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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 2:31 pm
What do Julie's ponies do for the holidays? Let's find out!
Prima Rosa Cirro Strata Fritzwallace Eabha Jack Marina Hipo Aith Pacha Ofelia Pyxis Wink Ruby Takutai LV Koa Sneffels Splendida Helio Strata Leucosia Prince
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 2:40 pm
Prima Rosa, in spite of her name, was not much of a gardener. She wasn't exactly the type to kill every green thing she touched, but her home in the mountains also wasn't very conducive to much in the way of plant life. Still, she loved flowers - loved watching the progress of a green and growing thing making its way in the world. She was devastated when, inevitably, some died or were eaten or just refused to come back when they'd grown big and strong the previous year.
But this year was different. She didn't know how it had come to pass, where it had come from or if someone had left it on purpose or dropped it accidentally - but it had come to her, regardless of method or intentionality.
Prima Rosa was pretty sure she was looking at, of all things, a cactus. She had only heard stories of the desert climes where such plants were common, but based on how it stung her when she hoof brushed past it unwittingly, there were only so many plants it could be. After accidentally stumbling into it, she had carefully observed it for a few days, before eventually setting about moving it closer to the cave she called her home. She knew cacti were supposed to favor warm weather, not the bitter cold that clung to her mountain for most of the year, so she took it inside, made something resembling a pot for it, roots and all, and watched it carefully. She let it have the sun when it was out, and tucked it back near herself and the fire she built during the nighttime hours, to keep it warm.
It did not take her long to fall in love with the sturdy, stubborn little plant. The first time it sprouted tiny, hesitant pink buds, Prima Rosa almost cried.
It was not only living, surviving - it was thriving. Because of her. The pride and protectiveness Prima felt was unreal, unlike anything else she'd ever experienced. Was this why people had foals?
By the end of winter, the cactus had outgrown not one but two hastily-made pots, and only seemed to do better and better the warmer it became. As it got bigger, Prima began to clip it, trim it, keep it neat - and was surprised to find that those clippings sprouted cacti themselves! So this, she decided, would be her Yuletide gift to any she called a friend; a symbol of the endurance it took to survive in a world that was often cold, cruel, and altogether dark. It reminded her - there was always room for growth, for beauty, and for caring, no matter how grim it seemed - and no matter how spikey the prospect appeared in the beginning, it could be overcome and made well, if you just had the determination to see it through.
((WC: 476))
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 3:02 pm
Cirro Strata loved this time of year - she always had, but now that she had her own family, her very own foals, she loved it even more. She tried to ensure they always had time together as a family, but when it was dark and cold and dreary out, it required less effort to keep everyone in the same space, and that made Cirro very happy.
Gifts also made Cirro Strata very happy. Not just receiving them, although of course she would never turn down a present, but more than that - giving them. She tried to keep her children from being too materialistic, but sometimes, a little bit of materialism couldn't hurt too badly.
But the best gifts, Cirro knew, were ones that mattered. Ones that came from the heart. That was why she had made the gifts for both her children this year; painstakingly, and in secret, which when combined, had made it incredibly difficult to get anything done whatsoever.
All the same, she'd found the time somehow, and now was the moment she looked forward to best - the exchange.
"Helio! Selene! It's time!" Cirro called to her children, smiling to herself as she heard the patter of young, excited hooves making their way toward her. "Have you been good this year?" Cirro asked when they arrived, hiding a smile at the look of abject panic that crossed Helio's face. They would get their gifts regardless, but... well, part of the fun was the suspense, wasn't it? She had to make them work for it a little bit...
((WC: 259))
Helio's broad, winning smile faded immediately. They were supposed to be good? Good? All year long? That was crazy! Every time he'd gotten in trouble over the past year immediately flashed through his mind, making him cringe. His ears flattened against his skull and he sulked his head downwards, ashamed. He couldn't believe his mom had told him he'd get a present and now he wasn't going to get a present because he hadn't been good.
