Dreaming of a Family Christmas

Dorcas happily stole Ariel away upstairs, giving her cheek a little eskimo kiss as they went, grinning like a fool while Ariel had her fist in her mouth. Genius and this kid did not really go hand in hand in Dorcas' opinion but then what did she know of babies? Was she supposed to be walking by now? Dorcas wasn't sure, but she was getting a hell of a lot better at supporting her own head so that was good. She could almost stay sat up alone without toppling over. Of course she did topple and Dorcas always had cushions and pillows around her as well as staying right by her side, but she'd dare not let Dorian see her do that with the little monkey, he'd probably have some form of heart attack and ban her from seeing Ariel ever again. Ha! She'd like to see him try. Ariel, while only a baby, was a lot cooler and more tolerable than most people and Dorcas loved the little blob monster, even if she had done a decent amount of poo-explosions in her short time on this planet. Four months old and already giving people a reason to remember her name. The kid was pretty epic.

Walking down the hall, chatting away about Christmas and what they were going to do in a bit to Ariel Dorcas walked the hallway to her room at her parents house and opened up the door. It was always kept perfect by her mother and Dorcas suspected the bed sheets were changed weekly, even though they were never used. Dorcas had no idea how often the bedsheets in her spare room were changed because she never did them. She didn't see the point if they weren't going to be used, but she had a feeling her mother changed them every now and then and possibly Rodolphus' house elf too whenever he was about the place cleaning up and making the place shine. "Okay," She said, closing the door behind them, "I need your help." She told the little four month old child that probably only understood about three words of the entire English language in the first place. "You're responsible for making me look good today," She said, opening the wardrobe and then pulling off completely Ariel's little coat, tossing it on to the bed. "So what do you think?" She asked, holding the baby up to face level and looking at her big blue eyes before turning her head to the wardrobe of clothes, "I know," She continued and then looked back to Ariel, "It's mostly dresses - ugh - but I bet your taste is better than Daddy-Dor's who I suspect would see everyone in some kind of suit."

Stepping towards the wardrobe more Dorcas rested Ariel against the side of her chest, arm creating a cradled seat for her so she faced out towards the clothes. Over the last couple of months Dorcas had found handling Ariel a hell of a lot easier. When she'd been a tiny, new little human Dorcas had been petrified of breaking her but the confidence built up, especially once she had more control of her head and people stopped nagging to support the baby's head. As if she didn't at least know that much about babies. "Just throw up on anything you don't like and I'll wear whatever's clean when your done." She said, keeping a bit of humour between the two of them. Back when she was a tiny little babe, smaller than now, every time Dorcas had held her she'd thrown up. It was gross. The kid could really chuck and the smell of the stale milk just churned Dorcas' stomach, but she'd learnt to hold her drink now which gave Dorcas hopes she'd do well when it came to alcohol. Not that she'd voiced that opinion to anyone. "Or we'll just do this." Dorcas picked out a couple of dresses, moving them to the middle of the rail. She grabbed a couple more and moved them to the middle with the other two too. "Okay," She said, sliding her free hand in under the sleeves of the four dresses she'd be at least a little comfortable wearing today. "Pick away." She held the sleeves out to Ariel who seemed completely disinterested. Dorcas was disappointed. Babies were not smart, or at least this one wasn't. "Just one, that's all you gotta do." She urged, looking down at Ariel who was just content being held.

