A Very Plumstone Christmas

## Characters

* Huckleberry
* Sugarplum
* Mano
* Thorn
* Violet
* Bea
* Goth
* Hurricane
* Izzie
* Boba
* Sakura
* Salmon
* Simp
* Robin
* Demi
* Little Ace
* Aurora
* Crostini
* Miss Kay
* Zim
* Blinky
* Midnight
* Verja
* Bean
* Pip
* Sia
* Spri

## Chapter One

Sugarplum ran into the house. “Huckleberry! Huckleberry!” She sang, bubbling with joy.

“Hey there, sweetie! What’s up? How was dance?”

Sugarplum bounced on her claws. “It was great! I’m Clara in The Nutcracker!”

Huckleberry gasped. “Great job! I’m so proud of you. Let’s celebrate tonight! We can make Christmas cookies too!” Sugarplum beamed.

Suddenly, the sound of sobs echoed throughout the house. “Is everyone okay?” Mano called out. Two identical cries could be heard from the playroom. “Those two...” she sighed.

Sugarplum giggled. “I’m gonna go practice!” She ran off.

Huckleberry gathered the ingredients for cookies and went into the playroom. She saw Mano lecturing the twins. “What broke?” Huckleberry asked.

“Oh- Huckleberry!” Mano turned to her. “These two sillies had an argument.”

Violet looked up and her eyes filled with tears. “H-H-Huckleberry!” She sobbed. “I didn’t mean it! Thorn said Santa wasn’t real and so I punched him!”

Huckleberry stared at Violet. “Darlings. I love you, but this is uncalled for. I expect both of you to apologize right now,” she sighed. “Sorry Huckleberry…” the twins said in usion.

“Not to me, to each other. Thorn, apologize for saying that about Santa Claws. Violet, apologize for punching. After that, you two can help me make some Christmas cookies, okay?”

Huckleberry turned and walked away. Right after she left, they turned to Mano. “Mano, PLEASEEE! I don’t want to apologize!” Thorn pleaded.

“Now listen here, you two. Huckleberry does so much for us. She found me, she found you, she found everyone. It’s thanks to her that you two were even reunited. You need to apologize.”

Thorn started crying. “No fair!” He sobbed.

Violet put her arms around him. “I’m sorry brother. I was just mad,” she whispered into his scales.

He nodded, wiping his tears. “Same here; I’m sorry.”

They went into the kitchen to find Huckleberry, Bea, Hurricane, and Goth. “Woah! So much family here for cookies!” Violet grinned.

Huckleberry smiled. “Yes, dear. I decided to try some new recipes, so I needed a few taste testers,” she winked.

“CAN I BE ONEEEEE?!” Violet shrieked.

Huckleberry nodded. "Bea. You, Goth, and I will be making the cookies. Hurricane, Violet, and Thorn will taste. Save some for the others, though!” Huckleberry decided.

## Chapter Two

Mano walked into the kitchen to find a big mess. “Woah…” he whispered to himself. The twins were playing tag around the room, Bea was eating raw cookie dough, and Hurricane and Goth were crying in the corner. Huckleberry stood amidst the chaos, calmly mixing batter.

“Do I want to know what happened?” He smirked.

Huckleberry sighed. “The twins got bored of waiting for the cookies because Bea was eating all the dough, and Hurricane and Goth slipped on the floor and smashed into each other.”

The twins crashed into her legs. “ACK! Violet, Thorn! Go sit down!” She rubbed her temple. “Okay! Everyone, to your room. I’ll make the cookies and tell you when it’s ready. Go prepare your Christmas lists.”

Mano watched as everyone left. Violet shyly peered around the corner. “Can I stay..? We always bake together,” she whimpered.

Huckleberry shook her head. “I would let you, but you got into an argument with Thorn and then caused a mess in here.” Violet slinked away.

Mano helped clean up, and eventually all the cookies were baked. Huckleberry set the table with one plate for each lizard with two cookies and one glass of milk for the younger hatchlings and hot chocolate for the older ones.

Izzie and Boba entered the kitchen. “College was CRAZY today!“ Izzie grinned.

“Everyone’s hyped for Christmas. Oh, cookies!” Boba added. She sat at her seat and drank some hot chocolate.

