Summary: JD accidentally discovers a gruesome scar on Mare. Being a touchy subject for her, she gets pissed. Mare, River, and Jay belongs to @doodledream
JD lied on the rug in the living room, curled up into a ball, shivering, and cold.
“Why the hell are they here?” Mare snapped at River.
“Don’t be an asshole right now. There’s a hole in the roof at the lounge,” she calmly explained.
“A-and I d-d-don’t ha-ave more clothes o-on me,” JD added.
“UGGHH!” The pseudo-demon complained.
“Don’t mind her, she gets grumpy after her bedtime,” The angel joked. JD found it hard to laugh. They kept their head low to the ground. “C’mon, JD. We’ll see if you can use some of Jay's clothes. He’s about your size.” The wolf got up and shook themself to dry a bit, tormenting Mare further.
“Get that MUTT out of the APARTMENT before I SKIN THEM!” She threatened. JD took the hint and scurried to Jay’s room. River turned and looked at her, disappointed.
“You didn’t have to do that,” River put it simply. Mare groaned and mumbled about their lack of space before heading to her room.
JD thanked Jay for the tank top and shorts. He was happy to provide. Then he examined the wolf a bit longer.
“Somethings wrong with you, darling. I just can’t put my fingers on it-“ he stroked his chin with one hand, put another on his hip, and cupped JD’s face with the last two. They meekly explained to him what happened, feeling guilty for splashing Mare. “Don’t feel bad about it, buttercup. Mare isn’t always the nicest. Sometimes you gotta take what she says, and move on.” Jay seemed a bit troubled, yet recovered instantly. “She’s a bit crabby without her ‘beauty rest,’ and that’s one thing her and I can agree on. I’m sure she just wanted tonight to be over with.” That’s one thing her and JD could agree on.
JD thought about it some more, and came to the conclusion to apologize, then sleep the emotions off. “Thanks, Jay,” they said. He gave JD a heartfelt hug before turning them loose. They paced to Mare’s room, ignoring her ‘keep out’ sign on their haste and definitely ignored the common courtesy of knocking.
The faint red strikes on Mare’s back immediately caught JD’s attention. They looked like fresh wounds, a day or so after injury. Like a rat who’d been clawed by an owl, only to escape. JD winced in horror, wondering what could’ve caused them. Mare turned around and turned fully red.
She lunged toward JD, slapping them across their face. They whimpered and covered their cheek. “WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU IN HERE!” she screamed. She brings her hand up only for JD to grab it. With seemingly no other option, she head-butts them in the chest, causing them both to come crumbling down. JD pushed her off them to take a breath. “Take a hint, dumbass! Get! OUT!!” They couldn’t stop wheezing. She went to sit on her bed, taking a moment to breathe as well.
“Are you... okay?” They asked between breaths.
“What the fuck are you taking about?”
“Well on your back-“ Mare grew wide eyed.
“Don’t FUCKING mention them!” She throws a half-empty bottle of Pepsi at them. “Leave already!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you,” JD said, remorsefully. “I’ve got my own licks from plenty of things. Rocks, branches, raccoons, possums,”
“JD! LEAVE!!”
“But those are tiny compared to when my Aunt May would burn me.” They immediately winced from the old memories. “It still hurts.”
Mare scoffed. Her eyes glowed red. “Yeah right. Your mortal wounds HEAL after a certain period of time. These fuckers have burned for CENTURIES!!! I just learned to IGNORE IT!”
“You can’t ignore it forever, Mare.”
“Bitch, watch me.”
“You’re still hurting. On the outside and the inside.” Mare got quiet for a moment. JD tossed the soda back, which Mare caught and drank. Her eyes avoided them. They sat on the floor quietly.The room was heavy, and it pressed on JD’s throat.
“I’m sorry about splashing you earlier,” they apologized.
“It’s whatever.”
“I’m sorry I brought up your-“
“Whatever, JD. It’s whatever.”
They walk up to their door frame. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See ya.”
JD walked out the room and dashed to the couch. It was best they didn’t open up another wound for Mare, lest a full-on fight break out.
