A ghostly Christmas! (1x1 - AndreaJingling + NienieDreamer)

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"But-but, SANTA puts the presents under the tree!'' Noëlle protested. "Don't they ever notice the extra presents? Don't they ever wonder who got them those presents? You don't HAVE to grow up, Santa is RIGHT THERE! And he visits adults, too... it's never too late!'' Noëlle was pouting at this moment, crossing her arms. "You're never too old to be happy...'' she mumbled. "And there's only one Santa. How could all those wishes get to Santa if he can't hear them?'' She seemed very, extremely confused at this point. As well as extremely upset, too.

Noëlle rubbed her eyes. This was all so much... fake Santas? Parents lying and telling their children Santa didn't exist when they got older, because they had to grow up? Parents putting the presents under the trees instead of Santa? No one believing in magic, or Santa? Well, Noëlle did. She knew he was real. Of course she did, she was his Elf. She had no doubt in her mind that after all this, she would return home to the North Pole and take care of Santa's reindeers. Read and sort through mail. Maybe she'd even get a letter from Charlotte next year.

Well, at least she'd hoped so until Charlotte said the most horrible thing she'd ever heard anyone say. At this point, there were tears in Noëlle's eyes as she looked up at the woman, lip trembling. "You should,'' she told Charlotte, almost crying, "he's real. I know, I know he is.'' She glanced at her reindeer. "Don't you?'' She then asked, desperate for any kind of reassurance, but not really asking for it. In the end, she really didn't need it, because she knew. She just did.

Why was she doing all of this if her assignment didn't even believe in Santa? Why would Santa himself send her here, then? Wasn't she proof enough that Santa was real, or at the very least the workshop was real? She was one of his Elves, straight from the North Pole. Not that she'd told Charlotte that yet. She hadn't asked.
But maybe, just maybe, she thought, that WAS her assignment. And upon that thought, she cheered up a little bit more. "I'll show you,'' she eventually concluded, starting to walk again.
 
She listened to every single word that Noëlle was saying to her, everything about not growing up, the presents, the, everything.. She was about to open her mouth to speak once more, but paused, nay, FROZE, upon seeing the tears shimmer in the winter air.. She locked up, her jaw SNAPPING shut, and her eyes flicking to the road ahead, as her face fell to one of pure dismay, and her own eyes began to slightly water. She was known for her tears but, these were, restrained.. She didn't want them to come out.. But they began to..

Listening to Noëlle's final words, she paused for another moment, stopping her walk once again to think on her answer..
Instead of forging something. She told the truth.

"I, don't know.."

Her voice sounded, scratchy, nervous, shaky even.. She really didn't know, her body was visibly shaking in the cold weather.
Still, she continued to speak.

"I don't know, a lot anymore.. It's, hard for me to perceive anything as, real anymore. this is just, one of those things i guess.."

Charlie went silent after that, listening to the silence of the day, and the small tune the music box was playing, but, her head perked up once more at Noëlle's talk of 'showing her'.

"Wh, what?"
 
Noëlle seemed okay now, back to her cheery self and nearly skipping down the road. "I'll show you,'' she repeated. "Me and Rainy are gonna give you the best Christmas ever, and then you'll see! I can even write a letter to Santa to come visit you, but I don't know how much more proof you need,'' Noëlle shrugged. After all, she was already here, one of Santa's helper Elves, that should prove enough, right?! "Don't worry,'' she responded when Charlotte insisted on still not saying that she believed in Santa - and meaning it-, "don't worry about a thing, you'll see!''

Stopping again, Noëlle tilted her head at Charlotte. She hesitated for a while. Um... what was she supposed to do now that the other was crying? She awkwardly put a hand on the other's arm. "Don't cry,'' she said in a near whisper. "You'll see, I'll show you. We'll have the best Christmas anyone has ever had, the most Christmas-y Christmas there could ever be!'' She smiled.

She hesitantly turned to start walking again. "Let's just start with getting and decorating a tree, then I'll put the gift sack under that. Then, we can see what to do next. Like I said, there's lots of things we can do! All I want is to give you the best Christmas you can have,'' Noëlle promised. After all, that was her assignment; she understood now. Show Charlotte that Santa was real and to get her the best Christmas ever, which she totally deserved.
Stopping one more time, she turned around and smiled at Charlotte. "Don't worry, by the way. You're on the nice list. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here!'' And off she was, walking next to her reindeer again with a mission in mind.
 
