Deck All Halls

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Moose

Moose

Spider-Buddy
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
  3. Prestige
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
Father North was an older chubby man adorned in red cloth that he had made to cover his body and take the friction of the air speed. He held a bag made of a matching fabric that was filled with many gifts, more than the size of the bag would suggest.

He flew across a frozen tundra in the north, pulling himself along in the gravity wave corridor he had created to get him to his destination. It was nearly instantaneous movement as he tore through the air, a sonic boom announcing his passing. He began to slow down, dropping out of the gravity corridor and slowly going down to the roof of the house that he was delivering to, the ground and the world around him were bathed in a dim magenta light from Vulonus. The chimney was active so he couldn't drop the presents down it, and he didn't want to break in the house, so he hopped off the roof and began rummaging around in his bag for the toys, "Let's see, a toy bow and sword for young Michael." He said, pulling the items out as he walked to the porch. He set them down and rummaged in his sack again, "and... A toy shield and axe for young Sarah." He knew that her parents wouldn't approve, but both Michael and Sarah wanted her to participate in the play fights, so the parents would be ignored.

He waved a hand over the toys and they became inscribed with the names of their owners, his last act before flying away with his bag. He stayed low and slow over the land as his next delivery was nearby, travelling only a mere 70 miles an hour to make his next delivery.
 
Not too far away, in the deep of the night, a crimson light shone from the rooftop of a small home, snow dotting it's roof like a blanket over a mattress. The red light was, seemingly emitting from the nose of, what looked to be a native deer species to the planet of Huyus' Arctic Circle, with what seemed to be very fancy reins adorning it's side, as with the other 8 standing behind them. Behind the deer, sat silently a very ornate sleigh, golden runners and trim, comfortable seating, and a large sack seemingly filled with hand wrapped boxes and packages, though, very much having fallen flat, as if it was nearly empty.


Footsteps lined the snow just to the left of the sleigh, and towards the chimney, seemingly vanishing INTO it.. And that theory was proven correct quite quickly, as a hand slammed onto the rim of the chimney, covered in soot and grime, though gloved, and then, the figure of a young woman HEAVED themselves out of the chimney, coughing as they stumbled out, grabbing a rag in the seat of the sleigh, and wiping her face down, then took a long, long sip of water. The young woman wore a soot covered outfit, red wool making up the majority, with an elegant white fur lining the black gloves, black boots, main outfit itself, and the hat on her head.
"GACK- AGH, GOD."
She nearly hacked up a lung, using the same rag to clean off her glasses until she could properly see, and slowly step into the sleigh, grabbing the reins with one final cough, setting a sack with what looked to be a container filled with milk and some fresh made cookies.
"Chimneys just keep getting smaller, and smaller with each year. doesn't help these things keep developing.."
She muttered to herself, poking her chest and waist as, with a flick of the reins and a crack of a whip she brought up with a loud;
"HYAH!"
The deer tore off towards the edge of the rooftop, looking as if they were going to fall off, but instead, with a golden glow under their hooves, they began to rise from the snowy ground, and into the air, dragging the sleigh behind them into the cold night sky, as the sound of sleigh bells echoed like waves on a sea, the young woman seemingly unphased by the sheer speed beginning to be achieved by the team.
"Ok let me see here.."
She grabbed a quill and a long scroll, labeled 'STOPS' on the top, and crossing out two names on the parchment she tapped the name just below the ones she crossed out.
"Right, perfect, Amelia is next."
She said, flicking the reins, as the sleigh turned, the crimson glow shining through the snowy night as a guiding light, and it tore off at speeds and altitudes only ever described in fairy tales, stories, and legends.
 
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Father North landed on another rooftop, bare feet leaving imprints in the snow. This chimney had no smoke coming out of it, instead a large plate with a large steak covered the top of the chimney, a note left by the plate read, "Was not sure what you would like, thought you couldn't go wrong with a steak." He picked up the plate and set it down next to the chimney, figuring that was enough permission to enter, he grabbed his bag and slowly descended the chimney.

He reached up into his bag and pulled out the next presents, another toy sword for a boy who wants to be a warrior and a wand for his sister who wanted to be a wizard. Unfortunately for the boy, the wand was not a toy. He placed the name Matthew on the sword and the name Erika on the wand, setting them both down at the entrance of the fireplace.

