New Year

gold confetti falls

from the skies

with white crisp

flakes joining the celebration

of the new year

kisses between couples

exchanged

glasses clink in cheers

for the new year

resolutions made to try

and make a new change

for yourself

it's a new year

a new day

a chance to better

than we were the day

before

-ADF

Worried Sick

Diana Halloway sat next to her cousin and friend, as they enjoyed the quiet afternoon. "I can't believe Aunt Artemis, Uncle Scott, and Uncle Zane had to leave you to babysit today," Diana told Athena, as she looked at her mahogany haired cousin.

"Honestly, I'm not that upset. With Ryder and Venus suddenly getting sick, it's makes sense that I'm here with Calliope. Besides, Archer and Nate are only running the perimeter with Dad gone. Besides, Calli, knows better than to cause trouble with me," Athena pointed out as she looked down at Calliope, who was sitting in recliner that belonged to Archer, when he came home from college.

Calliope looked up from the book in her lap, "I can hear you, Diana," the six year old contemptuously mumbled as she met Diana's blue-grey eyes, that were a St. Rose signature color.

Diana frowned before she got up and knelt in front of Calliope's seat. "I'm sorry, Calli, I'm just worried about Venus and Ryder. I didn't mean to make it sound as if you were causing trouble," the sixteen year old apologized with a soft blush at being called out on her comment.

Calliope frowned, her brow furrowed as she met Diana's pleading stare. "I'm worried too, Diana. It's my twin sister and baby brother, who are sick. I miss Vee," the little told her cousin, a soft sob escaping at the mention of her twin sister's name.

Diana didn't say anything, she instead reached up and pulled Calliope into her arms. The little girl sobbed as she looked over Diana's shoulder to find Athena. The mahogany haired girl, moved just behind Diana and grasped Calliope's hand tightly in her own. All of them were worried, it didn't make sense for Venus and Ryder to get sick, at least not as sick as they had gotten.

Athena looked in the doorway, and met Archer's gaze as he looked at them. The twenty year old, werewolf and warlock sat down beside Diana and just rubbed Calliope's back. Nate sat just behind Calliope, ready to catch her when she pulled away from Diana. The silent room was filled with worry and concern for the two missing Evermoon St. Rose Conway siblings.

-xxx-
Sorry for not posting on Monday. It slipped my mind, but I am excited so share more stories about Eden with you all.

-ADF

Beneath the Mistletoe (TEC)

Delia's grey blue eyes looked around the ballroom of the Nightshade Castle. The Princess of Stardune enjoyed the rose gold and marble theme. The Princess easily recognized the hosting family for the event. The Nightshade family were well known for hosting their annual Christmas Balls, and they were always the talk of the various kingdoms.

"I see you're enjoying yourself, for once," a familiar voice said from Delia's left. The mahogany haired princess turned to see Princess Eleanor or Ella as Delia called her.

"Ella," Delia happily greeted as she pulled her friend into a hug. "This is beautiful, I love the theme, and your dress. I'm surprised you didn't wear something in either rose gold or marble."

"And blend into the decorations?!?! Ha! Besides mother insisted that gold would look better against the piano," Ella muttered as she looked at her.

Delia nodded in understanding, "Well, this dress suits you, Ella. The gold makes your eyes shine even brighter. Your family looks excited."

Ella inclined her head as she looked at her friend. "You mean, Jason, and he's really miserable. He would much rather be doing anything else than attend the ball," Ella answered her friend.

The Stardune Princess's cheeks flushed a soft pink color. She had a crush on the eldest child and Crown Prince of Nightshade but she knew that he didn't want her. Delia recalled hearing a conversation between Jason, Prince Damien of Evermoon, and Prince Wesley of Avisteria. They had been talking about Princesses that they would never consider for their future wives. All three of them had adamantly decided that she was not worthy of their attention. Delia's heart had shattered because she and Jason had been such good friends, despite that he was three years older than her.

The friendship between the pair had crumbled easily, with Delia avoiding Jason at all costs. She rarely left her own Kingdom, and when she did, it was because Jason was usually visiting Stardune. She doubted he even realized that he hadn't seen her in two years.

"Ella," Delia mumbled, embarrassed from Ella's statement.

Ella looked at her one of closest friends, she could see the tears that were beginning to cloud her grey blue eyes. The Nightshade princess reached out and grasped her friend's hand. "I'm sorry, Delia. Let's ignore my brother. I love your dress, the soft lilac looks lovely on you."

"Thank you, Ella," Delia answered with a soft smile. She wiped a finger against the outer corner of her right eye, to keep the tears from falling.

Ella moved towards the music maestro, she whispered something into his ear. As Ella pulled way, he nodded and tapped his music stand. Delia watched as Ella made her way back, but she was suspicious and didn't fully trust her friend.

Delia sighed and walked out of the ballroom, she made her way towards the Royal Gardens. King Erivine had created them for Queen Avaline, and Delia always enjoyed visiting the gardens as a child. Of course, the Stardune Princess knew that King Erivine had created a section for Ella, that was for Ella's personal enjoyment.

She walked amongst the flowers and ignored the chill that was beginning to fall through the grounds. Delia stopped to enjoy the roses that were named after Queen Avaline, the Avelia's. They were the most beautiful to Delia, the roses were a soft lilac color and just large enough to hold in palm of her hand.

"You know, mother never understood how the roses became the lilac color," a voice called from behind her.

Delia straightened before she slowly turned to look at Nightshade's Crown Prince, Jason. "They're beautiful, despite the odd coloring," Delia replied as she turned back to the roses.

"Delia," Jason started before he stopped.

"Delia, why are you ignoring me?" Jason asked as he gently reached out and turned the Stardune Princess to look at him.

Delia didn't dare meet Jason's gaze, instead she stepped back and out of his reach. "Excuse me, Your Majesty," she said as she gave him a small curtsy. Before she walked away from her oldest friend. She wasn't going to tell him anything, if he didn't understand why she wasn't talking to him then that was his problem.

Delia took the long way back to the palace, as she climbed the steps that would lead her into back into the hallway. She easily spotted Ella with her bodyguard, they were talking. Delia wasn't sure about what, but it wasn't any of her business. As she reached the threshold, Delia felt another presence next to her.

"Ooh, look who's under the mistletoe," Ella happily cried as she clapped her hands together.

Delia looked up and glared at the offending foliage, before she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see that it was Jason, who was next to her. Delia glared at her best friend, before met Jason's sky blue gaze. "You are not funny, Ella," she muttered as she tried to step out from under the mistletoe.

Jason's hand was wrapped around Delia's elbow, halting her escape. She turned her head to glare at him. "Let me go, Jason, now," Delia ordered.

"It's tradition, Cordelia, we wouldn't want to break tradition," Jason argued as he looked pleadingly at the Princess of Stardune.

Delia narrowed her eyes even more at the use of her full name. "Fine," she mumbled, as she reached up and placed a chaste kiss on Jason's cheek. "Happy?" she questioned as she pulled away.

Ella snorted as she looked at her older brother and best friend. "That is not the rule of mistletoe, Delia and you know that," Ella commented.

"She's not wrong, Cordy," Jason answered as he used his own nickname for her.

Butterflies fluttered in Delia's chest as she heard the familiar nickname from Jason. Delia closed her eyes and sighed in defeat, before she opened her eyes. She stood on tip toe and placed a kiss on Jason's lips. He responded quickly, but gently pulled away. His hand had slipped from Delia's elbow to her waist.

Ella smiled happily before she walked away from her best friend and brother. "Come along, Adam," she Nightshade Princess called over her shoulder to her body guard.

Cookies and Cocoa

Laura hummed along to Bing Crosby's crooning voice, she smiled down at her children as they stood on stools and were using cookie cutters. She watched as they passed the cookie cutters and worked together. But they weren't alone, Laura caught her best friend's eye and smiled.

Artemis giggled as her three children weren't really interested in the cookies. Archer and Nate were more interested in seeing who could get the most dirty with the flour. The red head sighed but separated the two, before any werewolf claws tried to make an appearance. The High Priestess shook her head in annoyance but helped her children with their cookies.

Avis and Athena were helping each other with their cookies. Laura and Artemis shared a conspiratorial wink with one another at the sight of the two girls. Archer was now helping Lynx with her cookies, he would place them on the cookie sheet after she finished. Laura watched the pair with an affectionate smile, it was adorable to see Lynx and Archer getting along.

Once the cookie sheets were filled, Laura and Artemis wrangled their trios into the living room for a Christmas movie. Each of them were given a small bowl of the holiday popcorn and a candy cane. Laura and Artemis planned to bring in hot cocoa during the middle of the movie.

With The Santa Clause firmly up and running with the second and third movies, cued up to play soon. The two witches didn't worry as they made their way back to the kitchen to make hot chocolate. The mothers laughed and told each other stories of what their children had been up to. It was a quiet afternoon for them as they worked together.

Little Sisters

Athena St. rose sighed as she looked at the large amount of snow that covered the ground. The sixteen almost seventeen year old female shivered in her winter coat, as she walked around Coven grounds. The witchling gazed in the woods and spotted the familiar furry and blurred shapes that belonged to the Evermoon pack. She easily spotted her half brothers and Papa, in the treeline.

