Penelope's reaction to the dogs was a world apart from Victoria's, maybe because she had been told in advance instead of having the animal staring at you the moment the door was opened, or maybe because she seemed to be really into dogs. Miles mentally commanded his canines to wag their tails, if only to make it seem like they were happy with the petting treatment, even though the rest of their bodies remained motionless.

"I'm glad you like them. They're really good dogs" he said, wondering if she'd have liked them more when they were alive. At that very moment victoria made her appearance with the blanket and apologized for hurting him. Miles dismissed the apologies with a wave of his hand, twisting his mouth like the pain had been nothing.

"Psh! Don't worry about it Victoria, accidents happen" he said, though he did wonder if playing with stupid dolls would have been better. The girl was a tad stronger than she looked or maybe it was just the adrenaline from all the excitement while playing the zombie game.

This next game had his grandparent formula of 'letting kids have their fun while he rested his butt off'. He used to play it with Astor as a child, but now that he had two dogs and they were actually bigger than they used to be and muscular to boot, they would have no problem pulling a twelve year old.

"All right, this is simple!" he said. "Penelope, you tie the corner ends of the blanket to the dogs bandanas and Victoria, you sit yourself here and tell us when you're ready to go" he said, pointing with his hand to the open middle of the blanket. "I used to play 'Santa's sled' when I was a kid and since Christmas is close and you're all dressed in red, you get to be Santa. Or Mamam Claus. The moment you fall off the sled, it's Penelope's turn."

Oh yes, there was no falling off the sled when he used to play it, but his two dogs were strong enough to pull two or maybe three Victorias. He could have them run faster, she'd have nothing to hold on to and it'd be a matter of time before she slipped off the blanket if the dogs ran fast enough, letting Penelope have her turn and all the while, he could remotely control the dogs to go here or there while he rested.

He turned to the younger girl and talked to her jokingly. "Well, since she's Mama Claus and Santa is too big for you, you get to be an elf!" he said.

Once the puppies, tails started to wag, Penelope knew that she liked these dogs immensely. Even if they were all black, red-eyed, and scary, the simple fact was that she loved animals and especially if they were special like mutants. These puppies were sweeter than they looked and were absolutely adorable to the touch. Hopefully whenever she came to the mansion she could get to play with them. As a matter of fact, before the evening was through, she would make sure to ask Miles if that were okay.

Before long, Victoria returned with her sheets in hand and the game was ready to be played. Judged by the name, she had an initial idea of what was going to be done, but she had an inkling that Miles wanted to explain things further than just the title.

He was a talker, after all.

>> "All right, this is simple! Penelope, you tie the corner ends of the blanket to the dogs bandanas and Victoria, you sit yourself here and tell us when you're ready to go…I used to play 'Santa's sled' when I was a kid and since Christmas is close and you're all dressed in red, you get to be Santa. Or Mamam Claus. The moment you fall off the sled, it's Penelope's turn."

Penelope was quick to follow her orders. She was absolutely fine with letting Victoria go first, but she definitely wanted her own turn. Once she was sure that the sheets were tied off, she jumped up and nodded, waiting for Victoria to slip in and for Miles to finish explaining. She giggled though. Victoria as Santa Claus. Santa Claus wasn’t a girl!

>> "Well, since she's Mama Claus and Santa is too big for you, you get to be an elf!"

“Hey!” she frowned. “I don’t want to be the elf! Um, uh, I want…to be the Christmas Abominable Snowman.” she nodded as if that made all the sense in the world.

With Miles basically brushing off the incident during the zombie game Victoria felt a little better. At least Miles seemed to be ok so that was a plus. She would have to try to be more careful next time, or at the very least try to tackle him in the direction of something softer.

Watching Penelope tie off the blanket to the dogs and listening to Miles’ explanation of the rules Victoria nodded confidently. She wasn’t going to fall off easily. “I hope I can stay on long enough to make it a challenge. Maybe I’ll make it a new world record even.” The blonde looked to her smaller female friend. “Don’t want to make it too easy for you Penelope.” A friendly giggle accompanied her statement.

Sitting down on the blanket Victoria got ready to make history.

He was chuckling at Penelope's choice to be the Christmas Abominable Snowman and followed along with it, trying to argue the pros and cons, all of this in joking fashion.

"But the snowman is even bigger than Santa and you're a 'wee bit' smaller. And the snowman is very hairy and you..." he said, then interrupted himself, looked at Penelope's head, blinked stupidly as he pretended to study her hair, then chuckled again and finished with "...never mind."

Victoria was very enthusiastic about her ride, wanting to break records and set the bar high for Penelope. She was quick to settle down over the blanket, holding herself tight as the dogs were ready to pull the sled.

"Now, here comes the part where mutant dogs come in handy. They're very obedient" he said to his impromptu assistant. "Check this out..."

