Yuletide Sweets (collab with KingsyARPG)

The village was lively with chatter and cheering all around. It was winter and with the cold months came special events, traditions and gatherings. A warm light shining through the town, reaching into the far distance, making it easy to recognize for every animal in the area.

Thick snow crunched beneath heavy paws as two Vayrons made their way through the nearby woods, heavy prey being dragged behind them. Izanami walked ahead of them, her thick angora coat shielding her from the cold, behind her was her companion Rohan, his smaller build occasionally troubling him, letting him sink further into the snow.

“I can understand the visual appeal of snow-ah!” He grunted in flustered surprise as his leg dipped farther into the snow than he was expecting for the umptenth time. He corrected his footing as he continued following the larger angora. He gave a heavy sigh as he shook the excess snow off his leg. “It’s lovely to look at, but it’s rather difficult to travel in. How are you not sinking in?” he finally asks in exasperation as his other leg sinks into the snow again.

The runner was only ever used to the warmer climate in the lands of Vitalus, whereas in Roenden, he depended on his companion to make it through the rough weather.

Already used to his complaints about the snow, Izanami just grunted in answer to his question. After walking some distance the puller stopped for a moment, dropping her prey before saying “Look, up ahead is the village. We are almost there.”

The runner looked up from the ground and nodded in acknowledgment, following Izanami as she continued to make her way out of the woods. His ears flick as an idea dawns upon him. He attempts walking in her paw prints and it seemed to be going well for several steps, so well he starts getting comfortable and becomes disappointed when his leg sinks in once more. “Nnnff! How?!” he laments before giving up on that plan and trudges after her the best he can.

The food resources were beginning to run low. The cold and high snow making it difficult for a lot of Reoseans to hunt and fill the villagers bellies with meals. Izanami lived nearby, she preferred to keep her distance but still helped in supplying the village with any materials they needed.

As they arrived at the entrance they were greeted with laughter and joy. The village was decorated to fit the festive occasion. Izanami looked around and noticed a few mischievous imps in the corners of the street, hiding away from the commotion.

Rohan had been shaking off the excess snow from his fur when the puller tapped her smaller companion’s leg to grab his attention.  “Hm?” he looked at her questioningly before looking in the direction that she motioned her head in.

He gasped upon seeing the imps, he’d never seen them before. He started going towards them to get a closer look at the little dark creatures, but when they noticed his approaching figure they seemingly hidden away in the shade of the alleyways. The runner stops in his tracks but with his ears perked forward.

“Iza, what are they?” the runner’s eyes sparkle in interest as they watch the little creatures huddle away from the crowd. As if on command, little black eyes stared back into their own, a fearful yet curious glint in them. One of them stepped out of the shade, slowly making their way toward the two reoseans but halted and scurried back into its hideout as more villagers passed by.

“Imps,” the puller answered. “They seem skittish of you.” The reoseans looked at each other then back into the alleyway. A moment of silence passed between them before Izanami spoke up. “Come on, let’s get this prey to the guild, then we will take a look around.”

“But Iza… ugh, you’re right. We really should turn these in,” Rohan sighed. The puller turned around, picking the prey back up and slowly trotted toward the local guild. The fluffy runner glanced back at imps before jogging to catch up to his friend with a flick of his tail.

Upon arriving at the plaza in front of the big building the two were greeted with voices calling them over to a shack a little ways off to the side. A small crowd had gathered there, villagers and adventurers both depositing and distributing meats of various kinds.

Rohan was the first to drag his prey over to the shack eagerly, his companion following him.

“Hello, good evening! We’ve returned from our hunt and would like to deposit these,” the male said, pointing at the carcasses he and Izanami were dragging through the snow.

“Ahh, perfect. Thank you for your efforts, this will help the villagers here a lot.” A vayron, fawn and nightshade colored, took the carcasses from them and deposited them on the small pile of meats in the back.

“I would like to thank you once more, your efforts and generous donation is greatly appreciated here. Would there be anything else I could help for the two of you with? Any other questions?” the kind vayron asked.

“Oh no, it was our pleasure. We’re glad we could be of some help,” Rohan smiled brightly at the vayron. He shook his head to answer the inquiries, “Ah, no, that’s all from us. We’ll be on our way now.” Rohan turned to Izanami again and nudged her back towards the alleyway they’d spotted the little creatures. “Now let’s see what’s up with the imps in the area.”

The fastest way to get back to the alleyway was to cut through the center of town, which took them to the heart of the event that seemed to be taking place in the village. Rohan immediately got distracted from his original goal of investigating the imps when he saw that the majority of the populace had gathered there to make gingerbread houses.

“Wow, look at that one!” Rohan pointed out in amazement at one of the tables where a very talented young chaser was making a candy and frosting masterpiece of a house.

