“I told you to use my name before. And Boss is even less appropriate now,” Shida replied sternly after stumbling a step backwards. However, her bravado was short lived, because she almost immediately curled in on herself, as she crouched down and heavily rubbed her shoulders with both hands, while her breath now released white tufts of steam into the cool air. “Fuuuuuuuck it’s cold.”
Giving that she was clad in a torn and blood-wetted shirt and jeans…the tropical myiat really wasn’t dressed for the occasion.
Chak came up behind her and hugged her with her four limbs. One reason was that she was elated to see her friend back to normal, and the other was to help warm her with her suit’s exterior heating.
“We did it…” she whispered.
“You’ll always be Boss to me…” Doodle said as he looked up from himself, “It’s more kinky that way,” he joked before a wave of seriousness came over him, “I can send you back, as I promised. And I will. The question I feel the need to ask is… now, or later?”
“I’m willing to get out of here sooner rather than later, but my manners are telling me that we should at least say goodbye,” Shida replied, still strongly shivering despite the heat donated to her by the suit. “You can use the opportunity to grab your camera, I guess. Damn social upbringing.”
Doodle’s smile returned as he lifted his hand to wave, but instead he smirked and snapped.
Everyone in a blink of an eye was now sitting in the warm rented house of Dagon. Zithra still unconscious on the floor, awakened with another Doodle-snap.
Sitting up the Manarain locked eyes with the elf.
“You son of a bitch…” he growled before picking up on the atmosphere of the room.
“Sorry. But you really needed the sleep.” Doodle ‘apologized’, “But if it makes up for it, you’re waking up to freedom. When we’re all set with farewells, I’ll be sending you all back to where you belong.”
Zithra looked over to Chak and Shida with his plumes perked.
“Wait… really?” he asked the non-demi-god persons.
“It.. hasn't sunk in quite yet… but yes.” Chak nodded.
“I’m going to go wash off,” Shida announced after absorbing enough of the room’s heat to stand again, skulking over towards the bathroom with her arms still rubbing her shoulders. “I still feel filthy after all this…”
As she walked over, her eyes suddenly got sucked over to a plain object lying discarded in one corner of the room. Stopping for a second, she stared at it.
“Well, would you look at that,” she said with her gaze locked onto the sack of dark material that was closed loosely with a band wrapped around its top. “Looks like I missed a spot.”
Stepping over to give the sack a hard kick that made it roll across the room, she then continued her way into the bath. As she closed the door behind her, there was a moment of a dull,
“What the hell happened here?” being heard, however the destroyed toilet and shrubbery did not seem to bother her enough to make her reconsider her plan of showering.
“I- I texted you two…” Zithra explained, “How long have I been out for?”
“Most of the day.” Doodle replied as he walked back towards the kitchen.
“Wh- what? You made me miss the most important fucking part of this whole thing!?” Zithra growled as he stood and gave chase.
Chak, now relatively alone, stood up and wandered by the couch to look outside through a window. Humans were going about their day, hurrying to get to their preferred streets to watch the parade.
She was more than happy to leave as soon as possible. But… seeing this town now… despite herself she was going to miss it a little. Just a little.
Turning back around she rested on her usual spot on the couch and decompressed. Nothing but whirlwind, finally coming to a stop. Mere hours ago, she thought they lost.
But here they are, sitting in the aftermath of a victory. Despite the sound of the shower running, and the one sided bickering in the kitchen… It felt quiet. Very, peacefully quiet.
-
After contacting Dagon about how the crisis surrounding the entire holiday was at an end, he said he’d be over right as his duties for the parade wrapped up.
The parade itself was broadcasted live on the television and Chak -with a lot of help from Zithra- managed to find it and put it on to monitor. She played with the idea of walking around the town again to see it in person, but she concluded that maybe exposing her alien appearance wouldn’t be the best idea. Perhaps it would be for the best to not mess with this state of victory, and risk causing more trouble. So she decided to simply lightly watch the parade broadcast and keep peeking outside through a window at the more local festivities until they all had a chance to properly say goodbye.
During this, the sassy elf spoke less and less. His black eyes would lose their sense of focus and he’d start to blankley stare at open space. The galactic aetherial space bodies that faintly hover around him gradually grew in intensity during these progressively deeper dips of zoning out.
“Doodle? Doodle?” a Cali’s voice spoke, breaking through to the elf’s awareness.
