Clove & Moose: Moose Moment 10

Clove and Moose is a serial fiction story. If you want to get caught up on what came before, click one of the buttons below.

Previously, on Clove & Moose: After the mysterious Cataclysm dried up the earth and its magic, Clove and her cat Moose travelled to find and repair pools of corrupted magic left behind. She's picked up three companions: Marissa, Jasper, and his trusty horse Miss Delilah.

Moose was mad. His face was stuck through a slice of bread and the humans were laughing at him.

It had all started when Marissa said, “We should go trick or treating.”

“Trick or treating?” Clove asked. “I don’t think people really do that any more.”

“Well, they should.” Marissa scooped up Moose and nuzzled him. “I’m not saying anyone needs to give us candy. But they deserve the treat of seeing this little guy in a costume.”

Moose’s presence was, in fact, a treat, and he was glad that someone had finally recognized this, however, the costume was a nasty trick.

“Look how cute he is!” Marissa squealed while Clove hid a snort behind her hand. He glared at her. Betrayal from Marissa was one thing. He expected better from his beloved Clove.

When Marissa left the room to put on her own costume, Clove rubbed him behind his ears. He was only slightly mollified by this. “Just a couple of houses, sweet boy, then we’ll get that off of you. It’ll make her happy.”

“And if you’re good,” Jasper added, “there’ll be a treat in it for you.”

That was more like it. When Marissa returned in her floured baker’s apron, Moose only resisted a little bit when she put him in his harness and took him to the neighbouring house. He could survive the indignity of a trick if it was going to lead to a treat.

Thank you for reading! We'll come back to the main story of Clove & Moose soon enough, but I've been publishing a monthly fiction newsletter for five years straight and I need a little break. These shorter Moose Moments will be coming to your inbox instead for the next few months.

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Katie Conrad is a speculative fiction writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can find her on bluesky and instagram.