Day 21: Making a Snowman

Ais wandered Orario, trying to enjoy the snowfall and Winter atmosphere. The rest of her Familia had been busy with their own Christmas preparations, and Riveria said she had to do the same. But Ais didn't have any idea what that meant. It's not that Ais hated Christmas or the holiday season, but she just didn't know what to do. Even when the rest of her Familia celebrated Christmas, Ais just sort of stood around and watched. Sometimes she would have fun, but she would just stand around awkwardly more often than not. But that had its own charm, she supposed. Now, though, she was trying to find her own way of celebrating Christmas. The first thought that entered her mind was finding Bell and training with him.

So, she took off towards the Hearth Manor but found that no one was home. Then, she went to the Dungeon, thinking that his Familia was inside. Ais would wait outside for him and then grab him to go training. But she had run into that Guild Advisor, Eina, who had told her that Bell had not in fact entered the Dungeon. That had not left many places for Ais to check, so she was wandering now. She would do whatever it took to find that hidden bunny.

The next spot she would check was the parks. Ais thought that Bell could possibly be training with his Familia in one of the large green spaces around Orario. She had checked the two on the Northside and was now making her way south. That was when she finally spotted a familiar head of white hair.

"Bunny," said Ais, a smile twitching at her lips. "I mean Bell."

The Sword Princess picked up her pace, going at a jog towards the boy. She saw that the rest of Hestia Familia was also there, playing in the snow. The renard girl and the far eastern girl were making snow angels. The smith and the pallum were making while Goddess Hestia watched. Bell had stopped moving and just smiled at his Familia.

Ais jogged up behind him, not realizing that her adventurer instincts made her move silently through the snow. So, when she ended up behind Bell and tapped him on the shoulder, it was to her surprise that he practically jumped three feet in the air. Which was not an exaggeration. With his level 4 status, Bell really could jump that high. Ais stood passively and waited for Bell to land and calm down. He did a bit of shouting, and his Familia turned to watch. They waved hello to Ais and watched Bell scramble to try and gather his marbles back together.

After five minutes of watching, Hestia Familia turned and got back to what they were doing. They left Ais alone while she continued to watch Bell run around. Finally, he ran face-first into a tree and fell backwards unconscious. Ais smiled as she got down on her knees and placed his head into her lap. She absentmindedly ran her hands through his hair. She was aware of some of Hestia Familia staring at her, but there was less malic than usual. Possibly because of the holidays? It didn't really matter, though.

Twenty minutes later, Bell returned to the waking world. He blinked and then tried to lift his head. Ais held him firmly in place, though. She frowned down at him.

"You kept me waiting," said Ais. "I wanted to find you and hang out."

She thought that 'hang out' was the correct phrase. She had heard the members of Loki Familia use that phrase before, so hopefully, she was getting it right.

"What do you mean, hang out?" replied Bell.

"Riveria says that I need to do something fun during Christmas…but the only thing I thought was fun was training with you," explained Ais. "But you don't look like you're training."

Bell shook his head from Ais's lap, obviously uncomfortable. When she warned him about running away, Ais let Bell sit up. She watched him, glaring at him to make sure he stayed in place.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Bell.

Ais shrugged. "I don't know what to do." She looked at the rest of Hestia Familia, playing in the snow. "What are you doing with your Familia?"

"Mostly just playing," replied Bell. "I was going to make a snowman; do you want to make it with me?"

Ais smiled and nodded. The two of them stood up and walked into the snow. The Sword Princess spent a fair amount of time asking questions. She had no idea what a snowman was, so Bell explained that. Then, Bell had to explain how a snowman was made. Ais nodded along, and the two adventurers got to work.

Due to the statuses on their back, they could roll their snowballs bigger than the others. Then they lifted them up and started stacking them. They stacked three large piles of snow on top of each other and ran off to find sticks for the arms. Ais had never remembered having this much fun before. And whenever she looked over at Bell, she felt her cheeks get warm. Which was weird since it was the middle of Winter. Ais didn't understand why she felt so warm in the snow.

"So, now we have to find a scarf, top hat, and some buttons," said Bell. "And we should probably get a carrot."

Ais nodded along, still not quite getting why they needed clothing and food for a snowman. Bell said that it added to the image of the snowman and was part of the tradition. Ais just went with it.

Ais walked around Orario until she found an old man walking down the street. She walked up to him and pointed at his hat.

"Can I have that, please?" she asked.

The old man blinked before taking his hat off his head. He didn't want to say no to the Sword Princess, but he was also a little confused.

"Can I ask why," said the man. "I don't mean to be rude, but I really like this hat."

"My…" and Ais paused because she didn't know if she and Bell were actually friends. "A boy told me to get one for a snowman we're making."

And for some reason, Ais did not understand in the slightest, the old man laughed. He handed her the hat.

"Ah, well, that makes then. I supposed I must do my part for this boy, whoever he is," replied the man. "Tell him that I said good luck. And just drop the hat off at café down the street; I work there."

Ais nodded and thanked the man, bowing low. She also asked him where she could find buttons, and he pointed her in the right direction. With a smile on his face, he waved goodbye as she left. Ais waved as well and then bought the buttons. She returned to find Bell had the carrot and the scarf. Both of them had been a gift from Syr, apparently.

"And now," said Bell. "We put it all together."

Bell put the top hat, pushed the carrot in, and threw the scarf around its neck. When all was said and done, Ais was happy with her snowman. She asked Bell if they could make another, and he agreed. The two of them spent the day making snow people, and Ais found herself a new Christmas tradition.

The End

Hestia looked down at her new creation, happy to see Bell happy. But then she looked around still finding herself alone in the room. Hestia knew that she might be alone for Christmas, but the loneliness still stung.