“Whazzap Princess?” he replied, looking at her.
Chak stared up at the being with concern.
“Are you feeling well?” she asked.
“Feel’n great and sexier than ever, why ya ask?” Doodle answered with a surprised chuckle.
“You… you have something on your face.” Chak informed indicating with her lower limb,
“Tends to happen after-” the elf said, about to make a lewd joke he reached up and touched his face, but what he felt gave him pause.
A crack. One that may have looked small, but he could now sense how deep it ran, and what expanded reaches it traveled down into.
“Well whaddya know…” he said before shrugging, “Don’t worry ‘bout it, it’s all good! Still acclimating and all that.” he reassured the Cali with a thumbs up.
Eventually, after what could only be described as a copious amount of time later, the water in the bathrooms was turned off, and Shida emerged with her body tightly wrapped into a towel as she moved over to her companions.
“So, apparently, the water here doesn’t get heated as you use it…” she informed, hinting at the idea that her ‘Washing off’ would’ve taken a lot longer had cold water not convinced her otherwise.
Glancing at the TV, she took in the parade.
“I still have no idea what any of that means,” she commented on the large number of floats that showed depictions of things that were entirely alien to her. By now, she had an acceptable grasp on anything associated with Christmas, however the other holidays were still out of her ballpark.
The scene then changed, as the feed cut to a completely different camera filming everything from a new angle, and in the background, one could still spot a large amount of people rotting together while raising signs and yelling unheard things at the driving parade.
Shida grimaced, but she wasn’t surprised.
“Guess some people are just awful,” she mumbled quietly to herself. “Christmas Spirit or not.”
“Indeed, but I hope they’ll learn to be better.” the Princess replied as she moved away from the elf and joined in watching.
“Yeah… don’t hold your breath for some of ‘em. Especially the harpy that’s Mary’s mother, eh boss? Heh.” Doodle said as the visage of the nasty woman could be seen among the chanting crowd.
The camera view then changed as a featured float came into focus. An actor clapped his white gloved hands before waving them out over the crowd. His red suit, although with ever so slightly different shades of red, seemed to be well put together. He then placed his hands to his gut and shook it enthusiastically with his bearded mouth ho-ho-ho’ing.
Another angle of the man got much closer to the man himself for the commentators to talk about. Performing his part the red-suited man laughed before his twinkling eyes caught the camera looking at him. With a wink and from him a gentle kind wave the camera transitioned away from him to an overlooking street view that panned over more floats. One seemed to have a disturbingly familiar clear statue of a horned fairy-tale being.
Zithra glared over at the elf.
“I felt inspired!” Doodle defended.
Chak then perked up as an interview came up with a news reporter and Dagon. At his side stood his assistant and Mary with big smiles for the camera.
“-organizers of the parade itself. So how do you think the labor of your efforts turned out? With the controversy around it, I know it must have been difficult.” the reporter said before tilting his device to Dagon.
“You have no idea,...” he initially said in more laughter than voice, “But we’re proud of our contractors and volunteers, shout out to the Flakes’ highschool football team by the way! There was definitely resistance to the change of direction but we stuck to our guns. It’s important that as a holiday parade brings what it promises, and after seeing the turn out I couldn’t be happier. Oh, and shout out to all the wonderful people who I’v met through this process. Folks really stepped up to make this happen and I’m glad to report friendships were made. Ah, and of course my business partner and I would like to say that my assistant Felicia Denver here carried both our weight whenever we had to step away. Without her, this whole thing wouldn’t have happened at all. Seriously a hero in all this.” he said before he started to clap with Mary. Around them and from behind the camera the sound of a dozen or so more people joined in.
The assistant seemed to not have expected that was something as she had to cover one of her eyes with a mitten as she smiled in embarrassed but thankful surprise.
“You think they got their phones on silent?” Shida asked facetiously as she looked at what should’ve been a touching scene. “Maybe we should try it. Piss them off a little.”
However, in actuality, she was glad to at least see them in good spirits. After all, she had been the one basically dragging them through the mud for the past few days, so watching as it all turned out well for them was actually quite relieving for her nerves. However, she wanted to save that sentimentality for when they would actually get to meet and say goodbye, so she deflected it with humor for the time being.
In a ‘lost in thought’ moment, her hand even briefly twitched down to her hip, as if she wanted to rummage through a pocket for a phone to actually call one of their numbers. However, her hand soon had to find that the towel she was covering herself with did indeed have no pockets.