It didn't take long, although it felt like forever to Dorcas, but Ariel's drool covered hand reached out and grabbed a green sleeve. Looking at the sleeve now Dorcas was not going to wear that dress. She pulled the dress out of the wardrobe and threw it on the bed where her mum would probably wash it at a later date for her, not that she was in any rush, she barely ever wore anything she had kept here but that dress now had baby drool all over it and Dorcas had no idea how to clean that off properly without a full wash. "Let's go with the one next to it then." Dorcas pulled out the purple dress and threw that down on her bed across the pillows. She shut the wardrobe up and turned about, stepping towards the bed and laying Ariel down. "Okay, lets see what daddy-Dor dressed you in." She straightened out her little outfit, "Acceptable I guess, but you'd look better in green." She gave the little baby a wink then got herself dressed. Ariel seemed easily amused by gnawing on her own hands and Dorcas was dressed the fastest she'd ever dressed herself before, ready to pick ariel up for more cuddles. "Time for the best part." She grinned, picking Ariel up off the bed and moving to the chest at the end of the bed. "Now people will tell you in life that money can't buy happiness, and they're right, however the next best thing is definitely shoes." She told the four month old who hadn't a single care in the world right now. "Now shoe selection is slim." She said, pulling out a couple of pairs. "What do you think, gold or ivory?" Ariel didn't choose but Dorcas followed her gaze and it was close enough to the ivory shoes so she threw those up on the bed and dumped the gold ones back in the chest, shutting it back up again.

"Accessories." She told Ariel, "Well there's not a whole lot of choice there either." She said, sitting down on the edge of her bed and pulling open her bedside draw. She opened a little box that was sat in there and pulled out a bracelet, necklace and watch. Usually they weren't in there but she'd brought them with her incase they'd look better with whatever she decided to wear than the silver she usually favoured. "Now some boys are total stupid stink-butts and buy you these stupid tiny rocks that - for some reason - cost an absolute fortune." She said showing Ariel the bracelet. The baby looked at it and reached for it, giving Dorcas good reason to chuckle. She had expensive taste apparently. Dorian was going to be needed a promotion to keep this girl happy. "Okay, you-" Dorcas looked to the bedroom door as she heard her mum calling up. Ariel had partial hold of the diamond bracelet and Dorcas stood, making her way to the door, opening it up, "Nope." She called back down, more than capable of handling Ariel alone, and proceeded to shut the door. Ariel was very much getting in to the bracelet when Dorcas looked down. She'd pulled it towards her and she was trying to suck or gnaw on the thing, "Ahh that's a no-no, baby. Daddy-Dor will kill me if you literally start shitting diamonds - I mean pooping! Pooping diamonds." She got the bracelet off of Ariel without any fuss and laid the baby on her belly on the bed. "Try and crawl." She encouraged, sitting next to Ariel and putting on her jewellery. "Not today?" She questioned Ariel once she was done with the shiny stuff, "Just as well, being self-sufficient can be a little overrated at times. Milk this baby lark while you can, sweetness." Dorcas ran her hand over the top of Ariel's head and adjusted her bow. Next were the shoes and she supposed she might even check Ariels nappy in a second to make sure she was all dry. The cutest little blob in the world was just so easy and content with life it was kind of refreshing. The baby was definitely better company than most other people in the world, that was for sure.

Tag: Julian Astraeus Blackthorne and Dorian Michael Humbert and André Daniel Meadowes and Emily Jane Meadowes and Geralina Amara Drake
Words: 1,458
Notes: <3
Outfit: Not as sexy as the jammies

Christmas was one of André's favourite times of year, to have the family under one roof was just wonderful. Of course it was like this most weekends considering there weren't all that many in the family but when it was Christmas there just seemed to be something special and extra magical about the occasion. The food, the atmosphere, the cold weather and the roaring fire. The decorations and continuing traditions. It was wonderful to André, he and Emily were so family orientated that to get everyone together, even if they weren't blood related, was such a fulfilling feeling. They were of course missing some loved ones, Paris wouldn't be with them this year but they would have the pleasure of Geralina's company and he and Emily thought the absolute world of Geralina. Tersha was spending this Christmas with her own parents but the Meadowes' were playing host to young Julian here who seemed absolutely delightful. It would have been more wonderful to have had River and Bert with them but life was full of evil, heartbreaking bludgers that stole good people from their lives all too soon.

