Larry Butz walked over to his stall at Gourd Lake with a saddened demeanour and his head hung low. Arriving at the stall, he examined it closely; it was just like a time long ago when Samurai Dogs were all the rage with the kids, its blue, silver and red-themed paintwork standing out as much as the Samurai Dogs' tantalising smell. Taking off his Santa hat, Larry remembered the good times he had back then- when he got to be a witness in a murder trial and help save his best friend, when he made lots of money, when he was carefree and hadn't found himself just yet…Larry wanted to go back to those times.
Unfortunately, he could not.
Larry was already earning his keep and had been for a while under the alias of Laurice Deauxnim. After deciding that his true purpose in life was that of painting and artwork, Larry took tutelage from a professional artist named Elise Deauxnim who was more than happy to take him under her wing. Within a few weeks, Larry's true talent for the arts began to shine through- but when Elise was sadly murdered in a horrible incident Larry was determined to make her proud, and took painting up as his career.
As time went on, Larry managed to earn some money from his new-found talent; enough to pay the bills and the rent, and enough for household essentials, but that was that. Larry soon found another girlfriend to keep him company- a model named Kathryn- but, only recently, she had dumped him for someone else she had fallen in love with, rendering poor Larry heart-broken. As he looked at his Santa hat accompanying his outfit, he thought of Kiyance; one of his former girlfriends, and the person who had given him the outfit for a Christmas long since past.
Larry clasped his hat tightly in his hands.
Man, if there is a Santa Claus out there- a real one, I mean- I'd like him to know that I've been a very good boy this year, and I would like someone who loves me for me and who would never dump me for the world.
…And I'd also like him to know that Ms. Luck has been a very naughty girl this year.
She neglects me all the time.
I don't want her to get any presents.
Smiling weakly, Larry rubbed his hands together to keep them warm, and then moved on to making himself a nice hot chocolate (topped with marshmallows, whipped cream and cinnamon, of course) from the shiny new machines he had bought to use in his stall.
Donning his Santa hat, Larry spotted his first customer of the day walking towards him, and he grinned widely.
OK, here we go! Let's earn some money, shall we?