Miles spoke loudly so his instructions could be easily heard: "Trot slowly, then turn to the right when you reach the end of the room."

His dogs obeyed, pulling Victoria along as the blanket slid slowly and dragged her around the room with ease. Holding to the sled wasn't that difficult at that speed and there was no chance she'd lose her balance.

"Now trot faster around the room."

His dogs picked up the pace and the sled started to gain speed. Sharp turns were the only chance Victoria would tip over and fall, but if she was strong enough to push him through a bush, then holding on to the blanket was easy-peasy.

"Now trot faster!" Miles commanded.

Now this was starting to look fun. He could see the blond girl's hair starting to wave as the dogs pulled her around the spaces between the furniture in the room. At that very moment, Miles' cell phone rang. He gave the girls his back for a second as he quickly answered it. It was a friend from Sanctuary he usually played videogames with.

"Hey, Miles! I'm playing Shoot Them dead 3 and I'm in the serial killer's apartment. Didn't you say there was a hidden weapon stash in this level? Where is it? I can't find it!" his friend said. The stash was hidden outside of the apartment, but he needed to reach a ledge in the next building, so Miles tried to explain what his friend had to do.

Miles spoke loudly so his instructions could be easily heard: "Run forward as fast as you can and jump through the window!"

His dog's ears perked and in an instant, their powerful legs started to pull at maximum speed. There was some furniture along the way and a large window that went from floor to ceiling by the end of the hallway, but his dogs didn't care. They were thralls and they never questioned their orders.

>> "But the snowman is even bigger than Santa and you're a 'wee bit' smaller. And the snowman is very hairy and you...never mind."

…

Penelope stuck her tongue out at him. It was only playfully, but still, the intention was there…Shut up. They were just pretending so there was no reason that she couldn’t be absolutely whoever she wanted to be. Miles should have known that. As a matter of fact, she would have told him that in person if Victoria had already started to climb into position. So, instead she just smiled at both Miles and Victoria and waited for her turn.

>> “Don’t want to make it too easy for you Penelope.”

Penelope giggled as Victoria got into position. She was ready to play now this new game. Though the zombie one was a lot of fun, she had a feeling that maybe both she and Victoria teamed up against Miles was a bit unfair. Playing one-on-one would probably be far easier for him to deal with. After all, there was only so much that he could take of the two of them before he admitted defeat.

Plus, at least with this game they would get the play with the puppies! She loved puppies.

She stood back behind Miles and waited in anticipation for everything to begin. Maybe by watching Victoria go first, she could in fact figure out a far better way to play the game so that she could surpass Victoria and win! Penelope loved to win. But, standing back, she realized that there was little effort to the game other than holding on for dear life. Miles shouted orders, the dogs obeyed, and Victoria held on. Seemed simple enough.

Eagerly she waited, even as Miles pulled out his phone and was talking to someone very loudly. Her eyes were set upon Victoria as she shouted.

“Go Victoria!!”

Without much wasted time the ride began as Miles commanded his dogs. The blanket slid easily across the floor, and Victoria was able to stay on without any effort. Even going this slow speed it was a fun little ride. A smile and a wave to Penelope and Miles were sent in their direction when the blonde passed them by.

Gradually Miles commanded his mutant dogs to go faster and faster again. Victoria now had a good grip on the blanket as she could feel gravity trying to yank her from her ride. The more the dogs ran around the room the more she could feel herself being pulled at. Her hair was flicking behind her and she was leaning more into the turns. She was determined to win this.

The clicking of the dogs’ nails on the floor made it hard to hear what Miles said next, but suddenly the dogs gained a burst of speed. Victoria reacted quickly and gripped the blanket tighter as the dogs changed their course. The blonde girl didn’t say anything as she thought maybe Miles was trying to see if his dogs could through her off by going a different way. This only drove Victoria to be more determined…except….there were now obstacles!

The speed the dog sled was moving made it hard to dodge things now. They bumped an end table with a lamp on it sending it crashing to the floor just behind Victoria. Making the mistake of looking back to see how much damage the shattered lamp had made Victoria didn’t see the set of chairs the dogs bolted through. One struck her on the side of her head and her shoulder. Spinning back around to face forward from the unexpected impact the dogs had just crashed through a small book case sending books flying at the girl. Ducking her head down kept the books from smacking her in the face, but as soon as she lifted her head it crashed into the side of a small table the dogs ran under.

The demolition carried on down the hallway as the dogs continued to pull furiously towards the large window at the end of the hall. Victoria holding her head now only had one hand gripping the blanket. As the pitch black dogs crashed through the large window like a couple cannon balls Victoria screamed at the top of her lungs as she was sent sailing out the window as well.