"Yes, yes," he said with a beaming smile, positively delightful, "I'm absolutely wonderful. It's an absolute pleasure to be meeting you." He'd heard a little about Julian through his chats with River and a little through Emily from her brief encounter with him. Dorcas hadn't mentioned anything of him but she wasn't always the chatty type so whether or not she'd met Julian before André wasn't certain. "I am, Chef André at your service." He chuckled, "Though I should be returning to the kitchen. Can't be go ruining lunch on a day like today!" He offered a smile and small nod of his head before he left the living room, passing by Emily and giving her a peck on the cheek. Lunch was going splendidly and it wouldn't be long until he was serving the food in serving dishes for his friends and family to help themselves to. He'd cooked more than enough for everyone that they'd invited and they always invited a lot of people, they'd had many people come and go from their lives but the good ones, the loving ones were always invited back in at any time.

Tag: Dorian Michael Humbert and Julian Astraeus Blackthorne and Emily Jane Meadowes and Dorcas Amilie Meadowes and Geralina Amara Drake and @jesse if you'd like!
Words: 379
Notes: <3 No real posting order
Outfit: Have a very snazzy Christmas!

Dorcas had Ariel laying in the middle of the queen sized bed on her belly. It was probably about time to head downstairs and interact with others and Dorcas supposed it wouldn't be so bad. She'd have Ariel to keep her company for a while and provided she didn't poop, she'd keep hold of the girl for as long as possible. As soon as she pooped Ariel would be handed off to someone more experienced in handling the rear end of an infant, Dorcas disliked the smell and, quit frankly, the sight. She'd seen some grizzly situations in her life time, she'd seen decapitations, impalements, disembowelments but nothing compared to the site and smell of what that small kid could push out of her arse. Yet another reason Dorcas would never have kids, they were just straight up disgusting, and as she got older she was only going to get in to more messes. Hell, when she was mobile she was going to be shitting herself, pissing herself and throwing food and drink everywhere. It would basically be dealing with Tersha on her 21st birthday every day. Dorcas knew for certain she couldn't handle that kind of crazy no matter how cute the kid.

She slipped her heels on and tickled Ariel's back as she took an interest in what Dorcas was doing, pushing her upper body and twisting to the point that she rolled over on the soft mattress. For a second she looked stunned but it didn't last long, the little warrior found her feet and tried grabbing at them, her chunky little thighs not holding her back in the slightest. She was precious and Dorcas knew she'd do just about anything for the little chubster that was attempting to gnaw on her foot. "Yeah, none of that," she said to the child that was paying her absolutely sod all attention, "Daddy-Dor won't be happy if you cough up some kind of cotton ball." She took hold of Ariel and stood up, ready to face whoever was downstairs. She was fairly certain Geralina wasn't there yet or her mum would have called up and apart from that Dorcas wasn't sure there was going to be anyone else joining them, apart from Dorian's brother or whatever he was, she supposed Ariel's uncle technically, but how much did the guy even know about Dorian or Ariel? Dorcas was a bit sceptical of the bloke. None of them had ever met him until after River had died, were they sure they had the right bloke?

Dorcas left her bedroom with Ariel, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her, not bothering to close it because she just simply wasn't in the habit of it any more. When she'd lived with her parents she'd even gone so far as to learn a few locking charms to keep unwanted people out, looking back now she knew they were simple little charms that could be unlocked with a simple alohamora or some other kind of flimsy unlocking spell. The spells on her home these days would take a hell of a lot more to get through than a little wave of a wand. "When you're old enough to eat you'll be able to appreciate poppy-Dré's roasts, until then I'm sure daddy-Dor's got a bottle for you and some toys to scrunch." She told Ariel as they walked the hallway and stairs, Ariel jamming her fist into her mouth like it was the most delicious thing on the planet. A roast would taste a damn sight better than human flesh ... probably. "Come on," She said, hearing a scuttling heading off in the direction of the kitchen as she hoisted Ariel up a little more, figuring her mother had been listening out for her and run off to the kitchen before Dorcas could catch her in the act. Dorcas had no clue why her mother was listening out for her, perhaps she worried she was going to drop Ariel or something, but Dorcas felt she was at least moderately capable of looking after the little stinker.

