Sorry bout not updating for a while folks, I know I suck.
I hope this is a good chapter, or at least enjoyable and I hope the length makes up for the lack of update for this story. I'd been trying to work on the next chapter but... I got sucked up in school and kind of got dried up for ideas for their toddler years, so from here on out, I'll probably have them as young children; and if I do them as babies or toddlers again, it'll be in flash backs. ^^;
I hope you guys enjoy the holiday chapter! :)
AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)
...
Christmas! Good grief how time flies! Seemed like just yesterday it was summer and the three were playing the large pool in the backyard.
He heaved a little sigh kind of sad to admit he wished his babies weren't growing up so fast, but, what could he do? Granted, he was the demon king of time, but even he couldn't stop time indefinitely; well he could, but Bill had already proven that such a feat wasn't a good idea, nor wast it ever to begin with; tempting as the thought was though, he just rolled his eyes at how stupid the little evil triangle was and could be sometimes and continued on with his work.
"I would have thought he'd know better then such but, oh well. Can't win'em all, now can you Cipher? Hehe. Anyway, hhhmmm..." he sat now trying to think of not only a way to deal with the work that was in front of him, but also, what to get the kids for Christmas. Yeah, it was ironic that he was joining in on the celebration of the birth of someone he considered his enemy, the kids on the other hand didn't see it that way, and just saw it as a way to get more treats and toys from mama! And also, as another way to spend time with mama as well; though that was just sort of 'icing' on the cake, so to speak. Mephisto chuckled a bit, so spoiled were his twins. But, he was the same way growing up and was just sort of caring on tradition, raising his babies the way his mother had raised him.
He sat for a moment thinking of his own childhood, when suddenly as if on cue, the office door peeked open a tad, and who should he find then the little half she-devil he knew was going to be cause of a lot heartache later in life?
His sweet little Persephone of course, "Mama." she spoke softly as she rubbed her eye, dragging in a little stuffed teddy that very badly needed to be replaced; "Ja miene liebe? What do you need?" he asked and watched as she walked into the room, on the verge of tears. "Mama, I wanna snuggle!" she moaned, he chuckled again; so pitiful as per the usual. But she looked adorable, he got up from his chair and knelt down by the desk with arms wide open, "Kommen sie herein." and with that she bolted towards Mephisto wanting some love and attention from him. "MAMA!" she whined again and buried her face into his chest, "What happen miene sweet?"
"Zephyr hurt me!" she whimpered snuggling her mama.
He sighed knowing EXACTLY what had happened, really what had happened was Zephyr was being cranky and yanked her toy away from her and threw it at the wall in an act of retaliation when she wouldn't stop talking during nap time, and thus having just gotten her feelings hurt rather then actually getting physically hurt.
He cuddled her back trying to sooth her hurt feelings and rubbed her back, "There, there my love. Come here." he said lifting her up into the air and took a seat, attempting to rock her in his office chair; well, at least as best he could rock a baby in an office chair. He turned and faced the window to see what was going on in the town, "How lovely. Isn't it Persephone?"
"Huh?" she was confused about what was going on, but Mephisto was too busy looking out at the town from the large window. "Mama?" she asked as she turned to face the window to see what was going on. She didn't really see anything except the slowly dying city behind them, some of the lights for the most part were already out; to her the city looked like it always had, just covered in that cold white stuff! "Bleh!" she muttered, he chuckled; the snow was pretty but he had to admit the town wasn't as pretty as he tried to make it out to be. He only did that to help distract her from her hurt feelings, "Mama.." she whimpered as she nuzzled into her mother's chest. He sat stroking her as he began to think, "You know, I think you're right." he said. She looked up at Mephisto, now listening to him. "I think I know something fun we can do tomorrow." Mephisto said with a playful tone in his voice, as if he were trying to hide something he had up his sleeve. "What mama?" she asked.
...
He finished rubbing the boy's head to dry his hair and soon the disgruntled complaints and fussy noises had died down for the moment, that was until Mephisto geared up the hair dryer and Zephyr began fussing again to try and bolt off, he wasn't fond of getting dressed up and looking pretty, or having his hair messed with; but that was the price to paid for the day. Persephone on the other hand sat in the tub and watched as her brother got his hair blow dried and tried to piece together just what was going on.
