Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
As soon as she finished resting up for the day, Vesa finished helping Hyness and Elfilis decorate the foyer with garland and lights by the end of the week. They even went as far as to set up an evergreen tree in the center and decorate it with garland, lights and ornaments. Elfilis figured they might fashion a real star made of Dream magic to place on top of the tree later.
At the moment, Vesa and Elfilis left the tower courtyard, with the human dressed in warm layers complete with her scarf. As they tread along the snow-coated path, she observed as the landscape was covered in snow. They watched Chillies roaming the snowy terrain while a Pengi used its icy breath to maintain the frozen lake. A Corori rolled a ball of snow along the ground. Vesa took a moment to adjust her trapper hat before she held out her hand, allowing Elfilis to grasp it.
"Say," Vesa asked, "should we stop by the castle and say hello to Dedede? You know, just to see how things are going?"
"Of course," they nodded.
Elfilis scooped Vesa into their arms and her face reddened.
"Oh?" Vesa blurted.
Elfilis took off to the air, not moving too far off the ground but still staying above the level of a tree. Vesa wrapped her arms around them as they flew above Capupu Village towards Castle Dedede, gracefully touching down at the courtyard. When Elfilis set Vesa down, they ascended the flight of stairs towards the grand front doors, nodding at the Waddle Dees.
"Hello," Vesa greeted, "is the king available?"
"He is," a knightly voice came from behind.
Elfilis bristled their tail as they glanced over their shoulder, eyes locking onto Meta Knight as he stood with his body wrapped up in his cloak.
"May we go inside?" Elfilis asked politely.
"You may," the veteran knight nodded.
With that, the doors swung open, so Vesa and Elfilis set foot into the castle and made their way to the throne room. She stared in awe as the large chamber's pillars were dressed in garland. A wreath dangled above the throne where Dedede sat while Escargon raised his eyebrow at the tall alien rodent. Vesa and Elfilis approached the penguin king and she gave him a bow of respect.
"Afternoon, Your Highness," Vesa greeted.
"Good afternoon to you both as well!" Dedede nodded with a grin.
Vesa clasped her hands in front of her.
"So how is your day going for you?" she asked.
"It's goin' quite well so far," Dedede answered, "So how about you two? Things goin' well? It's been a bit borin' around here, but as far as I am concerned, that's good news! No monsters attacking the castle, no spaceships crashin' down from the sky, no giant monster fights. The worst thing that's happened recently was that attack on the Mayor's home, but even that was dealt with right quick."
Vesa placed her hand behind her head.
"Well," Vesa clarified, "Elfilis and I will soon be heading out to a distant planet where they'll be doing some fun experiments."
Vesa made a brief gaze at Elfilis.
"Right?" she winked.
"Why yes," Elfilis agreed, "that's the plan."
Dedede rubbed his chin with intrigue.
"Well, if that's the case, do you mind if I come along?" Dedede requested, "I need somethin' to do and don't have anything else planned for today."
Escargon quickly leaned closer to Dedede and began whispering into his ear. Elfilis perked up their feelers as they picked up on the words from the king's advisor thanks to their excellent hearing.
"Sire, what are you doing?!" Escargon hissed, "a powerful mage like that 'experimenting' is going to be dangerous! I'm nervous being in the same country as them, much less going to a deserted planet with them without any witnesses!"
Dedede returned his gaze and gave Escargon a pat on the head.
"It'll be fine," Dedede reassured the snail, "you worry too much.
Dedede rose from his throne and approached the tall angelic rodent and their human girlfriend.
"I," Elfilis hesitated for a moment before they sighed, "fine."
Escargon, Vesa and Elfilis followed Dedede out of the throne room, passing by Bandee when they meandered through the corridor.
"Oh," Bandee blurted, "are you going somewhere, Your Majesty?"
"Yup," Dedede nodded, "we're going to be doing some traveling. You're in charge while we're away. Shouldn't be longer than the day."
To emphasize his point, Dedede pulled out his hammer and brandished it.
Bandee blinked twice before he adjusted his bandana.
"Well then," Bandee said, "you take care. I'm sure you can handle yourself, after all."
"We will," Dedede nodded politely.
From there, Vesa, Elfilis, Escargon and Dedede left the castle and ventured through the courtyard.
"Let's go get your Court Mage," Elfilis suggested, "she'll likely appreciate the opportunity to teach her apprentice."
Dedede paused and took a moment to think over the proposal.
"I suppose a little extra eye can be useful to detect dangers wherever we're going," Dedede agreed.
Dedede nodded at a nearby Waddle Dee, who scrambled back into the castle upon cue. They waited for several minutes before Fumu and Zan Partizanne emerged from the castle. Elfilis walked up to the thunder mage and gave her a small hug.
"How have things been going?" Elfilis asked.
Zan adjusted her scarf after Elfilis released her from their embrace.
"Things have been going well," Zan answered with a smile, "teaching Fumu has been a pleasant experience for me and has helped me brush up on some of the basics again."
