To keep from being overly repetitive, I'll get to the point; I see the reason of why we have a holiday like Christmas . (Yes, I do know the story of Jesus's birth; I was referring to the whole deal of presents and over-sized stockings.) No matter what kind of messed up shit that happens, you still have your family, no matter who or what that is.
You guys (talking to Jesse, Gerg, and others now) remember those forms we had to fill out in like sixth grade or so that listed our priorities and ranked them? You know how almost everyone had "money," "happiness," "peace," "love," and etc. as their's?
Remember what mine was? Yeah, that thin, spindly pale blue eyed kid stood up and said his first priority was to his family, his voice trying to keep that annoying squeak out of his throat. Invisible sweat rested on his lip and he started wishing he could just sit the freak down, so everyone would quit watching him. He slowly started to edge back into his seat, thinking that was it, the one time he would have to stand in front of this crowd of people and wish he could dislodge the hard lump that was stuck in his throat.
But no, the teacher had different thing in mind; here was an obviously squeamish kid and the class was falling asleep, but the teacher needed to turn the conversation towards good morals and here was her chance.
"What about your friends? Where are they on your list?" she asked loudly, just in case the kid that never talked might never hear her in the nonexistent clamor of the classroom.
"8" the wisp of a boy answered, wincing at how the loud voice cut into the world of dreaming that he was trying to dive into.
"8?" the teacher then repeated, sounding so much like a parrot that the skinny kid had to fight the urge to tell the teacher so. "I would think that they would be close to you, as your family obviously is." The tinge of that annoying "I-know-you-made-a-mistake-and-i'm-going-to-grind-you-in-front-of-your-friends" tone set Blue-Eyes' teeth on edge and a spark is shown in the mirrors of his eyes.
That's when it happens; you really don't know what or how, but you can feel it. It's the part of the movie where you bond with the main hero, it's that moment before you jump off the plane and you look at the guy next to you. It's the clenching of fists, the rising of spirits, the tightening of eyes; it's the appearance of true bravery.
The kid starts speaking and even though it's not fast, you try to keep up. "That's where you're wrong," Blue-Eyes says, kind of trembling in that way some animals do when they're scared but that's not the case here. The kid's eyes are dry and even though 85% of the class isn't listening or paying attention, you feel some kind of pull around him. "'Friends' are people I have to deal with everyday like you and the guy that trips me in the hallway. They're my 'friends' because that's what they're supposed to be. My family isn't who I am; heck, it's not even filled with people that I like. My family is the most important thing to me 'cause they keep me alive and feeling that there is a purpose in this life: to do the best and not do it alone."
It's kind of weird for this memory to finally come back to me after all these years but I'm glad it came. This whole thing gave me an idea to create a Story com for Christmas time. Don't ask me for what number this is because I have no idea.
* * *
Like a flash of a camera lens, Ile's eyes opened and then he was awake. 5:45 am
He did a quick 360º to see if Bella was still asleep and check for any intruders. Bella was curled up in the window sill, reading some Christmas book and the door was still latched. Absentmindedly, he reached with his mind for Cryp before remembering test she wasn't his bond anymore. Quietly groaning to himself, he got up and slipped into the bathroom without bothering Bella. He undressed and got into the shower and let the hot water wash over him and wipe away the pains of yesterday.
* * *
Bella looked up from the book she had been reading and looked over at the now-empty bed. He did it again, she thought to herself.
For some unknown reason, Ile disliked talking to Belle first thing in the morning. Actually, it wasn't so much talking as it was having her see him. Instead of obsessing over it, Belle had concluded that some things of Ile's past were best left there... in the past.
"Hey," a familiar voice murmured next to her and Ile's arms pulled her closer to him.
"Hey, there," Belle whispered back and put her hands over his. "What are you going to do for Christmas?"
There was a pause and then Ile said, "It's Christmas?" His voice carried different emotions; tense, sadness, disbelief and many others mixed in a strange brew.
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| Merry Christmas from Ile Zaptic |
Belle started to nod when there was an ear piercing scream from outside the dormitories.
* * *
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
Jinx winced but kept his hands on the gift he was carrying. "Why does she scream so loudly, man?" he said, gesturing towards the waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too excited Gaia clan dracian girl.
Gerg shrugged and made an "I-don't-know" sound. "It is a pretty cool tree," he said, looked back at it.
"That's the problem with it," Jinx retorted, rolling his eyes. "It's a tree."
Gerg just shook his head and opened his mouth to tell Jinx off when he heard someone call out, "Jinx! Gerg!"
"Who's that?" asked Jinx, looking over his shoulder. "I don't see anyone."
"Then it's probably-" started Gerg, before a rush of wind took away his words.
"Ile," finished Bella. She smiled that faint smile that she and Driz shared and said, "Merry Christmas."
"Happy Hanukkah," replied Jinx with a mischievous glint in his eye. "So where is he?"
"Right here," called a voice from behind the dracian of luck. Ile walked up wearing a black hoodie over a green T-shirt that said, "Keep Calm and Conquer All." A pair of black fingerless gloves covered his hands and muffled the sound when he clapped them together. "So what's up with the giant Christmas tree?"