Zithra’s hand lifts up with a devious grin, in it was his own phone. Then with a press on the cracked screen he waited in sheer hope.
Right after the muffled ring sound from his phone goes off, the speaking news reporter is suddenly interrupted by a loud eruption of what Zithra knew to be an early 2000’s edgy alternative rock song. Dagon in a panicked jostle reached into his coat pocket in a brief frenzy to get to his cell phone.
“Sorry-sorry…” he chuckled nervously as he looked down at his screen, “Yes?” he answered.
“We’re watching you on the t.v dude!” Zithra snickered with a thrum, being sure to set his phone on speaker.
“Ooouuuuh, Party Foul!” Shida yelled across the table with an amused chuckle.
“Hi Dagon!” Chak called out, seeing as the intrusion was already performed.
On the screen the human smiled with an open mouth and huffed a laugh.
“Ahah! Sorry, yes out of town folks I worked with are being funny, but hey these guys did so much too.” he explained before turning his own phone to speaker, “Hey everyone, have anything to say to the good people of Flakeville and beyond? Keep it P.G please.” he chuckled before putting the phone up close to the presenting microphone.
“And like that you’ve lost me,” Shida was the first to inform. “I regained my ability to swear just recently, I am not being censored again.”
The news reporter opened his eyes wide, not sure that that could mean.
“Run a clean-mouthed company?” he joked to which Dagon could only shrug.
“You guys have some great food!” Zithra spat out, realizing he’s technically talking to more humans than he ever had at once before.
“Oh, uhhm… The town is very pretty in the snow and all your shops are fun to look through.” Chak said before Doodle leaned in.
“FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUU-”
Dagon quickly hung up the phone to a chorus of laughter on the screen as the elf’s voice is cut off.
Not being able to finish his proclamation, Doodle’s voice devolved into a devious giggle.
“Oh that’s for sure gonna be a popular clip on the internet…” he cackled as he slowly paced around the room, having not sat still between his zone outs.
It was soon after that where the interview came to an end and now the screen was filled with scenes of people picking up their things and leaving to celebrate the rest of the eve before the coming holiday. Business seemed to be bustling and the streets were alight with evening festivities. Eventually the coverage itself came to a close and wrapped up the rest of the air time with the usual yearly cycle of the same christmas music.
Chak peeked outside once again to see that the sky was indeed starting to dim. She then brought her phone to the kitchen table and set it down gently. There was no need to hold onto it anymore, considering that after saying farewell they were to leave.
“Gonna get dressed there, boss? Not that I’m complaining mind ya.” Doodle asked the feline with a joking waggle of his no longer existing eyebrows.
Shida chuckled again and crossed her arms in front of her chest while looking away.
“Yeaaaaah, I’m…kinda out of clothes,” she informed everyone. “Unlike Chak, I have no idea what happened to most of my stuff after the costume took over. Probably at the North Pole somewhere, since the sack spat out my gun and phone at some point, but I don’t exactly have access to that now. And apparently, Dagon didn’t keep all too much of his stuff around here since he only planned to stay for a week or so. So since Zithra and I have both been borrowing…we’re out…Also because I lost Chak and my shopping while rescuing her from the police mimics. That’s my B.”
“Oh, well in that case I’ll be right back!” Doodle saluted before vanishing in an eye blink.
After a few moments that nearly reached a minute the elf came walking down the steps from the attic although there was no sound of the attic door opening or closing.
“These yours, boss?” Doodle asked as he carried what looked like Shida’s original outfit before the Santa-suit magic occurred.
Shida moved to meet him halfway, taking a look at the presented items.
“Certainly look like mine,” she confirmed with a nod while grabbing the articles out of his hands. However, she then eyed them suspiciously. “So…what are the chances that you actually just made these and that they’re going to disappear by the pricking of your thumb as soon as I put ‘em on?”
“Uhhhh… Fifty-fifty.” Doodle shrugged, “Am I devious enough to do that? Sure. But do I have the creative foresight to think of such an idea? I certainly hope so! But I won’t count on it.” he winked, and as he did so the small crack on his face extended up and over his closed eye.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Putting her clothes aside for a moment, Shida came a step closer and reached out a flat hand to Doodle’s face, gently pressing her palm against his cheek while she inspected his face.
