Rondell's Links
Spitz and Pie were born only a few months apart and, while they're actually cousins, they grew up together as siblings. When Gremlin's wandering soul first showed up at Diane's house, it was young Pie who spotted him, felt for him, and invited him up to their room to play. They had no idea what was going on, but recognized a lost child when they saw one and wanted to help make the sadness and confusion go away. So Pie opened up their heart, their home, their toy-box... Gremlin has only hazy memories of this now, since it was so long ago and he was so young, but he DOES remember Pie pressing their favorite toy car into his paws and insisting that Gremlin take it because he looked like they needed a friend! Gremlin still has that car. And Gremlin still has Pie!
From that day forward they were practically glued to each other- always playing together, always watching each other's backs; especially as Gremlin began to grow and Pie did not. Gremlin HATED how the neighborhood bullies would pick on Pie for being small, and he took to threatening them with a premature departure to the underworld if they didn't quit. In turn, Gremlin was grateful that Pie would always listen to his troubles - balancing his tasks as a reaper with his everyday of being a normal kid with normal kid problems was NOT easy, and often left him feeling stressed, drained, and frustrated. These serious talks would often devolve into the pair whacking each other over the head with stuffed animals repeatedly and laughing like idiots, after which Gremlin would feel much better. Theirs isn't a perfect relationship by any means - they'd often get on each other's nerves (as kids are wont to do) especially over things like Pie being afraid of the dark (which Gremlin thought was silly), Gremlin not being able to dedicate as much time to after-school clubs as Pie (Reaper stuff eats a lot of your day), and their having different favorite activities (pretend archeology RULES, sports DROOL), but the arguments were never anything serious. The worst fight they ever got into was over a girl, and Diane quickly put a stop to it, after which they both agreed that said girl was stupid anyway, and moved on to other crushes.
As adults Pie and Gremlin remain in close contact and hang out whenever they find the time. They're on each other's speed-dial list! Family dinner nights are Gremlin's favorite, and he's always sure to bring scrabble! Pie and Gremlin CLEAN UP at team scrabble. No one else can touch them!
When their father asked them what they wanted for their 16th birthday, Smucker did not hesitate. Sumcker wanted. An. Ick. And she said so immediately! She'd seen them around and thought they were simply the stupidist things on the planet earth - mostly immobile, incapable of true thought, and not having a mean bone (or ANY bone, really) in their bodies, the little creatures simply exist to be hugged. So they went to a pet store the very next day and Telly stood by while his child picked out an Ick of her very own, held it up, and declared on the spot that its name would be Chutney. Even since then the pair has been inseparable; Smucker hauls the Ick everywhere, feeds it scraps from her plate, and even lets it sleep in her bed at night.
No thoughts, only love. Unconditional love.
Taki is a wonderful childhood friend that Smucker lost contact with when their nomadic family picked up stakes and moved on. Smucker really really hopes to reconnect someday, and cherishes the memory of their time spent together, even though it was brief! Taki was FUN!