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"But why is everyone so sad? It's Christmas!" Poppy's ears slouch
"Mom said that everyone is tired, not sad." Jack kicks a pile of snow
Poppy looks back to everyone wandering around in front of Theo's house. The Christmas tree has no candles or ornaments on it, and no presents underneath it. The food table is sparse, there's some cheesy bread, berries, and Theo's cranberry cookies. The only drinks they had were tea and water. Some of the adults talked to each other, but there were hardly any smiles to go around.
Jack flops onto the ground and starts waving his arms and legs dramatically in the snow "'least there's supposed to be more food coming."
"What are you doing?" Poppy squeaks in confusion
Jack stops moving, and looks up at her "Makin' Snow Bunnies."
"I think you mean 'Frost Stouts'." Poppy corrects
"Nooooo, it's a Snow Bunny because I'm a bunny."
"Nuh uh!"
"You're reaaaally stupid." Jack says
In response Poppy kicks some snow over Jack's face. He squeals in panic, kicking his legs and squirming around until he thinks he's gotten all of it off him. Then he grabs a handful of snow and flings it at her. It's not exactly a snowball, but a clump of sticky snow that slaps her chest. She yelps, not from hurt but surprise.
Frantically she starts brushing off the front of her dress "You're gonna ruin it!" She squeals
"Stop fighting you two." Erika stops her conversation with Oliver to reprimand them
"But moooooooom she started it."
"I don't care who started it, stop fighting." She says sternly
Jack rolls his eyes. They stare at each other for a few seconds. Feeling a little guilty for kicking snow over him, she holds out her hand to him. He takes it, and climbs out of the 'Snow Bunny' he made. They stare at it for a moment together.
"This sucks." Poppy pouts
"Hey!" He protests
"Not your Snow Stout, the Christmas party! There's no decorations, no carols, no fun…" Her voice tails off for a moment as she stares at the ground. Then her eyes light up "We have to do something about it."
Jack looks at her, his ears slouching "Like what?"
"We could… try giving people gifts." Her ears perk up "Getting gifts always makes me so happy."
Jack's ears perk up "I could grab some rocks from my collection."
"And I can make some things out of snow!" Her voice rising in excitement
Jack immediately sprints towards his house. Poppy starts packing balls of snow so that she can shape them, and it's not too long before Jack comes running back and dumps all of his rocks onto the snow, ruining his 'Snow bunny'. The two of the quickly started sorting through the rocks, trying to figure out which ones were the most appropriate for who, and for those who weren't getting a rock, what they should get for their snow present.
Soon Oliver wanders over, curious about what they were doing. After a hurried explanation, he's very interested.
"We're trying to figure out what to get Logan right now. None of the rocks seem to fit him. M'abye Poppy could make a Lute but…that seems kind of hard."
"What if you make him an Alpheep?" Oliver suggests
Poppy's face lights up "Good idea! I'll do that!" She grabs a ball of snow and starts molding it into the shape of one.
Their brainstorming and creation session is lively, and smiles and laughter are spread through the three of them as they throw out ideas and questions.
"I think Gruff would like this one."
"Prudence should get the flower looking rock."
"How do you make a fish out of snow?"
The three of them are too invested in their present making to notice that several of the adults are now watching them from the distance. The mood starts to shift, with smiles flitting across a few faces, and their parents watching with adoration.
When they finally have a present for each of the members of the town, they deliver their gifts cheerfully. The Farmer got a snow carrot, Greta and Wilfred got snow fish, Theo got a snow cheese. But most impactful of all was Logan's gift. Poppy saw him sitting all by himself on the cliff outlooking the ocean, staring out into the distance. She cautiously walked over to him and help out the Snow Alpheep to him, putting on a big smile.
"Merry Christmas!" She says cheerfully
He looks to her and a small smile grows on his face as he sees her, although his voice is still sad "Merry Christmas…"
Poppy holds the Snow Alpheep towards him more aggressively, and he finally notices it
"Is this… for me?" He asks curiously, despite how obvious it is
"It's a fluffy 'pheep!"
He gives an actual smile "It is very fluffy." He delicately takes it from her "Thank you so much…I wish I could give you something, would you accept a song?"
"Yeah! Sing for all of us!" She feels a lot of excitement jumping through her little body, Logan was a great singer after all
Logan goes to his home and grabs his lute. The mood has shifted, people are talking to each other and laughing as Logan emerges with his lute. Poppy and Jack look on with pride as people gather around him and he starts to sing.
"Have a holly jolly Christmas! It's the best time of the year…"