[Remedy]

It was clear that Bex had a stronger grasp on the “Christmas Spirit” than his brother.  Yet at the same time, he also did little to express it.  As great as he was at explaining things to others, he rarely ever demonstrated the same spirited morals to anyone other than his brother.  After the child scurried off, Bex stood and smiled at his brother.

“Thanks,” Aeron said with a relieved sigh.  
“It’s not usual that kiddos come up and talk to you,” Bex remarked.  “What was he asking about?”
“Um, he asked if I was okay… Then he said I was frowning at the Christmas tree, in a way that made it sound like I just offended his great ancestors.”

Bex chucked at Aeron’s statement, imagining the scenario in his head.  “Well, you know, everyone’s all about the Christmas spirit around here.  They don’t want a Scrooge killing their vibe.”
“A Scrooge?”
The question almost blew Bex away as he realized that for once he knew something literature-related that his brother was clueless about.  He knew better than to tease him, though.  Aeron was sensitive and closed off enough as it is.  So, instead of poking fun at the young man, Bex decided to explain.

“Well, you see, a scrooge is like… a mean old fart.”  It was the best he could come up with, as the majority of details from the story had escaped his mind.
“What do you mean?” Aeron always felt the need to ask questions until he had all the answers.  Bex was soon to realize that he didn’t have all the answers after all, and grew some curiosity about it as well.
“Uh… I don’t really have all the details, pal.  How ‘bout we head back to the bonfire?  There’s this whole story that goes with it, and there was a group back there telling Christmas-y stories and stuff.  Plus I can find that old man again and get clearer directions.”

[Post 7 - The Christmas Tree]

[Remedy]

Upon mention of returning to the warmth of the fire, Aeron was readily eager to go.  He’d get to stay warm and learn something new, what’s not to get excited about?  Bex began heading his way back through the crowd, using the tall flames of the bonfire as his guide to return.  Aeron was quick to follow, and soon they were back at the familiar sight they’d begun at.

Their log was still open, much to their surprise.  However, both opted to move to one closer to the group of storytellers.  They were welcomed accordingly; everyone around the fire appeared to be strangers to most everyone else, yet in the festive nature of the event no one seemed on guard.  Well, no one aside from Aeron, for he was always on guard.

The two focused their attention on a middle-aged fellow excitedly telling stories to the rest of the group.  He appeared to just have finished a story with a happy ending full of happiness and flying reindeer and the social achievements of an outcast.  Bex had certainly heard that one before, so he thought nothing of it.  However, to Aeron this concept was something new, and grasped his attention easily.

Despite his taste for the literary arts, Aeron had never paid any attention to the tales and stories associated with the holidays.  Only the more obscure holidays captured his interest with regards to their point of origin, but Christmastime had always seemed far too commercialized to have any underlying meaning or importance.  Now, it seemed, he was going to be proven wrong; perhaps Christmas has purpose after all.

[Post 8 - The Bonfire]

[Remedy]

As the storyteller concluded his last tale, he paused for a moment to let the children up front ask some questions.  A few piped up, though most of their questions were very off topic and just plain silly.  Once he’d answered plenty of “What do reindeer eat?” and “Why was Rudolph’s nose red?” questions, the fellow seemed ready to retire from the storytime scene.  However, before he got up to leave, a voice from the crowd asked, “Can you tell us what a ‘scrooge’ is?”

It was Aeron, surprisingly.  This was likely the first time he’d actually spoken up in public and initiated a conversation with a stranger.  It seemed his curiosity had him coming out of his shell a bit…  The storytelling fellow smiled and looked around the crowd, seeking the face of the child who asked such an adorably innocent question.  To his surprise, however, his eyes fell on the curious face of a young man.

Bemused, the storyteller asked, “Have you never heard the story, ‘A Christmas Carol?’”
Aeron shook his head, blushing darkly as other eyes turned to focus on him. “Well,” the man continued, “I guess this calls for another story!  We can’t have a man of your age not knowing the story that best describes the Christmas Spirit!”

Thankfully for Aeron, he was quick to begin the tale and all attention returned to the front.  His momentary embarrassment was soon forgotten as he eagerly tuned in to hear the story.  Bex, less interested than his brother, sat back and relaxed in the light of the fire, taking some time to people-watch.  Though he’d hoped to get some work done here, he was fine with relaxing for a while.  After all, it was the first time he’d ever really seen Aeron start to loosen up around other people, and he wasn’t about to hinder his development.

