Work Text:
“Over here?”
“A little more left.”
“Right here?”
“Yes! Perfect, thank you, Sneeg!”
The blacksmith attaches the wreath to the wall of the castle, careful not to damage it or any of the small decorations adorning it. He has one more to place on the other side of the wall before the lights need to be hung up.
Sneeg had been hoping they would get this done sooner, ideally before sunset, but with only him, Ros, and Tango working on the outdoor decorations, and it being cold, it’s taken longer. Not to mention that they had gotten a late start due to someone—totally not Sneeg—being a bit late. At the very least, they only had the lights to put up now, and he’s heard that there will be hot cocoa after they’re done.
“Ros, does this look good?”
The architect looks over from where she’s helping Tango, taking a few steps back to get a better look. “Yep, looks good!”
After securing the last wreath, he lands next to the shulkers Ros brought out. She had spent the past couple of weeks decorating the garlands and wreaths, making them the most beautiful decorations he’s seen in a while.
The garlands were sprigs of pine intertwined with glittery gold ribbons, with faux alliums, pinecones dusted with fake snow, and round ornaments that were securely nestled between the strips of the ribbon and pine needles. The ornaments, fittingly enough, were a mix of yellow and purple, matching the colors of the kingdom’s flag.
The wreaths were adorned similarly with bows made of the shimmering gold ribbon, the yellow and purple ornaments, a few faux snowy pinecones, and small patches of sweet berries and fake alliums. The blacksmith had asked Ros why she decided to use real sweet berries instead of fake ones, as she had with the alliums, to which she had responded with, “I didn’t like how the fake ones looked. They were too bright and unnatural looking.”
“Just lights left, yeah?” Tango asks, coming up to Sneeg’s side.
“Yup! Shouldn't be too hard!”
The lights had taken the least amount of time for Ros to decide on. The colors were a mixture of warm white, yellow, and purple, while the bulbs were an alternating pattern of stars and spheres. Simple, yet they were just a beautiful as the other decor.
“Alright, let's get this done and over with. I’ve heard that we're getting hot cocoa after this.” Sneeg said while grabbing a few strings of lights.
Tango perked up immediately. “Really?! Hot cocoa sounds so good right now.”
“Well, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we get some, so chop chop, boys!” The architect stated.
The two saluted her with a “Yes, ma’am,” before getting back to work with Ros’s supervision.
The next couple of hours passed with constant readjustments, a cold breeze, and the threat of snow looming on the horizon when Sneeg had noticed a blanket of clouds heading their way. But after those two hours, and many minutes wasted on undoing knots in the lights, they had finished.
The three stood back as the butterfly hybrid flipped a lever and watched as the outside of the castle lit up. The garlands and wreaths lining the windows and spires sparkled against the colors of the lights, highlighting the glittery ribbons and ornaments. The breeze caused the lights to sway against the walls of the castle; yellow, purple, and white dancing across the bricks and windows.
“It looks fantastic, Ros. You did well.” Tango breathed out as he marveled at the now festive castle.
“Oh, stop it, I didn’t do everything. I had all of your guys’ input and help with setting them up.”
Sneeg huffed. “Yeah, but you did most of the work with making them and deciding where each piece should go to make it look good.” The moth gave her a small nudge as he continued, “Annnnd you had to plan out where each decoration had to go on the castle and in the castle, that takes a lot of planning and effort. Which, might I add, has paid off immensely.”
“Ohhhhh stop it, you guys are too kind.” She beamed at them, giving them quick side hugs.
Crunch
Crunch
Crunch
The warden turned and tilted his head towards the path leading up to the castle upon hearing the sound of distant footsteps approaching. He squinted, trying to make out the distant blobs of colors. Ros and Tango turned to look at him before following his gaze and also trying to make out who was coming their way.
“Pili, Fit, and Sausage,” Sneeg declared, shoulders relaxing. “Back just in time with the tree.”
The three had volunteered to go out and bring back the biggest and best tree to use in the throne room.
