof!" I said but they never answered. I did figure out a while back that people don't understand dag language, which is very inconvenient to say the least. "Woof woof!" Oh, hurry up! I resumed my earlier practice of going to the door and sniffing and then back to the window to watch.

I saw the master's lady come to the door and ran toward it. She opened the door and pushed me back and laughed. I tried to get out but she was too fast, dagnabit! Still, she was at least in the house with me so I followed her to the kitchen. My tail was swinging so fast I knocked her bag off the chair she'd hung it on. I didn't mean to but, my tail sometimes has a mind of its own.

"Brutus!" she said in that voice that I never knew understood. Was she mad? Was she happy? I could not tell, so I just plopped down and wagged my tail over the floor and gave her the sad puppy eyes. Now mind you, I haven't been a puppy for a very long time, but I have found that lady people love puppy eyes. "It's ok Boy," she said and gave my neck a rub, "That tail goes places you don't know about...doesn't it."

Well, that was one way of putting it. I don't ahve the swishing kind of tail, rather the kind that thumps like a stick against a drum. We Great Danes don't ahve a lot of fur, which is good because we are rather large comparatively speaking. I can't imagine any lady person being real happy about a furry dog this size, but maybe there are. I only know my people. I heard the door and stood up, though the kitchen floor isn't the easiest place to get a grip and take off. It usually means I take more than a few tries to actually get going, but once I get to the carpet...look out here I come!

I rounded corner at the front door and skidded into the now closed door. The kids laughed and I didn't mind. The kids are the BEST snugglers and scritchers. The Master was standing the green thing up in the corner. I trotted over to give it a good sniff. Douglas Fir this year, very good choice. I never know what they are til I sniff them, you see. We dogs sniff everything, it's our way.

I was busy sniffing and making sure this green tree could stay but I didn't see them put something on the coffee table behind me so my tail wagged and 'thunk' hit something and flung it onto the floor. I immediately assumed the sitting and sad looking position as I peeked up at the master. HIS voice I had NO problem understanding.

"Brutus!" he barked at me, "Go to your bed!"

I lowered my head and moved to the corner where my worn but comfortable bed lie and put my head on my crossed paws and let out a soft 'pwfoof' of protest. The Master was giving me that look so i just stayed where I was. No sense making him mad, he might make me go out to the dog house and miss all the excitement. One of the kids came over and put some reindeer antlers on my head, which one of them did every year. I was used to it and just lifted my head and allowed the humility to commence. The kids liked it so much, I couldn't bring myself to complain. I'm pretty sure I look nothing like a reindeer even with antlers, but it makes the kids happy so I go along.

The master was putting the sparkling lights on the tree and it was starting to look very nice. My head popped up then when the Master's lady came in the room with the hot cocoa and cookies. I was up in a sitting position now stretching to look over at the goodies. My tail started twhapping the bed and the wall and anything else it came into contact with at that time. I mean, there are cookies right over there. I can smell them! I lick my lips and let out a, "Woof!"

"Can Brutus have a cookie Mom?" the little boy asks, "Please!"

Oh I love kids! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

"No honey," she said, "These have chocolate in them. He'll get sick."

No I won't! It's a lie!!

"You can give him that Chew bone candy cane we got though," she said.

A what? I let out a groan and yawned a bit. A chew bone is supposed to be as good as a cookie? She is totally wrong about that. But here comes my little buddy with a weird looking chew bone and I take it, because he's happy.

"Here you go Boy," he said, "Sorry you couldn't ahve a cookie...they're really yummy!"

Oh sure, rub it in. Eat your cookie, see if I care. I plopped back onto the bed and chewed the thing I was given for about 5 minutes before it was gone. Not much to chew, and I did mention I am a rather large animal. Hey, the lights are all one and they are putting on the shiny things. I'm not sure what they all are but they are shiny and make the green tree a little less boring to look at.

The master was busy working on the train and stuff he put under the tree every year. It usually took him as long to do that, as the rest of the people did to put the shiny things on. It seemed to me, they had a pretty good system going.

It was all done and I got up to move over closer to the sofa so I could see the train. I like the train. It used to scare me when i was a puppy, but now I like it just fine. This is the best part though. Movie time! The same one, explosions and singing and trains and singing and at the end there is snow and singing. My people like singing I guess, and I don't mind it. I crawled up onto the sofa to sit with them, but Master pushed me off, the big meanie. Luckily my little buddy always wanted to sit with me, so he sat on the floor and wrapped his arm around me and scratched my neck. Yup, kids are the best! My tail was wagging and thumping happily and of course I banged it off the side table and cocoa went flying. I didn't even wait for it this time. I just went over to my bed and plopped down dejectedly.

"He didn't mean to dad," my buddy said.

"He's fine where he is Son," the master said.

"He looks sad Dad," the son replied, "I'll sit over there where there's no table and he can watch with us."

"I'm pretty sure he's not watching Son," the Master said.

Yes I am. I know this whole thing. "Woof!" The wall is going to fall...told you.

"Please dad."

"Alright if you want to sit over there go ahead."

"Thanks dad!" he said as he picked up his floor pillow and moved it over to my side of the room and dropped it on the floor and sat down. He patted the floor next to him, "Come on Brutus!"

I love that kid! I got up and sat next to him and got my hug and scratch to my neck. I laid down and put my head on his lap and my tail was thumping on the floor. Maybe if I make it go in time with the music they won't mind too much. Maybe they'll understand that thumping tails mean happy dogs. Or maybe they'll just realize that my tail is just as much a part of this day as the rest of that stuff, after all, this is about what happens every year!



@Hana @Sen