[moonchill] A Thoughtful Gift

Snowflakes flitted down from above, gently landing on the heads and tails of symprites and aramelles alike. The gentle, soft crunches as the small group walked around the festival were comforting to the tallest of the five of them, Adrian. He had missed the wintery landscape he called home as a bappy, and visiting for the festival with his dear cousin and her friends was like a blast to the past for him.

“I’m not sure how y’all can stand all this cold.” Belvedere muttered, shuddering and pulling on the thick coat he wore, as if it would make him any warmer by doing so. He let loose a long, drawn out whine, “I can’t even handle it being slightly chilly. Why do you think I live in a desert?”

Olivia snorted, glancing over her shoulder at the freezing symprite while adjusting the single scarf she wore, “Come on now, Belvedere. I would think that someone like you could handle a little bit of cold. It’s not that bad.” She insisted, “Honestly, quite worth it for all the fun the Moonchill Festival provides.”

“Olivia is right, dear.” Felicitas looked up at Belvedere with a cheerful smile. All she wore was a hat, and her ears wrapped slightly around her face so as to keep the heat in, “I’ve been dying to bring you to one of these. It’s so fun. There’s so much to do.” She reached up, grasping one of his large hands with her little one. Belvedere paused, face flushing a bit and heating up before letting out a sigh, relaxing a little. He hadn’t realized how tense he was. 

“Alright darlin’, if you insist.” He said in a soft tone, looking around the festival as everyone bustled around them.

Adrian looked over his shoulder at them finally and snorted, noticing how far behind Octavius was lagging, “Are you alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” He certainly was not fine, he was distracted by something, “Just uh. Thinking is all.”

“About what?” Adrian nudged Belvedere to go on ahead with Felicitas and leave the three of them alone for a minute.

Once out of earshot, Octavius started in as he usually did. “About the fact you guys once again insisted on tagging along to some random event with the batshit crazy symprite and his equally delusional girlfriend. Bloody hell, like, come on!”

Olivia huffed, rolling her eyes, “Octavius, we have been over this. Belvedere wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s much too sweet and generous to do it. He takes in less fortunate symprites and aramelles because he cares about others. Not because he’s crazy- and Felicitas is an angel. She’s a little kooky, sure, but she can’t help it.”

Octavius groaned loudly, slapping both his hands onto his face and rubbing aggressively. “Good grief, it’s like you can’t even see what’s in front of you.”

“I can see just fine, Octavius. I just think you don’t like them because you don’t trust anyone who’s kind without ulterior motive.”

“Exactly.” Adrian agreed, crossing his arms, “I remember you didn’t trust me at all until you realized I’m related to Olivia.”

“That’s because you came off like a serial killer!”

The two of them groaned and Adrian rubbed his temples, “How do you do it? How do you deal with him, cousin?”

“A lot of alcohol and a lot of yelling.” She sighed, her head in her palm. “Look- Octavius. If you’re really that up in arms about it, fine. We can just go have fun without y-”

“Don’t you dare have fun without me. That’s not allowed. Dare I say, it’s even illegal to have fun without me.”

“Then if you want to have fun, you have to play nice with Belvedere and Felicitas. And no more talking about them being crazy. I’m so bloody over it.”

Octavius groaned, stamping his hoof down in defiance like an obstinate child. “But-”

“They invited us to come with. I’m not enjoying the festival without them.”

“Fine… But I’m not eating anything they offer me.”

“Fine by me. Pay for your own meals.” Olivia shrugged, turning back to Adrian, “Come on, let’s catch up with them.”

Octavius whined but the two symprites began to walk ahead, ignoring his indignant noises and leaving him to simply follow along.

After a long day of chaos and fun, the lot of them turned in for the night at a local inn. Elysium’s nights were certainly below freezing this time of year, so it was only fair to snuggle up close to one another beside a warm fireplace.

“Dinner was fantastic, darlin’.” Belvedere cooed, nuzzling his nose into the hair atop Felicitas’s head, humming softly in delight.

“You can thank Octavius for helping. He was a little weird to work around, but he was a huge help… Although, I do wish he had tried some of my food.”

“He’s prolly just a picky eater.” He reassured her, watching the fire rage and crackle from where the both of them sat in front of it, enjoying their own cups of cocoa.

“Oh he certainly is picky.” Olivia huffed, clearly annoyed. “He’s a difficult one, but I’m glad he was at least willing to help lend a hand.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to reach the counter otherwise.” Felicitas admitted, letting out an amused giggle before sipping her cocoa.

“Your cooking is divine, Felicitas. It’s always such a pleasure to enjoy your freshly baked bread and some warm soup.” Adrian murmured, not tearing his eyes away from the novel he was currently invested in, his houndle resting her head on his lap and snoring softly.

“Oh, psh’aw. You’re a flatterer.”

“I just can barely cook, myself. So I can appreciate a good meal when I taste it.”

In the corner of the room, Octavius had found himself rummaging through everyone’s things while they were all distracted. Trying to find something incriminating about Belvedere and Felicitas, no doubt.

“Speaking of making things, I think it’s time we start exchanging gifts.” Olivia sat up straight in the chair she sat in.

Octavius’s ears perked up at that and he dropped the box he had been examining in his hands, quickly scuttling away like a crab before they noticed he was going through things.

Adrian lifted his head, finally breaking away from the book he was so deeply invested in, “Oh, yes, of course. I think you’ll all like what I made for you.” He smiled, “I made sure to take extra care in personalizing each one.”

“Mine’s a bit silly but I tried my best to find what I needed. Octavius and I are both sharing credit for them since he struggles to make things without breaking them afterwards.”

“Felicitas and I have some wonderful treats for you ourselves.” Belvedere smiled. “Can I go get the presents, sugarplum?” He turned his gaze down to Felicitas who nodded with a smile.

“Go ahead.” She climbed off his lap and turned her back to the fireplace so she could face the others as Belvedere stood up and went to grab all the presents everyone brought.

Octavius slinked his way back to Olivia’s side and he plopped down beside her, huffing in annoyance. She leaned over, hissing in his ear, “You better not have fucking broken anything, you little stain.”

“I didn’t break anything! Wait, how did you-”

“I’ve got the biggest ears here, Octavius. I’m not stupid.

Octavius slumped and huffed, crossing his arms as Belvedere walked back over and handed everyone each their satchel that they had traveled to the city with.

Once everyone settled once more, Felicitas got to excitedly digging through the large bag she brought with, pulling out and tossing everyone each a gift she had made herself. The last gift, however, she jumped up and excitedly bounced over to Olivia, who she held a red box with a gold ribbon out to. A cheerful smile graced her face.

“Oh, thank you, Felicitas!” She looked a little surprised.

“This one was made with extra care because I know how rough of a year you’ve had.”

Olivia smiled. Taking the gift into her hands, she began to gingerly untie the ribbon on the top, allowing her to remove the lid of the box and peer in. Inside this neatly wrapped package, was a delightful array of pastries, all smelling strongly of various fruits and spices.

“It doesn’t make everything that happened go away, but it can at least give you something sweet to remember and enjoy each time you think of me next year.”

Olivia, setting the gift down, dragged the little aramelle into a tight, warm hug, “Thank you.”