"I have learned a lot," Fumu added with a serious expression, "and I'll do my best to live up to expectations for my magical abilities."
"I'm elated that things are going well," Elfilis gave a small smile, making a brief glance at the thunder mage's young apprentice.
Elfilis nodded before they gestured Vesa, Dedede, Escargon, Zan and Fumu to follow them out into the field. The tall alien rodent looked to the sky and brought out their spear. They carefully sliced a hole through space, watching as it opened up into a portal. Elfilis led the others through the portal, where they set foot in what appeared to be a tundra. They glanced around, with Elfilis spotting a few slimes which have turned solid with their exterior made of ice but retaining a jelly-like core. Vesa took notice of the evergreen trees dotting the terrain as snowflakes floated down the sky.
"This is quite scenic," Elfilis mused, glancing at the penguin and the snail, "did you two have somewhere you wanted to go?"
"Anywhere but here!" Escargon protested as he shivered, "I'm freezing in my shell!"
Dedede thought fast and pulled out a scarf and earmuffs.
"Sire," Escargon continued to object, "with all due respect, this does not cover enough of my body to keep me alive for more than two hours."
While the snail placed the earmuffs over his head and wrapped the scarf around himself, Dedede reached for some gloves and a coat.
"Did ya' think I'd forget a coat fit for a snail?" Dedede quipped.
"Yes, this also does jack squat. I stay in the castle during the winter months for a reason, sire."
While Zan guided Fumu in one direction, Vesa followed Elfilis in another. They passed several trees until they set foot into a small clearing overlooking a frozen lake. Glancing down, Vesa took notice of the blue flower-like plants emitting a soft glow.
"These are new," Elfilis hummed, "they must've been formed by the…"
Elfilis slowly approached a nearby tree, scrutinizing it for a brief moment. The instant they noticed the branches began twitching, they turned their gaze away.
"Never mind."
Vesa crouched to get a closer look at the icy herbs. Elfilis pressed their hands to the ground and their arms started to bulge with biomatter. They began to create a creature they recognized from the planet Shiver Star. A small birdlike creature bearing a small resemblance to Dedede emerged from the biomass. Their human girlfriend gasped in awe as the newly spawned penguin shook its head and flapped its flippers.
"So pretty," she smiled.
Elfilis proceeded to make a few more, diversifying their DNA to suffice a breeding population as they continued to examine the new flora. Vesa dug aside the snow from the herb in front of her and scooped up a sample of the soil. Examining the sample in her hand, she noticed small pieces of ice caked into the dirt. All the while, the angelic rodent sought another icy herb and absorbed it into themself.
"I wonder if this could make an alchemy ingredient," Vesa said to herself.
Elfilis focused their gaze to Vesa.
"Its magical and chemical makeup make it ideal for it," they nodded.
Vesa took the hint and harvested the icy herb before stashing it into her pocket bangle.
"If it doesn't have a name," she offered, "then maybe we could name it ourselves."
"You name it, then," Elfilis suggested with a shrug, "I personally tend not to name many of the things I discover as that's the job of whatever species ends up living here."
Vesa placed a finger on her chin as she took a moment to let her thoughts fill her head with ideas.
"I guess," she proclaimed, "I'll go for…shiverthorn. How does that sound?"
Elfilis perked up their feelers.
"I suppose that works," Elfilis agreed, "it doesn't seem to have thorns, but I'll give that a pass."
Vesa rose to her feet and followed Elfilis as they returned to strolling through the snowy forest. The alien rodent and their human girlfriend observed as the newly spawned penguins settled into the new habitat. Well, they clumsily waddled the snowy terrain, but Elfilis took reassurance to themself that they made these penguins more durable to better survive this hostile environment.
From a distance, Vesa could see Dedede scoured the terrain as if he was hunting for something.
"Let's go," Elfilis insisted, "I really don't want to spend much more time around them, I was honestly hoping for a nice day where we could relax, just the two of us."
"Of course," Vesa replied.
Vesa made a brief glance at Escargon as he followed the king close behind.
"Will Escargon be alright, though?" she asked.
Elfilis waved their hand and summoned a portal which Dedede and Escargon fell through, setting a destination for a warmer climate on the planet.
"I guess that takes care of that problem," Vesa shrugged.
Vesa leaned closer to Elfilis as they continued to venture through the forest. Elfilis returned the gesture, their feet trudging along the ground dusted with snow. When Vesa tilted her head upwards, she watched as a snowflake drifted onto her nose. Her alien lover leaned planted a kiss on her nose, eliciting a soft giggle out of her.
"I wonder," Vesa mused, "does this place snow all year, or is it subject to seasonal change?"
Elfilis flexed their large wings.
"It snows year round," they answered, "the planet is saturated in magical energy, after all."
Elfilis held out their hand.
"Reach out with your senses," they continued, "try and feel the ice magic in the area."