It took a good minute for her to finally wipe the tears away, which, seemed to have been glowing a strange, purple, and seemingly stained the areas they had dripped down from. It was, unnatural to say the least as they dripped into the snow, vanishing as soon as they were dripped into the piles of white powder next to the sidewalks..

Hesitantly, she silently nodded along with what Noëlle was saying, only speaking softly when she spoke about the proof..
"well.. yeah i.. i guess that'd.. work..
Apprehensively, she tried to put on a small smile, nodding to the comment of the most 'Christmas-y Christmas'. To be honest with herself, she hadn't done too much for many, many years.. Maybe something like this was, something she really needed to feel more..
Alive.

At the direction set before her, and the fact Noëlle was walking again, she quickly picked up the pace, and caught up with the elf again, letting out a nervous, but, slowly gaining confidence breath into the cold winter air, it crystalizing in the atmosphere.

"Y-yeah, let's, focus on that for certain.. my, place's ceiling is uh, I think 7 foot tall or, maybe 8.. i forget.. And, thank you."
She spoke timidly, as they turned onto the main road, heading in the direction of the store. Wasn't TOO far at least.. It was a small, local grocery chain. It had the power of others in the area for certain, and was a favorite amongst consumers in the Hurricane area.

As they walked towards the automatic front doors of the shop, she couldn't help but chuckle at that final comment..
"Heh, yeah kinda, assumed that was the case.. Though that does make me wonder where CASSIDY falls.."
... Who's Cassidy?
 
If Noëlle found anything odd or strange about the tears, she didn't comment on it. After all, her own eyes were like the Arctic itself. Noëlle instead got distracted watching them fall into the snow, and bowed down to grab some of the white stuff. She kneaded it together into a literal perfect snowball, then grinned. "Perfect, sticky snow for making snowmen, or having a snowball fight! We can do that, too. Though the other Elves always beat me at snowball fights, I make good snowmen! And I can make sure it never melts, cause that's always so sad.''

Then, she scoffed, but not in a mean way. "It better work. If you see Santa, not one of those fake ones, but the REAL Santa, then even you can't deny that he's not real anymore. At least, I hope not! Though even so, my very existence and being here should prove that... What I can't believe in is people not believing in us! I mean, I'm real, aren't I? I'm standing right next to you!'' Noëlle complained. "But I'll tell Santa he can come and visit, don't worry.''

"Don't worry about how tall the tree is, just pick the very best one. I can make sure it fits,'' Noëlle said with a smile. "Also, not a problem, no need to thank me! You just need a good Christmas to cheer you up,'' Noëlle claimed.
She looked at the store they were in front of now. "Ooh, I LOVE small stores! They're always way, much better than the big ones. I love them! I hope we can find some great stuff here.''

Noëlle, though, seemed a little amazed by the automatic doors, eyes widening as she stepped back and forth a few times, letting the doors go with her. "I thought you said people didn't believe in magic, and couldn't use it, and didn't like it?'' She was not aware that both her behavior and probably also her bright red and green outfit would possibly draw a lot of stares in her direction, along with her Elf shoes and ears. And the fully grown reindeer standing outside.

Finally inside, Noëlle looked up at Charlotte with a mischievous smile and twinkle in her eyes. "Well, I can always ask Santa about that when I write him my letter to come visit,'' she promised Charlotte, "then I can let you know!''
 
Her head rose slightly at the concept of a Snowball Fight. She, hadn't had one in DECADES.. The last she had was.. '82.. It was crazy for her mind to comprehend it, but, she did, slowly letting out a breath as she nodded to Noëlle about that snowman making and snowball fighting. At the scoff, she was taken a little aback, but listening to her talk, she couldn't help but finally laugh, a good and proper one, not a closed off chuckle.

"Heh, yeah I can tell YOU'RE real don't worry and, yeah that, honestly would work thinking on it more. Solid proof and evidence is always a good thing to have for uh, telling what's real and what's not. And, yeah local places like this are a bit more expensive, but the vibes are impeccable."

Charlie was actually a bit MORE taken aback at Noëlle's amazement at the automatic store doors, and let out another quiet laugh as she walked into the store, grabbing a small shopping cart for herself and the items they'd collect on the shopping trip.

