::1.5:: Winter

Winter arrives at Lunar Lakes, fluttering over scorched, barren earth unquestioned.

Sunflower has searched everywhere.  Asked every townsperson she could.  Denn is nowhere to be found.

What she expected to be an absence lasting only a few days, maybe a few weeks, has turned into months.  She'd even asked her boss to run a search for him in the town database, once she was too desperate to worry about appearing stalkerish.

"Denn Wilder?" Gretel Sekemoto had frowned when the results popped up on her office computer screen, ignoring the way Sunflower hovered anxiously over her shoulder.  "It says there's no resident registered by that name.  Are you sure that's who you met?"

It's hard not to doubt, at this point, but it doesn't really matter.  She's pregnant again.

But his disappearance is all she can think about.  What if he decided he wants nothing to do with her and their family, and has left for good?  Did she scare him away with all the talk about living together?  What if he's hurt somewhere, with no one to help him?

Or worse?

 Roe, now a teenager, takes over a large portion of the household chores.

(A pointless close-up for those who care about that sort of thing.)

It isn't that his mother is completely absent, but she spends most of her time out looking for Denn or worrying herself into a frenzy at home, these days, especially after her job forced her onto maternity leave, giving her nothing to fill her time.

When she isn't mid-meltdown, she's sleeping...

...or indulging in escapism.

"Eugh, this fridge reeks.  I thought you took out the old food last night?"

"Guess I forgot."  Roe yawns, pats Elisabeth on the head.  "Sorry, Mom."

 Frustrating as it is, he can't bring himself to blame his mother.

He feels stupid for feeling betrayed.  Denn was the man he'd chosen as his father figure from the first time they met, but maybe that bond wasn't as mutual as he'd assumed.

 He tries to find ways to get out of the house whenever he can.  Studying at the library is a great excuse, though most of the time he ends up doing something more mindless.

 "How am I losing against myself?"

Iron Fang grows quickly through the winter, oblivious to her family's angst.  She has just enough of Denn in her appearance--forest-green eyes, elfish ears, pointed canines--to make Sunflower's heart hurt.

Roe loves his sisters with every fiber of his being, but filling the role of second parent is... a lot.

"Your name is Iron Fang Wilder-Moon.  Can you say that?  Eye-ern-fan-guh.  Wy-yul-der.  Moon.  But not moon like the ones in the sky.  A different kind of Moon."

What is she talking about?  Sunflower doesn't even know what that means.

"I'm going crazy," she groans.

"Crazy!" Iron Fang parrots.

A few hours later, Roe returns from his part-time job as a spa receptionist to find his mother going into labor.  "Oh!  Um...!"

"Stay here and watch the girls," Sunflower orders as she waddles toward the door.  "I already called the cab."

 The swift, chaotic departure of her mother stresses little Iron Fang out, which she expresses through destruction of property.

Her tiny baby claws are not strong enough to leave any kind of noticeable mark, so all she does is disrupt the dust collecting beneath the chair.

Still, Roe feels obligated to discipline.  "Uh, bad werewolf!  Bad!"

Of course, when has a werewolf ever cared about the opinions of humans?

Knowing when to let things go, Roe changes out of his work uniform and settles down for strawberry pancakes, leaving Iron Fang to tire herself out.

By the time Sunflower returns from the hospital with baby Charlie, her were-child has forgotten what she was upset about.

"Finally, another boy in the house," Roe grins.  Then, glancing over his shoulder at Iron Fang alseep in her crib, having no desire to incur the same wrath he witnessed earlier in the evening, adds, "Your sisters are totally great too, of course."

For whatever reason, the delivery of her newest child lifts Sunflower's spirits, and she tentatively begins to take care of the household again.

Starting with pancakes!

She returns to work, and saves enough money to separate the basement into two proper bedrooms.  After the expansion, there's little money left for actual furniture, but she spends a few evenings on a paint job, which hopefully lessens how depressingly bare it is.

She now has a bedroom to herself, as well, while the ladder, along with a new bookshelf, are located in a main entryway.

And with the last of the savings, the younger children are finally provided some educational toys.

That ladder has got to be a safety hazard...

Roe knows he'll have to share the room with a sibling (or two, or three) eventually, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying the solitude while it lasts.

 He also, finally, finds some time to focus on other things.

He and his friend Irene agree to meet at the art museum on a Saturday.

"For an establishment that relies solely on visuals, this place sure is poorly lit," Roe remarks.

"And the art is... hm," Irene agrees, as though her orange flippers give her any room to talk.

"Listen," Roe begins, ignoring her choice of footwear; "I wanted to apologize that we haven't been hanging out as much since high school started.  I didn't mean to ghost you, it's just my family, you know?  My mom has been pretty out of it lately, and she needs a lot of help with my younger sisters, and now she just had a baby and..." He realizes he's rambling.  "Just wanted to say sorry, I guess."

To his relief, Irene smiles kindly.  "Roe, I get it.  When my parents had my younger brother, all the attention went to him.  I mean, we hired a live-in nanny, so none of us actually had to do anything, but still.  I know what you mean."

Roe's shoulder sag with a laugh.  "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Neither have you."  Her words are teasing, but her expression is serious; gentle.  "You cared just as much about your family when you were a kid, too.  Always running home early to make sure everything was okay.  I remember.  Pretty admirable, if you ask me."

Neither of them are expecting it, but in spite of the atrocious spotlights and grody installation pieces, it feels like the right moment, anyway.

Roe pulls back quickly.  "Sorry, I should have asked first."

Irene takes his hands.  "I'm wearing scuba fins, Roe.  I think I need someone who's a little unpredictable."