Both Archer and Nate were different colors, and depending on the time of day, one was easier to see than the other. But Athena knew what to look for, when it came to werewolves. She waved at the trio, as they stood watch over the Coven. She was watching some of the children, as a group had wanted to go outside and play in the snow. Athena had volunteered to go with the group and watch them.

Of course, Athena's mother, Artemis, the Coven's High Priestess and Coven Leader knew that the trio of wolves would be watching, as well. Athena looked very much like her mother, but the main difference were her eyes, while her mother had the St. Rose blue-grey, almost silver colored eyes; Athena had her father's ocean blue-green colored eyes.

"Athena, come on, you're meant to be playing with us," the voice of her little sister, Calliope called from the top of a large snow mountain.

Calliope threw a snowball, at her big sister. As the ball hit, Athena in the shoulder she scoffed, "Calliope Jane," Athena exclaimed as she ran towards her sister.

Calliope squealed as she spun and tried to slide down the hill, to escape Athena. But she wasn't able to get far, because she was stopped her own twin, Venus. "Venus, let me go," Calliope whined as she tried to swat away her sister's hand that had caught the hood of her white jacket.

Venus shook her head as she jumped on top of her twin. The pair began to roll and slide down the hill. Athena sighed as she watched her sisters end up at the bottom of the mountain. She shook her head and tapped her right foot as she pursed her lips.

Before she could say anything, two wolves moved forward from the tree line. The black wolf was the girls' oldest brother, twenty-year old Archer; while the white wolf was eighteen year old Nate. Each picked up one of the two, by the scruff of their coats, and seperated them before they could break out into a fight that involved small fists or accidental bursts of magic.

"Thanks, Archer, Nate," Athena said as she jumped from the top of the small mountain, to land on her feet. She looked at her two sisters, who each struggled to escape from their brothers' grasp.

"Athena!" Both whined and whimpered as they looked at their sister.

The red head frowned but nodded to both Nate and Archer. The wolves promptly released the twins, and watched as they moved towards Athena and wrapped themselves around her legs.

Athena became slightly unbalanced, and fell on to her back with a sister attached to each leg. But she didn't complain, instead she just moved her arms and legs back and forth. Her sisters each let go and followed her example.

They stood up and took a step back, the twins smiled as they saw the snow angels.

The moment came to an end when on of the other children called for Athena. She turned her attention to the others, and moved forward to help them as they built a large snowman. The witchling kept an eye on her sisters and the others, as she moved around to help the various groups of children.

"Athena," a little voice that belonged to her cousin, Beth, called out.

Athena crouched down in front of Beth, "What is it, Beth?" The sixteen year old asked as she looked at her cousin, she reached out and brushed a stray blonde curl behind her ear.

"When can we head back inside? Mom and Aunt Artemis promised us hot chocolate," Beth asked as she looked at Beth with wide blue-grey eyes, that matched Persephone and Artemis'.

Athena looked at the kids and saw the same curious look in each of their own eyes. "We'll go in, in five minutes. In the mean time," Athena said as she grabbed a bundle of snow and crunched it together in to a ball. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!" the teenager yelled as she threw the ball in the direction of Archer.

The wolf playfully howled but retorted with kicking snow in the direction of Venus and Calliope. Chaos immediately erupted as white snow in various sizes were being thrown at anyone and everyone. Athena smiled and laughed as she and her older brothers joined in and threw snow.

-xxx-

Here's a piece on Athena and a look into Artemis's future. I'm still working on ages but I realized that she's forty-seven or a newly turned forty-eight in this piece. It's crazy because we've met five of her children, Archer, Nate, Athena, Calliope, and Venus. This does hint a maybe who she ends up with or does it?

❤ ADF

Early Gifts (TAG)

Sixteen year old Ella Rosewood sat in the kitchen with a notebook and pen in front of her. She had a list of names written on the sheet. She looked at the names with a small frown, as she contemplated what she should give to her 'brothers' for Christmas. Some would be easy to do but others were difficult; and there was her 'dad', grandma, Brains, and Creighton-Ward family members to think about as well.

The mahogany haired female sighed in frustration, and pouted before she shoved her notebook to the other side of the counter. She crossed her arms on the counter and placed her head on her arms. She closed her eyes as she tried to think of gifts.

Virgil, Gordon, and Alan would be easy to get gifts for, as they had been hinting for a while at what they each wanted. Ella had gotten Virgil some new sheet music of some of his favorite songs, and a notebook of blank sheet music for him to write his own music. Gordon would be receiving some new swim shorts and full year subscription to a video app that he enjoyed. Alan's gift was a scrapbook of family pictures, most of their mom before her accident; with some funny stories that Ella wanted to share with her baby brother.

Since John and Scott were both gone, and no one knew if they would be coming home for Christmas, Ella had a harder time thinking of something. John was away at college, studying to be an astronaut like dad. And Scott was serving the GDF Air Force, as a pilot. But neither had been sure, if they would be returning to Tracy Island for Christmas, much to everyone's dismay. But Ella had no idea what to gift her brothers who wouldn't be home. Ella sighed again, before she closed her eyes.

A hand gently patted the top of her head, and Ella looked up to see her dad on the other side of the kitchen counter. "What's got you so sad, Ella?" Jeff Tracy asked his daughter.

While, Ella wasn't a biological Tracy, she was still very much a Tracy child. Jeff and Lucy had raised the dark haired beauty since she was a baby, after her parents had died in a car crash. Jeff missed his friends Christian and Elizabeth Rosewood, but Ella had helped him and Lucy mourn them a little easier as they knew that she wasn't gone.

"I can't figure out what to get Scott and John for Christmas. I have everyone else's gifts done, but I don't know what to get Scott or John," Ella explained sadly as she sat up and looked at her dad.

Jeff hmed in understanding, "Well, let's think about that, what did you get them last year?" Jeff asked her as he moved to the fridge and began to pull out various ingredients for dinner.

"I gave John a magazine subscription to his favorite one for three years. And Scott got sent a box of Christmas treats," Ella reminded her dad as she got off her seat and moved around to the other side. She grabbed some of the vegetables and fruit and started to rinse them off.

"Well, what do you want to give them?" her father asked his sixteen year old daughter as he pulled out some burgers and hot dogs.

Ella shrugged, "I don't know, I just want them to come home. I mean, John came home last year for Christmas but he didn't stay for long. And Scott couldn't get leave."

Jeff nodded in understanding, "I know, Ella, have you tried asking your brothers what they're getting Scott and John?"

"Yup," Ella replied while she popped the p. "Virgil won't share, but Gordon and Alan decided to do a joint gift."

Jeff chuckled and shook his head, "I should have guessed as much. Maybe you should send both of your brothers Christmas treats. I remember Scott telling me that he enjoyed his gift last year."

Ella looked at her dad with wide eyes, "Really? But I don't want them to think that I'm being lazy."

Jeff stopped prepping the burgers and turned to face Ella. "Ella, I don't think they'll believe that. Your brothers, all five of them, know that you spend a lot of time and effort into anything you bake. Besides, your cookies are always better than Grandma's," Jeff conspiratorially whispered to his daughter, as he looked around the room. As if he was expecting Grandma Tracy to come out from around the corner.

Ella laughed at her Dad's comment. A familiar voice came from the living room, "I heard that, Jeff Tracy."

Ella stopped and with wide eyes watched as Grandma Tracy appeared in front of the counter with her arms crossed as she looked back and forth between her son and granddaughter.

"And I was going to give your gift early," Grandma sighed as she frowned at the pair.

Ella moved to join Grandma, and wrapped her arms around the elderly woman. "I'm sorry Grandma," Ella told her Grandma with a soft frown.

Grandma sighed but held Ella tightly to her. Ella was her only granddaughter, and the sixteen year old had already two mothers, one father, and two sets of grandparents. She easily recalled the day when Jeff and Lucy had brought her home. Scott, John, and Virgil had were all under her care when she came into the Tracy home. Scott had been six, John was four, and Virgil was two. Ella had only been a few months old. Scott and John didn't understand why they were getting a new sibling, a sister at that. Virgil hadn't really understood what was happening, and didn't care that much.

Grandma melted as she held Ella, "Alright, then, you can come in now," Grandma called out as she pressed her cheek against the top of Ella's dark curls. Ella was quite short, especially in comparison to her brothers. She was only five feet tall and Grandma suspected that she wouldn't get much taller than that.

Ella pulled away from Grandma with a confused look as she looked towards the living room. There in the entrance were Scott and John Tracy. She shrieked in delight before she left go of her grandmother and launched herself at her twenty-two and twenty year old brothers. She could hear her dad's chuckle resonate through the room as Ella held onto her brothers.

Jeff and Grandma Tracy watched the scene with happiness. Ella held a close relationship with both Scott and John, and with them gone she missed both of them. As Jeff watched his daughter and eldest son interact he couldn't help but wonder if Lucy had been right when she said that Scott and Ella were meant for each other. He easily watched as Scott was constantly touching Ella in someway, and she was doing the same thing.

Maybe Lucy was right when she said that Scott would make Ella a Tracy.

-xxx-
Another Ella Tracy piece, I'm just feeling the feels for this family. Especially since I've been binge watching the episodes like crazy the last few days. Let me know if you want more Christmas pieces with them.

-ADF

Christmas Themes (TEC)

A knock woke the sleepy princess from her nap. Ella sat up and called out weak come in, she smiled at the familiar sight of Adam Rosewood, her bodyguard. "Adam," She groggily greeted him.

