The Treehouse by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
The weather was warming, the sun was rising, and a new day had just begun. Young Theolyn rose out of bed with groggy sleep-encrusted eyes. It had been the first time he?d slept in the past his usual alarm for what seemed like ages. Of course, things weren?t nearly so drastic. But to a young mouse cub at 12 there were far too many responsibilities when it came to school and not enough free time.
Theo was your typical mouse boy who loved the outdoors. The thrill of adventure that came from exploration and finding something new was all too enticing to him. The ever-lasting potential of finding that awe-inspiring object that tantalized his young mind. Of course, with his lack of experience and world view that came about more often than one might think. Still, he kept up that knack for the unknown even if what he might find wasn?t always so exciting.
It was the first day of spring vacation. A small collection of days, a week to be exact, where the cubs and local schools were released. Some of them had small projects but many of them were left to their design. Theolyn hadn?t been assigned anything other than a small book to read. The cub had no intention of reading the novella, convincing himself that a summary would suffice. Instead, his mind had focused on a personal project one that had been calling to him for eons.
In the back of his home was a large oak tree. The overgrown foliage and trunk were thick with branches. Its large canopy of leaves left very little to the eye. However, despite its blanketed facade, the thing had a bare spot in the middle. One that had never quite filled out and formed a place where Theolyn and even his father had taken refuge during his youth. His father had suggested quite a few times to build a tree house and now he was finally doing it.
The mouse boy hopped out of bed with a spring to his step. Skipping down the hallway of his small home to the front room. He could hear his parents watching the news and was certain they were home. Looking over the couch he saw his mother was there but his father was nowhere to be seen.
"Morning, Mom. Where?s Dad?" The rodent boy looked behind him and into the kitchen.
His mother chimed back at him. "He?s outside. He told me what you two were working on. Were you planning on still inviting your friend over?"
"Yeah, she?s coming over at 9:30. Thanks for letting me know." The mouse cub padded behind her and into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.
Theolyn stepped into the kitchen. The feeling of the cool tiles on his paws sent a slight shiver through his young body. On the table in front of him, there was a small tray of fruit and Danish. His father was something of a baker who took great pride in making small confections. He picked at one of them, nibbling on it as he didn?t know what flavor it was. The thing was sweet with a slight aftertaste of bitterness to it.
Still, it was flavorful and he helped himself to a few of them before partaking in an apple. Theolyn munched on it as he padded his way back down the hall. He soon heard his mother calling to him again.
"Honey, your dad is waiting. Go get dressed and go outside." The older mouse called to him from down the hall.
The mouse cub shouted back. "Okay, mom."
The boy made his way to his room and went about dressing into the first thing he could find. A simple short-sleeved purple T-shirt with some jeans. He slid on some ringed socks before doing the same with his shoes. Moving from his bed, Theolyn skipped back down the ball. His mother peered her head over at him and chuckled as the boy continued past her. Making his way outside towards the front
Outside the bright sun above shone down through a light obstruction in the clouds. It was warm out that day but not overwhelmingly so. He made his way back to the rear side of the home where their fenced-in yard was. His father was there near the overgrown oak tree. Its canopy of branches provided some shade to the lawn below. On a small blanket, the man was preparing the tools needed for the task at hand.
"Come on, lazy butt. You?re late. I told you to set your alarm." The boy?s father waved him over.
The mouse?s father had gathered up a sizable stack of lumber. Each of them had been pre-cut into different sizes. A small ladder led up to the tree to where the spot was mostly barren and prime for their plan. The goal for today was simple, to at least get the walls up and stable so that they might have a framework to work on the following day. So far the tree house only had a floor, a rather simple platform of wood nailed into the various branches that sprouted from the base of the trunk.
Theolyn approached his father, who offered up a small plank of wood for him to hold. The mouse boy grabbed it and made his way over to the ladder. Holding the ladder, the cub?s father made sure it didn?t shift. At the base of all the interlinking branches, they had fashioned a net. Should any of them fall it would serve to catch them and save the unfortunate victim from a swift descent.
The mouse cub positioned himself on one of the corners, anchoring his back against one of the branches that rose upward behind him. His father remained on the mid part of the ladder, beginning to hammer some nails into the side of the plank of wood. After a few slams of the tool, the thing was sturdy and they released it. Both of them returned down the ladder to collect the next piece of wood and do the same thing.
Theolyn followed his father as he stepped back away from the tree to look at the piece of wood that had been nailed to it. It seemed straight enough that he didn?t spend much time looking at it. Returning to the pile to pick up another plank of wood to repeat the same process. Each time they took the next board up the ladder to the makeshift frame of the tree house. It was a slow and steady process but they were making progress.