That was around eight hours ago.
“I’ll let everyone inside know,” Tango stated, quickly walking out of the cold wind and into the warm walls of the kingdom.
The blacksmith let out a small, amused huff as the butterfly next to him giggled to herself.
“I’ll go see if they need help; you go back in and warm up.”
She looked at him, a small frown tugging at the edges of her lips. “Are you sure? Aren’t you getting cold, too? You’ve been flying around after all.”
“I’ll be fine, and besides, I don’t want them to get caught up in the oncoming snow.” He reassured the architect, already launching himself into the air. Ros was hesitant, but eventually she went back inside, not before telling Sneeg to be careful and to come back safely.
As the sky darkened and the clouds slowly concealed the stars, the moth flew over to his fellow kingdom members who had… huh, wow, that’s definitely a big tree. No wonder it had taken them so long to come back.
“I told you we should have gone with the fifth one; we would have been done hours ago!” Pili complained, readjusting how the tree sat on his shoulder.
“But then we wouldn’t have this beauty, and we promised we’d bring back the best tree, Pili! We shouldn’t settle for less!” Sausage retorted between harsh breaths.
“Less talking, more walking, you two. We’re almo-”
“You guys need help?” Sneeg asked, cutting Fit off, watching as all three of them paused and looked up at the moth.
“Sneeg!” They cheered in unison.
“Please, yes, help, my shoulders, legs, arms, everything hurts,” Pili said, lifting the part of the trunk towards the blacksmith. He quickly took it from the cat, hovering above the ground as he helped to support the weight.
“Did you, Ros, and Tango finish decorating the outside of the castle?” Fit asked as they resumed their walking.
“Yup, she did a fantastic job with making them and arranging where they should go on the castle.” He replied, shifting his grip. “This is a pretty big tree, by the way. Are you guys sure this will fit in the throne room?”
“Yup! I measured it three times before we decided to cut it down!” Sausage stated with glee. “Do you think we’ll have enough ornaments and lights for it?”
“I hope so, or else we’ll have to go back out and cut down another tree,” the bald man at the front stated with a sigh.
“Oooorrr we could just cut this one to be shorter,” Pili suggested as he walked next to the moth. “It would be easier to do that and trim the branches than to go back out and find a new tree.”
Sneeg could tell Fit wanted to say something, but resorted to grumbling and muttering under his breath. The warden shared a glance with the purple-clad cat next to him and quietly snickered.
The rest of the walk consisted of comfortable silence, broken up with light banter and laughter. It was dark now, the moon and stars hiding behind a thick cloud covering, leaving only the lights from the faction settlements and spawn to guide them. Small snowflakes began to drift from the sky, sparsely for now, but the group knew that it would quickly increase, and they had to move fast if they didn’t want to be snowed out of the castle gates.
“Wow, the castle looks gorgeous! You guys did a fantastic job!” Sausage commented as they passed the outer walls, the castle coming into full view now. “I can only imagine what the inside looks like.”
“Well, you wouldn't have to imagine if you kept moving,” Pili stated as he rushed past the three to warm up inside.
He did make a good point.
“Wow! I didn’t think you guys were serious when you said you were going to get the biggest tree possible!” Foolish exclaimed as he swapped places with Fit, relieving the bald man from having to carry the tree further.
A few people had been waiting by the doors for the group to return, keeping the doors open to help bring the tree in. The moth could feel the warmth of the castle radiating out, absolutely ready to crash once they were done.
“Of course, of course! Gotta have the biggest and bestest tree for the best faction after all!” Sausage, stated as Clown came over to take the tree from him.
Sneeg had been prepared to continue his help with carrying the tree until Zam flew over, the princess coming right up to his side. “I can take over, you go rest.”
“Yeah, you’ve been outside long enough.” Foolish chimed in. “Plus, your hot cocoa’s gonna get cold!”
