The Martin family and their relatively obtuse ways were a common sight in Rhinelander, be it their prayers, offerings to gods, expressions, or their general life. Compared to the good old boys and girls of Wisconsin, they were quite a sight, and Scarletra and their daughters were likely the only aliens within several hours.

Still, they had been welcomed by everyone in the community, save a few zealots who clutched their pearls when they remembered Samuel essentially denounced Jesus in favor of the Great Mother. Or when they saw Samuel and scarletra kiss while going on a date in town.

Their little family had driven past the church on the way home and were reminded of that as a few so-called loving Christians gave them side eyes and slight scowls. But Scarletra and Samuel understood their resentment and killed them with kindness. So they waved along with Sarah happily, wishing them a merry Christmas through the window, and a few of the churchgoers guilty hung their heads low in response.

Serves the bastards right. They are free to hate Samuel and Scarletra, but no one could be mad when facing Sarah or Silfa’s cute fuzzy faces, fluttering ears, and earnest bubbly demeanor. Samuel and Scarletra even fell under their puppy dog's, or in this case bearish-cub's, eyes now and again.

But what parents did not want to dote on their cute little girls?

None of that mattered right now. They were home and happy going through their family routine for the holiday. As soon as the HMMV was parked, Samuel and the girls went inside and grabbed a small wooden bowl filled to the brim with offerings while Scarletra put the tree next to the door.

The bowl was filled with an ensemble of spices and other herbs that Scarletra had taken great care to fill. Each spice was ground and placed in its own bottle while the herbs were tied in neat little bows.

It had taken Scarletra a few years to decide what she would use as offerings. With her no longer being on Baratin, she could not burn or offer the mosses and other gifts she used to give to the Gods, so the selection was things she deemed good enough.

There was sage, acorns, bellwort, monkshood, pepper, beer, and other mixes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and oils. Each one was meant to represent something in the domain of each goddess and god of the Varintol.

Monkshood was given to Barut, sage to Levaal, pepper to Oros, and so on. Samuel had Sarah explain to him what each god and goddess represented as they waited for Scarletra. Not because he was unaware but because the little Varintol should be aware of the why behind their unique tradition.

The only universal offering was the beer that Samuel would pour next to each statue. That was, of course, given to them all just because it was Scarletra’s and Samuel’s favorite drink.

Once Scarletra had joined them next to the statues, they slowly walked down the rows of statues, with Sarah taking the offerings and moving them to bowls in front of each goddess and god, from the great mother to Levaal.

The only exception was the unique gift to Maruvak because the offering was incredibly toxic and could hurt their little cub.

As much as Scarletra wanted Sarah to be able to give offerings to them all, Samuel adamantly refused to let their daughter handle water hemlock, religion, or no religion that plant could cause any of their hearts to stop. Even Samuel and Scarletra wore gloves when messing with it. So Scarletra placed it in the goddess’ death bowl, being cautious not to get sap on her hands.

Once all the offerings were in front of each of the statues, they all kneeled in the snow, although Samuel, in his comparative old age, was far slower than the others. They clasped their hands together once he struggled to the powder, and Scarletra began their vigil.

“Great Mother, thank you for blessing us for yet another year. You, your daughters, sons, and those born of their lives have done more than we mere mortals can ever know. We strive to achieve a fraction of what you all have done. If it is your will, please guide us to your grace and glory, as you have those we held near and dear to us before they graced your great halls. We also humbly ask you to treat those at your side with honor and care,” Scarletra preached in a gentle regality she still held.

It was shocking when Samuel first heard that tone of voice from Scarletra, but now he understood and enjoyed it. She had first learned to speak with such presence and power from her mother in preparation for her one day leading the Ursana.

But that is not what Scarletra used it for at all. She was not leading army troops or torturing Ursana slaves. No, she gave a vigil that could move mountains and make even the most diehard preacher jealous.

There are just some things you can’t fake, and having the presence of a royal is one of those things.

Samuel loved telling others the story of the first time Scarletra had gone to a school board meeting and voiced her issues with the attire rules at school. She spoke in a way that kept everyone there captivated despite her only complaining that the school tried to make Sarah wear more clothes than was healthy for a furred alien.

How all the old men and women of the school board stared in awe at her was captivating. Samuel swore one of the older veterans even stood at attention as she left, with the school board having given up on their battle against the Varintol's relatively revealing attire.

Through the rest of their vigil, Scarletra prayed and thanked each of the gods and goddesses- even Maruvak- for their roles in the universe and their lives. As she preached for the next hour, she regaled her family with references to tales from them. She closed out by thanking them for Samuel, Sarah, and Silfa.

“Mommy, I'm hungry,” Silfa pouted as soon as Scarletra started to stand, not missing a beat once the service was done.

To Silfa’s credit, she was far more patient than Samuel was at that age. Despite only being two and hardly being able to hold still most of the time, she made nary a peep during the entire vigil. Just like Samuel, when Scarletra used her more Regal tone, even the cub would not dare to interrupt. Not for fear or anything, but respect.

