Snow was lightly falling through the trees that surrounded the quiet home tucked away at the edge of the forest. The late afternoon sun played on the fresh blanket of sparkling white in an enchanting way so that to anyone else in the world it really would have looked like a scene from a postcard. The same calm serenity was reflected inside the house. A mother cat bouncing one of her newborn kits in one arm, while their father held the other practically with one giant wolf paw as it curled against his chest as both child and father snoozed. On the living room floor, Scrapp and Hugo were both sitting side by side, watching as the toy train that they had set up chugged methodically around the Christmas tree- though the holiday had long since ended- their tails wagging every time it came back into sight and then stilling as it rolled away. The scent of honey ham, fresh rolls and pie hung in the air as dinner cooked adding to the lethargic feeling of the late afternoon. Really, one couldn’t have painted a more serene winter day nor imagined that only moments ago there had been whining babies, a stressed mother, and a panicking father running about trying to achieve this quiet happiness they now had.

If only such a moment could last.

The large fox-like masked familiar who had stayed out of the way since the crying had begun earlier that day, did not share such a sentiment. The peaceful family life was- quite frankly- dull… and King felt like he was made for so much more than babysitting little whelps and keeping his bond calm in public.

He huffed quietly and under his mask he would roll his azure blue eyes, though no one could see them. Then, after a few more agonizing moments of calm he couldn’t take it and got to his paws, trotting towards the door. “As much as I love the fact baby Farin’s screaming has stopped, I can’t say this silence is any better. I’m going for a walk.” He huffed to Zix, for the mother cat alone was the only one who could understand him. He was her familiar, and she was his bond… something that had excited him at first since he had felt her raw power and inner chaos upon their meeting, but now slightly disappointed him seeing that she had become almost completely docile and tame with family life.

Almost docile…

There was that spark King knew was still inside her, but she kept it well under control because of a little mistake she had made in the past.

Okay…

Well…

Maybe kidnapping a perfectly happy runaway princess and forcing her back to her home kingdom wasn’t exactly little but it had almost been over a year since that incident! Wasn’t it time for her to move on? Hadn’t that been why she took up that job at Emera’s potion shop in the first place? King shook his head and approached the door. Maybe he could bury himself in the snow and scare some unsuspecting passersby to spice up his evening.

Just as he was about to push the door open, he was thrown back as it burst open! Seems like he was going to get his evening excitement some other way.

“ZIX! I’VE DONE IT!” Shouted the newcomer, shattering the peace of the room. The voice belonged to Zyfe, the white and black cat’s long lost twin brother. The man practically embodied everything Zix wasn’t; outgoing, personable, talkative, excitable and- of course- slightly annoying. Even when he was putting on heirs and being as polite as he possibly could as a lord of a foreign kingdom, King still found it ruffled his fur… but that didn’t bother him as much as his currently bruised snout. “Zix! Everyone! Wonderful- no- excellent news! Absolutely splendid! Why, I was worried I wouldn’t get things arranged on time but heavens somehow I did it! You’ll never believe what I just achieved!” He was talking excitedly with bright sparkly eyes, his arms moving exaggeratedly as he spoke as if to emphasize the importance of this moment.

Farin predictably started screaming again.

King watched with a bit of smug satisfaction as Zyfe instantly seemed to realize his mistake and winced, shrinking back. At least things had taken a turn for the interesting…

Zix would bounce her baby boy and sigh, giving her brother a long exasperated look, “Zyfe… I don’t care how you might have entered rooms in your palace or whatever in the Kat Kingdom, but I have told you a hundred times to knock before coming in… and if you must just enter a room, perhaps enter with some courtesy to be quiet? Especially with babies in the house now?” She sighed in a long-suffering manner, shaking her head and bouncing Farin some more. "Shhhh… shhhh… Please don't cry. It will be okay, go back to sleep little one.”

Besides her Wolfrik had startled awake and so had little Alessia, both blinking in that confused stupor recently snoozing folk tended to have. “Did I miss something? I feel like I missed something…” he yawned, and his baby girl mimicked him.

