"You must wear something, Wolf," says Cassie, standing behind him in a mad combination of breeches, an oversized trenchcoat, and a wide hat she quite likes. "Socks, or fur slippers. Otherwise your toes will turn black and fall off, and then you won't have any feet at all."
"Fur slippers!" Wolf repeats, turning around to look at Cassie and he smiles at her, wide and cheerful. She looks so pretty in the cold and Wolf thinks that's the only thing that's nice about the winter. "I don't want my toes to turn black or fall off, I like having feet."
But he's also never thought about fur slippers. They sound better than shoes, warmer and not so tight or uncomfortable. "Can we find me some fur slippers?"
"Of course," says Cassie, beaming at him as she seizes him by his woolen lapels, pretending to haul him up, "We'll find your slippers, and then we'll simply take them from the shop. And some nice cotton to wear beneath the wool, it itches awfully. I've got on three layers of undergarments, so I'm all right."
"It is itchy," Wolf agrees, but he manages to not shift around and scratch in front of Cassie, even though he really, really wants to now that she's mentioned how itchy it can all be. That's not polite, he knows that, Jack taught him that, too. People don't like when you scratch in front of them.
He puts his shoes back on as quick as he can and grins. "Can we really just take them?"
"Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow," said Matthew gleefully, singing the snow song as he trudged his way through it. When he saw Wolf he picked up a great armload and threw it up into the air, chunks of snow landing on both of them. "Snow, snow, la la la la, snow!"
It's hard for Wolf to keep feeling so grumpy when Matthew is so happy and is singing. He breaks into a grin, then starts to jam his feet back into his shoes as quickly as he can.
"That's a good song, Matthew!" he says, fumbling with his shoe laces. More than wearing the shoes, he hates trying to tie them. He's not very good at it.
Matthew was very sympathetic as he watched Wolf try to tie his shoes. "That's hard," he said, kicking up a little snow as he did. "Mum does mine for me."
"Do you think your mom will do mine?" Wolf asks, looking up hopefully. Miss Shirley is awfully nice and she's helping him learn how to read and write, so maybe she'll help him learn to tie his shoes better, too.
"Shoes are the worst!" he says, but he finally gets them tied. "I don't like shoes. I wish it was warm again so I didn't have to wear them. Wolf!"
"Well, seeing as how my hair's still covered in a bit of snow, and how I'm wearing a pretty impressive pair of shoes, I guess that means that Wolf doesn't like Sookie so much anymore, huh?" Sookie asks, breezing into the Compound after a quick run through the city to pick up some essential items for her apartment.
With classes still speckled throughout the day- although much less time-consuming without Council duty cropping up in the middle- Sookie's found the Compound to be one of the most convenient places to stay during the day, until it becomes high time to head home and bury herself under thick covers for the evening. But even though she feels that a greater portion of the island's swinging by the Compound than ever before, catching people is still a trial. With heavy skirts and troublesome boots in the way, she usually finds herself more focused on trying to prevent a fall rather than actually catching up with the folks she loves. Fortunately, Wolf's voice pulls her out of that reverie easily enough.
"That's not true," Wolf answers, but he's smiling when he says it, nearly everything forgotten at the sight of Sookie. People can do that to him, make him forget all the bad things that are happening and remember how lucky he is to have all these nice friends. "Wolf doesn't like his own stupid shoes, because they pinch my feet and they hurt. And I don't like the snow 'cause the snow means I have to wear shoes and scratchy clothes."
Wolf misses his normal clothes. He misses his overalls and he misses being barefoot. The shoes are the worst part. "Shoes are stupid."
Sookie seats herself down right next to Wolf, feeling her chest warm at the mere sight of him, smile bright and broad and unrelenting as the usual island sun. In the absence of all that warmth, Wolf somehow manages to more than make up for the loss, and fortunately wears his heart well enough on his sleeve that Sookie doesn't feel too presumptuous in resting her head against his shoulder, arm sweeping over his shoulders and pulling him closer. There's something about him that feels impossibly secure, close against her like this, and she's needed that lately for more reason than one. (And if she can use the cold as an excuse, then why shouldn't she?)
"Well, maybe we just haven't found good clothes and shoes for you yet," Sookie suggests, letting her eyes fall to a close. "I know that most of the stuff we've got right now's a pain, but shoes pinchin' just makes me think that maybe yours are a size or two too small."
Wolf is happy to snuggle and he presses closer to Sookie, grinning at everything and everyone who passes by. The snow may be stupid and the shoes may be stupid, but Wolf has good friends like Sookie and that's enough to make him happy even if he does have to wear stupid shoes.
"Well, Wolfs don't wear shoes," he says slowly, looking down at the ones he has sitting by his feet. "Not ever. Wolfs aren't shoe wearing people, we're shepherds and we don't have to wear shoes. So maybe I got the wrong ones." He picked the first pair that looked big enough for him, but maybe Sookie's right and they're still too small.
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But he's also never thought about fur slippers. They sound better than shoes, warmer and not so tight or uncomfortable. "Can we find me some fur slippers?"
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He puts his shoes back on as quick as he can and grins. "Can we really just take them?"
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"That's a good song, Matthew!" he says, fumbling with his shoe laces. More than wearing the shoes, he hates trying to tie them. He's not very good at it.
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"Shoes are the worst!" he says, but he finally gets them tied. "I don't like shoes. I wish it was warm again so I didn't have to wear them. Wolf!"
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With classes still speckled throughout the day- although much less time-consuming without Council duty cropping up in the middle- Sookie's found the Compound to be one of the most convenient places to stay during the day, until it becomes high time to head home and bury herself under thick covers for the evening. But even though she feels that a greater portion of the island's swinging by the Compound than ever before, catching people is still a trial. With heavy skirts and troublesome boots in the way, she usually finds herself more focused on trying to prevent a fall rather than actually catching up with the folks she loves. Fortunately, Wolf's voice pulls her out of that reverie easily enough.
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Wolf misses his normal clothes. He misses his overalls and he misses being barefoot. The shoes are the worst part. "Shoes are stupid."
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"Well, maybe we just haven't found good clothes and shoes for you yet," Sookie suggests, letting her eyes fall to a close. "I know that most of the stuff we've got right now's a pain, but shoes pinchin' just makes me think that maybe yours are a size or two too small."
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"Well, Wolfs don't wear shoes," he says slowly, looking down at the ones he has sitting by his feet. "Not ever. Wolfs aren't shoe wearing people, we're shepherds and we don't have to wear shoes. So maybe I got the wrong ones." He picked the first pair that looked big enough for him, but maybe Sookie's right and they're still too small.
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