"Heh, no those aren't magic. They're technology. Sensors in the sensor bar on the top of the doors read that something is infront of the door, and in turn send a signal to the motors in the door's moving mechanisms to move the two doors open. They automatically shut after a while too. The wonders of technology, I actually learnt how those work with, my dad."
She trailed off for a moment at the mention of her dad, but snapped to reality again as Noëlle mentioned the letter to Santa.

"Yeah that'd, be good.. Even though I hate thinking about that monster, it's still a curiosity.."
 
Noëlle listened to the explanation about the technological doors with wonder. "Back at home, we do that with magic...'' She said, under her breath. She didn't think they had any techonology, or whatever it was that Charlotte had called it. Everything ran on magic, from the workshop to the tree farm to make trees grow faster... Creating toys, that they all made themself... Everything was done with magic, it was so normal to Noëlle that the idea of these people not having magic was absolutely mind blowing. "I still think it'd be better with magic,'' she decided before finally going into the shop, mumbling about over-complicating things.

She got back on topic. "But there already IS solid proof and evidence,'' she insisted. "Just... who do you think leaves the presents under the tree?'' That's what she'd been asking the whole time. "When parents leave presents for their children, and in the morning there are extra presents, who do they think put them down? When you live alone, who do you think gets you presents for under the tree? Where do all the extra presents come from then, if Santa supposedly isn't real? And how do you explain where all the letters go that are written to Santa? They're written to the North Pole, aren't they? So where do they go? To the North Pole! We receive them all. Well, aside from the ones that aren't written in the first place. But it's not too late to write to Santa, even now.''

Noëlle was silent for a while as she looked around at the stuff in the shop, looking for either treats like hot cocoa, baking supplies or Christmas stuff. Would there be any? She didn't think yet to ask Charlotte about anything, fully focused on Christmas. Maybe once they cozied up with hot chocolate, cookies and decorations and Christmas movies they could get to know each other better, but it seemed Noëlle really had only her mission in mind; to bring Christmas to Charlotte. And from what she'd seen, that was gonna be a lot of work. Decorations, cookies, hot chocolate, tree, movies...
 
"Heh, well down here tech is one of the backbones of society. My dad told me that, he was a very, VERY skilled engineer, and..."
She let out a small sigh, slowly beginning to walk into the aisles of the store, watching the many, many general food and supply products go by slowly..
"And I miss him."

Listening to her talk on the presents under the tree bit, she let out a small breath, her walk pausing as she grabbed a bag for vegetables she wanted to purchase.

"Well I, remember one year i went to bed, then woke up and saw my dad putting those extra presents under the tree.. And I actually looked it up a year ago out of curiosity regarding that letter question and, apparently there's a thing the USPS has called Operation Santa? It's, odd but, pretty interesting when they face letters of that volume and importance."

After that, she fell quiet for a few minutes, first taking care of her own grocery needs that didn't relate to the Holiday season. Soup, Pickle Strips, frozen meals, chips, salsa, cereal, juice, gatorade, some meats for her own recent hobby of cooking more, dairy, and a few more assorted products for her own personal life. All the while, she made mental notes of where festive things were, such as hot chocolate mix and baking materials in one aisle, decorations and new things in another.

"Hmm.. Right I, think I got everything of MINE that needs to have been gotten today.. god it's a LOT.. worried about your uh, transport getting us back safely.. though, might have an idea on that i can explain once we're outside.. But other than that, uh.. I THINK we're ready to uh, get some of the stuff you mentioned? Again it's going to be hefty but, yeah, idea outside.."

She adjusted the placement of some of the groceries, making mental notes of every single one she had collected..
 
"Mm,'' Noëlle said. "I'm sorry to hear that.'' She meant it, too. "He sounds like a great dad.'' She didn't really know what else to say, and didn't know if anything else was needed. Some people wanted to talk about it, and some didn't. Noëlle found it better to let the other person take charge, and to not ask questions about, say, where her dad was now, or if they could invite him to Christmas. It was better to let someone else lead the conversation, and whatever they wanted to say, they could. "Maybe we can do something, anything, for him this Christmas?'' She suggested. Even if people were gone, it could still be a nice tradition to do something for them. Like hang up a stocking with their name on it, no matter in which manner they were gone.