After taking it in for a few moments, she exhaled in a drawn-out manner and slowly shook her head, making mild clacking sounds with her tongue.
“I told you to be careful with that, Doodle,” she said with a gentle voice. “That really doesn’t look like something that’s supposed to happen.”
“Whatever happens, happens, boss. I’m a cocktail of… well you know.” he shrugged much softer this time, “I’ve been a lot of things, been around for a long time. Whether that time ends or I change into something else… I’m not afraid, and I have no regrets. It’s… exciting actually, as screwed up as that might sound. I can stare into what I can now understand as before the concept or need of ‘meaning’ or purpose. Even nature has these things in their own way, but ‘Doodle’ is precisely that. He as he is has no easy place to be here, and now he’s extending too much so… I’m reeling it in for now. I don’t know what’s going to happen, since Doodle is still me. Let me just reiterate something; Thank you, it really sucked that all of this christmas-spirit craziness happened to y’all, but since it did, I… I’m glad to have met’cha. All of ya. So… yeah, thank you for dragging me out of that sleigh crash and accosting me in that hospital room, heheh! If I had to retire from the Christmas business, I couldn’t think of a better way to do it.”
Shida sighed slightly as she slowly pulled her hand away from his face again. Bending down, she picked up her clothes again, and almost passingly asked,
“So, say Doodle, did I ever tell you the full story of our creation myth? Details are a bit fuzzy on my part.”
“Other than the collection stuff and things being made with other things? Nah, not much else. But I’m all ears!” he replied as his branch-like ears aimed outward, “Might actually be helpful navigating all this…” he added before sitting himself up on a mostly empty shelf, his weight seeming to be nothing..
Shida nodded.
“I thought so,” she confirmed before moving towards the bedroom door. “Come on, you can stare at the wall while I get dressed.”
She didn’t wait for the elf as she entered, immediately closing the door behind her. And as soon as she turned away from it, he obviously stood right in front of her already.
“I mean, I have a feeling that the whole concept of ‘seeing’ might not even matter all that much anymore, but I also think you might just look right through clothes at this point, so I’ll just keep up appearances on principle,” the feline informed while she twirled her finger in a circular motion, indicating for him to turn around.
“Well I technically always could see through clothes, but come on, just because I’m easy doesn’t mean I play easy.” he commented but turned around with his hands to the back of his head, his shirtless back of skin shared his chest’s shallow pattern of knotting wood grain, but now with faint -barely noticeable at all- glowing unknown symbols fading in and out at random, “And… yeah. Uh… the concept of ‘seeing’ really is a distant suggestion at this point. But I am still a man of principle!” he chuckled as he stretched a little.
Shida exhaled slightly as she dropped the towel around her.
“Well, principle might be a good start,” she explained as she began to take apart the stack of clothes looking for the right order to put everything on. “Don’t strap in too much, the story is only like 8 pages long. We myiat write down a lot, but the quantity comes from many stories, never long ones.”
She then inhaled deeply.
“Right, so: Many eons ago, during the time before time, all existence was spread out evenly amongst the cosmos, coating all there was in a constant, thin layer of itself. Nowhere was abundance. Nowhere was empty. All was one and the same.
In this existence in the time before time, things were not as they are today, for they could not be. Water did not run-down mountains, for there were no mountains to run down from. Moons did not circle worlds, for there were neither moons nor worlds for them to circle. As all things were spread evenly, none could interact with each other in meaningful ways. Existence was stagnant.
And in this stagnation, for eternity, lived the first ones, the great collectors. For unknown eons upon eons, they existed in this space, doing things only known to them, for they are unknowable to us. [...]”
Doodle didn’t speak while she explained, which was good because Shida had to concentrate to really remember the story. It had been a while since she had heard it herself, and a lot of it was just repetition about the character of the collectors.
She told him of how they competed in every measure they could think of, before there were no more ways to compete and they had to literally create new ones. One of them being collecting some of the spread existence.
She told them how they could not decide if it was better to collect a lot of existence, or if it was better to only collect a specific existence. And if so, which one would be more valuable than others? And how thus the concept of ‘Controversy’ was born for the first time, since there was something that had to be agreed upon for the first time. And with it also came the concept of ‘Choice’, as collectors could choose which part of creation to concentrate on.
She told him how, after certain existences were taken away, they left a void that others tried to fill. Meanwhile isolated parts of existence were forced to interact with each other for the first time. And thus, time became a thing, as it rushed to fill the void left by matter, but was never enough to fill it completely and thus had to constantly move.