About an hour passed and they had put up enough boards that one of the walls was up. Out in front of the mouse?s home, there was a knock at the door The mouse?s mother stopped what she was doing to answer it, finding the young girl holding her bike. The older woman took it from her and let her know that her friend as well as the boy?s father were in the back waiting for her. Of course, she had been there before so she didn?t need to be shown the way.
The young chipmunk girl nodded at her before handing off the bike to the boy?s mother. She quickly trotted off, making her way into the yard already grinning widely. The thought of building the tree house was already filling her mind with possibilities. She?d been looking forward to it for weeks. Wanting nothing more than to have their private place where they could hang out away from the watchful eye of her parents.
Theolyn was just coming down the ladder from putting up another piece of wood. His father was remaining up in the tree as he wanted to re-secure the wobbly board. The mouse cub saw his best friend running on the side of the house. The familiar sight of her well-worn overalls, short-sleeved t-shirt, and the trademark little bow tie in her blonde fluffy hair made it all too obvious who it was. Quickly he went over to greet the girl.
The two of them hugged for a moment before releasing each other. There was no romantic intention behind the show of affection as the two had been close since they first started grade school. Leonie was just a tad bit shorter than her friend and the girl was one might consider a tomboy. She much preferred hanging out with boys, spending time while doing things like playing in the mud and roughhousing. Just like Theolyn she also had an interest in tinkering with technical things and wasn?t shy about getting her paws dirty in the process.
"Hey, Leo! Thanks for coming to help." Theolyn said while brushing himself off of some leaves and residue of bark that had stuck to him.
The smaller girl nodded with a toothy grin. "Sure, I wouldn?t miss it. I wanna finish the tree house so we can hang out inside of it."
Theolyn?s father made his way down the ladder holding one of his fingers.
"I?ll be back in a bit cubbies. Go play for a while. I?m going to get patched up inside. Let?s take an hour break." The man said as he had hit himself with the hammer by mistake.
The mouse boy couldn?t help but ask. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I?ll be fine. Just going to get some aspirin." The man continued past them back towards the front of the house.
It wasn?t the first time Theolyn had seen his father hurt himself but still was a bit worried about it.
"Come on, let?s play in the stream over in the woods." The chipmunk suggested as she wasn?t one for just standing around and doing nothing.
Theolyn nodded and let the problem slip from his mind. After all, in his young mind, his father was a strong strapping man who could overcome any injury. The two of them made their way through a gated door in the fence. It led towards a wooded area that was thick with foliage. Large trees of various species sprawled through the area. Birds could be heard whistling and tweeting all around them. The canopies of branches above obstructed much of the light from penetrating below.
Entering into the woods, they continued down a dirt path that had been carved through the area so people could find the hiking areas. Theolyn?s family lived in a place where trekking dirt paths was something of the norm, be it by bike or foot. Occasionally the two rodent cubs would find themselves passed up by another traveler who pedaled down the same dirt road they were using. It wasn?t long before they heard the familiar sound of the stream.
They arrived at the small body of water before long. It wasn?t super deep as it was shallow enough to see the bottom of it. It was a clear river with a few schools of fish scattered through it. Theolyn looked to his side and saw that his friend was taking her shoes and
socks off.
"Come on, let?s go run through the water." She said with a happy smirk on her face as if she had some clandestine plan in mind.
Theolyn knelt and took off his shoes as well. Standing back up, he felt the sensation of the somewhat soggy soil against his feet. The water-logged dirt pushed through his furry toes as he stood there. Before long the chipmunk girl rushed forward into the stream, and the water came up to her midsection. Leonie seemed unconcerned that she was getting her clothing wet. The denim jeans overalls she wore drooped a bit from the weight of the water holding them down.
The mouse cub soon followed her in. The water was chilly but not overwhelmingly cold. The push of the water against his body was constant but it didn?t create much of a strain against his body. The smaller girl turned around, facing him before pushing a single wave of water towards the boy. The wave wasn?t quite strong enough to reach his face but still caused his body to shiver a bit as the flow of air sent a chill down his form.
The mouse pushed back water towards her. His wave did not quite reach her before he stepped in to do it again. Since he was downstream instead of up, he was finding it harder to get any sort of reverse motion going against his friend. The chipmunk giggled at him as she pushed another wave of water at him. This time she made sure it was strong enough to reach his face as the other cub closed his eyes just in the nick of time.
