by Pirateaba
“They’re not like Ivolethe at all.”
“Some of them aren’t. I think these ones are…younger? Ivolethe’s old, but some of the other faeries seem pretty gung-ho about anything that seems interesting.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Ryoka scowled.
“I don’t know. But it’s better to have them on your side than against you.”
“I agree with that.”
A change in the light above caught Ryoka’s attention. All of the faeries were copying Ivolethe, changing their colors. But they weren’t all turning red. No, some of them were turning green, others blue or purple—in no time at all, a storm of colors flew about in the air.
“I can’t believe it.”
Reynold was gaping and Durene and Gamel were staring upwards like children seeing fireworks or stars for the first time. Ryoka stared too.
Faeries, dancing in the night sky in every color imaginable. She felt something stir in her heart, but quashed it. She had a job to do.
She cleared her throat, and the faeries stopped flying about. Ryoka felt some semblance of ceremony was needed here, so she stood straight and pointed west, towards where Riverfarm lay
“Is everyone ready? We’re going to Riverfarm, Laken’s village. You know the way?”
Ivolethe flew down and the faeries lined up behind her. She scowled.
“Aye, these fools know. We go, then?”
Ryoka nodded. She took a breath, and felt just a hint of Christmas spirit in her. Maybe that was what prompted her to say what she did next.
“Alright then. On Ivolethe, on Blue Faerie, on Green Faerie, and Cinnabar Faerie! On Puce Faerie, on Indigo Faerie, on Yellow Faerie and—you know what? Let’s just go.”
The faeries laughed and flew ahead. Ryoka ran after them, cursing as her shoes slipped a bit on the snow.
“Good luck!”
Laken shouted after her. He couldn’t see Ryoka leave, but he heard her footfalls die away quickly in the snow.
“She’s gone, right, Durene?”
“Yes, Laken. Did you see—I mean, those Winter Sprites! I’ve never seen—uh—”
“You’ll have to tell me how amazing it was.”
Laken smiled as he held out a hand and Durene took it. He carefully felt around at the rucksack he was carrying.
“I hope Ryoka gets to Riverfarm all right. But I won’t worry about it. For now, let’s get inside, have something hot to drink, and rest. But before all that—Durene, this is for you.”
“For me?”
The half-Troll blinked as Laken pulled something out of the rucksack. He’d had to buy it when she wasn’t around with Gamel’s help, but the indrawn breath he heard from her was worth it.
“It’s a present. For you. Merry Christmas, Durene. I don’t know what I’d do or where I’d be without you.”
He held out the clumsily-wrapped box, and felt two large hands take it from him.
“I—I don’t know—this is for Christmas, right? But how did you—Laken.”
“It’s for you. Open it.”
“I’ve never gotten a present before. Ever.”
Something constricted in Laken’s chest. He reached out and touched Durene’s hand.
“Well, today you did.”
He smiled. Durene stared down at the small box. Her hands trembled. She began to cry.
In the city of Invrisil, a blind man reached out and hugged a half-Troll girl as the snow began to fall harder outside. At the same time, a young woman ran out of the gates, following a red light that flew ahead of her. A stream of bright lights of every color flew around her, the only clear light in the darkness.
—-
“So, the presents will go here. If you’ve got them, put them here.”
Erin was busy in her inn the day before Christmas. She’d made a list, distributed it, and been happily surprised to find that most of her present-givers had already picked appropriate presents for the people she’d assigned them to.
Technically, they weren’t supposed to show her the presents, but Erin had forgotten to mention that presents were wrapped. A quick trip to Krshia solved that, and soon piles of bulky presents were occupying one corner of the inn.
It was a complex system Erin had devised, but in theory it meant that everyone who would be attending her party tomorrow would get two Christmas gifts. Assuming everyone bought presents, that was. Erin was worried she’d forgotten to include someone, but she thought she’d accounted for all who would be present.
