Though the air had grown quite cold with all the snow that came several nights ago, everyone remained cheerful and made the best of the impending season of winter. Even if it wasn't as enjoyable as the days in early autumn were, where the temperatures were neither too hot nor too cold, to see snowflakes falling through the air was a blissful sight.
Among those excited for the changing seasons was Isabelle, who watched the feathery ice crystals as they descended from the sky. This time of the year really reminded her the Town Hall back at the town she called home, which she was in charge of decorating for the holidays that approached each year. She always tried her best to get the animal residents there to be in the most festive spirits possible, and the falling snow around Smash Mansion reminded her of that.
She took a walk down the front steps of the mansion and down the cobblestone walkway. Standing underneath the glow of the lamppost that had been placed at where the passageway ended, cutting out into the thick snow, she looked further out onto the land in which the grand place sat upon.
Isabelle returned her attention back to the mansion and observed all of the twinkling lights on the roof and all over the front of it. The folks that helped get this place ready for the holidays earlier in the day sure did a marvelous job in her book, and she just couldn't but smile every time she looked at it when the lights turned on.
The ornamental front door slowly opened, a certain lupine stepping out from the entryway and out into the cold. Wolf shivered as he zipped up the thick tactical jacket he was wearing, his breath able to seen as he muttered a sigh. He placed his hands into his pockets and slowly walked out towards Isabelle, standing not too far away from where she was. He joined in on looking at the Christmas lights that continued to sparkle beautifully into the frosty night.
"Aren't they the prettiest things you've ever seen?" Isabelle asked him.
Wolf simply nodded his head, a faint smile visible across his face. "They sure are something," he replied. "You know, up until the time I came to the place and joined this tournament some time ago, I had never seen Christmas lights on a house before."
"You never saw Christmas lights?" Isabelle repeated out of disbelief. She had always went out to see displays of lights almost her entire life, so the honest remark from Wolf actually surprised her a bit.
The lupine shrugged as he continued to look back at the mansion. "To be completely honest with you, I'm still not entirely sure what the whole Christmas thing is all about. I never celebrated it until I came here either. I was raised by space pirates that taught me a bunch about thievery, so I guess you could say I've always been about gift getting rather than gift giving."
"Gosh…" the dog said to herself in a hushed voice, shocked that he had never observed the greatest holiday of the year until he arrived the this mansion. Looking back over at him, she asked, "So what it's like traveling through space, going on all those exciting adventures in that airship?"
"Well," Wolf answered, "one thing that's for certain is that there's no sense of time when you're traveling from planet to planet. You never think about how vast the galaxy is because you're down here, but if you were flying an airship way up there, I'm sure it would take your breath away."
"Are some of the planets very colorful?" Isabelle inquired, that question suddenly popping into her mind just then while he was on the topic. "I can imagine that some of 'em are."
"Yeah, some of them are pretty vibrant. You just don't get to take a moment to pay attention to it when you're on a mission, though. When you're leading a mercenary team and trying to stop you rivals, enjoying the sights of the planets in orbit has to be something you put aside. The only thing that should be on your mind is what your on the hunt for, and not stopping until you've finished what you set out to do."
"I think I know what you mean. One time back where I came from, there was this bright blue butterfly that always floated around the town. I have no idea how many times I tried to catch that thing my net, but I couldn't think about anything else until I did just that."
The little story from her managed to get Wolf to chuckle. "It's like that for me. Instead of a butterfly, though, I'm trying to conquer an entire star system." He then looked over at her and asked, "What about you? What's it like at that town that you and Villager are from? With all those little animals that are all friendly and help each other, I'm sure there's never a bad day for you there."
"There's happy days a majority of the year," Isabelle replied, "but there always is that occasion where somebody can be in a bad mood. As much as I'm not a fan of conflict, there's been times where Villager and I've had to resolve complaints or arguments between neighbors. But it always ends on a positive in the end and everybody goes to back to being kind to one another."
Suddenly recalling something that he nearly failed to remember about, Wolf remarked, "Oh, I almost forgot something. I left it inside. Just wait here and I'll be right back."
Isabelle patiently stood under the glow of the lamppost, trying to catch snowflakes onto her tongue. A moment after he first stepped inside, Wolf walked back out into the night, both arms behind his back as he returned to where he was standing before.
"What are you doing?" the lupine chuckled, wondering just what it was she was trying to do just then.
"Have you ever tried to catch snowflakes on your tongue?" Isabelle replied. "It's pretty fun."