...Maybe there was a way to work something out. His mom wasn't unreasonable... and he could've sworn he saw her trying not to smile. And it wasn't like she didn't know he'd gotten in trouble more times than he could count - she was the one who'd been the one to scold him or punish him! Helio narrowed his eyes slightly and lifted his head a bit.
"Um... can you define good? 'Cause I totally haven't been evil or anything! I've been.... I think I've been... mostly good! More good than not good! More days where I didn't get in trouble than I did... I think... probably...." Was that actually true? His brow knit in consternation as he considered.
"But... if I get a present now," he said, perking up slightly. "I promise I'll be way better next year! Way, way better! Hardly any trouble at all!" Was she buying this? He couldn't tell.
She must have, though, because she laughed (he loved her laugh) and shook her head, but fondly, and pulled from somewhere his gift, wrapped in big green leaves from some eternally-green-and-living tree. He tore it open and couldn't help the gasp that escaped him.
It was a comb. But not just any comb - one made of bone. It was light and shimmered slightly in the light, and its teeth were straight and narrow, perfect for keeping his hair untangled. And it got tangled a lot.
"Thank you mama!!" Helio said, not even paying attention to whatever Selene's lame gift was as he crashed into his mother. "I love it, it's so COOL, what kind of bone is it where did you get it how did you make its teeth like that and--"
The questions persisted, joined by Selene when she finished unwrapping her shell-and-bone necklace, and Cirro could've lived in that moment of perfect joy forever.
((WC: 385))
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 7:49 pm
Fritzwallace loved a party - he really did! He loved a celebration, the feeling of joy in the air, the sharing back and forth. But mostly that was other people's parties, when he was a guest. When he was contributing to the atmosphere for someone else.
He was less used to being the subject of the celebrations; he was as surprised as anyone to discover that being in the spotlight kind of made him...uncomfortable? Sort of? He just wasn't quite sure what to - to do with it. He wasn't quite sure his lines, wasn't sure what to say or how to be.
But at least it wasn't a party-party. It was just him and Eabha, with Eabha fussing around trying to make their shared space more celebratory, in the spirit of the first real snow of the year. It wasn't anyone's birthday, Eabha just - liked to celebrate, and he liked that about her. He never turned down a party.
It was just that her energy seemed especially directed to making sure he had a good time. Like, it was both of them, but especially for him, and he was, to put it simply, mystified.
But mystified or not, Fritzwallace greatly enjoyed a party, so he trotted along behind Eabha obediently, lifting things and holding things that Eabha couldn't reach for height-related reasons (that she didn't want to talk about, but that she was grateful to have a full-sized stallion around for).
"What's all this for?" Fritz asked, around a garland he was holding in his teeth that Eabha was telling him where to twist and pull. "It's a just us party, right?"
((WC: 271))
Fritzwallace tried so hard to make everyone else happy all the time. Eabha loved him for that, but she also found it frustrating at times - she didn't think he did it intentionally, but he was so good at deflecting. What about Fritz? Who took care of him? Who made him happy?
So Eabha had decided that if nobody else would, the job had fallen to her. And she would do the dang thing, just how she did every other dang thing: extremely well and thoroughly.
There were decorations. There was a festive air. There was Fritzwallace, helping her decorate for his own dang party! He was supposed to be the guest of honor! Not part of the party planning committee!
"Just us," Eabha confirmed with a smile. "And we're done! Okay, so nowww... presents!" Eabha didn't catch the flash of panic across Fritz's face, and pretend not to hear the plaintive noise he made - no doubt worried about what he was supposed to have gotten her.
"Just take it," Eabha said, once she'd set the small container in front of him. It was wooden, and had a couple of small holes punched in the top, for - well, he'd see soon. "Open!"
Eabha watched as Frtiz cautiously opened the container, jumping slightly as the contents moved a bit.
