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A Brother from Another Mother


by katiepfeil

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“Fenrris! Gelmer!”

      “Run!” Gelmer squealed and kicked his paws harder and harder until they were nearly a blur beneath his body. The runty little baby Gelert turned sharply and skidded on his hind legs to turn the corner.

      “I’m not a Gelert!” Fenrris panted behind him. “I can’t run that fast!” The baby Lupe was smart enough to slow down before turning the sharp corner and racing after his little brother, his bandana billowing out behind him, and luckily not choking him.

      Fenrris could see the little blonde speck farther up the street that was his little brother. He was already panting hard, his floppy pink tongue dried up, considering they had already sprinted a good ten blocks or so; Fenrris was shocked Kathryn was keeping up so well. Why did we have to get the athletic owner? The two neopets who were always getting in trouble and running from consequences had an owner that could very easily chase them down, and was nice enough to let little things slide, but mature enough to make sure sometimes the pups were punished.

      Fenrris saw the baby Gelert turn into a small, Neopian-owned shop, and almost instantly heard a wail of surprise and anger. The Lupe instantly picked up his pace and skidded into the shop his brother had disappeared to.

      “My clothes!” the young boy managing the shop yelled angrily. Gelmer had skidded right into the shelf that had been lined with different wearables and other clothing. Fenrris’s eyes widened and he walked slowly in, his ears and tail drooping. Gelmer was snuffling around inside a large Altador Cup jersey, trying to find a hole to get out of it from.

      “Oh, Queen Fyora!” Kathryn’s shocked yelp came from the doorway. Fenrris merely glanced over his shoulder and could see the look of shock and embarrassment from his owner.

      “Get out of there, Gelmer,” Fenrris barked quietly into the jersey. A couple moments later the Gelert’s tiny head popped out of the neck hole. His eyes were sparkling with excitement, his tail was even wagging a bit, and he couldn’t look less concerned about the punishment that would be awaiting them at home.

      “That was so fun!” Gelmer squeaked happily, bouncing out of the jersey and looking around the shop. Fenrris shook his head.

      “No, Gelmer, not fun,” he said and looked over at their owner who was talking to the irritated shop owner. “Mom is going to kill us for this!” Fenrris sighed and hung his head, knowing he was only exaggerating, but Kathryn did look very, very mad, and some of her punishments were worse than others; like one time the teenager had taken away Dribbley and Nikko- their Driblet and Epuni. Of course they got them back after a week, and the petpets weren’t harmed or anything (they had been kept in Kathryn’s room and the pups weren’t allowed to play with them) but it had been a very boring week without their companions.

      “Mom might take Nikko away from you again,” Fenrris growled at the younger pup. Gelmer’s tail instantly stopped wagging and his face fell into an upset frown, thinking of another week without his precious Epuni. “And if she takes Dribbley away from me again, I’m not going to forgive you.” Fenrris huffed, sitting down and fixing his bandana.

      “You two.” The pups looked up at Kathryn’s voice. “Come here.” The Lupe and Gelert hung their heads as they walked over to the teenager who picked them each up in one arm. She walked out of the shop and toward their Neopian house. “I’m so ashamed of you two,” she said as she walked, not looking at either of the pups. “I can’t believe you would rip up Mrs. Gazerelle’s flowers and then destroy our neighbor's shop!” Kathryn sighed heavily and didn’t speak again until they got to the neohome- the silence was probably worse than a lecture to the two pups. Kathryn sat down the Lupe and Gelert as she opened up the neohome and pointed for them to sit down.

      The pups sat close together on the couch as Kathryn sat across from them.

      “What’s our punishment?” Gelmer squeaked, not able to handle the silence that was between them and their owner. The Gelert didn’t like getting in trouble and making Kathryn mad; he knew how much their owner loved them and did everything she could for them.

      “Nothing,” she said simply, looking at the pups with narrow blue eyes. The pups looked at each other, then back at their owner.

      “Nothing?” they asked in harmony.

      “Nothing,” the girl repeated. She stood and ran a hand through her boy-short hair. “What would you two like for dinner? We can pick something up or I can make something.”

      “Let’s eat at home...” Fenrris said when he knew his little brother wouldn’t say anything. Kathryn nodded and walked into their kitchen. The Lupe looked at his brother. “There’s got to be a catch,” he hissed quietly so their owner couldn’t hear. “She would never let us off the hook for something this big.” Gelmer looked at his brother and shrugged his tiny shoulder; he looked exhausted.

      “Maybe she’s just being nice?” he barked quietly as he lay down and got comfortable on the couch.

      “I don’t think so...” Fenrris murmured and lay down next to Gelmer. The Lupe couldn’t be completely sure, but he had a feeling that their mom was doing something.

      After a big dinner Kathryn and her two pups sat on their couch and watched a movie. Fenrris lay on one knee and his brother on the other. It was rare for their family to do something nice all together, since the boys were usually in trouble or their owner was doing work for school.

      “Time for bed,” Kathryn said after the movie screen went black and she checked her watch. She herself was yawning; she could only imagine how tired her boys would be. Gelmer was lying on his back, his paws tucked in, and his tummy showing- this was his usual position to sleep in when he was exhausted; and on Kathryn’s other knee was Fenrris, whose head was between his paws and his eyes were fighting to stay open. The teenage girl smiled and kissed each of them on their heads and rubbed their backs gently to wake them up a bit. The pups mumbled sleepily and stayed lying how they were until Kathryn scooped them into her arms and carried them into the room that they shared. Each of the pups walked in a couple circles to find their comfy spot and settled down.

      “Good night,” Kathryn whispered and closed the door so it was open just a tiny crack.

      “Good night, Mom,” the pups barked sleepily.

      “Good night, Fenrris.” Gelmer yawned.

      “Good night, Gelmer,” Fenrris whispered and put his tail over his nose.

      Kathryn smiled through the crack in the door as she watched the two babies plunged into dream land. “You two really are brothers from different mothers.” She closed the door completely, shutting out the light on the two pups, and smiled. “Maybe next time you’re thinking of pulling a prank you’ll think of this night,” she whispered, knowing the Lupe and Gelert were already fast asleep. The teenager flicked the light switch off and went off to bed. Although she knew the two babies would get themselves into trouble plenty more times than today, she still loved them dearly, and hoped that they loved her just as much.

      Kathryn chuckled slightly to herself, and as she was falling asleep she whispered, “A brother from another mother...”

The End

Special thanks to Applecranberryjuice for letting me use Fenrris and Gelmer. :)

 
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