"Princess Eleanor, your mother has requested your presence in the ballroom, immediately," Adam monotonously informed his charge.

Ella sighed but nodded in understanding. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Somehow, I doubt my mother wants me downstairs in my pajamas," Ella mumbled as she threw her covers off of her. She climbed out of her bed and meandered towards her closet.

The Princess of Nightshade quickly changed into a dark wine colored dress with black tights and a cream colored cardigan. She wore black ankle booties on her petite feet. Ella quickly braided her hair, and ran out of her bedroom. As she passed Adam, she faintly heard him mutter something in his earpiece. But she was sprinting down the stairs to get to the ballroom.

One did not keep the Queen waiting, and certainly not when said Queen was your own mother. Ella nearly tripped down the stairs a few times but luckily caught herself each time. As she hit the bottom of the stairs, she took off through the hallways and ran towards the large ballroom. Once the large ornate doors were in sight, she stopped and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. After a moment, Ella strode inside and looked over her shoulder at Adam.

She shook her head and shut the door behind her, before he could attempt to step inside of the room with her. Ella knew that Matthew was somewhere in the hallway, hidden from her sight. She figured that Adam would be fine with Matthew.

Ella looked around and spotted the large pine three that was in the center of the room. There were not decorations on the tree, which was odd to Ella. As she usually only ever saw the tree after it was decorated and trimmed.

"Ella, there you are," the familiar warm voice of Queen Avaline called from just behind the tree.

Ella moved towards her mother and looked at her. "Yes, why exactly am I here?" she asked as she looked at the tree.

"I wanted your help with picking a color theme for the tree this year. Someday it will be your job, and I want you to be ready for when the time comes," Avaline explained as she looked at her daughter.

Avaline knew that her seventeen year old daughter was hesitant to take on new duties, but Ella understood that she would need to to do this for her kingdom.

"Any kind of theme?" Ella asked as she looked at her mother with a slight frown.

"Yes, any kind of theme that you would like," Avaline agreed as she moved to stand next to her daughter.

"I think rose gold and marble, would be lovely," Ella hesitantly suggested.

Avaline's smile brightened, "That's a lovely suggestion, Ella. I quite like it, we'll pass that information on to Vella. You'll be working with myself and Vella to make sure everything is to your standard."

Ella looked at her mother with wide eyes. "My standard?"

"Yes, as it's your theme, everything will be done to your specifications," Avaline told Ella as she looked at her daughter.

"Wow," Ella whispered in awe.

-xxx-

Yes, I have returned the Eleanor Chronicles. There will be more int he coming days. I haven't forgotten about Ella.

First Snow

Avis looked at the sky in delight as white fluffy flakes fell from the sky. She smiled and spun in circle, and threw her hands out. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue in hopes of catching a precious flake.

"Avis, come on! We're going to be late," her best friend Athena St. Rose yelled from ahead of her.

The sixteen year old female looked ahead at Athena, and sighed before she ran to catch up with her brunette friend. Once, Avis had caught up with Athena the pair made their way to Eden Falls High to start their last day of classes before winter break started.

"Ugh, why do we have to be here? It's snowing, and it's the kind that's perfect for playing in," Avis whined to Athena as they strode through the school parking lot.

Avis easily spotted Athena's cousins, Vera and Elijah St. Rose, and elder brother, Nate Evermoon. Avis shyly looked away her best friend's brother, and easily spotted her own family members in the crowd. She sent a bright smile and wave to her cousins Evie and Darren, who were climbing out of Uncle Ronnie's SUV.

The window rolled down, and she heard her uncle wish her cousins a goodbye. He easily spotted and yelled a hello to her as well. Avis flushed a little as people looked at her, but she told her Uncle that she would see him later. As he pulled away, Evie and Darren separated. Evie approached her and Athena, while Darren moved towards Elijah, Nate, and the rest of the boys who played sports at EFHS.

"Hi, Avis, morning Athena," Evie greeted as we stood on the steps.

"Hi, Evie," Avis replied as she pulled her cousin into a hug. "I like your hat," she added as she admired her cousins gray knit hat, that was over her brown locks.

"Thanks," Evie answered.

"Hey, Evie, and Avis is right, your hat is cute. Come on Miss Freshman, let's head inside it's cold out here," Athena suggested as they climbed the rest of the stairs and made their way inside. Together they made it to Evie's locker and helped her gather her books and put away her backpack. Then, they clamored through the halls to reach Avis and Athena's shared locker.

"We'll see you at lunch, Evie," Avis promised her cousin as they walked her to her math class. As they walked away, the pair could hear some girls behind them sigh that Evie was lucky that she got to hang out with older students.

The two witches looked at each other and shared a laugh before they headed to art for their first class. Once they sat down, Avis stared out the window and watched the snow fall. She wished that she was outside enjoying it with her friends and family.

"Hey, Av, we should get everyone together tomorrow and have a snow day. As a way to celebrate the end of school until the New Year, and for you to stop moping," Athena suggested with a giggle as she gently nudged Avis with her elbow.

"You mean it?" Avis asked with a perked up response as she looked at her best friend.

"Of course, we'll tell everyone at lunch and send a group text/message tonight," Athena promised as she sent her friend a warm smile.

Avis smiled as she took another glance at the falling flakes outside. She couldn't wait to enjoy the snow.

-xxx-

Little Avis is all grown up, -sniff- I can't believe that she's a beautiful sixteen year old teenager. I wanted to do more with the Laura verse, which has actually become an extension of my Artemis (Witch) verse. I made the connection during NaNo this year. So, be on the look out for more Avis pieces, and a different look into Eden's future.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Lyra smiled as she hung the last ornament on the tree. Once, the little robin was placed in a safe place on the tree, she stepped back and looked at the tree. "And it's perfect, which means it's done!" Lyra delightfully cried out.

A familiar sigh came from behind her, as she turned to look at her brother. "I'm not sure about that, Lyra," Drake muttered from his seat.

The petite brunette rolled her eyes at her brother's comment, "Bite me, Drake," she replied as she returned her attention back to the Christmas Tree. The multi-colored lights twinkled as they blinked their various colors around the room. Lyra smiled as she sat on the couch, next to her boyfriend, and snuggled into his side.

"Ignore, Drake, Ly. You know he's upset about Vivian being in France, and not returning until after the New Year," Rex replied with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Lyra.

"He doesn't have to be bitter about," Lyra mumbled as she shot a glare at her brother.

Drake rolled his eyes at his sister, but pouted as he looked at the tree that was in front of him. He noticed a new ornament that hadn't been apart of the family's collection last year. He got up from his seat and made his way over to examine it closer. Upon further inspection, the ornament was a clear one, but inside was a picture of himself with Viv from last Christmas. One the ornament written in silver was 'I'll be home for Christmas'. Drake spun and looked at his sister in shock and surprise as if to confirm the truth from her.

Lyra and Rex both got up and looked at Drake with huge smiles. "Yeah, she's leaving France early. She couldn't bare to think of spending a Christmas without you," Lyra told her brother with a smile.

Drake wrapped his sister in a hug and held her tight. "Thanks, Ly," he murmured softly, for only his sister to hear.

Winter Blues (TAG)

Ella Tracy sighed as she looked out the window, it was warm in the South Pacific. The twenty-three year old female easily recalled the early years where it actually snowed on Christmas. Of course, that had been back when they lived in Kansas, when Alan had been a baby, not a sixteen year old teenager. She remembered that she had to beg Scott and John to play with her, Virgil, and Gordon outside. But her pout and bright green eyes finally made the elder Tracy's crave and play outside with her. Oh, the fun that they had had, and the trouble they had gotten into. She smiled as thought of Scott breaking one of the windows with a snowball. Or how he had lifted her up so she could put the hat on their snowman, that was taller than her.

She missed those times, before they had lost their mom to an avalanche. Winter hadn't been the same without Lucy Tracy, and Ella suspected that was partly why their dad had moved them to an island in the South Pacific that rarely got snow. Ella looked out at the turquoise blue water that was the Pacific Ocean, and frowned.

Alan and Virgil Tracy looked their sister-in-law/surrogate sister with concerned faces. Alan was worried about his sister, he knew that Ella became melancholy during December. He was never sure why, but she had been like this for a few years. Ella had taken on a motherly role, after they had lost their mom. But he loved his sister, even though she hadn't been adopted by their parents, she was still a Tracy. She just hadn't inherited the last name, until she had gotten married to Scott, but she had always been a Tracy.

Virgil knew that his sister was going through her winter blues, even if it didn't look like winter outside. The brown-gold eyed artist watched as Ella got lost in her thoughts. Christmas had been her favorite holiday as a kid. She had always been dragging him and the rest of the boys out to do various winter activities. During the the first snow, Ella always made sure that she, Scott, John, Gordon, a baby Alan, and himself were outside for a few minutes to enjoy the quiet snow fall. Of course, she had been wrapped in a million layers and looked like a marshmallow, but she never seemed to care.

Virgil gently nudged his brother with his shoulder. Alan looked at his brother who wore a lot of flannel, with a raised eyebrow. Virg gestured to Ella and gave Alan a pointed look. The youngest Tracy sighed but followed his brother's silent order. He moved to where Ella was, and sat next to his sister.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked brightly as he looked at his sister.