Theolyn lept forward in the river, swimming towards her before trying to take her down. The girl easily gave in to wanting to tussle with him. The two went into rampaging rippling motion as the muddy water bubbled and ruptured around them. Leonie was all too willing to give him a run for his pride. She was just as strong as he was and was no pushover when it came to roughhousing. Round and round their bodies went in a spiral as they were carried back towards the shoreline.
Before long they were rolling into the muddy soil mixed with sand. The fabric of their clothes did very little for their bodies rubbing against it. Continuing to curl around with neither gaining the upper hand. It wasn?t until the boy?s side hit against the rock that he whined a bit.
"Give up and say uncle and I?ll let you go." The smaller girl said with a big smirk on her face.
Theolyn struggled a bit and wriggled beneath her. "Fine...uncle."
The chipmunk got up and helped her friend by offering a paw to him. Theolyn took advantage and quickly reversed the roles to get even with her. Now he was on top, seemingly in control.
"No fair..." She said with a pouting look on her face.
The mouse chuckled at her before helping her up. He felt a bit better now about having lost to a girl. After all, in his mind, he had won round two. Even if it was with a bit of underhanded tactics. Both of them were now caked in dirt and grime. The girl?s fur was littered with it and the somewhat darker shade of her overalls was now slimy with muck. She began taking it off her body, not bothered about the fact she was changing in front of her best friend.
"What?" Leonie noticed the boy was looking at her as she stripped down to her shirt and undergarments.
Theolyn blushed a bit as he?d been caught looking. "Nothing. It?s just..."
"You?ve seen me in underwear before, silly. Big deal. I mean look at our clothes. Your parents would probably yell at us to take them off anyway." The smaller girl put her hands to her side.
The bigger cub thought about it for a moment. "I guess you?re right."
"Uh...duh. Now take off your pants and shirt and let?s go back." The girl said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.
The mouse blushed deeper and thought about it for a moment. He was a shy boy even even though Leonie had briefly seen him in underwear before during one of their sleepovers. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled off his shirt and slid down his pants. A moment of glances was exchanged between the two of them but no amount of staring occurred. It was just like it had been in the past between them once the initial moment of awkwardness was over.
They started to walk back through the woods, now carrying their clothes over their arms. It was a little warmer now since it was later in the day. Continuing past the dirt road, passing by a few other people who gave them a slightly curious glance. After all two scantily clad cubs weren?t something that they saw every day. Every glance they got made Theolyn more nervous about the situation but he tried to ignore it as he kept pace with his friend.
Once they arrived back in the mouse?s family?s yard, they found Theolyn?s father back at the stack of wood. He now had a small bandage over the finger he?d injured. Despite that, it didn?t seem to bother him much. As he heard the wooden gate open just over on the side of the fencing, he turned his head and saw the two half-naked cubs re-enter the backyard.
"What happened to your clothes?... Nevermind." He asked before seeing them slung over the two?s arms.
The mouse boy answered anyway. "We went swimming and got muddy when we got out."
"I see. Well...go on in the house and get dried up. We need to keep working. We lost enough time already." The father pointed behind him to the house.
Both of them went inside. By this point, their bodies were a little drier but it was still apparent what they had done. Theolyn?s mother stopped them at the door, urging them to stay there while they waited in their skivvies. She returned not long after with two sets of clothing both of which were her son?s, and a towel. After all the two cubs had shared clothing in the past and they weren?t that different in size.
She waited for them to dry themselves off before handing over the clothes to them. The woman took the soiled garments as the cubs changed back into cleaner sets. The mouse?s mother waved them off, telling them to return to what they were doing. She knew that her husband had mentioned being frustrated by all the delays. They made their way out and back behind the house.
Now back with Theolyn?s father, the man was raring and ready to go to. He was already holding up a plank of wood, eager to get started once again. The three of them continued to work for the remainder of the afternoon. Not even stopping for lunch, instead, the man had his wife bring out food for them to save time. Theolyn remained the point person for holding the planks of wood from below while Leonie would make sure they were positioned against the next aligning board above.
With the three of them all working on it together they were able to make a good bit of progress. Both the side walls as well as the back wall were now assembled. Theolyn?s father had begun the cleanup of debris. Having the mouse cub work on picking up the stray chunks of wood while having the chipmunk girl put away the tools, nails, and other equipment into the shed. When everything was cleaned up, they were asked to come inside.
Leonie?s parents had already been asked previously about her staying for dinner. Both families were close and had constant contact with one another due to the cub?s close nature. The two cubs were now sitting next to each other. Tonight?s dinner was nothing special, a pan of Spaghetti with cheese sauce. It was the two cub?s favorite food, just as it was for many kids their age. It was a homemade one as the family preferred to use natural ingredients in their food.