[Post 9 - The Bonfire]

[Remedy]

Aeron was completely and utterly enraptured by the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge.  Bex found his brothers childish interest somewhat comical but didn’t say anything.  Occasionally Aeron would pop up and ask questions to the fellow at the front.  Some were simple and easy to answer, while others… well, their relevance could be debated.  But Aeron connected them all in his own mind, and used what he learned to help form his complete idea of the tale.

It took perhaps twenty minutes for the story to be told and five additional ones for Aeron to run out of questions.  Finally, the crowd began to dissipate as children ran off to explore different attractions.  Aeron sat quietly, processing all he had just learned until the area around them had almost entirely vacated.

“Pretty interesting story, huh?” Bex remarked, attempting to spark a little conversation that might get his brother to get back on track.  “I mean, that old man had it all – but he was less happy than you and me.”
Aeron nodded silently before making eye contact with his brother.  “Bex, do you ever think that what we’re doing… isn’t the right thing to do?”
Frowning, Bex contemplated this question for a moment before offering his reply.  “Well, bud, I think for some people it puts a damper on their day.  But if you recall, most of the people we… ah, interact with aren’t very good people either.”

“But… you wanted us to pull something off here, right?  Don’t all these people seem good?”
“Aeron, bud, everybody starts acting good around Christmas.  It’s one of those big social hive-mind deals; Christmas is about loving and forgiving and cherishing one another, so everyone goes on with the façade.  But come the New Year, and they’re back to their old habits.  They might be foolin’ each other, but none are foolin’ me.”
It took a moment for Aeron to accept this answer, but as soon as the moment was over he was back to his obedient and decisive manner.  “So… what’s next then?”

[Post 10 - The Bonfire]

[Remedy]

They were finally back on track.  Aeron had accepted Bex’s explanation of their morality, and Bex was happy to see his brother understood him.  He hadn’t expected the emotionally inept man to be touched by a simple Christmas story.  In fact, he hadn’t expected Aeron to ever be touched by anything, as reclusive as he was known to be.

“Well,” Bex began, “I guess we should go look for the drink stand again, yeah?  Maybe we’ll get somewhere this time.  Come on.”
Thus he stood, picked a direction, and began walking off.  However, Aeron had yet to get up.
“Bex, wait – aren’t you going to ask for directions again?” His brow was furrowed in confusion and worry, for he wasn’t too keen on the idea of wandering through the crowd without knowing where they were going.
“Nah, I got a good feeling about this one.  C’mon,” he motioned for Aeron to follow.

The crowd grew sparser as they continued on, and soon they came across another large opening; a fountain.  Bex was hardly paying attention as he walked, and very nearly tripped into the running water.  Thankfully, he caught himself in time and sprung back up, attempting to quickly recover from his momentary embarrassment.

“A-are you alright?” Aeron asked timidly, noting his brother’s embarrassed expression.  “Yeah, yeah,” Bex replied dismissively.  He was seated on the edge of the fountain, when suddenly he felt a rather sharp pinch from behind.  Jumping up with a yelp, he turned around to see a goose floating innocently in the water.  For quite a few seconds he and the goose stared at each other until it honked loudly and paddled away.

[Post 11 - The Fountain]

[Remedy]

Bex looked completely bewildered, as might be expected from someone who just got unexpectedly nipped in the butt by a goose.  “What the…” he trailed off, watching the geese paddle around the fountain.  “Shouldn’t these, like, not be here?” He asked, continuing to watch them with an incredulous gaze.  He wasn’t too familiar with the behaviorisms of animals, but he was pretty sure geese were supposed to fly north for winter.  Or south, or… whatever.

Aeron quickly piped up to offer his endless supply of intelligence. “Well, geese typically do fly south to avoid the winter cold.  This fountain appears to be heated, keeping the temperatures comfortable enough for the geese to enjoy it.  However…” He paused for a second, observing the curious behaviors of the waterfowl before him.  “I would assume that these geese would go ahead and fly on anyway, given their evolutionary instinct to do so.  It’s very interesting, I wonder why they stayed.”

Bex sighed, realizing that Aeron was once again distracted.  He looked around and saw a woman passing out bread to adults and children so they could feed the geese.  He snorted, “Maybe it’s ‘cause they’re too fat to fly.”  This drew Aeron’s attention to the woman, and he considered the possibility.  