“You sure? I don’t mind-”
The archmage in front of him quickly turned his head towards the blacksmith, interrupting him. “From your apprentice, your king, and your boyfriend, go rest, seriously.”
Sneeg huffed but relented, letting the now giggling princess take the weight of the tree from him. He landed with a soft thump on the carpeted ground, following Fit and Sausage to the kitchen, hoping that his hot cocoa was still warm by some miracle. Although judging by the smell of warm chocolate and toasted spices, the moth guessed that it still was.
The kitchen was comfortably warm, a much needed relief from the winter chill. Pili was already there, warming his hands with a cup he was sipping from. It was topped with a mound of whipped cream and what looked like a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate shavings. Tina was also there, gracefully ladling cocoa into three more mugs, each decorated to match a kingdom member.
His mug was a light blue with a blue and white moth painted on the opposite side of the handle. It was a simple design, neither too busy nor too plain. It rested in the center of a filled-in black spaid symbol, making the white and blue of the moth stand out better than it would have been if it were just on the light blue. The inside was the same light blue and was slightly stained from the multiple times he had drunk coffee in it.
Tina only put two ladles full of cocoa into his before turning to him. “Do you want any whipped cream? If yes, do you want any chocolate shavings or cinnamon sprinkled on top?”
“Uhhh, yeah sure, and can I have both, please?”
“Of course!” The mage returned the ladle to the pot and grabbed a bowl of whipped cream, spooning a small mound on top. Taking some chocolate shavings and sprinkling them on with the cinnamon, she finished making his cocoa, and he carefully took the hot mug from her.
“Tina, have you seen the tree we chose?” Pili asked, wiping a bit of whipped cream from his nose.
She shook her head. “No, but I did overhear Foolish talk about how tall and big it was.”
“Wanna go watch them try and set it up in the throne room?” Fit asked, already moving to leave the kitchen.
“From what I can hear, they’re having a bit of trouble with it,” Sneeg said, beginning to follow his friend out so he could watch the commotion.
The five left the kitchen, stepping quickly as they all wanted to see how poorly the tree setup was going. Arriving on the balcony above the throne and uh… wow, yeah… it sure was going… not well.
Zam was doing her best to hold up the top of the tree, trying to keep it from falling over onto anything or anyone while also trying to prevent herself and her wings from accidentally crashing into the ceiling. Pine needles decorated the floor and the heads of Foolish and Clown as the two were buried in the branches of the tree, trying to center it. Ros and Tango were further back, the architect commanding which way the three had to tilt the tree to center it, while the squire occasionally gave his input.
“A little more left- yes! There! Right there!” The butterfly exclaimed, her wings flapping slightly behind her. “Just stay like that! I’ll run up- oh perfect!” She was now looking at the freshly arrived group, a relieved smile on her face. “Could you guys check and see how the tree looks from up there, please?”
Sneeg shifted his gaze to look at the whole tree, taking a few steps back to get a better look. Unfortunately for the archmage, king, and princess, the tree was leaning towards the throne. The blacksmith was partially grateful that he had been convinced to get his cocoa and rest, well aware that he would be having just as much ‘fun’ as Zam was having right now. He’s also sure that he would have collided with the ceiling multiple times and banged his wings up by now.
“It needs to move more that way, towards you, Ros.” Tina pointed in the direction, mostly for Zam, since Foolish and Clown couldn’t see her from behind the pine needles. Said three let out loud groans, causing the rest of the kingdom to laugh.
After it was set up, everyone had congregated in the rows of chairs in the throne room. They formed a lopsided circle, or maybe square, he wasn't sure. They had to be moved to make room for the tree and presents, and they would probably be moved around again when they opened presents.
His cocoa was gone by now, the mug now abandoned on a nearby empty chair. Light chatter filled the space, most of which Sneeg wasn’t paying attention to, content to just sit there and relax.
“Oooohhh Sneeeeeeg!” The yellow princess sang, sliding up to his side and leaning against him, her wings fluttering slightly.
He let out an amused huff. “Hi, Zam, do you need something?”