Noëlle snorted at that explanation though. "Santa visits EVERYONE,'' she insisted. "Maybe he just doesn't leave extra presents under the tree anymore because parents take care of everything and leave him with no work. If everyone does that, he's gonna not have any work anymore,'' she said, raising her hands in exasperation. "And he loves his work! So do the Elves, by the way. Besides, letters should go to the North Pole,'' she complained.

When the quiet fell a few minutes, Noëlle did her best to find any Christmas-y stuff herself, as well. She saw everything that Charlotte did, and stared at it. "Just two aisles? That's not a lot,'' she said. "How sad. This store could use a little MORE Christmas, if you ask me. At least they have something,'' she shrugged.
"And don't worry about Rainy. She's strong. Maybe I should have taken a sled... Maybe I can magick a sled when we're outside, too. Yeah, that'll probably be better. But I want to hear your idea first, because it'll probably be a super good idea!''

At the mention of the Christmas stuff, though, Noëlle perked up a little again. "Sure! You can get whatever you want. Christmas looks different for everyone, after all. But my personal recommendations would be hot chocolate, some decorations for the tree if you need more, baking stuff, marshmallows and whipped cream for in the hot chocolate, maybe sprinkles for on the cookies and in the hot chocolate, or chocolate chips-'' She started to rattle off her recommendations. Noëlle seemed excited enough to get going. By the spirit of the holidays, she was going to bring Charlotte Christmas.
 
As she listened to Noëlle's talk about doing something for her father, gently, Charlie shook her head, letting out a small sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.. Thinking about him had turned from something to give fond emotions and memories, to a source of heavy stress and turmoil on her tired mind. Her father's image in her mind had shifted from an honorable man, to.. well.. a lot WORSE..

"No, no I, don't think I should.. He already did well more than enough in my life and time.. way, way more than enough in some cases.."

Letting out a tired sigh, she listened to Noëlle's words on Santa visiting everyone, and turning back to the two aisles of decorations, started placing a few into the cart. At that point, she was regretting getting her usual small cart, as it was beginning to really build up. Both levels were occupied by groceries, and now Christmas Decorations.

At the mention of the sled, she paused, and let out a full quiet LAUGH, turning towards Noëlle with a smile, brushing her hair out of her face. Honestly now she wondered if she could read MINDS..

"Heh, yeah, honestly that was my idea. Remembered that the uh, person I got this dress from made a sleigh and, icy deer for transport at one point and, was thinking maybe I could do the same.."

And as she listened to Noëlle begin to rant about what she should buy, she chuckled, getting what she could properly afford, placing them into the cart, before making her way back towards the front.

"Right so I, saw trees outside. Have to pay inside then pick which one we want."
 
"Alright,'' Noëlle nodded, "whatever makes you comfortable.'' She decided not to press the issue further. Noëlle didn't want to make Charlotte cry again, after all... Christmas was supposed to be happy. If Charlotte would get happy from doing something for her dad, then they should. But if she'd be happier off not even thinking about him, as it seemed, then Noëlle would just do her best to distract Charlotte.

Noëlle stopped and turned to the woman, pointing a finger to her head. "Great minds think alike!'' She claimed. "And it's a very pretty dress. Did a friend give it to you? Maybe we could give them a gift, too! Oh, speaking of, did you want to do anything for your friends this year? Christmas cards, or gifts? And there's no need to make a sleigh, I can just conjure one up! Way less work. Oh, though it may not be on the down low as you asked. Then again, if Rainy has got a sleigh, then how is she gonna drag the tree? Behind that? Hmmm...''

Noëlle bounced and looked around. "Oh, really? I didn't see any! You got a good eye. I usually spot Christmas stuff from miles away!'' She looked around. "We don't really pay back where I come from. We just kinda do stuff for each other.''
 
She let out a quiet, yet mournful chuckle as she adjusted the dress a bit more, the cold, icy blues contrasted against her skin's natural shade.. Looking at herself, and thinking of the answer, she finally let out a sigh and nodded, her eyes stuck on her elegant attire..

"It, was made for me by an, old friend.. I lost contact with them, god YEARS ago.. same time as my.. sister actually.. It was, strange.. We were in a fling at the time, trying ourselves out I guess and, well, didn't work out and.. Now all I got left is this dress and the memories."

She sounded slightly dejected.. Seems she really did care about them, but still, she began offloading the cart onto the conveyer, as she let out a breath as she thought about the sleigh.

