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Legend of the Jade Emperor

Sunny Haven

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a part of Legend of the Jade Emperor, by zen_ink.

None

zen_ink holds sovereignty over Sunny Haven, giving them the ability to make limited changes.

1,040 readers have been here.

Setting

Default Location for Legend of the Jade Emperor
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Minimap

Sunny Haven is a part of Legend of the Jade Emperor.

15 Characters Here

Elias Paterson [25] "Wha-what? Oh, sorry - I was distracted by.. erm, nevermind."
Ramona Patterson [25] "Sorry if i get a bit TOO out-of-control..."
Miles Paterson [21] "Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town."
Benjamin Paterson [20] "I was just at this great restaurant in China..."
Charlotte (Char) Paterson [17] Jack of all trades, master of none
James Paterson [16] "The crookedness of the serpent is still straight enough to slide through the snake hole."
Mia Paterson [15] Eye of the storm
Kenneth Paterson [13] "Everything's a choice. You could choose to be anything you want. I choose to be me."
Alex Paterson [12] "Do NOT test my patience, or there will be consequences."
Sean Paterson [10] Lucky dog

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Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by Felidae
Despite the things that had happened earlier in the day, Benji used his powers frequently in his trip to Africa. He made it half way across the Atlantic Ocean when he realized he hadn't brought a single rand with him. So, he went back and flipped through his currency drawer again. To Benji's horror, he discovered he had already spent all his rand. However, he did have an abundance of rupees, so he gathered those and ran to a currency exchange center in Africa, where he exchanged his rupees for rand (the people at the front desk gave him plenty of weird stares). Finally, the rabbit was able to head to the restaurant and have his meal.

Only, the restaurant was closed. Benji banged his head against a wall. He really hated time zone differences.

With a heavy sigh, he turned and ran home. His stomach was rumbling and he needed some food to replace the energy he had just lost from his ocean-crossing run. As he reached Massachusetts, he felt as though a hole had opened in his abdomen, creating an empty feeling where his stomach resided. He couldn't continue running, so he hailed a cab to take him the rest of the way to Sunny Haven. Luckily, he had just enough U.S. dollars to pay the cab driver. He slapped the bills into the driver's hand and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Benji!"

Startled by the sudden sound of his name, he looked around wildly. Eventually, he noticed a figure waving at him from a little ways down the street. As the cab drove away, the figure neared.

"Oh, it's just you, Jenna," said Benji, chuckling in relief. He didn't know why he had been so scared from someone calling out his name. Maybe it was because of the shadow people from Eli's vision. He was quite paranoid from the thought of creepy shadows grabbing at him and sucking him into the darkness in their plight to take over the world.

Jenna glared at Benji. "Where have you been?" she asked, her tone accusatory. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I waited through your entire track practice but you weren't there."

Benji smiled nervously. Jenna was an old friend. He had met her in fourth grade. Back then, Jenna had been much more free with herself, often rivaling Benji in her crazy antics. The two of them had formed a close bond of friendship as eccentric buddies. But as the years passed, Jenna became more mature while Benji remained very much the same. They were still best friends, but of a different kind.

"What're you talking about? I've just been... around," Benji murmured. He shrugged with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. "Why were you looking for me anyways?"

"We were supposed to meet in order to work on our biology project. Don't tell me you forgot."

Benji mentally cursed himself. He had been so eager for the South Africa trip that he had completely disregarded his other commitments. "Oh. Well, uh... I forgot. Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. He couldn't meet Jenna's eyes. Those hard, blue eyes were probably glaring bullets at the moment.

Jenna could only release her frustration in the form of a sigh. Benji figured she was used to putting up with him, considering they had known each other for close to ten years. In high school, she had suddenly become really strong in academics, and she was the only reason why he managed to graduate high school with over a 3.0. She was also responsible for keeping his current GPA above zero, but she was too busy with her part-time job to help Benji on a regular basis.

"Okay, we can work on it tomorrow," Jenna said. She had taken out her phone and was scrolling through her calendar.

Benji almost agreed, but then remembered about the festival. He bit his lip. "Oops. Sorry, I can't do tomorrow. It's the New Year," he replied. He had told Jenna long ago that the Chinese New Year was special to the Patersons, claiming it was a longtime tradition of the family (which was the truth).