"They're not poisonous! They're actually completely tame! And they glow," Eabha added. "Just like-- like your markings do sometimes," Eabha added. "They're yours now. If you want them."
Eabha watched as he carefully allowed one, then another, then another scorpion to crawl over him and nestle into his hair, his tail, or his hooves. He was very tense for a quiet couple of moments, but when they didn't immediately bite and kill him, he relaxed considerably.
"Do you like--"
((WC: 296))
"THIS ONE'S NAME IS STEWART. THIS ONE'S TIMOTHY. THIS ONE'S DESTRUCTO. AND THIS ONE'S NAME IS THURSDAY!"
(Yes. He liked them.)
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:24 pm
The problem with falling in love was that suddenly, your whole world was about that person. At least, that was how Jack was discovering love to be - he had never been in love before, so he didn't have much personal experience to compare it with, and he didn't have any friends to ask, either, so he could only assume that this was just - how it was.
And he didn't mind. It was bordering on intoxicating; he didn't mind his new center of gravity being Candra, because Candra was perfect.
The problem was that she was perfect. What do you get - what do you do - for someone who's perfect? What gift is good enough?
The answer: nothing. Jack had no idea what physical thing would be good enough for Candra, so he bypassed it entirely, and instead found a warm blanket in a soft clearing, gathered sweet berries and tart leaves, and arranged them (loosely) in the shape of a heart. He managed to scrounge up some candles and lit them (carefully - always mindful of safety) and told one of the herdmembers to tell Candra to meet him here.
If there was nothing physically good enough to give her - he had no choice but to give her his time, of which he had nothing but enough of, and would always give her, whenever she needed it.
He could only hope that she would like it - that she would still, for some baffling reason, love him the way he loved her. If she did like it, he would do it every year - every month, every week, every night, if she wanted. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.
((WC: 277))
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:56 pm
Being underwater, it did not snow. The seasons were still marked in some ways - the water was colder, for one thing. Marina didn't mind the change; it put some spring in her fins, woke her up a little. Made her extra-aware of her environment. Made her extra-aware of who was in her environment.
"You're a little punk," Marina called out to the pink and blue male; the one she recognized from the other day, the one who'd splashed her and the two land-dwellers. He seemed startled, but he didn't immediately flee, which prompted Marina to continue speaking. "I remember you. Are you always a little twerp, or was that special for me, for some reason?" It wasn't like they even knew each other - maybe it was random, or maybe she had pissed him off in some indirect way.
"What are you doing in this area anyway? Don't tell me you live around here." She eyed him thoughtfully, squinting through the current at him. He looked...
Well, he didn't look like much, in this light, except maybe vaguely despondent and out of sorts. He didn't quite look like he was skulking, per se, or else Marina would have been more suspicious. He just looked...
Sad.
Marina almost felt bad for greeting him so aggressively. Almost. And then she remembered that she'd gotten splashed, and her new friends had gotten splashed too, which kept her from feeling too guilty.
"What's wrong?" Marina asked, swimming a bit closer - but cautiously, just in case on the off-chance that this was somehow another prank. "Is everything okay?"
((WC: 269))
Taku wasn't sure what had brought him here exactly, but here he was, nevertheless, and worst of all, he'd been caught. He'd been caught skulking, if that's what he was doing - that's probably what the female would say he was doing. She'd probably try to fight him again.
Getting beat by a girl was so embarrassing. He never should have come here. He should have just swum away and pretended it had never happened, but nooooo.
"I'm fine," Takutai said, a bit defensively. "I'm totally fine. Are you fine? Because I'm fine," he added, really selling the whole 'being fine' concept, he thought. "I'm here, because, um... well, because I wanted to..."
Come on... Taku thought, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize. I guess. For the other day. I was just - trying to be funny and it was funny to me but it wasn't funny to you guys. I guess. So. Sorry. Or whatever. Bye."
He started to turn away, but Marina called to him, making him pause. "What?"