Father North pushed his bag back up and flew out with it, dragging it behind him once he was free of the chimney. His hair and beard floated for a moment in the zero gravity he was generating and he thought for a moment to his next delivery, a girl named Amelia wanted a soft toy bear, and it was far away enough that he could utilize some of his great speed.

He reached out with his gravity sense and saw that his path to her house was open, he could make it instantly. He reached out with his magic power and pulled, travelling the miles in a fraction of a second and... Blood. Blood obscured his vision at the destination, he blinked rapidly to clear his eyes and looked behind him at the carnage.

He saw a sleigh that was previously being hauled by nine reindeer, now listing since he had cut through and severely wounded three of them. He dropped his bag on the roof and dove for the sleigh, catching it before it crashed to the ground and assisting the deer by carrying it to the rooftop.

He crawled out from under the sleigh and looked at the damage he just caused before turning fearfully to the person in the sleigh, "Are you ok?" He asked, noting that he should address the dear next so that they don't die.
 
She genuinely hadn't been expecting something like THIS to occur at ALL, which was apparent by the fact her entire body had turned a ghostly white, and her left hand clutched over where her heart was, trying to slow it down, while her right held the reins with a grip as tight as a vice. Her body, as well as being pale, had splatters of blood over her form, cutting through the soot with scarlet liquid.

It took a good few moments for her body to finally respond to the inputs she was trying to send to her shaken nerves.. Her head turned towards the figure, her look of terror remaining for a few moments, as the rest of her body followed, her legs slowly lowering out of the sleigh and looking ahead to the team that pulled the sleigh itself.. If you could look up the definition of 'Horrified' in a dictionary, her face would probably be in the article. As soon as she looked ahead, she grabbed a small wooden case, and rushed towards the injured deer in a full on panic..

"No, nonono why, what, who."

Her voice shook violently as she opened the box, grabbing out what looked to be thick, nearly medical looking cloth, working to address the wounds on the three team members. For those curious, it was Blitzen, Donder, and Comet. Cupid JUST escaped the crossfire as they were turning and adjusting for landing.

Her heart sank in her chest as she worked on the wounds with shakey hands, and a terrified demeanor..
At long last, she looked back at the figure who had asked her that question, looking at the blood all over them, and letting out a small breath, she finally chose to speak to them..

"Yes.. I'm, fine.. My, team.. Is not.."
She said flatly, her voice as stiff as her body at that moment, her black gloves covered in ash, soot, and a bit of blood, as she worked to try and keep her beloved team from staining the snow with any more of their blood..
 
Father North watched her with concern as she got out of her sleigh with the box and began to tend to the deer, he could fix them up with his magic but she was a bit in the way, he would have to get her to give the animals some space, "I can help you with your team, I am a wizard." He announced, reaching out with his gravity sense to get an idea of how the deer were put together.

He looked up to Vulonus and offered up a silent prayer to Vulonus that he would be able to do this correctly, and he got to work. He focused his magical power and raised his hands. Blood started floating up from the snow and going back into the deers bodies, the shredded remains of their missing parts beginning to come off of Father North and reassembling as they came into contact with the deer. The bleeding slowed on the first deer, enough that Father North was sure it wouldn't die on it's own and then he moved onto the next one that she was not working on herself.

"Do you need some assistance to get anywhere? Is there anything I could do to help with making sure that everything else goes as planned tonight?" He asked, afraid that he had ruined her plans for the evening. He was busy patching up the deer so he couldn't use divination magic to find out what she wanted.
 
At first she was focused, just as much as light through a tube, wrapping the wounds as best as she could with what supplies she had, the cloth clean, at least until it made contact with the flesh.. She barely moved as she listened to his claim of being a wizard. Heh, yeah right, she fully thought..

"Really now, and I'm a goddess of the universe in some other time and space."

The young woman huffed, pushing herself upwards, turning towards the 'wizard' to continue her rant but.. Then the magic really began, and she paused again, falling to the silence she had been in a few moments prior, when she was still seated.. It was, both unnerving to watch and, oddly relieving to watch as the blood and flesh slowly returning to the bodies of the ones struck down..
And after a few moments, watching the flesh return to their forms, she finally drew in a breath, and let it out in a sigh..

