::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?