Early second upload this week because I'm not going to be around much during the week itself. Have a lovely festive season everyone!

Alfyn's determined to help Ogen celebrate Bifelgan's day once again.

Celebrations in Clearbrook

Bifelgan's day was a rather simple holiday when one got to the heart of it. It was a day of giving, of trading and showing ones friends just how much one cared as they brought them goods and gifts that no one else would have thought to give them.

In Clearbrook, the day was celebrated a little differently. The entire town would get together on the frozen riverbank and exchange gifts with one another, each only gifting one another person a present and each receiving only one of their own, all based on who had pulled their name out of a hat at the start of the month. With gifts exchanged, the entire town would settle in to a grand feast together, sharing stories of what they'd achieved this past year, of what they hoped to achieve next.

It was quite the close knit group this village, they each treated each other like family, they'd all known one another for what – in some people's opinion – felt like far too long.

So Ogen felt more than a little uncomfortable when Alfyn invited him to the festivities.

"Really?" Alfyn asked in shock when Ogen refused his invitiation. "I thought you said you had nowhere to go?"

"I don't." Ogen shook his head, still trying to figure out how Alfyn had managed to track him down in Northreach after they parted ways. "But I'd rather stay here alone than impose on a village's celebrations."

"You wouldn't be imposin' at all!" Alfyn reassured him, linking his arm through the older man's as he exclaimed in protest. "Come on, I think it'd do you the worlda good to celebrate with people!"

"Alfyn..." Ogen sighed his name again. Considering he'd only met the lad a few months ago, Ogen had gotten rather good at sighing his name like an exasperated father in that time. "Please..."

"Nope!" Not taking no for an answer – as always – Alfyn dragged Ogen out of the tavern in Northreach all the way down to Clearbrook. "We're celebratin' together!"

"Alfyn..."

No matter what he said in protest, Ogen couldn't change Alfyn's mind. No matter how much he tried to run from him, he never got very far before Alfyn tracked him down again. In the end, Ogen just gave up and consigned himself to 'enjoying' the festivities in Clearbrook.

The strangest thing was, he did actually quite enjoy himself once the initial awkwardness had passed.

An outsider coming to a small village's celebrations was always going to feel a little uncomfortable, but to the credit of the people of Clearbrook, they didn't ask Ogen too many questions after the initial barrage of "Why are you celebrating here? How do you know Alfyn? Didn't you have any where else to go?" Instead, they simply apologised that they didn't have a gift for him – or Alfyn since they didn't know if he'd be returning home for the holiday this year – and invited him to eat as much of the feast as he felt he could.

And, as much as he loathed to admit it, that meal was perhaps the best meal he'd had since he'd set out travelling all those years ago. However, the conversation they had over the meal was perhaps even more amazing.

Since very few people ever left the village for more than a little foraging excursion, the people were all rather sheltered and unaware of the world at large. So, when Zeph asked Alfyn to tell some stories of his journeys this past year, all the villagers hung on his every word, eating up his stories far quicker than they did the food. While Alfyn was in his element as he told his tales with a giant smile, when Ogen was called upon to do the same, he found it far more challenging.

It wasn't only the act of public speaking that he found challenging but also striking the balance between which tales of his he could tell without having to go into too much detail about his past. In the end, he settled on the tale of his last Bifelgan's day celebration some three years ago in a small seaside town. It hadn't been much of a celebration, rather it was more like the traders of the town invited him simply so that they could repay the kindness that he'd expressed when he healed them.

Still, it had been the first time he'd celebrated the day with anyone since Melyssa's passing and the simple act of eating seafood for the feast was so different from anything he and his wife had ever done together that it barely even felt like Bifelgan's day at all. In fact, halfway through telling the story of it, Ogen realised it wasn't that interesting of a tale to tell in the first place. Regardless, the villagers found it fascinating, many of them hadn't eaten saltwater fish before and were too caught up in his explanation of what they looked like to realise that it wasn't an interesting story.

The festivities continued after the meal. While many of the older people started to head home after the feast, the younger villagers hung about, dancing and giggling as they made promises to one another about what the year ahead would bring.

Ogen decided to leave that sort of thing to the young people, excusing himself after people started to leave and thanking Alfyn for inviting him as he made his way back to his inn room for the night. Though the meal – and to a lesser degree, the celebrations – had been wonderful, they left Ogen with a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

Celebrating this day with anyone but his wife had always left him feeling slightly wrong. But then, she wasn't around for him to celebrate with anymore. And he knew very well that she would have wanted him to enjoy himself wherever he found himself celebrating the day.

And yet, something about doing just that felt… wrong.

Lost in thoughts, once again, of Melyssa, Ogen almost missed Alfyn's knocking on his inn door.

"What do you want now, Alfyn?" Ogen asked somewhat ungraciously as he opened the door and saw the lad there again.

"I never got to give you my gift." He smiled, though it wasn't that same bright, beaming grin that Ogen had seen on his face all night. No, it was more subdued, sombre even as he produced a small, wrapped box from behind his back.

"You didn't have to… I didn't get you anything." Ogen mumbled in thanks as he took the box.

"No worries!" Alfyn chuckled, though that look on his face was still a little melancholy. "I didn't expect you would. I just, I thought you'd like this."

A little confused, Ogen opened the box and looked at the small vial inside. Pulling it out and holding it up to the candle light, Ogen could see that its contents was not medicinal but rather a small collection of seeds. And the pressed petal tied to the cork of the vial was one recognised at a glance.

"Mind-Me-Always seeds..." Tears standing so clearly in his eyes as he looked at the lad, the words that came out of his mouth were once again not a thank you. "Alfyn, where in the world did you-?"

"Tressa found some for me." He answered before he could even ask, taking a deep breath before he spoke again. "I suspected you always spent the holidays with your wife, which is why you don't celebrate them anymore. But, well, I didn't want you to be lonely!"

Ogen was left quite utterly speechless by Alfyn's kindness. In fact, so speechless was he that the only way he could think to thank the young apothecary was to bring him in for a hug.

"Well shucks!" Alfyn laughed as he hugged Ogen back, now nearly in tears himself. "Your welcome, Ogen. And your welcome here anytime!"

Breaking away from him and looking at the vial of seeds in his hand, Ogen could only think of one thing to say to Alfyn to express how truly grateful he was. "I'm… I'm grateful to have met you, Alfyn. And I know, wherever he is now, Graham is proud of the man that boy he saved became."

"...Shucks." Alfyn turned abruptly away, trying to hide the tears as they fell down his face. "Thanks, Ogen."

"Happy Bifelgan's day." Ogen said, already making plans to return to Clearbrook for these celebrations next year, if only so he could get Alfyn a gift tor truly show his thanks.