Jenna lowered her phone. "You know what?" she asked, brushing her long, auburn hair out of her eyes. Benji knew it was a rhetorical question, so he didn't bother answering. Besides, he was afraid of angering her. But Jenna simply smiled tiredly. "Marley and I can finish the project by ourselves. You go ahead and just... do whatever you do all the time."

Benji almost gasped in shock. "Really?" He looked incredulously at Jenna. She was one of those 'everyone has to pull their end of the weight' people and this kind of benevolence was unheard of from her.

"Yes, really. You can't focus on work anyways, so it can't hurt."

The rabbit resisted the urge to hop up and down like an idiot. Instead, he hugged Jenna in an unrestricted embrace. "You're the best, Jenna! I owe you one!" he exclaimed.

"You owe me more than just one," Jenna muttered, struggling to breathe as Benji hugged the life out of her.

"Yeah, about that..." Benji pulled away from the hug and thought for a moment, placing a finger on his chin. His eyes lit up when he thought of something. "I know! I'll treat you to lunch sometime."

"It's going to take you a whole year of lunches."

"Then I'll treat you to breakfast, lunch and dinner!"

"You'll be broke."

Benji pouted. "Geez. You haven't done that much of my homework... have you?" He laughed as Jenna gave him the classic what do you think? look. He was truly grateful to her for being one of his few real friends. Most people he knew only remained friendly with him because of his status as Sunny University's track star. That, and his family was filthy rich. But Jenna didn't really care about those things, although sometimes she did take advantage of Benji's surplus of money to buy herself a drink of something.

"So I guess I'll see you in bio," said Benji, turning to leave with a wave of his hand. He hesitated, then turned back around. "Hey, Jenna?"

Jenna had also been about to leave. She had just dialed a number on her phone and had the device held to her ear, so she was distracted when she acknowledged his words. "Hmm?"

Benji took a deep breath. "Could eating insects make you sick? Like, if they have poison or if they're carrying a disease or something?" he asked.

Jenna frowned as she thought. "First of all, you shouldn't go around eating insects. I know in many cultures they eat bugs, but those people would know what to eat and what not to eat. Second, why do you need to know?"

"Oh, you see, I heard about this really great restaurant in South Africa--"

Jenna held up her hand and pointed to her phone, signifying the person on the other end had picked up. Benji nodded, understanding the message. He pointed down the street towards his house and began walking away. This time, Jenna nodded. The two of them waved good-bye as Benji headed home.

Benji was still pooped from the run, so it was over fifteen minutes before he made it back to the Paterson mansion. Of course, his first destination was the kitchen. Hopefully, someone had gotten some fresh food. If not, he could always eat those bagels. He rushed past Miles, Mia, and Char and burst into the kitchen, panting heavily and eager for food. The first and only thing he saw was Kenneth, his shirt and face covered in blood. Benji screamed.

"HOLY SHIT! KENNY MURDERED SOMEONE!"

Setting

8 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by zen_ink
It seemed like every Paterson had decided to pour into the house at once. This was the kind of unpredictability that drove Alex up the wall. He could spend all day alone at the house, expecting somebody to come home if even just for a few minutes, and nothing. Next minute, when he's caught off guard because he has to wipe blood off his brother, everybody decides to show up.

Well, he didn't have to wipe the blood off his brother... Kenneth was an adult and more than capable of taking care of himself. It was just Alex's intrusive, control-freak nature that prompted him to do it.

"HOLY SHIT! KENNY MURDERED SOMEONE!"

There was no mistaking that enthusiasm-laced voice; Benji was home.

"Don't be silly, Benjamin. He just has a bloody nose." Alex continued to wipe, glaring the rabbit up and down. The rabbit was one of Alex's least favorite brothers... he was the epitome of everything Alex couldn't tolerate in a person. Inconsistent, forgetful, irresponsible, childish, changeable without warning the commanding Paterson thought to himself. "Listen Benjamin, now that you're home, grab a broom and get dusting. Mom and dad will be ho-"

"AT 7 IN THE MORNING, WE KNOW." Eli interjected before he could even finish. It wasn't the Sheep's nature to be snippy although he definitely could when the mood struck him, and in Eli's case, after all the stress he'd been through today, he really wasn't in any mood to conceal his frustration with his family.

