Ceroba hummed cheerily as she slid her knife across the potatoes
She didn't care much for them, but he had asked for them, and it was their anniversary, so she couldn't say no
She peeled it and sliced it into thin slices, before placing them in the pan
In the next room sounded the clunk of the door, and the the sound of heavy foot steps
"Honey, I'm home!" That voice she loved so much called
"I'm making dinner, dear. I'll be out in a minute."
She heard no reply, only sound of footsteps growing louder, underscored by a faint but noticeable jingling
She had only an instant to set down her utensils before she was swept up in a flash
"How's my my honey pie?" He said, his rough leather gloves ruffling the fur behind her ears
"As good as I can be, now that you're here." She said, giving him a sultry look right in the eyes. Which were just about the only part of his face she could see under that hat.
But despite that she could still tell he was blushing
"What's the matter cowboy? Having trouble standing up under the gun?" She said, sliding her finger across the point on his cheek
"C-come on, Ceroba. Isn't it a bit early for this? What if-"
"What if what? We're married. This is our house. Nothing wrong with a little intimacy between husband and wife. Who's gonna see us?"
As if summoned by her words, the patter of small footsteps came from behind her
"Mommy! Mommy! Look what I drew!" Said the other darling of her life
The small child, her skin black as the night, speckled with spots of blue and white, which glowed like stars, held out a paper
On it were scribbled three figures. A tall orange one with a pointy face, a shorter yellow one with a roughly star shaped mass of scribbles for a head, and a small mass of black and blue scribbles standing between them.
"Oh, that's wonderful, Connie. I'll put it on the fridge with the rest."
She carefully took the paper from the beaming girl's hands
"Now why don't you go play with daddy while I finish dinner?"
"Ok!" She answered, running over to Starlo, who scooped her up into his arms.
"Thanks" She said, kissing him on the cheek. "this'll only take a minute."
And a minute it took, soon enough she was carrying a set of steaming plates out to the table
Connie was scribbling things on a piece of paper while Star watched in adoration
Seeing Ceroba, he carefully pulled the paper to the side to make room for her food
Then Ceroba set the plates at each of their spots
"So, why don't you two tell me about your day." Ceroba said with a smile.
"Ooh, today Mrs. Gorgon told us how to make macaroni art and I made a tree. Then Gizmo tried to eat his, and he had to go to the nurse's office."
"Oh, that Gizmo, such a silly boy. Its good that you're friends with him despite that, Connie." Ceroba said, patting her on the head.
"And what about you, Ch-" She froze mid sentence. Her eyes grew distand as she pondered her words.
She sat there, paused for a moment, before recollecting herself
"What about you, dear?"
Starlo, perked up like he had been waiting for this question.
"You're not going to believe what Mooch did today!"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
They all stopped as they heard the sound from the door.
"Well, who in the world could that be?" Starlo said, beginning to rise from his chair.
Ever the dutiful wife, Ceroba quickly jumped from her seat
"I'll get it, dear" She said, already halfway to the door
She stepped out of the kitchen and approached the door
"Hello. What can I do for you sir." She said, opening it.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw what was on the other side
Standing a foot taller her, with a skinnier frame he looked down at her.
His ears flicked back and his silver hair just barely missing the top of the door frame
In an instant she was on him, her arms wrapped around him, squeezing like her life depended on it.
"Oh Chujin! Chujin dearest! You don't know how happy I am to see you!"
"Yes."
"Oh, dear! I was so lost, so lonely without you!" She sniffled out, tears welling up in her eyes as she buried her face in his chest
"Were you?"
"Yes! Yes! Not a day went by that I didn't miss your warmth in bed. Hearing your voice."
"Are you sure?" The flat coldness in his voice brought her joy to a screeching halt
She pulled back and looked him in the eyes
He stared back at her through his goggles, his eyes completely concealed, but with an ever so slight downward tug at the edges of his lips.
"What?" She said, dumbfounded
"You don't seem to miss me at all."
He stepped inside, causing her to reflexively back away
"In fact, you seem quite happy to abandon me."
"Chujin, dearest, I-"
"And after all I'd given you. This house, this wealth, all my love, and all my life."