Mephisto had gotten the kids up late from their afternoon nap, and spent the last hour and a half trying to get them all nice looking; he picked out what they were going to wear, which she put up a fight about as she didn't like the green and red dress that Mephisto had planned for her to wear, she was never a fan of reds and greens, and Zephyr, not really caring about what clothes he wore, settled for a vest and a nice little dress shirt and blue jean pants.
Once that was done he whisked them away to the bathroom to bath and dress the young'ins.
"MAMA STOP!" Zephyr screamed, the dryer wasn't even that loud, Mephisto had the hair dryer on a low setting so it wouldn't hurt his sensitive ears; Mephisto was quick to finish up. "Hehe, there then. Don't you just look like a little gentleman?" Mephisto gushed as he snapped his fingers and the boy was dressed, he was getting a little tired of fighting the child anyway and figured this was faster; Zephyr was just relieved that the painfully loud sound of the hair dryer was no more, and that he wasn't being man handled like a doll to look nice. He hated that, having anyone put their hands all over him to pretty up his hair and face to make him look like a porcelain doll and it boggled his mind that his sister enjoyed the time it took for Mephisto to get her ready; girls. Such strange creatures!
"Mama me next!" she hollered from the tub and waved her arms excitedly for Mephisto to pluck her up and get her ready.
"Hehe, ja miene liebe, you're next. And thankfully last." he mutter the last bit as he pulled her from the tub and dried her off, in all honesty, she probably enjoyed the time it took for Mephisto to get her ready just due to the fact that well, it meant more time with her mother.
Lately Mephisto had been busy with school work and the Vatican and knights of the true cross never left with any spare time, or at least they seemed to make sure not to leave him with any time in all reality. And that left the kids feeling a little lonely for their mother, by the time Mephisto was done with his work it was nearly time for the kids to eat supper, have a bath and go to bed. So today, he opted to for the school to have a half day so he could skip work and go spend time with his babies, plus no work! It meant he could go relax and, hopefully, not have to do much; but with his two there was never any shortage of things not to do, or to worry about.
"Mama, make me pretty too!" she said, Mephisto chuckled at her demand. "Yes my love, I'll make you look beautiful!" he said, and with that he'd started up the blow dryer and began work on her hair, all the while she grinned happy as lark about the attention she was receiving from Mephisto.
...
"All right my pets, are you ready? Mama has a special treat in store for you. But first, a quick change." he chimed, he snapped his fingers and dawned his female form so's to avoid suspicion and trouble with the knights, and he then slipped the key into the door knob and unlocked the door, the kids watched wide eyed and curious about what was to take place, the children blocked their eyes at the brightness behind the door and looked to see what was going on as they slowly let their eyes adjust to the light, still wide eyed and little mouths agape, the site they saw before them was absolutely gorgeous!
It was Lüneburg, Germany at Christmas and it was gorgeous!
"S'like our story books mama!" Zephyr cried, Mephisto chuckled at her little boy's exclamation at the sight before him. It did look a bit like a scene from the story books and stop motion Christmas specials they'd been watching recently, the boy bolted out and onto the sidewalk and looked around amazed, while Persephone stayed still beheld by mama and looked on in wonder at the small town and how beautiful it was, "Hold up young sir! You're not going anywhere without me." she said and stepped out onto the street, the small town was very busy as people walked this way and that to see what was being sold at the markets and couples walked arms locked together while other parents tried to keep hold of their own excitable little ones who pulled them to particular shops. "Haha mama look!" Zephyr cried out pointing in the opening of a particular shop that sold toys, mainly stuffed animals that looked cute, one that had caught his eye was an odd beaver looking creature with a duck bill and webbed feet, the more he looked at the off looking creature, the more it made him giggle as it just so odd looking. "Guten tag die kleine, wie geht es dir?" he asked, Zephyr looked up at the man a bit wide eyed and confused for a moment, "Mir geht's gut!" he exclaimed once he remembered how to reply to the man's question, once again pride filled Mephisto as she listened to her son converse as best he could with the shopkeeper; she had to admit her son's German was coming along quite nicely, still had a lot of work to do though but, what the boy did have under his belt, she proud of.
