Christmas arrived early in the serene land of Doggy Heaven, and the area was blessed with snow as they tiny flakes fell at a steady pace. Blankets of pure white covered all the land as dogs of all sizes and ages gaped, wide-eyed and joyously at the arrival of the jolly season. Christmas lights dangled from roofs and the cloud that supported the holy place was too strung with dozens of flashing ornaments placed by many of its inhabitants. It was a glorious day for celebration as winter arrived with the soft promise of sparkling snow.
Except, of course, to one Pomeranian.
Pom, the internet-obsessed Dog of the canine afterlife spent most of her days chatting nonsense with her previous Tumfur pal, Malty – or if one prefers, Tumfur user Sugoi-Neko-chan-desu. And of course, today was no difference despite the severe change in climate. Giggles still erupted from the two dogs as they whispered animatedly with each other about which manga character did what to who and who shipped this with what. Only when the doors banged open in the Dog's large chamber did it call Pom from her conversation.
"Pom, look!" Shibe, her loyal Shibe-inu pal gestured excitedly at the snow-coated land of outside. His brown eyes twinkled eagerly as the two girls detached themselves from their seated positions on their favorable bean-couches to see what had gotten Shibe so perked up.
"it's just snow, dum shibe," Pom commented in her distinguishable Internet slang. The Pomeranian canine had spent so long browsing the online world she had completely lost touch with normal speech. Malty giggled at Shibe's expression – which had faded to a considerably less cheery look in reaction to Pom's uninterested murmur and the nickname that she had over-used. The other name Pom had bestowed upon her 'manservant' was Sebastian, but that had come to pass and now 'Dum Shibe' was the only calling she used when addressing the dog.
"But it's Christmas!" Shibe cried, persistent in making the new Dog at least mildly excited for the upcoming event. "You're Dog – you can make something great happen!"
Pom's dark eyes still possessed a disinterested glint, which disheartened the Shibe who always wished for the good in people. Shrugging, the dog exited the large dwelling of her friend – a huge chamber only meant for the Dog to reside – and trudged home. Pom muttered to herself and walked off in a huff, flopping back onto her bean-chair. Malty joined her friend and positioned herself comfortably on the seat, eyeing Pom as she sighed wearily.
"dat dum shibe," Pom mumbled, burying her head in the comfy seating. "he got so happy at dum snow."
"Wanna get him anything for Christmas?" Malty suggested, and immediately Pom's head jerked up, cheeks flushed red. The two dog ears perched upon her tangle of fiery orange hair twitched ever so subtly at what most people would consider an innocent remark – but the words that streamed out of the white dog's mouth were usually anything but.
"no" Pom said simply, turning away from her friend in hopes she would dismiss her sudden change in demeanor. "dum shibes dun deserve Christmas presents. his gay boyfren can get him one."
"Or his shy girlfriend," Malty giggled. Immediately Pom snatched up a pillow from the various cushions scattered about the messy room and hurled it at the white-haired giggling female. The fluffy bolster smacked her square in the face and she toppled back, snickering as she descended.
"I was just joking, BAKA!" Malty grinned at her friend's flushed red face, enjoying the fact she had aroused such a tsundere side of her. Ever since Shibe had averted her thoughts of destroying all of Doggy Heaven just to obtain her precious wi-fi, the orange-haired girl had been acting differently when the male dog was present or the current star of the conversation. Usually she would avoid all contact with him and excuse herself from the area when he was around. At first, Malty thought it was just her being mad that Shibe had wrecked her plans to acquire her long-lost Internet, but after some careful spying was undertaken, she realized her demeanor was not something as frivolous.
"Don't be such a tsundere, Pom!" Malty murmured, hugging the tossed cushion to her chest as a teasing twinkle entered her dark eyes. "I already know you like Shibe so u don't have to hide it !"
"dun b stupid!" Pom stuttered, face growing hotter. Shibe was a sore spot for the conversation and Malty knew it, but it seemed her goal for today was to make the new Dog as flustered as possibly could. "no one likes that dum shibe but hus. i told u I ship hus/shibe – it is the best ship in dis game."
"Okay, fine~" the corners of Malty's mouth rose as she unfastened herself from her comfy position on the couches. With a wave of 'sayonara, amigo' she sauntered out the door, leaving Pom to stand amidst the mess the two internet tomodachis had made of the once neatly arranged room. Not that the internet-obsessed Pomeranian would care about such futile matters like the order of her residence – her mind was whirring with possibilities – she hated the dum shibe. He was a sorry-ass excuse for a manservant and didn't even answer to the name 'Sebastian'. Malty just got all her facts mixed up, was all. She walked off in a huff, slumping languidly onto the various pillows strewn erratically across the ground. She placed her signature purple laptop on her lap and started it up, gazing forlornly at the icon at the bottom of the screen that signified that no wi-fi was present.