Crashing to the ground several feet away from the mansion and rolling several more the blonde girl looked like she was a ragdoll that had been discarded. Her dress was torn in numerous places, one of her hair ties had come out leaving only one ponytail intact and she hurt all over. However, should someone look her over they’d find that physically she looked just fine except for a few little red spots from impacts. Victoria continued to lie where she had stopped rolling for a moment before getting up to assess her dress.

Miles could sense where his dogs were at all times, though he wasn't paying attention to that right now, with his mind trying to focus on remembering the video game so he could give his friend specific instructions. He heard Penelope say 'Go Victoria!' and the sound of a table sliding on the floor behind him, to which he just waved a hand, urging the girls to quiet down a bit while he kept on talking on the phone.

That's when he heard the lamp crash on the floor.

Miles turned just in time to see Victoria and her dogs plow through some chairs and a bookcase. The books were falling all over her and now the dogs sped through under a table and he could hear the poor girl getting hit all over and WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON!?

His dogs were obedient! They'd never disobeyed him before so blatantly! They were supposed to trot around the furniture, not plow through it to make their way to...

Oh boy...

The sound of crashing glass made him wince and close his eyes tightly but her scream made him open them up immediately and run after her. Oh man, he was in so much trouble! He was going to pay for this BIG TIME! The blame was on him and he... he... why was he worrying about himself? Victoria had just flown out the window!

The sound of small bits of glass crunching under his sneakers didn't make him slowdown, even if it was dangerous to speed through those and risk slipping over them. The boy pretty much jumped out of the newly made hole in the wall, landing awkwardly on the ground and screaming the girl's name.

"VICTORIA!"

He had difficulty telling his surroundings adjusting his eyes to the dark and the light by the lamp posts, but he could sense his dogs, whose maddening dash through the hallway had suddenly stopped and he figured Victoria should be close to them.... or not. If she was a little afraid of the animals before, who knows if she'd be freaked about them now. Oh God, she'd likely be bleeding and they'd have to take her to the hospital... she could have broken some bones and if she had landed on her head or if some glass shard had made it to her neck or... ohgodohgodohgod...

"VICTORIA!!!"

His heart was beating like a jackhammer and he couldn't think straight, but he had to, lest he'd be too much in shock and accidentally provoke something worse. If... if he turned into his dark mode and she happened to be... dead... then....

"VICTORIA!!!"

It was then that he mentally commanded his dogs to find the girl for him, but they barely moved from the spot they were in and just turned their heads to one side.

She was... miraculously standing. Miles ran towards her, both hands in his head, not being able to see how badly cut she was and apologizing as he approached.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't think... didn't know... wuh...?"

Her hair was a mess, her dress had several cuts and rips and was dirty at parts from when she landed but other than that, she wasn't mortally wounded, or cut or... even scraped. She had a few bruises that... didn't even seem much like bruises, just a bit of pink here and there and that was it.

Wait a second, wasn't this girl's skin so frail she couldn't even take a bit of sunlight?

"You're... you're fine!" he said, an immense sense of relief suddenly invading his voice. He carefully placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to better look at her under the lamp lights. "You're... are you all right? Can you move? You shouldn't be moving! Please, lie down..." he said, not really sure how any of this had happened.

"Penny!" he yelled at the younger girl still in the house so she could find them quickly. "Come out through the door, don't risk the broken glass! I need a hand here to move Victoria!"

Penelope didn’t understand what was going on. One second she was standing there, in the middle of the living room and laughing and giggling as Victoria was being moved around the room thanks to Miles’ dogs. The very next second all mayhem was occurring. Tables were falling over, glasses were breaking, and Victoria was screaming. She watched in horror as her new friend was being buffeted around the room in complete and utter madness and Penelope was silent with terror.

What the heck was going on!?

“Miles! What’re they do—“

SMASH!!!

Penelope jumped and covered her mouth in horror as Victoria was sent hurdling through the window by the two dogs. Instantly her heart was filled with fear as imaginable images began to bombard Penelope’s mind. What happened to her friend? Where was she?

Miles was the first out of the window to and charging away from the mansion. Was he running to get away from the scene? What a horrible babysitter!! Penelope, firmness on her face, ran over to the window and looked out.

Oh…he was running to see where Victoria was. Good. She wanted to like him.

>> "Penny! Come out through the door, don't risk the broken glass! I need a hand here to move Victoria!"

“Um, okay!!” Penelope shouted as she dashed to the nearest door. She crossed her fingers and hoped and prayed that Victoria was okay…

Victoria heard her name being shouted, but she was still assessing what damage had been done. She checked herself for anything out of the ordinary physically. Nope. Body is fine…but…her dress. It was ruined! Pieces had been ripped or cut and random patches of dirt stained the cloth.

