Winter Tales

  A room, nice, cozy, and warm, beginning to fill with adorable decorations. A live pine tree was set up and a few candy canes and ornaments hung from spiky branches. Candles lit the area, wafting smells of gingerbread and sugar cookies all around the toasty cabin. The original rugs were replaced with decorative ones, depictions of joyously festive pacas and sayings like “Happy Boreal Wishes!”. A wreath was hung outside the cabin’s door, poinsettias attached to it with some jingly bells. The outside even had soft, white lights hanging that flashed at night, a few Cierval and Drach cutouts laying in the front yard.

  The main paca putting this together was surprisingly Upshur. He enjoyed the cold weather and setting things up for it and to him, it was an appreciation to the cold weather that came each year. It meant coffee and hot cocoa could be made without reason, less pacas strolled in such stormy weather, and just the coldness that came along since his winter coat thrived.

  DJ helped too though, making peppermint mocha flavored coffee for his friend and folding a few blankets they’d both use later. He’d laid down the rugs earlier, a gift to Upshur.

  “Hey DJ, can you help me with these ornaments? Just hand me them so I can put them up quicker.” Upshur had used a ladder to reach higher points on the tree and getting down each time to grab a new one was rather time consuming.

  Upshur quickly turned his head to his friend, “Oh, yeah!” 

  The blue-ish paca went and retrieved the porcelain and glass ornaments from an organized box. Some looked old and fancy, while others looked like sweet childhood memories. Occasionally some looked handcrafted, whittled out of wood; one particularly looked just like DJ if he were completely brown.

  “Shore… is this an ornament of me? Did you make it yourself or–”

  The darkly colored paca quickly skittered down from his ladder and snatched up the carved decoration, “You weren’t supposed to see that! I– it was meant to… be a surprise.”

  His tone had gone from upset to disappointed very quickly, realizing he’d accidentally left one of his gifts in the ornament box. It soon went back into the box and Upshur closed it, frowning a bit.

  He sighed, “I guess you already know what I made for you,” he grumbled, “I hadn’t even finished it yet.”

  “I’m sorry, man– it looks awesome though! Even though it’s not finished you totally captured my handsome looks,” DJ said jokingly.

  “Thanks,” he muttered monotonously, but still looking dejected,“we were supposed to match since I made an ornament of myself.”

  DJ didn’t really know what to do in this situation. It was a little awkward for both of them, but he went ahead and offered, “Why don’t we just go ahead and keep decorating the tree? I know how much you like the place being all festive! I’m sure by the time we finish I’ll have forgotten–” he paused momentarily, “what was it again?”

  Upshur’s lip curled into a gentle, almost unnoticeable smile, “Sure. Let’s just put the rest of these porcelain ornaments up.”