Though the rest of the day went on in its regular manner, a small, insignificant part of the Pomeranian's mind was furiously whirring through its mental database for anything that she could possibly offer to Shibe as a present.
"dat dum shibe dun need no presents…." Pom muttered to herself, gazing out the glazed window of her abode. With the sleeve of her pink attire she swabbed most of the fog from the glass surface and peered out at the snow-strewn landscape beyond. Doggy Heaven was a paradise for dogs that had ascended to the next life, so it only had two weathers – Sunny, or Snowy. But even in the coldest of winter days the temperature did not drop too low, remaining at an appropriate level for all dogs. Most of the island were filled with the joyous cries of dogs having fun, hurling various sized snowballs at their opponents as they desperately dodged the incoming blows.
Usually Malty would've arrived for another furious chat, but after arising such an embarrassing issue yesterday, Pom decided not to invite her for once and Malty, being the understanding, sympathetic friend that she wasn't, decided not to pry. Which meant the entirety of today was spent in lonesome – usually she wouldn't mind such solitude as it gave her more time to browse the net for awesome things, but with no wi-fi present, it meant her time would be spent of virtually nothing.
Of course, she could've just picked a random book from her overflowing manga cabinet, but she wasn't exactly in the mood for hardcore yaoi comics today – for some reason things like that hardly appealed to her anymore. What changed? She was still herself – so why did the lovey-dovey manga she loved so much as an earth dweller suddenly lose its charm?
"dum dum shibe…." Pom murmured, watching as the cold climate reverted the once clear window to its fogged-up state. Sighing, the Pomeranian picked herself off the floor and met eyes with the familiar brown irises of a well-known dog.
And then she screamed.
"d-dum shibe!" Pom shrieked at the dumbfounded canine standing rigid in front of her. "gif me a warning be4 u pop out of nowhere!"
"But I knocked on your door!" Shibe stammered, considerably nervous. He hadn't expected to be screamed at as soon as he ventured through the door, but Pom was an unpredictable dog, so he supposed such a thing could occur.
"wat do u want?" Pom spat, irritated at the shibe-inu. Shibe fidgeted about uncertainly before presenting the smaller dog with a tightly wrapped gift. Pom accepted it, dumbfounded.
"Well…it's kind of early, but I got you a present," Shibe muttered, slightly sheepish as his female friend stared silently at the brightly colored box resting in her pale hands. "I'm not sure what you wanted so…I just improvised with what you told me before."
Still stricken at the thoughtful action, Pom undid the ribbon holding the box together and eased the lid off, revealing a packet of chocolate-chipped dog treats carefully placed inside a polka-dotted semi-transparent plastic bag. It flashed back to the time, ages ago, when the two were still scouring the land for legit wi-fi. Bernard, a rather perverted dog, had sent them on a quest to stalk Crest, one of their newfound friends, and take pictures of her without her knowledge. Shibe and convinced Pom not to take any pictures of her for the sake of the kind girl, and while Crest was distributing dog treats, Pom had mentioned she wanted some choco chip treats. The conversation of the favorable food hadn't arisen since then – until now.
"Oh, thx," Pom stammered, unsure of how to react to such a thoughtful gesture. Shibe smiled and nodded, waving a goodbye before exiting the house with a bag of wrapped gifts slung over a shoulder. The dum dog had probably prepared offerings for every inhabitant of this holy world and was now presenting them to each and every dog. That made her gift not as special as she first thought it would be.
"but it was still nice of him…" Pom murmured, breaking open the packet and popping a treat into her mouth. The thought of returning the kind gesture once again arose but she forced it aside, consuming the delicious delicacy. The dum dum shibe didn't deserve a gift. If he wanted one, he could ask one from his to-be boyfriend Hus. She didn't need to get him one.
"oh shit, FINE," Pom groaned, slinging a pale purple jacket around her shoulders as she dashed out into the snow.
oOOOo
The long awaited Christmas party had finally arrived in Doggy Heaven, which took place in front of a grand Christmas tree all the inhabitants took effort to set up. A flood of gifts took pride of space under the prickly mass of pine, each branch occupied by various assortments of ornaments and dazzling lights. The joyous event was punctuated by cries of cheery laughter as dogs from all around chatted animatedly and excitedly about the presents they might receive.
Pom arrived late, swathed in winter clothing, with a wrapped box tucked under an arm. She set the gift down, amid the heap of overflowing gifts, which caught the eye of the ever-vigilant Malty.
"Oooh!" the white dog cooed, and immediately Pom's small form jerked up in surprise. Malty giggled as she eyed the carefully bind present her friend had just set down. "Who's that for?"
