{LAAN: Quickie 8 is currently unfinished so you get 9. Note: This is BEFORE Lucky!}

  Spot sat at the kitchen table, his head resting on his arms. Through the tiring stress of the day, he managed to find happiness when he came home to find that his mom was away for the night. He had fed his siblings what little they had and sent them to do their homework. Trying to forget the day, he had his eyes trained on the leaky faucet. Practicing his water abilities from a distance, he made a droplet of water hover, keeping the drop airborne as more drops came to fill the tiny water mass. This process was somewhat relaxing to Spot. He slowly closed his eyes, but kept his focus on that ball of water. He knew he was keeping it up; he could feel it: each drop, every tiny molecule.

"Spot?" Spot's head jerked up in surprise, the ball of water splashing into the sink. His little sister, Amanda, had seen it. She ran over to the sink. "That was so cool! Can you do it again?"

"Amanda, what are you talking about?" Spot asked, rubbing his head. 

"The water was floating! I saaaw!" she whined. 

"Shush. No need to yell," he told her, coming around to her. He tried to think of a quick, white lie to tell her, but he couldn't find one that she wouldn't question. "Yes, I made the water float, but I'm not going to do it again."

"Awww, why not?" she asked sadly.

"Because it's bath time."

"But—"

"No buts." He took his little sister's hand and walked with her to her room. He poked his head in to see the rest of his siblings sitting on the floor among various books and pencils. "You guys done with homework?"

"All done," Hazel, the second oldest, responded. 

"Will you get their baths ready?" 

"Wash us?" Amanda asked, tugging on Spot's hand.

"No, you're old enough to wash yourself," Spot said with a sigh.

"Please?" she asked. 

"Please?" Joey chimed in. 

"Pwease?" Coco added. 

"Spaht!" Shane, the baby pup, squeaked, reaching his little hands out to Spot. Spot gave Hazel a tired look, but Hazel only responded with a small shrug and an equally tired look. Spot gave a long sigh, running his fingers through his hair. 

"Alright, alright," he told the pups. 

"Yay! Spot can show us his powers, too!" Amanda squealed. 

"Spot has powers?" Joey asked. Amanda started ranting about what she had seen while Hazel stood up, the baby pup in his arms, and gathered everyone's pajamas.

"Powers?" he asked Spot as he paused in the doorway. Spot only pointed his thumb to the bathroom door.

"Bath." Hazel just shrugged. 

After rounding up each pup, Spot sat on his knees outside the tub while all 5 younger pups sat in the bath. Hazel busied himself with cleaning Shane, holding the puppy in his lap. Spot rubbed shampoo into Coco's hair as he talked to the two middle pups. 

"Joey, actually wash your hair this time. I've shown you many times."

"But, it's not dirty," Joey whined. 

"I don't care. Wash it or you'll stay in here for hours and get all wrinkly." Joey whined to himself as he grabbed the shampoo bottle. 

"Spot, why do I have to do this and you don't?" Hazel asked. 

"Because I don't fit anymore and Shane likes you," Spot answered flatly. Hazel looked down at his baby brother, raising an eyebrow. Shane just tilted his head and cooed. 

"Spot, show us your powers," Amanda said.

"Not tonight." 

"Please!" Amanda and Joey whined. 

"Might as well. It'll get them to shut up," Hazel suggested with sarcasm. 

"Powahs!" Coco shrieked, pounding the water with her fists. Spot raised his arms to block the water that was about to splash him, but the droplets stopped in midair. Everyone one froze. Spot gently lowered his arms as he tried to hold back a smile.

"How can you do that?" Joey asked. Spot smiled slightly and waved his hand over the drops, each coming together into a ball of water. The pups' eyes sparkled. 

"Well," Spot started, cupping his hands under the water-ball. "I am a descendent of a very powerful being, one who can control water." He moved his hands outward slightly, stretching the water into the silhouette of the Animelement portrayed in the mythology book Shadow had shown him. 

"Can we do it, too?" Amanda asked.