"Well I, just kinda want to. Something for, myself really. A way to travel in the snow since the roads are highly unreliable at this time of year.. Besides I, think I know how to drive one and, with a spot for cargo it can, work. I mean the, big dude has a spot for the sack right? This one could, have a spot for.. Other stuff. And heh, yeah I didn't see them but hey I know that's a thing they do every year."

As she finished offloading the cart, the scanning began, as she grabbed out her rewards card and had it scanned by a cashier that knew her.

'Having a happy holidays Charlie?'

"Yeah, heh, living as best as I can. Also I'm getting a tree so uh, add that on."

'Course, course.'

The cashier took their time scanning the items, and eventually, everything was rung up properly, and with the calculations for bags and the savings Charlie had on hand, it totalled to...

'Alright total today's gonna be $187.62.'

Charlie let out a little wince, but scanning her primary card, she got everything paid for, and, after a few holiday greetings, she pushed the cart out of the store, at a perfect pace for Noëlle to keep up, and headed to the Christmas trees leaning against the front of the store on a display to those passing customers.
 
Noëlle didn't know what to make of it except that Charlotte had a friend! "That's sad. Do you want to do anything for this friend, or not? Like a Christmas card, or maybe a gift back! It's a pretty dress, maybe you can get them a piece of clothing back? Or something completely different, that could be fun, too. And we can do something for your sister, too, if you want! Or not, that's fine too. It's really YOUR Christmas, you know. We can do, or not do, whatever you want!''

"Oh yeah,'' she continued, "Santa's sleigh is amazing! All the reindeer pull it with special harnesses, and Rudolf has this red, shining nose to guide them through the night. There's a big spot for the presents, there has to be 'cause there's always so many! You won't believe how many people are nice throughout the year. Not just kids, just people. There's even place for passengers, too! I don't know about the actual sleigh, but I've taken the reindeers for runs to keep them fit throughout the year. Through the snow and stuff. I haven't gotten them in the air, not yet. Maybe soon, though! A sleigh will be fun. I'd love to Rainy to get to pull one!''

Noëlle stayed silent throughout the exchange. The number meant nothing to her, not in the terms of anything. But what did mean something to her? Christmas trees! She bounded past Charlotte and to the trees. "Oh. Not a tree farm,'' she said, as she saw the trees just simply lean against the building. But she just shrugged. "That's fine! If you think the right tree is in here, we should have a look!''
Turning to Charlotte, Noëlle had some tree wisdom to share. "So, the importance of picking a tree, is all about feeling. Whatever you feel the right tree is, that must be it! You'll know the feeling when you find the right tree.''
 
Charlie remained quiet for a minute, really thinking about that choice she could make.. It WAS her Christmas but at the same time.. Gently, she shook her head once more, letting out a small sigh into the cold winter air as they walked towards the selection of trees.

"No it's, it's ok.. I haven't talked with either of them for, probably over two years now.. honestly I'm not even sure if they're still alive at this point and I'd, rather not know.. would either shatter my heart more or, send me for a loop right down into despair.."

She struggled to push the heavy cart through the growing amounts of snow that was building up outside the store front, but listened intently to what Noëlle was saying about the sleigh team, the red nosed leader, the storage, and even the passenger factor.. Her experience with sleighs was, limited to say the least but, she at least had a few memories of them and how they operated.. Somewhat.

As she finally got the cart to the trees, she let herself have a moment to catch her breath, still listening intently to what Noëlle was saying regarding the perfect tree and such. Perfect wording to a spiritual woman like Charlotte to be honest.

"Yeah it's a sort of, itch, to really KNOW when you got the best you can get.."

And so began the browsing, from the tall to the short she surveyed each tree she could, trying to see which really CLICKED..
 
Noëlle nodded, but didn't say anything further on it. Honestly, this woman kinda confused her. Didn't believe in Santa, and was convinced that the letters went somewhere else and the parents did all of it, despite the fact that Noëlle was standing RIGHT there. She didn't even want to give her friends gifts or Christmas cards... Why not? Well, at least she did have the idea for a sleigh and agreed on Noëlle with choosing the right tree. That was something, but Noëlle had a lot of work ahead of her. Even though she knew that some people just preferred to be alone, it didn't make sense to her.

