29 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, NIGHT
Savy never showed up. I think she decided she'd much rather hang out with Lizzy and some of the other kids in school instead. Boy was she going to be in trouble when she got home.
But Sabre and I did just fine - even though Mum and Dad left us alone for a full hour.
We used one of Lucky's little bowls - the one that looked like a seashell, and filled it with an assortment of treats that sat in small clear jars. I was pretty sure most of them were treats, not proper hamster food, but Sabre wanted to give Lucky the pretty food, not the boring one in the big jar. Oh well, pretend it was like the dessert tray mum took out just now.
And Lucky was awake and running in its wheel - at least it was running, until Sabre and I came over, and it realised we were messing with its assorted containers of treats.
If Lucky had meant to run and lose weight, it was just about to not happen.
Sabre was a generous hamster chef. She also insisted on arranging all the little pieces the way Ki would have done with our dinner plates. I figured it would be nice to have Hamster Momoshiro now and then, so I helped.
Or at least I tried to, but Sabre kept rearranging whatever I put, so in the end, I gave up and left it to her.
Then I got bored and rolled around on my lemon scented bed and sang, "Why are we waiting?"
So Sabre had to think of something for me to do, and suggested we dress Lucky up for dinner, I went to my dresser to look for a ribbon or something.
"What's that?" Sabre asked.
I looked inside the drawer, "What's what?"
Sabre came over and pointed at the warlock crystal. It was still on the magic thread.
"It's so pretty." Sabre said.
Oh right, I forgot Sabre could "see" magic.
I took it out and passed it to her. Sabre put it in Lucky's bowl as the centrepiece.
I frowned, "What if Lucky eats that?"
Sabre laughed, "Lucky is smarter than that. She has a very discerning palette."
What would a 5 year old know about discerning palettes? She wasn't just hanging out with Lizzy and Savy too much. She's also hanging out with Ki too much.
But back to the hamster chow, I guess it should be fine. The crystal was rock hard and it was too large to fit in a hamster's mouth.
I took off the string though, "Choking hazard."
I was being so grown up and sensible!
Lucky wouldn't wear a ribbon, but we managed to brush it's fur a little.
"For a girl, Lucky sure isn't particular about her looks." Sabre commented.
That's because Lucky was a hamster, but I didn't think this logic would apply to little humans who brushed her toy ponies' hair daily.
So after a full hour, we finished preparing Lucky it's Momoshiro styled hamster dinner and brushed it's fur, just a little. Mostly we brushed it's butt because it kept running away.
Mum and Dad came in to check on us - yes the both of them.
I narrowed my eyes at my parents, "We were fine, you know."
My parents looked around my room... Except for the opened accessory drawer in my dresser which looked obviously rummaged through, and opened hamster food jars and itty bitty pieces of food on the carpet, everything was intact and the hamster was still in its enclosure.
Mum released a sigh of relief, and started capping the bottles, "Come on, baby. Let's get you ready for bed."
"Can't I stay and watch Lucky eat?" Sabre asked.
"Maybe some other time, it's late." Mum put away the jars and picked Sabre up.
Dad remained by the door, and as Mum and Sabre passed him, he nodded, "Goodnight my puppy."
He didn't leave, instead he shut my bedroom door when Mum and Sabre had left.
Dad looked tired. He was also holding a flat metal box on his hand, which was immediately suspicious. I mean, how many metal boxes have you ever seen in your life? Yes, it counts if you saw it in a movie too. Actually, ESPECIALLY if you saw it in a movie because if it were a metal box, what could be inside that required a metal box?
"What's that?" I asked, my mind racking through all the possibilities (mostly exciting ones from movies) that could be contained in a flat metal box. Was it something precious? I bet it was something cool and expensive.
"Let's talk about this morning first." Dad decided. He came over and sat on the edge of my bed. I sat next to him where he patted.
Uh oh. I guess it was time to face the music.
Dad looked at the metal box in his hand. I looked at the metal box in his hand. What was in that box? Maybe something high tech.
"I know the reports say you are fine, but let me just ask, as your Dad, how are you?" Dad said to the metal box.
"I'm okay." I said to my clasped hands, because I did not have a metal box. The box was largish - sort of like a big laptop case. Was it some kind of military grade laptop?
I took a quick peek at Dad's profile when he didn't say anything. Why? Was "I'm okay" not good enough?
I tried to think of something else to say, something to explain my impulsive actions, "It happened really fast. I didn't even realize until it was over... I didn't even feel it."
"You didn't feel any pain?" Dad was quick to reconfirm.
I nodded, "Yeah. Maybe I felt a bit of hot air and then it was over."
Dad looked relieved, and then he frowned, "I suppose your nerves were fried immediately, so there was no pain detected."
Yes, Dad. You probably supposed right, but this would be information I'd rather not know.
"Thank goddess, you are alright." Dad looked relieved all over again.
Okay, I didn't expect that reaction. Dad was frowning, which was expected, but he didn't look very mad. If anything, Dad was acting more shell shocked about it than I was.
"I didn't mean to..." I found myself saying, "I just saw Neil on the ground and the bomb was ticking... and I just moved..."
Dad put a large reassuring hand on my head, "Shhh... It's okay, Sam."
It is? Aren't I going to get grounded or something?
And then he hugged me, "It's okay. You're safe now, and that's all that matters."
I felt the tears well up. Don't cry now Sam. You're okay!
Or at least I was until Dad hugged me. Now, I'm just confused. I thought Dad was going to question me about what happened today, and then maybe frown at me and point out what I did wrong.
