Christmas.
Easily the most magical time of year, if their father was to be believed. Aster didn't see it the same way, but Tooth could almost agree with North when she saw how excited Jack was.
Sandy was over-he practically lived at their house-and they were both talking over what they wanted to get, babbling excitedly in their sign language. It was Christmas Eve still, but they couldn't wait. Tooth understood more of their signs now, but surely Jack wasn't really saying he wanted to talk to the moon...right?
Then again, this was Jack. He'd always had an odd fascination with the moon.
Sandy was looking dubiously at him and gently signing something that Tooth guessed was probably 'Jack, the moon isn't a person.' Though it could just as well have been 'Why just talk? Why not live on the moon?'
Tooth herself was hoping to get a tablet, so she could finally move her art onto her computer and digitalize it. She loved drawing grand castles, reaching up to or even hidden within the sky, and fairies and birds all over the place.
Aster claimed he didn't want anything, which meant that he wanted CDs from his favorite band (which he said he hated, but they all knew better), more paint or canvases, and new running shoes. Tooth had gotten him an empty box, too, just for fun.
North...was difficult to buy gifts for. He had an endless fascination with everything under the sun, so anything he got would make him sincerely happy, but what he wanted...that was difficult. By all appearances, all he wanted was to continue selling toys and being with his family, and they had all gotten him wood carving sets and the like far too many times-even Sandy had done it. Tooth had eventually harangued Aster into polling his funds with the rest of them to get two real scimitar-esque broadswords from an antique shop. North always refused to talk about the days before he started randomly adopting children with a smile and a wink, but Tooth was convinced that he had been a swordsman.
Sandy would have been hard to buy for, if not for Jack. He had made her promise not to tell anyone, but Sandy loved mermaids. She had to swear to give him his book on mermaidology in secret after the rest of the presents were opened, or Jack would be sad and betrayed at her. He was so cute with his little face and big blue eyes, that was a legitimate threat!
Which brought her spiraling back to Jack. He was adorable, and even more so when he was happy, and she wanted to get him the perfect gift. It was his first Christmas with his family, too! So it had to be perfect for a little boy. What did little boys like?
Jack liked her fairies, and snowflakes, and stories. He loved fairy tales. He liked Sandy, and his new friend Jamie, and walking sticks. Gah! None of this was doing any good, and Christmas was tomorrow! Tooth felt like pulling her hair out.
Aster was getting him a lovely picture book he'd made with watercolors, North was making him a babushka nesting doll...Tooth couldn't make anything for him! Well, she could give him a fairy, but she'd done that for his birthday only a week or so ago. He had loved it-he'd named it Baby Tooth and carried it around with him everywhere, which was too sweet for her to handle-but she didn't want to just do the same thing again. What if he was disappointed? What if he didn't like it?!
Tooth took deep breaths. Her panicking was only garnering her odd looks from her family, and she needed to think.
Think, think...come on, she willed herself, think!
But what to do? Maybe a walk would help-Jack liked nature, so maybe she'd get inspired if she went to the park.
She jumped out of her chair and headed to the door, pulling her shoes and coat on as she went.
"I'm going to take a walk, I'll be right back!" She called, already halfway out the door.
"Be back for suppertime!" North called back.
Tooth wandered around the park for two whole hours without figuring anything out. She sighed, frustrated with herself-she wanted to get this right!
Maybe she should just ask Sandy or give him another fairy or something. She was getting pretty desperate.
She cursed as she tripped over a protruding root on the ground. Why didn't people pave these paths?
On her knees on the ground, she looked around herself. She was here, alone, in the middle of a stupid abandoned park in the dark of an early winter sunset, and it was Christmas Eve, and she couldn't even find a decent gift for her own little brother. How pathetic was that?
Suddenly, she felt all of her frustration and uncertainty condense onto that one spot.
This is so stupid! Why can't I do this one thing right!?
She cradled her forehead in her hands. She could feel her eyes tearing up. She didn't know how to be a big sister, Jack would probably be better off with someone else in his family, she just...
Wait.
Below and in front of her, just a little, was a stick. A long, straight stick.
She followed the line of the stick, feeling an idea begin to bud in her mind.
It had a crook at the end, like a shepherd's hook.
Like a walking stick.
Like the kind of walking stick Jack was always looking for. He had always said he'd wanted a perfect walking stick, right?
This was...perfect.
It was absolutely perfect!
Tooth picked herself up, wiping her eyes. She knew what she was going to do!
On Christmas morning, North was fascinated by his swords, swinging them one way and the other, and Aster gave Tooth a Look when he got an empty box, but was glad to have his new canvases, and Sandy was charmingly shy about his love of mermaids, but Tooth was most proud of her present to Jack. He took one look at the shepherd's crook she'd made by cutting and sanding the stick and adored it. She'd stayed up all night coaxing the piece of wood into perfection, and now it was a perfect-if a little tall-walking stick for Jack.
He looked up at her with big, adoring eyes.
"Thanks, big sister!"
I fail at liiiife and cannot write. This is established. You do not need to tell me this.
That said, this...probably could have been worse...
Maybe...
I tried, okay? This goes out to magiccatpriness, who was evil and put plot bunnies in my head to breed.