Ella's attention moved from the window to her baby brother, "Snow," she answered with a soft smile. Before she reached out and gently ruffled his blonde hair.

Alan ducked and tried to swat at his sister's hand, "Ella," he whined as he wiggled on the small window seat.

"I don't think so, little brother," she replied with a tinkle of laughter as she moved from ruffling Alan to tickling him instead.

The sixteen year old squirmed away from his sister, but he was moving so erratically that he fell off the window seat. Ella giggled at the sight of Alan as a pile of limbs, but she reached down and helped him back up. "Sorry, Alan," she mumbled as they sat in the window seat.

Alan just smiled at his sister, and together they watched the blue waves outside. "Sorry, we don't get snow here, Ella," Alan said as he looked at his sister.

"It's fine, Alan, I haven't had a Christmas with snow since you were eight and I was fifteen," Ella answered with a soft smile. "It's just a long time to go without a white Christmas."

-xxx-

I have officially entered the Thunderbirds 'verse with this piece. I love the Thunderbirds (both shows), and I've been playing around with the idea of Ella Tracy in head for a while. I'll try to write more pieces with her and her relationship with the Tracy family in the coming weeks and months.

-ADF

News and News

Hey everyone it's Alex. Today's post is not a story, but rather just news and updates.

So, as you know last month was NaNoWriMo, and it was my third year participating.I wrote almost 30k, I was short by about 600 words. I'm not disapointed by any means, it was a huge goal and achievement for me. I hit around 52 pages on my WordDoc. There are about 8-10 pages that are handwritten, which I need to transcribe on the actual document. I will try and do nano again next year.

Second, I have started a tumblr for this account. You find it here. I haven't done much with it yet, but I plan to do more with it in 2017. For now, I will post primarily links of what I've posted. But in 2017, I plan to do sneak peeks, brainstorms, and other things. Maybe pictures and fancasts. So, please feel free to check it out.

It's December, I'll try to post little Christmas pieces as we get closer to the Christmas. Who has their tree up yet? We don't, my family is waiting for my sister to finish her classes. Once she's done we'll be getting our tree up. Would you prefer poetry or actual stories? I am open to both but I would like to hear from you all.

I think that is everything. If I find something to add then, I'll made a post script.

-ADF

Witches and Kisses (Sneak Peeks)

Artemis laid on the roof of the building and watched Adam and Damon from her sniper scope. They were outside in the courtyard, waiting for their contact. The Cross brothers were murmuring to each other, if the Huntress had to guess it was more than likely about how the deal would be going down.

She kept her body still but here eyes were in constant motion. Finally, after some time she spotted their visitors. They appeared before the pair in a puff of black smokes, "Brujas," Witches, Artemis muttered as she looked through her scope. She wanted to be able to shoot them at a moments notice should anything go south.

Adam greeted one of the witches with a hug and kiss on the cheek. 'Of course, he would find time to flirt and piss me off,' the Huntress thought as she rolled her eyes.

But it made sense that their contact would be witches, as today was All Hallow's Eve. The Huntress watched as Adam spoke with the two females. The blonde witch gave Adam a kiss on the lips, Artemis rolled her eyes again, but kept her eyes on Damon and the black haired witch. But they didn't really do anything.

After Adam's lovely reunion, the witches took off. They disappeared in another black whirlwind of smoke. With their departure, Artemis packed up her sniper rifle before she headed towards the fire escape that was behind her. She climbed down, and found the Cross brothers waiting for her.

"Well, what did they tell you?" Artemis asked as she looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"They don't have any good information on the Blade, but they had few leads that seemed worth looking into," Adam replied as he moved towards the car that they had taken.

Artemis frowned in suspicion at his words. She looked at Damon, he gave her a shrug, and held his hand out. "I'll take your bag," he offered with a soft smile.

The Huntress placed the bag in his hand, together they made their way to the car. Her auburn hair swinging back and forth from the braid that she had styled it as. Damon opened the back door for the Huntress and allowed her to get inside, before he closed the door and put her rifle in the trunk. He joined his brother in the front.

-xxx-
"Happy Birthday, Darling," Zane greeted Artemis with a kiss to her temple.

Artemis smiled before she turned and gave her husband a kiss on the lips. Zane broke the kiss and smiled happily at his wife, "Do we have any plans for tonight?" he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

The twenty-six year old witch, bit into a piece of toast. "We have dinner with our family. Then we have the coven meeting. Afterwards, you and the Pack have a run planned," she answered as she looked at Zane.

Her blue-grey eyes met his golden brown. She smiled at him from across the table, before she daringly ran one of her feet up her husband's leg.

Zane jerked from the movement and looked at her with wide eyes. "Don't start anything you can't finish my little witch," he graveled as he looked at Artemis.

Artemis gave a head tilt as she looked at Zane with wide innocent eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about dear," she replied as she took another bite of her toast.

Zane downed the rest of his coffee before he got up from his seat. Artemis watched as he stalked towards her like a hunter in search of his prey. "You know what you're doing," he growled in her ear as he moved behind her. His hands affectionately running up and down her sides.

He placed a kiss on her neck, and bit at the spot where she was the most sensitive. Artemis whimpered and tried to move away from Zane. But his hands tightened on her ribs and kept her from moving.

-xxx-
So, these are two sneak peeks into what I'm doing for NaNoWriMo. The Huntress and Artemis Witch, I'm pretty sure that I'll be bouncing between the two stories. So, see you all in December!

-ADF

Haunted Hospitals

Lyra frowned as she, Vivian, Rex, Dana, Levi, and Drake stood outside the old building. Lyra shivered further into her coat, as she sidled up to Rex; and leaned into his side.

"Okay, I get we wanted to do a haunted house but did it have to St. Ignatius Hospital?" Lyra asked as she looked at her friends.

Drake sighed before he looked at his little sister, of two years. "Come, Ly, it will be fun. Does anyone know if Nick, Sienna, Maddie, and Brett are coming?" He asked the group, Vivian was tucked into his side.

Lyra rolled her eyes as she looked at her brother, "Doubtful about Nick, Sienna, and Maddie. Sienna's pissed that she caught Nick and Maddie in bed together. Brett texted and said he would be here soon."

Rex pulled the petite brunette against him and wrapped his arms around Lyra's waist. His chin atop her head. Lyra and Rex had started dating just after Halloween in their senior year of high school. They were now in their last year of college and they had been couple since. Most of their town thought that they were adorable together.

Dana and Vivian sympathetically frowned at Lyra's news. Most of their dorm had heard about the scandal of Nick, Maddie, and Sienna. Most of the girls in their dorm were taking Sienna's side, but their group hadn't wanted to take sides.

Drake winced at his sister's news. "Well, hopefully Sienna will show up. She was the most excited to be doing this," Drake mumbled as we stood outside the brick building.

A few seconds later, a car pulled into the parking lot. It was familiar to the group, Lyra sighed in relief as she recognized the driver and passenger. "You don't have to worry, big brother. Brett seems to have kidnapped Sienna," she hooted as she noticed Sienna's expression.

Rex's chuckles vibrated through Lyra's body, as she snuggled closer to her boyfriend. Brett got out of the car, Sienna reluctantly followed.

Lyra moved away from Rex and wrapped her friend into a hug. "Come on, Si, this is going to be fun. You know I'm a scaredy-cat but I'm here," she comforted her friend as they joined the others. Dana and Vivian joined them.

"So, we ready to go?" Drake asked as he rubbed his hands together.

Lyra rolled her eyes at her brother's enthusiasm.

"Let's get going, before Lyra decides that she wants to go home," Brett suggested as he gave the petite brunette a pat on the top of her head.

Lyra swatted Brett's hand away, as he created static electricity from her hair and her gray knit hat.

"Come on, Brett, she wouldn't be able to go home even if she wanted. I drove, and she can't drive stick," Rex told him as he gently nudged his girlfriend forward.

"You're horrible," Lyra muttered as she followed after their friends.

As they entered the brick building, flashlights were flipped on. The group of eight looked around the building.

"Alright, let's go downstairs," Drake suggested as he gestured toward the basement.

The group followed after Drake as he led the way. Since he was older it was obvious that he would be the leader. Lyra shivered as they walked through the empty hallways.

As they made their way to the basement, Lyra spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She looked behind but didn't see anything. She could have sworn that she had seen someone else.

"What did you see Lyra?" Brett asked as he looked at her.

"I thought I saw... never mind," she answered as she shook her head.

As they moved towards the basement, it got colder. Lyra could see her breathe forming clouds.

When they got to the basement, Lyra was freezing. She moved closer to Rex, and tried to soak up as much of his warmth as she could.

"You okay?" Rex asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm just freezing," she replied as her teeth began to chatter.

At this point it was so cold that Lyra was full on shivering. Rex noticed and looked at her worry. "Drake, Ly and I are heading back up. She's freezing, and I mean more so than usual," Rex told Lyra's brother as he began to guide her back upstairs.

"Alright we'll meet you at the cars in an hour or two," Drake replied as he looked at his sister. He could see that her lips were starting to tinge blue.

Rex led Lyra upstairs and out of the abandoned mental hospital. Halfway up the stairs, Lyra fell back, Rex caught her and carried up the rest of the way.

