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Animas was something that Tally had been aware of for quite a few years now, it wasn’t something new. It was a time where all kinds of toons and reelkind running around, hustling and bustling, bright lights everywhere which often resulted in fewer shadows to slip into, but the crowds were another matter entirely. It took some doing, like figuring out how to ride a wave, before she could dive in, swept along while trying not to get underfoot. It was easy for someone as small as her to be overlooked among the hustle and bustle, everyone was bumping into everyone else, not one of them noticed that their pockets were a little lighter.
The downside was that it quickly and easily became overwhelming… it was a sea of people after all. With coins clutched in tiny hands, Tally quickly skittered along the sidewalks and darted into back alleys where shadows still tried to shield things from the animas glow. The snow crunched softly under her feet, and she hunched a little on herself as the cold began to seep in as she got further away from sources of warmth. Breath began to come out in puffs of small clouds, warm breath exhaling onto raggedy mittened hands in an attempt to keep them warm. Coins were placed in hammerspace for safe keeping, save for a few copper pieces, which she hoped to trade for a hot chocolate. A rare treat in colder months, one she preferred to have hot and fresh if she could, as opposed to snagging one left behind once someone was done with it, and taking the last few sips.
As the sun began to set, Tally carefully hugged the hot chocolate to her chest as she snuck into one of the greenhouses that was already closed for the night, planning to hide there till morning. Finding a nice spot within the plants, she drank her hot chocolate while animas songs played softly in the distance, songs that would eventually lull her to sleep.
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Some time later, when there was a house she could call a home, or more, an apartment she called a home, it was filled with other people. A lot of other people. People who had vibrant lives and stories, or well… most of them did.
When she first met Bob, he wasn’t what she’d call vibrant, in fact… he almost reminded her a little of herself. Not in appearance, but how he almost seemed to blend into the background, part of being a Nobody, or so he would tell her later.
They didn’t have holidays back where he was from, a place called Nomans, and had asked her what Animas was about, thinking who would know better than a child. He had thought to ask Gillie first, but he’d yelled something about it being only December tenth, and gone on a rampage through the apartment. A week later and many of them were still finding jack-o-lanterns, fake spiders, and other halloween decorations scattered about the apartment.
“What’s animas?” Tally echoed the question as she rubbed a mittened hand to her chin, giving the question some thought.
Her first response was to try and describe what she’d seen others doing to celebrate the holiday. After all… she’d peeked in through windows to see the warmth and festivities inside, watched families as they’d walked through the snow together, bundled up and warm. But… what she knew, and what she experienced, were two exceptionally different things. Still! She explained it best she could, she’d seen it, she knew what it was supposed to look like.
But… then she got to the hot chocolate…
“There’s just… something about holding hot chocolate in your hands, ‘cause it warms them, and then you take a sip, and it warms you inside too, starting in your tummy till it spreads through the rest of you, till you’re warm all over! It’s also nice to sit somewhere pretty when you drink it.”
Bob gave a hum, looked at Tally, and smiled.
“You know what? I think that sounds like just the thing we need.” He said, and held out his hand.
Together they went out into the snow, both of them dressed for the cold weather, easily keeping warm as the snow gently drifted down, adding to what was already gathered on the ground. Tally lead the way to the small hot chocolate stand in the park, and Bob got one for both of them. Despite still feeling toasty, though her face was open to the chill in the air, Tally was still sure she felt the warmth of the hot chocolate seeping into her mittens, and warming her hands as it always had done. And even though the rest of her was warm, there was still that feeling at the first sip, as if she’d swallowed a little bit of sunshine to warm herself from the inside out.
Looking into the cup of liquid chocolate, she found herself giving a small sniffle, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
“Tally? Are you okay? Oh sweetie, did you burn your tongue?”
“No,” Tally said with a small hiccup, smiling wide despite the tears. “It just tastes really good this year.”
Bob smiled at that, and placed a kiss upon her forehead, earning a small giggle.
“Happy Animas Tally.”