"well.. count me wrong on that regard.."
The young woman muttered, running a hand through her hair, and slowly turning towards Father North with a glint in her eyes after he spoke of travel assistance.. Looking at the three that had been struck, she drew in and out a quick breath, turning back to Father North with a small, shaky nod.

"If those three are, still down for the count which, to be truthful they most likely are from the damage sustained, then yes I would, much appreciate the assistance.. Not too, many places to go left since, to their credit, we've been ahead of schedule all night with deliveries so.. I can show you the um.. Chart if you wish to see if but regardless, I, will accept the assistance for, once.."

She, sounded a bit defeated in accepting the assistance, and that mirrored to her body language, her right hand running down her right cheek, before placing itself onto her hip. Her eyes didn't make contact with Father North much, only when she said she would accept the help did they actually properly look into his eyes, her own sapphire blue ones glinting in the low light. The piece of attire wrapped around her neck glinted as well, as with every head and neck motion, what looked to be a small bell jingled, much like the sound of the bells attached to the reins of the deer.
 
Father North winced at her sarcastic reply, it wasn't that unlikely that he would be a wizard, besides, how would he have flown into her without magic? He continued his work on the deer, becoming a bit relieved when she admitted to being wrong about him, he truly believed in the strength of his work. He removed the bandages off the one that she had been tending to to finish his healing in it, as the bandage would have gotten in the way of his magic.

Once they were all mostly patched up Father North fell back into the snow and felt it against his skin. It was his third year in this cold, he still wasn't used to how their calendar worked, nor the fact that it was so cold. It was a welcome relief at the moment though and he felt it relaxing him now that the danger had passed. Nearly all blood was cleared from their clothes and bodies, "Yes, those three still have some lingering injuries, that was biological reconstruction magic, not healing magic, but they should be fine until they finish healing on their own." Father North explained.

He sat up in the snow and looked at her, meeting her eyes, "Charts, I could use the chart, it would make it easier for me to know where we are going." He scratched his bare neck as he started feeling a little bit underdressed. He held up a hand with his index finger extended, "oh, really quickly, I have a delivery here." He said, crawling under the sleigh for his bag and pulling it out, "A little girl named Amelia wants a stuffed bear here," he said, beginning to rifle through his bag for the bear inside.
 
Her face fell, as she looked at her team, carefully giving them scritches as she took the material back, slowly stowing the cloth and empty flask of water into the box, slowly setting it back under the seat in the sleigh itself. As she listened to Father North's words on her team, she let out a small breath, finishing her stowing of her items, and grabbing a small sack from the back of the sleigh.

"Yes, obviously they need a little time to recover, time that, every year, they get back up in the Arctic.. Still, this is going to be one hell of a story to tell when I get home to the others.. At the very least, the route will get done for the night and that's really what matters at this point in time."

As he spoke of the chart, the young brunette nodded slowly, reaching towards the seat, and grabbing a large, strange parchment. It seemed to have drawings of, a path in the sky, from place to place, house to house, with markings of names all over..
But as he mentioned Amelia, and sifted for the toy, the woman's head SHOT up, and locked onto the man close by, staring at the sack, the attire, the, everything..
And finally, spoke in a hushed, almost PARANOID tone.

"How do you know that."
 
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Father North nodded along as she spoke, he was beginning to gather that they were out here doing the same thing. Their matching destinations and the chart that she pulled out proved it.

He found the bear in his bag as she asked how he knew about Amelia, "Oh, I have a few methods for finding out what people want, I try to focus on isolated communities like this one. But for Amelia, I just asked Vulonus." He pointed to the magenta circle in the sky and raised a hand to it, "I've touched Vulonus, so I can speak to him directly, and he told me that Amelia prayed to him for a stuffed bear." He pulled out the bear.

He pointed to the bag on the back of her sleigh, "Do you also have one for her?
 
At that moment, she stared at him like he was crazy, before looking up to the sky, and then back down to him.. The gaze of him being crazy didn't leave her face, or her mind..
Watching him pull out the stuffed bear, she blinked, her pupils finally growing again as she rested a hand on her hip, slowly walking to the sack in the sleigh itself, and grabbing out a small, carefully wrapped gift..

"Yes I.. Do.. She was very, very nice this year and she deserves the gift."
The brunette turned back to Father North, and slowly stuck the gift into the smaller sack she was carrying..