Alex was multitasking, continuing to clean blood off Kenny while scanning the room for other chores that needed to be done, and making note of each of his brothers and sisters as they were walking in the door. He saw Char digging through the fridge. "Char? What on earth are you doing? We are trying to CLEAN here.... NOT make more messes. You've been out all day, you didn't think to get any food?" Alex was losing his patience. He wasn't the type to explode in a fit of rage; that wasn't his style. But something familiar was occurring... flashes of bright blue were beginning to swirl through the rooster's stormy irises. He was willing to give his siblings a chance to cooperate by their own will before he'd go all "supernatural" on them, but he didn't like how pressed for time they were quickly becoming.

For the Patersons, New Years occurred in February as opposed to the regular January date for the rest of the country. They weren't Chinese in this life, but they had been in their original lives, and that meant that the tradition carried over. As such, it was a pretty big deal for the family and even though the others were not taking it very seriously at this point, he knew that they all cared just as much about it as Alex did.

"Char: Get the party tables out of the garage, set up one in the kitchen, one on the patio and two in the back yard. Mia can help you. Mia, make sure you get the festival tablecloths and set them.

Kenny: Go upstairs and change.. then when you come back down, you can start rolling eggrolls and putting them in the fridge.

Eli: When you and Aiden are done hanging paper lanterns, I need you to start on the mooncakes. You're the only one who can bake them.

Ramona: You're on lights duty. Hang strands wherever you think they would look good; I trust your judgment.

Miles: ...........Why don't you just.. go entertain yourself in your room for the next 12 hours or something."

Alex stood watch to make sure every order had been properly received as glittering swirls of cerulean still danced through his eyes, threatening at any moment to eliminate the existence of free-will in the Paterson household and turn the family into a robotic army of cleaning mind-slaves.

Setting

8 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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Having been alone with Ramona for the afternoon, Miles was pleased to see a full house as he entered the kitchen. Before Char headed for the kitchen, she had given him one of her quick grins to which he mirrored. If there was anyone he was related to, it would be the restless horse. Whenever it wasn't Mia, Miles was the one being dragged around, and unlike the lazy pig, the monkey did not tire so quickly. He found her entertaining to say the least, but in moderation.

Behind him, another raced for the kitchen, and by the loud exclamation that followed, it was obvious the rabbit had returned. Miles had always felt rather indifferent to Benji, as they were never really all that close. Perhaps the guy was just too nice sometimes, much like Eli; those types tend to bore the fickle monkey. As he walked past the crowd, he too noticed the blood on Kenneth's shirt, but didn't bother stopping on his way to the counter. Whatever happened, he was sure Alex was already on it. Emptying the plastic bag, Miles pulled out a few paper decorations (it was always a pain to find the old ones), a lighter, firecrackers and eggs, as he preferred his mooncake with an egg center. The square paper decorations included ones with the Chinese character for "luck" and "snake", and the rectangular strips were various wishes for the new year, such as "Happy New Year". Though they had Kenneth around, it was more precise to just use a lighter, and so Miles had grabbed one as well. Quickly, he organized his things so that everything was still in order, making sure that lord Alex would have nothing to complain about.

During this time, the monkey had been ignoring everyone. He loved entertaining sure, but there was a time and place, and right now, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Apparently, this and the supplies he brought seemed to work, for the rooster had left him with no duties. Pleased, Miles easily hid his satisfaction as he exited the kitchen.

Setting

9 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Simon Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by Wrenn
Simon looked at the text Miles had sent him, and pleasure and anxiety warred within him. He was glad that his machinations were succeeding -- first with Ramona, then soon with James he was sure -- but it alarmed the secretive rat that one of his siblings had sensed his hand. Still, of all of the Patersons to discover -- or at least suspect -- his activity, it was best that it had been the monkey. Sure, Miles seemed to many to be the friendly life of the party, almost a mirror image of Sean, but where the dog was genuinely carefree and guileless, the monkey had a sinister streak hiding behind his roguish grins. Simon was fairly sure that Miles wouldn't spoil his efforts prematurely -- the curious monkey liked to understand puzzles first before he smashed them.

