Holiday Cheer
The four of them made camp that night, with the setting sun just barely peeking over the mountains. Ideally, they would have already made it to Contigo, but the resident monsters didn't seem to care much about the group's desires.
Jenna sighed as she sat down and stretched her weary muscles. "Felix, you can be so cruel," she teased. "Making us walk all day. You do remember that it's almost Christmas, don't you? Have some holiday sprit! Or is all the stress finally getting to your poor brain?"
"Haha, Jenna. Your wit leaves me doubled over laughing," Felix replied. "Now help me with this fire, okay?"
Rolling her eyes, Jenna cast a small Flare. Once the flames were crackling merrily, she sat on a nearby log to warm herself. While Piers and Felix went of to find something to eat, Sheba came to sit near Jenna. For a while they sat in silence until Jenna spoke up.
"Did you ever celebrate Christmas back in Lalivero?" the Mars Adept asked.
Sheba looked up from the fire. "Well, yeah, I think almost everyone on Angara does. Why do you ask?"
Jenna gave another deep sigh. "It's just that for the past sixteen years Christmas has been such a natural thing. Everyone in Vale got so excited, and we'd all give each other presents, even after my parents died and Felix disappeared it felt like we were all one big family. I don't know, I'm making it all sound so cheesy." Jenna smiled wryly. "But now even though I'm with Felix again, and I have you and Piers, and everything should be so much better, it doesn't sound like we're going to have a Christmas this year. I mean, Felix just seems so hung up and stressed so much of the time, and I don't even know if Piers even knows what Christmas is! I know Christmas shouldn't seem that important right now, with all this other stuff going on, but I can't help but feel kind of sad."
Sheba sat silently for a while, and the quiet between the two stretched on and on. The sun sank deeper and deeper below the horizon, and Jenna wondered Felix and Piers would be coming back any time soon.
Finally Sheba replied. "I think I know how you feel, Jenna," she started. "For me, Christmas in Lalivero was always so heartwarming. I felt like I was part of something. Like I fit in perfectly. I know that this year Christmas will be different. How could it not be?" Sheba chuckled. "And Felix could Felix could stand to relax a little. But still. Even though we're on a quest to save the world, I think that we'll still have a pretty good Christmas if we try. Like you said, it's a natural thing. I might not be completely perfect, but that doesn't mean that we won't have a Christmas this year. Now cheer up! Stop being so melancholy! You're a Mars Adept, for Iris's sake!"
Jenna chucked a stick at her. "I am not melancholy or sad!" Jenna huffed. "Hey Sheba, I wonder if Felix would let us have a tree, at least."
"I dunno," Sheba warned. "Just make sure you don't ask him for any fancy presents. He'd probably explode!"
A while later Felix and Piers finally came back from their excursion, carrying some game. As the group gathered around the fire and ate and talked late into the night, Jenna mused. Even if this year's Christmas would be so different, it could actually turn out okay. And she supposed she could live without any fancy presents for at least one year.