He clutched her to his chest as he ran to his car. He opened the passenger door, and set her inside. Rex scurried to the back and grabbed a few throw blankets that he kept in the car for Lyra. He gently placed in them in her lap, before climbing in between his seat and Lyra's. Once he was settled into the driver's side, he started the car and turned the heater on. The honey blonde male wrapped the blankets tightly around Lyra, as she began to gain some color back in her cheeks.

They sat in silence as he ran his hands up and down her arms to create friction. She had gotten so cold, and he didn't like it. He just tried to keep her as warm as he could. After a few minutes, she looked better.

"You okay, Lyra?" Rex asked as he looked at her.

Lyra nodded, "Yeah, I just. I get it, I was okay before we went inside. But then it just it kept getting colder," she answered as she looked at Rex with bright frightened eyes.

"Hey, you're okay, you're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen, Ly. The others will be out soon. Then we'll go out and get something to eat," Rex promised her as he placed a hand on her cheek.

Lyra nodded, before she closed her eyes. "Can I take a nap?"

Rex let out a belt of chuckles, "Yeah, get some sleep. I'll wake you when the others come out," he promised.

-xxx-
Yes, we have re-entered the world of Cold Paper. The group is about four to five years older. And we've met a few new characters such as Drake and Brett. I would like to maybe delve more into this group of characters. But what do you think?

Monday will be my last update until sometime in December. As November 1st is the official first day of NaNoWriMo, and I'm going to be working on that. So, no new writing pieces until December. See on Halloween.
-ADF

Jack-O-Lanterns and Family

Laura smiled as she watched Jack with their trio of terror. All three of them were in various stages of their pumpkin carving. Enver was scooping the pumpkin seeds and filling out of his with his bare hands. Lynx was trying to choose which of the four pumpkins she chose, to carve into first. Little Avis was getting help from Jack with carving into her pumpkin.

"Enver, pumpkin guts on the newspaper please," Laura called out to her son. When she spotted that twinkle of trouble in his eye. The mother easily recognized that look, she had seen it many times in Jack's eyes when they were growing up together.

Her son pouted, before he dropped his pumpkin insides onto the newspaper. He gave a soft sigh, before he looked longingly at the big pumpkin.

"When can we carve the big one?" He asked as he looked at his mom.

Laura shook her head, "After we finish these pumpkins. The little ones we don't need to carve into. So, finish your pumpkins, and maybe help your sisters. Then, we'll get to the big one quicker."

At his mom's response, Enver dug more eagerly into his pumpkin. Laura made her way over to Lynx, she stood behind her daughter. "Do you need help, sweetheart?"

Lynx looked up at her mom with bright eyes. "Yeah, I can't figure out which one I want to use for my witch's hat jack-o-lantern," The eight year old had an artistic eye, always for detail. Laura had known that her wild cat, would have an artistic career.

Laura studied the pumpkins with a critical eye. She found one that worked, "What about this one?" she suggested to Lynx. As she pointed at the pumpkin that would work for Lynx.

Lynx looked at the pumpkin in question and smiled, as if she realized that it would work. "Oh, thanks mom," she said as she pulled said gourd towards her. Lynx picked up a black marker and began to draw her design onto the pumpkin.

Laura glanced at Enver to see that he had gotten the larger pieces out of his pumpkin. He was now using a spoon to get the finer details. She moved closer to Enver, and looked at him with soft eyes. It was hard to believe that her son was ten years old. It seemed like yesterday that he was a baby celebrating his first Halloween dressed as a candy corn.

She walked around to the other side of the table, and sat down across from him. She reached out for one of his pumpkins and cut into the top. Once, she had made a hole for him, she placed the lid back on Laura did that for the rest of his pumpkins. Enver smiled at his mom once he realized what she had done. She did the same for Lynx, Jack had done the same for Avis' pumpkins.

The family of five worked diligently on pumpkins for a few hours. Once all of the pumpkins minus one were carved, Jack and the children cleaned the dining room table. Laura had made hamburgers for dinner. Once dinner was done, the three children bounced in their seats and looked at their parents in excitement.

"Is it time?" Enver asked in anticipation.

Laura looked at Jack and met his eye. They shared a mischievous grin with each other. "Time for what, En?" Jack asked his son in return.

Enver, Lynx, and Avis looked at their parents in confusion. Avis' head was tilted to the side, as she answered her father's question, "Big pumpkin, Papa!"

"Yeah, the big pumpkin," Enver cried out after his sister.

Jack and Laura shared another look, "What big pumpkin?" she wondered aloud as she looked at the children.

Three faces of shock, indignation, and outrage were staring at their parents. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. How could their parents forget about the big pumpkin? It was huge,

At the look on their children's faces, Laura and Jack burst into peals of laughter. Jack was hooting as he looked at his wife. Laura was wiping tears from her eyes as she met Jack's gaze. As they tried to calm down their laughter, the children frowned and pouted.

"You're not funny," Lynx muttered as she frowned in disapproval at her parents.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Lynx. Your parents got into quite a bit of mischief and hijinx as children," a voice called out from behind the children.

Three heads snapped over their shoulders to look at the new arrivals. "Aunt Kat, Uncle Ronnie, Pop-Pop, Nana," were all shouted as three sets of legs scrambled out of their seats.

Laura glanced at Jack and smiled at her husband. She placed her hand on top of his as their children ran to hug their relatives. It was always an adventure when their family got together. Laura and Jack watched as the children talked excitedly about the pumpkin.

"Are you going to help us with the pumpkin?" Enver asked his uncle as he looked up at his blonde haired uncle.

"Yeah, but we're still waiting for a few more people," Ronnie hinted as he looked at his sister. "Hey, sis," he called as he looked at Laura.

Laura raised an eyebrow as she looked at her brother. "Hi, Ronnie," she replied as she reluctantly got up from her chair. She made her way over and hugged her baby brother.

Ronnie laughed and scooped his sister up and lifted her off the ground. Laura shrieked and laughed as she slapped her brother's back, to try and get him to put her. "Ronnie, you put me down this instant," Laura warned her brother in a stern voice.

Ronnie sighed but placed his sister back on the ground. "Party pooper," he mumbled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

Jack laughed while Laura rolled her eyes. "I don't know Ronnie, you always were in more trouble than either Jack and Laura were," a voice called from behind Jack.

Jack turned in his seat and easily spotted his own siblings and parents. His children cried in delight and excitement as they spotted their Uncle David, Uncle Mike, Aunt Katie, and his own parents. He got up and hugged his parents, before he and his brothers began a little bit of rough housing, with Ronnie joining in on the fun.

"Boys, what have said about rough housing," three voices of Laura, Nana, and Grams each chastised the four grown men.

Instantly, all four let go of one another and straightened up. The women laughed, while Pop-Pop and Gramps shook their heads at their son's trouble. "Honestly, you would think that they were children again, with the way they act," Nana said as she shook her head.

"To be fair, mom, they were always trouble makers the four of them," Laura replied, Kat and Katie nodding in agreement.

The men all protested and shouted at Laura's statement. "You were just as much trouble, Laura, or have you forgotten?" David asked his sister-in-law with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I'll admit Jack and I had our fair share of mischief but the four of you together, were always a phone call from the principal or the sheriff. I know that I didn't go to jail during my bachelorette  party, nor did I ever end up in a cell in high school or ever for that matter," Laura pointed out with look of annoyance.

The four mens' cheeks were tinged a soft red color at being caught. They did have their fair share of shenanigans that had gotten them into trouble. And the incident with the bachelor party had been one of the worst and most regrettable ones.

"Yeah, let's not forget the phone calls," Kat said as she looked at her own husband with annoyance.

Ronnie winced, he had been so drunk when he had called Kat.

"I don't know, the mugshots looked pretty good, and we got to use them as Christmas cards," Katie said with a laugh as she looked at her three brothers and brother-in-law.

Another round of laughter took place. While, the three children were confused at the adult conversation going on. "Can we carve the big pumpkin now?" Lynx asked as she looked between her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and parents.

Laura laughed before she nodded. "Let's get started, everyone's here," she agreed as she herded the children back to their seats.

Jack, Ronnie, David, and Mike lifted the big pumpkin up onto the table. While, the women gathered various knives, spoons, pens, and newspapers. They worked together and in a little over two hours, they had a large empty pumpkin that was a scene of a pumpkin patch. Lots of pictures had been taken, the one that everyone truly enjoyed was the one with Avis sitting in side looking up. Enver and Lynx were sitting next to the pumpkin on either side.

The large pumpkin and all of the other pumpkins were placed outside, some on the front porch and the rest in the backyard. The candles were lit and the family enjoyed the jack-o-lanterns. Before, they made their way inside to watch a Halloween movie, that was kid appropriate much to Mike and Ronnie's dismay.

-xxx-

I wandered back into the Laura verse today. And this came out a lot different than I thought that it would. But I still love it.

-ADF

Movies and Lights

Vera sleepily laid her head on Erik's shoulder, she could barely keep her eyes open. The twenty-four year old  female had been up most of the night finishing choreography for a new routine. The dancer had been working on this specific project for few days, and she had needed to get the routine finished.

Erik snacked on a large bowl of popcorn in his lap, as he watched the movie on the screen. He glanced at Vera to see that she was sound asleep. The twenty-six year old male, sighed in frustration. He knew that Vera had been up all night for work, but this was getting ridiculous. Vera had fallen asleep again, this was the fourth time in a span of a week.

