amon Bun Traditions!

  I pced my hands on my hips and ied the room. It was one of the bigger libraries-ssh-living rooms in the mansion, in the East wing and only a corridor away from the dining room where we usually had breakfast as a group.

  Usually, the library was a stately pce, with shelves on both levels, a spiral staircase in the er, and a couple of big wooden desks for people to read at.

  It... admittedly was still like that. But I had spruced it up a bit.

  With some help, of course. Gen-Gen had raised an eyebrow when I came to him with a list of things I needed, but he didn’t make much of a fuss. I thi least, got into the proper spirit of things.

  We hung some green things off the bannisters, and lit up the fire in the er until it was r hot with crag logs. Gen-Gen had helped me boil some milk with grated dark chocote, and one of the chef’s made a great big bowl of pudding.

  When I had asked Gen-Gen if we could cut down a tree and put it in the er, he objected with a rather ft stare. So the gifts I’d gotten were all ed up and pced on one of the tables he back.

  The sun was setting early, as it was wont to do when things got colder, and the only light in the room was the cozy yelle glow from the firepd a few strategically pced dles.

  I grinned. It erfect.

  We had made so much hot chocote that I doubted we’d be able to drink even half, so I insisted that all the staff try some, and some pudding too. Amaryllis and her sisters were real lucky to have suice people looking out for them.

  “What have you doo our library?”

  I spun around and came face to face with Amaryllis and Clementine, both of whom were looking around at all the decorations. “Gen-Gen said that we should e here. I didn’t expect it to be because a guest made a mess of the room,” Clementine said.

  “It’s not a mess,” I said. “It’s decorations.” I skipped over to both of them, then pulled them into a big squawking hug. “I made a holiday party,” I said.

  “You strung branches around,” Amaryllis protested.

  “It’s festive,” I said.

  Clementine gred at her sister. “You’d better up for your friend.”

  “She up after herself. She’s not a dog. Dogs are smarter.”

  Our guest, e, ambled into the room, looked around, then sauntered over to the fire before flopping dht o it where she could hog the heat.

  And then, while Clementine and Amaryllis squabbled some more, Awen and Rosaline arrived. “Wele!” I said.

  “Hello!” Rosaline said. “So, what’s so important that I got to leave work early to attend?” she asked.

  “You did what?” Clementine asked.

  I pulled her into a tight-tight hug. “We’re having a family party,” I said.

  Awen was the one I squeezed. “Awa? Why?”

  “Because it’s almost winter and we might not have the opportunity ter,” I said. “I got... some of the traditional things. I couldn’t find any mistletoe for kissing, or fruit cake, But I did find ugly sweaters.”

  “Mistletoe? Sweaters?” Rosalied.

  I skipped over to one of the tables, then raised a big fluffy sweater off the surface. It was covered in little feather patterns and poorly knit chicks, the yarn all stingy and ing apart in spots. “I have one for everyone,” I said.

  “I’m not wearing that,” Clementine and Amaryllis said in stereo.

  I lowered the sweater, my ears drooping down at the same time. “You won’t?” I asked.

  “Ah, um, Broccoli, maybe you could tell us what, um, what’s going on?” Awen asked.

  I nodded. “Right. It would make a lot more sense if I expined.” I tapped the side of my head with my knuckles. “Duh! There’s a big celebration where I’m from every year. You get together with all of your friends and family, and you just kind of hang out and give each ifts. My family was just me and my mom and dad, and ifts were never big things, but it was always really nice. Just... being together, staying warm and watg the same movies every year while drinking hot chocote.”

  One of Amaryllis’ eyebrows perked up. “And you want to do that now?”

  “It’s not the right date,” I admitted. “But then, I don’t know what the date even is. And if we put it off, we might not have the ce ter. So... yeah, I was thinking it would be really o share a little. We’re all going off and doing our own things, which is fi... well, what if we miss each other ter? It would be o have good memories, if only for the one day.”

  Amaryllis sighed. “Do you have a sweater that isn’t covered in chis?”

  I smiled. “I have oh bunnies!” I raised the sweater iion.

  “That’s hideous.”

  “That’s the spirit!” I cheered.

  Clementine shook her head. “You ’t be serious.”

  Amaryllis tugged her over. “Just put the sweater on and stop pining so much.”

  “This is a waste of my time,” she said.

  “It’s important to Broccoli. She’s a seal idiot. If she starts g because you leave I’m going to turn your life into a nightmare,” Amaryllis said.

  Clementine gred at her sister, then looked at me.

  I put on my very best smile.

  “Fine.”