"You know,'' Noëlle said, once they were outside and Charlotte was browsing trees - doing her best not to disturb the woman, "Christmas is a lot more fun together. I know some people don't really like people, but everything is more fun together! It may still be worth it to reach out to some people... or maybe meet new ones! I mean... I won't be here forever, and all that... and I'd rather leave knowing that you're not just gonna be all alone.'' Noëlle said.

After that, she silenced down and tried to really watch Charlotte's reactions to see if she could find a good tree. They were so different. Long, short... but even a tiny Christmas tree would do! Just so long as Santa had somewhere under which to place the presents. Well, she supposed it really didn't matter this year, because he'd either put them somewhere else -some people didn't have a fireplace, either- and because whatever she got from Santa, it was up to Noëlle to deliver it.
 
To be fair though, Charlotte is a very confusing woman. So much about her was, off. But still, the young woman surveyed the trees out front, only pausing for a moment at one, with a strange gap between some branches.. After a few more minutes of looking at the selections, she went back to the tree with the strange defect, and carefully placed her hand on it's branches, the needles drifting through her fingers as she looked the tree with shimmering eyes..

"I, think I found the one I want.."

She spoke in a quiet voice, grabbing the tree and carefully separating it from the others, bringing it over to the cart with a smile as she looked over that defect spot.. It felt, right to her.

"And, yeah I, guess that's a good thing to do and, makes enough sense but, heh, not a lot of people want to hang around with the uh.. I guess most famous family in Hurricane.. or, second most famous.."
 
Noëlle waited patiently from a distance, letting Charlotte do her thing. She didn't interrupt to say anything. This wasn't her tree after all, and it was not her Christmas. Charlotte would have to choose her own stuff to do and her own tree and decorations and stuff like that. She watched as Charlotte took the one with the gaps between the branches and smiled when she had decided. "That's great!'' Noëlle said, earnestly. She looked at the tree. Not many branches to decorate with, but oh well! They'd make it work. "I think it just needs some Christmas lovin'.'' She told the woman as she followed Charlotte to the cart.

Noëlle bounded ahead, though, and peered around the corner. Rainy was still standing there. She waved at her reindeer, who grunted back. Good reindeer. Then, she turned to follow Charlotte again. "Well, that shouldn't matter, should it? Just try to reach out to people! Y'know, write them Christmas cards, bake them some cookies, invite them over for hot cocoa... that sort of stuff. You'll find that Christmas Spirit is very important. Not just during Christmas, but year round. Doing kind things for others and that sort of stuff!'' Noëlle told Charlotte. "Besides, no one should be alone, and I don't even think anyone can be alone. Not truly. And why should they even try? Just... like I said, I'm not gonna be here forever. After Christmas, I'll have to return to the North Pole and then I'll probably get another assignment next year, if I even get one, so I don't know if...'' She didn't finish the sentence, but Noëlle truly didn't know if she'd ever see Charlotte again. Which made the realization of her assignment sink in all the more; she had to make sure Charlotte was alright before she'd have to leave, and then... well, then she didn't know, couldn't know anymore.
 
"Heh, yeah, and some water. I got a tree stand at home so kinda held off on that one in terms of buying it.."

As she set the tree with the other items she had purchased, she couldn't help but take pause, slowly running her hand through the pine of the tree itself, feeling the tree's branches as a few lone pine needles shook themselves off.. It felt, relieving to see them fall to the snowy ground.. As she listened to Noëlle's talk about inviting people and such.. Letting out a quiet sigh, she mopped her face as she walked towards an open spot of snow..

"I.. I would but.. no one uh, ever, wants to uh.."

She trailed off. She didn't dare say anything.. But, instead of remaining silent, she chose to tell the truth..