He turned his attention back to the movie in front of him. It was a scary movie, but it wasn't one that was scary to him. Vera had been jumping and latching onto him earlier. Honestly, he was enjoying the movie but he didn't understand why she was so scared it was just a scary movie.

Their shared apartment looked more scary that the empty house in the movie did. Vera was obsessed with Halloween, she enjoyed it more than Christmas. The dancer went all out for the holiday, instead of being only one day, it was three days. Vera extended Halloween into Day of the Dead, a holiday that Erik hadn't known much about until they had started dating.

He knew that Day of the Dead was a tradition that she had done with her family. When Erik was twenty and Vera eighteen, she had invited him to celebrate the holiday with her family. He had gone not really knowing what to expect. He had thought it would be like Halloween but it was completely different, and he really liked the holiday. He and Vera kept joining her family for the holiday ever since.

Erik finished the movie, before he shut the TV off. He wasn't tired, but he wasn't going to move, he had learned the hard way that a sleep disturbed Vera was never a good thing. She was scarier than any monster that existed in the scary movies. And Erik was a huge fan of scary movies, he loved them, couldn't get enough, honestly. If he had his way, that's all he would ever watch but Vera hated scary movies. She was jumpy and got spooked easily, the irony of her loving Halloween.

The brunette male glanced at all of the decorations that littered their apartment. There were fake pumpkins, fairy lights, and other little things all over. There were black cats, witch hats, brooms, wands, vampire coffins, fake mummies, and skulls to name a few. Vera was never one to go halfway in her decorating but this was Halloween. Christmas wasn't quite this chaotic, but Erik loved Vera and enjoyed the little quirks that she had even if they confused him to no end.

The white ghost lights twinkled at him as he closed his eyes. He leaned his head back and fell asleep to the soft Halloween playlist that Vera kept on repeat, all October.

-ADF

Costume Disaster (TW Ellen)

Post S4 (Mid Season 5 AU)

Ellen stood in front of the mirror and smacked her lips. She studied her mouth in the reflective surface to make sure that wasn't any mistakes. Once, the alpha werewolf determined that nothing was wrong, she spun around and left the bathroom.

She stopped just a foot into her and Derek's bedroom. There in front of the large windows, stood Derek. His back was to her, but she smiled at the shiny black cape, with the overly large collar.

He slowly turned to look at his mate. Ellen giggled as she took in the sight of her mate. His dark hair was slicked back. His face was covered in white face paint, with red around his mouth. "I hate this," he told her. He wore two fangs in his mouth.

Ellen softly shook her head. "I know you do. We still have time, so you can change your costume if you want," The female alpha said as she moved towards him. Ellen noticed that he looked miserable in the makeup that he wore. "Come on.," she pulled him into the bathroom and helped him remove the makeup.

As the brunette female worked quickly to remove the makeup from her mate, she laughed as she remembered a similar incident.

"Why are you laughing, Elle?" Derek asked, he had removed the fangs from his mouth.

"I'm just remembering the last time, you had to wear makeup, Mon Cher," she said as wiped away what was left of the cleanser with a damp wash cloth.

Derek groaned as he recalled that time. The pair had been five and eleven, they had been paired together for the annual Halloween dance recital. Talia Hale and Lauren Night had suggested that the pair dress as Morticia and Gomez Adams. They had done it, and the pair had done a paso doble, dressed as the couple. Derek had hated the makeup, while Ellen had kept tripping over the skirt of her dress.

"You're horrible, Cara Mia," Derek replied as he nuzzled his nose against Ellen's cheek.

The she-wolf squeaked as she tried to move away from her mate. But Derek's arms held her against his chest tightly. He peppered her cheeks with kisses as she tried to escape.

He walked them out of their bathroom, and carried her back to their room. He gently tossed her on the bed, before she could react he was over her. He pinned her in place and tickled her sides, as she squirmed her hair and black pointy hat fell off her head. But he just smiled before stopped tickling her to kissing her.

Ellen had reciprocated the kisses. Before, things could get too far, there was a banging on the loft door. "You guys better not being doing the dirty!" the familiar voice of Ellen's cousin, Stiles Stilinski called out as his footsteps indicated that he was coming into the apartment.

Ellen and Derek pulled away from each other. Ellen frowned, before she gently shoved her mate off of her. "Find a costume, I'll take care of Stiles," she told him as she gave him a quick kiss on his scruffy cheek. She grabbed her witch's hat from the floor and headed downstairs.

"You should try to get your Uncle to arrest him for breaking and entering," Derek muttered as Ellen climbed down the circular staircase.

She giggled at his comment, she knew that Derek would bring it up to her Uncle at some point. "Stiles, what have we told you about knocking?" she asked as she looked at her cousin.

Stiles, looked at his cousin, "Uh, I'm not going to answer, because you or your sour wolf won't like the answer," he mumbled.

A growl came from upstairs, Ellen turned to look up towards where her and Derek's room was. Her curls moved from side to side as she shook her head. "You know he hates that nickname, Stiles."

The pale boy, gave a shrug of his shoulders, as he moved forward. "He'll get over it, how are you and little bean?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around his cousin.

Ellen pulled away and looked at Stiles with a raised eyebrow. "You've been reading pregnancy books haven't you?" she asked with slight concern in her voice.

Stiles flushed a bright cherry red color. He didn't say anything, his phone began to ring before Ellen could question him any further. He picks it up, Ellen easily recognizes the voice of one Lydia Martin. She moved away from Stiles to give him the illusion of privacy.

The alpha female, headed towards the kitchen and pulled the containers that contained her homemade apple bread off the counter. She walked back into the living room as Stiles hung up his phone. As she looked at her cousin, she got a good look at his costume. She giggled at the familiarity of it.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked as he moved towards her and took the containers from her grasp.

"Your costume," she replied through the chortles of laughter. Tears were slowly leaking from the corner of her eyes.

Stiles frowned as he looked down at his cowboy sheriff costume. "What's wrong with it?" he asked as he spun trying to see if there was something on his back. He resembled a dog chasing its tail at that moment.

Ellen burst into more peals of laughter. "You look like your dad," a voice from the staircase grumbled.

Ellen turned to look up at Derek as he made his way downstairs. She headed towards the bottom of the stairs, just as her mate reached the last step. He placed a kiss on her forehead and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Stiles squawked at the comment. "I do not!" he huffed as he looked at his cousin-in-law. "What are you supposed to be anyways?" he asked as he looked at him with a frown.

Derek rolled his eyes, "He's hopeless," Ellen's mate said with a scowl. "Let's get going, before the Banshee screams."

Derek held Ellen's hand as he led her towards loft door. Stiles followed with the two Tupperware containers. Once, Stiles had left the apartment, Derek closed the door behind him.

They walked into the elevator and silently made it down to the bottom level. As they exited the building, Derek unlocked the Camaro with a click of a button on his keys. He opened Ellen's door, and helped her into the car.

"Are you taking the Jeep, Stiles?" Derek asked as took the containers from him. He placed them into Ellen's waiting hands.

"Uh, can I get a ride with you?" Stiles wondered as he glanced back and forth between the pair.

Derek and Ellen shared a look and shrug. "Sure, get in the back," Derek said as he closed Ellen's door and made his way towards the driver side.

Stiles hurried into the back, and buckled himself in. "Seriously, what are you dressed up as?" he asked as they drove towards the Martin house.

Derek rolled his eyes, as he looked at Stiles from the rear-view mirror. Derek ignored Stiles' grumbling, as they neared Lydia's house. As Derek pulled up, the trio glanced out the window to see that there were orange, purple, and green lights all over. Along with ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, spiderwebs, and other Halloween decorations covering the front yard.

"Well, Lydia never does anything half way," Stiles said with a whistle.

Ellen looked at Derek with raised eyebrows, if this was the outside, she was excited to see the inside. Derek frowned, but knew that he didn't have a choice in not attending.
-xxx-

I'm going to be adding to this next week. Let me know what you want to see the other's dressed up as.

Corresponding Polyvore set, which has been sitting in my drafts for a year. Ellen's Costume

Cold Paper

"Do we really have to do this?" Lyra asked as she glanced at the large wrought iron gate that towered over her.

"Come on Ly, it's tradition," Vivian prompted her friend, as she nudged the brunette towards the gate.

Lyra clumsily fell into Rex Tyler's back. The honey blonde race car driver, spun around to look at the person who fell into him. He easily spotted the brunette, she was a bright red color in the face. Despite the fact that it was cold out and everyone was puffing smoke as they breathed.

"You okay, Lyra?" Rex asked as he looked at his fellow classmate.

"Uh huh," Lyra nodded as she buried herself into her scarf and hat.

Everyone was wearing hats, jackets, and gloves from the cold midnight air. It was supposed to snow at some point in the night but it hadn't happened yet.

"Well, let's get going," the loud and obnoxious voice of Nick Braze called out. He casually leaned against the fence.

The group of seven all looked at each other, anxiously and nervously. "You first, Nick. This was your idea," Sienna told her boyfriend as she held her flashlight at the gate.

Lyra shivered as she stepped closer to Rex. "I don't like this," she muttered as Nick opened the wrought iron gate, which opened with a squeal that could have easily awoken the rest of the neighborhood.

Nick and Sienna led the way, through a small crack that they had made in the gate. Rex huffed before he followed after the duo. Vivian went next, Lyra was quick to follow as she slid her body through the opening. Dana and Levi followed after, all flashlights were now on and everyone was grouped together.