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Simon stood from his chair and moved to the door. He heard all of the activity down below, and although he truly felt uncomfortable in any situation like this -- a lot of activity, conversations, group interactions -- he knew how important the New Year preparations were, and knew that he had to help. Still, it took him a moment to steel himself before opening his door, like any mouse about to venture out into the open.

"Hey guys," he muttered in his quiet way, out of the side of his mouth without making eye contact. He wore slim-fitting black Levis and a zipped-up gray hoodie that covered his plain tee, a yellow that had faded from sunshine to straw. With the hood down his lank brown hair stood in stark contrast to the familiar Paterson blonde rainbow.

"How can I help?" he asked Alex, knowing it was best to assert your willingness before the rooster commanded it from you. More than anything the rat wanted to simply be back in his room, but with the choice between some simple chores and getting an earful from his pushy older brother, Simon would take the former. Still, if Alex wanted any real productivity he'd have to do a little encouragement, as Simon moved like any ennui-ridden teen.

Setting

9 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Simon Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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Kenneth simply stared at Alex as his older brother went on a tirade. "KENNETH!!!! Finally someone is home. Where the heck has everyone been all day? Why does nobody care about tomorrow? Why am I the one to do all the chores?? I really need the others, do you know where they are? Oh god look at the time, Kenny have you SEEN THE TIME???" Alex ranted. Kenneth felt his eyes glaze over a little. He had expected this, for it was one of Alex's usual reactions to such a situation. "KENNETH!" Alex exclaimed, stepping back a few steps and startling the Dragon out of his fog. "IS THAT BLOOD? WHAT HAPPENED.."

Kenneth started to explain when Alex attacked him with a washcloth and peroxide. "Where is this coming from?? I don't even see a wound.." After some more scrubbing Alex finally seemed to settle down some. "Oh.... How did you manage this? Nevermind. Listen I really need you guys down here helping me, the house is an absolute mess."

Kenneth nodded. Eli and Aiden came in and the Sheep voiced his opinion that the house was not a mess. This temped Kenneth to laugh but he didn't want to chance aggravating the Rooster even more than he already was.

"HOLY SHIT! KENNY MURDERED SOMEONE!" a loud voice screamed. Kenneth looked over and saw Benji, who had an expression of horror on his face. Kenneth couldn't help but laugh this time. Do I really look that bad? Alex, still wiping Kenneth down, explained and repeated his mantra about cleaning and mom and dad coming home. Everyone was home now it seemed so the Rooster dished out orders, his eyes turning a threatening blue.

"Yes, sir," Kenneth said to his older brother when he received his duties. He hurried off to his room and quickly changed clothes, throwing the bloody ones in a laundry hamper. After putting on a t-shirt and sweat pants he hurried back downstairs to roll the eggrolls. Why didn't Mom and Dad give us some more time to prepare? Or did they just tell Alex and he didn't tell everyone else until now? Kenneth didn't suspect the latter was the case. If Alex had known ahead of time then they would have been working far ahead of time to keep everything in constant pristine shape.

Kenneth yawned tiredly. It was late out and he wanted to get some sleep so he could function in front of his parents. I just have to finish these egg roles and then I'll be done. Hopefully there won't be much else Alex'll want me to do. He had gotten up early in the morning since he was jolted from sleep from a nightmare of being chased. Since then he had been out in about, working at the Pawprint, going for a walk in the woods, archery, then coming home. It had been a busy day and now he wanted to sleep.

When he was done with the egg rolls he put them in the fridge. Thinking of his stomach he pulled out an apple and ate it, careful to put the core in the garbage can. Finished with that Kenneth found Alex. "Is there anything else you want me to do?" he asked, smothering a yawn with a heroic effort.

Setting

8 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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The walk home with Miles went by in a blur. Ramona was enjoying the walk home, but not as much as she was the walk to the playground. Miles wasn't talking much, like his usual self. Instead, he was glued to his phone. Ramona shrugged it off, knowing that her brother was an extremely sociable person. He was probably texting his friends or something. Although, every time she looked back at him to make sure he was catching up, he had a concerned expression on his face. Was he okay? Ramona started to feel a little bit worried, but she decided not to get into his privacy.

