Connie was somewhat taken aback when Oros handed her a toaster, of all things. Still, she had been given a gift, and no matter how odd it was, Connie appreciated her quirky friend’s generosity.
“O-Oh! Uhh… T-Thanks!” Connie told the pink-haired girl, trying not to sound too shocked by Oros’s idea of a present.
The chaotic beast girl then said she had to go help someone with a very odd-sounding name and darted off, saying they’d talk again later.
“O-Okay…!” Connie called after her, giving her a shaky wave.
“S-See you l-later, Oros!”Connie had just finished putting the toaster in her sack of presents, when she heard Gaia call out to her, saying that she and Shane were leaving the lodge. After wishing them a good time, the timid girl began looking around for someone to hang out with. She saw Amanda talking with a somewhat intimidating group, but she really didn’t want to intrude, so she continued looking. Lily was also chatting with a few friends, as was Emily. She had briefly glimpsed Ronin and Miko, but they didn’t seem to be in the lodge at the moment. Then there was Rose and Iris. They didn’t look like they were otherwise occupied, so Connie tentatively made her way over.
“M-Merry Christmas, Rose! M-Merry Christmas, Iris!” She greeted the twins, giving them a happy smile.
“A-Are you e-enjoying yourselves s-so f-far?”The twins had been left behind with Kayli having told them to stay here. Seemed the older girl felt safe enough to go off with some stranger. Iris looked more frustrated than her sister over the matter. When Connie came over though she tried to relax a bit more.
”Merry Christmas, Connie. It’s alright so far. This is my first one so I’m not really sure what’s going on.” She glanced at the list of events going on.
Rose would move in close to look at the list.
”Ooh, have they done the snowman one yet?”“G-Gosh, I h-hope not!” Connie replied, clasping her trembling hands together.
“I was r-really l-looking f-forward to that!” A moment later, a blur of motion caught her attention. The source quickly revealed itself to be Lily, who was rapidly setting up chairs in preparation for some imminent stage performance.
“Oh! I-It l-looks like there’s g-going to be a s-show starting s-soon. W-Would you l-like to w-watch it t-together?””Sure! That sounds like fun.” Waiting a bit for seats to be placed Rose would take Connie and her sister to take a seat. It didn’t take long for the show to begin and they would watch as Maura went first on stage.
Connie was excited to see what kind of Christmas show would be performed, and as Maura began her ballet routine, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful rendition of
Carol of the Bells, Connie found herself captivated by the patron’s graceful movements across the stage. Unfortunately, the performance soon took a turn for the sinister, and it wasn’t long before a frightened Connie was clinging tightly to Rose, her eyes squeezed shut.
“T-Tell m-me w-w-when i-it’s o-over,” the trembling girl whispered to her friend.
Rose held onto her friend while Iris watched. The play concluded the blue haired girl leaned over.
”I think it’s done now.” She said as she clapped. Perhaps they should move on to some other activity that didn’t involve potentially scary narratives or being pelted by snow.
“T-T-Thanks, I-Iris,” Connie whispered as she released her grip on Rose.
“I-It s-started out n-nice, b-but I w-wasn’t e-expecting t-there to b-be any s-scary m-monsters…”A moment later, Dan appeared and announced that the first winter events would soon begin- snowman building and ice sculpting.
“Oh! L-Let’s go b-build a s-snowman t-together!” Connie told the twins, her demeanor noticeably brightening.
“M-Mia and I do it e-every w-winter, a-and it’s a-always a l-lot of f-fun!”Rose would smile and jump to her feet.
”Yeah, that sounds like fun. This would be my first snowman.””Mine too.” She would stand as well and they would begin to head out and be met with a portal.
“T-This is your f-first t-time?!” Connie gasped.
“O-Oh, g-gosh! I-I’m so excited for you!” she added, smiling brightly.
Once they arrived at the location for the snowman event, Connie began gathering some snow together.
“S-Since y-you’ve n-never d-done this b-before, w-we s-should probably m-make something s-simple,” she suggested.
“A-After all, s-snowman building s-should be f-fun, a-and I d-don’t really l-like c-competition… S-So, um, j-just g-gather some s-snow together and r-roll it into a b-big b-ball,” she instructed.
“T-Then we m-make a s-smaller b-ball for the c-chest, a-and an even s-smaller one for the h-head. A-After t-that, we can s-start decorating him! T-That’s the m-most fun p-part of a-all!”Rose and Iris followed the instructions and began packing and rolling snow. They had a good size for the bottom and then the middle. The head though Rose made a comically small ball and plopped it on top.
”Tada!” She would giggle.
“O-Oh, umm, I g-guess t-that works…” Connie observed upon seeing their snowman’s diminutive head.
“I-It s-sorta does look cuter l-like that,” she added after thinking it over a moment. Picking up some thin branches, she gave the snowman a pair of comically long arms, before going over to a nearby supply shack and picking out a red and green striped scarf. However, when she put it on, she found that it was far too big for their creation’s tiny noggin.