They all walked cautiously and quietly across the lawn, that was brown and dead. A slight crunch came as they all stepped towards the large trees, that could easily hide the group. They all leaned against the trunks.

"You ready?" Nick asked as he pulled the large bag from over his shoulder.

He tossed it on the ground and opened the bag. There were rolls and rolls of toilet paper in the bag. He casually tossed everyone a couple of rolls each.

"Let the fun begin," Sienna sarcastically replied as she opened one of her rolls.

Everyone followed suit and began to throw the rolls up into the air. As they caught on branches and fell down, they kept decorating the trees. Lyra spotted a few shorter trees, she caught Rex's eye, and gestured towards the trees with her head.

He nodded as they ran towards the tree, Rex lifted Lyra up, she wrapped the top of the tree a couple of times, as Rex walked around the base. Once, they reached an area, where they could both be on their feet, Lyra hopped off of Rex's shoulders. Together they ran around the tree and wrapped it, so the tree looked like a mummy.

Lyra could hear the giggles and random bursts of jovial laughter as they continued to TP, Principal Randall's yard.

An alarm went off on Sienna's phone. "Time to go, he'll be back in fifteen minutes!" Sienna warned. As a group, they slipped back out the gate, and made their way to their respective vehicles. Lyra, climbed into the passenger seat of Rex's car and laughed with him, Dana, and Levi.

"That was so much fun," Levi said as he poked his head through the center console.

"It was, I'm glad that we were the seven chosen," Rex replied as he drove away from their school principal's yard.

"I can't wait to hear his announcement about it tomorrow morning," Dana added as she shoved Levi out of the way.

"Me either, but did we have to pick one of the coldest nights to TP his house?" Lyra asked as she shivered in her seat. Rex had turned the heat on, and her seat had a heater in it, but she was still cold.

"I totally blame, Nick, he picked tonight knowing how cold it was. Dana pass Ly, the blanket from the back, will you? She's shivering up hear, I can hear her bones rattling," Rex commented with a laugh.

Lyra sarcastically laughed at Rex's response, she happily accepted the blanket from Dana. She curled herself into the blanket.

-xxx-
Hey everyone, I thought that this would be a totally different piece. But I love how it turned out, high hi-jinx were always fun to see in movies. Mind you they never happened in my life. I'll see you all Friday.

Break Downs

Amelia smiled sadly as she looked through the various boxes that were scattered around her. The young woman of twenty six had inherited many of her Nana's possessions after she had passed away. She and Steve were visiting her parents at their home in Washington D.C., Carter-Sousa family had several residencies, which were not limited to condos, apartment buildings, safe houses, offices, and even a few secret SHIELD bases. Peggy had invested quite a bit of money into various real estate ventures over the years that have panned out. Amy and Steve had used a few of the safe houses, she had lent a few to Scott Lang, Clint, Wanda, and the rest of the Barton clan, Sam, and Natasha.

After, the pair had hidden themselves in Europe for a while, her mother had called and suggested that she and Steve head to the Washington D.C., house be used. Initially, the pair had been hesitant but after much discussion they decided to go to the house.

While, there Amy figured she would go through some of her Nana's belongings. She had found a photo box, inside were many pictures in sepia tones, black and white, and color. The brunette looked at the various pictures. There were pictures of Peggy and Daniel's wedding. Some of her pregnancy with her three children. The colored pictures were mostly pictures of Amelia, her brothers, and cousins. There were a few photos of Tony, Rhodey, and her father back when they were teenagers.

One picture, Amy stopped and began to cry. It was a picture of Amy, Henry, Lucas, and Tony. They were dressed as Peggy Carter, Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Howard Stark. Amelia had been five, and it was her first year trick or treating without her parents. Rhodey had gone along with them as Gabe Jones. Henry and Lucas had tried to get everyone in the family to dress up as some from the Howling Commandos but it didn't work the way he wanted. But he managed to convince their father, Roger, to dress up as Dum Dum Dugan and their mom as one of the Captain America dancing girls.

Steve cautiously stood back, he wanted to comfort Amy but he wasn't sure if he would be able to. She had become prone to mental breakdowns from whatever had happened to her at the Raft. He couldn't get her to talk about what exactly had happened to her. She constantly had nightmares and had developed tremors in her hands. Steve knew that she was hiding her pain well but he couldn't help but feel concerned.

Steve gently moved towards Amelia, he sat down next to her. Gently, the former hero tugged the agent into his arms. He held her as she cried. Steve looked at the pictures scattered on the floor, one in particular stood out to him. He studied the picture and smiled. He easily recognized  the younger version of Tony Stark, he looked an awful like his father in the picture, mustache and all. In front of Tony were two boys, one dressed as himself, and the other dressed as Bucky. The girl in Tony's arms looked very much like Peggy back in the 1940's. As he examined the picture, he realized that the little girl was Amy with her brothers.

He gently picked up the picture and looked at it more closely. "Amy, what's got you in tears?" Steve asked as he pulled away a little. He moved so that the female was curled into his side.

Amy wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at him. She gently tugged the photo out Steve's hand and gave it a sorrowful glance. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"It's nothing, it has something to do with this picture. So, what about it is making you sad?" He asked with a no nonsense tone in his voice. He needed her to know that she was safe to delve into those memories. "You're okay, nothing is going to happen if you remember the good times."

Amy gently bit the inside of her bottom lip. "I just miss them. I miss spending time with Hen, Luke and my cousins. We haven't done anything together as a group of nine for a long time. I'm pretty sure it was Henry's graduation, and he was eighteen. I was eleven. I'm twenty-six now, it's just everyone grown up and had babies. And I still feel like the baby, this was one of the last Halloweens that we all actually all got to go trick or treating. The next year, it was Henry's thirteenth Halloween and he decided that he wanted to hang out with friends instead of me and Luke.

With each passing year, the same thing happened. Someone would decide that they had other priorities. Eventually, it was me with my cousin's children or with my nieces and nephews. They left and I was all alone. I hate being alone, and they all abandoned me!" She finished with a sob and began to cry again.

Steve watched with sorrowful eyes as the brunette sobbed and rocked back and forth on the floor. He held her as she rocked. He had never had siblings or a big family. Only his ma, Bucky and his family, eventually Peggy, Howard, and the Commandos became part of it. But he could see the hurt that had inflicted on her, he now understood why she put some much effort into her work. It was so she wouldn't be alone, anymore. And The Sokovian Accords had taken the little family she had, and tore it apart.

Guilt filled him as he shed a few tears into Amy's brown waves. He held her as she mourned her grandmother and family.

-xxx-

Not a lot of Halloween elements but I do plan to write more about Amy's Halloween. I have it started I just need to finish. I'll try to have it up on Friday.

-ADF

Apple Picking

After Avis, Lynx, Enver, Laura, and Jack finished their apple ciders; Laura noticed that Lynx and Enver were a little jumpy. She took a look at Avis, and saw that she was still awake. She wasn't quite tired yet but it was obvious that she would ready for a nap soon.

"Why don't we do some apple picking? Then it will be time to head home," Laura suggested as she looked at Lynx and Enver.

The older two nodded in excitement. "Yeah!"

"Why don't you both, take your dad? Avis and I won't be long," Laura told her children as she stood up and collected her four year old daughter.

The pair moved towards the front counter. Mrs. Riker smiled at them, "Let me guess Miss Laura, hold the pumpkins and wait until you get back with your case of apples."

Laura laughed, "You're right, as always, Aunt Beth.

"I should know my favorite niece," Beth Riker replied with wink to the golden blonde female.

"Thanks, Aunt Beth," Laura called out as she took Avis and they headed towards the bathroom. She knew that Avis would want to use the bathroom without having her four year old saying anything.

After their trip to the bathroom, they left the small store and moved towards the apple orchards. With Avis on her hip, Laura pulled out her phone and called Jack.

She heard her husband's phone ring and headed off in that general direction. "Hey, where are you?" Jack asked as he answered his phone.

"We're on our way, just keep talking, I heard your phone ringing, so we should be able to find you," Laura told Jack as she and Avis headed towards the others.

"You know, you could just have your Uncle John just give you a ride on the tractor," Jack reminded her with a deep and throaty chuckle.

Laura could hear Jack's voice much better now, which meant that she was getting close. "Listen for Daddy, Avis," she prompted her auburn haired daughter.

"You know it's cheating when you use our children," Jack told her, she knew that he was smiling.

"Very funny, Jack, you're so hilarious ha ha," Laura sarcastically called out with fake laughter.

Suddenly, Avis shrieked, Laura dropped her phone at her daughter's cry. Laura looked up from her phone to see Jack with Lynx and Enver behind him, looking at the various apples. The mother of three frowned at her husband. She placed Avis on the ground and retrieved her phone.

Avis toddled towards her father and hugged his leg tightly. She clung to him as if she was attached. Laura smiled and snapped a picture of Avis with her father. Jack smiled at Laura, as she put her phone in her pocket.

"Come on, Avis you wanna pick some grab some apples?" Jack asked his daughter as he picked her up and held her in his arms.

Laura whipped out her phone to take another picture. These family moments were important to her, as she had never known her father. Laura loved seeing Jack interact with their children, they were moments that she cherished the most. She slowly followed after Jack and Avis, Lynx was jumping up to try and grab a bright red apple.