“Uncle Zyfe is home.” Hugo said, sitting up from his spot on the floor and filling his adopted father in. The teen had grown quite a bit in the last year and Zix had started saying that he would need a new wardrobe if he kept it up. His fur was soft and his floppy puppy ears did that cute wobble whenever he turned his head, a charm that was lost on King. But the boy had a certain admiration for Zyfe- though heavens knows why, “What’s so exciting? Are you still going to tell us?”

“Probably got a driver's license, heavens help us all.” King snickered to Zix, but his bond ignored him and he would sigh yet again, taking a seat on the floor to watch things play out in an almost bored manner.

“I-oh! Yes! Well…” Zyfe would stammer, blushing a bit. After his loud entrance he made sure to keep his voice low while his sister kept attempting to soothe her child. “You know how I’ve been talking for a while about possibly entering Sir Fredrick into the familiar show that we saw on TV a while back?”

“Did you enter it?!” Hugo’s eyes were wide and he leaned a little more forward, hanging on Zyfe’s words. His tail right now could have started a hurricane.

“No! Well, not yet… but it’s even better than that!” Zyfe was getting excited again as he spoke, “I heard they were looking for a place to host the contest for winter and, well… I offered our manor! The Western Fort in the Kat Kingdom!” And with this declaration he would stand there proudly and beam as if it was truly the most wonderful news he could have delivered.

The room was silent except for Farin’s now quiet whimpers.

Finally Zix spoke up, “You mean… Your manor. Zyfe, I told you before… Lilypad is my home. It’s where my family is.” The white and black cat frowned, her tail swishing about her feet as she looked back over at Wolfrik as if asking for his help backing her up.

The large Kludde wasn’t so great at picking up cues but he had a big heart and had been trying to keep the peace in the house ever since Zyfe had arrived from the Kat Kingdom. So he would just give his wife an apologetic smile and take their daughter's paw and make her wave at Zix… it was cute, but only succeeded in making Zix smile a little. Perhaps that was a success in some way though King supposed.

“Zix… it’s our father’s manor… and when he died he left it to both of us. We both were asked to care for our people and such in his stead I-if you ever were found of course… so… even if it isn’t home you’ll always have a place there.” Zyfe said softly. For a noble Kat, King supposed his master could have gotten a far worse brother… most nobles in his opinion thought far too highly of themselves. Here Zyfe had come all the way from the Kat kingdom just to connect with Zix and learn about the modern world.

But it seemed that the young lord wasn’t quite finished with what he was going to say, “And… I was hoping… maaaaaaaaybe you and I could…”

The anticipation was killing King so he said it plainly for Zix to understand, “He wants to enter into the competition with you while hosting the familiar show in the Kat Kingdom.” The idea was intriguing to the fox-like familiar at least. It would be a chance for him to shine! And show the world just how brilliant he was… a true king among the peons with which he had to associate. Besides, wasn’t his bond a Royal as well in her own way by blood? His three tails started swishing and the blue marks on his fur seemed to glow with the inner fire that flowed through his veins. Yes.. surely this was something worthwhile to pursue in this dismal plane of existence!

“No…”

King was snapped out of his thoughts as Zix spoke and his head snapped up to face her, actually alarmed! But then again as he thought about it, why should he be…? She hardly went about in public except to work or help fight Raiders gone wild in the first place. He scowled under his mask, ears flattening with annoyance. Yes, his bond mate was completely cowed by her past mistakes. Why would she dare step into the spotlight? Why would she let loose her inner fire?

“No, I can’t… I have my kips to take care of and I don’t know how long we’ll be away from home! And… Zyfe… I don’t really want to be on TV, in the news again or… or anything.” She scratched the back of her head, looking away with shame as her words hung heavy in the air.

Finally it was Wolfrik who actually spoke. He would stand and come over to her, pulling her into a hug, “Zix, luv… it might be good to visit again with our family. Let the pups see the place where their mother was born and… perhaps it will be a positive experience, no? Good bonding time for you and Zyfe. And if you did end up on the news luv, it would only be good news! What’s the harm in participating in an event with him, hmm?”

The black and white cat was weak to Wolfrik’s suggestions. He had loved her even after all she had done and so her love for him and her family was partially what held her together. She melted into his hug and seemed to think about what he had said. The entire house was quiet now, even Farin seemed to have calmed… like everyone was holding their breath for the mother cat’s response.