"I.. I still have to admit I am, very confused on.. All of THIS."
She motioned towards their somewhat similar attire, and the fact they were both standing on the roof in the middle of the night..

"Large questions, but.. Do you, do this once a year, or more? And, how exactly do you, operate this, so to speak, event."
She questioned, her head tilting as she slowly began to wander towards the chimney, peering down it to make her usual checks..
 
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Father North nodded vigorously with a smile, "Yes, she definitely deserves to get a bear, even better that she's getting two." He set down his bag and walked over to the chimney with her, checking it as she did.



She asked about their similar attire and other similarities and he laughed, "I am wearing a red meta material that is able to resist the friction of the high speeds I go." She started asking more questions about his operations and he couldn't help his grin, "Yes I do this once a year, I can only make enough toys once a year to fulfill all my deliveries. I collect material from the air to make the toys and then I fly to the isolated corners of the world and drop off the toys where I can." He said, gesturing with the bear towards the chimney.



He dropped the bear down the chimney, letting it float down and redirecting it outside the fireplace with his magic before holding out his hand for hers, "I can get the present down there, if you like." He offered.
 
She listened to Father North's words, slowly nodding as she pushed herself up and over the lip of the chimney, sitting with her legs dangling down it as she tilted her head slowly.

"I see, I see.. Not too, indifferent to our operation.. We perform this duty once a year for, everyone around this world of ours, after countless days and nights working on handmade toys from the finest materials we are able to harvest in our region.. The hours are long, hence the um.. Dark circles.."

She said, gently tapping under her eyes as she looked down the chimney. It was dark, cold, and cramped.. Another thin chimney for the poor woman to squeeze down.. If she didn't have claustrophobia, it was kicking in now..

"I've been up for, what, almost 18 hours straight.. I have no idea at this point. I forget what I had for breakfast how am I supposed to remember TIME..."

At Father North's offer of depositing theirs down the chimney, she shook her head gently.

"A kind offer, but no thank you. Even with tonights, incident, I am not allowing myself to take a break on that regard."

The Brunette slowly pushed herself into the chimney, beginning the descent downwards as she struggled to push herself down the tight confines of the chimney, and into the fireplace, carefully creeping into the room, and leaving the bear under the tree with a quiet plop, before beginning to push herself right back up the chimney from whence she came.
 
Father North felt a little guilty, after all even with his solo operation he was able to more quickly produce toys, he should be working with her to lighten the load, "Well, it's good to know how similar our operations are." Father North began, trying to segue into him helping her somehow.



He let her go down the chimney while he tries to gather his words, spoken language was not something his people had, so he found words to be challenging. He ground his teeth as he got distracted by the idea of how much easier he found molecular construction. She returned up the chimney and he didn't have time to come up with something anymore, he had to speak with what he had now.



He stood on the roof as she emerged, his mouth agape as he could not find the words for a moment before finally speaking, "I could supplement the toy construction in the future." He offered, "or I could help with faster deliveries in the future? You'll see what I mean when we get flying."



He remembered the human name he chose for himself, "I'm Nicholas Klaus, by the way, what's your name?"
 
As the brunette stepped out, and brushed herself clean, before slowly placing herself in the snow again, her boots crunching what was under them echoing in the night..

"yes it, is quite something to learn.."

The brunette muttered, slowly listening to his words about assistance in the future.. On one hand, she always preferred the operation to be as truthful and handmade as possible, but on the other.. The world had been moving faster and faster, people wishing for more and more, and the orders piling up on her and those she worked with.. She pondered for a good few moments..
At last, she finally spoke on that proposition..

"Well, we could definitely try that, toy assistance you speak of.. The requests from those who believe in myself and my team have gotten, let's uh.. Say plentiful, over the last few years.. It's put a lot of strain on myself, my team, and my comrades in this working life of ours.."

She paused at him speaking his name, and she drew in a small breath, extending her gloved hand towards him for a proper shake.

"Andrea, Andrea Kringle. Those who, believe in myself call me uh, Ms. Kringle.. Pleasure to make acquaintances Nicholas."
 
Father North had no problem fulfilling his toy operations as he only made deliveries for as much as he makes, but since they were delivering the same toys to the same houses in some cases, he thought it best to divide the work up a little bit. As much as he wanted Amelia to have as many bears as she would like, more children deserved toys than just her.