Except Marina wasn't calling to him - how extra double embarrassing. This was worse than waving to someone who was waving to someone else. He followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow as another figure slowly came into view, such a dark blue that part of her almost blended into the ocean waves. The rest of her, bright yellow and red, did not - stood out like the brightest coral. Seemed counter-intuitive for camouflage, but what did he know. It was another female and judging by Marina's exclamation, a friend of hers.
Great, now there were two of them.
((WC: 268 ))
Splendida approached the home of her good friend Marina, and was surprised to find the mare with another Soquili - she wasn't usually alone, given that Caspian was always floating nearby, waiting to defend Marina against threats real or imagined - but she didn't often keep company with other horses, at least not while Splendida was around. Maybe she'd made more friends since the last time she'd seen her...?
"Who's this?" Splendida asked as she approached, looking curiously from Marina to the male. Marina murmured to her, and Splendida's eyebrows rose further. "You don't know his name?" Splendida blinked, frowned, and turned her attention on the male, who very much looked like he wanted to evaporate into a pillar of bubbles.
"I'm Splendida. Are you bothering Marina?" Splendida may be small, but she was fierce - if she needed to chase a scoundrel off, she would. "State your business. Or leave." Marina murmured to her again, and Splendida was starting to get annoyed at having come in after everything had already been established. "Oh. You were apologizing for..." Splendida paused, looked at Marina again, and then back to the male. "Being a punk? Do we forgive him?" At Marina's nod, Splendida rolled her eyes. "Well then why are you floating out here in the middle of nothing? Come in. It's freezing out here."
And so the three underwater ponies retreated into Marina's home, and eventually, Takutai unfroze, Marina warmed up, and most importantly of all, Splendida found a new person to pay her compliments.
((WC: 251))
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 3:07 pm
So the thing about raising a little girl was that Hipolito did not have that much experience with what they liked, wanted, or cared about. He knew Ofelia, of course, and had a fairly strong idea of what she wouldn't want or enjoy, but the problem was this: he had completely forgotten to get her a gift. So he had scrambled and scrounged, and was now faced with the lifelong conundrum that faced last-minute shoppers everywhere: was it better to give a terrible gift, or no gift at all?
But he knew about girls. Or at least he knew about Ofelia, and he knew that she loved gifts. Even terrible ones, maybe. Let's see. He could only hope. He himself hated terrible gifts - he needed all gifts to him to be pristine and perfect, just like himself - but maybe Ofelia hadn't inherited that trait. Maybe she was more gracious than he was.
And anyway, he put little bows on them, and that had to count for something, didn't it?
Presents, presents, presents! That was what Ofelia loved best about the holiday. Gifts, offerings - preferably the shiny kind - were Ofelia's specialty. Acts of service and whatever were fine, but presents were really where it was at, in Ofelia's mind. Mostly the receiving of them. Giving the gifts was really just a thing that she did because then she would get gifts in return. Did she know that was a terrible reason to give gifts? No. Did she care? Also no. It was all about the presents.
"Daddy~" Ofelia called out, trotting happily toward her father. "It's time to exchange~ Are you ready? I'm ready!" To get her gifts. That's what she was ready for. Giving her gift... well, truthfully, she didn't think that her father would particularly care for what she'd gotten him. But that was fine - what mattered was what he had gotten her.
Oh, here she comes. Hipolito grimaced to himself but quickly tried to turn it into a smile as Ofelia approached. "Hello, daughter," he called in return. "Yes, I suppose I am ready," he replied, hoping that she couldn't hear the chagrin in his voice. He was, at least, as ready as he would ever be. He'd just have to make it up to her throughout the year...or maybe on the next holiday. Yes, next year would be plenty of time, surely.
"You go first," Hipolito said. "What do you have for me?" Surely she would just assume he was being self-centered, not that he was trying to stall and put the embarrassment off. Definitely. He waited as Ofelia rummaged and produced...
Two sparkly black scorpions.
