Yuletide
Kirsikka rarely had company for Christmas.
Normally, it was just her and her dear Velho, so she would decorate the trees outside her isolated cottage with suet balls, scatter grain (away from her little garden), burn birchwood for lutefisk (she never seemed to have birch ash when she actually needed it), and go to sauna if she had the time (she always had the time). This year, a girl had come to her after an "encounter" with the fae (poor Aino had thought it was a demon and bolted before it noticed her), and the Sight that came shortly after was just a bit too much for a child to handle alone. Kirsikka took her in without even a first thought; people didn't come to her without reason, especially not children.
Velho was displeased by the change in routine, but he tolerated it (in no small part, Kirsi suspected, because he enjoyed terrorizing Aino). Kirsikka was anxious; her master had passed years ago, and she was not used to teaching. But it wasn't all bad; Aino was a good kid, and sharp as a new knife, which made her a joy to have around. Kirsikka would miss her when she inevitably left.
A high shriek and aggrieved honking snapped her out of her pity wallow, and she put down the dress she'd been working on (woven with warming charms, fitted to her Apprentice) to deal with yet another Velho-induced Situation.
It was going to be a good Christmas.
Author's Notes
Trying to get a handle on Kirsikka, my Woodwife, here. Turns out it's real hard to write a Finnish character in the 1800s when there are basically no resources in English for the customs of that era. :V
Would have been longer, but I like it at this length; adding more felt off, which is why it took so long for me to post. Constantly adding more and chopping it off...
Later note: Aino's lack of an onscreen presence is because, at the time this was written, they did not exist (WoodWives are a closed "species").