#a:prideandjoy

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

Except that brought on a whole new round of worries. "You an' Papa gots to have a fun'ral too?" He asked then, his voice so tiny and upset before he threw himself back against Raleigh's chest. "I doesn' want you an' Papa to has a fun'ral ever, okay? 'Kay, daddy? Please, no fun'ral."

      “Everyone has to have a funeral,” Raleigh said again, cupping the back of Scott’s head gently as he tried to coo him through this, speaking softly, lovingly. “But I promise you, Scott, cross my heart— that your Papa and I won’t need a funeral for a very long time.”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

He could feel tears stinging his eyes again as he approached the hole his daddy had dug for his little pet, and going down onto his knees, he lowered the little container into it slowly. His daddy hadn't even begun to cover it back with dirt again before Scott burst into tears, throwing himself at the other as he sobbed, heartbroken. "I don't wants to go to a fun'ral ever again, daddy," he cried. "I don't wants Norbit to go!"

      As terrible as it might had sounded, Raleigh had been waiting for the moment that Scott’s little heart would burst. He was such a sweet boy, sensitive to things like this and he knew that the loss of his pet would tear him to pieces. With one last hand swiping over the dirt he then reached for his little pup, hugging him up to his chest and kissing his temple gently. “Funerals aren’t very good to go to, they’re sad, pup. I know,” He leaned back to look the boy in the face, “I know you don’t want him to go, but he has to, okay? Everyone has to at some point, even little tree frogs.” The wolf plucked up his son in his arm and held him close, “One day you’ll be able to see Norbit again, I promise. It’ll take a long time until then, but you will.”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

Scott walked all around the little spot that Raleigh had suggested, seemingly inspecting every inch of it before he nodded. "I finks he'll like bein' near da flo'ers," he decided, taking the rock into his hands. He squinted down at it, tracing the letters with his chubby little fingers. "Is Norbit's name?"

      “I think he will too,” Raleigh murmured, dropping that same clawed hand to dig a deep enough hole that might fit the makeshift coffin, looking up to watch the boy inspect the small rock he’d given him. “Yes it does,” He promised, pulling his hand away and giving the pup a little nudge, “You wanna bury him?”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

Scott nodded sagely, using so much care to lay his little frog into the tupperware container. He sniffled again, reaching up to rub at his eyes with his dirty little hands. "You can helps me bury him?"

      Tenderly, Raleigh leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the center of the little boy’s forehead, standing up to carry the box out into the yard. “Of course I will, pup, c’mon.” Moving toward the garden he ducked down next to one of their young saplings. “Here good?” Reaching over Ral plucked up a rock and extended a claw and scratched the frog’s name into the surface before handing it to the pup.

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

He sniffed a little bit, his tender heart so easily broken at realizing that the pet he'd claimed for himself wasn't alive any longer, but he nodded at his daddy's suggestion. "Wha's a fun'ral, daddy?"

      Keeping the little frog cradled carefully in his hand, he reached down for his son’s hand and lead him out toward the kitchen. “A funeral is when someone dies, and everyone that loved them comes together to honor them, to remember how much they loved them.” Placing the toad into Scott’s hand he reached through the tupperware drawer to get something that might suit his son’s pet. Placing some paper towels around the interior he stooped down to let Scott lay Norbit inside, “We bury them and say nice things over them, then we put up a tombstone so we can visit them when we miss them.”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

Scott's face fell, lips turning down in the saddest little frown. He leaned forward, as if inspecting Norbit himself, disbelieving his daddy when he said he was dead. "But... but. Is Norbit, daddy. Maked him come alive 'gain."

       “‘m sorry, buddy, but Daddy isn’t magic,” He gently took the little frog into his large palm, petting it gently with the tip of his finger. “Why don’t we go and have a little funeral for Norbit? We can make him a little tombstone and put a flower on his grave, how’s that sound, baby? YOu think Norbit would like that?”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

"Daaaaaaaddy," Sc'ott called out, toddling over to his dad with his hands cupped together. "I gots a a'prize for you. Y'wants to see?"

      The massive Alpha eyed his son suspiciously, his eyes dropping down the cup of his hands, but he relented, stooping down to his son’s height and holding out his own hands. “Of course I do, pup. What do you have in there, huh?”

[wolfixisarchive-blog]

Maybe at eighteen, Scott was too old for such childish fears. But after a nightmare in which his dad died, leaving Scott and his Papa alone, the teenager practically bolted down the stairs, so pleased to find his Dad still up, moving around the kitchen. He didn't pause as he threw himself at the other. "Y'can't ever leave me, okay?"

       Raleigh was cleaning up the mess he’d made during the creation of his late night snack, listening curiously to the sound of his son’s feet clamping down the stairs and darting across the living room. He was just turning to ask what had gotten into him at this hour when he found his arms filled up with the weight of his pup. The Alpha grunted a bit, stooping down to keep them both upward before finding his balance. His eyes searched the boy’s eyes curiously, a frown tugging at the edges. “You know I’d never leave you on purpose, Scott. You know that.”