After stopping by at a general store to pick up a few things, the two finally made it back to the house. As Miles headed to the kitchen to put things away and do whatever he was doing, she looked around. She only saw that Alex, Elias, and Kenneth were the only ones home at the moment. Since Alex wasn't noticing her, she decided to quickly retreat up to her room. She had to write something down.

She made her way up the staircase, into her forest green-colored room. Her room wasn't anything special. It was that of the usual teenage girl. She quickly grabbed a notepad from one of the wooden cubbies where she kept books. With a ball-point pen, she started to write down a couple of things...

Anger and irritation
No control
No memory of situation
Time moves slow
Strength


She tapped her pen against the yellow paper, trying to remember if there were any more things that she felt during the Luke situation. She thought it best to write these things down now, and then add more later. Then, she could keep track of whether or not beating up Luke was a power, a dream, or if she was going insane.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from downstairs.
"HOLY SHIT! KENNY MURDERED SOMEONE!"

She silently chuckled to herself, knowing that it was Benji. Benji wasn't always home, as he was usually eating out somewhere on a different continent. He was definetely an odd but interesting fellow. Since she was done writing, she dropped her notepad, and exited her room. She quickly hurried down the stairs, noticing that Char and Mia, her two sisters, were home as well. As Alex spitted out orders to everyone, Ramona watch the situation unfold from the middle of the stairs.

"Char: Get the party tables out of the garage, set up one in the kitchen, one on the patio and two in the back yard. Mia can help you. Mia, make sure you get the festival tablecloths and set them.

Kenny: Go upstairs and change.. then when you come back down, you can start rolling eggrolls and putting them in the fridge.

Eli: When you and Aiden are done hanging paper lanterns, I need you to start on the mooncakes. You're the only one who can bake them.

Ramona: You're on lights duty. Hang strands wherever you think they would look good; I trust your judgment.

Miles: ...........Why don't you just.. go entertain yourself in your room for the next 12 hours or something."


Ramona had to keep from laughing at the last part of Alex's statement. Once everybody started to go their seperate ways, Ramona headed down towards the garage to get the lights. She flicked on the lights, and headed down. She stood near the entrance, knowing her sisters would be coming down as well. Besides, she had to talk to Char. Although the two sisters were different, the popular horse was good at giving her advice in the things she knew nothing about.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by nepeta
Char froze when Alex started yelling at her. His tirades were fairly common, but it was not worth pushing him at this time of night. Slowly, she closed the fridge door. She'd just have to wait till he left the room then. Otherwise she wouldn't be held responsible for any of her hunger-induced actions.

The tables were an easy enough thing. It'd take only a few minutes to pull them out and by that time the kitchen had to be cleared. Oh god, she was hungry. She'd kill Alex right now if she weren't so hungry.

Turning to Mia, she frowned. Her friend was too tired to help, it seemed, her posture slightly hunched over as she stood there. Seeing Miles loafing around as the others scurried about, she grinned and grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, wanna help with the table?"

She always liked the Monkey, he was a fun brother to have and one of the few people who could keep up with her. And be enthusiastic about it.

Mia stared at the pair, a deep set frown on her face. "I'm sure you have something better to do."

"It's just for a little while, Mia," Char responded, rolling her eyes as she let go of his arm. "You don't have to fight every time you meet."

"I'm not fighting." There was a small pout on her friend's face. "Just seeing if Miles has anything else to do."

"She's provoking you, right Miles?" Char turned to her brother, grinning as she teased Mia. In the corner of her eye, she could see Ramona leaving the room, headed for the garage as well.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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Before Miles could make his getaway, he was found by Char, who promptly dragged him away from the scene. "No, but apparently I am." He replied monotonously with his expression fittingly expressionless, though it was all a ruse for comedic effect. However, his facade cracked upon seeing the obviously upset pig, who with her slouched posture and frown looked more like Mrs. Ethridge (the old neighbourhood grump) than his little sister. Naturally, mischief crept into his dark eyes, a corner of his lips rising to a half smirk. Entertained, the monkey watched his sisters converse, particularly the various changes in mood that Mia could not hope to hide. Scratch what he said, the pig was definitely the easiest to read, but when it came to the short Patterson, even Luke could do it.