Finally she spoke. “…Can I have some time? To… think about it? When would we have to leave?” She looked at Zyfe, the uncertainty clear in her expression.

A flicker of hope crossed her brother's face and he would smile warmly at her, his own blue eyes sparkling with hope. “A week, it was all rather last moment… but I have the paperwork! And I already have some costume ideas! Leave all the costs to me alright? If you decide to do this I’ll do my best to make it a positive experience for you! I promise.” He vowed, putting a paw over his heart.

“I’ll… think about it…” came her muffled reply as she buried her face in her husband’s fluffy chest.

King felt excitement rise up in his chest and his tails began to swish again. Did he dare ride the slim hope that he was to be given the spotlight after all? A slow grin spread across his face, projected even onto his mask which was magical in nature. He couldn’t wait.

Then a thought occurred to him. If Zix was going to be performing in the show with Zyfe then…

Oh no…

His smile quickly turned into a scowl as he realized exactly who his partner was going to be. As if on cue, Zyfe would look around with a puzzled expression. “Hey wait a minute… this can’t be right.” He did a 180 and looked high and low in the room for something and as he did so King’s stomach twisted into a small knot of guilt. “has… anyone seen Sir Fredrick?”

Life for the pudgy little dragon whelp was nothing short of sublime. His master loved him, he got all the sweets, treats and meats his heart desired, and he adored his bond mate in return. Zyfe could do no wrong in Sir Fredrick’s eyes and he loved the cat unconditionally. Even when he had to stay home without Zyfe around he would wait ever so patiently for him to return, faithfully guarding the door. Then, when the cat would inevitably return he would be met with affectionate nuzzles and snuggles as the dragon returned to following his master around and sticking to his side.

Yes, ever since he had materialized into the world upon his master becoming a witch, Sir Fredrick had nothing to complain about. Life was good.

Well at least… It was mostly good.

He supposed there were worse things than being locked in the dark hallway cupboard. Besides, he was absolutely sure that his master would find him eventually. He didn’t really understand how it was he came to be in the cupboard. He had been waiting on the mat like usual for Zyfe to come home when he had started to doze off.

The next moment he knew both he and the mat were in the cupboard. At least the cupboard had lots of interesting things in it to keep him company! Like the ever intimidating vaccooooom which had a deafening roar! And then there was Wolfrik’s axe that he kept polished and out of reach of children! He often heard Wolfrik talk to the object so perhaps it had a soul and could talk back to him just like a familiar could! Maybe the axe was Wolfrik’s familiar Sir Fredrick pondered, still staying positive despite his situation.

He would stay quiet and look intently through the dark at the door which he was sure was in front of him just knowing that any moment now his master would come and open it.

His nubby dragon horns wiggled on his head as he picked up the sound of Zyfe’s voice! It was coming closer and he wasn’t the only one talking, “He usually waits by the door on the mat! But the mats are not even there… maybe he dragged it off to nap somewhere?” The cat asked ponderously.

A much younger voice chimed in with a big of a yip that must have been Scrapp. The pup didn’t talk much yet but had a few names and words down! “King!” He said gleefully.

No one seemed to pay the pup any mind however as Zix spoke up, “He was on his mat when I went to prep dinner with Wolfrik earlier… Hugo, did you see anything?”

“A-ah… no. I got a phone call and left the room for a moment.” He had been chatting a lot lately with a certain squirrel girl of which Sir Fredrick liked very much. She gave him lots of treats, as did Hugo. Actually Sir Fredrick liked both of Zix’s adopted kids, they gave him lots of love and attention too.

“ Zyfe! Zyfe! “ Sir Fredrick now chimed, hoping to reach him through their mental link, “ I’m in here! Over here! With the mighty vaccuuuuuum!” He was practically dancing on his chubby little legs and feet, simply excited to see Zyfe again.

Outside here heard his master speak again, “oh hang on, I think he’s in the closet…” and suddenly light would flood into Sir Fredrick’s world! Yes! Yes! He was found! He leapt forward, his tiny wings beating impossibly fast for him to float high enough for him to jump into Zyfe’s embrace. He happily snuggled against the cat’s shirt and all was right with the world.