"Did you find something you wanted love?" she asked as she approached her son, "That one mama!" he pointed to the odd duck beaver creature that he seemed to enjoy, while Persephone looked over to find a large black and white bear and ogled at as her face lite up as bright as the trees in the marketplace. "Mama! Look!" she cried pointing to the bear, Mephisto looked to see what she was getting worked up about and saw it. "Haha, alright my loves. You shall have them." she said and bought the toys for her kids, the man thanked her for her business and wished her a merry Christmas, she returned the gesture by doing the same and three left to walk around the small town of Lüneburg to enjoy the other sites and market places.
...
The three had spent a long day going to different parts of Germany to explore the towns and see what they had to offer, the kids, as expected, seemed to enjoy all that Berlin had thrown their way, with all the ornament shops, toys and trinkets and many other things it had to offer, the twins even convinced Mephisto to do a little ice skating, which resulted in Mephisto on her butt quiet a few times and the kids enjoying themselves, dissipate the fact they themselves had also fallen on their own butts as well, it was just funny when some else fell on theirs. It had grown late in the evening and the trio were now finishing up their walk through the Bamberg nativity trail, the kids, of course, had grown tired of walking and they were now having to take frequent breaks to rest their feet and legs, and at this point Mephisto was holding Persephone on her hip and was constantly having to adjust her for the pair of them to be comfortable. "Mama, I liked Lüneburg." she whimpered, though Mephisto was thinking she wanted more of the apple cider and to look at the other shops that had sweet treats and get more of those, Zephyr meanwhile was looking at the nativity scenes before him with a bit curiosity trying figure it out on his own. "What is it Zephyr? Trying to make sense of something?" she asked, seeing the look on her son's face becoming tightly knitted together in thoughtful focus.
"S'all this about mama?" he asked pointing to the scene, still looking very focused and confused. She looked up at the scene, it was one that was normally seen quite often this time of year, a baby Jesus laying in a manger as his parents, the three wise men and few others gathered around in the barn to see and greet the young one. "Why aren't they at home? Why are they in a barn? And weren't they all cold? And what's the stuff in their hands that they have? And -"
"Hold up you, before you start playing twenty questions, give me a minute to explain. Come, let's go get some supper and I'll explain."
Zephyr pouted a bit, wanting his explanation now rather than later, but he knew if he argued it might mean getting his tail spanked or a time out, neither of which sounded like fun to him. And so, with that he took his mother's hand began to walk away with her. "Ja mama." he said.
...
Three had now made it to their last destination of the day, that being Hannover, to see the Finnish shops to see what they had and Mephisto had promised to show them what Christmas looked like when she was growing up, but before any of that could take place, the family had gone to a small restaurant that didn't seem too busy at the hour and began to eat.
"Mama, what was the scene about?" Zephyr demanded with the utmost curiosity in his voice and excitement trickled into his voice, she chuckled again at her son's enthusiasm, like mother like son it seemed; well, Mephisto took a bit of her food and thought for a moment on how to best explain how to the scene.
"It was a nativity scene. I'm actually a bit surprised you didn't ask about the others we'd seen in town honestly." she commented, truth be told Zephyr had been wondering about the others as well but wanted to figure them out on his own without asking about them, but this one in particular perplexed him a bit, merely just due to the fact that well, the family was in a place he thought they shouldn't have been, they were in a barn for crying out loud! In his mind, they should have been born at home like they had been.
"Well, to make a long story short, the scene had shown a women, Mary, and her husband Joesph, had been in the barn because when they made it to town they couldn't find anywhere to stay and she was going to have her baby soon. The only place they could find for her to have baby safely and give birth in peace, was the barn, the manager was just big enough for her to let her son, Jesus, to rest in. The three men that you saw were the three wise men that brought him gifts, if my memory serves me correctly, it gold, incense and myrrh; they went to worship the child."
"Wow." he whispered softly, all that to worship a little baby, kind of interesting. Though now that his questions had been answered others soon surfaced; and they were shared with his sister.
"Mama, what was Christmas like when you were growing up?" she asked, as if to read her brother's mind. "Yeah, I was wonderin' that too!"
"Now that I can show you!" she said, "Finish up and you'll see what I mean."
The kids were quick to finish their food and Mephisto took them to walk through the rest of the town of Hannover to look at the Finnish shops and the medieval settings and shops there.
