Day 2: Snowy Hills and Snowy Falls
Bell had taken special care to wake up early and quietly. This was not something for the rest of the Familia, just for someone special to him. He crept down the halls, trying to drag a large object behind him. This was hard to do, given the very nature of the thing and how many of his Familia were early risers. Mikoto probably wouldn't say anything, but Hestia and Lili would. Haruhime was actually the only deep sleeper. Her time in the Pleasure District had trained her to be a night owl, and that internal clock was still changing.
Finally, though, Bell found his way to where he really needed to be. He gave a couple soft knocks on the door, and when he didn't get an answer, he slowly pushed it open. Inside there was nothing, so Bell sighed and consigned himself to his fate. He began sneaking his way down the stairs when his large package dropped from his hands. The sound was muffled but was still enough for Mikoto to pop her head from the kitchen where she was making breakfast. Bell held up a finger to his lips, his eyes pleading for secrecy. Mikoto looked at the object on the ground and then back up at Bell. She gestured with her thumb to the outside, towards the forge, and he nodded. Mikoto smiled before ducking back into the kitchen. She walked back out with a small cloth sack.
"Provisions for your day," she said. "Simple food that the two of you can enjoy."
With that, she walked back to the kitchen. She gave one more thumb up to Bell. He hoped that she would explain the situation to the others when they woke up.
Bell threw the food over his shoulder and picked up the original source of the commotion. He took them both outside before walking to the forge. He could start to feel the heat and hear the hammering a smithing hammer from outside. It was welcome, though, as the snow on the ground was beginning to nip at Bell. He knocked on the door.
"Yeah, give me a second," was the muffled response.
Only a moment later was Welf poking his head out the door. When he saw Bell, a small smile graced his features.
"What's up, Bell?" Welf's eyes focused on what he was carrying. "And what is that thing?"
Bell displayed it proudly. "It's called a sled. You ride it down hills of snow and stuff. I found it yesterday at the market!"
Orario was in the middle of winter now, so finding the sled was easier than Bell thought. And with some pointed questions around town, he could see where to go pretty quickly. Now, he just needed to convince Welf to join him.
Welf took one look at the sled and sighed. He stepped out of the forge and scratched the back of his head. "Listen, Bell, I appreciate the thought. Honestly, it's sweet of you to think so, but I don't know if this is really something we should do. We're both a little old for this kind of stuff, yeah?"
Bell frowned. "Welf, we're not even twenty. I'm pretty sure no one would complain if we went sledding out in the hills outside Orario. Besides, everyone does it. Even the Guild lets adventurers and citizens leave for that." He held up the sled. "Come on, you've even been before! How do you know that you won't love it!"
Welf let out a deep breath from his nose. He considered his options, scratching his chin with his hand. Finally, he shook his head and gave Bell a wry smile.
"Yeah, ok, let's go give this a try then," said the blacksmith.
Later, when the sun was entirely in the sky, the two adventurers found their way to the hills outside Orario. Around them were children and parents having a good time. There were also some adventurers, though, enjoying the thrill of rollicking down the hill.
Welf took heart in that he was not alone. He felt a little embarrassed about the whole ordeal, but he didn't want to wreck Bell's enthusiasm. He had only told Bell and the rest of Hestia Familia his little sob story a week ago anyway. The only thing he had mentioned was that he had never gone sledding while living as a kid in Rakia, and after coming to Orario, he had never seen a need to do it. Apparently, everyone else in the Familia had done it at some point. Haruhime had been taken sledding by Mikoto when they were kids, Hestia did it up in Heaven, and Lili did it once while conning someone. Welf was alone in his lack of sledding.
He thought that it would amount to nothing. That it was just going down a hill reasonably fast. He had never been so wrong.
The exhilaration he felt when he was sledding with Bell was something magical. The two of them had the time of their lives, and every time they crashed, they laughed it off. Welf got snow in places he didn't think could get snow. Later that day, when they returned home, Lili reprimanded Bell for spending money on the sled. But then the prum saw Welf's face and said that all was forgiven.
The smith had found his new favourite activity for the Holidays. And he was going to share it with everybody.
The End
Hestia pulled back from her latest creation. It was an image of two brothers going down a hill, arms thrown up in the air without a care in the world. She nodded, happy at her work.
"Those two can be really stupid sometimes, huh?" she asked.
Her smile only grew. "Still, though, I'm glad that they enjoyed themselves. We don't always get to do what we want or act the way we please. So, I'm happy Welf found his way if only just a little bit."
She placed it next to the Christmas tree. The quilt grew.