He nodded, "I completely understand, I've been getting used to life here since I came here three years ago and human bodies require a lot of maintenance, and it takes a lot of time away from my work." He said with a frown.

He shook her hand when she offered it, "Ms. Kringle is it? Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, especially since we seem to be the only two sensible people in the world. Shall we get to your next delivery?"
 
As he spoke of human bodies requiring heavy maintenance, Andrea, couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh, as she stepped back to the sleigh to grab the list she had marked before, turning back to Father North once she had collected it.

"Indeed, from food to water to, health stuff..."

She trailed off for a moment, looking at herself in the reflection of one of the sleigh's runners, running a hand down her face, and flicking her fancy earrings..

"To modifications, the human body is quite an enigma."
As he spoke of getting onto their next delivery, and them being the only ones with sense, she couldn't help but chuckle once more.

"Yes, indeed seems to be that way. Sometimes I look at how short the Nice List is getting and it just makes me.. Well.. Sad to see. Still, yes we should get moving. Next on the docket is.."
She trailed off again, slowly looking over the list..

"Ah, here we are, little Jeremiah. Should be, here on the chart."
She tapped a spot on the chart, as she slowly sat in the seat of the ornate sleigh, mopping her hair back as she looked in directions, and gained her bearings.
 
Father North shrugged, "I'm in a modified human body myself, modifications take a lot of work." He said as he began to crawl under the sleigh.

"Jeremiah... I had him on my list as well." He said from under the sleigh he used his magic to hold the molecules of the sleigh together while he lifted, using anti gravity magic on himself so that he would not crush the roof. He extended his anti gravity field to the sleigh once he heard the wood begin to creak, ceasing the sound immediately. His load newly lightened, he began focusing on making a gravity corridor for them to go down.

"Hold on." He said as they floated a little higher, "this will probably be faster than you're used to." He created a wind breaker out of a column of air in front of the sleigh and then, within an instant, they were at Jeremiah's house. Father North slowly descended with the sleigh on his back, laughing loudly as he did.

This was important, and he had a friend to help him now.
 
"Heh, probably not in the way that I've modified mine."

Andrea couldn't help but jest. Her past was curious, and she still held onto it a smidge, but, she was forging to the future.
And indeed, it was M U C H faster than she was used to. Poor girl looked as if she had gone through a wind storm as she sat there in stunned silence, grabbing onto the seat in the old sleigh for dear life, blinking as she finally registered where they were, and shakily grabbing her sack, and stepping into the snow..

"You were, NOT wrong.. that was, a LOT faster than what I'm used to.. and we go FAST so that's, saying something.."

Shakily walking towards the chimney, she slowly crept up to the edge of the entrance in, and gently pushed her shakey legs up and over the lip, before looking back at Father North.

"Right, you got something for me to take down too?"
 
Father North winced as she shakily got off the sleigh, he would have to reduce their speed next time.

"I'll slow down a bit next time, keep it subsonic speeds..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He went into his bag and rifled through it for a bit until he found the toy he wanted, "I don't know what Jeremiah asked you for, but he asked Vulonus for a ragdoll to be friends with toy soldier he got last year." He pulled out the ragdoll, the material it was made of was immaculate, a high thread count, fine stitching; but it was slightly overstuffed.

"What did he ask you for? How do kids ask you for toys?" He asked, curious how her business worked.
 
"Yes that would be, agreeable.. We travel at speeds unseen but that was, a smidgen too fast for myself.."

Andrea couldn't help but laugh, as she paused at his question about what Jeremiah asked for, before slowly looking into her sack and letting out a breath of relief as she realized it was still there.. She had one too many experiences with losing a gift and she did not want to repeat that again.. Looking at his gift, she looked it over, before slowly working on getting it down to being normally stuffed so it could move.

"He asked for a toy chariot. Didn't specify why.. And to answer that second question, they, or with assistance of their parents, write to our home up in the Arctic Circle. A sort of, enchantment if you will helps those letters find our home. Then, we read them, and grant the wishes if they've been Nice. If not,"

Andrea paused for a moment, leaning back and looking into the cargo hold, before pulling out a small, black rock.

"Coal. It's in abundance up north, so we use that for those 'Naughty' ones.. A lot of energy goes into our work that is for certain.."
 
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