"I just want you for my own~ More than you could ever know~" Weiss sang, to pass the time. It appeared she was immune to embarrassment, if Blake was nearby, even when they were in public.

"Make my wish come tru~ue~, Blakey all I want for Stantaclausmas is you~!" Weiss hugged Blake. Blake allowed it.

"That's very nice, Weiss sweetie," said mum Schnee, "But we're at the front of the line now, so you should stop singing and go ahead and tell the Santaclause your wish."

"Oh!" Weiss said. She turned to Blake. "Yay, Blake! Did you think of your wish yet?"

They were currently in that soulless conglomerate super-store, waiting in line to visit the Santaclause on it's fancy throne carved from the bones of naughty children, and to and whisper their holiday avarice into it's wicked, noisome ear.

Weiss led Blake by the hand up the stairs, to the base of the throne, then she stopped and she frowned.

"Hey!" Weiss said to the woolly monster, on a chair decorated with plastic bones, "I thought you said you weren't also the Santaclause!"

The human on the fancy chair blinked a couple times and adjusted her glasses. "You know I'm only a woman in a costume, right? The real Santaclause-" she glanced at Weiss's parents, "-lives in the heart of the world, in a cage of corpses, keeping the souls of naughty children prisoner."

Weiss frowned. "I was pretty sure the Santaclause lives in a magic toy factory where all the souls of naughty children work of the karmic debt of their sins creating the toys the Santaclause rewards good children."

The woman in a costume pointed at Weiss. "That too."

"bah."

Weiss looked scandalized. She turned to Blake. "Where's your Santaclausetide spirit, Blake?" Weiss said. She rested her head on Blake's shoulder, briefly.

"humbug."

"Blake nooooo!" Weiss clutched Blake, "If you don't believe, then an androgynous angel of indeterminate age with a head of flame will show you spoookky visions of everything you regret in life," Weiss waved her hands, "And then a jolly giant in a crown set with icicles will show you spoookkkyy vissioonnnsss of other people who are happier than you," Weiss pulled Blake besides her and painted an imaginary panorama with her free hand, "and a dark psychopomp with a TV for a head will show you spooooookkky visssionsss of how you're gonna die aloooonnnneeee~" Weiss made spooky noises and wiggled her fingers.

Blake blinked.

Weiss smushed her mouth and furrowed her brow. "And, it's probably gonna happen too, Blake, because most likely, all three of them will just be the tooth fairy in different costumes, and she's right here, " Weiss pointed at the tooth fairy in a shopping mall Santaclause costume.

Blake turned to the tooth fairy.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that," said the tooth fairy in the Santaclause costume. "And I am, indeed, right here, so you're gonna wanna make your Santaclausemas wish soon."

"Stantaclausmas is merely a bitter collusion of status-conscious gift-guilting, enforced proximity to people you hate, and cold weather."

"But gifts are a medium to express feelings, Blake!" Weiss said. She hugged Blake. "Through the helpful commodification of feelings by the tireless work of such noble international corporations such as Corporate Mouse or The Linkage Enabled Gadget Organization Company (they make choking hazards!), what used to be complex, nuanced emotions that took artful prose and long, honest conversations to convey now can be distilled into a single 20-40 lien purchase, usually with opportunities for growth and tie-ins to existing brands!" Weiss said. She hugged Blake with one arm and put her head beside Blake's. Weiss waved her arm out, painting an imaginary panorama. "Santaclausenaught is a time of love, and family, and the ability to partake in the same cultural and material touchstones and thus become closer to one another, through the ritual materialism of modern, Altesian culture!"

Weiss turned to the Santaclause. "Tell her, Ms. the Santaclause! Make Blake see the true meaning of Santaclausemas, but not with the ghost costumes."