Meanwhile planets and stars were formed out of the collections of the first ones.
She told him of how the concept of Diversity emerged from the chaos and started to even influence the first ones. Of how Guyastai, the creator of Dunnima, was unlike his siblings, because he lacked interest in collecting, ‘Lack’ being a concept that had so far not existed either.
She told him of how he collected more out of a sense of obligation than out of interest, and how he covered his meager collection with water to hide its flaws, although so much stray matter rained down on it that it still stuck out of the cover in places.
She told him of Guyastai’s conflict with his opposite, Daihiyustai, and how he stole her most precious collection, that was so beautiful that even the water of his own tried to get closer to it. He told him of their second fight, and of their eventual conciliation.
And finally, she told him about how the contest ended, as the interacting existence on Dunnima had, after eons, eventually created life. Since his was the only collection to become aware and stare back up at the first ones, Guyastai was declared as the winner of their contest.
“[...] His siblings congratulated him. All, even Daihiyustai, his opposite, admitted defeat. Guyastai accepted with all the grace that a prideful and jealous being could muster in victory, of course, although his pride did take a bit of a hit, as even he felt that he had done very little to earn this victory, which lessened his feeling of superiority.
And after the first ones, the great collectors, had come to the decision, they looked around. Looked at their collections, floating through the vast nothingness their creators had left behind, now deprived of all meaning.
Enormous balls of pure light. Tight balls of condensed being. Polished collections of rare and precious parts of existence specifically collected for them. All now nothing but idle trinkets.
The contest was over. The great collection had come to an end.
And the siblings looked at each other. And existence looked up at them with its newly gained senses.
Guyastai returned his gaze to his collection, his Dunnima, for one last eon, and as a parting gift, he bestowed a name upon this strange ‘new’, this aware bit of existence that now looked back up again.
‘Myiat’: The second people, he called them.
And then he went, together with his siblings, to once again go for unknown eons upon eons, to exist, doing things only known to them, for they are unknowable to us, to find new contests and challenges with their newly gained ideas of diversity, controversy, and resolution.”
She exhaled. At this point, she had obviously long been dressed, however Doodle had remained staring at the wall as he listened to her.
“So you see,” she finally explained with her hands lifted to a shrug. “Basically…creation is nothing, and the first ones were literally just messing around. In that belief, it’s all accidents. All trinkets, left behind after they no longer had any meaning. Calling them collectors is actually a misnomer. The collecting thing was just to pass time, it wasn’t what actually defines them in any way. It just is to us because that is how we were supposedly created.”
“I think I do…” Doodle whispered genuinely, before lowering his hands down into his jean pockets, “It’s difficult to justify ‘Doodle’ existing with it… But there is a sense of familiarity there… the first ones I mean. What they ‘created’ influenced them. Sure, the meanings of those creations parted with them, but… ‘Doodle’ is a meaning given by the created. Things like ‘Doodle’ are what give meaning in the greater absence of it. So maybe the two can coexist… It’s all a matter of perspective and sequence.” he continued as he looked up at the ceiling, surpassing it in his gaze. His features then shifted in waves of who he once was and could possibly be. There’s even a moment where he looked akin to a miyat. Cracks appeared, spread and disappeared all across his body in an even faster repetition.
“The self has no meaning, but the one given to the self, but the self.” his voice spoke in a warbling, “I remain malleable, transfixed to the human imagination but now subject to the miyat’s… what path do I take now? Is there a path at all? Do… I create that path as I stride upon it? I do want to seek out what’s next, the next ‘challenge’ as you called it. The unknown is unknown to even itself it seems in my case. But for now… I’m here and I decide that ‘Doodle’ still has meaning, He- I, decide what that is.”
His body then flickered in and out of existence for a fraction of a second, like missing frames of an animation. He reconstituted, his form the familiar shirtless elf from the back. Turning his head slightly, Shida initially can’t make sense of his face. There’s features, but she had no concept of how to describe what they were. But then as he fully looked back, Doodle’s usual face was smiling. His black void eyes switched to his old Christmas-elf blues to then a distinct Miyat appearance of reddish brown.
Then with a snap of his fingers he aimed at the feline’s torso. Shida’s clothes in fact do not disappear.