Taking the last step Dorcas looked towards the kitchen, she could see to the dining area and half expected to see her mums head pop out from around the corner but it didn't, Em was keeping to herself. Dorcas listened as she walked to the front room, hearing Dorian talk to someone. As she entered the room she took in the sight of the two men, their body language and the tone of Dorian's words as he finished talking. Her eyes drifted over the stranger she'd yet to meet and her mother's voice sounded in her mind, reminding her to be polite. She smiled, putting on that sweet, trusting smile she'd become an expert in, of course those that knew her knew she never smiled like that unless she was putting on a show for whatever reason, but this was a reason to put in a show, "Hi, Merry Christmas," She said, then turned her head to Ariel, "Wanna coo a little 'Merry Christmas'?" She asked, knowing full well that Ariel was far more interested in her fist than anything else but her big blue eyes were definitely looking in Julians direction, whether it was because of him or the shiny decorations that happened to be behind him Dorcas didn't know, nor did she really care much at the moment.

Tag: Julian Astraeus Blackthorne and Dorian Michael Humbert and Emily Jane Meadowes and André Daniel Meadowes and Geralina Amara Drake
Words: 900
Notes: <3
Outfit: Not as sexy as the jammies

Em skidaddled into the dining room and André looked up from where he was crouched, peering through the oven door, looking to see if everything was ready. There was a lot of food in that oven, even if it didn't seem like it could hold a whole lot. Magic came in extremely handy like that! Wigging his brows at Em he stood up from his crouched position and turned the oven down low, making his way over to his wife he ditched the tea towel he'd been holding, leaving it to rest on the kitchen counter. He heard footsteps coming down stairs and he wrapped his arms about Em's waist, knowing she'd been listening in on Dorcas and just what she was up to. Em was a little snoopy like that and André loved it, he loved her with every fibre of his being and it came as no surprise to him that she wanted to know just exactly what Dorcas was up to, after all their daughter had never been the maternal sort yet she cooed over the little girl she liked to hog from time to time.

Dorcas was very much like Emily in a lot of ways but that maternal need that Emily had and craved was not one of them. He and Em could have been happy with a large family, they'd wanted and tried for so many children. They'd suffered so many losses but Dorcas was their one and only living born child. Em always hoped that someday they'd have grandchildren, only ever really thinking they could have grandchildren through Dorcas, neither of them had ever expected to have a surrogate grandchild. It was a tragic circumstance in which they'd come to care for Ariel so often and one they'd never be able to forget. Burt and River had been such loving and kind people and André knew they would have been the most incredible parents in the world to their daughter. He hoped that somewhere they both knew that their daughter, while without her parents, was still loved and cherished by all those in her life. She even seemed to have softened up Dorcas which was something they'd never have expected although it did give Emily hope of more grandchildren. Truth be told André found himself with a little hope too.

"I'm just going to start carving now, mon trésor." He pecked her on the side of the cheek and then released her from his embrace. He took a step back, spinning about in a half turn as he went. The roast meats were already out and resting, the vegetables were done and staying hot in the oven. He waved his wand again and again, taking control of his kitchen as meats were sliced to perfection and the vegetables made their way out of the oven. Everything was flowing perfectly as the serving dishes hovered over the counter and André arranged the meat and vegetables. Happy in his own little world of meat and veg he wasn't paying attention to anyone else coming or going from the dining room, nor what Em was up to, he just focused himself fully on his meal, hoping his guests would enjoy themselves and the food, leaving here later with a full and happy tums. This was a strange first Christmas for all of them and he hoped with all the faith that he had that everyone would be too happy to mourn, just reminisce with fond memories of their loved ones. It was going to be a difficult day.

Tag: Dorian Michael Humbert and Julian Astraeus Blackthorne and Emily Jane Meadowes and Dorcas Amilie Meadowes and Geralina Amara Drake!
Words: 593
Notes: <3 No real posting order
Outfit: Have a very snazzy Christmas!