“I doubt so, as they don’t appear too enlarged despite the plethora of food presented to them.  Perhaps they’re domesticated?  How interesting…” As Aeron continued on his tangent, Bex’s attention remained on the woman passing out bread.  She looked kind of… cute.  She was young, probably around his age, and had a smile that just kind of drew people in.  Soon he wandered in her direction, and Bex was left talking to himself while focused on the geese.

[Post 12 - The Fountain]

[Zoophilos]

~
       As the evening lengthened, the three men ended up wandering over to the chesnut stand and munching nuts from a can.  Even Ralphy was given a chesnut of his own to gnaw.  The night was getting pretty cold, but all the warm food and drinks helped keep the visitors warm even after hours outside in the wintry weather.
       Sharing a bench with Ray and Rick near the fire, Anthony noticed he could see the towering Christmas tree from where they were.  He eyed the huge golden star that topped it.
       "Hey, Ray," he said.
       "Yeah?  What is it?" Rayim answered.
       "Why does Evelon celebrate Christmas?"  This seemed to strike Rayim as a strange question.
       "Why not?"
       "Heh.  Well, back where we come from, Christmas is a religious holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, that is, when the God of Christianity came into the world.  Hence, the name, "Christmas".  Many Christmas traditions are in some way symbolic of Christian beliefs regarding this, like, the star on top of the tree represents the star that astrologists followed to find Christ."
       "I think I've heard something about that before!" Rayim interrupted.
       "Oh?  From who?"
       "A women I once led as a tour guide told me about three wise guys following a star to find a baby king!"'
       "Ha ha!  You know where she was from?"
       "Eh... can't remember.  I don't think we talked about her, much."
       "I guess I'm just curious, since Evelon clearly doesn't have all the same religious beliefs, why Christmas is celebrated.  The whole of Evelon seems to be celebrating!"
       "Well," Rick joined the conversation, "many people back home who are not Christians celebrate Christmas, either because they used to have family who were Christians and it has become a tradition, or just because they enjoy the holiday's customs."
       "And at some point, perhaps such people from your world came to Evelon, where Christmas quickly became popular and is now celebrated everywhere!" Rayim beamed.
       "Eh, sounds logical," Anthony smiled amusedly at Rayim's delight.

[Post 7; Chesnut Stand]

[Silver]

The two of them took their treats and looked for a place to sit. It seemed like half of their trip so far was spent looking for places to sit! They plunked down just outside the bakery out of the way. Not only did it keep them away from others waiting for their turn, but they were outside of the temptation to get even more sweets.

"How's the tart?" Kara asked, digging into her fudge. It was easily some of the best fudge she had ever had. How amazing it was that they had so much going on and still managed to make all of it so good. One would think that it would be harder to get anything done well with so much to do. It made it just that much more special for the two of them. Thankfully the holidays only came once a year!

"I don't know," he grumbled. He hadn't even gotten to try it yet by the time she asked.

"Oh, forry," she said, mouth full of sticky sweets.

Kara found herself wondering how hard it would be to make her own fudge like this. She really quite liked it, but it was often expensive. She only ever had it when she was somewhere special. Maybe that's why she liked it so much. Fudge and good times were tied together in her mind because she'd never eaten it at a time she wasn't already happy. Then again, it was simply delicious. That was a much easier explanation.

[23; Bakery]

[Silver]

"Ha mah mah mah fah amafah?"

"... Say again?" Kurai said, raising his eyebrow and pausing just before taking his first bite of tart.

Kara swallowed a big gulp of what she had been eating (at least half of the fudge she had bought, all in one bite). "I wonder how they make fudge," she repeated with her mouth clear of food.

"I don't know, it's just sugar and chocolate or something."

"We should try it!"

Kurai remembered when his mom had tried to make fudge with Kyan when they were kids. It was her first time making it, and it came out all hard and strange. The sugar crystals didn't mix into the rest of it and they could feel it sloshing around while eating it. They both politely ate it and praised her good work anyway. Of course, Kyan probably genuinely liked it. At that age he would have eaten sugar from the jar with a spoon. Well... he probably still would, come to think of it.

"Sure, but you're in charge. I can't bake."

"It's a date," she said with a wide grin.

