Disclaimers: I don't own any of these characters and I don't wish to make a profit from this story
Traditions
"Ho, ho ho!"
Bolt stared suspiciously at the little moving figure. He thought the thing was odd the moment Penny propped it up at the front entrance. It looked like an old man who was overdue for a hair cut. His white beard was so long it dangled above his black belt. What was weirder was that each time Bolt walked by, it would start playing music and swing from side to side, jingling bells on his hat and yelling "Ho, ho!," whatever that meant.
Mittens told Bolt that it was part of Christmas. Bolt only knew bits and pieces of the holidays from the Christmas specials they had done on the show. Penny would always bring him a present and set up a small tree in his trailer, but he never fully grasped what that meant.
The dog glared at the man, daring it to move again. "I got my eye on you."
"GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!"
Bolt jumped. Forgetting about his suspect, he instantly dashed out of the hallway and into the living room. "Mittens?" Bolt spun in circles as he searched for the cat, yet except for the sleeping Rhino snoozing on top of the television remote and the large Christmas tree, there was no sign of her.
Bolt sat and titled his head. "I could have sworn-"
"I'M UP HERE!"
He looked up. "Mittens, what are you doing up in the tree?"
Clinging to the star at the top of the tree, Mittens rolled her eyes. "I'm singing carols. What do you think?! I climbed it, but I went too high and now I'm stuck! Help me get down!"
Bolt stared perplexed. "But why did you climb it in the first place?"
If she currently didn't have both paws grasping onto the star, Bolt was certain Mittens would have raised her paws in frustration.
"I'm a cat Bolt and it's a Christmas tree. Along with pawing at the ornaments, I have to climb it."
"But why?"
"It's tradition-" Mittens cut herself off. "On second thought, forget it. It's a cat thing you wouldn't understand. Just get me down!"
Bolt studied the tree. Normally, he would fetch Penny or her mom, but they were out shopping. He could get the ladder, but it was locked in the garage. The dog walked beneath the tree. Unlike regular trees, this one wasn't rooted to the ground. In fact, it wasn't even a real tree. Bolt could smell the plastic and the foil quite strongly. If that was the case…
"Mittens, hang on and I mean that literally."
The cat's face paled. She did not like the expression on Bolt's face. "Bolt, wait, what are you-"
"TIMBER!" Bolt slammed his body against the trunk. The entire tree keeled over. Mittens screamed as the laws of gravity took the helm and crashed to the carpet, decorations and all.
The cat staggered regaining her balance. "Ugh, I think I lost one of my nine lives."
"But I got you down," Bolt declared proudly.
"Congrats genius," Mittens muttered as her head finally stopped spinning. "But tell me, what do you plan to do about this mess?"
Bolt frowned and as he gazed at the giant fallen tree, panic rose. "I didn't think about that. What should we do?"
Mittens sighed and patted his shoulder. "Bolt, it's about time I tell you about the universal rule that all pets follow in situations like this."
The dog tilted his head. "What's that?"
Quick as a flash, Mittens bolted from the room. "Run away and pretend you don't know a thing!"
Bolt didn't quite agree with the idea, but considering his alternatives, he followed Mittens lead.
After they left, Rhino woke up. He yawned. "What was all that noise about guys?" The hamster spotted the tree and realized that he was completely alone in the room. He blinked and instantly concluded what had happened. Just like in episode 15 of Bolt's show, Rhino had gained super strength when sleep walking and knocked over the tree. "I am awesome!" he muttered, in complete awe of himself.