"Never did that before, but I guess I'll give it a shot." Wold stuck out his tongue just as some of the snowflakes continued to fall around him, managing to get successfully get one.
The yellow dog to his left giggled. "Taste pretty snow-y, doesn't it?" she joked.
"A bit cold and flavorless," Wolf remarked in reply. "Perhaps it's because this is the first snow we've gotten this year. Maybe we'll give it awhile and see if tastes better then."
"So what was it you remembered a little bit ago?" Isabelle asked.
"I already told you that I'm not that great when it comes to the whole gift giving thing." Wolf put his arms back out in front of him, revealing that he had been holding a white box with a red bow on the top behind his back. "But I figured that I'd give that a go as well. Consider this an early holiday gift from me."
Isabelle took the box from the lupine and held it carefully in her paws. "Wolf," she said, "you shouldn't have."
"Well, open it up. I hope you like it."
The dog did exactly that, delicately opening the top of the box to reveal what was placed inside of it. Inside of it was something that looked like it had been crafted out of shaved wood, with little carved designs on the top of it. Taking it out from out of package it was safely nestled in, she noticed a tiny silver crank on the side of it, getting an idea of what it was he gifted her.
"A music box?" she said with a smile.
"Custom made," Wolf replied informatively, holding up a finger.
Isabelle held the music box closer to her and started to turn the little crank, the light, whimsical sound of music notes starting to play as she did this. Her mouth hung open in surprise upon realizing what it played. It was the notes that belonged to one of her favorites she used to listen to when she worked at that Town Hall. The smile across her face grew warmer, being reminded of where she called home when she gave it a listen.
"H-How did you get this?" she asked, remaining absolutely astonished at the amazing gift.
"I got a little help from Villager," Wolf explained. "I thought a music box would be something unique to give as a gift, and he helped offered one for me. I can't craft anything with wood worth a damn, so I knew he'd be helpful given his expertise with that sort of thing. Since that's the tune from that Slider fella you introduced me to, I figured that should be what the music box plays."
Isabelle picked the box back up and nestled the music box back inside it for safe keeping. "Thank you, Wolf," she said. "I love it!" She then remembered something herself and looked back up at Wolf like she had just hatched an idea. "Oh, that reminds me of something as well," she said to him, reaching into the pocket of her coat and pulling out something that had been wrapped in bright red paper. "Surprise gift exchange!"
Wolf took what she had handed him and held it in his paw, the object enclosed in the festive wrapping paper feeling pretty light. "You… got something for me?" he asked.
"I was holding onto it for awhile now," Isabelle explained, "and since you gave me such a wonderful gift, I thought I'd give this to you early as well. I know my wrapping isn't the prettiest, but I hope you like it."
The lupine held the small, wrapped-up gift to his ear as he playfully gave it a shake, unsure of what it could be. He then started to unwrap it as delicately as he possibly could, slowly revealing what was unveiled a small stone that looked like quartz with a four-leaf clover engraved on it.
"I know it's not very big," Isabelle informed, "but I thought you could keep it as a little good luck charm from me. You know, during the tournament coming up and stuff. I know that's probably just the DIY in me talking, but I even thought you could find a way to put on the side of that blaster you use."
Wolf placed the small stone into his pocket and nodded his head. "That's actually a pretty good idea," he replied. "I'll be sure to keep this on me whenever those battles come about. Might finally give me the extra power I need to defeat King K. Rool. That damn croc's not as great as he thinks he is, because he"—he flipped the stone in the air and caught it in his paw—"don't have a new secret weapon like I do."
The dog beside him suddenly reached forward and giving him the biggest hug she could. "So glad that we became such good friends."
Originally never being the hugging type, Wolf was a bit surprised to be receiving one from her. "If anything, I oughta be thanking you," he remarked with a chuckle. "Sure, I might always be a villain deep down, but you ended up teaching me a thing or two about kindness and, y'know, stuff like that."
And that couldn't have been anymore truthful for him. Had it not been for her teaching him about that sort of thing, he would have never found himself enjoying a time of year that was about giving instead of getting.
Author's Note: Hey there, everybody! Since the holidays are only a short time away, I thought it was about time I come up with something to write about with them in mind. Also felt like writing something involved Wolf and Isabelle, since I just really like that ship and enjoy writing about them together.
Don't have anything else to really say this time around, so I hope you all enjoy this little story of mine. Your feedback, whether good or bad, is gladly appreciated.
'Til next time! :)