“Damn it.” he jested before fully turning himself around to face her, “I still have a lot to figure out. But that helped, I think I have an understanding to use as… I guess a ‘guide’. Thanks, boss.” he said in a tone that did not quite sound like himself, but with a slow nod his voice reverted back.
-
Dagon, who was closely followed by Mary, entered through the front door with bags in each of their hands.
“Great! You’re all still here! Sorry we’re late, the wrap up took longer than expected. We got farewell gifts though!” the man tiredly yet excitedly proclaimed.
“And we didn’t break any more of your stuff in the meantime,” Shida proclaimed, forcing the new arrivals to crank their heads up since she was lounging on top of a relatively high cupboard that stood in front of one of the walls. However, as she was saying it she remembered something and added, “Actually…scratch that, we totally broke your toilet. But Doodle fixed it later, so it’s all good.”
Rolling over, she let herself drop from the furniture, landing in a practiced, cushiony stance on all fours, before pushing herself to her feet.
“Also, I’m not touchy anymore,” she said with a nod towards the two, remembering the last time she had greeted them. “Turns out being possessive of concepts is a rather strange experience to have, and I’m sorry that it made me weird for a while.”
“I’d argue this has been nothing but weird since you told me you were aliens while in that basement. So I’ll happily let it slide with everything else.” Dagon responded as he set the bags down on the kitchen table.
“I still feel like I need to apologize for how I’ve acted. I wasn’t in a good place and I know that’s not an excuse but I really am sorry for making things harder for you. Now that I’m cutting myself clean from my mom for good, I’m going to try and explore who I am. Hell, maybe I’ll decide to change my name as soon as I’m able.” Mary said with a shrug. “Oh… right… Bell was arrested, if you haven’t heard.”
Shida nodded.
“My boyfriend did that name thing,” she explained, completely ignoring anything about Bell, since he really wasn’t on her radar anymore ever since he wasn’t a magical calamity. “Well, technically, he just didn’t change his name with her when his mother took her old one again, but it had the same point…Either way, you’re far from the worst mommy issues we have been dealing with. Don’t get me started on the travesty that is Chak’s girlfriend there.”
Having been waiting to insert herself in the conversation the goat-bug princess waved a lower limb. These two have seen her in this form before, but the majority of the time it was perceived as a ‘costume’ so she still felt slightly exposed.
“Indeed…” Chak had to agree, “I’m very much glad to have met all of you, but I’d be lying if I were to say that I’m not elated to go back to her.” she admitted, “I also feel bad though, I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer in return for your thoughtful gifts.” she added.
Dagon waved his hand.
“I think we all know that you’ve given enough.” he assured before digging out the colorful paper-wrapped boxes and decorated bags from the ones they carried in, “Where’s bat-boi at?”
Zithra who was standing out of sight around a corner released a soft thrum.
“Uhm here… I’m in my scare-humans state right now sooo… yeah…” he voiced.
“Well the first gifts are for you… sooo….” Dagon replied holding up two large decorated winter paper bags.
Reaching around the corner, a manarian tail extended and precisely took hold of the bags before carefully retracting back around.
Sitting himself down on the floor, the Manarain reached in and pulled out a thick, luxuriously soft scarf. It was a similar color to his purple fur, but more vibrant. Next from the back he removed a jar of pickled garlic, a general hunter’s tool set and a small metal framed picture. Confused, he tilted his head but as he read the marker writing on the picture itself he had to wipe his eyes.
“Sorry for breaking into your home and thanks for saving me. I’m going to be okay and I’m going to have a really cool scar!”
The image was of a familiar teenager in a hospital bed. He made a big genuine smile, and at his side was the Sheriff giving a big thumbs up.
“Good luck, kid.” The Manarian said in his silent voice.
Meanwhile the Miyat, Cali and Elf were given their gifts as well.
“Thanks…?” Doodle said as he inspected a big jar filled with assorted candy while already wearing a new t-shirt that simply stated in thick bold lettering; ‘Sex Appeal’.
He seemed to like the shirt quite a bit.
Chak unwrapped her paper covered box with precision and neat unfolding not actually trying to tear the paper.
In it, was a new set of kitty-earmuffs that, although didn’t suit a Cali’s ears, she still placed them on without a second’s hesitation.