“ I missed you! I don’t want you to leave again. “ he would sigh, not wanting to move.

Zyfe would chuckle and give him a gentle squeeze, “That’s what you always say when I come home… still, I’m glad to see you’re alright. How did you ever get into the closet in the first place?”

And once again Scrapp would chirp insistently, “Kiiiing!” and now it all clicked together. All eyes turned to the mischievous fox-like familiar who didn’t even shrink away from their gaze. Instead, as Sir Fredrick looked over Zyfe’s shoulder at the creature it seemed to glare at him and scowl! Wiggling out of Zyfe’s arms he would land softly on all fours to face the other familiar head on. He could do anything with his master by his side after all!

Sir Fredrick didn’t know why King didn’t like him. He hadn’t liked Sir Fredrick from the moment Zix came back from the woods with him as a familiar bond. It was an absolute mystery to the dragon though as to why that was. He never bothered him after that first initial hello… he never tried to take his food. What was it about himself that King so ardently hated?

King shrugged and would stare up at Zix, ignoring everyone else. Apparently he said something however because Zix would frown and gesture to the chubby dragon, “Just because you find someone annoying doesn’t give you the right to shove them into a closet… really now… apologize! Or I won’t even consider the idea of going to even see the familiar show.”

The cat-like dragon demon would huff verbally, his ears flattening as he turned to stare hard at Sir Fredrick. “Sorry I thought you might sleep… more soundly in the dark than in a lit room.” The apology was neither sincere or heart felt and as weak as the excuse given. But Sir Fredrick wasn’t paying attention to that. A show? They were going to be a part of a show?! He was bouncing on his little chubby feet and wiggling excitedly.

“It’s okay! I’m okay! I want to do a show!” He would put his front paws on Zyfe’s legs and look pleadingly up at him before asking, “What’s a show?”

Laughing, he would be scooped up and given a hug once more by the cat, “Zix it’s fine! He says that he’s fine… And he wants to do the show! I’ll explain it all to you later Freddybear.” and he would touch noses with his beloved familiar and be all sweet with him. “I want to do a show with you too! I want to show the world just how wonderful you are… I’m so glad I have you.”

And with the affection and those words alone Sir Fredrick was the happiest little familiar in the world. Especially more so than King who was slinking away out of the room to brood… in a way the dragon felt sorry for his fellow familiar. He couldn’t remember seeing him genuinely happy before and it made him wonder… what did make him happy?

After reassurances that Sir Fredrick was okay, Zix had gone outside. Standing there she hugged herself and took a deep breath, the winter chill clearing her head for a moment. She didn’t want to feel pressured into making a decision but Zyfe, her kids and even her husband seemed to want to encourage her to go and enjoy herself. Truthfully she felt an inner desire to relive those days when she was more confident in herself… more capable. More… free. But she felt shackled by her past mistakes.

She had worked so hard to make up for it… talking with Orland and Ari… verbally apologizing and finding any little way to fix things. She knew that they would never trust her, and she felt it was justified that she would never be able to set foot in the playhouse again. In fact she felt like she had gotten off easy and that made her feel even worse.

But would something absolutely horrible happening to her fix anything? Or just make more people miserable? Especially since she knew she had people around her that loved her now too…

Shaking her head she would take another deep breath, her ear twitching when she heard pawsteps behind her. She didn’t even need to turn around to hear that it was King.

“That was a half baked apology to Sir Fredrick King… and you know it.” she sighed, staring ahead at the tree line in the fading winter’s evening.

The familiar came and sat by her side on the ground, his head coming up to her shoulder even as he sat. For a moment he was quiet… but then finally he spoke, “Perhaps… I am simply jealous with the amount of affection and praise he receives from his bondmate?” he jabbed quietly, “Or… I find him annoying. Who’s to say. But he’s clearly unhurt by the incident.”

Zix felt a small twinge of guilt. She had gotten King so she could have someone there for her when Wolfrik was off working at the hotel as security. So she didn’t do anything stupid she supposed… but that was just it. King lived for being chaotic and making choices others might question. And what scared her was that she knew that had been her before the whole of Lilypad stormed the castle. When she looked at King she saw a bit of her old self… “...I’m sorry… I’ve been busy with the kips and… Emera’s shop. You know you could have been helping out there too if you hadn’t knocked off an entire shop simply because you were bored and wanted to see what would happen when the potions mixed!” she huffed, shaking her head.