“Awww, come here,” Scarletra purred, picking Silfa up. “it is almost dinner time, don’t worry.”

“Come on, Sarah, let’s get dinner ready,” Samuel said. “Scar, why don’t you and Silfa have some cookies and relax.”

Sarah took Samuel's hand and hurried into the house, Scarletra and Silfa trailing behind. Although Scarltra was not about to let Samuel and Sarah do all the preparation. Instead, they all flowed into the kitchen and got to work, with the sound of jingle bell rock gently playing on the radio.

It took Samuel and the family two hours to have the table set and the kids seated. It was not hard to tell the kids were hungry. Their eyes were wide, and Silfa even drooled onto her empty plate.

Before them was a smorgasbord of food: stacks of meat, mashed potatoes, buns, cakes, cookies, wine, beer, juice, eggnog, and every other Christmas staple a red-blooded American would want on their table.

For most families, this would be enough to feed a dozen people, but with Scarletra and the girls having appetites that could put any competitive eater to shame, most of this would only be on the table for an hour.

At least their voracity meant cleanup was easy, with no food to put away or anything.

The air was heavy with the scent of melted fat, butter, and steaming pumpkin pie. Amidst the usual smells of Christmas was a unique rough odor of a dish Scarletra made every year for them. Kurilturk.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Kurilturk was a type of blood sausage meant initially for weddings and other celebrations amidst the Ursana and their nation. It smelled somewhere between haggis and fresh bacon but tasted good despite its somewhat grey color.

If this was Baratin, the sausages would be made from edible moss, mushrooms, Khatnit meat, and blood, with a few spices to enhance the flavor.

Because they were on Earth, there was no Khatnit, so Scarletra opted to use deer. She had used elk in the past, but with the kids, she and Samuel could not head to Montana for a hunt this year—not that any of them minded the change.

Scarletra poured Sarah one cup of boozed-up eggnog for the year. It was perfectly legal in the state for people under the legal drinking age to have alcohol, and in the Ursana nation it was customary for Varintol to drink from the age of five—so they gave her a yearly treat.

“Thank you, Mommy,” Sarah said, pulling the mug closer with both hands and sniffing the beverage.

“You are welcome, teddy bear,” Scarletra said, kissing the top of her head and moving to the head of the table opposite Samuel.

One effect Samuel had not expected of Humans joining the GU was how laws around alcohol would change. Currently, it was up in the air if they would remain at all, but the lawmakers on Earth were looking at adopting the practice of regulating based on species alone, age be damned—similar to most of the GU.

However, the lawmakers' debates were not relevant to the Martin clan. Because Samuel and Scarletra did not plan on giving Sarah more than one as a small treat, they had both seen enough people go down the road of being alcoholics, and that was not a pretty sight.

Now that everyone was seated, Samuel looked at his family, his smile growing wider as they waitingly watched him. He raised his beer, and they copied him in response. While not traditional, they held a bit of Varintol tradition, including waiting for the father to start eating. Samuel found that odd, considering the Varintol were matriarchal, yet starting important meals fell to the eldest male.

“Dig in, everyone,” Samuel smiled, sipping his beer.

Like a pack of ravenous hounds, the Martins began to dig into the meal. Each member attacked their favorite part of dinner first. Samuel and Scarletra started with some Kurilturk, Sarah the stuffing, and little Silfa asked for mashed potatoes and gravy., Which Samuel happily served for her, along with anything else the little cub wanted.

If someone could watch their Christmas meal, they would likely think no one here had ever eaten. Mainly because after a matter of minutes, they all had a second serving filling empty plates.

The rest of dinner was a blur of little chats, laughter, dreams of the new year, and slight reflections on the last. Sarah and Silfa were more concerned about what Santa would give them this year since they were both such good girls.

Samuel and Scarletra had taken alot of time thinking about that over the last few weeks. But eventually did decide on what the girls would be getting from Santa. Sarah, the tomboy, and mech-head she was, had been asking Samuel about getting her own tools so she could stop begging him to borrow one or another while she tinkered in the garage and he was fixing some new doodad. So that is what she would be getting: her own rolling toolbox with a few essential items to get her started.

It was nothing extravagant like Samuel's wall-to-wall boxes but a little one about the size of a dresser. It would be perfect for her.

Silfa, on the other hand, was far more creative, so Scarletra and Samuel got her a collection of new art books, pads, pencils, and markers. Hopefully, she could let her creativity out on the pages and not on some random wall in the house.

Once dinner was done and before the food comas had set in, Scarletra gathered the girls and led them to the living room to start decorating the tree; before she sashayed out of stage left, Scarletra left Samuel with a small kiss on the cheek.

He pinched and stole a glance at her gorgeous full butt while she followed the giggling babes into the other room. That Christmas dress did wonders for her already heavenly figure. Her exaggerating her sensual hip-pop before the girls could see was cute and was another thing Samuel still loved about her. Scarletra knew how to get him going for sure.

