Christmas break was something Malice always enjoyed. From what she remembered from her time as a pup and mundane Siberian Husky in the Wesley household, it meant being close to Sarah and having someone to play with. Someone who would pet her and be friendly and happy with. After being uplifted, and learning about school and things like that, Malice also liked the Christmas break from Lyre High, WSA, and UNLV as a means to take a break from all the heavy schoolwork and be with what was her adoptive family. Sarah was her sister and Thomas and Julia Wesley as her parents. That was all great, and when Belle and Bash were born into the family, that made things even better. And for the moment, that latter part had Malice walking with her younger siblings along a sidewalk in Animalia, mostly looking to catch up with Simon.
"So... what's Sarah doing today? Christmas was a day or two ago... and it isn't New Years yet," Belle commented, noting that Sarah and Mary Alice, or as she preferred "Malice," often did many things together, and this often included dates. They would wait until Simon came to pick up Malice and Travis came to pick up Sarah.
"My guess is that she is with her bond-mate," Malice answered, "possibly giving some private gifts..."
"Like mommy and daddy at night?" Bash wondered.
"Like that, yes," Malice admitted, "after all, they all love each other."
"And you love Simon?" Bash asked wagging his tail as they walked along and periodically pausing to jump on some snowbanks on the sidewalk. It was a bit crusty and crackled under Bash's weight, though that was mostly because the pile was mostly there from earlier shoveling of the snow and tossing it onto the grass or ground where Bash was hopping up and down.
"Of course I do," Malice answered, "he's been so wonderful since we first me... and he looks dashing in uniform. And if he weren't on duty and we were meeting him for a lunch break, I might go over to his place and see what he'd like to do in private... but he is on duty, and this will be his lunch break. So, it'll be some family time."
"And that sounds great," came a new voice, making them turn to see a lone Gray Wolf Animalian leaning against the side of a Police Cruiser.
Malice found herself smiling and wagging her tail as she looked at Simon. He was older than Sarah, and had been a senior at Lyre High when they first met, and in being double dosed, he got some openings to attend the state's police academy which enabled him to get an added post as a patrol officer for the Animalia PD. He looked just like the Wolves that Malice and Sarah had met when they were first double dosed, and he did look dashing in his uniform with the police shield on his chest. Malice's excitement only increased, and it showed as she tapped her fingers on the basket she was carrying. It created a wooden clicking noise as Malice's claws tapped on the lid.
"Why don't we go sit and eat before you tap a hole in that basket," Simon gave a chuckle as he waived over to the picnic tables that were in the area.
There was a small dusting of snow in the park and the air temperature was a bit chilly, but that was also something that the group didn't mind. Grey Wolves could adapt well to winter conditions and the Siberian Husky as a breed was developed to deal with the cold. And Malice had long gotten surprised glances, even at UNLV, when she'd state that December and January provided good "shorts weather." It was one of those things where Humans almost seemed to forget her breed and things like that. It made for some fun and jokes, which the jokester in Malice was happy to play to. Though, for now, that wouldn't work, as Simon was on his lunch break and would have that much time to eat, and he had one walkie talkie hanging from one shoulder and the cord to the signal receiver and its battery going down to his belt.
The snow crackled a little as they walked across the park’s grounds as they approached the picnic bench. Belle and Bash were happy to climb up on the bench and then onto the table and onto the other bench, showing a great deal of energy and with wagging tails also showing happiness. Times out to Malice or Sarah, or both of them was often fun, and Malice likely figured this was the case of them thinking that she or Sarah would let them get into some other kind of mischief. Malice chuckled a little and began to brush the table off as they arrived.
“Come on, you two, mom wouldn’t let us hop on the table at home, now, would she?” Malice asked.
"Aw, no fun!" Bash declared with Belle nodding beside him, though the two did hop down to the ground and let Malice keep wiping snow off the table and benches.
Simon chuckled a bit that whole family dynamic. It was something he really missed out on, as he was eighteen when he became an Animalian, and while his mother became a Wolf Animalian, as well, and married one of the uplifted Wolves that was on the Animalia PD, her pup was born after he'd graduated from Lyre High and had been moving toward independence in the Nevada Police Academy. He knew his younger sibling, but he never got the opportunity that Sarah and Malice had to be there for Belle and Bash. It left a good part of his heart looking forward to the future, when maybe he and Malice could have that dynamic with their own pups.