Hipo almost barked a laugh, quickly trying to silence it lest Ofelia think he was laughing at her. "I love them," Hipo said, surprised to find he was being honest. "And... if ever there was any doubt that you are my daughter... here is your gift, my dear child."
Ofelia wiggled in delight at her father's response - that was about the best she could hope for. At least he wasn't frightened of them, as she had been when she first discovered them - before she realized they were quite tame, almost friendly. She watched as Hipolito put them in his hair and on one of his wings, and then she couldn't help the excited little bounce that she took as she waited.
"My turn?" Ofelia asked. "What did you get me?" Her eyes lit on a pair of bows nestled between his many wings, and grinned as he picked them up carefully in his mouth and held them out to her. "What is it, what is it, what--is it." Ofelia blinked as she removed the bows.
Two black sparkly scorpions.
Really? Really?! She was almost upset, and then she saw her father's sheepish smile, and couldn't help but laugh, which made Hipolito burst into relieved laughter as well. She was her father's daughter after all.
"Daddy! Now we match!!"
((WC: 657 Hipo: 343 Ofelia: 313))
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 7:43 pm
If there was one thing about Pachamamma, it was that she knew how to wait. She was very patient, and she was very attentive to details. She knew how to work, and she knew how to take her time. She was a serious girl, and she took her plans seriously.
Even the fun ones.
That was why she'd barely gotten a solid night's sleep for a month - because she had to sneak up in the middle of the night to assemble everything she required. The thing about having a somewhat large family was that, while it had many aspects that were quite delightful, it made gift-giving occasions quite...exhausting, was the word.
But she'd committed to her idea, and damn if she wasn't going to see it through. She'd recently adopted a family of moths, and they kept her company - and contributed. They'd been with her long enough that they'd had children, and some had passed away, but she was giving them second life like this: making jewelry for her family. A wing in a necklace for one sister, a bracelet for another, and a whole tiny baby one that hadn't made it past spring, woven into a hairpiece for her father. He'd been glum ever since their mother had left; she wanted to make him smile, and remind him that change didn't have to be a bad thing.
Unfortunately, the other thing about Pacha was that she was shy. Hesitant in the limelight. So rather than making a tremendous deal about the giving, she simply wrapped them in leaves and left them - anonymously, but obviously - near her family, hoping they'd like them when they awoke the next morning.
They'd better, Pacha thought as she settled back down to sleep - it had taken her long enough to make them...
((WC: 298 ))
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 9:50 pm
Pyxis had far, far too many sisters to ever consider getting or, heaven forbid, making gifts for all of her family members. She had long-since given up on the idea; besides, The Flock was not overly big on overt displays of emotion, even from female to female. So nobody really minded; everyone got what they needed throughout the rest of the year, and if someone wanted something, they found a way to get it themselves.
Except now, it wasn't just her biological family she had to consider.
It was this damn cat. She knew, objectively, that the cat didn't know or care about holidays. The cat barely knew or cared about the change of seasons whatsoever.
However. However, Pyxis Gloriosa did mark these things, and did care about them to a greater or lesser extent, and for some inexplicable reason, even to herself - she wanted to celebrate the holidays.
With her cat.
The cat was obsessed with the stupid leaf - Pyxis didn't even know where it had found the thing. It certainly hadn't come from her greenhouse. But that was the thing that made the cat happy, and it was all she had to go on, based on limited information.
So Pyxis had done her best. She found a small box and gathered up leaves of every shape, size, color, smell - careful to avoid any that might be toxic to the little thing - and put them in the box. Then she presented the box to the little cat, and watched it take out each individual leaf, curiously sniff it or bat it around, and eventually discard it.
And climb into the box. And begin to purr happily.
"Really? It's the box?"
((WC: 281))
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 10:08 pm
Lavender Violet was so excited. He loved the holidays - even if he never really had anyone to celebrate them with, there was something in the air when a special day arrived that filled LV with joy, with hope, and with feelings of gladness for all his fellow Soquili-kind.