"no one," Pom replied lamely, elbowing her friend in the ribs. Malty was jostled back, snickering, before shoving a gift into her friend's hands. "This is for you, Pom; I know you're supposed to wait until the end of the party for Crest to hand them out, but I'm not a sucker for rules. So here ya go!"
"thx," Pom nodded, then tossed another wrapped parcel in her direction. "dis 4 u."
"Arigatougozaimasu! :3" Malty cheered, then ripped it open right there and then to reveal the newest volume of manga she had been waiting on eggshells for. With an excited shriek she flung her arms around her friend and squealed. "OMG OMG OMG! Arigatou, Pom-dono! You are the best Dog eva!"
"dats rite," Pom agreed with an obnoxious smirk, tearing open the present Malty had given her. The newest edition of a rather hardcore yaoi series greeted her and made her dark eyes widen in shock and happiness. "OMG u got dis for me? u r the best fren eva."
"Oh, stahp it you," Malty replied with a flutter of the hand, giggling at their funny antics and the odd, puzzled looks they were earning from the non-internet-obsessed population. The two friends immediately flicked open their heavily NOT child-appropriate books and shared giggles and gossip. A dog passed by them and glanced momentarily at the open pages, growing beet-red at the sight to behold behind the covers before scurrying away.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Crest called, standing on the stage deposited right in front of the gigantic tree. She tapped on the mike a few times, assuring herself of its functioning, before continuing: "Today is a wonderful day for us all! It's Christmas!"
An uproar of delight arose from the overjoyed dog population and fists were raised in the air for this joyous occasion. Crest managed to make them simmer down and resumed with her cheery announcement. Once down, she picked up the first of the gifts from the over-flowing gift pile and read the words on the card. "The first present is…from Hus, to Shibe!"
The two girls in the crowd shared giggles as Shibe ascended the stairs to get his present. The presents seemed to go on and on, reading each card one by one. Soon, the crowd had stopped cheering and were mostly marveling at the presents they had obtained. Shibe, no doubt, had gotten a flood of presents for his overly-polite and loyal behavior. Malty had gotten quite a couple too, and to her utter surprise, most of the population had directed some presents to Pom. All the cards mostly seemed to say sappy stuff like 'Thanks for being a great Dog!' and the like, but Pom was grateful all the same – until she realized most of the presents consisted of clothes, sparkly collars and a bunch of crap.
"OMG i cant believe there's no manga," Pom complained, rummaging through the pile of given presents. "u would think at least someone might kno wat i like."
"Oh, well," Malty sighed, equally disheartened at the pile of gifts she received – not a single thing she needed or wanted. She shrugged and placed the presents in her bag, sharing the gloom with her internet friend from lack of appropriate gifts.
"And the next one is…." Crest squinted at the card, then looked genuinely surprised. "From Pom, to Shibe!"
Shibe too looked dumbfounded, and Pom immediately lit up like a candle. Malty erupted into a giggling mass, but thankfully most of the dogs were too busy rummaging about their mini mountains of gifts to fully register the words Crest had said. Shibe once again scurried up the steps to receive his gift, popping open the lid to see what lay inside. He seemed completely blown back when he realized what it was.
"It's my old Frisbee!" Shibe cried joyously, fetching out the flat plate of plastic from the inside of the box. Before the dreaded fire broke out in their home, consuming not only their previous dwelling but also their lives, he had their master had played fetch a fair amount of times. They always used a plastic, bright yellow Frisbee smothered in bite marks – an exact mimic of the one he now clutched in his hand.
"How did you get this? I thought it was still back on earth!" Shibe stuttered, growing emotional. Pom smiled faintly, shrugging a shoulder in reply.
"i'm dog, dum shibe," Pom responded, hiding the evident blush on her cheeks with her fiery orange hair. Shibe beamed brightly and embraced his friend, causing her to grow extremely hot and flustered. Malty continued to snicker and giggle, holding up a camera to capture this momentous occurrence.
"Thank you, Pom!" Shibe cried, stepping away from the considerably redder dog. "I'm going to play this right now!"
Before he set off with his Frisbee, he turned back and smiled hugely at the rigid Pom, hot and flustered behind him. "Merry Christmas, Pom!"
As Shibe galloped away in hopes of playing a game with the ancient toy – a figment of his previous life on earth – Malty approached the still Pom, slinging an arm around her shoulder as she beamed brightly. "Well, if that isn't a cause for celebration, I don't know that is!"
Pom shoved off her friend in a playful matter. "wat u talking about?" Pom said. "there aint no cause for celebration – he's just a stupid dog."
Malty grinned. "Whatever you say, Yaoi-hands; now, let's go raid the refreshment stand!"
Malty dashed off, excited at the thought of devouring snacks. As Pom turned to follow her, she cast a glance in the direction Shibe charged off to, and smiled ever so subtly.
"merry christmas, dum shibe."