"Mommy? Do we have any Lucky Charms?" Jamie looked over his shoulder whilst rummaging through the cupboards.
The young mouse was wearing a green t-shirt with a big, yellow star on its front which was obscured by the pair of denim overalls he was wearing above it.
"What d'ya need Lucky Charm for, sweetie? Breakfast was over two hours ago." Ana looked down at him, only diverting her attention from the meal she was preparing for a split-second. The kangaroo had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, which was an unusual sight for her. Normally she wore it in a braid. "If ya want a snack how about a banana instead?"
Jamie quickly shook his head and took a step back as his rummaging caused a few plates to move a little, scaring him so much he fall backwards, landing on his bottom, his diaper crinkling underneath his overalls. "You alright down there, sweetie?"
Ana gave him a quick look, flashing him her trademark motherly smile. She knew he couldn't have hurt himself, or else he would have started crying already. With some effort Jamie climbed onto his feet again and nodded. "Jup!"
Then he started rummaging again.
"What d'ya want the cereal for, hm?" Ana was curious now. She had put away her utensils and looked down at the cub. "For my new friend! I saw him while playing outside! He's a Leopardchaun!"
"A... Leprechaun?" Ana scratched her head, but opened one of the hanging cupboards above the stove and reached inside, pulling a box of Cereal out of it. "Jamie, you know we're not in ireland, right? I don't wanna spoil your fun, but I think..."
"No, Mommy: A Leopardchaun! He's like a Leprechaun, but he's also a Leopard!"
Ana chuckled quietly, holding the box out to the mouse. "Sure, sweetie. I'm afraid we're outta Lucky Charms. D'you think he'll like Marshmellow Mateys too?"
Jamie pulled his torso out of the cupboard and looked at the offered box, giving it a critical look. "I think he only wants Lucky Charms." he said quietly, his arms behind his back as he gave his Mommy his best puppy eyes.
She put her hands on her hips and raised a brow. "Ain't that a tad racist?"
"Ummmm..."
Jamie didn't really know what that meant, so he quickly grabbed the box and clutched it to his chest. "Thanks, Mommy!"
And off he dashed.
Ana rolled her eyes for a moment and giggled as she looked after the cub darting off towards the backyard.
Then she gasped softly as she felt a pair of hands on her hips and a beak gently nibbling her ear.
"Lunch smells great, hun~"
She'd never understand how her husband could be so sneaky with those hooves of his.
"Katie!" Jamie looked at the old shed's front door, the cereal still clutched to his chest. His ears twitched as the mechanical noises from inside the shed stopped a few seconds later, except for a faint buzzing sound.
Then the doorknob turned, making his ears twitch again. That thing needed oil. The door hinges too.
"Morning, pipsqueak!" Katie gave him a toothy grin. The german shepherd wore a pair of denim jeans and a black Rammstein bandshirt as well as a pair of combat boots.
"I'm working on something right now."
Jamie could tell. It smelled like oil and blown fuses. Also like wet fur.
"I'd invite you in, but I don't think that's a good idea right now. What do you want?"
"Can you help me build something?" He held the box of cereal out to her.
"Well, I'm kinda busy right now, you see..."
"What're you making?" Jamie tried looking past her, but she quickly blocked his view.
"You know Mom said you're not allowed in here, right?" Katie began blushing a little, as a weird, garbled moan came out of the shed.
"But you always say it's okay if I come in as long as I don't tell Mommy!"
"Yeah, it's different this time, you see... I'm building... a... dragon?"
"Cooooool..."
"Yeah and he's really dangerous, sooo..." She bent over and took the box from him.
"What do you want anyways? Want me to make you a helmet out of this?" She shook the box, surprised that it wasn't empty.
Jamie quickly shook his head. "No, I want to build a Leopardchaun trap and that's the bait! I want him to become my friend."
Katie raised a brow. "Uh... huh... Okay, Leprachaun trap. So, like a box held up by a stick and a bowl of cereal as bait. I think I can do that."
Jamie nodded in awe. That was some super clever design.
Katie flinched as she heard that moan again and quickly looked over her shoulder. "Shut up, Lauren!" Then she quickly closed the door behind her.
"The dragon's name is Lauren?"
"... Yes?"
