Shadow World Christmases of what could have happened.
"Hey, I got this thing for you," Cadyn remarked suddenly, his fingers brushing through his brother's hair affectionately, "For Christmas, I mean, even though Shadowhunters don't really celebrate that."
Connor had been laying across the couch with a book in his hands to keep his Russian sharp, his head using his brother's lap as a pillow. In Cadyn's free hand, he held some other Russian book that Connor had read dozens of times before that the spine had started to tear. Out of all the Russian tales, it had been one of his favourites.
"Really?" Connor said, unsure if he should have expected a gift or be surprised. "I...got you something as well..."
"I hope you didn't spend too much money on it," Cadyn remarked, "Because I don't like it-"
"-When you spend too much money on me," Connor finished, "But you're my brother, so of course I put a little bit extra in it."
"Dork," the other muttered, reaching for a package under the pillow, setting it on Connor's chest. In turn, Connor set down his book to extend his fingertips under the couch as if they had planned when they were going to give their Christmas gifts together. He pulled at it for a moment before sitting up next to Cadyn, setting the package in his lap with a bit of a smile, picking up the gift Cadyn had passed over to him. They were hardly surprised when they had similar ideas, really, and they found it more amusing than anything.
"You first."
"No you first."
"No, it should be you."
"...Fine..." Grinning, Cadyn started to tear open the present, pulling away wrapping paper to reveal an intricate dagger.
"I thought you'd like something personalized," Connor explained, "So I got your-...our favourite model with your name in the hilt. In Russian, of course."
However, Cadyn was frowning. "Damn it."
"What? Don't tell me you don't like it."
With a self-deprecating smile and a bit of a laugh, Cadyn shook his head in amusement. "Perhaps great minds think alike...You can open your gift now, but I'm afraid it won't be much of a surprise."
"Over there has the best pastries during Christmastime." Pointing over at a building, Caleb smiled in excitement before pulling back instantly to fix his scarf, shivering. The few Shadowhunters that went with him had encouraged him to use a heating rune but he had refused, a decision he was currently regretting. Some white snowflakes dusted his hair and he ran his hands through them before shaking loose strands from his eyes.
"Of course the mundane is excited about this," Elijah muttered under his breath, his voice half muffled by a black mask that covered his mouth and nose. His eyes peered out from under a fringe of blonde hair that he let hang over his face and he crossed his arms, cursing the weather.
Ember had been the only one that had remained unbothered by the cold, fascinated by how it painted the streets and buildings white. She had only opted to wear a creme sweater and a skirt with some leg warmers and boots, earning a few funny looks from some mundanes as they wondered how she wasn't freezing. As they walked through the streets and sidewalks, she reached up to pin her hair back and up into a loose bun, hurrying her pace to catch up with the people. Cheerfully, she laughed when she stepped in a small pile of snow, having to shake her boots off before continuing.
"It really is pretty out here," she said when she had started to keep her pace with Steff, tucking her hands in her pocket, "Wouldn't you say?"
"I've always like the winters," Steff responded, her blue eyes tilted up at the sky as the snow continued to fall, "The ones in London were always the prettiest."
"And over there," Caleb continued, gesturing at a street they had started to pass, "There's a parade on Christmas Eve. Mundanes are like that. We're always celebrating the holidays and whatnot even if it seems funny to everyone else."
"What is Christmas, though?" Abel asked after a moment, stepping towards Caleb in interest.
"Oh, it's this religious thing where mundanes celebrate the birth of Jesus...It's complicated, but I'm sure you've heard of it-"
"Yes, I've taken mundane studies, with the bible and whatnot," Abel responded, glad to be knowledgeable on the subject, "He was the healer and preacher. Do people think he was real?"
"Yeah, a lot of mundanes believe in religion, so to each their own. We have some Shadowhunters that are really religious...but even though Christmas is a religious holiday, I suppose, people that don't believe in Jesus and God still celebrate it," Caleb explained, glancing inside a few shops that radiated the smell of cookies and good food, "My siblings and I would always celebrate Christmas and whatnot."
"Oh, guys, lets steer clear from here," Ember said and grinned for a moment, "I see a bookstore and we'll lose Steff if we pass it."
"It'll only be for a moment," Steff said, her eyes shining as they started to approach it. The library in the Institute was nice, but nothing was ever like a nice, cozy library in the mundane cities. They always smelled like parchment, coffee, and burnt candles. "If...everyone's alright with that..."
"I brought a bit of money." Searching his pocket for his wallet, Abel looked eagerly over at the library. "So we can check it out."
"Besides," Caleb brought up, "There's a Brookstone right next to it that we can check out too."
Alaric unwrapped the gift from his father, whom had always made an effort to endear himself somehow. He had never been close with him, much less affectionate, and Alaric frowned. It was always the same, expensive quill and he silently wondered if his father really knew him at all.
"You're joking, right?" Connor snickered, holding up the dagger with a bit of incredulousness. "I swore that I would be original this year and you get me the exact same thing I do?"
"Well, it wasn't a very original thought if we both thought of it," Cadyn said, reaching to trace the Russian letters with his fingertip, "But we'll still be matching so..."
Affectionately, Connor ruffled his brother's hair so it went into his eyes, setting the dagger in his lap as he leaned an elbow against Cadyn's shoulder to perch there. His gaze settled on the daggers and then back on his brother, a certain mirth in his eyes that they both flaunted with delightful passion. It was rare that they were ever seen together without the same spark in their eyes and, on such a merry day, it was impossible for them to be without it. A smile settled on both of their mouths and they sat there for a moment, content with their presents and their presence.
