2022 Advent Challenge

'...All I'm saying is, your career isn't more important than anything else! Especially your friends and family!'

Stal could barely stop himself from letting out a frustrated huff down the phone line, fully aware that his mother would simply berate him for acting 'childish' if he did. He didn't talk to his parents very often and this was half of the reason why. His mum, nice though she was, didn't understand how much his job meant to him. How much music meant to him. It was his life, dammit. And his father was indifferent, not being interested in music himself.

Nonetheless, he had an obligation to call them at least once a month and see how they were getting on. His parents were old for their species and likely wouldn't be walking this earth much longer. He would feel like crap if the last time he spoke to them was half a year before they died.

'Look, mum, can we please drop this?' he said, almost pleadingly. 'I get it, I need to spend more time with you all, but things are really busy right now. It's nearly Christmas, for gods' sake. I don't have space in my schedule to fly across the Lazurite Ocean.'

'Yes, it's Christmas,' he mother said, in the kind of voice she used when her patience was wearing thin. 'And that's exactly why you should make more of an effort! If not for us, then for Ametrine at least.'

Ametrine was Stal's sister. She, too, lived far away and had a life and career that didn't involve him in the slightest. He never knew what to talk about when they met up.

'Ametrine's probably just as busy as me,' he said, 'and besides – it's the same damn situation. I can't just drop my work and rush over there to--'

'Oh, no, no, no,' his mother interrupted. 'Ametrine's not here. She's currently in Aether. For business reasons, I heard. But she has free time this weekend, and wants to see you.'

Stal tried not to groan. 'If she wants to see me that badly, couldn't she have called me herself?'

His mother didn't answer that. 'Now contact her and make plans to meet up. For goodness's sake. Anyone would think you hate your family.'

She hung up after a few more brisk words and left Stal feeling both frustrated and a little nervous, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, even to himself.

---

The worst thing was having to make excuses to his bandmates who'd been expecting rehearsals on Saturday. They had a show Sunday evening – nothing big-time, but every gig mattered – and it was very unlike Stal to not want to practice.

In the end, he told Gray the truth and then left the dragonman to feed some half-truths to the rest of the band, while Stal himself scurried out of the district. Around noon, he jumped on a bus and headed to South Caelum.

This is stupid, he thought, watching the busy streets roll past the window. Christmas decorations were everywhere, covering every lamp post and storefront; it might only be the third of December, but the festive spirit was coming on strong this year. She probably doesn't even want to see me; it's our parents forcing us together...

He didn't hate Ametrine, not at all, but his relationship with her was similar to his relationship with Loch. She was strong, outgoing and confident. It wasn't easy to connect with someone so different to himself. Stal just wanted to go home and work on his music.

Nonetheless, he hopped off the bus when it reached the correct stop, and he plodded down the street until he spotted the sign for Cloudy Skies, a cafe sitting beside a picturesque park. It was the largest green space in South Caelum and it wasn't hard to understand why his sister had asked to meet him here. Though she coped well with the noise and the smells of city life, she had always preferred fresh air, fields, woods and mountains.

Feeling self-conscious, Stal walked into the establishment. It was a cosy place, the interior designed to resemble a fishing lodge. He swept the room with his gaze and it didn't take long for him to find who he was looking for.

'Hi,' he said awkwardly, sliding into the only vacant seat at her table.

'Hey,' she replied, tilting her head in greeting. Ametrine's eyes and Life Orb were golden, and her scales had a stronger purple hue than Stal's, making her overall appearance much warmer. 'How's it been?'

'Good. Uh... We got a gig tomorrow night. Just – just a small thing, but I think it's gonna be fun.'

'Oh, that's cool. I'd come and watch, but I'm going to be busy. Tell me how it goes.'

'Oh, yeah. Will do.'

They exchanged a few more sentences of small talk; Ametrine told him about the TV show she was starring in, and the film she had a minor role in, and she talked about her co-stars and told him funny things that had happened behind the scenes. She wasn't very interested in music unless it was an epic film score, but when the conversation turned to Stal's recent gigs and songwriting, she still listened intently. He wasn't sure whether her interest was genuine or faked for politeness, but she was making more effort than their parents ever did, and that felt... nice.

'By the way, I got you a Christmas present,' she said, once they'd exhausted the topic of recent events.

Stal was immediately thrown for a loop. Up until now, they'd been conversing pretty naturally. But when Ametrine reached under the table and pulled up a present – wrapped in green paper with a red ribbon – he was tossed back into the sea of not knowing what to say.

'I didn't get you anything,' he said warningly.

'That's alright. I'll remind you to next year. Open it.'

She pushed the gift towards him. Unsure what to expect, Stal slowly tore the paper off. Inside was a thick notepad and a rather fancy-looking black pen with gold accents.

'I heard that you like to write your song lyrics instead of typing them, so I thought you might want this,' said Ametrine breezily.

Stal had no idea where she'd gotten this piece of information, and was reeling over the fact that she had not only bought him a present, but bought him something he actually needed. While he hadn't even thought to get her anything, despite Christmas being right around the corner.

Hell. Maybe his mum was right. Maybe he was fixating too much on his career and not paying enough attention to the people who cared about him. He knew he wasn't always the nicest person. He was a short-tempered, joyless perfectionist. Yet he had two families. His birth family, and the one that followed him to every gig and helped make his dreams come true.

He cleared his throat.

'This is actually really great. Thanks,' he said gruffly, trying to inject a note of sincerity and apology into his tone – to make her realise that he didn't mean to neglect anyone, least of all now.

He wasn't sure if she understood, but she smiled and nodded. 'There you go, then. I was right,' she said, with a tinge of smugness.