“Uh, I d-don’t think a-any of the c-clothing o-over t-there will f-fit him…” she noted despondently as she inserted two pebbles for eyes.
“H-He’s k-kinda s-strange l-looking, huh?” she added with a frown.
“I-I h-hope he d-doesn’t get b-bullied…” she added, being quite familiar with just how awful it was to be picked on.
“I-I know!” she exclaimed, her demeanor brightening as a thought occurred to her.
“W-We can m-make him some f-friends, so he w-won’t be l-lonely o-or made f-fun of!” After using her finger to give their deformed snowman a big smile, Connie set about building a collection of slightly smaller snowmen. This time, she used only two snowballs, one for the head and a larger one for the body. She was also careful to ensure that they were able to wear the various items of winter clothing available in the supply shack.
“H-How are y-yours c-coming along?” she asked the twins.
Rose had just meant to make a funny snowman. It seemed Connie thought other of it.
”Oh uh… I didn’t mean…” However their friend eventually came up with an idea to make their oddly proportioned creation some friends.
”Yeah, we can do that.”Iris made a snowman with some more regular proportions. Taking some sticks she would put them in as arms, one of them on the tiny headed snowman’s shoulder. Bits of coal would make up the eyes and mouth. Meanwhile her sister made a second snowman like Connie’s so they had a total of four friends.
Soon, the four snowy friends had turned to eight, as Connie got a little carried away in her snowman building (she really likes making snowmen). When she finally took a moment to rest, she saw just how wholesome the little gathering they’d created was.
“O-Oh my g-gosh!” she squeed with delight.
“T-They look so adorable!” she added, pulling out her phone and snapping a few pictures.
“Y-You guys did a g-great job!” ”You too. I didn’t expect to make so many. But they look good together.” She stood back and admired their work. An eclectic bunch of snowmen for sure. Not as elaborate as some of the others, but charming in their own right. Rose would pull out her phone and take several pictures.
“U-Umm, I t-think the n-next event is ice s-sculpting,” Connie would note.
“I-I’ve n-never done that b-before, so m-maybe w-we could t-try to m-make s-something s-simple together?” she would ask tentatively.
Rose’s eyes would grow wide for a moment. Ice sculpting?
”Yeah I’ve never done that before. I’d be willing to give it a shot.” How did one work with ice anyway?
The answer to that was simpler and more complicated than expected. While some worked with simple tools, others used their magic to cut and carve.
”Hm, what should we make?” She wasn’t actually sure what should be made. Crafts weren’t something she was really done.
Connie gave a small gasp when they arrived at the ice sculpting area. So many amazing pieces had already been made, and she took a few moments to simply admire everyone’s work.
“G-Gosh! T-They’re all s-so beautiful!” she gushed as she moved from glowing, ringed orb to rotating carousel of dancers.
“B-But, uh, w-we p-probably s-shouldn’t try to c-compete with t-them…” she added, looking slightly downcast.
“W-We can just m-make something s-simple, b-but s-still cute. A-As l-long as we’re h-having f-fun, it d-doesn’t really m-matter if it’s f-fancy or n-not. O-Oh, I know!” she exclaimed with a big smile.
“W-We can each m-make a s-snowbun!”Rose clapped her hands together.
”Those would be cute. Let’s do it!” Setting to work, Connie used the tools provided to begin carving out her snowbun. Since the actual creature had an extremely simple body shape, it was fairly easy for even a total amateur like her to sculpt a rough approximation of its form. The ears were the hardest part, but with a little refinement, they turned out well enough. After that, she added the finishing touches, giving her replica two small eyes and a mouth. It wasn’t a work of art by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still quite cute, and Connie was very pleased with what she’d managed to accomplish. Turning to look at what the twins had created, she smiled brightly.
“W-Wow! Y-You guys are r-really good at this! T-Those are b-both a l-lot better than w-what I made.”Iris glanced between the three sculptures they made.
”You think so?” Not being much of an artist she didn’t really think hers was that much better. She would arrange the snowbuns together and step back.
”I think they all look great. You did a good job.”“T-Thanks, Iris,” Connie replied, blushing slightly at the compliment. Dan then proceeded to reveal the next event- ice skating, which caused Connie to noticeably pale.
“U-Umm… I-I’ve a-always w-wanted to t-try and learn h-how to ice s-skate, b-but, uh, I-I’m k-kinda c-clumsy, sooo… C-Could y-you guys p-please s-skate w-with me a-and m-make sure I d-don’t fall?” she asked as she hesitantly approached the portal leading to the ice rink.
”We can do that.” Iris would put her hands on her hips.
”Rose, we don’t even know how to ice skate. Oh yeah… well, maybe we can ask Kayli. She’s like super smart and knows a lot of things.” Taking a look around she didn’t really see their charge anywhere
”Maybe she’s at the ice skating. Let’s go and we’ll figure it out.” She would smile and lead Connie and Iris through the portal.
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