Chaos Critter Tails: Carter and the New Year's Kiss
We open 2026 with Carter learning about New year's traditions. We have questions about tension and advice about picking a herd. Welcome to another year of Chaos Critters.
Happy New Year’s
We went to our friend’s sheep ranch in North Texas. Crokell was a great traveler as always. Dante was good traveler too but he wanted to at least visit everyone he saw. And they’re adding goats to the ranch!
We did some writing and filming at the ranch, to get a head start on the New Year. It was fun, relaxing, and enlightening, as most trips up there are.
Part of the New Year lineup are more Carter stories. Join our Nano Sapiens Landseer Newfie and he learns about the new culture he’s a part of starting with Carter and the New Year’s Kiss!
Carter and the New Year’s Kiss
The big black and white Newfoundland dog shook himself. Starting with his head, the Landseer swung his jowls and ears back and forth, spraying drool across the room. The shaking moved back along his loose neck, down his fluffy body, until his thick tail shook, knocking the coffee table out of place.
Next to the larger dog, a smaller black and white Miniature American Shepherd puppy hopped up on his back legs, using his front paws to steady the table.
From his collar a blue LED shone near a speaker that converted his yap into English. “Carter, watch it inside the house!”
Still somewhat small, Carter thundered his forty pounds over to an adult Mini American. “Aunt Sunrise, is it true?”
Light from a reading tablet set off highlights in the Mini’s white and red-brown fur. She looked up from what Carter knew was her latest romance novel. “Is what true, Carter dear?”
Dog instincts rose up in Carter, unstoppable even by the nanotech shots that gave him sapience and made him a person. He gave his aunt a slobbery kiss-lick on the cheek. The Newfie waited until his aunt’s shaking, much like his own moments before, finished. “Nightfall says we get to stay up late. All night actually. And we get to blow stuff up. And have special treats tomorrow.”
The Newfie’s furry brush of a tail and the two Mini American stubs instinctively wagged back and forth as Carter used the T-word.
Sunrise glared at Nightfall, her eyes gleaming momentarily like her translation collar LED. “Yes. Unlike last time, he’s not making stuff up.”
She paused and quickly added. “Except nobody gets to blow anything up.”
Carter whined, his ears going in several directions uncertainly. His great tail dipped. “But staying up late is against the rules.”
Nightfall bounced between his mother and his cousin. His entire rear made up for his missing tail by shaking back and forth. “But tonight’s special! And stuff does blow up. It’s so awesome!”
Carter looked to Sunrise again.
“Carter, tonight is New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow is a new year.”
***
Later that night, Carter looked up at the sky and watched it exploding. He’d brought his plush lamb with him in case he couldn’t stay awake. The breeder had sent it with him when he was adopted, and he still didn’t want to sleep without it.
His toy fell from his mouth unnoticed.
First there were a few flashes and booms in the sky.
Slowly his tail raised from its normal relaxed position. Even more slowly, it started moving back and forth.
Knowing a portion of the watchers were Nano Sapiens, the fireworks company had concentrated on blues and yellows. Those colors were more visible to all of the audience.
But Carter loved the fireworks the humans around him called red. They weren’t bright but looked like burning black flames.
“Nightfall, you were right. This is worth staying up late!”
His cousin was so excited he couldn’t hold still and ran around and under Carter a few times.
Then they both watched enraptured as the entire sky exploded.
Finally, the fireworks wound down. The human and Nano Sapiens adults all started milling about.
Carter looked around confused. “What’s goin’ on?”
Nightfall dog-laughed. “At midnight, you need to kiss someone for luck.”
His ears perked up as his eyes and nose fixed on someone across the room. “I’ll see you later.”
Carter stood there. “I gotta kiss someone? Who?”
But only Nightfall’s stub disappearing into the crowd answered him.
Frantic Carter grabbed his sheep and galumphed around the room. Unlike other breeds, his breed worked a little more on sight. Like his webbed toes, it was an artifact of being bred for water rescue.
At first, he couldn’t find anyone he knew.
All the adult humans and Nano Sapiens started counting down from ten.
He bounded around faster.
They were down to three when he saw the familiar light of what had to be a tablet with a romance book on it.
With a chorus of “one” in his ears, he leapt remembering to drop his lamb at the last second.
Landing on his aunt, he gave her the biggest, wettest midnight New Year’s lick ever.
Because drool is love. And love is luck.
Right?
Some time later Sunrise was still drying her fur and her reader on a fluffy towel. “Carter, I think you should sleep now.”
***
The next morning, the Newfie stared at the dining table. “This is breakfast?”
Nightfall dog-laughed at him. “Yup. Mom got Edmund’s family recipe before they left for the holidays. Except they made it with beef bacon, since Raihana doesn’t each pork. And skipped the spices we canines can’t have. New family recipe.”
Before him lay four small bowls of black-eyed peas, obviously for the four smaller Mini Americans who he was staying with while his family was away with Edmund and Raihana. In front of him was a huge bowl of black-eyed peas, with a gigantic piece of crispy bacon on top.
He thought for a moment about Gordon Ramsay, his favorite chef. “Only edible garnish.”
From the other end of the table, Sunrise spoke. “The black-eyed peas represent coins.”
Carter’s huge now drooling snout aimed at another bowl, filled with steaming, bright greens - although he’d never understood why something that appeared yellow to him was called greens. Atop the misnamed greens lay a huge dense hunk of yellow cornbread.
The food filled his eyes. For once, his nose had no problems scenting the delicious food. He almost couldn’t hear Sunrise.
“The greens represent money. And the cornbread gold.”
All sapient thought left Carter as the food started entering his mouth.
He came to his senses laying on top of the table. Bowls were scattered everywhere.
Sunrise and three other Mini American dogs stared sadly at him. His aunt’s voice was chastising but amused.
“Evidently, it’s already causing good luck. While you might have destroyed breakfast, there’s plenty more in the kitchen.”
Chaos Tip of the Week
If you find yourself in a herd, but you don’t recognize anyone there, just "Moo”. Someone might moo back. Or they will move on and you will find a better more chaotic herd to hang with.
Chaos Question of the Week
What is the silliest thing you have ever done to break the tension and reset set your mood?
~ Anna (and Tod)
Christmas Anthology Available
The Magic of Yuletide contains “Ice Blue and the Christmas Rescue”
Do you still have that holiday spirit going? How about a Christmas anthology?
Chromosphere Press is proud to announce the release of its first anthology, The Magic of Yuletide, a family-friendly collection of holiday-themed short stories, available just in time for celebrating the holidays.
Ebook! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4XM2KY7
Print! https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Yuletide-Lydia-Sherrer/dp/1950633411
Authors with stories in this delightful collection include Lydia Sherrer, Stephanie Osborn, Aaron Canton, Tiffanie Gray, and more. Foreword by David Weber!
This contains “Ice Blue and the Christmas Rescue”, the first story in our new magic Canine-Feline universe Canifel! Our story includes giant breed dogs and a Maine Coon cat who learns something about Christmas from an unlikely source - a human boy.