She was sobbing when Miles approached her asking if she was ok. Her little hands holding her dress as she looked down at it. All the while Miles was going on about being sorry, but then his tone changed to one of joy. She felt his hands on her shoulders as he continued talking in something of a joyously confused state of mind.

Rage suddenly filled the girl as she raised her head to look Miles directly in his eyes. Her own red eyes glowing intensely. “MILES!!!” Victoria thrust her hands under the boy’s armpits and lifted him off the ground. “My dress is ruined! What am I going to tell my parents?!” Images of her mother being upset entered the girls mind and she released Miles as she dropped to her knees and began crying hard. Hands covering her face as more emotions filled her. Miles would probably think she was a monster now. Should she run away?

Now this... totally and absolutely took him by surprise. He was trying to apologize to Victoria for what happened but as he was doing so, he couldn't help feeling elated that she was fine, at least on the outside. He didn't know if she was hurt on the inside so that's why he was urging her to take it easy or lie down...

Then she picked him up like a rag doll and screamed at him.

The boy opened his eyes wide as plates as her own eyes were red and angry! He could feel his feet wiggling helplessly in mid air! Whatever happened to the 'frail' girl who couldn't even take a ray of sunshine!? She blamed him for ruining her dress and was worried about what she'd tell her parents, then dropped him like a sack of potatoes. His legs gave way, so he fell on his butt as she did on her knees.

Then she cried.

Miles only offered silence as she wept, not entirely sure what had just happened or how to handle the situation. Should he pat her on the shoulder and risk her grabbing his wrist and breaking it? Should he wait it out... at a safe distance?

She kept on crying and Miles could not help remembering his sister. She was around her age. What would Miles do if his sister suddenly turned into a mutant, one who could lift him up and toss him about? What would he do if he had ruined something very cherished to her and brought her to tears?

The boy approached Victoria on hands and knees, then sat next to her as she cried, put an arm around her shoulder and whispered.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I... I blew it. I really did" he said. "Please forgive me, Victoria..."

Her dress was beautiful, a work of art really. Ruined. She trusted him wholeheartedly to have some good, harmless fun. Ruined. He told her there was nothing to fear from the dogs. Ruined. How could he mend any of these mistakes? He was going through a serious guilt trip and all he could offer were apologies instead of solutions.

"I'll... I'll talk to your parents. I'l take full responsibility, really I will. You tell them some... inconsiderate idiot did this to your dress and I'll... I don't know what I'll do, but whatever they decide I'll do it. Just... please don't cry. It's kinda contagious" he said, bringing his hand to wipe a little tear forming in one of his eyes. He wasn't that good at keeping it together when he had caused a friend so much pain and 'keeping it together' was paramount to keep his dark mode at bay.

He heard short, quick footsteps coming to meet them and he assumed it was Penny. Well, maybe a girl had better words of encouragement for another girl, but best not tell her how strong Victoria really was. He didn't know how well the little girl would take to dealing with a super strong mutant.

"She's very distressed" he warned her. "Totally my fault."

Penelope was out the door and running around the building to meet up with Miles and Victoria. She didn’t understand what happened. It seemed as if Miles had a good control over the dogs! But if he did, why did they go barreling out the window like that and hurt Victoria? That was not the sign of a good dog and she was going to make sure that she gave Miles a piece of her mind about that.

But first thing was first. She needed to make sure that her friend was okay.

Her feet pumping hard, Penelope ran with every ounce of strength that she had, past bushes and into the night air until she rounded the corner. Down the way she saw little bits of glitter in the grass, illuminated by the light coming from the broken window. It was probably glass so she was going to have to be careful. Slowly her steps down, Penelope tried to move around the pretty glitter until she spotted Miles fussing over Victoria.

“Guys!” she ran over, a smile on her face since it seemed like Victoria was actually okay! What a miracle!

And then….

>> “MILES!!! My dress is ruined! What am I going to tell my parents?!”

Wow…

Penelope slowed down as she jogged up to the two of them. Miles was running his mouth, trying to assure Victoria that everything was going to be okay and that she didn’t need to worry about her parents. Before long Miles was flat on his butt again and Victoria had fallen to her knees and began to sob.

Miles certainly had a way of speaking to girls…

>> "She's very distressed…Totally my fault."

Penelope arched her eyebrows as she turned her attention back to Miles. He looked exhausted, relieved, and scared all at the same time (if that were possible). And why shouldn’t he? He had just gone from probably thinking he killed the girl, to relief that she was okay, and then being hauled around like he were a sack of potatoes before being dropped on his butt.

Shaking her head at him, she moved over to Victoria’s side before moving onto her knees next to her. Softly she patted Victoria’s back, frowning a little at all the sniffling.

“Aww, Victoria, it’s okay,” Penelope assured her. “I’m sure you’re parents will be happy so long as you are okay. And Miles will pay for the dress.”