It pretty much looked like how one expected it too, people were dressed in medieval clothes selling their wears in old style booths.
...
The three were now resting on a bench at the water front as Mephisto enjoyed some mulled berry wine and the kids had some hot coco as the cuddled up by her, the two were now complaining how they were freezing and how the coco felt good on their little hands and fingers.
Mephisto looked up at the stars and caught sight of the seven sisters, she smiled reminiscing about her own childhood Christmas. "Has it always been this way mama?" Persephone pipped up, trying to fight to stay awake. She chuckled at how tired her little girl was, and began stroking her to comfort and relax her into going to sleep. "Nien, it was nothing like this." she remarked, "What was it like then?" the little girl asked, and Mephisto regaled her with one story that he could remember.
...
Night had just befallen the small wooded area in which they inhabited, a young Mephisto, who was about five or six by this point, had placed a small plant on the window sill and looked out to find the entire country of their home was covered in snow!
It was so pretty, no one had walked on the snow yet and the pond just outside was frozen over, "Mama!" he called turning to find where Lilith was. "Yes love?" she called back to him wanting to see what he wanted, "When are we gonna go outside?" he asked as he entered the main room of their small cottage, watching as she stirred the stew in the cauldron, "Soon love. We have to wait for your sister to return from the woods with the yule log for us to burn." she explained, Mephisto sighed annoyed with waiting, such an impatient little creature, his mother chuckled lovingly at her son's reaction and walked over to him and plucked him up from the spot where he stood. "Patients my child. We'll have our little bonfire soon enough." she said as she kissed him affectionately on the cheek, it wasn't really the burning of the log he was looking forward to, usually when they did big bonfires like this, they usually did a little dance around the fire and had a small feast to go with it and the best part of it was the dessert he would get.
"She should hurry up and get here." he pouted, "Now, now, don't pout." Lilith said as she stroked his hair and clutched him close, he was eager to watch his mother dance around the fire, she always seemed so happy and free as she danced along with his older sister, it made him want to join in as well. The way they twirled and spun around the fire it was like watching fairies dance so elegantly, "I love watching you dance mama." he muttered and nuzzled into her bosom and held her close, she smiled happy to hear that. It suddenly dawned on her that she had a little something for her son, as a sort of present.
"Come here love." she said, and curiously, he followed her closely to the back of the cottage and watched as his mother knelt down and pulled out a small box wrapped in pink cloth, he watched wide eyed and excited to see what his mother had for him. "Do you remember when we went to town earlier today?" she asked, he did. He remembered being so bored waiting in the shop and how his mother had been getting onto him to not touch anything and to not get into any kind of trouble. And once his mother was given a small box that was wrapped in a cloth, he was curious was constantly asking his mama what it was and getting annoyed when she wouldn't tell him.
"Happy solstice my love." she said opening it up, his face dimmed from the bright happy excited expression it dawned when she pulled it out to a confused and disappointed look when she open it. "I think you're old enough to hold onto this Sam." she said, what it was a heart shaped locket with a pink gem in the center of it as it hung from the gold chain. "Why are you giving me a girl's -"
"This is your heart my darling." she explained, "My fairy heart?" he asked.
She paused a moment at his question, so, that was how his sister had explained his abilities and his appearance, that they were fairies. She smiled and giggled relieved, she had planned to tell him who and what he really was, but upon hearing that, decided not to; as she wanted him to hold onto that innocence of childhood. "Yes, my little changeling child, it's your fairy heart. And you must hold it close to you and always keep it on you at all times! And never let fall into the wrong hands." she explained and placed it around his neck.
"MOTHER! I'M BACK!" Lilly cried out as she approached the cottage, "LILLY!" the boy exclaimed and bolted out to greet her.
A few hours later the family was dancing like a group of fairies in the wind with great deal of grace around the large warm bonfire, young Mephisto tried to keep with his mother and sister's gracefully airy steps, but it ended with him stomping on the ground and leaving heavy marks in the snow while the women left light tiptoe prints in the snow, Lilith giggled at his attempts, she loved how he tried, she snatched him up and danced around with him and then tossed him to his sister and danced around his little brother Azazel, the two kept this up for a few hours until the log had smoldered into ashes.
It was a good solstice.