"Well she's trying." Miles looked over to Char, who too, obviously enjoyed teasing Mia. When the three were together, the monkey and horse seemed more like playground bullies, their childish sides showing in their amusement. Rather than wait for his sister's face to change again, he headed for the stairs, leaving an annoyed Patterson behind. Setting up chairs wouldn't be so bad, in fact, out of all the choices Alex had listed, it was probably the easiest. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, he noticed that they had company: Ramona. Distracted by the other two, Miles had not noticed her pass their small circle, though he wasn't the most observant when there were other things capturing his interest.

He passed the tigress with just a glance of acknowledgment, before turning toward one side of the garage where a neat row of folded tables greeted him. As he began to move the first table, he noticed a reluctant pig as his side. Begrudgingly, Mia was helping and together, they had unfolded the table. Miles looked over his sister, noting her drying bangs and weary expression. As they lifted the table and began to walk with Mia's back leading, the monkey couldn't resist a guess.

"Char dragged you out for a hike again?"

Upon seeing a predictable annoyed look, he added with a small, innocent grin.

"Easy Mia, stress causes wrinkles you know."

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson
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#, as written by zen_ink
Elias Paterson

Alex was barking out the orders as usual. He took a moment to properly address everyone, giving them appropriate jobs to carry out before the night was over. Elias was so exhausted.. he wanted nothing more than to just sleep at this point. He had been hoping that he'd get the chance to hang out with Aiden for a while but he was quickly becoming too tired even for a video game. He'd also been baking all day at the Pawprint and wasn't looking forward to donning his apron for the second time today. Realizing that Alex had completely ignored Benji in his dishing of commands, Eli turned to his rabbit brother and smirked before departing to the other room.

He and Aiden circled the living room with a box of flattened paper lanterns. "Here's good." Aiden would say, and Eli would pull one out of the box, prop it open, and then hang it from the ceiling. They did this for about fifteen minutes before the majority of the house was sprinkled with lanterns. Since this was the year of the snake, each lantern had on one side the chinese symbol representing the Year of the Snake, and on the other side was a picture of an actual snake. "Where IS James, anyway?" Eli thought to himself.

"Well that's that." Aiden tossed the empty box aside and plopped himself into one of the many fancy armchairs that were littered throughout the Patersons' living room. Visible traces of the family's wealth could be found everywhere.. from their restaurant, to their estate, to the overly-opulent decor of the house. Aiden had known by now that Mrs. Paterson was the one responsible for the majority of the interior design choices that were made in the Paterson house; the woman had great taste, expensive taste. Aiden figured that must have been where Eli got it from.

"Well I have to make the mooncakes now I guess..... I'm not going to make you help me with that, you've done way more than enough. And again, I'm really sorry that Alex is doing this. Like I said, tomorrow is a special occasion, and he gets a little nuts."

"A little?" Aiden chuckled. The comment made Eli laugh as well.

"Okay, a lottle" he smiled and brushed his hair aside.

You're the professional baker anyway... I'd probably just screw things up if I got in the way. I'll just be in your room playing Wii."

"Okay, I'll be up soon!" Eli smiled again. "It shouldn't take too long. Twenty minutes tops. I love you."

"Love you too!" Aiden smiled and headed upstairs. Eli went back into the kitchen and sighed as he unenthusiastically tied his apron. Alex was still putzing around the kitchen, doing god only knows what. Eli didn't really like people getting in his way when he was baking, and his bossy brother tended to have a very strong - and thus distracting presence. Nevertheless, he got to work on mixing dough in a rather large bowl. "Why do we even have mooncakes on the new year?? Elias wondered to himself. They're supposed to be for Autumn.... we are the worst pseudo-chinese family ever."

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elias Paterson Character Portrait: Kenneth Paterson Character Portrait: Benjamin Paterson Character Portrait: Alex Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by Felidae
"Don't be silly, Benjamin. He just has a bloody nose."

The rabbit took a long time to comprehend his brother's words. When he finally did, he let out a long, "Oooooooooooh." He chuckled to himself, quite amused by the misunderstanding. "Yeah, I got it. Good ol' Kenny wouldn't murder no one." He chuckled again, pleased with his use of the double negative.