## Chapter Three

Suddenly, 17 sets of claws could be heard running down the stairs. Huckleberry, Mano, Izzie, and Boba looked at each other, knowing what was next. All the children ran into the kitchen and started dragging them to the windows. “Snow! SNOW!” The children chanted.

“Oh!” Huckleberry gasped slightly. “It’s so beautiful!”

“Can we go outside? Can we, can we??” The hatchlings begged.

“Soon!” Huckleberry announced. “I just baked a bunch of cookies!”

The kids all ran to the table and started eating their cookies. “Huckleberry! I wrote my Christmas list already!” Salmon beamed, waving it around.

Huckleberry took it, slowly reading. “Oooh, a new plushie! I bet Mr. Claws can do that.”

Salmon beamed. “I really really hope so! There's a new toy that moves! Can you believe that, Huckleberry?” she rambled.

Huckleberry nodded. “Toys sure have changed from when I was a hatchling,” she said, reminiscing her childhood. Salmon giggled. “Do you still have any of your old toys?” she asked.

Huckleberry nodded. “They’re in the attic. Do you want to see them?”

Salmon grinned. “Yes!” she exclaimed.

“We wrote our lists too!” Violet and Thorn shrieked.

“Alright, let me see them,” Huckleberry reached for the list. She read the first item then glanced up at Thorn. “Thorn, buddy. Santa can’t take away Violet for your gift.” she scolded.

Violet looked up at Thorn, her eyes filling with tears. “Th-Thorn… do you not like me?” She sobbed.

“Nope,” Thorn replied calmly. Huckleberry picked up Violet and hugged her. “Don’t worry,” she whispered into Vi’s ear, “I’ll have Santa bring Thorn coal. Or maybe an unfinished deck of cards.”

Violet grinned slightly, still crying. “O-okay,” she whimpered, hiding her face in Huckleberry’s shoulder.

“Vi, what’s on your list?” Huckleberry asked. Violet whispered into Huckleberry’s ear. “I… I think I’d like a pet bird." Her face flushed.

“Oh?” Huckleberry asked. “Well, I’ll put in a good word with Santa for you, okay?”

Violet’s face lit up. “Yes please!” She smiled from ear to ear.

“Tch.” Izzie grunted.

Mano turned to her, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s up?” he wondered.

“It’s just… you guys care about the presents too much. I get that they’re hatchlings, but that’s not what Christmas is about,” Izzie ranted.

## Chapter Four

Mano nodded. “I get that…” He turned to face the hatchlings. “A lot of them have bad memories associated with Christmas, though.”

Izzie nodded. “I have an idea. I’ll take them volunteering or something; show them the *real* meaning of Christmas,” she declared.

Mano snorted. “Okay sis, get it I guess.” He winked.

Izzie stared at him. “*Please* never say that again.”

He nodded. “Understandable."

Izzie walked up to Huckleberry and pulled her aside. “Ack-” Huckleberry jumped. “Let me put down Vi first.”

Vi leapt from Huckleberry’s arms to the floor. “Don’t worry, I can do it myself!” She scampered off. Huckleberry watched her go, a sad smile on her face.

Izzie cleared her throat. “If I may,” she began. “The hatchlings are only celebrating the presents. Sure, they’re fun to get but that’s not the meaning of Christmas. I have an idea: I will take them volunteering at the old adoption center, and you can choose something for all of us to do. Boba and Mano too.”

Huckleberry nodded, deep in thought. “I think that would work; volunteering is a good idea anyway.” She started to walk away then stopped. Over her shoulder, she called back. “Don’t take the younger ones, though. They’re too young to see those poor pets.” She continued to walk away.

## Chapter Five

Huckleberry went over to Mano and beckoned for Boba to come to them. In a hushed voice, she explained the plan. Mano shook his head. “That adoption center… the pets are in bad shape there. I have a friend who knows some vet stuff. We could get him to join,” he started.

“That’s a great idea!” Huckleberry exclaimed.

Boba nodded. “I have an idea for my event too... I was thinking I could take them ice skating at Mt. Shiveer and we could watch them put the star up. They’ve always wanted a tree here; I could get a small one as well.” She glanced down at the floor.

