“You know, I already love it here, but I do kinda miss Christmas. Not for the religious side, but the mood was always nice.” While Sophia, Maya, Chloe, and Steph were relaxing in the mansion’s living room, the dog-girl suddenly spoke up. “It would be right around now, too.”

“Ohh!” The pink fox seemed to be a fan of the idea. “It’s been forever since I even heard that name. I loved the decoration and the food~.”

“I like the smell of the tree in the living room~.” Sophia also liked it. "Aside from the part where I now smell forests and stuff on a daily basis.” She was a lot closer to nature than before, after all.

“What’s, uhh… Christmas…?” Maya was just confused. Obviously, she had never heard of it before.

“Ahh…” The otherworldler trio looked a little awkward before the tiger continued. “It’s a popular holiday from our old world. It’s based on something religious, but most really only care about getting together with friends or family and having a good time together by having a great meal, being lazy, decorating the house, and exchanging some presents."

“Ohh, that sounds like fun!” The cat-girl was warming up to it.

“Should we do it? Just for the fun?”

“Let’s go!” Steph liked her sister’s suggestion.

“How, though?” Chloe tilted her head. "Sure, food and a Christmas tree will be easy to get. Food is food, and firs are more than plenty around, but… the kind of decoration doesn't exist here."

“Hmm…” The blonde paused for a moment. “Maya, how do you feel about another quick trip to my old home?”

“Not overly excited, but I’m willing to go for the greater good.”

“That works!” She could live with her low level of excitement for it. “Steph, you know how to cook, and Chloe, you still remember some popular dishes, as well?"

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Sure!” The duo nodded.

"Perfect! How about the two of you get some ingredients so we can cook something… and borrow a nice fir from somewhere. Maya and I will take care of decorations and maybe some specialties like Christmas cookies or stuff like that. Once we’re back, we’ll also collect Anna, Ari, and our favorite princess.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Everyone agreed.

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A couple of hours later, Sophia and Maya finally returned to the good world after their shopping trip and took the portal to the castle. Naturally, only after they added their animal bits again, of course.

“Alright, who wants to celebrate Christmas with us?!” The duo met Anna and Ari in the princess's room, and Sophia sounded quite excited.

“I’m in!” The taller tiger immediately agreed to it. “What’s Christmas?”

“Same question.” The jaguar was a little more reserved.

“It’s a holiday Steph remembered from our birthplace, and we decided to celebrate it for fun. Good food, fun decorations, and just relaxing with each other.”

“Still in!” Anna liked what she was hearing.

“It does sound fun.” Ari also warmed up to the idea.

“Perfect!” The shorter tiger raised her fist. “Let’s go and get Ellie!”

“Exactly!” Maya followed after her.

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"Ellie!" The group arrived at her room, and Sophia immediately addressed her. "Do you also want to celebrate Christmas with us?"

“Yay!” The little princess immediately got excited. “What is… cri… chrima… Ellie is not going to try!” She started pouting over the needlessly complicated word. “What is… that?”

“I’ll only tell you if you try your best in saying Christmas. Christ-mas.” The blonde repeated it while putting extra focus on the pronunciation.

“Uuh…” She didn’t like that. “Cri… Chrii… Crimas… Chriistmast!”

“Close enough.” Everyone could live with that. Mainly because they were already taking damage from the sugar while watching and listening to her trying to pronounce the word.

“Yay!” Ellie started smiling again. “So, what is that?” She refused to do it again, though.

“Ahaha…” Sophia couldn’t blame her. “It’s kinda like a party where we eat good food and play around with decorations to make our home look funny.”

“Let’s go!” Ellie seemed to like it, too.

Listening to their boss, everyone got ready and made their way toward the mansion to celebrate Christmas together there.

image [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1epB3LvCKg3Q4U-zSTqZ6IO2K_qYvjmSd=w15000]