  Soon, everyone had a sweater on, Clementine oh leafy patterns on it, Rosaline oh a rainbow-y pattern on the front. Awen got the chi sweater and I got oh a big tree across it. “Okay! e, we should sit down. There’s pudding and hot chocote.”

  “Why would you heat the chocote?” Clementine asked. “It’ll melt.”

  “That’s the idea,” I said.

  I ushered everyone over to the sofas close to the fire while answering Rosaline’s questions about mistletoe. She seemed to like that tradition a lot, at least I think she did. The mugs of hot chocote I had pced under a big tin cover were all marked with ruhat kept the hot chocote warm so everyone had a steaming mug to sip from.

  The bowl of pudding ced on a coffee table, with smaller bowls o it, and a pile of spoons and a dle to grab some with. I sat dowo Amaryllis on a big sofa, then took a big sip from my mug. “Ah.”

  “So, is this everything?” Amaryllis asked as she blew across the surface of her drink.

  “Nope!” I said as I set down my mug. “It’s tradition that everyone give everyone else a gift.”

  “You do know that we didn’t bring gifts, right?” Amaryllis asked.

  “That’s fi’s your first time. It’s okay to not be the best.”

  Rosaline snorted, but when I looked her way she dismissed me with a wave.

  “I’ll get yifts!”

  I set my mug down and bounced across the room to pick up the stack of ed presents. They were all about the same size, with little tags held on by string around them. I grabbed the whole lot and brought them back to the sofas before pg them on the ground.

  “Do you want to open them all at the same time, or o a time?” I asked.

  “Are they all unique?” Amaryllis asked.

  I shook my head. “I’m afraid not. It’s a bit st-minute, and I didn’t have that much gold to spend, so they’re all the same for everyone. Well, nearly all the same.”

  “Th-then we should open them all at the same time,” Awen said. “That seems fair.”

  I handed her the gift with her name on it. “There you go then. Do you guys have traditions like this?”

  “There’s a sort of festival in the spring where we orate the ying of a new geion,” Amaryllis said. “It’s generally a very private affair. With family members giving gifts to the geion’s eggs.”

  “That’s so cute,” I said.

  “Ah, we have something in the winter,” Awen said. “No gifts, but we gather around a lots of pies and drink a lot of fresh cider. Uncle would tell us some stories. But, um, he would do that regardless, I think.”

  I snorted as I hahe st gift te. The cat stared at the smallest box, then up at me as if she wanted an expnation.

  “You’re a friend too,” I said before patting her head.

  Talons and hands dug into the packages and soon everyone was holding up a pretty scarf, wa a different shade and all of them very fy.

  “Cute!” Rosaline decred as she ed her scarf around her neck. “Thanks Broc.”

  “I thought, si’s getting a bit cold, and most of my friends here are birds, it would be o make sure you’re warm and snug,” I said. Awen nodded as she snuggled into her scarf. “There’s more!”

  Cleme her scarf down on her p and raised her ift. It was a bracelet, made of polished copper and shaped like a ‘C’ with letters carved all around it. “A cheap bracelet?” she asked.

  “It has all of our initials,” I said. “It’s a friendship bracelet!” I raised my own hand, showing mine off.

  “Put on your bracelet Clem,” Amaryllis said as she fit hers on.

  “It’s immature,” Clementine said.

  I shook my head. “There’s nothing immature about telling the whole world that you have good friends!”

  She scoffed. “That’s s I don’t know where to begin.”

  Amaryllis poked her sister in the ribs and Clementine slipped her bracelet on with a roll of her eyes.

  I jumped across the divide between us and hugged her tight. “Thank you!” I said.

  “Get off me! Amaryllis, trol your idiot friend!”

  “Not when she’s only being an idiot at you,” Amaryllis said.

  Clementine squirmed under my hug until she huffed a huff of relut acceptand hugged me back. I let her go, but only so I could help e open her gift.

  “I got you a ball of yarn, since I don’t think you’d want a scarf, and a friendship colr since your wrists are very small,” I told the spirit cat as I opened her present.

  She she colr, then ig in favour of poking the ball of yarn. The moment it started to roll away her eyes narrowed and her butt started wiggling. I left her to it.

  I smiled over to my friends. Amaryllis was arguing with her sister again, this time about how to properly tie a scarf, and Rosaline was asking Awen what she would do if there was some mistletoe around. Awen was blushing a bunch, but she didn’t seem to by shying away from the teasing at all.

  e darted past, chasing her boung yarn and having a ball.

  I, for my part, served myself a bowl-full of pudding and sat back to enjoy the happy sounds of a little family just getting along.

  ***