Huckleberry beamed. “These are great ideas! I might just rent out the movie theater in Sarepia Forest and let them watch Christmas movies. We could bring baked treats too! Family and traditions are very important around Christmas.”

Mano nodded, a smile growing on his face. “These hatchlings are going to have an amazing Christmas.” He glanced over at them, smiles all around. They were all laughing and enjoying their snack. Some were staring at the snow in amazement, begging the older ones to take them outside.

Huckleberry pulled on her striped scarf and jogged over to the hatchlings. “Who wants to go outside?” she called.

“ME!” A chorus of voices rang. Huckleberry opened the door and went outside. She grinned over at Boba and Mano and nodded her head toward the door as if to say "come on!" They rushed over, beaming at the sight of the hatchlings playing in the snow.

## Chapter Six

Boba helped Thorn and Violet make a snow lizard of Goth, who was sick in his room, while Mano helped ten of the hatchlings build bases for a snowball fight. He explained the rules while building. He finished with a grin, and turned to look at them. "So that’s how you play! I’ll watch to make sure nobody gets hurt.”

He stepped aside as the children cheered. "Go!” he hollered, marking the start of the soon-to-be battle. Chi got smacked in the face and started bawling. "Wah!” she sobbed.

“Stop throwing snowballs!” Mano called out. He rushed over to Chi and wiped the snow off her face. “Since you got out first… you get a lollipop!” He smiled down at her.

Chi gasped. “Strawberry! My favorite! Thank you!” She hugged him and he lifted her up. He carried her out of the battle and over to Huckleberry, who was watching the whole event.

Huckleberry did a double take when she saw Chi’s red cheeks. “Awww, baby! What happened?”

Chi sniffled and sobbed, “I got hit in the face by a snowball and now I’m the first one out!” Huckleberry winked at Mano and turned back to Chi.

“Oh, didn’t Mano explain the rules well enough? He must have forgotten the rule that the first one out gets a very special prize inside!” She led Chi inside and saw Sakura in the door frame. “Get the cry box!” Huckleberry mouthed to Sakura.

Sakura looked confused. “The what?” She mouthed back. “The cry box!” Huckleberry hissed. “OH!” Sakura suddenly understood.

“Oh... what?” Chi asked, looking back and forth from Huckleberry to Sakura.

“Oh.. my favorite Chi is here!” Sakura improvised, giving Chi a big hug.

Chi hugged back. “You’re my favorite, Saku!!” She grinned.

Sakura grinned back at her special Chi nickname. “And since you’re my favorite, Chi, I have a gift for you!”

Chi gasped. “Another?? Is it Chi’s birthday?” She hopped around Sakura, looking for the gift. “It’s upstairs- let me go get it!” Sakura gave Chi one last hug before rushing upstairs.

## Chapter Seven

Sakura opened her door and was greeted by Goth. He blew his nose once and looked up at Sakura. “Sakura…” he sniffed. “I threw up.”

Sakura gave him a big hug. “I’m sorry, buddy. The flu is the worst. Want some medicine? We have to make sure you’re healthy again by Christmas! I hear the adults have some fun plans.” She held his hand.

Goth nodded and held his hat in front of him. “I hate to be a bother, but my room has a big view of the backyard, and I just feel left out. Can I stay here for now?” he asked.

“Of course!” Sakura exclaimed. “And I’ll tell you what -- Huckleberry baked some cookies. If you get me your Christmas list, I’ll get you some along with hot chocolate,” she reasoned.

Goth’s face lit up and he ran to his room. Moments later, he rushed out, waving his list. “Here it is!” he exclaimed. He handed it to Sakura, hopping from claw to claw.

“Oh?” Sakura asked. “A book?”

Goth nodded, excitement in his eyes. “Not just *any* book! ‘The Great Clawsby’! It’s a classic! I’ve been wanting it forever!”

Sakura smiled. “Alright, buddy. I’ll make sure you get that gift.” She held out her hand. “Do you wanna go downstairs? I just need to grab something first.” He took it and clung to her side. Sakura led him to her room and grabbed a small squishy. “Alright, let’s go,” she took his hand again.