"No. It skips many generations. But my friends and I are like this; we can control elements and some of us can change form."

"Can you change form?" Joey asked.

"Supposedly, yes. But I haven't tried yet." Spot kept shaping the water into random things as he tried to keep his mind clear. "Maybe I'll show you someday." 

"Coooool," Coco said in awe. 

"Just," Spot said with a pause, the water-ball shivering. "Can you keep it to yourselves? We're just not sure if there are bad people who want to use our powers." The pups were quiet. 

"Are you gonna die?" Joey whimpered. 

"No! No, I'm not gonna die. They'll have to catch me first." The pups each gave a small sigh of relief. Spot smiled. He brought the water-ball to his mouth and quickly blew it, the ball breaking into 5 smaller balls, each floating to a pup. Then, one by one, the balls popped, showering water on each pup's head. Squeals of delight from the younger ones followed. 

"So not fair" Hazel muttered to himself.

"Jealously is unhealthy if you keep it contained," Spot said with a smile as he pulled a blob of water from the bath and used it to rinse Coco's hair off. Hazel just gave a small scoff and finished with Shane. After drying each pup and putting them into pajamas, Spot tried to send each one off to bed. 

"But I wanna hear more stories," Amanda whined.

"Your powers are so cool!" Joey said.

"I'm not tired," Coco huffed.

"I don't have to go to bed this early. I'm, like, an adult already," Hazel grumbled as he put a sleepy Shane in his little bed. Spot only put his hands on his hips, looking at each pup. 

"Do I have to make you go to bed?" Spot asked, an evil glint in his eyes. The pups froze; they all knew this game and they knew Spot was too stubborn to change his mind. "I'll give you five seconds to scatter." Each pup transformed into their dog form and ran around the house, looking for a place to hide. Spot smirked to himself, as he transformed too, prowling around the house for each one. He sniffed the floor and listened for muffled giggles of anticipation. 

Finding Coco behind the couch first, he startled her into shifting back to human form. She squealed and started to run, but Spot was too fast, changing back to human form mid-stride and scooping her up, squeezing her sides. She giggled and squirmed in Spot's grip, her giggles quickly turning to laughter as he tickled her stomach and neck. She gave up after about a minute, tapping out on his arm. He giggled and gave her a hug before setting her down in order to look for the other pups. 

Amanda and Joey were easy to find; they started arguing with each other when their hiding spots were too close to each other. Spot pounced, causing the kids to squeal and scatter again. Spot caught Joey first and he caught Amanda by wrapping his tail around her ankle. He scooped both pups up, giving each a smirk as he decided who to tire out first. He shrugged, pinned them both to the floor and spidered his fingers over both of their stomachs. They squealed with laughter, squirming, and flailing their arms. Amanda tapped out first and it took a couple quick raspberries for Joey to give up too. He set them both by Coco to wait. He changed back into his dog form and trotted off.

Hazel was the best hider. He had the most endurance, but was, by far, the most ticklish of the younger pups. Spot prowled around, sniffing the floor occasionally. He picked up on Hazel's scent fairly quickly, and he followed the trail, his smile growing as the smell got closer. His nose bumped the cabinet under the sink. He shifted forms again and opened the door. Hazel made a tiny squeak when he saw Spot.

"Boo," Spot said with a smirk. Hazel quickly scrambled from the cabinet, but Spot caught him around the waist. Spot pinned Hazel on his stomach by sitting on his legs. Hazel cursed under his breath. Spot started drawing shapes with his finger on Hazel's upper back, causing the younger to squeak and tense up as he tried to hold his laughter. Spot raised an eyebrow and smirked as he brushed his tail over Hazel's bare feet. Hazel started giggling and he squealed as Spot ran his finger all the way down Hazel's spine. Going in for the kill, Spot pressed his thumbs against the small of Hazel's back while his other fingers squeezed his sides. Hazel gave a violent jerk as he burst into laughter, arching his back and clawing at the floor. 