His apprentice beamed as she spoke, “Why yes, yes, I do! I was wondering if you could help me make a couple of gifts, please.” Zam was looking at him with big puppy dog eyes and pouting slightly, doing her best to look like a wet cat so her mentor would help her.
“Stop that, you don’t need to look so pathetic to get me to help.”
“So you’ll help me?”
“Yes, of course.”
The princess shot up from his side with a cheer at his confirmation, causing the blacksmith to chuckle. He had figured people would come to him for help with making some gifts, and not much to his surprise, two more people walked over to ask a similar question.
“Oh, Sneeg, if it’s alright, could you also help us with making a gift?” Tina asked, dodging the excited princess’s frosted wings.
“You won’t need to do too much, just a few things to it, mostly. We’ll give you more details later.” Pili added.
Forcing Zam to sit back down, Sneeg nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
Tina smiled brightly, and Pili’s ears perked up as his tail swished happily behind him. The two thanked him before walking back to their seats, and the idle chatter from before continued, although this time, Sneeg was chatting with Zam.
Their conversation was interrupted when a certain totem shark walzed up to them. “Sorry to interrupt, but Sneeg, can I ask you something?”
The two paused and looked up at their king. “Yeah, of course. What do you need, Foolish?”
“Could you help me with making a gift, please?”
The blacksmith nodded, not missing the slight glance the totem gave to his adopted daughter when he said gift. “Sure, I’d be more than happy to help.”
Foolish beamed, teeth sharp, but eyes bright with joy. “Awesome, thank you, Smith Father!”
Sneeg sighed softly. He sure was going to be busy in these upcoming days.
He wasn’t as busy as he thought he would be. Some of the gifts weren’t too big and were fairly easy for him. He did have to work on making a new set of armor for Tina, since that’s what Zam’s gift for the mage in training was. However, making armor wasn’t new to the blacksmith, and the process went by faster than he thought.
He was currently working on some details for the gift Foolish asked him for help with. It was a new tiara for Zam, one that the king planned to have yellow and purple gems embedded into, along with some more icy elements to represent the princess’s connection to the cold.
Sneeg was in the middle of carving some snowflake designs into the metal when he heard a knock on his door.
He paused his work and sat up, quickly hiding the tiara from sight in case it was Zam. “Come in!”
Much to his relief, it wasn’t Zam, but instead Ros. She smiled at him as she walked over, her purple butterfly wings fluttering anxiously.
“Hi Ros, you’ve been doing ok?” He asked, knowing that the architect had been busy decorating the Christmas tree.
“Yup, just finished planning where I want all the ornaments to go, and now I’m taking a break.” She said, sitting down on a nearby bench. Sneeg had built a few benches for whenever someone came to hang out with him while he worked. They were mostly used by Zam, Clown, Ros, Aimsey, Fit, and Phil.
“I actually came to ask if you could help me with making some Christmas gifts—that is, if you’re not too busy!” She exclaimed nervously, fidgeting with her hands.
The blacksmith sat on a nearby stool, looking at her. “Not at all. What do you need help with?”
All worry visually left the butterfly as she began to list out her gift ideas, “Well, I wanted to make a circlet for Tina, some sunflower earrings for Sausage, and a new scythe for Clown.
“Yeah, I can help with that, those don’t sound too hard,” He hummed out.
Ros beamed, and her wings flapped happily behind her. “Oh, thank you, Sneeg! I’ve already drawn out the designs, and I have all the materials too! I’ll go get them real quick!” She said, rushing out the door to her tower.
Sneeg turned to continue his work while he waited, but was stopped when he heard the door connecting the castle’s kitchen open. He was pleasantly surprised to see it was Clown, visibly perking up with delight when he noticed the blacksmith.
“Hello darling, not too busy right now, are you?” The jester asked, moving to his side.
“I was, but stopped because Ros had to ask me something.” He replied, slightly leaning against his boyfriend. “She just left and is coming back shortly.”