"Coooooool."
"Okay, that should do it." Katie eyed the contraption she had set up. An old cardboard box propped up on a stick, that had a long piece of string attached to it with a bowl of dry cereal positioned underneath the box.
Jamie was still asonished by the incredibly clever trap design. Right now he was squatting behind Ana's petunias, holding a piece of string in his hands. When he'd pull on it the stick would be pulled out from underneath the box, making the cardboard fall. Ingenious.
Katie smiled at him and petted his head, ruffling his hair a little. "There you go. Have fun and be careful, okay? And don't eat the cereal yourself, or Mom'll get really mad."
Jamie nodded wildly, his big ears flopping back and forth. "Yeah! They're fr the Leoprdchaun, not for me!"
"Well, have fun then. I'll see you at lunch."
"You're going?"
"Yeah, I still got a bun- uh drago in my shed, remember?" With a chuckle she turned around.
"Tell him I said hi!"
"Will do!" She called back to him over her shouldr with a smile.
After what felt like an eternity later Jamie's legs slowly began to hurt. He had been hiding behind the flowers as stealthily as possible the entire time, only shifting his position a tiny little bit every now and then. So far no Leopardchauns had shown up. And it was getting awfully late! He had been waiting for at least ten minutes by now. Maybe even fifteen! An eternity!
"So, what are you doing here, Jamie?"
The litle moiseboy screamed and fell onto his diapered butt. Terrified he looked behind himself trying to find out who had spoken there only to find his uncle Reinhardt squatting behind him.
The hippogriff chuckled and grabbed his sides, pulling him onto his feet again. "Just me, no need to worry."
To Jamie it was a mystery how someone so big could be so sneaky. His uncle was almost three times as tall as him and weighed at least a ton! And he had hooves! How could he be so sneaky? Even Jamie made more sound when sneaking and he really tried his best to be quiet!
"I-I... ummmm..."
"Trying to catch a marten?" Reinhardt lifted an eyebrow as he looked at the trap and then back at Jamie.
"A what?"
"A Leopardchaun! Like a Leprechaun, but also a leopard! He's small and spotty and has a green suit and a fun looking hat and..."
"Alright, I got it... That's a good looking trap you got there." Reinhardt smirked and tried to stand back up again, but Jamie got a quick hold of his wrist.
"No! If you get up he'l see you! You hafta hide behind the flowers!"
Reinhardt raised his eyebrow again, but stayed quiet. Even squatting he was five feet tall, not counting his antlers. The flowers were about ten inches. Even Jamie was very much visible behind them.
"I saw him earlier today in the neighbours yard!" He pointed at the house next door.
They lived ina rural town with about 5000 inhabitants, so the properties were nice and big, but also very expensive. That resulted in houses staying vacant several months between being moved out of and having new tennants. The house Jamie was referring to had just been bought by a new family who were moving in today.
Not listening to Jamie's complaints Reinhardt stood up again and looked over the fence into the neighbour's yard.
Mister and Misses O'Gallahad were both sitting on the deck, drinking lemonade, with their son Brian playing with what looked like a transformers toy. He was wearing a green suit.
"Jamie, I don't wanna spoil your fun, but I think that's the new neighbour's son you saw."
He looked down again. The mouse looked like someone had just told him the meaning of live. Mouth agape, eyes wide open, ears twitching ever sos lightly.
Half an hour later he held on to Ana's hand, as she lead him over to the neighbour's house, holding a small basket with bread and salt in it in his free hand.
Ana knocked and small-talk ensued until Jamie was pushed forward and handed Misses O'Gallahad the basket, which of course ended in them being invited for tea.
That's when Jamiesaw the Leopardchaun again... Well, Brian.
"Is that him?" Ana whispered to him with a smile. Jamie just nodded.
"Well, why don't you go play, huh?"
Jamie slid off Ana's lap and took a few hesitant steps towards the feline.
"Hi... I'm Jamie..."
"Hi there! I'm Brian!" He waed at the mouse. His father gave him a reassuring nod. It lookedlike they just had a similar talk.
"Wanna play with my LEGOs?"
"Oh wow, you got LEGOs?"
Brian nodded with a cheeky grin. "A whole box!"
"Coooooool..."