A/N: Hi there, this is my first story on here so I'm still getting the hang of things! Before I start I should probably say that I'm a VERY keen writer and want to become an author in the future so I appreciate constructive criticism. Also, I've read almost every story on here and they're all great but I haven't commented. On that note, I've also become a very harsh marker and pick up mistakes without really intending to so I apologise in advance if my reviews are harsh :) :/

Disclaimer: I don't own Splatalot :(

It was a chilly start to the December morning in the kingdom of splatalot. Being rather early in the morning, it was still dark outside although a harsh wind blew around and it was obvious that when the light made an appearance, the castle grounds would be wrapped in a shimmering blanket of frost. Although the conditions were dull and a little miserable, everything felt calm until...

Kook skipped down one of the corridors of the castle, a little heavy footed, whistling and occasionally singing the word "christmas" to himself. The bird had found the happiness that the cold of December 1st accompanied although one of the defenders hadn't...

As he came thudding down the corridor, a blurry eyed Ballista dragged herself out of bed and over to her bedroom door which she flung open with rage.

"Kook!" she shouted.

"Oh, hi Ballista!" Kook grinned.

"What are you doing? It's 5am in the morning!" she scowled.

"Singing, why?"

"About Christmas?"

"Yeah! It's December Ballista! That means Christmas! Can't you feel the magic in the air?" Kook laughed.

"No," Ballista replied flatly.

"Sheesh, when did you turn into scrooge?" Kook's unique laugh filled the halls. "So, what can you feel?"

"Like I'm being deprived of my sleep because a certain bird woke me up," the enraged huntress growled.

Just then, the blue ninja came walking down the corridor and joined her fellow defenders when she saw them. It really wasn't a surprise that she was up this early, she liked to be alert at all times.

"Hi there Shaiden," Kook acknowledged the ninja's presence.

"Morning Kook... Whoa! Um... Ballista what happened to you? You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards..." the blue ninja eyed the huntress' ruffled hair.

Ballista rolled her eyes before replying. "Feathers here woke me up," she gestured to Kook. "And I don't wake up looking beautiful, it takes time!

"Now you sound like Gildar!" Shaiden smirked causing Kook to laugh and suddenly bite down on his fist when he saw Ballista's expression.

"Call me Gildar again and I'll... Oh whatever," and with that the kilted huntress slammed her door leaving Kook and Shaiden in stitches of laughter in the hallway.

Back in her room, after showering, getting changed and spending 45 minutes braiding her blonde and red-streaked hair, the huntress was raring to go. Although she was still rather mad and a little tired, she spent a moment remembering the conversation.

"When did you turn into scrooge?" echoed round her head. Ouch. That hurt. Ballista loved Christmas, perhaps even more than Kook at times, the atmosphere and joy and everything else made it her favourite time of year. Even Thorne was known to be a little cheery. To be honest though, it was only December 1st, still 24 days to Christmas. She was sure she'd become excited when they started the traditions. Snowball fights and hot chocolate were enough to raise anyone's spirits.

Down in the dining room, the other defenders were all talking about the holiday season. When Ballista walked in she received a table of funny looks and stares. After a few moments conversation resumed and Ballista raised an eyebrow. Nevertheless, she continued to make her way over to the selection of foods which she loaded onto her plate. She sat on her own, a little way down from the others and ate quietly. The others were all talking about the upcoming holiday and after the conversation with Kook and Shaiden, the huntress would rather do anything else.

"Hey Ballista, excited for Christmas?" Kook mocked.

This caused stares from the other defenders.

"Kook, stop it, you've had your fun, don't go too far, she's upset..." Shaiden whispered.

"Oh its fine, Ballista knows I'm only teasing, we're great friends!" he whispered back before facing Ballista again. "Oh yeah, that's right, scrooge doesn't like Christmas!" Kook's laughter filled the halls.

It was true, Ballista usually could tolerate the bird's taunting but honestly, she wasn't in the mood. It was all she could do not to scream. Instead, she took a deep breath, shakily picked up her splatbow and left the room slamming the large oak doors behind her.

"Oh Kook, I've never seen her this upset..." Shaiden murmured.

"What can we do?" Crocness asked