King chuckled, “It was interesting to see the carpet turn into a snake and then have to fight it off though… you have to admit it spiced up that quiet afternoon.” His tails swished and he would tilt his head at her, the blue eyes behind the mask almost piercing into her thoughts. Part of her sword he could read them. “But… you can’t even handle a little excitement these days. Why did I become your familiar so late…? I wish I could have seen that spark truly shine…”

It was hard to really understand what he meant. Sometimes Zix wondered how smart her familiar really was… She blinked slowly and sighed, looking down at him. “Sparks turn into flames… and flames can burn out of control sometimes. So it’s best to keep it from burning anyone…” she mumbled, shaking her head.

“Zix… The flames also light up the night… they keep people warm, alive and add interest in a world of darkness!” He would nudge her with his nose and then ask ever so softly, “You’ve beaten yourself down enough… haven’t you? Please… Just think of entering the familiar show, if not with your brother then just with me? I would like to shine and show off to the world… And I think you need to learn to shine again. Even just a little bit.”

His words surprised her. Wolfrik had tried many times to get her to forgive herself and just keep living and being better each day… And so had many of her friends. But she supposed she was the only one now keeping herself from just living again. She looked back out at the forest once more and was quiet for a moment. When she spoke it was soft, but King’s large ears could pick up her words just fine. “Maybe… Just a little bit.”

Her familiar leapt to his paws and grinned, the toothy smile taking up most of his masked face. “I’ll take a maybe over nothing! Besides, if we let that fluff brained lord go alone with the kids who knows… they might end up proper little lords and ladies and want to stay in the Kat Kingdom!” He snickered at the thought and would weave his way around her. Zix could have sworn he even had a smug expression on his face, most likely because he felt pride in the fact he had managed to sway her.

“Not on my watch…” she laughed, shaking her head and allowing herself a brief moment of levity. “I can’t imagine any child of mine becoming a proper lord and lady of anything… I think they may have just a bit too much chaos in their blood. And I want them to be free to live their lives the way they want.” She shook her head once more and started for the door.

“Wonderful, because life without a bit of surprise and chaos is simply boring!” Her familiar replied, his laughter following soon after.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. At least she could be sure that most everyone in her household would be happy with her tentative decision to participate in the familiar show after all.

“I don’t know Mel, maybe you could persuade her to go. I mean… you got her to go back to the playhouse that one time- even though it ended up a slight disaster she still went!” Zyfe had his phone to his ear and was tucked away in the room he shared with Hugo. He was still pretty set on convincing his sister that participating in the familiar show was a good thing and that she should join in the fun! But didn’t know how to go about it… even after all these months he never Zix really had yet to connect as siblings. Still… he admired her and loved her and wished he could have found her earlier on in her life so she didn’t have to go through as much hurt as she was now.

He had called Melanie to talk about his problems because she was the first person he usually thought to talk to about problems these days. Actually she was the first person he usually thought to talk about anything with these days. As much as he was loath to admit it- mainly because of complications and not wanting to ruin the good thing they had now- but he had a slight crush on the fiery scatterbrained dragon girl and sometimes he didn’t know what to do with those feelings. So he was just happy to stay friends and talk and goof around as they were now.

Her voice came from the phone and jolted from his thoughts, “You’re her brother mister cat lord. You gotta keep trying is all, I’m sure she’ll come around if she sees just how much it means to you!” There would be a brief pause before she added, “But if she gets cold feet call me. Ari won’t be the only cat in Lilypad getting kidnapped by a dragon and dragged back to the Kat Kingdom if it comes to that, haha!”

Zyfe chuckled along with her and rolled his eyes, and when he didn’t say anything for a while Melanie reminded him, “You know if you’re nodding or shaking your head or rolling your eyes I can’t see you remember?”

“Ah! Right. Well lady Melanie, I was rolling my eyes if you must know. And I have a huge smile on my face too!” He laughed tail curling happily. Even talking nonsense with his friend put him in better spirits.