And though they had only a day to get last-minute presents, Erin didn’t think that would be an issue. There was Christmas spirit in the air. Everyone she knew, from both Celum and Liscor had heard about the holiday tradition by now. And most were quite eager to try it.
There was just something about giving and receiving gifts that appealed to people. Of course, the receiving mattered to some more than others.
Twice, Erin had to pull Mrsha away from her gift. The Gnoll was sniffing it and wagging her tail, and Erin was sure Mrsha could tell what was inside. But Mrsha was a kid, so excitement was understandable.
On the other hand, when it came to people like Relc, it was a bit more objectionable. The Drake had come to the inn early to drink and eat, and he’d stared at the pile of presents avidly. Now he crept about the presents, turning them over and growing increasingly frustrated.
“Hey! Where’s mine?”
Relc pawed through the presents, looking for ones with his name on it. He found none, to his increasing displeasure.
“Your Secret Santa might not have brought it yet. You’ll get two, Relc, so don’t worry.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! Don’t worry—Santa makes sure everyone gets a gift. Good kids, and bad ones. Although, the bad ones just get coal…”
“Right, I forgot. Santa, yeah. Where’s that guy?”
Relc scratched his head. Erin hadn’t talked to him as long as the others. She feared he might have gotten the wrong idea about Santa Claus—in that Relc hadn’t figured out yet that Santa wasn’t real. Still, she had more important things to do.
Some of the Gold-rank adventurers loitering about the inn watched as Erin climbed onto a chair and hung a small bushel in one corner of the room. They weren’t inclined to risk their necks in the dungeon around Christmas, so they had plenty of time to spare.
“What’s that?”
Revi wrinkled her nose as Erin nudged the collections of leaves and berries ever so slightly to the right. Erin turned and smiled wickedly.
“Mistletoe! Haven’t you heard about that?”
Sensing something else interesting, more people drew over to look doubtfully up at the somewhat dead leaves and white berries. Erin had been surprised to see they were white. She’d always thought of them as red. But this was the mistletoe Krshia had given her.
“What’s that supposed to do? Are we supposed to jump up and eat those berries? They look poisonous to me.”
Ceria wrinkled her nose as she stared at the berries. Erin laughed and shook her head.
“No! You kiss if you’re under it! Any people who stand under mistletoe have to kiss. It’s a Christmas tradition!”
Not one she’d practiced at home or ever in her world, actually, but Erin thought it was a fun idea.
The change that came over the people standing before was immediate, though. Ceria and Yvlon hurried out of the mistletoe’s radius as if they were on fire. The others stared at each other.
“Well, that sounds like fun! Hey Typhenous!”
The [Mage] was too slow. Jelaqua Ivirith caught him and kissed him on the lips. He shuddered.
“Agh!”
“Sorry. Dead skin and all that. But that’s the tradition. Hey, Seborn, Moore. Want to try?”
The other two Halfseekers shook their head. They’d stayed away from the mistletoe and weren’t approaching.
Halrac and Ulrien stared up at the mistletoe. They stared at each other. Ulrien coughed.
“Um, Miss Erin. Is there any hex or curse that activates if two people don’t kiss under the mistletoe?”
“No. It’s just fun.”
“Good.”
Halrac stomped quickly out of range. Ulrien followed suit.
“Well, I don’t see what the problem is. It’s just a kiss.”
Revi strolled over to the mistletoe, not standing quite beneath it as she looked around challengingly. She smiled mockingly at Typhenous who was taking a drink after being kissed by Jelaqua.
“A kissing game sounds fun. It reminds me of when I was younger. We’d swap mouths and kiss each other at parties.”
She tapped the stitch marks around her lips. Erin paused.
“Wow. Okay. Um, this is really just more of a tradition.”
“Why have a place to kiss if you won’t do it? Who’s good at kissing?”
“I’ll try.”
Pisces stepped forwards, to everyone’s great surprise. Revi looked him up and down, but then she smirked.
“Why not?”
Erin opened her mouth, raised her hand, and then waved it about, but she couldn’t stop what happened next. Pisces and Revi stepped beneath the mistletoe…and kissed.
