Yuletide Night, Mortal Fright
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Chise looked up from the tome she had been perusing, at the sound of crunching ice on the path below her window. Standing, she wiped the condensation from the glass to reveal Elias, making his way back to the house with a bundle beneath his arm. Chise turned, as Ruth, who was snoozing on the floor, opened his eye.
"He's back?"
"Yes. He said he had something planned for decorating the house this Christmas," she replied before stopping at the open door. She looked back, "he seemed eager to try it this year. I think he's enjoying Yuletide more, now I'm- we're here."
Ruth got up with a yawn and nodded. The two made their way downstairs, as Silky opened the door for Elias.
"Elias," Chise exclaimed, before reaching the bottom of the stairs. Elias looked up from wiping his shoes.
"Chise. I'm home," he said, in his rigid manner. He looked down to the bundle beneath his arm. "I brought straw."
"Straw for what?" asked Chise, as Silky took Elias' coat for him. Lifting the veil from his face, Elias motioned to the sitting room.
"I asked the Silver Lady to prepare," he said, before brushing some loose straw from his waistcoat and continuing through. "I have apologised in advance for the mess…"
Chise furrowed her eyebrows, although his vague responses were almost customary by now. "We're making decorations then?" she asked, as she approached the table. Silky had prepared a number of tools and materials.
"We are making Yule Goats. It is something I have wanted to try, but I never felt the urge before," explained Elias as he took a seat. Chise sat down opposite him. "I went to see a farmer today, to get the straw necessary."
"What's a Yule Goat?"
Elias looked up. "In Scandinavia, straw from the harvest was used to make goats, a symbol of Thor. It is thought to bring good luck for the next harvest. I thought it would be nice to observe this tradition."
"But I thought these traditions only held power in their homeland?" said Chise, as she looked over the red ribbon.
"Yes. But England is also a home to the Germanic gods; the old tribes of Scandinavia and Germany brought their traditions with them, when they settled Britain, as did the Vikings. While it may not be so prevalent today in England, such things are still at home in this land."
"I see," said Chise, as Elias unfurled the bundle, casting stray straw across the floor and table.
"So, we take a small bunch of the straw, and form it into the form of a goat, and tie it all together with this red ribbon," explained Elias, as he carefully folded the stalks of straw into shape; threading in more to form extremities. After a few minutes, he set it down carefully, and a little goat stood upon the table. Before the ribbon slipped and it unfurled suddenly.
"Oh dear," Chise smiled, before taking a bunch of straw herself to have a go.
Elias cocked his head, before reclaiming the ruined goat and trying again. After a few moments of salvaging it, Elias placed it back down on the table, and tapped it with a glowing finger; the ribbons tightened themselves in place.
"I saw that."
"Saw what?" asked Elias.
"You're cheating with magic."
"I'm more concerned with the result than the process," he replied, and folded his arms. Chise exhaled with a slight smile, as she took her time with her goat. It was harder than it looked, but Silky had brought out a book with an illustration of how it was supposed to go, so the pattern was easy enough to follow.
"There," she announced, as she finished tying the red ribbon. Elias leaned in to look at the goat, and nodded his head. "Let's make a few more, there's plenty of straw."
"Yes. Let's," said Elias, as he took another bunch. An hour passed, and together the two of them had crafted a total of eight goats, plus the one Silky made as she took a break from cleaning. Ruth looked up and sniffed them out of habit. "Good. Now we have appeased the gods."
"Wait, what?" blurted Chise, thinking back to the last time they met gods.
Elias stood up. "The Green Knight told me that the Wild Hunt rides tonight. I'd very much like it if they left us alone. Come, let's place them beside the fire," he said, before gathering them. Chise had just finished tying a bow on the last one's collar, as he announced his actual intentions.
"The Wild Hunt?" repeated Chise, as she stood up. Silky immediately pounced at the opportunity to clean up.
Elias turned. "During Yuletide, Odin rides the night sky with his ghostly procession, and sometimes visits people. He is the origin of Father Christmas. Regardless, I'd rather not have a god in my house."
"Noted," replied Chise with a nod. She brought her goats over to the hearth and arranged them on the mantelpiece and around the fire itself. "Well, I hope they do bring good luck regardless."
"Hmm. I enjoyed making them," affirmed Elias. He turned to watch Silky hurry off to the hissing kettle in the kitchen. "The Silver Lady has prepared mince pies."
Chise smiled. "I think it's going to be a good Christmas this year," she said, and Elias cocked his head.
"I thought every Christmas was a good Christmas?" Elias pondered, as he tapped his chin. "Although, I wouldn't know. I've only had one."
"Which one was that?" asked Chise, concerned.
"Last year."
Chise gave a peculiar frown followed with a gentle nod. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, but knew it would be alright from now on. "Same," she said, after a moment more.
Elias' jaw was slightly agape, the look he made when he was surprised. He affirmed his regular, stoic expression. "I see. Well then, we must make sure we have a good Christmas from now on."
"I agree," said Chise with a grin. "Let's do that."
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Chise awoke to the flicker of lights; ghostly, green-tinted lights that turned her dark bedroom into a gentle aurora. Ruth's ears perked up, at a distant clacking. Chise looked to him and opened her mouth to speak, but Ruth held up his paw.
Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, Chise looked back through the window. The lights were like a crashing wave across the horizon, and the clacking turned to clopping hooves; like a number of horses in perfect sync. For a moment, the sound stopped, and the lights in the sky began to spiral, as if it was waiting to continue its ride. A great thud jolted the sleep from Chise's mind and she stood up.
Ruth motioned for her to follow, and she did her best to be as silent as possible. Creeping down the stairs, Chise peered to her left to see Silky holding her finger up to her lips, and her other hand indicating to the sitting room. Gently, Chise peeked around the doorframe to see what was the matter.
A large man, covered from head to toe in a deep blue hood stood in front of the mantelpiece, watching the embers in the hearth crackle and cool. His head turned slightly to the left; almost imperceptible, but Chise knew that he knew she was there. Leaning forwards, the man picked up the Yule Goat she had made first, and turned it over in his gnarled hands. Chise looked down to Ruth, who was as stiff as a board, before glancing back. He was gone.
Looking up at the ceiling, the clatter of hooves raced off towards the dancing lights, until it was a distant drumming that soon faded.
Silky popped her head around as well, and spooked Chise. "Oh, Silky!" Silky smiled, then pointed back up the stairs. "Good idea, I don't want to be tired tomorrow," she said, still processing what she had just witnessed. Climbing the stairs carefully, as to not wake Elias, Chise frowned. The mysterious man had taken the Yule Goat with him.
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"…and then he disappeared," explained Chise, as Elias sat opposite her at the kitchen table. "I thought he was supposed to leave a gift?"
Elias gave a low grumbling and he couched his chin. "We presented an offering to him, he has no such obligations. Perhaps I did the opposite of what I intended."
"What was that?"
"To keep him away. No matter. Perhaps the 'gift' is now you're known to him. An offering crafted by a Sleigh Beggy is no doubt valuable to him. In hindsight, of all gods to be watching over you, Odin is perhaps the most valuable."
"How come?"
"He is the god of wisdom and knowledge, something that is most important to an aspiring mage. Perhaps we should call this visit a blessing."
Chise nodded. "I'm sure there's worse gods to invite into your home."
"Absolutely."