"Next year," Cadyn vowed. "Next year, I'll get you something original."
"Yeah?" The sarcasm in his voice was immeasurable. "Like a personalized stele?"
"Damn, you're not supposed to be that good a predicting things."
"I can't help it." With a modest shrug, Connor merely laughed. "But really...Happy holidays."
As they headed over, Elijah lifted his head a bit, a little less miserable at the prospect of going inside. Everyone- meaning Caleb- had been going on and on about how nice the shops were during the winter and Christmastime and they hadn't even checked out one. He wasn't exactly interested in many books other than a select few by a select few authours, but if any stores had a nice jacket, then maybe he'd dish out a few extra to buy something of that fashion. Abel had taken after him as well, always spending money on things like that. However, Elijah almost always disagreed with his purchases.
Steff hurried inside of the bookstore, glad to be shielded from the cold in a cozy nook on the corner of the street. Instantly, her hands ghosted across the spines of the books as she walked past the shelves like they were old friends. For a while, really, they had been her only friends.
She glanced back, watching Ember follow Caleb into Brookestone in her curiosity while Abel followed his brother into the bookstore. Steff had never bothered much with giving gifts for Christmas, as it was a custom she was not familiar with, but a good book was always a good present for someone.
It was usually her brother, on holidays, that had received gifts of any sorts, not her.
There were small lamps set through the small bookstore, flickering against the pages like little flames and a nice looking mundane shopkeeper was walking about, making sure people had what they needed. She was old, perhaps in her sixties, Steff observed, and was rather short, stout, and had a pair of reading glasses on that slipped down her nose.
"If there is anything you need," the woman told her kindly and Steff noted her thick Scottish accent, which was both foreign and pleasing to listen to, "You shan't be afraid of asking me. I know this place better than anyone. Where every book is."
"Actually," Steff started, "Do you know where the classics are?"
The woman gave a laugh and ushered Steff down an aisle. "Do I? That's my favourite section. Classics, not all burdened with that nonsense authours write with nowadays. Back when I was little, I had a whole bookshelf of all these classic stories, and not all of them are about the war although the second one really had the authours rattling on about about all those things. That was before my time, though."
"I have read a few of those, like Mila 18. They're quite tragic," Steff answered, glad to be talking about things she was familiar with, "Although I do also love fantasy and old tales."
"As a child, I always adored the Grimm tales. Not that crazy happy ending mush that Disney makes them into."
Steff was slightly unsure what 'Disney' was, but she was sure she had heard the name somewhere. Carefully, she decided not to pry, instead staring at the books in front of her with old familiar titles.
"There was a book I'm sure you would have loved," the old woman started, "But I can't seem to remember the title. It was like a wonderful fairy tale and our world all mixed up. It was based on the bible story of God's children and-...Oh, I'm sure a young girl like you knows what the Nephilim are. You know how they teach it on Sundays."
"Y-yes, of course," Steff stammered, not wanting to dishearten the woman with her lack of religious affiliation, "Church." Instantly, she was reminded of the cat.
"Well, there was this book this one authour wrote in the late...eighteenth century about these Nephilim and how they lived among us and had wonderful magic." Pushing her glasses up her nose, the woman strained to read a title on the shelf before patting Steff endearingly on the back. "Oh, dear, I'm going to get carried away. Books certainly do have nice tales. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
"I will, I'll just be..." Trailing off when the woman disappeared, Steff smiled just a little bit. Mundanes, she forgot, lived such simple lives. Perhaps it was better that she couldn't remember the title. It was dangerous when the worlds mixed.
Ironically enough, the quill Alaric received from his father was the same quill he used to write his parents that no, he wouldn't be accepting a position on the Clave council and that he'd be travelling to train young Shadowhunters instead.
Guiltily, Caleb retreated out of Brookstone, his wallet drained after a fit of imprudence that left him with a new pair of high quality headphones that he wanted to use with his new virtual reality headsets. At the rate he was going, he wouldn't have any money left for gifts. Ember had merely spectated while he tried out the different things on display in the store, looking curious, although she didn't have the money to buy such unnecessary electronics, no matter how interesting they were.
The cold air was refreshing and he found that Steff, Abel, and Elijah were already waiting for them by the time they had finished. Steff, naturally, was holding a small bag of a few new novels and Abel was showing his brother some new bookmarks he bought that he called 'artsy and contemporary'. Caleb wasn't sure how something like that could apply to something as boring as a bookmark.
"Are any of you guys too cold?" Ember asked, suddenly remembering that it must be cold for them. "There's a bit of snow. A lot, actually."
"I'm alright to continue looking around," Steff replied cheerfully, her spirits heightened. Abel nodded for both him and Elijah, knowing his brother wouldn't have much of an opinion.
"Then I'll take you all to one of my favourite places," Caleb decided, starting off down the street. "A cafe, and it's really popular."
"So we're just going to follow the mundane?" Elijah complained lightly, huffing behind the mask, which had helped keep him warm.
"Oh, cheer up," Abel reprimanded, "If we were following you, we'd get lost."
"It's nearly Christmas," Caleb said enthusiastically, "Lighten up a bit. Hey, after we eat, lets go check out that new Gamestop around the corner. I heard they have cool deals right now. Maybe there'll be good Christmas gifts there."
With a slow shake of her head, Ember followed after him in amusement, glancing back at Steff and the rest to make sure they didn't fall behind. "Typical. I think we have to prepare for a long day."