The extended family chomped down on their food, some sauce dripped down on the side of Theolyn?s face. The chipmunk girl giggled at him before he recognized it. The mouse cub wiped his face off the sauce before biting down again. The dinner was delicious on all accounts. It was far from the parent?s favorite meal but they figured it would be an easy go to satisfy the cubs who had been working most of the day.
Once the meal was done, the older mice worked on cleaning up. Normally they would hold Theolyn to such things but since he had a friend over, they let him off the hook. They shooed the two of them away, letting them know they had about an hour before Leonie?s parents came to pick her up. The two of them nodded before skipping off toward the mouse cub?s room. They had no intention of wasting the time and figured they could find something to do.
Now inside of Theolyn?s room, the mouse boy looked around as if searching for something. He had more than enough toys in his space. Some of them he?d outgrown and forgotten about while others weren?t meant for people. His gaming console was set up on his medium-sized television and he decided they could play some games for a bit. He pulled up two bean bag chairs and both of them plopped down on them before getting comfortable.
It didn?t take long for it to power up. Theolyn was a big fan of strategy games and his personal favorite was Worm, World Party Remastered The most recent installment of which was a remake of the game and he had it on the last generation of consoles. It was something he and Leonie had played in the past so he knew the girl liked it. They waited for the game to boot up before heading into versus mode.
Theolyn picked his a group of worms, assigning each of them a weapon. Both sides would be afforded 20 selections of teammates. Some of them would be. Reinforcements with no more than five worms for each team on the screen at the same time. Each weapon would give the worm an ability with certain abilities having weaknesses as well as affinities with other ones of a similar design. The idea was to eliminate the other squad first.
Leonie did the same and the match began soon after. They were assigned to a pirate-style map with each team assigned a ship. Theolyn?s scallywag worms started their assault with a barrage of cannons, a fitting volley of iron shot sailed from the starboard bow of his vessel. The girl quickly set up her defense, a split shot netting
that caught many of the cannons before they hit her port broadside.
The chipmunk quickly retaliated with a ballista of arrows, the thin piercing strike ripped right through the net and tore into the boy?s sails, leaving him unable to move. Theolyn quickly sent some of his worms below deck, and his secret weapon torpedo was launched from below. Soon bubbling through the water at a slow but steady speed. His attack exploded as it scorched through the wood of the old ship, sending some of Leonie?s worms overboard.
Leonie knew she could not let this attack sit idly and quickly sent some of her buccaneers over on a rope. The attempt at boarding was soon followed by a small ramp that met the two ships with a bridge. Within moments the two sides worms came to a head. Some of the marksman types began shooting away at those who tried to board but the chipmunk?s greater selection of shields and reflectors gave her an edge.
Little by little, her boarding party gained a distinct edge. She accompanied the assault with a barrage of musket shots from her rear. Theolyn?s defense was stalwart with his more tech-based supplies falling short and resulting in using much of his abilities early on. Thinning out his now diminishing resources as well as the reinforcements. His last-ditch effort lit the whole ship ablaze which created more chaos in an already hectic environment.
The rest of the match went much the same, an even bout where the match?s momentum didn?t seem to stay with one side very long. Each cub ended up winning a match a piece before the final bout was held. A heated battle where both of them gave it their all. Leonie ended up coming up on top with the usual explosion of fireworks that flared on screen with the sinking of the boy?s ship. The two cubs high foured as neither of them was overly competitive about the game.
They continued playing the game for the remainder of their time together. Occasionally swapping characters to spice things up but more often they went to their go-to. When Theolyn?s parents popped into the room to tell them it was time for the chipmunk girl to go home, they were still at it. As always they were hyper-focused on the game at hand. Both of them had forgotten to wash up after their time outside as they figured changing clothes was enough.
The two parents waited for them to finish before the cubs shared a soft hug. Leonie pulled away as she heard her parents calling for her. Theolyn followed her to the front door before waving her off. It wouldn?t be long before she could come back. After all, they had a big project to finish with the tree house. Besides it was spring vacation and the only thing holding them back was Theolyn?s father?s work schedule.
The rest of the night was pretty slow for the two cubs. Leonie was taken home and each of them would shower before returning to bed. Theolyn?s father was already planning the next big work day, which would be in a few days. Informing his son of the same, who wanted to make sure Leonie was included. They still had a lot of work to do and the vacation was only so long. In their young minds, they already had grand visions of what the finished project would look like. Ever eager to finish what they started to begin their day anew.