Finally he got to his tart. It was sticky and sweet, just as expected. Not too sweet, though, the lemon helped with that. He liked the sour sting of lemon along with his treats. Perhaps it was a developed taste. His brother didn't like sour candy as much, so there was less competition over the lemon flavored stuff. Funny how little stuff from being a kid could make a lifelong impact on what people liked.

[24; Bakery]

[Silver]

Though they had started their meal with a bit of conversation, they finished it in silence. It was a heck of a lot easier not to talk while eating, so they unintentionally agreed to stop doing that long enough to finish what they had. Each of them was thinking about baked goods, off in their own little worlds. Truth be told, they were getting a little tired from exploring the festival. It was probably about time to leave. Maybe they would take a look at one or two more things before heading out, though.

"Where to next?" Kurai asked, fiddling with the paper cup his tart had came in.

"Hmm..." Kara looked around to see what they could do. Oh! Hot chocolate. They had been doing a lot of snacking recently, but a cup of hot chocolate seemed like a great way to finish that off. "Want to get some hot chocolate?"

"More sweets?"

"Yea, to get the sticky out of our mouths," she said with a wink.

He blushed unexpectedly at the way her voice sounded combined with the wink. He cleared his throat and quickly said, "Yea good idea let's go." He said it all so fast that all of his words mushed together.

Kara giggled triumphantly, standing up and taking his hand once more. The two of them headed away from the sweet smells of the bakery toward the sweet smells of another goody stand. Now all they had to do was resist eating more cookies when they got there. Sure, everyone indulged during the holidays, but it was starting to get a bit ridiculous.

[25; Bakery]

[MillietheWarrior]

The Draculi perched precariously on the edge of the sled. Her little wings were spread, helping her keep her balance as her tail twitched back and forth. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she watched the festival goers. Her companion, the reindoe, seemed equally pleased, and her green eyes sparkled with cheer as she looked back and forth across the square. "What do you think, Holly?" the reindoe asked, turning her dainty little head towards the Draculi. The feline let out an amused purr, her eyes crinkling with merriment. "I think that perhaps one last group should be let in. I can't wait to see who comes round this time." The little doe nodded in agreement, eagerly looking to see the next group arrive.

(Slots are open again, everyone! These will be the last slots, so get them while you can! The prizes this year are WAY awesome thanks to the wonderful mods! <3)

[Saahs]

This week had been ridiculously busy. Package running, head lopping, evidence burning, it was all quite the task. And even he occasionally had his limits when it came to bloodshed. Apparently, Sasha had met that limit this evening. He'd left his armour and weapons in the abandoned shed he'd inhabited, instead wearing thick layers of black and brown clothes, a heavy pair of boots, and a hooded fur lined leather coat. He wasn't too partial to the cold, but the snow was pretty and the bright, colourful lights were even prettier. It'd be a lie if he said he didn't like the holiday.

Large, pierced ears flattened back against the sides of his head as he entered the town square. Too bad pretty snow meant pretty damn cold. The mercenary took in his surroundings, nostrils flared to gratefully take in the aroma of pastries and hot cocoa. His eyes travelled up and up the giant tree, trying to see the top. Instead, he just made himself dizzy, and a little anxious. Stupid tall trees. It was enough to make him a little wobbly, so within a moment Sasha found himself squatting next to a nice fire. The buzz of people around him telling stories calmed him, but he didn't speak up. He wasn't there to make friends, and he had no stories that fit the merry atmosphere.

As he listened to two, maybe three tales being shared at once, the shapeshifted Smilokuhna absently built a small legion of miniature snowmen. Not the best quality, but one would get the gist that they were little snow people. One snowman in particular was a little bigger than the rest, and with a twig Sasha wrote underneath it, "Big king boss person". He wasn't good with titles, alright? Give the man a break.

{1, The Bonfire}

[Saahs]

It came to his attention that a child was watching him. "B'geh--" Startled, the man flinched. He had just been caught red handed building an imaginary army of snow people smaller than his hand. As casually as one already addled by an enormous tree, Sasha stood up. He cleared his throat, before slowly making his way to the other side of the bonfire. Maybe no one else would notice the miniature snow-people. And if they did, hopefully they hadn't seen the culprit.

Sasha made himself comfortable on a mostly unoccupied log, still within hearing distance of the townsfolk, but a good respectable distance from the shameful display of childish creation. Now people were asking one another what they were hoping to get this year. Well he didn't know what he was hoping for as it had never been something he'd experienced in the past. Presents? People just giving you stuff you liked because it was a certain time of the year? Preposterous. Why not just give them something whenever. So no, he'd never received "Christmas" presents. And when asked, he merely shrugged.