It wasn’t long. There weren’t any sucking sounds or visibly tongue-in-cheek moments. But when it was done, Pisces stepped away looking slightly smug. And Revi—
Blushed.
Everyone in the room stared at her. Pisces sauntered back towards the other Horns of Hammerad and winked at Ksmvr. Erin heard the Antinium whispering to Pisces.
“I do not understand what happened. Comrade Pisces, please explain kissing—”
“Had your fun?”
Halrac asked Revi in an acidic tone as she stepped away from the mistletoe. Revi fanned at her face, glancing at Pisces.
“Well, that was surprising. He’s…not bad.”
“Not bad?”
Relc stared at Pisces. He laughed.
“You can’t be good or bad at kissing!”
“That shows what you know.”
Revi stared archly at him. Relc paused.
“Wait, you can be good at kissing?”
Revi, Typhenous, Ulrien, and Seborn nodded. Revi wandered back over to the mistletoe, and this time Jelaqua went with her. Other people from both genders drifted over.
Erin watched with part horror, part fascination. This wasn’t how mistletoe was supposed to be used, surely! But it seemed like there was actual skill at kissing being measured. Some were better than others. And apparently…Pisces was one of the best.
“You know, back home I was told that anyone who could tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue was a really good kisser.”
Erin mentioned that as she brought out some dried cherries she’d bought with that very fact in mind. Revi took a break from testing one of the [Actors] from Celum who’d come in for breakfast, and took a stem. She and quite a few people popped the cherries into their mouths and chewed thoughtfully.
Erin glanced around the room as she circulated with ‘testing cherries’. Now that she looked…she had a good distribution of races and genders today. People had come from both Liscor and through the door in Celum. There were Drakes, Gnolls, and a lot of Humans, male and female. She glanced at the mistletoe, where a few red-faced people and more with smiles on their faces were grouped. She had a bad feeling she knew what was coming next.
“Peh!”
Ceria spat out a completely un-knotted cherry stem into the palm of her hand and scowled.
“Not for me.”
“Hrm.”
Revi had bent her stem, but not managed to tie it into a knot. Neither had most of the people in the room. Jelaqua had, but Seborn called foul because she’d done it with her Selphid parts, not her actual tongue. But then Pisces pulled out a cherry stem with a knot tied right in the center.
Everyone stared at him. Jasi came over and stood beneath the mistletoe. She waved a claw at Pisces. She shrugged at Erin as the [Innkeeper] gave her a betrayed look.
“This is so wrong.”
She muttered as she saw Pisces become a target for kisses from the opposite gender. Ceria, standing next to her, shook her head.
“You put the mistletoe up, Erin. What did you think was going to happen?”
“Not this! I mean, why’s Pisces getting all the kisses?”
The half-Elf shrugged, staring at Pisces and not looking at Erin.
“He’s…not bad at kissing. That’s why. It’s fun to kiss him. He certainly got enough practice back in Wistram.”
Erin stared at Ceria. She opened her mouth, and then turned away.
“I don’t want to know! Gah! Mistletoe failure!”
The entertainment for the day continued as Erin served food to her guests. Word spread fast, and within a few hours more people came from both Celum and Liscor—ostensibly to eat and get out of the cold, but mainly to try the kissing game, which was what the mistletoe had become.
—-
Relc had lingered hopefully around the mistletoe for quite some time until he realized everyone was avoiding him. He stomped off, grumbling about stupid Humans, half-Elves, String People, and Drakes. He left some coins on his table and left the inn, feeling unhappy and out of sorts. No matter how long he’d waited, no one had brought a gift with his name on it. But Erin had said he’d get a gift! Two!
On the way back towards Liscor, Relc met Klbkch. The Antinium was hurrying up the hill and glancing over his shoulder. He seemed to be worried he’d be spotted.
“Yo, Klb. What’s the hurry?”
“I am attempting to avoid meeting my fellow Antinium from the Hive. If you are asked, you did not see me.”