Clown hummed in acknowledgement. “Got it, so I should ask you this quickly, then leave,” He said, running a gloved hand through the moth’s hair. “Could you help me with a couple of gifts? Nothing that should be too difficult for someone as skilled as you.”
Sneeg blushed slightly at the compliment, quickly regaining his composure to reply. “Uh, yeah, I can help. Do you want to tell me what you have in mind now or later?”
“Mmmm, it’ll have to be later, one of them is for Ros.” He felt the archmage shift as he spoke and sat up a bit so he wouldn’t be leaning against him anymore.
“Gotcha, I’ll see you later then, I can hear her coming back.”
And with that, Clown quietly slipped out of the blacksmith’s room, going back through the kitchen to get inside the castle. Just in time as well, as the royal architect comes bounding back into his room, a bundle and book and quill in hand.
“I’m back! Here’s everything I have for my gift ideas!” She placed the bundle and book on his workbench, immediately opening the book to drawings and notes. He leaned towards the book, examining the sketches.
One page was for Tina’s gift, a circlet that Ros wanted to be made out of gold with small amethyst crystals embedded in it. She had noted that she wanted most of the amethyst to be carved into a more square shape, except for two that she wanted to look more like demon horns. She had also noted that she wanted flower designs engraved on the gold.
Looking at the other page, held the details for Sausage’s gift, a pair of sunflower earrings made from gold and emerald. There were notes about engraving details onto the petals and the center of the sunflower to make it look more realistic. There was a note about how Ros was going to paint them a little to make them more lifelike. The emerald was to make a sunflower stem with a few leaves attached.
Ros flipped the page to reveal her ideas for Clown’s scythe. It was similar to the one he already had, but with a few notes about making the handle better for him to hold, and wanting to add a few carvings onto the blade. Nothing he hadn’t done before.
The blacksmith leaned back into his chair, taking note of the anxious glances the architect was giving him.
“Yeah, I shouldn’t have any trouble with making those. Do you mind if I keep this for reference?”
She let out a small sigh of relief before registering his question and scrambling to answer. “Yes—Yes, it’s fine, everything in this book is fine for you to look at, just in case you turn the page or something.”
“Thank you, Ros. Is there anything else?”
“Uhhh, no, that should be it, actually! I need to get back to work on the tree. Thank you so much for the help, Sneeg!” Ros said as she left.
“Anytime, Ros!”
Sneeg had a lot of work to get done.
He woke up early on the morning of Christmas, not having been awoken by anything, but instead just his body waking him up. It could be excitement now that he thought about it, the anticipation of spending time with those he cared about and watching them react to the gifts he helped to make.
Sneeg wasn’t the only one waking up early, though. He could hear the soft shuffling of footsteps across the castle, only two pairs, two other people who were also awake.
The warden got up, tiredly stretching and wiping the sleep from his eyes. He doubts he would be able to fall asleep again, and he didn’t want to accidentally oversleep if he did, so getting up was his only option.
After changing into comfier clothes—sweatpants, slippers, and a simple t-shirt—he made his way to the sound of other people. They were in the throne room, quietly discussing something that Sneeg’s partially asleep brain couldn’t discern at the moment. What he did know was that it was Ros and Zam that were talking.
His presence was noticed immediately when he walked in, the princess and architect turning to look at him. Ros was still in her pajamas, light purple with butterfly designs, while Zam was in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt.
“Oh Sneeg! We didn’t wake you, did we? We were trying to be as quiet as possible.” The butterfly asked worriedly.
He shook his head as he made his way down to the two. “Nah, barely heard you guys. I think it was just excitement that woke me up.”
They both relaxed at the answer, Ros letting out a small sigh of relief. “Ok, good. Well, while you’re here, could you help Zam with moving the chairs around, please? I was going to get some of the spare blankets and pillows.”
Sneeg nodded, and the two got to work, moving the chairs while chatting. Zam was excited, her wings fluttering as they dragged chairs around. His own wings fluttered occasionally in response; his apprentice’s enthusiasm was infectious.