Summary: Atlas notices a few new details about JD’s collar and asks them about it
JD was a lot of things: a goofball, a klutz, an airhead, sure. But they certainly weren’t forgetful. So it concerned Atlas when he saw their collar in his jacket pocket.
He examined it closer and found a couple of interesting things up close. Firstly, the clasp seemed makeshift, like an amateur tried to prolong the life expectancy of the collar. Second, he realized that “Pup,” was actually engraved into the collar, rather than painted as he thought. The final thing Atlas noticed was the most interesting. He found a note engraved in red on the back labeled “from CJ”. He’d never met CJ before, nor had JD mentioned them before. Curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to teleport to JD to ask a few questions.
As soon as Atlas stepped out of the portal, JD grabbed him, shaking him a bit.
“HAVE YOU SEEN MY-“
“Got it right here, Pup.” Atlas handed it to them before slipping out of their hold. They fastened and adjusted it on their neck, letting out a sigh of relief. Atlas smirked before prying about it.
“Soooo, how long’ve you had your collar?” he asked. JD’s face lit up.
“It was the start of my collar collection! I got it when I was around 10. From an old friend!” they said excitedly. They fizzled out after that, not adding any other information.
Atlas wanted to respect JD’s privacy, as they didn’t share much of their past, but he was curious. He needed something new about his friend of a friend. “Cmon, dude. What else? Who was this person?”
“Well, I haven’t seen him in a while. His name’s CJ! I met him a bit after I moved in with Aunt May. He worked at a supermarket back when I was garbage hunting for food.”
Atlas shuddered. “Gross, dude.”
“What can I say? I was a growing pup with a ‘vivacious appetite.’”
“So why go in the stores if you were in the back?”
The wolf clutched the back of their neck. “Well, part of it was I wanted to see people! Say hi, pretended that I worked there and knew what things were. Maybe got a free cookie every now and then! The other half… I got stuck one day.” Atlas started dying of laughter. “It’s not funny!!!” they fumed. “He had three people get me out!”
“I know!!! But how the hell do you get stuck in a giant ass dumpster?” Atlas wheezed.
“There was sticky stuff and glass everywhere! I didn’t want to cut my feet-” they stuck out their tongue. “Dumpster diving without shoes was better so they wouldn't get dirty.” Atlas was starting to calm himself.
“Anyway… after that, he started calling me dumpster baby, which wasn’t fair, ‘cause that was a one time thing. Despite me hating the name, we started hanging out. He was really cool. He let me hang out in the break room, gave me his old DS, he even taught me what being nonbinary was! He was the absolute coolest!” JD started to blush a bit.
“The year after the dumpster incident on my birthday, he got me the collar. It was really nice of him and was my first birthday gift in a while. It’s kinda why it means so much to me; it helped define who I am! I can be JD; I can set my one rules; I can make real friends!” There was a bittersweet twinge in their voice when they mentioned real friends. They saw Atlas grow intrigued. “Yep, after that we were inseparable. I met up with him up every day during his shift. We even hung out in the woods every once in a while. It was like that for about three years. Suddenly, one day he told me he had to move-” they adjust their collar, remembering that day. “And it absolutely destroyed me. I thought we’d stay side by side for life, but I guess life had other plans. I always wonder where he went. Maybe he moved back to Mexico. Maybe he went to New Jersey.” JD looked up at the ceiling.
“You think he’ll ever visit back here?” Atlas asked.
“I hope so. I’d want you to meet him!”
Atlas nodded, liking the way that sounded. He jokingly bowed. “I’d be honored, Lord Finch, to make CJ’s acquaintance.” They pushed him over.
“Cut it out with the royalty stuff,” they chuckled, moving him out of the way. “Weren’t we gonna get some food for us. A pup gets hungry at night,” they whined.
Atlas patted his belly. “Yeah, I could go for some jalapeño nachos myself. Let’s head out; Road 45th gets crowded around dinner.”
“Then let’s not wait any longer!” JD burst out the door, forgetting it to shut it, . Atlas closed it before chuckling.
“Cmon Pup, how could you forget this, too?” He muttered before opening a portal to the restaurant.