Samuel was excited about their soak in the hot tub later at night. They both knew they would not just be relaxing in the tub, oh no. They acted like a pair of teenagers and could hardly keep their hands off one another once the kids were in bed and they had alone time.

As he cleaned the dishes, he smirked, hearing, giggling, laughing, and the sound of a movie on the television. The cherubic sounds of Scarltra’s husky chuckle pushed warmth into Samuel's heart.

After all the struggles in his life, being nearly sixty and having such a wonderful family was a blessing. And he thanked the great mother every time he woke up with Scarletra cuddling him, brushing her fur in the evenings, or playing with either of their daughters.

He never thought his life would be so whole at this age. Samuel had expected to be cold and in the ground at this point. But with the GU's medical abilities, him quitting smoking because of the kids, he has another forty, possibly fifty years. He just hoped it was enough to see Sarah or Silfa’s clans grow—when they were older, at least.

After cleaning and putting the dishes in the washer, Samuel poured Scarletra and himself ice-cold beers and lumbered to join them in decorating, eager to spend time with the clan on the most joyous day of the year.

They had decorated the living room far faster than Samuel had expected. Scarletra lifted Silfa and let her hang some of the shimmering decorations higher on the tree. At the same time, Sarah hung their stockings over the fireplace, ensuring she did not touch the cross sword and axe hanging over them.

Each of the stockings had their names emblazoned on them in golden glitter. Scarletra and Silfa had made them a few weeks ago on one of their mommy-daughter dates. God, the happy look on Silfa’s pudgy face when she presented them to Samuel was adorable, even if she and Scarletra were covered in the horrible plastic at the time—-they still likely had some flecks of it in their fur.

The rest of the room was almost fully adorned as well. Garlands drooped from wall to wall, and cutouts of bushes and pine trees were plastered to the walls. The girls had even placed wreaths of mistletoe on the back of Samuel and Sarah’s loungers. The only thing they had not touched at this point was the davenport, but that was because it was already overflowing with presents, scarletra having moved them there from under the tree while decorating.

The tree was already almost done, coated in bulbs, crystals, and wooden carvings of animals. The crackling fire illuminated the room in a warm glow. The flicking flames reflected off the adornments, sending shimmering beams of light all around the room, like a festive disco ball.

Unlike most families, they did not use lights on the tree. Scarletra preferred not to use them, wanting to appreciate the decorations, not the shimmering lights. Samuel also did not want to deal with long ropes of lights, so they saw eye to eye on that.

Walking over and joining Scarletra and the girls, Samuel handed her the beer, jostled Sarah’s silver hair, and picked up one of the waiting carvings. The one he grabbed was shaped like a hammer. Scarletra had ensured every decoration on the tree meant something to at least one of them: representations of the family, their friends, or things they held dear.

Samuel hung the ornament and traced the overflowing bows. The tree was peppered with birds, deer, animals of Baratin, tools, and art brushes. Seeing them all was heartwarming; every year, the collection on the tree grew, just as their family was going to.

Scarletra had already made it clear enough that she wanted another kid. Thankfully Samuel and her having another was not a simple matter of fucking; they had to go to the clinic and have Scarletra go through the arduous process of artificial insemination with a lab-grown embryo.

So they planned on waiting until Silfa started school next year. But seven months would go by in a flash, especially around this house.

After the tree was covered with ornaments, candies, and carvings, little Silfa handed Scarletra the last piece they needed to complete the Martin home centerpiece—the topper.

The topper looked like a solar system. It was not an actual solar system in reality. Instead, it was a colored glass representation of the green planet Baratin orbited, with several moons around it. Each of the moons was colored to match the eyes of each of the family members present. Two were golden, and two were green.

With gentle grace, Scaletra placed the topper on the tree, and a gentle growl poured out from the three Varintol present, vibrating the entire room. They lightly giggled once they realized they had done that in unison.

Samuel reached over and put his arm on Scarletra’s back, patting her with her, wrapping hers around Samuel and pulling him close. The girls gently hugged Samuel's legs and growled their claim ever so softly. Indeed it was the most wonderful time of the year.

“Who wants to watch a movie?” Scarletra asked softly, breaking the calm.

“Let's watch Jingle all the way,” Sarah said, already moving toward the davenport with her sister's hand in hers, ready to clear the presents out of the way for now.

Samuel shrugged and turned to the TV, with Scarletra stopping him. She leaned down, kissed him, and told him to play anything but Die Hard again. And that she would be back in a minute with some fresh drinks for everyone.

Samuel chuckled and assured her he would not, even though Die Hard was the best Christmas movie ever. So Samuel put on Sarah’s request and joined his daughters in putting the presents under the tree and, waiting for Scarletra for the show, cuddled up for the rest of the night. Or at least until the girls had to go to bed.