The blonde thirty-six year old, reached up and grasped the apple. "Here you go, Lynx," she told her daughter as she handed her the apple.

"Thanks, mom," Lynx gave her mom a bright smile, as she place the apple in her bucket that was next to her.

"You're welcome," she replied as she kissed her daughter's forehead.

The family of five wondered throughout the apple orchards. Jack and Laura helped their trio pick the ripened apples that they couldn't reach. They enjoyed the time spent together, Enver kept talking about Laura's homemade apple pie. While, Lynx expressed her excitement for the caramel apples that they would enjoy on Halloween.

-ADF

Apple Cider (Updates)

Laura herded her trio of children back towards the little old fashioned store towards the entrance of Riker's Farm. They each had a few pumpkins, in varying sizes. Laura smiled at the miniature pumpkins that Avis held in her hand. It was obvious that Enver and Lynx had asked her to hold the little ones.

Once they reached the store, Enver led the group to the front counter. He stood on his tiptoes and placed his three pumpkins on the counter. The auburn haired boy took the pumpkins from Avis and did the same. Lynx had handed them off to Enver. The group of three worked together.

Behind the counter was Mrs. Riker, she smiled at the selection of pumpkins that they had placed up on the counter. "Well, well, this is quite a selection you've got here," she said as she looked at Laura.

"Yes, they picked a quite a few this year," Laura replied as she picked up Avis.

The toddler smiled at Mrs. Riker, before she hid herself in her mother's hair. "Aw, she's such a cutie," Mrs. Riker cooed at the little girl. "Of course, all of your brood is a good looking bunch. Mr. Enver, grab those empty crates so I can get a better look at you and Miss Lynx."

Enver nodded and did as Mrs. Riker had told him. Not long after the ten year old stood on an apple crate beside his sister. "Why, you both look lovely, just like your parents," the elderly woman said as she looked at the two eldest children. "Did you find any big pumpkins?"

"Yeah, we found a really big one, Dad's putting it in the car," Lynx replied as she looked at Mrs. Riker with bright blue-grey eyes.

"I imagine that Mr. Riker is helping him with that. If that pumpkin is anything like last years," Mrs. Riker reminded them with a fond smile on her face.

"It bigger!" Avis exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

"Is it really?" Mrs. Riker asked as she looked at the family.

"It's twice the size of the pumpkin that they got last year, hon," the familiar voice of Mr. Riker called out from behind the group.

Laura turned around to look at Mr. Riker, she saw that Jack was just behind him. "You get it in the car alright?" she asked Jack a hint of concern in her voice.

"Yup, you just about ready in here?" Jack wondered as he stood next to his wife.

Laura shook her head, "Not really."

"Why am I not surprised? Kids, you want apple cider?" Jack asked his small brood.

The three exclaimed happiness, Enver led the way to the small tables in the store. He sat beside Lynx and started bouncing. Laura laughed in excitement. "You can get the drinks and I'll settle the little ones," Laura told her husband as she made her way over to her children.

-xxx-
I'm thinking that I'll add another part on Friday. I have a few updates for you guys. First, I won't be posting anything throughout the month of November. With November being NaNoWriMo, I'm going to focus on one of two projects. Continuing last years piece or working in more depth of my Huntress piece. I'm not sure which one yet but I'm heavily leaning towards last years piece.

Second, last night my sister and I met P.C. and Kristin Cast. They're the authors of the House of Night books, they're my favorite books. I plan to re-read the series after I finish the current series that I am re-reading right now. They are so sweet and nice. I highly recommend their various works, as they're all unique but amazing.

-ADF

Pumpkin Picking

Avis trailed after her brother and sister as they walked along the dirt path. The little four year clutched her mother's fingers as they looked at the various pumpkins. There was a large variety in all kinds of shapes and sizes, some were even bigger than Avis. Her little pig tails bobbled as she constantly kept changing her head in multiple directions.

Laura laughed softly at Avis' distracted movements. The mother of three, easily watched as her eldest two, Enver and Lynx ran a little ahead, towards the larger pumpkins. Laura recalled Enver stating earlier that he wanted to get a pumpkin that Avis could sit inside of. The mother of three shook her head, “Don't get too far ahead,” she called out.

Enver came to a slow stop and turned towards his mother. Lynx did the same, strawberry blonde hair shined a brilliant gold against the sunlight. Enver tapped his foot as he waited for his mom and sister, it was obvious that he wanted to get his pumpkin. He had been waiting for three days, his mom hadn't wanted go. There had been a lot of wet weather in the area, but today had finally let up.

Avis let go of her mom's hand and ran towards her siblings. She grasped both of Enver and Lynx's hands. Together the three of them skipped ahead of Laura. The trio moved forward, they reached the larger pumpkins. Enver started looking at the pumpkins with Avis. The ten year old boy would ask his four year old sister to stand next to a pumpkin. He would shake his head at each one. Lynx was staring at the pumpkins with an artist eye, she suggested a few to Enver.

Laura looked at her trio, and took pictures with her phone. These were such amazing moments with Enver, Lynx, and Avis. After some time, they found a pumpkin that they wanted. It was quite large, but it wasn't as large as Laura was expecting.

“Mom, it's perfect. We need it!” Lynx called out excitedly. She pointed towards the pumpkin that the three had chosen.

“It looks amazing, let me text your dad. Why don't you three pick some smaller ones, too?” Laura suggested as she began to text to her husband. She looked after her children as they each looked at the various pumpkins.

Laura smiled as she watched her children, eventually a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Laura sighed as she leaned back into Jack's chest. “They've found a pretty big pumpkin,” the mother of three told her husband.

Jack's chest rumbled with laughter as he watched his children. “Which one is it?” he asked.

“We're standing next to it,” Laura answered with a bright smile. She caught sight of Lynx helping Avis carry some little pumpkins.

Jack turned the large pumpkin, that was next to them. It was quite big, Avis would easily be able to fit inside, once it was empty. He let out a low whistle, “That's a big one.”

“Uh huh, you get this to the car. While, I get these rascals and their little pumpkins to the store. Depending on if Avis isn't tired, maybe we could do some apple picking,” Laura hinted to her husband as he moved towards the large pumpkin.

The Spirit

“We're seriously going after a ghost?!?!” Adam demanded as he slammed his hands down on the desk.

Artemis spared a glance at the eldest Cross brother, before she returned her attention back to the book in front of her. She read the ancient lore, that told her of el spirato that she was trying to find. The huntress ignored Adam as she tried to understand more of the history.

“Artemis! Fucking answer me!” The man shouted at her with frustration leaking into his voice.

The auburn haired female, sighed in annoyance. She gently closed the book on her finger, so she could continue her reading. “What does it matter to you, Mr. Cross?” Artemis asked in a bored tone.

“What does it- What does it matter? Are you fucking kidding me?!? You want us to go against a fucking ghost!?! A ghost that wants the Blade and you dead!” Adam yelled at the young female, and banged his knuckles against the wood.

The huntress rolled her eyes as she looked at the pilot. “You won't be doing anything, I will be going after el spirato, on my own,” she replied with emphasis on the last three words. “You're excused.” She flippantly added as returned to her reading.

Adam growled in frustration before he spun and left the room. He slammed the office door shut behind him.

The twenty-four year old ignored the pilot's temper tantrum. She continued reading up on the legend of el spirato. It was an interesting one, that took place nearly eight centuries past. Zarna, a priestess of The Gods, was slayed with the Blade by an unknown person. It was often believe Zarna was killed by her lover Elío. But there was another version of legend that depicted her killer as Maldové, her brother. It was never determined who had stabbed her with the Blade.

Artemis had grown up with this legend, but her family had much more history on the legend. There were quite a few family ledgers that went more into the myth. The huntress, knew that from her previous encounter with el spirato she was in danger. Artemis had been with the Cross brothers searching down another lead for the Blade. El spirato was often seen as a female dressed in a white gown, with a large blood stain over the female's chest.

The huntress had seen this entity, in the empty warehouse they had been searching. The woman in white stalked after her, not Adam or Damon. She had been knocked in the back of the head with a wooden chair. Adam had found her unconscious on the floor, sometime after the attack.

Artemis sighed before she slammed the book shut and tossed it onto the desk. She got up from her seat and left her office. The auburn haired huntress walked downstairs towards the basement, where she kept her weapons. Her heels clanked along the steps as she descended down.

At the bottom, she walked towards the sais that were on display on the wall. She grabbed them and began an intense training with them. As she spun and lunged at the various dummies, and stabbed at them. Along with kicking at the training dummies, she also punched at them. Artemis began to sweat as she continued to aggressively beat at the dummies. She wished that she could take out Adam in the same way, at times.

After an unknown amount of time, an exhausted red haired female slowly climbed back up the stairs. She glared at Adam as she saw that the pilot was waiting at the top of the staircase. "What do you want, Adam?" she asked with an annoyed frown. Her workout had not dissipated any hostile emotions towards the man.

-xxx-

This turned out way more differently than I had thought. But I have a feeling that this month we will getting more adventures with Artemis and the Cross brothers.

Oh, yes, in the first part there was swearing in English and Spanish. I am aware that I don't usually swear but these characters are different from me, they're more angry and they swear a lot more. Artemis is also bilingual so, she's going to swear in multiple languages, like I do from time to time. So, please just be away of that.

-ADF