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How does one survive in this wretched cold? In the dark, out in the wilderness, all alone?
In the case of humans, it’s big furry coats and jackets, gloves, boots, scarves, and hats that help keep them warm and comfortable throughout the winter.
However, it’s an entirely different case for wolves like Kimi: They have big fur coats of their own, but it’s more of a natural growth rather than an item of clothing. It grows from the head and all the way around their body, so they have no need for a hat or a scarf. No need for any boots or gloves either; just paws and claws.
Kimi didn’t understand it. Most humans have hair growing on their heads and a lot of them have hair on their legs and virtually everywhere else on their bodies if you squint, so why do they need extra fur and clothes to keep themselves warm? Are they not able to generate enough heat throughout their bodies like wolves can? That’s what Kimi wondered when he finds his human friend Sebastian tucked around the corner of his little cottage by the woods, wrapped up in a large coat, scarf, boots and a beanie, shovelling away big plumes of snow along the path.
The German looked to be struggling, judging by all the grunting he was making every time he digs his shovel into the ground. He didn’t appear to notice Kimi standing there watching him, so the little Finnish wolf produced a howl to try and get his attention. It was a specially made howl that only Sebastian recognised; soft and gentle to the human ears. A howl that wouldn’t attract the attention of his pack.
Sebastian glances over his shoulder and his face immediately lights up at the sight of his little furry friend. “Hey, Kimi!”
He drops his shovel and trudges over to give the excitable wolf a big hug. He felt Kimi’s tail drumming against his coat and both of his rosy cheeks getting covered in warm saliva. His chuckles rumble in the back of his throat and onto Kimi’s fur; the delightful sound of joy.
“It’s good to see you, boy. Have you been out hunting with your friends tonight?”
Kimi responds with a confident nod.
“Great! What did you get?”
Kimi hops back down on all fours and he starts pecking his snout into the snowy ground and knocking his front legs together. His tail curves upwards in the air, allowing a few strands of fur to splay out a little bit. He then produces a series of clucking and squawking sounds for good measure.
“A pheasant?” Sebastian guessed.
This gets another nod.
“Oooh yummy yummy din- dins!” Sebastian comments while rubbing a gloved hand on his belly. “Well, I’m assuming it was yummy yummy. Was it?”
Another happy nod.
“Oh good!”
Kimi cocks his head to the side and points at Sebastian’s stomach with his paw.
“Aah, I haven’t eaten anything yet. I’ve been busy clearing up this path.” Sebastian straightens up and groans as he stretches out his back and legs and feels almost every joint in his body pop and crack from the pressure. “It’s hard work, but it’ll all be worth it in the end.”
Kimi points at Sebastian again, this time at his puffy coat.
“Oh, this? It’s very cold out here. That’s why I have it on.”
Kimi raised an eyebrow at that.
“Well, humans need to stay warm, you see. We can’t survive in extremely cold temperatures for so many hours like you and your pack can. We’ll get frostbite otherwise! And it isn’t a pretty sight. That happened to me once.” Sebastian scrunches his nose up when he utters that comment. “That’s why we invented things like coats and hats and scarves to keep us nice and toasty. Not sauna levels of toasty, but warm enough. Come to think of it, I wish I was in a sauna right now.”
Sebastian trudged back over to where he’d dropped the shovel and gets himself ready to resume digging. “If you’re not doing anything, could you help me clear this lot up, please?”
But Kimi didn’t seem to be listening. He was inspecting the front of the cottage, which he somehow only just noticed from the corner of his eye. It was adorned with yellowy- white lights along the rooftop and a big, bushy green wreath hanging on the door in the centre.
Kimi knew that houses made of bricks or sometimes stones are home to humans – some big and some small – but he’d never seen one decorated in this way before. He’d paid a visit to Sebastian’s cottage many times in the past, and this is the first time he’s seen it covered in lights and decorations. It was beautiful yet peculiar at the same time.
“Kimi?”
Kimi snapped out of his thoughts and glanced over at Sebastian, who was still holding his shovel and giving him a confused look.
“What’s the matter, boy?”
Kimi connects his gaze back up to the cottage and produces a little whimper. Sebastian goes over to see what’s up. He crouches beside him to follow his line of sight.
“Oooh! You haven’t seen this, have you? What do you think?”
In all honesty, Kimi was torn on the matter. It was a beautiful sight, he will admit, but it’s not the same cottage he’s used to seeing at all.
Sebastian gives his shoulder an encouraging pat. “They won’t be up for very long, I promise.”
Kimi wasn’t so sure about that.
“There are more decorations inside if you want to have a look around too. It’s not just out here.”
The little wolf’s expression turned from mildly curious to completely baffled with a hint of fear on his features.
Sebastian lets out another chuckle. “Like I said, this’ll all be temporary. They won’t be up forever. Then when the time is right, they’ll all be neatly packed up and put away until next year rolls around.”
This bit of information still didn’t make any sense for the poor wolf to understand. Sebastian didn’t have a clue why until it hit him.
“Kimi, have you ever heard of the word ‘Christmas’ before?”
Sebastian could see the cogs in Kimi’s brain turning inside, around and around like a machine, working hard to try and make sense of the word. After a moment of pondering, the wolf shook his head no.
Sebastian’s eyebrows raised at that. “You haven’t come across it before? Not even in passing?”
This receives another no in response.