“I will never understand how you can have so much energy this early in the morning.” The moth grunted out as he picked up a few chairs.
The princess laughs. “Maybe it’s because you’re not a morning person and I am.”
“Yeah, still doesn’t help.”
Ros came back with a mound of blankets and pillows, but that wasn’t the only thing that she brought. Behind her were two people that the kingdom was quite familiar with. Derapchu and Phil, who were also carrying a pile of blankets and pillows.
“PHIIIILLL! DERAPCHUUU!” Zam shouted in glee, causing the warden to flinch slightly at the volume. She quickly apologized, which he brushed off, since she was just happy to see her friends.
The crow dumped the pile of cushioning onto a chair before turning to look at the moth. “Hey mate, Happy Christmas! Wasn’t expecting you to be up this early.”
“Merry Christmas. I woke up from holiday jitters and just decided to stay awake.” He replied, hugging his friend.
“Is anyone else awake, or is it just you three?” Derap asked.
“Yup, just us three! The others should be waking up soon, though.” Ros replied as she began to arrange blankets.
True to her words, the rest of the kingdom slowly trickled into the throne room, happily greeting Derap and Phil. After everyone arrived, they split into groups, one for setting up the gift opening area and one for making breakfast.
“WAIT! Before everyone leaves!” Foolish exclaimed, rushing to go behind the tree and the throne.
He quickly came back with a large box, setting it down with a loud thump in front of everyone. The totem opened the box to reveal carefully crafted and folded Christmas sweaters. He began handing them out to the others, each one designed specifically for each member of the kingdom, and he even made ones for Phil and Derapchu.
“I made these for everyone a few weeks ago, as my gift!” He said, putting his own one on after handing them all out.
Sneeg’s sweater was a mixture of blues, white, and black. There were moths and spades in alternating patterns going across the sweater from front to back. There was also a large anvil on the back with a hammer on each side. It was also very soft on the outside as he held it, and just as soft on the inside when he put it on. It was the perfect size, not too tight or too loose, and it had a flap in the back for his wings to slip through comfortably. Foolish had put a lot of love and effort into these.
After everyone had put on their sweaters, they split off. Phil, Fit, Sausage, Tango, Pili, and Ros went to the kitchen, tasked with making breakfast and hot cocoa for everyone. Sneeg, Clown, Zam, Derapchu, Foolish, and Tina stayed back to finish rearranging chairs, blankets, and pillows.
The second group finished their task fairly quickly and were now lounging around, conversing about anything and nothing, just enjoying each other’s company.
At some point, the warden had heard Derap and Zam whispering and giggling to each other, but ignored it in favor of talking with Clown. Maybe he should have been paying attention because he heard the fluttering of wings above him and the archmage. When the two looked up, they saw the princess hovering over them with… mistletoe.
Ah. Yeah, he should have been listening more carefully.
“Seriously, Zam?” Clown asked with an amused sigh.
“Aww, come on! It’s not Christmas without a little mistletoe, is it?” She replied with a wide grin.
“I mean, she’s not right, buuuut,” Tina said with a small smile on her face, sitting next to Foolish, who also had an amused smile on his face, across from them.
Sneeg and Clown looked at each other, silently communicating, before the jester shifted his mask. He used it to cover both of their faces as they closed the distance and kissed. It was short and sweet, but still caused a small uproar of cheers and claps, Zam gasping with glee as she watched from above.
The archmage repositioned his mask to cover his face before leaning against the moth. As silly as it was, Sneeg didn’t mind getting an excuse to kiss the love of his life.
Shortly after the mistletoe, breakfast was ready and was carried out and delivered to everyone alongside a hot cup of cocoa. It was nice, being able to eat with everyone at the same time, something that rarely occurred in the kingdom due to sleep schedules or some people being out on adventures. So to be able to have everyone here, including two honorary faction members, was pleasant to the warden.