☾

Misc: MTS user TwistedSmiley asked for scenic shots of Lunar Lakes a few chapters ago, but right when I went into the game to take them, winter began, so for chronology purposes,  I wasn't able to use them in the blog until now.  Hopefully I can grab a few more in the other seasons, because obviously the place is meant to be a more arid climate.

At this point in the legacy, I had completely forgotten about Sunflower's "Property Mogule" generational goal, so I was spending every meager paycheck she and Roe earned on making the house more livable, when that shouldn't have been my priority at all.  It'll be a few more chapters until we get to the part where I remembered and panicked, though.

::1.4:: Another One

"Elisabeth?  Really?" Denn wrinkles his nose--not at the stench emanating from his own body, but at the name.  He's smiling at his daughter with all the love in the world, sharp canines on full display, but he sounds incredulous nonetheless.

"Elisabeth is a beautiful name," Sunflower protests from the kitchen.

"It's just so... human."

"Well, she's a human."  Pause.  "Er... she is human, right?"

"I don't sense any werewolf abilities in her," Denn affirms.  He kisses the gurgling baby's button nose.  She's only a few days old, but it's his first time meeting her.  His hunt had spanned overnight, from which he brought back some "cool-looking" rocks and a dead raccoon as "gifts" for Sunflower and the baby.  Sunflower had graciously accepted the stones, but the raccoon corpse was tossed out a window as soon as the werewolf's attention turned elsewhere.

"Elisabeth does suit her, I guess.  A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"I know you just got back, but please take a shower, Denn."

"It's my werewolf musk!"

"You smell like desert roadkill."

Eventually, Denn releases Elisabeth to her crib.

And is convinced to wash up.

The family recently replaced the old bath tub with a fancy new shower.  It even runs hot water sometimes!

In the evening, Denn takes Elisabeth out into the garden to introduce her to nature, fresh air, the dusty desert sunset.  He is completely enamored with her.

He doesn't quite understand the limitations of human infants, though.

"Idiot," Sunflower grumbles.

With a new kid in the house, Roe spends more and more time outside, exploring the sprawling streets.  The outdoors may be sweaty and full of nasty bugs, but on his bike, he's faster than the mosquitoes, so it's not so bad.

While it's nice that Denn hangs around more often now...

...It's much less crowded outside.

Plus, he likes to spend time with his new friend from school, Irene Su.

Her house looks like it's made out of glass LEGOs.  That's awesome!

Everyone at school knows that Roe and his family live in the creepy old house at the edge of town, but Roe is nice, and the only kid at school who doesn't secretly make fun of Irene's "outbursts" behind her back.  So, the two bond easily.

"I like your room," Roe compliments while pretending to know how to play chess.

"Thanks," Irene says, "yellow is the color of insanity."

"Oh.  Is that why you, uh... picked it?"

"No, silly," Irene giggles, "It's my second-favorite color.  The house has a pink room, but I felt like that'd be too predictable."

More than one bedroom?  This concept astounds Roe.  "What, is your family rich or something?"

Irene moves a rook across the board.  It's a completely illogical move, but it's not like Roe can tell.  "Basically, yeah."

Later, Irene runs off to locate some snacks, while Roe turns on the horror movie her parents had left in the DVD player.

It's hard to get spooked when there's a werewolf guarding your house most nights.

Roe wishes his family were rich.  Then maybe they could hire a maid to do the laundry and clean the house.

And he could buy lots of cool toys to play with when he was waiting for one of his parents to get home.

And he and his sister could get their own rooms, so that he wouldn't have to wake up to her crying in the middle of the night.

 And sleep outside just to escape it...

...or in his mom's bed.

Instead of getting rich, Sunflower just gets pregnant again.

Part of Roe's wish does, eventually, come true.  In preparation for a third child, Sunflower scrapes just enough paychecks together to expand (and get some fresh wallpaper).  The property is ridiculously small, and the roof too complicated to build around, so the new room comes in the form of a basement.

 It's a small and simple room, with just enough space for Sunflower's things, and a new spot for Roe's sleeping bag.

The upstairs room becomes a nursery... of sorts.  There's no toys, mobiles, or clothes.  Only rust.

The days pass quickly, and soon enough the moment arrives.  Rather abruptly, right before dinner.

Denn is also there, as it happens to be Elisabeth's birthday.  What a party!

"The birthday salad," Roe laments the unfinished meal, now abandoned.

Since Sunflower knows Denn would follow her to the hospital like a lost puppy instead of staying home with the kids like a responsible adult, their second daughter is born at home.

And Elisabeth, slightly confused by all the commotion, ages up.

The two girls are settled into the nursery as the night air grows colder, frost collecting on the windows.

This time, the child is much more... wolfish.  Denn is certain.

 "What should we name her?" Sunflower ponders aloud.  Roe is still upstairs (upladder?) finishing his homework, so the basement cubicle is theirs for now.

"Iron Fang," is Denn's immediate reply.

"I'm not even sure what you just said, but absolutely not," Sunflower laughs.

"Why not?" Denn whines.

"Because it sounds ridiculous."

"But you got to name the last one!"

"That's because you weren't here."

The debate continues for a while.  Sunflower refuses.  Denn insists.  In the end, however, there can only be one victor.

Iron Fang it is.

And so it's decided, and the disagreement is soon forgotten.

"Will you be staying a while?" Sunflower asks.

Denn shakes his head.  "One more day, but I want to be out of town before the snow comes."

"That's fine," Sunflower yawns.  She curls around him, happy.  "I'll see you in the morning, then."

☾

Misc: It hasn't been mentioned yet, but all of the kids (sans Roe) have the surname "Wilder-Moon" (because, y'know, blog title.)

So, Iron Fang Wilder-Moon... one of the best names ever, or THE best name ever?