#this entire reply was lou at his most feline lmao

[lou-bonfightme]

A Certain Vernacular || [Loud Bell]

@trip-downtheriverstyx, @labellerose-acheron

It had been a long day. It had been a long day of not speaking to a single adult, except to say goodbye to Hades and Belle in the morning as they left for their respective jobs. Toulouse didn’t have a job, though. Most days, Toulouse stayed at home with three toddlers and kept them entertained. 

Which wasn’t so bad, usually. They were all lovely children and he loved them very much. Plus, he often brought them to the manor, so that Nounou could help with the minding. Not to mention the revolving door of friends the Acherons had. 

Some days, though, it was just hard and it put him in a dour mood. Not so much an angry one as a depressed, restless mood. One where he wondered if this was just to be his life. If his talents would wither away. Or his intelligence. And he would become nothing more than a--childminder. Not that he didn’t have great respect for childminders, his Nounou was the only person in his childhood Toulouse had ever remembered feeling safe around. 

It was just that it made him feel listless sometimes. Bored. Forgotten about. And the wolf inside of him would want to tear up all the pillows, like a naughty house dog that had been left whilst its owners were away on vacation.

Toulouse was a grown man, so he was not going to tear up the pillows. He also wasn’t going to indulge the wolf (he blamed the wolf for all his worse impulses), by turning into a jumping, happy pet when the Acherons returned as if to award them for coming back. So, he hadn’t. He had greeted them as cordially as he always did and then handed over the children so that he could busy himself with a book until dinner.

That, dear readers, would be how you would find the Acheron Cottage this evening. Warm, with the smell of stew on the stove. The lord and lady of the house moving about the kitchen, their oldest child busied with pretend chores to help out, while one of the twins slept in the pack-n-play and the other got underfoot until he was shooed out of the kitchen, wandering over to Toulouse lounging in the arm chair, who hadn’t quite noticed him.

“Dada!” demanded Aidan. 

Toulouse heard this, of course, but he didn’t pay any attention to it, assuming Aidan was trying to get his father’s attention. Then there were sticky, insistent hands, pulling on his sweater. 

“Dadadadada,” babbled Aidan, trying to pull himself up into Toulouse’s chair. 

With a jolt, Lou realized what was happening and snapped his book shut, casting a glance towards the kitchen, where Hades and Belle seemed none the wiser. “Tonton,” Lou corrected gently, his voice tight as he scooped Aidan up under the armpits and settled him on his lap. “Tonton.” 

“Dada,” Aidan smiled a gummy smile. 

“No--”

“Dinner’s ready!” called Belle. 

Toulouse glanced at her, then back at Aidan, who was still smiling. “Er, right.” Getting up, Lou settled the toddler on his hip, hoping that if it happened again, in closer proximity to Hades--it could be played off. Lou settled Aidan in his highchair but the happy smile quickly dropped and Aidan let out a screech that had his sister glaring at him. 

“Noooooooo! Dada,” cried Aidan, still clinging to Lou. 

Lou’s face, to his credit, turned bright red. “I--uh, think he is missing you, Hades,” Lou tried half-heartedly as he attempted to untangle Aidan’s fingers from his jumper.

[outfit for lou, outfit for belle]