Drabble Cascade #40 - Advent : Seasons' Past

[charisstoma]

Title: Seasons' Past
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 100
Prompt: Advent

It was that time of the year, of gifts for the Winter holidays. Money was tight and led to doing the unthinkable, resurrecting the long plastic recipe file that had sat gathering dust so thick you could pot a plant.

Carefully going through the recipe cards, she noted that over time some magazine clippings had gone translucent so that she’d have to angle the paper to read the ink. There were recipes from restaurants, from friends and saved from family long dead.

She’d changed. The recipes had changed from pioneer capability to financial survival. It was a time of mourning.

Comments

[meridae.livejournal.com]

"What did I tell you last year about the Christmas Tree? " Warne asked sternly as he walked into the parlor and eyed the wreckage feline paws had made of the yuletide decorations. Without another word, he lifted the tree up and began the process of undecorating the room.

Five disbelieving kittens looked on in dismay, aghast at their Christmas cheer so easily being thwarted by Papa Ranel's naughty antics.

Ranel sat in the corner, blatantly licked his tail to convey Just How Much He Didn't Care.

Grimly, despite his offspring's obvious distress, he continued removing the teee, tinsel, and other trimmings. His wayward husband HAD to learn. The Christmas Tree was not an enemy to be destroyed aat all costs, and it was their kittens that suffered when he tried.

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

*aghast sad face* Noooooooooooooooooo!
Warne how can you punish the kittens for what Ranel did?! That's. not. fair.

Oh Meri. *HUGS* Thank YOu for this.

Now write the 5 kitten backlash?

[frogs_of_war]

I didn't read it as Warne punishing the kittens, but Ranel's actions hurting them. All their happy hard work destroyed by their papa. The betrayal. How will they ever trust him again? Their little hearts are broken.

Warne is just cleaning up the mess.

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Warne is removing the tree. *wails*
He's not overtly punishing the kittens but it works out that way.
There are these very nice Christmas trees that are made to hand upside down from the ceiling or even from a corner on the ceiling. the ornaments hang wondrously and they and the tree are out of reach.

*wanders off muttering about spells that could have been put around the tree to keep out Ranels*

[meridae.livejournal.com]

The air of disdain and irritation was so thick it was almost palpable. Five miserable lumps of kittens, all in perfect, hunched over mini-meatloaf position (to better convey their disapproval) sat spread around the room, their backs pointedly turned on their no-longer-so-beloved papa. Not a tail twitched, not an ear flicked. Even Tux, who could never sit so perfectly still for very long, was managing to do so.

Ranel sighed. On the hearth, his peace offering - a plump, juicy rat, so freshly caught it was still twitching - laid untouched. He was, in a word, in Big Doodoo.

He cast imploring feline glances of his own at his children, putting all the power behind his gaze than only a feline can muster, willing the contact through the tips of their tails and up their spines. Nothing. Not even an involuntary skin spasm - and Nebbie was supreme ruler of those.

Ranel humphed this time, becoming irritated in turn by the continued anger from his offspring. Oh, like they would have been able to resist climbing and pouncing and tumbling with the tree if Warne hadn't scared them into submission. Like Santa would ever refuse to come to perfect kittens like his! And not only that, but it was really all Warne's fault in the first place! If he'd only see sense and put a 'look but do not touch' geas on the tree like Ranel's very wise parents did, none of this would have happened. But nooooo, Warne had this silly rule about 'we are not using magic to raise out children'. Pbbt. The kittens were familiars - they were magic! How could you NOT use magic to raise them.

Casting one final glance around the room at the unmoving mounds of miserable moggies, Ranel realised it was time to haul out the big guns. Whispering the appropriate cantrip, he set a blaze roaring in the hearth, then plopped himself down on the thick, warm hearth rug. Rolling over onto his side, he exposed his plump, pinked up nipples to the room, knowing that none of the kittens could resist the lure of Papa Ranel's milk bar for long.

Only, well, they did. Ranel blinked in shock. The kittens were almost weaned, sure, but they all still enjoyed the sleepy before bed suckle they got in the nursery each night. And all of them tried, at least once a day, to convince Ranel they weren't weaned and he should lay down and feed them.

But now, nothing. Not even a wrinkled nose to indicated that they'd at least scented the milk. Nothing but hunched shoulders and tightly furled tails, downward pointing whiskers and ears tilted at that peculiar angle that could only say Ranel was Not Getting Out Of This One So easily.

Realising he had, perhaps, messed up in a big way this time, Ranel slid rapidly into his human form and went to find his husband.

He had, bethoughts, some making up to do.

[meridae.livejournal.com]

You cant find eet!

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Wow. Strong willed little kittens. Now will the rat still be there when the 'adults' come back?
The poor little sulking things. How do parents make up for this type of wrong? I'm surprised that the kittens haven't run off to the grandparents. It is just next door.

Ranel does have some validity in his thinking, though he should be better in his control of his feline familiar self regarding the tree.

This type of discipline is similar to how my father was raised in a German/American home (circa 1920s). If one of the kids did something wrong the culprit was spanked but so too were the siblings so they'd know not to do anything like that.

[meridae.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is poor Ranel went into heat earlier than the norm (for which Warne will feel eternally guilty) so his brain is still playing catch up with his body (which is why Warne is often very indulgent except for when the welfare of the kittens is at stake). The kittens, despite being upset still trust their papas, and feel safe at home and know things will be made right before Santa comes.

Ranel has put a geas on the rat to keep it semi alive. I think he's going to try to beguile Warne with sex, silly kitty.

Omg we have thunder. Whye does rhe weather not know it is SUMMER here?

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Be thankful. It could be freezing rain or SNOW.
Thunder Snow happens here in the States. I've heard it but only televised from up north. Snow doesn't happen often here. Sleet seems to be happening once a year though. Texas isn't supposed to get that cold that often. Ah almost at freezing right now. I can tell. The computer is under the window.

Think of it as it's watering your garden, much more efficiently and easily than if you had to do it. Makes for kitties wanting to be indoors with you.

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Oh running off to the grandparents has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with Papa Ranel did this and Papa Warne then did that and now Santa may not come to our house, can we stay here because Santa will come here. That's what grandparents are for, spoiling of grandchildren. Then again they probably have kittens of their own ..... and won't be played this way but those uncles/aunts kittens might be big eyed at a threat to Santa visiting.
*grins* Trying to beguile Warne with sex. And you imply this isn't going to work, which it shouldn't if Warne is trying to teach Ranel a lesson though I can see him enjoying the attempted beguiling. That would be mean though. Can't wait to see how hard Warne is going to come down on holding to his punishment. Of course if Warne has taken the kittens aside and told them that Santa will still come even if there isn't a Christmas Tree in the house this year, then the onus is all on Ranel. Maybe Warne wrote a letter to Santa to deliver their presents at the grandparents.

[frogs_of_war]

That's what I thought. Ranel is really a very young parent and he's already shown that he isn't good at impulse management. He'll grown up, but the trip might be painful.

Will Ranel get anything from Santa? If he does, what will the kittens take from it? That there is no Santa, or just that there's no reason to be extra good?