“Alright! Who wants to open presents!?” Foolish asked after everyone was mostly done with their breakfasts.
A chorus of “Me!” and “I am!” sounded throughout the room. Sneeg set aside his empty plate and got up to help their king with handing out presents.
Some presents were too big or complicated to wrap, so they had to be hidden behind the tree. For example, a giant portrait of the kingdom and its people that Pili and Tina had painted for Foolish. The totem was enthralled with it and had teared up at the gift, immediately having Zam and Ros help him hang it up behind his throne.
Another was an axe that Clown had asked Sneeg to help him make for Pili. It was designed similarly to how Pili 1’s axe looked, but there were elements from his current life and from Pili 2. He had loved it, taking it away from the crowd and giving it a couple of swings before coming back and giving the blacksmith and jester a hug.
One was for Clown, the scythe he and Ros had worked on together. The archmage jumped from his seat and ran over when he saw it, happily taking it from the blacksmith’s hands to test it out away from the others. Safe to say, he loved it, giving Sneeg a peck on the cheek and Ros a hug for it.
The last gift was one for Sneeg, a giant hammer that the whole king had been secretly working on. Phil and Fit had helped with designing it, making it resemble the hammers he had from past worlds. It was well crafted, everything so carefully carved and polished. It felt comfortable in his hands, like it was meant to be there. He’ll always deny tearing up about it, but if he had any less self-control, he would’ve been sobbing from the kindness and love of his kingdom and friends.
The rest of the gifts were wrapped in paper that was colored to match each member. Some had ribbons or bows, and some were just plain wrapping paper.
Zam had adored her gifts, immediately running to a nearby room to change into them. Ros had gifted her a new dress, one not suited for the colder weather, but that didn’t bother the princess when she ran to put it on. It was a light blue with sheer puffy sleeves that when down to her wrists. The bottom was made from layers of ruffled fabric that went down to her knees. Around the center of the dress was a bright yellow ribbon that had a bow in the back.
Zam had done a twirl when she came back in the dress before putting her sweater back on and opening the rest of her gifts. She had happily put on her new tiara that Foolish had asked Sneeg for help with. Tango and Pili had gifted her a necklace and earrings, which she had also quickly put on. Both accessories had an icy theme, made from iron with diamonds carved into snowflake shapes.
Ros had been pleasantly surprised with jewelry of her own, a bracelet that matched the ones that Sneeg and Clown had secretly put on before opening gifts. It was simple, a gold bracelet with an amethyst butterfly that had a small lapis spade and redstone heart on either side of it.
She had teared up and hugged them both when she noticed, before giving them matching necklaces that she had Tango help her with. They were made with iron and had blue, red, and purple beads to represent the three of them. The two had happily put them on, giving her another hug.
Once she had collected herself, she opened her other presents. One was a purple butterfly plush that resembled Joe Broski Prime that Zam and Pili made for her. The other was a small painting of Ros with butterflies and cornflowers that Tina had made for her.
Zam had given Clown a small nether star pendant to represent their time on Lifesteal. He had immediately attached it to his new scythe. Tina and Pili had given him a new mask, or rather a spare one that he could use in case something happened to his current one. Sneeg had helped with making sure the mask was strong enough and would be able to sit comfortably on the jester’s face. To no one’s surprise, Clown had ducked behind the tree to put it on, giving his approval of it.
Phil had come with a gift for Sneeg, despite him and Derapchu not having been required to. The crow had given him a half stack of emerald apples, something the moth was quite happy to receive and had quickly stored away in his enderchest.
Another gift he had been given was a snail plush that looked like Crinkle, with a blue crown on the shell and everything. Tina and Pili had made it for him when they heard about how much he missed his snail. Sneeg was never really a hugger, but he had hugged them as a thank you for the wonderful gift.
Foolish had already put on his new rings and necklace that Sneeg and Zam had made for him. All made from gold and emeralds, with a few amethyst crystals to represent the kingdom's colors. He was now looking over the new bow that Tango and Clown had made for him, the wood having intricate carvings that resembled each member of the kingdom.