Sebastian shifted his bodyweight over while still crouched to the ground so he is eye to eye with Kimi. He smiled as he gently ran his fingers through the wolf’s soft, furry cheek. “Well, it’s a special winter tradition that happens once every year on the 25th December. In the days or maybe weeks leading up to it, people who celebrate the holiday – mostly friends and families – would generally write cards and send wrapped presents to each other. They would also have parties and cook roast dinners and drink to their heart’s content.”
“Another interesting thing to note,” Sebastian added. “The name Christmas actually means ‘Christ’s Mass’, which is named after the mass where Christians celebrate the death and rebirth of Jesus Christ. But we pronounce it as ‘Chris-muss’ without the T, I suppose because people thought it got in the way when they tried to say it. I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly! Most people who aren’t religious, such as myself, celebrate the holiday in their own way, such as the things I just mentioned or something completely unique.”
Kimi was fascinated, but still a little sceptical.
“Oh! That reminds me. Speaking of gifts, I just so happen to have a little something for you. It is nearly Christmas time after all.”
Kimi’s eyes light up and his tail wags rapidly at that.
“Ah ah!” warned Sebastian, raising his hand up to the wolf’s nose. “However, in order to get it, I’d like you to do me a little favour, if you’re up to it.” Sebastian steps across the snow to retrieve his shovel that was still lying on its side on the ground. “I know how much you love the snow. Could you maybe help me clear the rest of this path up with those big, strong paws of yours, please?”
Without any hesitation whatsoever, Kimi charges towards him and barrels into a big mound of snow. Bits fly out and hit the German squarely in the face.
“Whoa–hoa! Careful!” he spluttered. “You’re going to hurt yourself doing that.”
Kimi pops his head out and wriggles himself out of the pile, shaking the snow off of him.
“Are you okay?”
Kimi lolls his tongue out in response, seemingly untroubled about what he just did.
Sebastian sighed in relief. “Okay. You’re okay. Good!”
Kimi looks down underneath him and looks to be getting himself into position. Before Sebastian could ask what he was doing, the wolf nosedives into the same pile of snow he just got out of. His legs wiggle and squirm about for a bit, paws digging into the snow, trying to find a bit of ground to stand on, and then he jumps back out again, unharmed and unfazed.
Sebastian quirked an eyebrow and the corner of his lip up in amusement. “Alright, you carry on doing that, then. Just be careful, okay?”
They continue working hard, clearing away all of the snow off the path around Sebastian’s cottage.
At some point after clearing up the worst of the snow, a sudden growling noise cuts through the silence, which seems to be coming from Sebastian.
Kimi whips his head around to stare at him. Why is my human making this noise all of a sudden? Is this a sign of hostility? He doesn’t seem angry.
He reacts to the sound by growling back at it with his hackles raised and bearing his canines.
Sebastian suppresses a little chuckle at this, finding the situation oddly amusing. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s just my tummy rumbling.” He rubbed his stomach as if to prove his point. Kimi didn’t seem convinced until Sebastian’s stomach growled again, louder this time. “See? I’m just really hungry, that’s all.”
Kimi’s hackles gradually soften and disappear into his fur.
“Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll cook us a nice roast dinner.”
⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆
While the turkey Kimi had caught and killed was cooking in the oven, Sebastian rushed off to hunt for his gift. Kimi surveyed his surroundings while he waited, admiring all the decorations and lights the German had put up all over the lounge. There’s certainly loads of them in here than what he’d seen outside. It was almost overwhelming. Everything looked so different. He wasn’t used to this at all! He missed the way everything used to look. But he hoped, like Sebastian told him, that it would all be put away soon.
Sebastian appeared through the doorway with something large and wide wrapped up in colourful vintage styled wrapping paper.
“Here you go!” he hummed merrily. “Merry Christmas!”
He placed it in front of Kimi, who was just sitting there, a bit concerned. He sniffed the present and shot Sebastian a very confused look.
“Open it.” the German prompted.
Kimi pawed at it, but the paper didn’t tear. It felt surprisingly tough. He tried again, this time using his claws, and he succeeded tearing bits of it off. He clawed at it some more, almost showering the place with shreds of paper. What appeared before his very eyes made him pause in his tracks.
It was a big, fluffy dog bed!
And sitting on top of the cushion was a little dog bowl!
“Welcome home, Kimi.” he heard Sebastian announce proudly, voice cracking a little. “You’re now a member of the family.”
Kimi was completely stunned, utterly lost in his own thoughts. And after a moment had gone by, he found himself jumping up and down and licking Sebastian’s tear- stained face. The German chuckled and squeezed him tightly in his arms. He truly loved seeing his little wolfie happy, and in turn, it made him happy too.
He lifted Kimi up and brought him onto the sofa and into a proper big, warm, comforting hug. He pressed his face into his fluffy body once again. His ears prick up when he heard the little wolf’s excitable heartbeat racing throughout his chest and into the German’s eardrums.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud.
A continuous, rhythmic motion.
Sebastian’s whole body sparked and tingled at the feeling as if he were struck by electricity. He brought Kimi closer and his heartbeat grew louder and thumped harder against his ear. He sighed a long, content sigh and his fingers clawed into Kimi’s skin.
“So, this is your gift to me.” he muttered dreamily. “Oh, Kimi. You have such a lovely heartbeat. It sounds nice and healthy. What a gift! I love it. I love it so very much.”
He squeezed Kimi tighter, which makes the wolf’s heart rate beat even faster. Sebastian was entranced and he sank deeper into the sofa with another sigh; this one more long and drawn out than the last.
This is the best Christmas the two of them have ever shared together. Easily. Though they haven’t done very much to earn it, it didn’t matter. Being in each other’s company was enough.