"It's, ah, Mz, actually," said Mz. Santaclause, "And I'm afraid neither of you had it completely right. In actuallity, during the Winter Solstice, each Hunter in a tribe would chop down a tree to be gathered in the center of the tribe to be set alight. While the bonfire burned -which was often 12 days, which is why we celebrate 12 days of Santaclause- gambling would be permitted, normal social institutions would be defunct, and while the tribe slept, the Santaclause would crawl out of the holes in the world to eat the sins of children while they slept- and if the child was too naughty, their entire being would be consumed by the Santaclause! However, sentient beings grew too numerous for the Santaclause's appetite, and the noisome creature would haul the leftover sin in a gundersack made from lambskin and awkward conversations, but occasionally the sins would escape, and become tGrimm. Thus, tribes slaughtered and skinned lambs and demanded families eat the lambsmeat with estranged family members, so the Santaclause could repair its gundersack."

Weiss winked. She opened her mouth, and she closed her mouth.

"It's a pagan holiday, Weiss," said the woman in the costume.

"But-"

"Alas," The woman gestured to the long line of annoyed parents behind Blake and the Schnee's, "The other mall-goers are getting impatient, so you're going to have to wish for something very soon."

Weiss moved Blake towards the shopping mall Santaclause. "Go on Blakey, make your Santaclausenacht wish!"

Blake breathed. "racial equality."

The shopping mall Santaclause smushed her mouth. "That might be a little beyond my capacity to grant, I'm afraid."

"empathy for all sentient beings."

"Ah- perhaps maybe go for something in the 20-40 lien range?"

Blake scrunched her mouth to the side and looked at the ceiling as she thought about the commercially available materialistic possession in the 20-40 lien range that she wanted most.

"smoked tuna."

"I can do that." The Santaclause pulled a piece of smoked tuna out of the adjacent gundersack and presented it to Blake.

Blake tried not to smile and she clutched the fishy to her chest. She nodded.

The shopping mall Santaclause turned to Weiss. "And what would you like, Weiss?"

Weiss hugged Blake's head. "Oh, I just want my Blakey to be happy."

Mum Schnee smiled reluctantly. Pa Schnee smiled.

The Santaclause pulled out another piece of smoked tuna out of the adjacent gundersack. "Cool; here you go."

"Yay!" Weiss jumped up on her toes. She accepted the eldritch monster's gift. "It's just what I wanted!"

Weiss held the fishy out to Blake. "Here you go, Blakey! Merry Santaclausemas!"

Blake blinked. Honestly, she was sure Weiss would wish for her scar to heal, finally. Or at least a more stylish eyepatch. Still, Blake still took the fishy, gratefully, and she eyed it hungrily.

Weiss rubbed her face on Blake's head. "I love you Blakey. Mwah!"

And then they got pushed out by an interracial couple that were trying to get their kid to the Santaclause for a wish.

Later on, after Blake managed to give Weiss the slip to use the bathroom, Blake bumped into something woolly and antediluvian.

"Hey, Blake," said the woman in the Santaclause costume, "How serious were you about wanting racial equality?"

Blake blinked. "super serious."

The shopping mall Santaclause looked around, conspiratorially. "Are you okay with potentially doing some breaking and entering?"

"oh, yeah. totally."

"Cool. When are you and Weiss free?"

After Blake was given a bath and had her teeth brushed and Weiss had her own shower, but after Weiss had dressed Blake. Which might have been a mistake, because they'd probably want to be wearing something other than pajama's if they were going to break into a forced labor factory that night.

Blake bit her lip a bit. The tooth fairy had said they should be ready at 9:00, so they had a bit, but it was probably good to let Weiss know about the plan a bit earlier than that.

"Weiss."

Weiss winked a few times. She rubbed her brow under her eyepatch, in the same motion readjusting how it lay over her face. "What is it, Blakey? Are you thirsty? Do you need to use the bathroom? Are you hungry?"

Blake looked at the window, and then at Weiss. "would you like to go on an adventure?"

Weiss winked twice, and then her eye was wide. "Oh my Dust- yes!" she hugged Blake and rubbed her head, "I'm so happy you asked me that- I know I've been the one dragging you into things, so I'm so happy you've finally asked me to go on one of your adventures! So yes," Weiss smiled and smooched Blake's nose, "Mwah! I'd love to go on an adventure with you, Blakey."

Blake smushed her mouth together. Her ears lowered.

Blake coughed. "cool. just let me use the bathroom first."