The setting sun had shone bright upon the sea of sand, bringing empty, dry air, dousing each pebble in burning heat, and altogether challenging the very soul of Winter that coated so much of the current world around the desert in snow. Yet, for Flicker, the desert was the perfect place to ring in the holiday season

Like a drop from the sun itself, the firesprite flew in from the sky. He chilled a hand to a red ember, then scooped a handful of sand from the ground. Flicker brought the temperature up, from red, to orange, to yellow, to white, until the sand melted into an orange ooze. He then toned down his fiery hands, and took the bright blob between then, twisting and spinning it until it began to form into a hollow corkscrew. The firesprite soared into the cold evening air, up into the stratosphere, giving his creation a chance to cool. Then, only after checking to make sure the new glass would hold its form, he returned to the sand to begin the process again...

...Just as it seemed with every Winter, it was a losing battle. Snow Miser had sent flurries all over his own Northern territories, and the snow had begun to seep deeper toward the South as temperatures across the country went cold. Heat Miser could see him now, laughing at his own jokes, babbling on about how easy it all was. Of course, following the incident a few years earlier, the two had learned to find support for each other and put their differences aside when necessary, that didn't mean it was any easier to tolerate the Tutti Frutti Snowcone every other day of his life.

Heat sighed. It seemed that all he had done since the end of the summer solstice was direct minions and battle his brother. He shut his eyes, drifting away to a sandy beach on a paradise island, surrounded by the green of palm trees and the gentle sound of warm water lapping against the shore. For a moment, he'd nearly forgotten his troubles, until-

"Heat! Hey, Heat!" Someone tapped at his forehead. With a grumble, he pushed the insistent hand away, opening his eyes to see Flicker peering down at him from the top of his throne. "Not like you to be sleeping on the job. Everything alright?"

"I wasn't sleeping," Heat stated, "I was just...thinking."

"...Sure." Flicker rolled his eyes. Heat swore that sometimes the firesprite was as intolerable as Snow. "Anywho-" Flicker jumped from the throne to the floor before it- "Guess what day it is!"

"Tuesday."

"I mean, yeah, but it's also December first! Which means, it is officially, the month of Christmas!" Flicker sent out a series of sparks in an imitation of confetti.

"...Isn't it a little early to be celebrating?" Heat raised a brow.

"Well- it's just- it's just that, I know you always have your little celebration with Snow on Christmas already, and you're really busy what with the winter solstice coming and all, but I was hoping that, this year, maybe we could do something? Just one activity? A little one?"

Heat stared through the firesprite for a moment. It was clear to anyone that he was certainly not the biggest fan of Christmas. Of course, he had found an appreciation for the celebration of friends and family it brought, but the rest of the holiday was so deeply entrapped in the idea of a "White Christmas," and there was only so much of that he could handle. "And what are we supposed to do? Build a snowman? Go ice skating?" He responded.

"Nice guesses, but no cake. We're gonna- well, uh, let me just show you-" and with that Flicker flew off through the winding hallways of the volcano.

Heat let out a sigh. It was difficult enough to set time aside on Christmas. The season was far too busy to even think of trudging about in the snow.

Flicker flew back into the room, carrying a light tray carved from rock. Atop the tray stood five small works of glass, each in a variety of shapes, from a corkscrew, to a star, to a classic sphere. "Look- I made some already. A little heat and a little molding and ya got yourself a swell Christmas ornament! I figured we could make some more, or, uh, just decorate these if you're not feeling up to it." The firesprite turned to face a corner of the room. "We could set up a nice green Christmas tree right over there and stick 'em all on it." He turned back to Heat with a small smile. "I mean, if you want to."

Heat's gaze flicked between the ornaments and the firesprite's hopeful smile a couple times. On one hand, he was truly busy, but on the other, he was itching to try his hand at this type of Christmas. Perhaps, it wasn't just snowball fights and snowmen after all. Finally, he leaned back. "Alright." He figured it couldn't hurt to take an hour or so's break.

Flicker beamed a bright tint of white. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Heat pointed to one of his minions. "Sparks, you're in charge for now." Sparks responded with a smile and a salute, then immediately went about directing the others.

"Come on- I gotta show ya something-" and with that, Flicker dashed back down the hall. Heat followed after the firesprite, sparing a glance at the control room and pondering whether he had made the right decision.