Alas, he didn't really have anyone to share with. At least, not anyone real. But that was okay, because he had the only person he really needed: his very best friend in the world.
Bunny.
Bunny was his oldest, truest, realest friend, in spite of the fact that he had never, and would never, say a word aloud.
"Bunny! Bunny look what I got! I got you--I got us a new friend!"
This was a big deal - for as long as LV could remember, it had just been him and Bunny. Introducing a new party to the mix? Unheard of. But LV thought they were ready - and besides, this new lil guy needed a new home. Lavender Violet was sure that he - and Bunny, of course - could be that home.
"Bunny, meet Mothy. Mothy, meet Bunny." LV set the little moth plush down next to Bunny, and looked between them excitedly, his tail giving an excited little wag after a moment. "Yes! I knew you two would get along!" This delighted Lavender Violet, especially because he didn't quite have a backup plan; he'd never had a plan in his life, and he wasn't about to start now, but if the energy had been bad between Bunny and Mothy... well, he couldn't kick Mothy out now that he'd brought him home, but Bunny had to come first...
But it didn't matter, because everyone was getting along just perfectly. It was the magic of the holidays!
And then he settled down with this two best friends in the whole wide world - to rest his brain for a long winter's nap.
((WC: 316))
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 10:25 pm
Sometimes, Wink still had nightmares. Nightmares of a terrible beast bearing down in a dark forest, hungry for his blood and flesh. In some dreams he just ran and ran and got nowhere. In others, he was killed. In the worst ones, he was the beast. At the end of all of them, he woke up sweating and screaming.
His one saving grace? The same grace that had saved him in the real-life version of the nightmare. Well, okay, one of the saving graces - the Angeni hadn't remained with the group, not the way Ruby Maxine had.
Ruby Maxine. She was the sweetest, kindest, purest mare Wink had ever met, and she had helped to save his life. He had thanked her a hundred times - a thousand times, probably, enough times that she had asked him to please stop thanking her already - but it wasn't enough. So he'd fashioned her a gift.
He could only hope that she would like it.
Wink was a sweet, shy, retiring child, who was emphatic in his thanks and exhausting in his gratitude. Seriously. She understood that it was the first - probably only - traumatic thing that had ever happened in his short life, but even so; surely there were other things for him to talk about? Or there would be eventually? Right?
"Good evening, Wink," Ruby greeted as she joined him, as he'd requested, just around sunset on the evening of the holiday. "Is everything alright, I hope?" Ruby asked, finding herself hoping both that everything was fine, or perhaps that something worse had happened which would distract him from their shared history.
"What do you have there?" Ruby asked, distracted, before he could formulate an answer - it did sometimes take him a while to get up the courage to actually speak. Whatever it was, it was loosely wrapped in leaves and grass, carefully so; it looked like a present, though what could be inside, Ruby had no idea.
"For you," Wink blurted. He blushed immediately, feeling embarrassment creep all the way from his cheeks to the tip of his tail. "I mean. Um." Wink cleared his throat. "I mean, I got this for you. As-- as a thank you, for... for helping, during the... the incident." Before Ruby could say anything, Wink continued, "So that then I can stop-- you know, annoying you all the time. Because I'll know you won't forget how thankful I am if you wear this. Sometimes. I mean-- I mean just open it, please?" Wink finished in a hurry, wincing at his own tone. "Sorry."
Ruby Maxine raised her eyebrows at the outpouring of words that issued forth, waited patiently for it to subside, then returned her attention to the gift wrapped at his hooves.
"If you insist," Ruby said, "although I feel bad, I didn't get you anything." Ruby carefully unwrapped the gift, and a gasp escaped her, in spite of herself. "Oh, Wink. It's beautiful. Where...how...?" Ruby carefully took the eye shield out of the wrapping, studying it - the artistry! - carefully, before sliding it gingerly onto her own face.