“Thank you so much!” she chirped before going back into the box to find… snacks? A simple but wide assortment of small human packages of premium options, “Oh… I’m afraid I don’t think I can have most of these but I’m sure my finance will love trying them- oh I can have this one though!” She excitedly pulled out what is usually considered a novelty, but to her, the lightly flavored and toasted insect in a package looked great to try. Though she didn’t know what a ‘cricket’, ‘grasshopper’ or ‘mealworm’ was… it held some visible familiarity to Cali cuisine.
In the meantime, Shida had used a single claw to cut an entire side of the package open, allowing the thusly freed square of packing-paper to fall to the side, as it briefly danced through the air with crinkling sounds.
“I swear to the stars, if this is catnip or a ball of yarn, you two have something else coming…” she commented before she fully looked inside.
Within was just one folded up article of clothing. There was the glimmering reflection of exposed metal from the kitchen light now casted down upon it.
“I… may have been inspired by something Chak said while you were unconscious. Hope it fits!” Dagon said before he started to collect the gift paper remnants into one of the bags to toss later.
Lifting the entangled mass of chain out of the box, Shida held it in between two fingers while she studied it.
Then she turned towards Mary with a lifted eyebrow.
“Okay, based on my experiences with humans, I’m sorry but I have to ask this,” she said with amusement. “Did you get this from a fetish shop?”
“Uhhhm… not a ‘fetish’ shop, I mean… not really. It was a more general place… in that realm I guess. But… I mean… It’s not like we have cornerstore blacksmiths around here with things like that, so… Yeah I had to get a little imaginative with finding that.” May both explained and defended.
“James always says I look like I just walked out of a fetish-shop when I dress fancy,” Shida chuckled as she unfurled the article of chain, hoping that it wasn’t made too much to human specifications, otherwise there would be a very awkward, empty bump at her chest area where human women would have a bit more filling. “Should I try this on? Or would that be awkward for you?”
She gave Mary another teasing look, figuring that her defensiveness at the topic made her a rather welcoming target. Also, she didn’t even need to look at Dagon to know that he would likely already be turning red by now.
He was such a, as Simone called it, ‘church-boy’.
“Please do. Not awkward at all.” Mary shrugged as she doubled down, “It should fit you alright. It’s just… not the norm around here. Which is fine, I’m in no position to make any judgments.”
“Wait… does that go over your other clothes or…” Dagon inquired as he cleared his throat.
“Nope,” Shida said, already in the process of taking the jacket of her uniform off again, right before using both hands to pull her shirt over her head. Immediately, Dagon and Doodle had exactly opposite reactions, as one quickly tried to avert his gaze while the other looked on in interest. However, as the feline had freed herself of the shirt, she gave the elf an almost condescending glare, as her chest area was still covered by a thick band of elastic fabric that clung onto her tightly. “Well, not above all clothes,” she clarified with a laugh. “But nobody wants chains on their chest directly. It chafes horribly.”
“Nothin’ wrong with a lil chafing…” Doodle grumbled to himself.
Mary swallowed hard and cleared her throat and scratched at her cheek.
“No offense of course… but how the hell did the ‘christmas spirit’ even deem you as ‘Santa’ material…” she commented before noticing Dagon now pretending to check his wrist watch.
“Given that you were staring at my abs as you said that, I’ll take it as a compliment,” Shida explained while she started to put the shiny work of metal onto her body, fidgeting a bit with it since it was made in a bit of a more awkward form than she was used to from articles like these. “And if I knew how anything worked, I would’ve had a lot less trouble the last days. Since it can neither have been for my body nor my jolly nature, I guess I was just the first person it ran into or something. Maybe Chak was out of the way when she opened the sack.”
“You were also the one steering when you hit Santa…” Chak proposed before tossing a grasshopper in her mouth, her eyes fading from a recent intense glow.
“Hey, bat-boy! Want some candy?” Doodle called out as he walked around the corner, “Check out this shirt. Accurate amIright?” he teased, followed by a long drawn out sigh of a manarian thrum.
Chak began to place her gifts in a spare bag to carry before walking over to the humans, giving them Cali-grade hugs. Both hesitated a bit, just from the new experience alone but returned them with earnest smiles.
“Thank you again for the gifts. It really was a pleasure meeting you. But… I think it’s time. Shida and I have very important business to attend to back home, and people who must be worried sick for us. I wish you two the best in whatever future you find yourselves in. And I hope you have a wonderful holiday tomorrow. Hopefully it can be enjoyed even after everything that had transpired.” Chak farewelled.