“Indeed, I must.” Then a pause, “Guess what? I was nodding just now.” And both of them would break off laughing.

There was the sound of someone coming back inside and Zyfe’s ears twitched hopefully. “Oh! I have to go… my sister just came back in. I’ll let you know if she needs kidnapping or not.” He was reluctant to hang up but also felt like he needed to check on Zix.

“Aaaalright… keep me posted Zyfe! And for the record-“ she would chuckle, “I am waving goodbye.”

Zyfe actually snorted in an unlordly manner, “Melanie, I’ve had a phone long enough to know that no one tries waving goodbye when they end a call.”

“Well maybe I’m the first! You’ll never know because you can’t see me! Toodles!” And she would hang up first after laughing some more.

Still smiling he stared at the funny screensaver of him and Mel after she showed him how to take a selfie before pocketing it. Then he slipped off the bed and walked out of the room, ears perked. Sir Fredrick, who had been curled up in his fluffy dog bed, would immediately follow after. “Zix?” He asked hesitantly, looking around for her.

“Right here…” came her muffled reply from the puppy and kludde hug pile that he spotted in the center of the living room. “Sorry for walking out on you guys earlier… I just needed some space to think…”

Zyfe eyed the group hug and wondered if he had missed anything. Had his sister started crying? That seemed a little out of character… she was somber but hadn’t cried since he had gotten to know her. Her will wasn’t broken, just her spirits. “Are you… feeling better now?” He glanced between her, Wolfrik, the pups and the smug looking familiar Zix had. He never really got along with that particular familiar… and he felt like the feeling of dislike was mildly mutual. What kind of creature purposefully locks someone in a closet??

Zix wiggled out of the hug, both her kips now in her arms and cuddling close to each other. Stepping away, Wolfrik was grinning and holding Scrapp, his tail wagging. Before she could respond for herself however, Hugo would chime, “She’s going to do the familiar show!”

“I said I might consider doing the familiar show! I’m still a bit hesitant but-“ his sister began before she looked around at everyone and sighed, “Oh who am I kidding… yes. I’ll do the show… but I don’t know the first thing about this kind of thing. I’m out of my element!” She frowned and played with little Alessia’s tiny paw as she thought. The kip would curl her fingers around her momma’s hand and coo which got a small smile out of her. Slowly it seemed they would be able to bring that light back in Zix’s eyes and heart!

Zyfe was grinning ear to ear, “Don't worry about that my dear sister! While I haven’t been in a familiar show I have watched them extensively since they started airing here in Lilypad! And of course as royalty I know a thing or two on wowing an audience… all about putting on a good show~!” He winked, quite possibly reminding Zix annoyingly of a particularly chipper rabbit that liked putting on shows as well.

Turning on his toes he waved a paw in the air and started thinking of all the arrangements and plans, “For now we have to get the paperwork filled out! And of course the costumes, aaah! All the best shows had the most splendid costumes my dear sister! I’m thinking… swirls and stripes… oh! And of course we must all be on theme! It’s going to be simply wonderful!”

Now that they had him going he would be hard pressed to stop. Zix reached a paw out to touch his shoulder, “Okay… you lost me at theme… what exactly is that?”

“Well…” Zyfe began, trying to slow down for his sister’s sake, “each show is based around a theme! You get graded or extra points if your performance has something to do with the theme going on in it! And you’ll never guess what this theme is! Though of course most have to do with foods but… well Anyways, take a guess!”

Zix raised a brow at him and looked back at the rest of her family, “I’m clueless… anyone else want to guess?”

“Fruit?” Hugo threw out there, not entirely sure himself. But Zyfe was already wagging a finger no and shaking his head.

“Nope. The theme for this competition is Just Desserts. And I think I have an idea for a show stopper that will top off the whole thing! Now- to costumes! We got so much to prepare before we take to the stage! Haha and of course I also need to actually prepare said stage! I’m glad we’re not in this alone, right Sir Fredrick?” He beamed over at his familiar who hovered by his side as he headed to the door.

“Yes! I won’t leave your side!” The pudgy dragon loyally responded. His unwavering love for Zyfe always made him all the more endearing! And the cat would pull him into a hug… and then his sister and everyone he could reach into the hug.