## Chapter Eight

As Sakura and Goth walked down the stairs, still holding claws, they could hear everyone coming in. A few were crying, many were laughing, but there were lots of smiles. Sakura let go of Goth’s claws and brought out his cookies, made him new hot chocolate, and set him a space at the table.

Once Goth started on his cookies, Sakura walked over to Huckleberry and gave her a peck on the cheek. Huckleberry held out her claw, and Sakura took it. Huckleberry took a deep breath and smiled. “So! Everyone, I have an announcement for you. Izzie has brought up an interesting point, and wanted us to volunteer at this adoption center nearby!” Small murmurs filled the room.

“Of course,” Huckleberry continued. “Not everyone has to do it. The youngest ones are exempt, and there will be Christmas movies for them instead.” Izzie smiled and nodded slightly.

Mano stepped forward. “All of us older ones will be picking the events. Boba has chosen to take everyone to Mt. Shiveer to go ice skating, watch the lights turn on, see the star go on top of the big tree, and bring our first Christmas tree home!” He finished with a big grin. Excited noise filled the room.

Mano spoke again. “Huckleberry will be renting out the Sarepia Theater, and we will be either watching Christmas movies or you can perform a Christmas skit! I think that’s pretty much it!”

Huckleberry nodded. “So everybody go get a good night’s sleep, ‘cause we’re volunteering all day tomorrow!”

## Chapter Nine

The next morning, Huckleberry and Izzie awoke at 5 AM. They went around, waking the others until everyone was ready. Everyone gathered around the front door while Huckleberry, Izzie, and Violet packed lunches.

“Vi,” Huckleberry asked, “are you sure you want to come? You don’t have to, and shelters can be very sad.”

Violet nodded. “I’m sure! I love pets, maybe I can find one to ask Santa for!” She beamed.

Huckleberry smiled back. “That’s smart! Let me know if you find one you connect with, and I’ll make sure Santa gets that one specifically.”

They finished packing the lunches, snacks, and waters. “Huckleberry! Can I hold my food in my picnic basket?” Vi pleaded. Huckleberry nodded and put them in the basket. Violet crouched a couple times to test the weight, then bounced around. “Let’s go, let’s go!” she squealed and ran to the door.

Mano came down the stairs. “I’m up, I’m up,” he grumbled.

Sakura came down behind him. “I forced him up,” she grinned. Mano grumbled again. “Love you too, buddy,” she winked.

Mano slouched all the way downstairs, still sleepy. Sakura chose the more fun way of sliding on her tail down. “Wheeee!” she giggled. She gave Violet a big hug. “Wow! You’re carrying snacks too? So strong!”

Violet nodded and opened her basket. “I got popcorn as a snack!”

Sakura held out her claws for the long walk to the adoption center. Simp held one, and as Sakura talked to her, someone else grabbed her other claw. She looked down to see who it was, only to see Huckleberry’s feet. Sakura looked up to her wife’s face and Huckleberry surprised her with a peck.

Simp giggled and Sakura sighed with a smile. “Go hold someone else’s claws, silly!” Sakura released Huckleberry’s claw after giving it a kiss.

Violet held Huckleberry’s claw and whispered into her ear. “Do you have a crush on Sakura?” She asked, her voice quiet.

Huckleberry nodded with a goofy grin on her face. “Yep!” She exclaimed. She held out her other claw and Robin held it.

Sakura found Goth and grabbed his claw. “I’m glad you’re feeling better!” Sakura smiled at him. He nodded and urged her to the door. With that, the Plumstones headed out to the adoption center.

## Chapter Ten

As they walked through Jamaa Township, admiring the decorations, the Plumstones saw others walking around too. Demi saw their friend Little Ace walking with her aunt, Aurora, and a family friend named Crostini. “HI, ACE!” Demi screamed, waving their claws and tail wildly, trying to get her attention.

Ace noticed and waved back with a grin. “Hi!” she exclaimed.

Huckleberry smiled at the two friends. “Alright, come on! It’s cold and we’re keeping Mano’s friend waiting,” she nodded her head towards the shelter.

Mano walked ahead and knocked on the shelter’s door. “Hello? Ki, are you here?” he called out.