"Somesink, like maybe a cookie I do not know," was his answer when people persisted. It earned him a few laughs, and one person genuinely thinking he had said "some sink". His ears stiffened out to the sides and his face fell into a deadpan. Something behind a pile of log near him moved, catching his eyes. But looking over there, he saw nothing but logs. Which as any sensible adult knew, did not move on their own. Fantastic, so he was seeing things now. Just more kindle for the bonfire consisting of anxiety and self doubt. His eyes kept flicking over to the logs, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement and assure himself he wasn't going even more insane. Nothing. The man huffed and plopped his chin in a clawed hand. Perhaps he should brought someone to tag along with.

{2, The Bonfire}

[Saahs]

It was about time he'd gathered his wits and moved on, really. Quietly, he slipped off his log and weaved around the merry bunch sitting around the fire.  He paid no mind to anyone who noticed him leave, if they noticed him. Sasha was impossible to miss in combat, announced his presence when in a good mood. But when simply tired and unsure what to do with himself? He much prefered to not be seen then. It was a vulnerable state of mind, the one he was in now; as much as he would prefer being alone, being surrounded by people was much safer than being left to his own devices unattended. And besides, perhaps a cheerful atmosphere (rather than a mildly decorated old shed) would help him feel better.

Like the idiot he was, Sasha meandered back over to the tree, like a bug to a light that's already burned it once before. This time, though, he was focused on what was around the tree. Boxes. Lots and lots of boxes, wrapped in colourful paper and varying in size. Were they just decoration? Warily, as if touching a box would make it open a maw of boxy teeth and chomp down on his teeth, he approached the pile of vibrant cubes. Nope, there were nametags, with actual names rather than just scribbles. So what, were people expected to sift through this sea of paper rainbow to find their destined boxes? It was pretty ridiculous to him. Shaking his head, he straightened up. He was just about to move along when there came a nagging thought.

Stack the boxes. Just fricking stack them.

No, it didn't occur to him he may have presents. Why would someone just give him stuff that'd be silly. The first thought was LOGICALLY to make a small building out of the boxes. They vaguely resembled bricks, after all. Slowly, he built a small fortress around himself. For the time being he'd forgotten his embarrassment from earlier, and he giggled quietly. Anyone who neared his little castle earned a warning. Called loud obnoxious hissing. This was HIS kingdom and none of you were welcome. It seemed that anyone whose name was written on one of Sasha's castle-bricks was out of luck. For now. Soon he'd get bored and move on. The man could only sit for so long.

{3, The Christmas Tree}

[Saahs]

Indeed, it was not a few minutes after he'd first built the little fortress that he was dismantling it. If the boxes were empty, he would have burst out like some giant monster in a city. But these were, after all, other people's gifts. He wasn't in the mood to upset a bunch of children by going Godshra on their presents. Instead, Sasha started at the top, setting boxes down beside him inside the colourful fort until he could reach over the top and reast presents outside of the wall. A few kids, much to his chagrin, were continuously glancing over in his direction. The moment the grumpy looking man stepped away from the once-present fortress, they bolted over to them. After checking if any had their names written on them, they got right to building their own little strongholds.

Sasha didn't watch to see how terrible their architecture skille were. His feet had carried him over to a spot of the tree's massive trunk that was not as crowded with gifts as around. The Smilokuhna squatted down, the lower of his back resting against the tree lightly. He leaned his head back, the tangle of pine branches blocking the seemingly endless reaches of the tree's top. From so far away, the star perched up on the peak was all but invisible to Sasha. Just as he liked it. It was harder to fathom just how impossibly high something reached if you couldn't see just how high that was in the first place.

Hold on half a flipdongering moment. One of the branches just moved. Sasha sat up, having gotten lost in a sea of thoughts that mostly focused on a desire for cookies but was now fully aware of his surroundings and the fact that something. Was in the tree. But he could see nothing, no rodents or birds were in sight. Cursing under his breath, he stood up, head craned to peer seethingly up at the dark branches. "I know for a facts I am not see stuff is not really zhere," he spat in frustratedly broken Evelonian. An accusing finger pointed right up at the tree and he began to pace. "So stop try to make me look like a stupid!"

He was doing a fair job of that on his own.

{4, The Christmas Tree}