"Please, let me e-"
"Ungrateful harlot." He said scorn rising in his voice.
"And who exactly are you?" Asked a voice from behind
"Barging into my house, and scaring MY wife?" He said, a threat apparent in his tone
Ceroba turned around to see Starlo, stood in a stout posture, his hand resting on his hip.
"Yes, love, why don't you tell him who I am?" Said the towering fox
"Starlo, please, don't hurt him, its not-"
"But it is, isn't it" The imposing figure interrupted. "Its exactly what it looks like."
Ceroba just looked between them helplessly
Starlo saw the look on her face, and a look of betrayal began to form on his own.
"Ceroba, who is this man?"
Ceroba tried and tried, but nothing would come out of her mouth except hastened breaths
So the man answered for her
"The man you robbed. The man you cheated!" Venom poured freely from his voice. "The one who built this house, who gave everything to her, only for you to steal it."
Starlo straightened his back as his grip tightened around his belt.
"Listen mister, I don't know who you are, and I don't appreciate you coming in here, accusing me of stealin and threatenin my wife. So why don't you just leave, before things get ugly."
The towering figure gave him a glare, one Ceroba could read clear as any writing
"Chujin! Please! Please stop-" She was slapped to the side
"That's it mister!" Starlo shouted, drawing on the man.
"Insulting a man is one thing, but touching his wife is another thing entirely." He cocked back his hammer. "You're gonna regret doing that."
The man laughed, "And now he threatens me in my own home." His smirk twisted into a scowl, his fangs bared for the world to see "Despicable!"
He took a step towards Starlo
BANG
The man stopped in his tracks and looked down at the freshly made hole in his chest, then back up at the one holding the smoking gun
He took another step forward
BANG
He took two more steps, not even slowing down
BANG BANG BANG BANG click
The cowboy froze in horror at the telltale sound
He barely even managed a "How?" before the man had his hands around his neck
His face turned red as he wrung the life from him
Ceroba scrambled off of the floor and over to them, desperately trying to wrench his hands off, but to no avail
Starlo struggled, fiercely at first, then meekly, until eventually he stopped struggling at all
When the last flicker of light faded from his eyes, the man released his grip, and the former cowboy flopped on the ground
Ceroba rushed to him
"STAR! STAR! SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE!" she begged
No response
She looked up at Chujin
"Why?" She choked out, with tears in her eyes.
He gave no reply, only a look of utter disgust
One which skewered her straight through the heart. She knew the answer
"Mommy, what's going on?"
"No."
"What's wrong with daddy?"
"No no no." Ceroba mouthed
"Connie, RUN!" She tried to shout, but Chujin grabbed her by the muzzle, silencing her
"What's this? Couldn't settle with just replacing me? You had to replace her too?"
"M-mommy? What's happening? I'm scared" She said, her little voice quavering as she began to cry
"Go on, dear, why don't you tell her what you did?"
"Tell her about... Kanako"
Ceroba so desperately wanted to scream, a painful squeeze on her muzzle by Chujin choked it down
"Or better yet, why don't we let her say it herself?" He said, grabbing her by the hair
She tried desperately to fight against him as he turned her head towards the door
to no avail
Slowly another figure came into view, a small one, one too painfully familiar
"Mommy, why did you throw me away?"
Please just kill me already, let me die, please, Ceroba begged in her mind
But nobody listened
"Why don't you love me anymore, mommy." She said, as she stepped through the door
Her face nearly brought the food out of Ceroba's stomach
Her withered rotting face, the way it dripped at the edges, the way everything was ruined, but still recognizable
"Mommy, why don't you love me anymore? What did I do?" she rasped
Ceroba desperately struggled and tried to force out screams as it reached for her
its bony, decayed hand coming just inches from her face
It reached out and...
Ceroba jolted awake in bed
she scrambled out of the bed and across the floor
Only stopping once she hit a wall
She looked around
She wasn't in the foyer anymore
In its place was her bedroom
No mess, no Starlo, no... Chujin, no......
Just her
alone
Ceroba buried her muzzle in her hands and wept