A tall light blue lizard opened the door. “Hello! Ki’s not here yet, but please come in!” She noticed the other lizards behind him. “Oh! You must be the volunteers?” she asked.

Mano nodded. “I didn’t want to come, but my sister-in-law insisted,” he frowned. The female lizard opened the door for all the Plumstones.

“Okay, everyone!” she called out. “Come gather over here!”

They all followed. The adults stood in the back while the kids sat right near the new lizard. “First off, I’m so glad to see a lot of volunteers! Izzie visited yesterday and told me how excited you all were to volunteer! I’m Miss Kay, Ki’s brother. I run this place. And actually, we have a lot of people coming by to check out pets, plus Miss Verja will be coming by to hang up posters.”

Demi sat up. “I know Miss Verja! She’s a family friend of Ace’s family! Ace is my best friend!” She grinned. Miss Kay smiled in that and motioned for Demi to calm down. “With that,” Miss Kay started, “let’s get ready to change some lives!”

## Chapter Eleven

“Okay, adults! Can you all spread out throughout the room? Each of you will be in charge of specific hatchlings and chores,” Miss Kay nodded to herself, deep in thought. “Mano!” she called out, reading from a list. “You will be in charge of Midnight and Demi. You will be in charge of the pet’s food. Izzie, you will be in charge of Zim and Blinky. You will be cheering up the pets. Play with them, give them treats. Boba, you will be in charge of Phantor and Goth. You will be hanging posters around Jamaa. Verja has the posters. Huckleberry, you will be in charge of... Simp? Is that right? Okay then. Simp and Violet will be with Huckleberry. You guys will be making toys for them. And lastly, Sakura is in charge of Robin. You two will do everything. Go float around, see what needs help.” Miss Kay looked up. “Any questions?” She asked. “No? Good! Go get started!”

Huckleberry took Simp and Violet to the creation lab. “Okay, guys! We’ll be making toys, and I believe someone is coming to teach us!”

They sat down at a table for a few minutes until an echidna came in. “Hello there! I’m Bean. Let’s make some toys!” As Bean explained how to make the toys, Huckleberry found her mind wandering to Sakura and Robin. She hoped they would come by sooner rather than later.

“-ckleberry? Huckleberry?” Huckleberry realized that Bean was waving a paw in her face.

“Yes! Uh.. what’s going on?” Her face reddened slightly.

Violet giggled behind her claws. “Ooooo, she’s in trouble!”

Simp fiddled with their claws. “I want to see the pets…” they mumbled.

Violet nodded. “Me too!” Both of them glanced over at Huckleberry, who was apologizing profusely. Bean clapped his paws. “Alrighty, then, let’s make some toys!”

## Chapter Twelve

Izzie, Zim, and Blinky found the first row of cages. “Huh, they’re bigger than they looked on the outside!” Zim exclaimed.

Izzie nodded. “Yep! I was a little surprised at first too. I’m glad, though; it seems like they care for the pets here.”

“We do! And I personally *love* all these pets. I wish I could adopt them all!” A voice said. The three lizards whirled around. A neon blue-and-pink lizard stood in the doorway. “Hey there! I’m Gummy Worm. I assume you three are Izzie, Blinky, and Zim?” The lizard introduced himself.

“That’s us!” Izzie smiled. “We are glad to hear you love the pets. I’m excited for this!”

Gummy Worm smiled back. “I’m glad to hear you’re excited! That’s the kind of energy we need here. What do you say we get started by meeting some pets?”

Zim gasped. “Can we meet the ones that are supposed to be adopted first?” Gummy Worm flipped through a clipboard. “Well… we have four pets to be adopted today, and one is waiting on their owner who will be here any minute! So let’s go visit her, okay?”

Blinky nodded happily. “Yes! I want to meet her!” Gummy Worm gestured for them to follow him out.

As Gummy Worm opened the door to the soon-to-be-adopted pets area, Zim and Blinky burst in. Izzie set her claws on their heads so they couldn’t go in further. As they complained and swiped at her claws, Izzie calmly asked about the pets.

“Well! We have a beautiful lizard named Dolly, a glider named Cloudy, another lizard named Lumine, and a puppy named Walnut. So let’s meet Walnut first!”