The box fell onto the carpet with a quiet thud. Whatever was in the box, it was securely packed. There wasn't even the slightest jangling sound. Maybe the contents was in black fitted foam - could it be? A gun? Was Dad going to give me a gun?
I didn't like guns... I would like a flip knife though.
Dad released me and bent over to retrieve the fallen box. So it had to be something fairly important.
I waited impatiently for the box's content to be revealed.
"You know, Sam." Dad continued speaking to the box, "I know the Disciplinary Order might seem harsh, but I am the Alpha. I need to enforce justice fairly across the board."
Eh? Why was Dad bringing this up now? Was Dad feeling bad? But he hadn't actually punished me - yet. In fact, if I had to be honest, even the Disciplinary Order might have been too lenient. I nodded, then I shook my head, "It's fine, Dad. Harvey explained. It's okay."
I mean, I couldn't really say it was "nothing" right? If Dad thought the punishment was too light, he might overcompensate the next time I mess up, and believe you me, I will mess up. I seem to do it quite naturally.
"I should've thought about the consequences of my actions. It's not just about me. I should've considered the position it would put my wolves in."
The next time I'm about to mess up, I'll stop and think of a way to do it without implicating anyone following me.
"But Sam..." Dad said. Okay, here it comes. I braced myself for the lecture to come.
"Even though I'm the Alpha, I'm also your father. And no matter what happens, you must know I'm on your side." Dad was still talking to the box, but those words hit home.
"I know, Dad." I said and swallowed. Okay, just bear with it. This was it.
"I love you, Sam." Dad said quietly to the box.
Eh? What?
"And if there is anything, anything at all that I can do to ensure your safety and happiness, you know I would do it."
This talk was taking a very different direction from what I was expecting.
I managed a jerky nod.
I always knew, I think, at the back of my mind, or somewhere from the bottom of my heart, that my parents loved me a lot. But hearing the words... I pressed my lips together so as not to cry.
Suddenly I felt like the worst kind of daughter for always doing whatever I wanted without a thought for my poor parents. For making my Mum cry, or putting Dad in a difficult position in his Alpha work.
Here I was, running off on a whim for the sake of a petty revenge - I keep doing things like that - well not the petty revenge bit, but running off on my own. I'm trying to be the alpha and everything, but at the end of the day, I come home like a pup expecting my Mum and Dad to... what?
To coddle me. Because suddenly I realized, besides the lecturing and grounding and sighing "oh, Sam". There was a lot of something else too. I'm not sure what this something else was called but Mum would always make me feel better after that, and Dad would make everything alright.
No matter what I came home from, I knew I'd just have to brace myself to face the music for the moment, and then everything would be okay again.
I'm not sure how far I had to go to reach the limit of their safety net, but so far, despite moving forward a rogue war to take place three years before it was due, getting our warlock neighbour killed, and bringing home an army of fightdogs (among other things), everything was still okay at home.
How my parents managed that, I'm still not sure.
"How'd you do it Dad?" I choked out, "I want to be the alpha. I want to make you proud. But I keep messing up...I don't know what I'm doing half the time, and everytime I think I fixed something, something else will break. I can't tell if I'm making the right decisions at all!"
"Is that what you think?" Dad asked and then he dropped into his zen mode and said, "Just because things are rearranged doesn't make them messed up."
Dad looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Sam, I love you. I think the world of you. Never forget that."
Awkward silence because neither me nor Dad were very good with talking about emotional things like love.
Dad cleared his throat, "There
was a news report, about 20 years back, a human family was on vacation and while swimming in a lake, their child was caught in the jaws of a crocodile. But the child survived. Do you know how?"
I shook my head.
"The human mother ran in after the crocodile and pried open its jaws with her bare hands. She gave the crocodile such a scare, it escaped quickly from the scene, and they could get the child out of the water and to the local hospital." Dad said, "Imagine that, a human woman with just her bare hands bested the full grown crocodile. Its unbelievable."
"Maybe she was a pro-wrestler. Or a really tough cookie." I suggested
"Just a very normal human woman. When they interviewed her, she had said she didn't even have time to think. She just reacted to her son's cries." Dad told me before concluding, "That's the power of a parent's love, Sam."
Okay, noted. If I ever had to face off a human child, I'd be very cautious about his mother.
Then Dad shrugged his large shoulders, "Other than that, be true to your wolves. Avoid running alone. Never start a fight unless your beta is around. Read your reports dutifully. Never accept a bribe. Never withhold good if it is in your power to do it. Do not give your word, whether it is a promise or a threat, unless you really intend to do it. Love your soulmate and the children you have together. Always do your best so you will not regret it, no matter what the outcome."
"At least that's what your Grandpa Alpha told me when I asked him." Dad admitted.
I had no idea "running with no regrets" came with so many conditions and clauses!
"There is a lot of literature about what it means to be a good alpha." Dad told me, "I'm sure Willow would be more than happy to help you locate the books in our library."
That would be more reading for me, but maybe if I worked hard and did my homework, I would be a smart alpha who would know what I'm doing.
"After all these years, I often wonder if I made the right decisions too." Dad rested a large hand on my head, "Just make each decision the best that you can. I wouldn't worry too much about the result."
I frowned. So even someone like Dad would doubt his own choices? What hope would there be for me?
Dad shifted and propped up the metal box, "Now let's talk about this..."
This being the metal box that might hold anything from an assassin's gun to a top secrect laptop.
Dad flipped opened the latches and I perked up to see. What was in the box?
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