I WOULD LIKE TO ADOPT A CHILD!
Which one?: 2
Child's Gender?: Male
Child's Name?: Finn
Gaia Name: Scaramouche Fandango
If your preexisting character is adopting this child, then which one?: Marceline
If not then your child will be a runaway and will need a clan... which one?: Not running away! ...
Well. Not running away TO a clan.
Prompts
Ah, spring, when a young cat’s mind turns to love. Well. Perhaps a normal cat. Marceline had other things to worry about, like weight training and punching bags. True, her friends might be talking of pairing up and having children during the season of love, but… well, not her. She thought she’d make a good mother, but she didn’t want to deal with pregnancy. Or a needy infant.
This spring, though, children
were on her mind. The feline had gotten it into her head that she wanted an apprentice. However, she wanted one without family ties, one who would see the Hallowmarl Court as its family. One who would fight by her side as it grew and eventually take his or her own place as a defender of the tunnels. She wanted an older child- all the orphans she knew were far too young, mewling babes and wobbly toddlers. She knew that there was a rabbit, one Zephra by name, who ran an orphanage in Mossflower. She traveled often to Hallowmarl to collect- the land was harsh, especially on little ones and young mothers- and she was certain that the white lapine would have a suitable apprentice that was tough enough to survive in the desert. So she’d asked the rabbit to send a kid her way. She’d wanted a sturdy child, one who was willing to work and train. After all, it was an apprentice she was after, not a moppet to mollycoddle. The letter she’d sent had asked for a child with an agreeable disposition, if possible, and the strength of mind and body to grow up well.
What she got was a sullen-looking little squirrel with a rope tied around his waist. Holding the other end of the rope was a very haggard-looking ferret. “You Marceline?” he said, his voice clearly strained.
“Yes, that’s me. Is this the child that is to be placed in my care?”
Without another word, the ferret pressed the end of the rope to her paw and ran away.
“Yah, an’ good riddance!” the little squirrel shouted, jumping twice and shaking a tiny fist. “Pbbbbt!” He blew a raspberry at the ferret’s retreating back, continuing to be rude until the ferret was out of sight. Marceline furrowed her eyebrows.
“That’s not very polite now, is it?” she said, disapprovingly.
“Yah, wot’s it to you? ‘E ‘ad me tied up!” the squirrelchild said impertinently.
“I was wondering about that,” the cat said, paw on her chin. “Why’d he do that?”
“Prolly ‘cos ‘e didn’t wanna have to touch me. ‘e was a great bully, marm,” the squirrel said, suddenly contrite. He looked down at his feet, kicking one against the sand. “Dragged me the whole way here
“Prolly ‘cos I ran off!” Finn giggled and sprinted past Marceline, snagging her sling shot on the way.
“Hey!” she shouted, chasing after him. The little squirrel was faster than she expected, but she eventually caught up with him. “That’s not nice!” she said angrily, shaking a paw at the boy. In response, he made an
incredibly rude gesture, the kind Marceline herself would never make at another creature… if she knew they could see her, at least. Grumbling, she picked the boy up, flung him over a shoulder and trudged back down to her den. He kicked and flailed and yelled and bit at her once or twice, but to no avail. She simply ignored him until she found the hidden entrance to her den, then took him inside and put him down on floor- perhaps a
bit roughly.
“Now see here! Do you know why you’re here, young man?” she scolded, a heavy paw on his shoulder. She didn’t give him time to respond; he probably
didn’t know. That, or he’d be snippy about it. The cat understood that the tyke hadn’t had a proper upbringing, but that was no excuse for bad manners. “You’re here because I need an apprentice. You’re going to live with me as my family and I’m going to teach you the proper way to fight. But I have little tolerance for cheek and no tolerance for theiving! If you want to return to the orphanage, this can be arranged… but I know Zephra, and I know that she
won’t be happy to have you returned. She’ll probably punish you.”
“Oh yeah?” the little squirrel sneered, squirming under her grasp. “Ol’ flopears don’t do nothin’ o’ the sort. She’ll jus’ stick me back in th’ bunks wiv my brudder an’ sister! Ha!”
Marceline rolled her eyes, exasperated. “No, no she won’t. Nope. Not for second offenders. Oh no, the punishment for them is much harsher. She’ll simply have your tail chopped off and you’ll be stretched by your ears.”
Finn looked at her flatly. “Nope. C’mon, lady, d’you ‘onestly think she’d be ‘llowed to do that? Nope, I’ll get chewed out. I been chewed out before, I can ‘andle that. An’ then it’s back wiv my family.”
Clearly the child was bright. Ornery, cantankerous, but bright. And pretty sensitive, from what she could tell. “Do you really want to go back to your family that badly? Is that why you were running away from the ferret?”
“Lady, my brudder an’ sister are all I’ve got. Don’t even got the clothes we came in wiv- it’s just us. I don’ wanna stay in the orphanage, but I don’ wanna be split up. T’ain’t fair, lady. I reckon yer nice enough, but they’re my
family.. Nobody’s got th’ time or th’ energy to take in three rowdy squirrels, ‘specially when they ain’t cute li’l babes no more.”
“Look, isn’t it enough that you’ve got a home now?”
But the squirrel shook his head resolutely. She could tell that he was trying his best to hold back tears. “Like I said, nobody’s gonna take in three of us. It’s the orphanage or noffin.” Finn wasn’t stupid. He’d never
asked to get adopted- he just wanted to be with his family. They were good enough- this cat lady and the rabbit were both the same. They couldn’t understand that he didn’t
need a new family. There was nothing wrong with the one he had. It was small and broken, but it was still his. And that made it perfet.
Marceline sighed. “Tell you what. You stay with me for now, and every time I go to Mossflower, I’ll take you with me. If your siblings get adopted, I’ll find out where they live and I’ll take you to visit them. And I’ll fight off anybody who tries to stop us. But Zephra and I had an arrangement, and whether you like it or not, you’re in my care now. Besides, look at you. You’re practically a grownbeast. You don’t want to be in an orphanage forever. With me, you’ll have a home and a trade to practice. Nobody’s going to hurt you, take advantage of you, or look down on you. If it was just you and your siblings, bad things might happen. Especially if you were out on your own. Trust me, kiddo- it’s better this way. I might not be all touchy-feely, but I get the picture that wouldn’t go well with you at all. Now, so long as we’re agreed?”
The squirrel hewed his lip, thinking. Finally, he nodded and extended his paws to the cat. Marceline was touched- the poor little tyke just wanted a hug. Poor little… crap, she needed to find out his name. “What do they call you, little one?” she asked as she knelt to embrace him.
She could feel paws at the back of her neck, fiddling with… something. “Finn,” the squirrel said as he shot off down the tunnel. “Finn the Fastest!”
The little motherless jerk had made off with her necklace! She could hear his giggle echoing off the
tunnel walls as he disappeared around a corner. Glaring, Marceline rose to her feet. “You aren’t gettin’ out of this, kid!” she shouted, beginning the chase yet
again. “You’re having a proper home whether you want it or not! Oof!” she shouted as she tripped over a rock, barking her knee. “Just for that, the first thing that happens to you is a
bath!”
This was going to be an
adventure.
100
100
200
200
200
100