"What's Santa?" Said Io to Pipa as he wheeled her back to her room after breakfast, slightly disappointed that they couldn't spend the rest of the morning outside due to the heavy snow. "Santa sounds like a type of fish," he said after some consideration. "Look, I caught a Santa!"
They laughed at his act—a performance that would have insulted Vaughn's eye for aesthetic but scored hearts in a certain eagle's—and pardoned his terrible skills at pretending to catch fish.
"Santa's a big, beer-bellied person with a white beard who laughs with 'ho' instead of 'ha'," Pipa explained as she ticked each characteristic of the popular Christmas symbol off her fingers. "He likes cookies and milk and drops down from your chimney to put Christmas presents under your Christmas tree! But only if you're a good kid, at least that's what I've heard."
The pair couldn't help but be terribly invested in the conversation. It all started when the canary mentioned an upcoming 'Christmas Event' that was exclusive to Predators, adding off-handedly that she would have liked to attend a Christmas party as well. Io didn't know what Christmas was, so he asked if it was like giving offerings to the Sun God that his fellow villagers worshipped back in the village. "So that the harvest would be good next year," he'd said.
As a result, Nash (of all people) was entrusted with the task to enlighten Io of the season festivities that he was apparently missing out. "You put salt instead of sugar in Santa's cookies. He likes that, I assure you," was what he'd relayed very convincingly, to which Io had nodded. Thankfully, Pipa was quick to correct him.
Right after, they'd parted ways because Nash was quietly pleased with being snowed-in since the night before and wanted to return to his room, and that was when Io popped the question.
"That's...very specific," noted the sparrow, having processed Pipa's detailed description of the big-bellied man. "I wonder if the crime rates go up because of all the trespassing that Santa's been doing. Either that or if he's been caught on camera and people are trying to stalk him."
Pipa laughed and nudged his elbow. The entire wheelchair shook. "People don't report Santa for trespassing, Io! He comes with gifts. Everybody wants gifts."
"Well, it would be nice if he knocked on the front door...I mean does the act of trespassing become null when the person doing it has good intentions? Would anyone ever know what Santa's intentions are?" Io was being his usual self, and Pipa nodded to his questions. Rhetorical nods.
"Mhm, I guess no one has ever considered that before. We all just focus on the gifting part—which is real nice because you actually get to ask Santa for something you want," she went on, getting to the juicy part. "Like, you could ask for anything in the world!"
Io blinked.
"Really? A-are you sure?" Even he was drawn to the prospect of being able to ask for anything in the world. Yes, asking and receiving were completely different things and Iolani Tori was one to understand that.
"Yeah! Oh uh—I forgot to mention that he's not real," Pipa cleared her throat, looking away awkwardly. "Sorry to, um, disappoint."
Io poked her cheek. "And you'd think I'd fall for that," he rolled his eyes. "Someone who'd give a stranger anything he wanted for cookies and milk is either not human or...not human." They laughed, having arrived at her door.
"Fine," Pipa crossed her arms. "I know you're smart, alright. I mean—we'd all like a Santa in our lives, ri...hold on a second," she paused, staring straight ahead. Io followed her gaze. She was staring at her front door.
YOU ARE READING
Flight School: Predator
Fantasy[Second book of the Flight Series] "More than anything, the sky was red. It wasn't dark, no. Just red." Iolani Tori learns about the part of him that isn't human; and sees the line between animal and himself thin to something less than a thread. If...