“You guys are the best.” He murmured after a few surprised remarks at being pulled into another group hug for everyone, “I’m so glad to have a family again like you guys.”

He wouldn’t see his sisters face soften just a little but he did feel her hug him back as she sighed. “I’m glad you found us too Zyfe… I think I needed some of your light to learn to shine again…” she whispered.

Zyfe hoped that was true. And he hoped that she could really learn to do just that… shine again.

Characters: (For reference)

Zix - Cat Raider

King - Zix’s Three Tailed Fox-like familiar (demon/dragon)

Zyfe - Cat Witch

Sir Fredrick - Zyfe’s pudgy white dragon familiar

Wolfrik - Kludde (magical wild wolf creature w/ wings) [Belongs to TheLooneyCharboa ]

Hugo - Golden retriever pup raider, Zix’s adopted oldest son. [Belongs to TheLooneyCharboa ]

Scrapp - Werewolf pup, Zix’s second adopted son. [Belongs to TheLooneyCharboa ]

Farin - Wolfrik and Zix’s baby boy kludde/cat hybrid. [Belongs to TheLooneyCharboa ]

Alessia - Wolfrik and Zix’s baby girl kludde/cat hybrid.

Melanie - Dragon witch and Zyfe's best friend. [Belongs to Torrential-Fiberain ]

Emera - The dragon/lindworm that Zix works with and is friends with the siblings [Just mentioned but belongs to Funkchen-Sparky ]

Judges:

Meg - Samoyed with purple hair and yellow highlights.

Jace - brown with black markings Saluki dog with a white and blue Mohawk.

Thank you everyone who participated!

I loved seeing each entry, how you all portrayed such different characters and stories for this adopts background! I'll list each entry before I announced the winner at the end, but first off I want to give a special thank you to all participants by giving each of you 1 ticket to Zyfe's Travel Agency, so whether you won the adopt or not you still can have fun in the Kat Kingdom!

Entries

mrp1213 told an endearing tale of the Kat, Kiran. It spoke of loyalty to one's people and has the potential for many new characters to be introduced! From riding lizards to sweet bean mothers, I really enjoyed the perspective and the developed background you gave them! Your writing is always so charming! I also definitely wanted to go and give that king another punch, apparently he still hasn't learned to play nice!

double-anon created a beautiful drawing of the adopt character, visually showing how they became interested in Lilypad after seeing Zyfe and Emera's tour in the kingdom! I loved the tie in with other characters and the shading is so soft and warm! Beautiful work!

ArtistDetective has their whole reasoning figured out with how they need to keep an eye on the potentially dangerous villagers that come and go between the Kat Kingdom and Lilypad! The comic is charming and I love how the shield surfing/sledding behind the lizard mount was depicted! And the art style has such personality and squish I can't help but love them! The tie to Zyfe is always enjoyable as well and I can see lots of fun potential interactions in the future if this path was taken!

oORiddleOo is an excellent writer so I was excited to see an entry by them! And I definitely wasn't disappointed! The characters all have depth and their own personal conflicts and interests going on within the telling of Romulus's First Flame. I love how even though initially he really wanted to appear just fine without her but then- well I'll let others read this but I completely recommend it! And would love to see even more character development in the future between Romulus and his sweetheart.

Last but not least we have Shinobi-Kitty 's comic! I love the darker past that this character had, where they were hired on at first as an assassin only to find out that their employer was the one who hired them to start with and now since they proved themselves getting this far, they would be tasked to watch over his kittens! This shows connection/devotion that goes far back in the past and I love the inferred telling that even after all these years they're still devoted to keeping an eye out for the young lord and lady, even after the master passed away many years ago. The potential for lore development and character interaction is really interesting to me! I also enjoy how you draw cats~! It's super cute!

Adopt Winner

The decision was really hard and I mulled over who it should be for quite some time. In the end I decided I really loved the complexity of Shinobi-Kitty 's backstory and I'm also a sucker for lore that intertwines with my character's own stories! I'm excited to see how your character develops over the course of coming to lilypad!

Thanks again everyone! Feel free to link back to this post as your claim to your travel ticket! Keep an eye out for the next adopt come next anniversary! Till then, happy storytelling and art-making!