Summary: JD and Atlas host a Christmas party for The Rose Thorns! (This story isn’t cannon, but it was still fun to write.)
Word count: 1320
It was an early holiday party. JD knew that everyone would be gone with other friends and family the 24th through the 26th, so they held a party of their own. With the help of Atlas, a few streamers, cookies, and an assortment of sodas, the practice lounge looked like a decently put together-
“X-mas shindig!”
“Yea, no. River, I love you, but we are not calling it that,” Mia laughed. GD and Static walked behind them, not really tuned into the other two’s disagreement. The twins wore matching thing one thing two sweaters to “Match the Christmas Spirit” as JD specified. River wore a sweater navy blue sweater with the Christmas Tree from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the pathetic one with one ornament on it. Mia wore a light pink one, with the phrase “Bubblegum Bitch” written in white with a few hot pink blobs scattered about her top. They all were JD opened the door for them while bouncing up and down.
“Guys, thank you so much for coming! This is my first time planning something like this and I wanted to make it special this time around.”
“Don’t let them fool you!” Atlas yelled from the band room, grabbing some speakers. “I helped out too. This elfy punk can’t take all the credit.” He motions towards JD’s outfit, a read joker hat with a classic green elf outfit with curly striped shoes. He wore a deep red sweater with an image of Dio Brando shouting "You thought this was a Christmas sweater, but it was me, Dio!"
“Don’t worry, JD. Your height gave it away,” Mia snidely remarked.
“Y’all are gonna get coal for Christmas if you don’t stop messing with me!” They said, crossing their arms and sticking out their tongue. They motion everyone to follow behind them. The front “lobby” of the cave has green and red streamers strewn about erratically. Across from the couch was a table with some pizza, chips, cookies, sodas and a fruit cake. On the other side of the room were mics, speakers, and chairs for whenever they wanted to start singing festive music. As they gang heads to grab snacks, they admire the place, seeing the hard work and dedication that JD and Atlas put in.
“How long have you guys been at it?” River asked.
“Mmmm, maybe like 8 hours?” Atlas said, between bites of fruit cake. “Most of it was finding what we needed. You would think there’s a war outside, with how empty these shelves were,” he joked. JD gave him a high five before sitting on the couch next to River.
She put on this headband with a stick attached to it with a mistletoe to the end of it. She leaned over to GD and tapped her shoulder. “Hey, babe?” River cooed. GD turned to River, confused. When River pointed above them, everything clicked. She became a blushing mess, causing River to laugh at how cute she was being. She pulled the demon in for a kiss, being cautious not to hit her horns. This was followed by an “awwww” from the other bandmates. JD glanced over at Mia, wondering if they could share a moment similar. They ended up staring long enough that she noticed, and stared back, chuckling to herself. River took off the head band and quietly whispered, “Got ‘em,” in GD’s ear. Atlas got up to stretch.
“Alright, gang. Now that we've had a feast, how’s about we do a few Christmas Carols this fine Christmas Eve?” He asked, trying to hype up the crowd.
“Hell yea, let’s do Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas is You,” Static suggested.
GD was confused. “I thought you hated that song,”
“Oh, absolutely,” Static confirmed. “But SOMEBODY keeps belting it 24/7, so let’s have her do it with some accompaniment-” She tossed a mic towards Mia.
“Don’t call me out like this, demonio,” she snapped, catching it. “And be careful! We just replaced one of these fuckers.”
“My bad,” Static said while she walked over to the computer. “So are you gonna sing it, or not?”
“Oh, hell yea! I wouldn’t pass up the chance.”
The room rumbled once the song began playing. Everyone had their attention to Mia, who vocalized for the first ten seconds. Her voice was so powerful. It was full and rich, like her hair whenever she wore it down. JD could feel their cheeks burning. They would honestly kill to have such a talented singing voice like that. Once she reached the final you of the introduction, Static pulled out a tambourine and some sleigh bells, tossing some percussion at each onlooker, including JD. GD and River joined Mia on the melody, while Atlas and Static opted out to the “ooo”s and “ahh”s. The band slapped their bells and tambourines to the rhythm, taking breaks to laugh at how hilarious the situation was. The song ended with an epic mic drop and the other members doing jazz hands around Mia, like the whole thing was a music video. She made a beeline to the couch, crashing instantly.