Relc nodded in an understanding way. He didn’t understand much about Klbkch’s Hive or the relationship the Antinium had with the others—they all looked pretty much the same to Relc—but the Drake did understand not wanting to be spotted by angry people who had business with him.
“There’s no point in going to the inn. Erin’s hung a bunch of mistletoe up.”
“Indeed?”
Klbkch stared at Relc. The Drake nodded grumpily.
“Yup. That means if you stand beneath it, you have to kiss. Only, no one wants to kiss me.”
“Is Erin participating in this ritual?”
“Nope. But I’ve got bad news for you, Klb old buddy. Remember when Erin told us about the Secret Santa thing? With the presents?”
“Yes. I have obtained mine, although I have not placed them in her inn.”
“Well, you might want to hold off for a second. I checked and I didn’t find any presents for me. Not one. And I’m supposed to be getting two! And—get this—I didn’t find any for you, either.”
Klbkch paused.
“That is odd. Perhaps the gifts have not been placed yet.”
“Maybe.”
Relc shrugged moodily. He stared back at the inn, and lowered his voice as he confided in his partner.
“I’m worried we might not get any. Well, I know I’ll get some because everyone loves me. But you might not. Since you’re an Ant. Y’know?”
“This is a distinct possibility. The Secret Santas may object to my identity.”
“Yeah. So…I was thinking, why don’t we do a few good deeds today? I figure, if we show how Christmas-y we are, people will probably get us gifts anyways. Plus, don’t we get more presents if we’re good? That Santa guy brings them, right?”
Klbkch hesitated. He seemed to think as he crossed his arms.
“I did recall Bird mentioning something to that effect. But he was…vague. Is that what Erin said?”
“Yeah! Look, you weren’t hear, but I heard her telling that thief-girl all about it. Good deeds means you get presents. So why don’t we do some?”
“I take it you have an idea in mind?”
“I might.”
Relc grinned as he rubbed at his chin. His dour mood had been replaced by a fun idea.
“Okay, here’s what I was thinking…I�
�ll run into the city and buy some stuff. You just need to find me a bag, a red suit, and uh, a beard. Make it white.”
“Very well. Let us proceed with your idea.”
The two [Guardsmen] headed back towards Liscor. That was fortunate for Klbkch, because an irate Antinium with blue shell missed him as she strode towards the inn.
Xrn opened the door and saw Revi step away as Typhenous hopefully tried for a kiss under the mistletoe. The Antinium watched with fascination, her ire with the elusive Klbkch forgotten as she witnessed several kisses…and those who didn’t get to kiss at all.
“Ew! Typhenous, no! Your breath smells horrible!”
The old [Mage] was crestfallen. He eyed Pisces as the younger man went back for round two with Revi. When Pisces was done, Typhenous caught the younger man.
“How is your breath not objectionable, young Pisces?”
Pisces paused. He took something out of a pocket and handed it to Typhenous. The mage stared down at the bit of green in his wrinkled palm. Pisces winked and whispered.
“Mint leaves.”
The old man stared at the leaves and then popped them into his mouth and chewed determinedly. The people who’d heard Pisces immediately left the inn to get some fresheners for their mouths.
Erin threw her hands up in the air.
“It’s not supposed to be a competition!”
She stomped over to the door to Octavia’s shop as Wesle hurried through it. Erin was going to close it, but Octavia called out.
“Erin! Erin! Get in here—I have something to show you!”
Erin paused at the doorway. She looked back at the kissing games, once again featuring Pisces as a main attraction and decided Octavia beat her inn. She walked through the door. What she and the occupied people of the inn didn’t notice was Mrsha, bored with the proceedings, slipping into Octavia’s shop as well.
“What have you got, Octavia?”
“Behold!”
The [Alchemist] was waving a bundle of what looked like twigs to Mrsha in front of Erin’s face. The Gnoll squinted and sniffed quietly as she hid in Octavia’s shop. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be here, but there were so many fascinating smells here! And Octavia had something strange in her hands.