Alex got busy ordering people around in his usual, bossy way. Benji was rather disappointed to see Char get caught digging around in the fridge, for that meant the nearest food source was probably off limits at the moment. He didn't know why, but the horse never seemed to like him much. He himself had no ill feelings towards Char and had never purposefully done anything to make her mad, though he supposed not everyone could get along.

Benji stood around, waiting for King Alex's royal commands. Oddly enough, he found that he had been ignored. All of a sudden, Benji remembered that Alex had told him to dust. His pulse quickened for a moment, dreading the thought of being controlled by those glowing blue eyes simply because he hadn't heard the rooster. But Alex wasn't paying him much attention and Benji couldn't even see any dust anyways. He supposed he could walk around the kitchen in circles and sweep a broom across the tiles while whistling a tune so Alex couldn't complain either way. Or he could sneak off somewhere and not do any work. But the rabbit was hungry. He decided to grab a broom and stay in the kitchen, where the refrigerator was within reach if Alex could be distracted.

Benji caught Eli's eye and returned the sheep's smirk with a giddy smile. The sheep looked a lot better now that Aiden was with him... but he still looked thoroughly worn out. This party wasn't helping at all, what with Alex commanding everyone as if the fate of the world was at stake. He watched as Eli and Aiden left to go hang paper lanterns.

With a sigh, the rabbit found a broom in the closet and began to walk about aimlessly, swishing his broom around like a robot. As soon as Alex had his back turned, he dashed to the fridge and nabbed a bagel, stuffing the whole thing in his mouth so that no one would notice his looting of the fridge. With a sharp pang of panic, he realized the bagel was stuck in his mouth, for he couldn't chew it or spit it out. He tried to pull it out with his fingers, but it was wedged firmly between his jaws.

He ran over to the nearest person for help. The nearest person just so happened to be the dragon, who had disposed of the murder evidence changed into a clean set of clothes. He seemed to have just finished with the egg rolls.

"You've gotta help me, Kenny!" Benji tried to say, but it sounded more like, "Mmmmmnn! Mmmmnn!"

Suddenly, he wasn't too eager for Kenneth's help. Uh oh... thought the rabbit, as he had just realized Kenneth was right next to, that's right, the rooster. Benji inwardly groaned at his own stupidity and braced himself for Alex's wrath. This isn't going to be pretty.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by nepeta
Mia lagged behind the other two as they headed for the garage, taking a moment to calm herself. Miles was just trying to get a reaction.

It was never good to give him that reaction.

There were a lot emotions swirling around her, and she ignored them. None of them were the calm she needed. She'd like to give Miles her anger, just force it down him, but Miles the angry was almost worse than Miles the bully. Just what Char saw in the monkey, Mia didn't know.

Or rather, she could guess, but she didn't want to think about it. Looking up, she could see Ramona waiting. Perhaps she could work with her other sister inst--

Mia groaned audibly as Char headed to the tiger first. Charlotte knew she hated Miles. Charlotte knew she hated being close to him. This had to be on purpose and revenge was going to be sweet. Maybe she could tell Benji to go near her. Charlotte always hated the rabbit.

Turning to the monkey, she grimaced once before taking a deep breath. She could do it. Moving next to him, she helped him unfold the tables. He seemed--no, she wasn't going to waste thoughts on him either.

As they started to move the tables, she gave a quiet sigh. Her legs were not happy with this anymore than she was, complaining as she bent. Her heels wanted to rest, to soak in some hot water and just sleep off Char's crazy training regime.

Frowning at her brother, she contemplated not talking to him. Maybe she should just stay quiet. Just to see how he'd deal with being ignored.

The monkey wouldn't be able to last a minute.

Seeing his smirk grow, her frown grew deeper. He wouldn't last a minute at all and sometimes it was more dangerous to ignore him than to answer. "Next time you go with her. You both can get lost together."

"Besides, I'm sure you'll feel right at home in the forest." Reaching the backyard, dark and unlit, Mia's pace started to slow. She tried to keep from bumping into the random things her siblings left in the backyard. Like that bike that was right behind her. Bumping into it, she winced as it fell to the ground. "You could have warned me! You were looking right ahead!"