“Damn, that was fun! I’m gonna rest here a moment, but keep the party going guys,” she said out of breath. While the rest of the gang picked what to sing next, JD chose to put up the percussion for Static.
When they were done, they meandered over and sat next to Mia. “Hey, thanks for coming over last minute. I knew you all would head out for the holidays and I wanted to throw us a party before then,” they said.
“No problem, JD,” she assured. “We wouldn’t miss this for the world! I know how much Christmas means a lot to you, growing up in a Latino home after all.” They both laughed, thinking about how according to South Americans, Christmas could span two to three months, depending how festive the family was.
“It’s a fun time of year! Hanging out with loved ones, filling up on sweets-“
“Belting Christmas Carols at 2am,” Mia joked, punching them in the arm.
“Cmon, Princesa. You loved la parranda from last year.”
“Yea, there’s nothing better than Christmas Assault before catching an eight hour flight that same morning.”
JD scratched behind their ear. “Yea, I’m still sorry about that.”
“I’m teasing, lobo.” Mia said. She looked around the place again. Across the room, she saw Atlas and River belting “Take on Me” while Static recorded and GD queuing up some other tunes. “You always go all out for the holidays. It reminds me of when I was a kid, back in Puerto Rico. And the streets were flooded with people. You’d think it was a Christmas cult or something! It was such a festive time.” She places her hand on JD’s lap, causing them to flinch a bit.
“I-I’m glad!” They stammered. “It’s my favorite time of year. I get to show off how much I love you guys. A-and I tried t-to get everything a good Christmas party needs. Food, drinks, streamers, fruit cake, a tree. You know!”
“Yeah, you got almost everything. But you’re missing something.” Mia turns to look at them. JD can’t help but look back in confusion and anticipation.
“W-what?”
Mia pulls out a tiny mistletoe and hangs it above both of their heads. “A holiday kiss, of course,” she teased before pulling them in. JD sat there frozen for a moment before melting into the kiss. They wrap their arms around her, not wanting for the moment to fade.
“It’s a goddamn Christmas miracle,” Atlas groaned.
River gave him a fist bump. “I know, right?”
“Hey, River. Did you give Mia your mistletoe just so she could do that?” GD asked.
“Yeah. I only used it as a prop since I can kiss you whenever,” River teased, throwing in a wink and an air kiss to boot. GD was speechless, growing red in the face.
It was so hard to practice on an empty stomach. Not only was I playing the wrong notes, but my belly growled louder than a a mad beaver (weird occurrence, but trust me, it was loud and noticeable.) River was the first to say something.
“I don’t know, maybe two and a half weeks?” I muttered meekly.”
She gasped and shook her head. “ We gotta get you something to eat duder!”
“I-I don’t have any money.”
That’s when I heard Mia chime in. “C’mon! It’ll be fun! We can all go out, get some food, and just chill.” She saw I was about to open my mouth. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay us back,” she reassured me.
Fifteen minutes after closing up our lounge, we headed out to go grab some 45th Road: a hometown classic. We all sat in a booth. Static and GD sat on one side. River, Mia and I sat on the other, River sitting across from GD while I sat on the outside so I could eat comfortably.
“It smells like food,” I said as I sat down.
“Yes. It’s a diner. It’s got food in it.” Mia chuckled.
“I know!” I said, defensively, “I just mean it smells good. Food, burgers, meat. Those kind of things!”
“I’m just teasing with you, Lobo. I’m getting hungry just thinking about what I’m gonna order!” She said.
“Jeez, you must be starving, JD.” GD said. “I know what that’s like. One time, for a science experiment, I studied “how not eating affects a corporeal demon” turns out, that without eating, I got cranky, my memory was more fucked up than usual, and every now and then I’d just kinda.... clonked out.”
“Yea, that about sounds right,” Static agreed. “That was a rough 49 hours.”
“You guys must have a laid back teacher,” River commented. “At my school, we’re giving a prompt and our partners to do experiments. They usually don’t leave the class though.”