Tina had been ecstatic to put on the circlet that Sneeg and Ros made for her, happily hugging Ros and complimenting them both on how pretty it looked. She was surprised to find that the blacksmith had actually helped with two of her gifts, the second being a new armor set that matched her better from him and Zam.
She was posing with her new armor, circlet, and the new mage staff that Clown had made for her. He had told her that she needed a new one that could handle her newfound skills.
Pili had made a hot dog hat for Tango, one that everyone had laughed and giggled at when he put it on. While he didn’t hate it, he was obviously a bit happier when he was gifted a new set of armor that Clown and Sneeg had made for him. Though he did note how the trims on the armor did resemble ketchup and mustard, something the two denied doing on purpose. It was on purpose.
Sausage had been ecstatic at the sunflower earrings, immediately putting them on and doing a twirl in them. He had thanked Ros and Sneeg for them, telling them that a friend of his would probably like a pair as well if they didn’t mind making them.
He was also overjoyed when he got… yaoi novels… from Pili… yeah, not much more to it than that.
Tina, Tango, and Ros had gifted Pili a case full of new art supplies, ranging from pencils, paints, brushes, erasers, and two sketchbooks. One was made for handling paint, while the other was better just for pencils. The cat had been sketching and creating now that he had more time on his hands and didn’t have that many people bothering him about past lives and loves lost.
Pili had paused when he opened a gift from Zam. Matching necklaces. Zam’s having a diamond in the shape of a nether star, while Pili’s had an amethyst in the shape of a nether star. He didn’t say much, but he did put it on and gave the princess a small smile.
And finally, Fit. Oh boy. Fit’s gift wasn’t under or behind the tree, no, for it was too big to even be in the castle. Guiding the bald man outside, he was shocked to find that his gift was no longer being homeless and having to live in the dumpsters of the castle. They had built him a whole house and had decorated and furnished the inside for him. He had teared up and thanked them all and said he would look around it later after they were done with everything.
Safe to say, everyone enjoyed their gifts.
Now, as the day grew later and the sky darker, the kingdom was still gathered in the throne room, happily chatting and drinking.
It was nice, the warmth, the laughter, the calmness of it all. It was nice seeing everyone so happy and relaxed. They didn’t have to worry about potential threats, the keepers, or anything. All they have to do is enjoy themselves and spend time with each other, and really, that was enough.
Clown leaned against him, sighing softly as he rested his head on the moth’s shoulder. Sneeg reciprocated the action by resting his head on the archmage’s, earning him a content hum.
“You doing good, darling? Not too overwhelming or anything?”
“Mmmm, no. I’m doing pretty well so far.”
“Good, good. Don’t be afraid to let us know when things get too much, and you need to step out, ok?”
“I won’t, Ros has already said that I can retreat to my room for a bit whenever I need to.”
Clown shifted slightly against him, getting into a more comfortable position before replying, “That’s good. You wouldn’t mind if I joined you, would you?”
“I would, actually.” Sneeg teased with a grin.
“Ok, alright, I see how it is.” The jester replied with a small laugh.
“Yeah, that I secretly hate you and don’t want you near me ever again.”
Clown’s body shook against the moth’s as he laughed harder, Sneeg joining in shortly after.
“Ok man, yeah sure, I guess that kiss from earlier meant nothing huh?”
“Yeah, man, that was just a kiss from bro to bro.”
“Oh, so what I’m hearing is that you don’t want me to kiss you anymore, is that it?”
“Wait, no, I take it back.”
Clown laughed more and moved his mask, quickly kissing Sneeg on the lips. The moth blushed and sat in slight shock, not having been prepared for the surprise kiss.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
It was quite possibly the best Christmas Sneeg had ever had on any server. No, scratch that, it was the best Christmas he’s ever had. Surrounded by friends and the person he loved most, what more could he need?