I have been reading but not commenting until now. It’s been awhile isn’t it? Congrats on being HOF for your first Dynasty. I hope that you would reach HOF too for the second attempts. I'm happy that you consider Agnes to be reunited with the only true love for her (for me) and you did a good job for Arlo. They’re deserved a good life from a good author, and I’m glad you chose to be that good one
I want to comment from the start, but I just don’t have energy for that now
Good luck, from today I’ll be your frequent stalker visitor, Tiamet
~ Eld
Thank you, Eld. I'm so glad you liked Agnes and Arlo. I know they mean a lot to you.
Erik isn't looking so bad and Mag is a cutie.
Mag is a sweetie, alright, but, oh, Nettlejuice, wait till you see what puberty does to Erik!
(Feels weird updating without Shewolf...hope you're good
)
Chapter Sixteen - Phantom of the Shower"How was work, Gytha?" Arlo asked, hugging her tightly.
"The usual. Slipped some cinnamon into the food, had a few laughs, got a promotion. You?"
"Helped the kids with their homework, went to the spa for a pedicure, talked to Jareth about instituting Health Care for the Goblins." He shrugged. "I think Jareth made dinner, if you're hungry."
Gytha and Arlo were very demonstrative. Hardly an hour went by without some kind of hug or hand holding, or, much to the amusement of Erik and Mag, some very heat of the moment kissing.
Gytha threw a potent invigorating elixir at Arlo and went to look for Jareth. Arlo started up his workout.
"Hey, Arlo?" Tia asked. "Would you mind doing up a couple more potions when your..."
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!"Three?" Tia yelled. "Gytha! We talked about this!"
"It's not gonna hurt 'em," Gytha said. "The kiddies need to keep up with their studies and whatnot."
"Does the alchemy stand come with a manual? How To Raise Your Kids On Potions In Three Easy Steps? They're eight, they need sleep once in a while!"
"While you ladies sort this out," Mag remarked, "I've got something to attend to in the lavatory."
****
"Erik!"
"Wasn't me this time," Erik called back calmly.
"That looks painful, GK," Tia said. "But I like the colour. Can't we keep it this time?"
Jareth muttered as he got back into the shower.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen.
"Arlo? Would you forgive me? I am being disciplined for setting a trap for Jareth in the shower and dying his hair magenta. I find the feeling most unsettling." Mag said.
"Are you sorry?" Arlo asked her, grinning.
"No, I can't say that I am. It was immensely satisfying."
"Will you do it again?" he asked, chuckling.
"Oh, very probably."
"I can't say no to you, Mag, you're just too cute."
"Thank you, Arlo."
Making the most of their childhood, Erik and Mag had ample time for study, skilling and playing, thanks to Gytha's brews.
"What are you going to call this one? Sleep-Away?" Tia asked.
"You're just mad that I can't send you some," Gytha told her.
"You're right about that," Tia sighed.
"Mag!" Jareth yelled.
"I know nothing about it!" she yelled back at him.
"Gytha?"
"What colour?"
"Teal."
"I forgive you, my lad," she told him, laughing. "Want to sing?"
The Karaoke machine was a huge hit in the house. For some reason, genius Erik struggled with school, getting frustrated easily, and having trouble with homework. So he made a stop to sing at least one top ten hit before hitting the books again.
"I thought you hated this modern music," Jareth said to him.
"It's funny, I thought I did too. But there's something about these songs that's just so invigorating, so fun, so, so..."
"Catchy?" Jareth supplied.
"I suppose so," Erik told him with a grin.
"Look at you, the great composer himself enjoying my hedonistic type of music."
"I'm so proud of you!" Jareth said.
"If you do that again, Jareth, I shall figure out a way to get a Punjab Lasso here."
Jareth chuckled as he went to find Arlo.
"I love this," Tia said.
"You sound so awful, and enjoy it so much."
***
"Erik!" Jareth fairly screamed from the bathroom.
"NOT ME!" the Opera Ghost yelled back.
"Excuse me, Arlo," Mag said. "Could I trouble you for some forgiveness? I've set another..."
"Oh, my gosh, Mag! You have hair! It's adorable!" Tia gushed.
"Please, Tia." Mag sighed.
And speaking of hair...
"What up, Goblin King?" Tia asked.
"I just can't do it again," he sighed. "It's going to be ghastly. Why are they trying to drive me insane?"
"They're just kids, Jareth, my lad," Gytha said, coming in. "Lettin' off steam and such. They'll grow out of it."
"Plus, they need the happiness points," Tia pointed out. "We've only got the one bathroom, you know."
"I'll talk to 'em," Gytha said. "Why don't you try a bubble bath?"
"The bubbles aren't going to explode or anything?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Won't know until you get in there, will we?"
While Jareth was trying to relax, Gytha sat down with Mag and Erik.
"So, you two gonna do some more singin' today? Won't be long until you're both old enough to skill in music."
"Oh, we shan't be doing music that much, Gytha. I'm going to take this opportunity to look into the sciences and Erik has started inventing things."
"What kinds of things?" Gytha asked, choking a bit.
"Traps, mostly." Erik told her.
Gytha started grinning. "Don't overdo it, my boy. He'll be on the edge before you know it,"
But alas, even childhoods as idyllic as this must end. By some strange twist of fate, Erik, Mag and Gytha all aged up at around the same time. So Tia panicked and didn't get shots of anyone.
"Mirror!" Erik yelled, holding his hands over his face.
"Ladies first," Gytha told him. She traded in Jareth's hair for a shorter do. Mag slipped in after her.
"That will always be Bubblegum's hair to me, Mag, but I like it," Tia told her. "Okay, Erik."
"Oh, no," he said. "I'm fixing this." He rummaged in the dresser and finally settled on an outfit.
"That's better," he said.
"If you're going for that crazy-Opera-Ghost-plotting-things-and-laughing-maniacally look, wait, forget I said anything...you look great, Erik."