"What are you wearing?" Jinx asked, his eyes taking in a totally different Ile than he was used to.
"Casual clothes," Ile replied, raising one eyebrow as if it was a question. "You're allowed to wear them on holidays. Now... What's up with the giant Christmas tree?"
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| Merry Christmas from Snow Tenebrae |
A humongous evergreen tree was implanted into the very middle of the crossroads for the dormitories. Each side of it touched the opposite pillar of it's corresponding side. The tip of the tree touched the top of the academy, And every 3 inches of it was decorated with floating lights and ethereal ornaments.
Under the tree's massive shadow, thousands of presents glittered like many pieces of dull gold. The immensity of it all was breath taking, to say the least.
"We woke up and it was here. It's insanity and a miracle all mixed into one," said Atacai, who had finally caught up to Jinx. She smiled quickly and then turned to ponder the tree.
"I wonder if it's a kind if present from one of our allies," said Ile and he looked at Atacai expectantly.
"There's virtually no way that anyone that we have knowledge of could manage a feat like this," she said eventually, and sat down and leaned against the wall.
"What about Santa Claus?" Jinx said, playfully and Atacai groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, what about Santa Claus?" asked Belle, eyes wide open.
"Ha ha" Atacai said sarcastically and rolled her eyes again.
"No, seriously," Belle insisted. "There are dracians for every abstract of life, right?"
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| Merry Christmas from Shanna Arrows |
"Then it's possible that there's a dracian of Christmas, right?"
Atacai started to nod and Gerg's mouth dropped. "So there really is a Santa Claus?" asked Jinx, eyebrows scrunched.
Belle nodded and Jinx did a fist punch in the air. "Where's Aiken?" she asked, looking at Ile for an answer.
Immediately, the atmosphere gained an awkward tinge and Gerg coughed. "Christmas time," Atacai explained, nervously. "Isn't exactly a good time for Aiken." She ended this with an uncomfortable throat clearing.
"I guess you could find him with Vin," Gerg mumbled. "It's no use anyways; Seria's been up since 4 o' clock, trying to find him."
"Where's Mattias?" Kitty asked, walking over to the group with a candy cane stuck in her mouth. "I haven't seen him anywhere."
"He's searching with Seria," Ile answered, using his connection between his clan members to locate the graphite dracian.
"Well he shouldn't be," Jesse retorted, stalking towards them with a foul expression on her face.
"Whatever happened to 'Hey guys, how ya doing?' or 'What's up, guys?'?" Jinx complained, putting his head in his hands. "No, it's so much cooler to just jump in the conversation without so much as a 'hello'. I swear, sometimes th-"
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| Merry Christmas from Vin Tenebrae |
"WOW," Jahn breathed, staring up at the huge Christmas tree. Driz was next to him, her mouth hanging open and for just a few moments, they actually looked like normal kids. And then Driz coughed and her gills flashed up. "Oh, hey there guys," Jahn said, looking over his shoulder
"Who did this?" Driz asked, turning to the group with amazement in her eyes, as Jinx face palmed himself. "It's amazing."
"Santa Claus," Belle said, smiling.
Jahn paused for a moment and said, "Are you serious?"
"This could take a while," Atacai sighed.
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| Merry Christmas from Seria Arrows |
* * *
"I could give you a coma til tomorrow," Vin offered, hanging from the tip of a windowsill.
Aiken thought about it for a minute and then shook his head.
"Okay," Vin said, relenting. "I'm always here for you."
There was a whoosh of air and someone whispered in his ear, "Found you."
"Hey Vin... could you leave us for a while?" Aiken said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
Vin nodded and slipped into the darkness between the two buildings. There was quiet for a while and the snow falling made the whole world seem as if it was muffled.
"What did you do with your hair?" Seria said, still keeping a distance between him and her, as if he might explode.
Aiken was silent for a while and then he said, "I thought the Rian's hair dye bottle was the shampoo bottle." He managed a dry laugh. "Where's Mattias? I thought he was with you."
"I sent him away after Jesse gave me one of her death stares," Seria said, watching Aiken for an reaction.
Aiken nodded and stared off into the distance. "You wanna know why I'm like this every year?" he said suddenly, still staring at the falling snow.
"I already know. Ile told me," Seria said softly, trying to not set Aiken off.
Aiken stared at her for a long time. "You wanna go for a walk?" he said, offering her his hand to her.
Seria took it and shivered at the coldness of his fingers. In one motion, Aiken swooped up Seria and jumped off the brick building. Landing softly on the snow, he put her back down.
"Are you gonna warn me next time?" she whispered, lacing her fingers in his.
Aiken looked upward as if thinking hard. "Nope," he said nonchalantly and Seria smiled.
* * *
Aiken opened the umbrella and held it while Seria got underneath it. Leaning on him, Seria sighed, "I love you...forever."
Aiken smiled and said "I love you, too." and kissed her head. For a moment, the two of them just sat there, keeping each other warm.
Seria sighed and said, "I wish it would snow forever. You think that'l happen?"
Aiken smiled and said sarcastically, "Yeah and Santa Claus is real."
Hooray! I made it just to glare at people xDDDDD
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