"Give up?" Spot teased, his thumbs lightly scratching at Hazel's back. 

"NYAAH YES!!" Hazel squealed, slapping the floor three times. Spot smiled and got off his brother. 

"Come on then. Go to bed," Spot said, walking over to the other pups. An evil smile grew on Hazel's face. 

"But you haven't been 'tired out' yet," he said, getting to his feet. The younger pups looked at each other with evil grins before getting up and advancing toward Spot. 

"Guys, no," Spot said nervously. "You gotta go to bed." Hazel caught Spot off guard, grabbing Spot's arms and pulling him to the floor. Hazel sat on Spot's hands, leaning over his brother. 

"It's only fair." Spot swallowed; everyone knew his weaknesses. Hazel started by tickling Spot's ribs and armpits, Amanda tickled Spot's stomach and sides, Coco used her tail to poke in Spot's navel, and Joey sat on one of Spot's ankles and tickled the arch with both hands. Needless to say, Spot was driven to hysterics with all of his spots being attacked. He writhed as much as he could while he tried so hard not to kick or hurt anyone. 

"Do you give yet?" Hazel teased? Spot shook his head in between laughter. "Alright then." As if on command, each pup picked up their pace, their tiny fingers driving Spot up the wall. He could barely speak as he struggled. Finally, having enough, he slapped his tail on the floor three times. Hazel immediately stopped and got up to stop the other pups. Spot curled up and slowly got his breath back.

"Now, will you all go to bed?" he wheezed. 

"Come on, guys. We've had our fun," Hazel said, taking Joey's hand. A small chorus of "aww"s came the response, but the pups all went toward their rooms. Coco reached out to Spot as he got up. He picked her up and carried her. He nudged Hazel with his elbow.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed with a smile. Hazel smiled back.

"That's not an insult, you're just stating a fact," he replied. Spot giggled and shook his head. 

"Sad, but true."

"What'sa bitch?" Coco asked. Spot glanced at Hazel as he smiled. Hazel nodded to Coco and Spot turned to his little sister. She patted his chest when she didn't hear a quick answer. "What'sa bitch, Spot?"

"That's your mommy," he replied. "But don't call her that while she's around, okay?"

"Okay." Spot and Hazel tucked each pup into bed and Spot went around to everyone and kissed their heads. Hazel and Spot then went to their rooms, Spot stopping at the doorway to gaze at Hazel. 

"What?" Hazel asked as he sat on his bed. 

"You're just growing up really fast," Spot said with a shrug. 

"This puberty thing can't work fast enough," Hazel huffed. 

"Trust me, it gets worse," Spot said with a smile. Hazel returned the smile and shuffled under the covers. Spot came to his side and kissed his forehead. Hazel groaned and wiped his head.

"Spot, I'm too old for you to be doing that," he whined. 

"You'll miss it when I'm gone," Spot said, turning toward his bed. Hazel sat up. 

"What do you mean? Where are you going?"

"Did you forget? I'm graduating and going to college," he replied, getting into bed.

"Y-you're not gonna stay with us?"

"Hey, where's this emotion coming from, you little emo?" Spot joked. "Told you it was just a phase."

"I'm serious, Spot."

"I know. But I may not stay with you. I haven't decided if I'm going to live on campus, but the odds are that I will. But you shouldn't worry. You know how to take care of the pups and yourself."

"But what about mom and—"

"Just because I'm going to college and working doesn't mean I won't be there for you. You're brave kids. I'll just be a phone call away." Hazel looked away, concern on his face. "Hey, that's a long way from now. We got the rest of the school year and summer together."

"It's just happening really fast," Hazel said. 

"Everything's gonna be okay, I promise. We'll talk about it more tomorrow if you want."

"No, no. It's okay. I think I get it."

"Well, if you want to ask." Hazel nodded, then paused to yawn. Spot couldn't help but smile. "Good night, Hazel."

"Night, Spot," Hazel murmured as he rolled over in bed. Despite the anxiety hovering in the room, everyone slept easily that night.