"No one ever wants to celebrate Christmas with a Ghost like me."
The poor woman winced, slowly running a hand down her arm, before pausing, and speaking again, in a bit of a more hushed tone, almost like she didn't want to speak on the matter.
"B-but, enough about, that.. I'll, get us a ride back to my home.. should be, hopefully pretty easy.. if i remember how he, did it.."
Slowly turning to an open patch, she began raising her pale hands towards the snowy ground, shutting her eyes, and focusing as much as she could to her goal, and slowly, snow began to rise, and swirl, ice plucked from it's spots on the sidewalks and streets. It clinked, clattered, and crashed into the others risen up, before beginning to slowly form a shape.. First came long, straight runners, curved at the tips to form seemingly what looked to be icicle like points, then came the shape, smooth, cool, and cold like the ice it was seemingly made out of, and as elegant as the winter itself with deep, snowfall like swirls embedded into the paint and the build of the sleigh itself, but as strong as the force of a blizzard with a large compartment for cargo in the back.. All of the materials seemed to be forming into much more sturdy materials over time as the creation went further along, such as the deep blue seating on the seats themselves turning to cushiony fabric, and the trim along the edges of the shape of the sleigh began to shimmer from the icy cold blue, to a glimmering silver, shimmering in the low light like snow on the ground.
Charlie, looked winded.. She was taking in deep, long breaths as she opened her eyes. Gazing upon her creation, she began to lower her arms, before her right hand shot sharply up, and with a SQUEEZE, a sharp blast of snow shot into the air, exploding into a small snowfall like a signal flare, or a firework.
And then.. She waited.
The silence was deafening, until the sound of lightly crunching footsteps began to echo from a selection of trees.. Slowly emerging, came two, nearly ghostly reindeer, standing tall, and silent, a buck and a doe. Their forms drifted in the mist, as the slowly approached, walking right up to the young woman, who was staring in terror.. But, then it shifted to peace, and then a smile, as she slowly wrapped an arm around each of their necks..
"It's good to see you two again."
 
"Well, now you got one! You know, on the North Pole we have trees grow with magic, and all that. So there's never not an abundance of trees and we don't have to chop down the forests to get one!'' She explained, happily bounding after Charlotte and the tree. The view of pine needles in the snow was a jolly one to her.

Noëlle wanted to say something about that, she wanted to say LOTS about that, but before she could even speak Charlotte had interrupted her and said she didn't want to speak about it. So, with difficultly, Noëlle kept her mouth shut. Instead, she watched Charlotte do the very thing she had been semi-forbidden from doing.
"But... I thought I wasn't supposed to use magic,'' said Noëlle with kind of a pout on her face, "now you're doing it.'' She looked around to see if there were any people to see. Not that they'd back her up or anything, but still.

After a while, the magic got a little boring to Noëlle. She'd seen so many ice and snow magic in her time and so much winter magic and Christmas magic that this was nothing special to her. But what was something special to her? Rainy, the reindeer! So, she went over and gave the animal a good cuddle, which it seemed to really appreciate. She also magicked up a candy cane for it, which Rainy absolutely appeared to love.

Then, Noëlle guided the reindeer to the sleigh and prepared her harness to attach Rainy to the sleigh that was made. She stopped when the flare shot up, startled. Using no magic, and now shooting up a flare? Tsk, tsk. But, shaking her head, she went back to the harness- and then the two other reindeer showed up.
Noëlle stopped again and stood up. "Aww, Rainy doesn't get to pull the sleigh? You know, I know you think she's not so strong, but just because she is small, I mean, sometimes, doesn't mean she isn't.'' With a small sigh, Noëlle undid her preparations to have Rainy pull a sleigh. It'd have been the first sleigh ride for her, which would have been SUPER special, so she couldn't deny she was at least a little disappointed, but oh well! Instead, she hopped up on Rainy's back. "Kay,'' she said, "I'm ready!'' And she waited patiently for Charlotte and her two reindeer to be ready as well.
 
"This.. This was an exception.. And I said not in abundance in public and, we're kinda alone out here right now. Not many travelling to the store in THIS weather.."

She spoke in a hushed tone, glancing around the silent parking lot, before slowly walking with the two deer towards the sleigh, the ghostly woman slowly conjuring up with snow and ice some reins, fit with shimmering ice like bells, and carefully began to get the two hitched to the sleigh. As she did, she looked over at Noëlle's massively shifting expression and her words, watching as she climbed onto Rainy.

"S-sorry.. If you, want you can, hitch them on. more power the merrier but uh.. This is.."
Charlie took a pause, as if she didn't know the names of the two for a brief moment.. As she thought silently, she slowly spoke again..

"Serenity, and Tranquility."
She said at last, pointing to the doe when she spoke the first name, then the buck with the second. As she finished her prep on the two's reins, she then turned her attention to the cart, slowly transferring the goods from the shopping cart, to the sleigh itself..
"They were, old friends really.. A, piece of that time so long ago and.. I didn't expect them to actually find me with that.. But, it's a, pleasant surprise for me.."
 
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