Submission (#6604) Approved

Elora was in Strynhalde this miasma season, running around through a local village. A wooly edged cloak with a grey purple fabric rested cozily over her shoulders as she went in search for gifts for her older siblings that were visiting the area soon. Trotting a few paces behind her was Neve, an older neighbor elnin that had lent her a blue scarf to protect Elora's face from the cold. As the two of them trudged through the fresh snowfall, Elora's eyes gleamed with excitement as she looked at all the shops decorated fancily to welcome tourists. For some reason, while this was the most dreary time of year for Eyre residents, due to the miasma, elseworlders were celebrating odd gift giving holidays. Needless to say, Elora was tickled by the idea of joining in after hearing about the colorfully wrapped gifts given to loved ones.

The question was what would her siblings like? She had several siblings, or at least half siblings that regularly traveled to visit her when they could. Food was an easy choice for her half sister, Anko, and her brother, Kite. Brazil, her other half brother, wouldn't accept gifts but he always volunteered to "distract" the other siblings when Elora was trying to do something kind for them in secret and didn't want to ruin the surprise. That's how she had gotten out with their neighbor Neve now, as Bazil always reliably arrived first of all her siblings.

Elora just about ran into a tree trunk as they arrived at the edge of a much larger frozen forest. Just a bit further ahead soft lights from shops glittered off the frozen blue and white leaves surrounding them. The shops were quaintly built between the trees' large white trunks. While everything felt big to Elora, she could tell none of these were the region's elder tree. She recalled visiting it once and its tree trunk was large and blue-black. She just about fell over trying to crane her neck up far enough to try to see its leaves. Comparatively, these trees were far less impressive when it came to size but the multitude of them still left her in awe when she saw it. Kittom's like her were prone to distractions she had overheard once, but Elora didn't pay it much mind.

Pushing aside her distracted thoughts, her eyes returned to the door ahead. She could read the sign well enough because the words were simple ones. The store was called "Tasteful Treats". She felt a bit lucky it was the first store they had come across and just the kind of store she was hoping to find. Browsing through the goods she picked out some fire smoked jerky that had been cut and prepared from some local prey in Strynhalde, thinking it would be perfect for Kite. Then for Anko she picked out a bowl with a handle and a large portion recipe for some hot cocoa. She also selected some ornaments that had been hung up. One ornament had a ghostly white pomu that was playing in a snowpile made out of a fluffy white cotton. The second ornament was a preserved dried flower that must have been from this region because it was a vivid blue but didn't look like any flower she had ever seen before, so of course she got that for Anko.

With the gifts selected, Neve helped her pay for her purchases using some elecite coins Bazil had sent with them, and they made their way back through the snow. It would be dark soon enough and they might see some lights across the sky to watch if they were paying enough attention. When they arrived at Elora's temporary lodging in Strynhalde with family she overheard Bazil mention a guest would be coming. "Mazin's traveling with Kite and Anko here it seems." He said warmly, though his expression faltered slightly at the sight of Elora. She looked mortified.

Elora knew Bazil didn't accept gifts but she hadn't been expecting more than just her siblings to come. Particularly Mazin, who Elora had met before. He was a terribly quiet elnin but when he did speak he had always been very sweet. Mazin had a princely air about him that made Elora feel like he could have come straight from a storybook, and here she hadn't gotten him a single gift. There wouldn't be enough time to go back so she felt discouraged. With a worried expression she left the gifts in Neve's arms and scampered to her room to try to find something.

Several minutes later after setting the gifts down in a safe spot, Neve knocked the door and calmly entered the kittom's room after hearing the rummaging noises stop. Elora had heard her come in. "Do you think he'll like it?" She said, her small round pomu a mess with a few bits of paper sticking out from beneath its feet, but holding aloft a small crown that would be big on Elora but decently small on a full grown elnin. It looked like it was made of yellow paper that had been colored on by Elora before the pomu cut it out and taped it together.

"I think he'll like it." Neve comforted the kittom who seemed a bit gloomy about the event to come. "You can give him this as well if you'd like?" Neve said procuring a wooden frog ornament from her pocket. It had been one she picked up one year but it wasn't exactly a precious item to her. Elora just looked confused. "Why would I give him a frog?" She said, unsure if it would be a bad gift. "Well, have you ever heard the story of the frog prince?" Neve asked, settling down to tell it as Elora shook her head to say she hadn't. As soon as Neve started, Elora was hooked until at last she understood why Neve suggested the gift. Mazin loved stories, and this is one Elora could share with him when she gave him the gift.

In the distance she could hear the front door opening and paws plodding inside as the visitors shook off. Quickly she asked Neve to help her wrap the last two gifts and then ran to greet her siblings and Mazin. They all gathered around and she passed out the gifts to Kite, Anko, and Mazin while Bazil and Neve watched. Shortly after Elora could be heard telling the grand story of the frog prince that she had just been told and the adult elnin settled in to enjoy snacks and each other's company.