“Ah yes, that would be my granddaughter. She’s inherited my husbands talent for making such elaborate gingerbread houses, ha ha. Would the two of you like to participate?”

The two vayrons looked down in the direction they heard the voice from to see another elderly chaser with a wagging fluffy tail.

Izanami starts to shake her head and is opening her mouth to decline the offer, but ends up grunting instead when Rohan shoulder bumps her.

“We’d love to!” the runner accepts for the two of them, beaming a smile at the elderly chaser.

“Wonderful, we have a free table over here,” the chaser starts walking to an empty table. “Everything is provided, feel free to use anything you’d like to decorate your house.”

“Rohan,” the puller grumps as she gives him a dead pan look.

“Iza,” the runner says right back at her and waggles his brows at her before trotting over to the table with a bounce in his step. “Don’t worry. I’ll be by your side, I’m sure with our combined efforts we’ll make an amazing gingerbread house.”

Izanami rolled her eyes at him and gave a huff, but followed him over to the table.

“That’s the spirit!” he tells her as he pushes the bowl of frosting her way.

It was a disaster.

An absolute disaster.

“Ugh, uuuuuugh, my fur!” Rohan lamented as he looked down at his usually immaculate fur coat was covered in frosting, sprinkles, and a variety of candies. He looks over at Izanami who is also covered in their construction material, though not nearly as much as him.

Izanami is in the process of placing a candy cane on one side of the house when she huffs in amusement at the runner’s expense. The puff of air ends up knocking down one of the walls and the house is starting to lean over to collapse, but with some quick thinking Izanami is able to save it by using the candy cane to help keep it supported.

“Iza,” Rohan looks at their sad little gingerbread house. “It’s such a sad looking thing.” He looks around and sees they’re one of the few last ones still around making gingerbread houses. At least there wasn’t a huge crowd to see their embarrassing attempt.

“Indeed. I think this is a very good sign that you should never become an architect.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” the runner chuckled. “Though I think that applies to you as well.”

“I don’t know. I think I did a splendid job. Look at how prettily you’ve been decorated,” she smirks at him with an arched brow.

Rohan’s jaw drops, “You… How dare you madame!” He picks up one of the candies and proceeds to plop it onto her nose where there was a bit of frosting. “Vengeance is mine!”

At that moment the runner felt a tugging on his leg fur and he looks down to see an imp pull off a piece of candy. The imp looks up at him, he blinks at it, it blinks at him and then scurries off back into the shadows. He can see the shining of many other eyes. That’s when he gets an idea. “Iza, help me put this abomination over there.”

“Are you trying to hide your shame?”

Rohan squints at her. “................. Yes…”

The puller chuckles at his admission and agrees to help him. Carefully they move the structurally unsound candy house over closer to the alleyway with the imps.

“There, that should be good. Come with me, come on,” he pushes her back to their table. “Now get under it.”

Izanami looks at him like he’s gone mad. “No.”

“Trust meeee,” he wheedles as he keeps pushing her. Eventually he got her to go under the table with him.

“Why are we under here?” she asks him.

“Because I’m brilliant. Look, back over where we left that sugary abomination.”

The puller looks back where they had left the failure of a gingerbread house and sure enough, there are imps slowly and hesitantly coming out of the shadows to converge upon the new food source. The two watched as the little imps gleefully started pulling all the pieces of the candy and cookie house apart to consume. Soon there was nothing left but some frosting and crumbs.

“It was a hideous house, but at least it was a delicious one,” Rohan chuckles. “Well then, shall we go?”

He tries to get up but then realizes they have a new problem. “Oh… Oh no… Iza… we’re stuck. All this candy and frosting has made us stuck together. We desperately need a bath.”

The puller looks at her smaller companion and with a silent look convey’s the message of, “This is all your fault,” without uttering a single word.

The runner gives her a weak smile.

Izanami squints at him and then starts making her way out from under the table.

“Ow, Iza, urgh-wait wait, Iza that hurts! If you pull too much you’ll rip out my fur!” he complains as he tries to keep up with her. “I can’t afford to lose any fur in this tundra! Not to mention I’d don’t want to be bald-ow!”

She ignores him, rolling her eyes as she continues making her way back out of the village.

“Iza…. Iza…. Iza, where are you going? We need to wash ourselves off, Iza…. Ow, ow, there’s no warm baths for miles outside of town! Iza, we need a bath!”

The puller makes her way out of the village and heads off in a direction of a frozen lake. Once they make it to the edge of it she smashes her paw through the thin layer of ice and looks Rohan dead on in the eyes.

“Iza, Iza, no…. No, no, no, no, no! Don’t do this to me, Iza! Iza! Have mercy on me, please! IZA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

WC: 2002

Collab for the monthly Reos prompt~

@KingsyARPG