Upon cue, Vesa extended her hand and focused her gaze ahead of her. She tried clearing her mind, allowing her to feel for a mystical sensation. Yet, even her hand didn't pick up much of what she expected to feel, which elicited a sigh of disappointment out of her.
"Keep trying," Elfilis persuaded, "you'll get it. Let's just sit down."
Elfilis scattered the nearby snow to dry out the ground beneath them with a flick of their hand. They gently pushed her shoulder to bring both of them into a sitting position. Vesa lowered her hand as she crossed her legs.
"Is there something that I missed?" she asked.
"It can take some time to get used to," they told her, "I can write up a ritual formation to make it easier, but I think it would be best for you to learn it on your own. I can dilate time here if needed, speeding up our personal time here by three times for an hour or so."
"I guess I'll give it a try."
Perching her hands on her legs, Vesa closed her eyes as she focused on ignoring the mana in her own body. With Elfilis observing her quietly and their eyes glowing softly, Vesa tried meditating as she waited for the sensation of external mana to reach her. As time went on to minutes and then to half an hour, she felt an ethereal sensation brush along her gloved hand. She focused a little more and sensed a little more ice mana a minute later. Elfilis noticed as she twitched a little. When she opened her eyes, she hugged her arms to her chest, smiling as the mana in the air emitted faint sounds reminding her of a gentle wind chime.
"So now what?" Vesa clamored.
Elfilis perked up their feelers as they and Vesa stood up.
"Now try and keep that feeling and hold onto it," Elfilis advised, "it will take some time before you can keep it active all the time, but it should be easier to do now that you figured out how."
"Ok," Vesa nodded.
Vesa and Elfilis continued to stroll through the forest as she kept her focus on the mana surrounding her.
"I suppose we should start populating the planet a bit more now," Elfilis proclaimed.
Getting to work, Elfilis started by spawning basic insects and arachnids, moving up to rabbits, bats and other small creatures. Vesa stared in awe as the wildlife spawned by the angelic lancer dispersed into the forest. Finally, Elfilis spawned a wolf. They kept it unconscious as they proceeded to spawn a full pack. They might have to wake up the wolves at night once the prey animals had enough time to make shelters and dens. Once Elfilis finished, they rose to their full height. Vesa kept sensing the mana surrounding her until she could sense a much higher concentration which made her turn to her left.
"Oh?" she blurted.
Elfilis perked up their feelers, sensing some powerful snow spirit nearby.
"I wonder what could give off some intense mana," Vesa said to herself.
Vesa strode to the left with Elfilis following her.
"It's a snow spirit," Elfilis explained, "a rather strong one given that it has physically manifested like this."
They soon spotted what appeared to be a man made out of snow. Vesa inhaled slowly as she approached the spirit with caution.
"H-Hello," she stammered, casually waving her hand.
It seemed to say something, but its voice came out as a gust of arctic wind which chilled her a bit, leaving a bit of snow on her coat.
"It said hello in return," Elfilis replied.
Vesa tilted her head.
"I see," Vesa mumbled, "nice snowy weather today, don't you think?"
The creature nodded, even when it noticed Vesa couldn't understand it. Still, she tilted her head upwards, watching the falling snowflakes.
"Standing in the snow at this time of year," Vesa mused, "I tend to think what kind of gifts I should get for my friends this upcoming Yuletide celebration."
The creature tilted its head up before it summoned a swirl of snow, which condensed into a little glass sphere, with a little snowman made of ice in the middle. Vesa blinked twice as it gave her the glass sphere, which happened to be made of ice.
"Is this a snow globe?" Vesa pondered.
"Looks like it," Elfilis shrugged.
"I'm sure Fransisca would love this one," Vesa smiled.
Vesa stashed the new snow globe into her pocket bangle.
"Anyways," Vesa continued, "we would also set up some evergreen trees and decorate them with lights, tinsel and ornaments and we would bake a variety of cookies."
The spirit stared with curiosity, unable to understand her words but could sense the intent behind them.
"And we wrap up our presents," Vesa added, "even decorate it with ribbons and bows. We identify who the gift is by using tags."
Elfilis placed a finger on their lower jaw while Vesa turned her head to gaze into their eyes.
"Elfilis," Vesa asked, "are you sure he's able to understand what I'm telling him?"
"He understands you just fine," Elfilis answered, "or as fine as he can anyway. He understands the broad strokes of what you're telling him. Fine details might get lost, but otherwise, he understands the general idea."
Vesa made one more glance at the spirit before her. It had no real face to speak of, but it did seem to be forming something of a more human-like appearance.
"Well," Vesa placed her hand behind her head, "I'm glad to have piqued your curiosity."
It didn't seem to quite understand, but it gave a little nod before it whisked itself away in a soft breeze as many snowflakes. Vesa swore she heard a hearty laugh, but maybe that could've been the wind. She turned her gaze back to Elfilis.
"So," Vesa asked, "is there anything else you want to do?"
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