Christmas. A joyous time of the year for most. Chaos for some adults and outright despair for others. Some couldn’t care less about the day and go about their time off from work grumbling about the closing of businesses that day, modern-day pre-ghostly visit Ebenezer Scrooges.
“Bah! Humbug!”
What was once revered as a sacred holiday in the past, back when religions were more mainstream and modern beasts of the time, closer to their Primal ancestors in nature than now. It exists now solely as another end-of-year reason for families to try and come together after successfully pillaging shops for expensive, lavish gifts to exchange with one another, complete with receipts and other proofs of purchases in the advent the receiver needed to return or exchange the item.
Squabbles, both personal and political in nature, were had over Christmas dinner across the world, catching Gram’s buttery smooth mashed potatoes and Aunt Clara’s cranberry chestnut stuffing under a canopy sewn from the insults and promises to never to talk to one another again, only to repeat the same song and dance exactly one year later.
Nestled in the mountains somewhere in America lies the relatively unknown town of Brickhedge. Blanketed in a foot and a half of fresh snow, something that would have put an end to most holiday celebrations in much of the country, but the beasts of this little high-altitude hamlet were nothing if not determined in their festive cheer-making. And no pack of beasts was more joyous than those currently gathered at 3159 Main Street. Just a few months ago, the little two-story, one-bedroom house had been slated for demolition. Now it stood as nearly wholly revamped, once a blotch on scenic Main Street appeared like-new, right down to the pavers that ran from the stoop to the sidewalk where a black iron fence outlined the small yard.
Eligh’s massive SUV was parked outside, promising the beasts that trekked in had a comfortable, safe, warm ride back home when the party was over.
Inside, the group stood single file leading out of the kitchen, with Callista Reigns, the local GP, leading the line and Advrik bringing up the rear. The wolf had laid out the food across the counter and range so that each beast could move through and fill their plates quickly before finding their chair.
Having noticed the grizzly bear’s voracious appetite at Thanksgiving, Advrik had bought a slightly larger plate for when the bear visited. An act that Eligh both apologized for and felt guilty over, which the wolf quickly assuaged any dampened feelings the giant carnivore felt.
“Like what you see down there, Dessy-Wessy?” Callista said, wiggling her finely-shaped ass at the mole who stood in line behind her, the tightness of the legging fabric gripping each cheek in the most appealing way imaginable. Her tail began to slither back and forth.
Desmond simply scoffed and averted his eyes.
None of the beasts here today had family anywhere close, or at all in Advrik’s case. Brigid’s family was back in Canada. Eligh’s somewhere in the northwest. Callista’s back in Los Angeles, and Desmond’s back home in Pittsburgh. The latter of which had sent the mole a care package containing money and other necessities, but failed to contact him even to wish him Happy Holidays. Not that he really cared at this point; he had a new life now, after all. No time for or room in it for the parents that had abandoned him here to begin with.
With a hardy dinner of roast behemoth and all the fixings behind them, the pack retreated to the living room. It was time for the gift exchange, the highlight of the evening if the glimmer in Desmond’s dim eyes was any indication.
The mole nestled in the big soft recliner, far away from Callista, who sat with her legs arched before her on the floor beside the tree, looking like a child on Christmas morning. Her thick green hair fell around her shoulders in big, natural curls, with random vertical swaths of deeper shades of emerald cutting through the lighter color like waves in a seafoam-colored ocean.
Advrik enjoyed the lion’s company. She was a big-time flirt and owned her sexual side, wielding her womanly charms like he wielded his sword, The Canine. Her interest in Desmond had borderline sexual harassment at times, but the mole had never said anything about her beyond the usual complaints. Deep down, the wolf wondered if the mole liked the attention to some extent. Regardless of the business between the two, Advrik couldn’t help but feel enamored by the lion as she sat there, head resting atop her knees, her large breasts wrapped tightly in the shirt she wore.
“What a wonderful night this has been,” she said, yellow eyes fixed on the fresh snowfall outside. The twinkling lights on the Christmas tree reflected off her lenses. “I forgot how nice Christmas could actually be.”
“Ain’t that the fuckin’ truth,” Brigid said, sitting beside the lion, curled up on the same end of the couch she had spent the night on earlier this month. “This was the first Christmas that Eligh and I had spent with an actual group.” She smiled, looking at the bear who sat cross-legged on the floor beside Desmond’s recliner, a plate containing slices of pie before him.
Advrik collapsed onto the couch opposite the fox, and if it was admiration that he felt when taking in Callista’s beauty, it was pure infatuation he felt whenever his vision fell upon the lavender-colored fox with the jet-black hair.
For the first time since they met, Brigid had done her hair differently that day. A high ponytail tied off with a big, red ribbon. Her bangs were parted to either side of her head in equal-length curtains. Stunning, the wolf thought as he felt himself melting as their eyes met. A little smirk cut the corners of her mouth, giving little notice for what was to come.
“One of the reasons I think I fell for Advrik so quickly,” she blurted out, catching everybeast’s attention, “Was that he didn’t immediately look at my boobs when we first met. It was eye contact the whole way.” The wolf’s ears fell flat against his head.