Zim and Blinky started bouncing underneath Izzie’s claws. “Calm down, you sillies!” she laughed.

The two slowly stopped bouncing, but restarted immediately once they saw Walnut. “PUPPYYYYYYYY!!” they squealed. Izzie released her claws off their heads while they obsessed over Walnut. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Izzie looked over and her eyes widened.

## Chapter Thirteen

A small lizard stood in the doorway. They couldn’t have been much older than Blinky and Zim! Izzie stood in shock and eventually managed to speak. “Uhm… hi. Where did you come from?”

The lizard gave her a quizzical look. “Um… the office?”

“No, no, I meant uh… does the name Izzie sound familiar to you?” Izzie asked.

They thought for a moment. “Kind of; my twin Sia would know better. I have a pretty bad memory,” the lizard said thoughtfully. “I’m Pip, by the way.”

Izzie’s eyes widened more. Pip and Sia… she knew those names!

Another lizard popped their head in the doorway. “Hey Pip! Just came to-“ they locked eyes with Izzie. “Izzie??” they exclaimed.

“Sia?” Izzie asked.

Sia nodded. “Pip, it’s Sia!! Remember? When we were with Ace?”

Realization hit Pip’s eyes. “No way!” she squealed. Sia and Pip ran over to give Izzie a big bear hug.

“My babies, my darlings, my loves.” Izzie sobbed, kissing their heads. She held their heads in her claws, making sure they were okay. “You promise you’re okay? What are you doing here? And what happened with Ace?” Izzie overwhelmed the twins with questions.

“We’re fine, we promise! And… we wanted to go look for you after you ran away. Ace kicked us out after we kept begging,” Sia explained.

“Wait, ran away? What? Ace kicked me out!” Izzie fumed.

Pip and Sia exchanged glances. “Huh…” Pip wondered.

“I guess thinking now, a lot of Ace’s explanations didn’t match up,” Sia sighed.

Izzie looked at the twins. “Do you guys… have a new owner yet?” she asked.

The hatchlings glanced at each other before staring at the ground. “No…” a tear escaped Sia’s eye.

Pip nodded sadly. “We kinda live here now. We get to live in the office as long as we volunteer.”

Izzie sighed. “I’m so sorry about that, you two.” she held out her arms again for another hug. The twins obliged. “Would you like to stay with me? Where I’m staying…” Izzie hesitated. “I’m not really sure how to explain it. We- I mean, Tiger. I mean Huckleberry- Uh. Well, I live with this lizard family now. Of course we have an owner, but she lets us do our thing you know? She gives us a place to live and she trusts us enough to let us be. She makes us food, buys toys, and takes us on walks. She truly cares about us. Would you two like to… stay with us? Become a Plumstone?”

The twins gasped. “Yes!” Sia exclaimed.

“H-hang on…” Pip stuttered. “I like it here. Maybe not how I sleep or the food I eat, but I like it here. I don’t think I’m ready to leave.”

## Chapter Fourteen

Izzie felt numb. She had been looking for her children all this time, and one didn’t want to go with her? What was there for her now?

“Well, if Pip’s not going then neither am I! And neither is Spri!” These words hit Izzie hard. All three of her hatchlings… this was it.

Zim and Blinky looked at each other, Izzie, and then the small lizards in the doorway. They still had no clue what was going on, but they knew it was important to Izzie.

“Um…” Zim mumbled.

“Why not?” demanded Blinky. “Izzie *clearly* loves you guys and you love her back! So come live with us; be Plumstones!”

Pip sighed. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this, but my home is here. I love the animals, volunteering here, the other volunteers.”

Izzie sat still, deep in thought. “Well…” she started. “I was thinking about continuing to volunteer here. You could always come with.”

Pip gasped, beaming. “Wait, really? I’d love that!”

Izzie nodded. “I see what you love about this place, I want to keep coming here too.”

Pip ran and wrapped her arms tightly around Izzie. Sia and Spri ran into the hug too. Izzie’s eyes welled with tears.

## Credits

* Written by Tigerlilyyyy from 12/25/2021 to 3/27/2022 (cancelled).

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