"How do I look?" When Wink just stuttered, Ruby just had to laugh. "Then I think your gift was a success, and I will remember this - and you - always."
((WC: 542 Wink: 263 Ruby Maxine: 279))
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 8:48 pm
The whole idea started with a starfish. Being a water-dwelling Soquili, at least part-time, Koa Ahi spent at least some of his time underwater. He thought he had the best of all worlds; if only he could fly, then he could call himself master of the air, the sea and the land all at once.
But he was happy enough with what he had - probably he had enough trouble with just the water and the land, if he was being honest. More than enough. But it was not a troublesome time for Koa Ahi, for once; it was a good, restful time.
Which meant it was time for crafts! So the idea had started with a starfish, and had grown to encompass more treats and treasures, both from land and sea. Coral (broken off naturally, not sheared in the health of its life) and twigs and feathers had come together to make what Koa considered possibly his crowning achievement:
His holiday tree. It had a starfish at the top, branches of coral, twigs and leaves and berries affixed throughout, making a massive, multi-colored explosion of delight. It made Koa happy to look at it, which was kind of the point. It was just for him, to celebrate, in his own quiet kind of way - but it was beautiful, and maybe, someday, Koa would have someone to share this tradition and this art with. If he was the wishing kind, that's what he would've wished for, that holiday night as he laid his head down to sleep.
((WC: 256))
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 8:57 pm
In a world filled with both good and bad sorts, the good sorts tended to get extra loud - and extra annoying - around this time of the year. Which was fundamentally unfair, if you asked Sneffels; during the darkest part of the season, it should be the baddies who took the lead. All of this light, joy, merrymaking...
It was disgusting. It made him sick. Almost literally.
So he had to find a way to encourage the darker forces. Not just killing the light, the good guys, but making sure the bad guys didn't lose their... inverted kind of faith. Their perseverance.
So while other people went around spreading joy, Sneffels went around like some kind of horse-formed Krampus, leaving bloody, disembodied body parts to all the worst little children. Some were disgusted. Some were joyous. All wanted to know what had left them this 'gift'. Encouraging the curiosity - the dark hunter's urge - was part of his job description.
He could only hope that some day, other bad Soquili would join him in giving treats to the bad children. Why should only good children profit around this time of the year? Not fair. And Sneffels was all about fairness. Ask anyone. That was the whole reason for this.
Definitely not just as an excuse to murder extra much. Definitely not. And anyone who said or implied otherwise would wind up with a whole family of dead birds by their pillow in the morning, if Sneffels heard about it - because lying was bad, which made it good, which made it deserving of... 'gifts'.
The logic? Flawless.
((WC: 264))
Aith absolutely loved this time of year. Not only was it the holidays, when joy and cheer were spread for all to hear, it was her birthday! For as long as she could remember, she had conflated the two, and celebrated by doing an inverse birthday. Giving gifts to everyone else. It was only right and proper - so for every gift that this evil, terrible Shifter gave, Aithghen had to give two to cancel it out, only to good children.
So although that terrible Shifter - the very one she'd chased away from those innocent Soquili not that long ago - thought he was making things worse, dreadful and altogether more bloody for everyone, as was his goal, he was in fact increasing the overall joyousness that Soquili were receiving. She was just as glad for him to never find out, of course; the last thing she needed was for this Shifter to get her in his sights again. Not because she was worried he would kill her (she knew he could, possibly, and would relish making it as painful as possible), but because escaping him and going on the run would majorly cramp her style.
Plus, it was her birthday. Didn't she deserve to get and do whatever she wanted? And what she wanted was to give as many people as many presents as possible. Wings helped - then she could drop her lovingly handmade gifts onto unsuspecting Soquili far below.
Only most of them got broken in the descent, but that was someone else's problem. Aith was just happy to give anything, to anyone - anyone except that dang Shifter, who - unbeknownst to Aith - had discovered her pure of heart, joyful ways, and was already plotting his revenge...
((WC: 286 ))
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