“Random, but nice to know, I guess,” Eligh replied. “Always said you had pretty eyes anyway. If you’d start using that thick, glittery eye-liner again—“
“Okay, that’s enough.” She said flatly, cutting him off.
Eligh gave Advrik a quick wink. He knew of Brigid’s aversion to makeup and anything considered too “girly”, so the bear’s words had purpose, hitting their mark and striking the fox down.
Brigid pulled her legs towards her, resting them on the couch as she leaned against the armrest. She wore a festive turtleneck over a brown mini skirt and black leggings. “Well it was true…”
Eligh was finishing off his fifth or sixth slice of pumpkin pie before the lively discussion dug its claws into his presence. Talk of Brickhedge’s development had come up following a brief recollection of the troll’s attack and the buildings that had to be demolished in its wake. With Eligh literally being the town planner, the discussion course corrected to the blond-colored bear.
“Any plans for those empty lots, Eligh? Surely, you and the mayor have been cooking something up.” Advrik said, taking a bite of the peppermint mocha cheesecake he made for the occasion.
Eligh ran his massive claws through his red beard, the same color as the short-cut hair on his head, mustache and chest. It was always quite striking if the sun caught it right, Advrik thought. Eligh honestly looked like he belonged behind the bar at some hipster joint, not pulling ten-hour shifts behind a desk at a town hall.
“Not a whole lot that I can talk about, truth be told,” he replied, picking out the last of the pie crumbs. “There are plans, sure, but yeah.”
Where Brigid had worn an appropriate, mature-looking turtleneck sweater with subdued festive designs, Eligh went in the total opposite direction and dawned an oversized, ugly sweater that made any beast that gazed upon it itch right down to their undercoat. It was in stark contrast to the bear’s shy, reserved demeanor. The only thing that would have been weirder would have been if Desmond had worn something similar.
“Boo,” Desmond grumbled, never taking his eyes off his phone’s screen.” Boo, I say.”
Give any award-winning fashion designer the task of designing an outfit that would best reflect the look of the sort of gritty, dirty snow one finds melting on the sidewalk the day after a snowplow came through, and they still wouldn’t have nailed the look nearly as hard as Desmond the Star-Nosed Mole did on this Christmas.
A wrinkled grey sweater under a pair of admittedly new-looking black overalls and a thread-bare beanie was all the more wore, but combined with the dark color of his fur, the pale pink of his hands, feet, and nose, and posture all worked together in creating a living, breathing personified rendition of dirty snowdrift.
“Well, if you’re all done running your mouths, I’d love to crack open some gifts. Been patient enough over here.”
“That actually sounds like it’d be pretty nice,” Callista added, stretching her long legs outward, parting her toes as her claws—painted red and green—jutted outward, offering everybeast in the room little doubt that, in their Primal days, the curvy, large breasted General Practitioner that sprawled out before them would have been a very dangerous, very powerful predator.
“I can’t wait for Dessy-Wessy to open mine,” She purred, removing a relatively large box from beneath the tree, wrapped in the same lavish paper as the other gifts she’d brought with her.
“Oh! Hold on,” Birgid reached behind her and grabbed her phone off the wireless charging dock. “Just… gotta… There. Okay, resume.”
Advrik cocked an eyebrow, “What was—“ He was cut off by the notification sound of his phone. He reached for it but had his hand slapped away with an accompanying growl.
“Not right now,” She said with a wink before darting off the couch and onto the floor, the other beasts now imitating the wolf’s cocked eyebrow.
“All right, who’s playing Santa?” She said with almost childlike glee.
“Oh come the fuck on…” grumbled the mole as he slunk further into his seat. “You’re goddamn adults.”
Eligh rose from his position on the floor, quickly reminding every beast of his stature. “Well, I think since Advrik is the reason we are even together right now.” He stood beside the tree, towering over the spruce by a whole foot.
The wolf figured out where this was going and, wanting to relieve his gigantic friend of delivering further reasoning, took to the floor himself.
“Before we start…” He now stood beside the Christmas tree, Eligh having taken up the spot on the couch. Advrik was dressed in a simple red sweater and black cargo pants. Atop his head was a set of festive antlers.
“When I moved to Brickhedge this past spring, I never would have imagined that my life would take the turn it did… And it wouldn’t have been possible for me to end up where I am right now had each of you not been there to give me directions, even if you didn’t know at the time that it was what you were doing. I love you all and look forward to spending many more years with you as my pack…” He trailed off, his eyes resting on Brigid, who was oddly enough poking at Callista’s hip during the speech.
“Aaaand enough of the sappy stuff. Let’s get into indulging in each other’s consumerism! Desmond,” He said, his words acting like a bolt of electricity that shot through the mole’s body, his tentacles wriggling excitedly, “This first one’s from… Brigid to you,” The wolf said, tossing the small box to the mole.
Outside the snow continued to fall, insulating the world once again, promising a silent night for all that resided in the town of Brickhedge and beyond.
However, as Christmas festivities went on all across the town, the horrific howl of a sight yet unseen echoed in the distance. An announcement of dangers yet to come…
Happy Holidays, from your friends in Brickhedge!
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