It was hard to identify who the bike belonged to--straining her eyes, she could barely make out the bike's frame as it was.

Looking back at the table, at Mile's grinning face, she silently counted to ten in her head. Just three more tables to go. Just three more.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by nepeta
Char chuckled to herself as she followed Miles to the garage. Despite the good control the pig had in understanding the emotions in others and in herself, she just wasn't in complete control of her own emotions. It was easy to rile her up, to just tease her and watch her react.

And Miles knew how to play the game superbly.

As they entered the garage, Char could see her other sister standing to the side, looking somewhat nervous. A problem, most likely. Unlike Mia, who always internalized her issues, Ramona was more willing to ask for help. It wasn't unusual to see the tiger waiting for her in one of the rooms and Char had come to enjoy it. It seemed a big sister thing. It seemed a responsible thing.

Mainly, it was nice to see someone take her seriously.

Looking behind her, she could see Mia gazing darkly at the floor, no doubt muttering curses in her head. Miles was already starting on the tables and this was an opportunity she couldn't waste.

Smiling broadly, she walked up to Ramona, knowing just how the scene behind her would go. Maybe while they worked together, Mia would come to like the fun monkey. Maybe she could eventually go to a place with the both of them.

"Hi sis," Char greeted Ramona cheerfully. The garage wasn't really organized--one half of it was dedicated to a maze of boxes. Their mother must have stored everything from their childhood up in it and finding the lights in that would be a fun challenge. "Want to search for the lights while we talk?"

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Miles Paterson Character Portrait: Mia Paterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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Surprisingly, the first to come down into the garage was Miles. In return, Ramona gave Miles a glance of acknowledgement as well. Although the two had buried the hatchet, she wasn't willing to be so talkative with him. She felt as though she had done enough talking with him for the day, and she wasn't willing to go through any more internal struggle.

As soon as the horse and the pig had entered the garage, Char was immediately at Ramona's side. The thing Ramona loved and almost envied about Char was her ability to sense other's emotions so quickly. She always knew what was going on, even if she didn't have evidence to prove it. Ramona was sure that if Char's mind were to replace those of stupid people, the world wouldn't have so many problems.

"Hi sis," she greeted her cheerfully.
"Hey," the tigress simply responded. She got distracted for a second watching Mia groan behind Char. She wasn't sure of it, but Ramona almost viewed Mia as being a bit of a tagalong. Of course she knew it wasn't true, but with Mia always lagging behind Charlotte, it was hard for her not to assume.
"Want to search for the lights while we talk?" she added. Damn, she was good at steering conversations.
"Uh..sure," the socially adept adolescent replied.

As the moment started to unfold in Ramona's head, she started to think of the possibilities of just spitting out her emotions to Char. If she were to do so, Mia would be close. Same with Miles. He had been following her all day, and right now would be no exception. Ramona would have to steer Char away to a place where nobody would be around. Would that be hard with Alex constantly monitoring everyone's movements? Only time would tell.

As Ramona started to think up a plan, she searched through the pile of random junk until she could make out a cable of white Christmas lights. She untangled the cables as she turned back to face Char. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ramona Patterson Character Portrait: Charlotte (Char) Paterson
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#, as written by nepeta
She wrinkled her nose at the boxes at their feet, some dusty and dirty from being in the garage for too long. At least she didn't have to look in them--they had taken the lights out last year, so there was no way they could be in those boxes. Pulling out a box of trowels, Char wondered just how long she had to wait till Alex left the kitchen.

Hopefully not too long.

Hearing her sister's question, she turned to face Ramona and spotted the lights in her hands. "There they are." The rest couldn't be too far from that spot, then. After they finished untangling, she could head to the kitchen and eat something. Anything. Just as long as it was food.

As she walked to her sister, Char raised an eyebrow and answered, "You looked like you had something to say."
While it was possible she read her sister wrong, the chances weren't that high--Ramona nearly always had something to say.

It was just a matter of coercing it out of her. Picking up a strand of multi-coloured lights, Char set to work untangling it herself. Seeing that the tiger was still reluctant to speak, she added somewhat impatiently, "Friend troubles?"