"So... what did you bring for lunch?" Simon wondered as Malice set the basket in the center of the table.
"Some strips of jerky, some turkey legs, a bit of brisket, and a few treats," Malice answered noting Belle and Bash wag their tails at treats, "and to deal with the "chill," some plastic cups into which there is a big thermos of Hot Cocoa, made with Carob."
Simon licked his lips at that. One of the downsides at becoming an Animalian was that there were obvious dietary requirements. Now, Wolves and by extension, Dogs, were far more omnivorous than many other Predatory Animalians. The various Feline Animalians often reported that most if not all plant-based foods made them sick, and even Sophie had mentioned at times after she became a Pterodactylus Dinotopian that those things didn't set well with her anymore either. There, Simon counted himself fairly lucky that Wolves and Dogs could digest certain things like berries and the like, though things like Chocolate and artificial sugars were bad and potentially poisonous. But in recent years, as Animalia had grown, some companies and growers had found a substitute for chocolate that could be marketed to Animalians, using Carob. The result tasted a bit like chocolate, but didn't have the poisonous response in animals that actual chocolate did and Simon liked that very much.
The group of them sat down to eat with Belle sitting down next Malice and facing the area where both Malice and Simon had parked the cars they'd driven, while Bash sat down next to Simon. Malice quickly went about serving bits of the food and then delivering the beverages. The steam and scent of the drinks made Simon's mouth water a bit and they all settled down, and it felt like having a family meal, which while it may not have been Malice's choice for a date, it felt wonderful. The four of them ate quietly for a little while the scream of an engine and tires squealing on the concrete alerted Simon, making him turn around. He turned to see a black Honda pull up into the small Animalia park's parking lot, hitting one crusted patch of ice and spinning a little bit, though he also noted that the front tires were starting to turn , which indicated that he was trying to pull in.
"What's going on?!" Bash asked, tugging on Simon's arm.
"Bash, go on the other side of the table with your sisters and stay down," Simon spoke and slowly stood up and collected his walkie talkie piece and activated it as he walked toward the car, which had nearly hit the car that Malice had drove in, "this is Officer Simon Truman. I'm reporting a case of reckless driving."
"Shouldn't you be on lunch-break, Truman?" came the dispatch officer's response.
"I should be, but this guy just showed up at where I'd sat down to lunch," Simon answered, "I'd just sat down to lunch with Malice and her younger brother and sister, and this guy just pulled into the East Side Park in Animalia like he'd been doing fifty miles an hour..."
"Civilians? Are they..." the dispatch officer asked.
"They're fine, the guy didn't hit anyone, but the driving was reckless," Simon continued.
"We'll be sending backup," the dispatch officer spoke, "describe the vehicle."
"It appears to be a black Honda Civic Si, I'm not sure on the year," Simon answered, "the license plate is 87Y66E."
Simon heard a bit of a silence for a moment as he approached. He could see the driver, who didn't appear to be doing much more than twiddle something. He was a bit nervous, as while Lyre and Animalia hadn't had much in the way of real crime since Animalia came about, with the worst offenses being alcohol and traffic related violations, that didn't mean that other things were impossible. And the plate, while it was marked as a Nevada plate, didn't look to be local to the Lyre/Animalia area, which mean this driver was from out of town and he couldn't fully predict what would happen. For all he knew this guy was some anti-Animalian nut that had finally taken things to the point of murder... and he didn't want to get shot, but he also couldn't give the guy an easy shot at Malice or her siblings. He loved them too much. After a few moments, the dispatch officer got back to him.
"That car's license plate has been reported as stolen in Reno," the dispatch officer spoke, "backup will be advised to help in searching the car and making sure it can be moved to our impound lot until Reno PD can be contacted."
"Okay," Simon began, as he got close to the car. As he did so, the driver got out quickly and raised his hands, as if surrendering and rushed up to Simon.
"You gotta help me, these guys robbed a jewelry store and had this car parked outside it... and, I couldn't let them get the jewels, so I came here!" the man said quickly, not realizing that Simon's walkie talkie was still in the "talk" mode.
"Uh... things just got weird," was all Simon could report and hoped his backup would be there soon.