The waiter walks over to us as they continued talking bout school. He seemed nice enough: funny bow tie, suspenders, fake western accent and even a wide smile. “Welcome to 45th street: every road leads back here! Is there anything I can get you fine ladies?” River got a sprite, Mia got pineapple juice (duh) while GD, Static, and I got a Dr. Pepper. Well, I got a half lemonade half Dr. Pepper.
“What’s with the weird combo drink?” I heard Static retort.
“Drake and Josh,” I choked out in between slurps.
“Ay Static! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size-“ GD waved their fists in the air.
“Can y’all not get us kicked out of another restaurant?” River jokingly asked.
“That Wendy’s does not count. That’s a fast food chain. This is a restaurant. It has an ambiance that a Wendy’s can never live up to,” Static commented.
“What a smart-ass,” GD mumbled. But in a very ‘I’m both glad and disappointed that we’re siblings’ way, I assumed.
As we finished our drinks and ate our food, the night became more lively. I felt like the world was a bit brighter. My skin felt less heavy and I could even feel a surge of happiness. I was so excited to hang out with my friends. They were more than I could ask for.
I hugged everyone individually before we split up: Mia, Static, and Gd went over to their house while I walked River home so she wouldn’t be alone.
As we make our way over to her place we started talking.
“Has Thanks, River. I don’t think I can thank you enough tonight.” I started off.
“Don’t worry about it. I had fun! We should do that more often. Maybe like twice a month.” She suggested.
“Ooh!!! That sounds awesome! I’d love that.”
“I know, right? It’s a great way to bond as a band! And it’s really great getting to hang out with you guys outside of practice.”
“Yea, it is,” I said, smiling warmly.
After we make it to the front door, I hug her one last time.
“See you Monday?” I ask.
She shoots me two finger guns, “You know it Broski. See ya then!” She waved before going inside.
I walked back over to my own “neck of the woods” and fell asleep on the forest floor. It was a good sleep; for the first time in a while, I had a good dream.
River was playing guitar in her room. A simple riff, nothing in particular. And yet, a spirit breezes through their room; it was not Vira; this spirit was unidentifiable. River could not notice it, but could hear its chilling voice.
“Two. Birds. On a wire. One! Tries to fly. Away! But, the other. Watches up close. From that wire! She says she wants to as well!-“ it appears in front of River, the entity grew broken wings, its head laid limp on its body. River was noticeably horrified. “Is a liar.” It merely vanishes after that, leaving a panicked River on her bed.
It was late at night when I noticed her missing. There was no small demon to listen to my late night jam seccion. But knowing GD, she was probably out causing mischief. She’d be fine. I was dead wrong.
I went to her room after strumming a few chords to find a pentagram in the middle of GD’s floor. There were clawing marks from the bed leading into the center of Satan’s star. Her room smelled of fire and despair. The pentagram glowed ember and was hot to the touch. She’s in there, I thought. I have to save her
While Aunt May slept soundly, I snuck out like every Christmas. No way I was staying in that cabin of despair. I raced my way out of the woods and to the closest neighborhood. Lights of green, red, yellow, blue and so many more shined, making the neighborhood glow, like a star far away in the night sky. Blow up Santas and reindeer were in nearly every yard. I snickered, imagining all the Santas came to life the day before, making it possible to deliver all those presents in one day. I wandered through the cul-de-sac, peering into every window, examining every family. They looked so happy. Some families had one kid, sometimes five. Some had a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads, or maybe just one. Regardless, all laughed, hugged each other, opened presents, and were so happy. I miss that.
I miss waking up eagerly at 5am, rushing down the stairs and falling in doing so. I crave my father picking me up, shifting, and nuzzling me into his furry chest. I want my mother to giggle at her family, and take pictures. I desire opening presents next to them, and showing them what I got as if they didn’t know. . The cold winter breeze grazed my skin as I had the same apiphany I always do on Christmas.
I’m never gonna have a Christmas with my parents again. I’ll never see them again. I trudged back to the log cabin. Shedding a few tears with every step. The trees whistled a low sound, the waning crescent of the moon slowly disappearing. I slid open the door, walked in, and slept by the unlit fire place. I dreamt about them.
