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”Dashing through the snow!
In a one-horse open sleigh!
O'er the fields we go!
Laughing all the way!”
James smiled over towards his friend Artemus. The latter deeply inhaled the crisp winter breeze, leaping directly into the second half of the first verse, fully occupied by his jolly singing, rocking back and forth to the tempo of the melody.
West was steering the wagon through the snowy terrain, guiding them towards the nearby town for a joint mission of fetching supplies, running some errands and simply staking out the place.
Jack Frost proved especially impatient this day; the wind howled at them a little brisker by each minute. It sent a chill all the way down to the bones of the younger of the two agents. James West gave the horse a gentle flick with the reigns to urge it on, since long longing for the warm sanctuary of the saloon.
However, Artie did not allow the clear signs of how his friend was being frozen down to the very core, to pass by unnoticed.
”Cold, Jim?”, he chuckled lightly, nudging him teasingly with his elbow.
”Wh-whatever gave y-you that idea?”, West stuttered in response, keeping his eyes fixed on the snaking snow-covered road ahead.
”Oh, nothing really. Maybe just the fact that your shivers are more or less rocking the entire wagon worse than the mightiest earthquake. I’m surprised you have not rattled the entire carriage right into the nearest ditch already!”
”Ha. Ha. Ha. V-very funny, Artie. Y-your a true comedian,” he retorted, not being able to keep his frown from growing slightly – not being able to stay grumpy at his friend for more than a second, especially not due to his own stupidity.
”I told you. I said how you should have bought yourself a real winter coat – something similar to this one.” Artemus demonstrated by pulling the long thick fabric a bit tighter together around himself, not being the least chilled by the cold weather, which constantly assaulted them, as they moved further along the snowy stretch of road.
Gordon nudged his frozen friend with his elbow again, smirking as he went on. ”Jim… Having a waist jacket in the middle of the winter… I mean, even if it could technically be a winter jacket – due to the thickness of the fabric being thicker than your normal jacket – is still not warm enough for this climate, you know.”
”But I like this length! It’s p-practical!”, James argued through rattling teeth, as another blast of wind assaulted his already cold body, sending shivers through him. ”B-besides, how am I supposed to fight criminals and crooks in an agile way, in a l-long coat like yours?”, he challenged, trying to still win an already clearly losing fight.
Artie – being the older and wiser of the two; especially when it came to wearing practical clothes – slowly shook his head. ”James, my boy… How well can you fight in your current condition, eh? If you are stiff as a popsicle from the cold; you are doomed to at least strain a muscle the very moment you begin with your usual acrobatics, you know.”
Artie gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder. James pouted angrily, but added a teasing smirk – knowing fully well how his partner was right.
The older man allowed the subject to drop, as the equipage instead continued forward to the tones of his jolly humming. Not long after, the duo arrived into the small Christmas-decorated town.
——— W - W - W ———
A few hours later, after they had both gone their separate ways to run some errands, they converged in the bar.
Artemus had arrived first, and was waiting in a booth in the corner of the room – closest to the open crackling fire, engulfing the whole establishment in a warm crimson light. As James entered through the creaking swinging doors, brushing some freshly fallen snow of his shoulders, he couldn’t be more pleased to see the very strategically chosen seats.
”Well hello there, you walking popsicle!”, Artie heartily greeted his friend.
”Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny…”
Just as Jim was about to sit down, Artie held up a hand to stop him. ”Wait! I have something that you need to try on first...”
With those words, Artemus grabbed something that hung over the back of his own chair, and threw an armful of clear blue cloth over to Jim, who gracefully caught it. Fiddling with the fabric between his fingers, James slowly shook his head.
Knowing that a complaint was undoubtingly coming up, Gordon was quick to get the first word. ”Had this specially made – just for you, James my boy! Nothing but the very best, for my deep-frozen friend! If you’ll try it on, I’ll show you what’s so special about it.”
Seeing the eagerness in his companion’s eyes, James smirked, while slightly hesitantly exchanging his waist long winter jacket for this long coat, that went all the way down to his thighs. ”So, Artie… Indulge me! What’s the Christmas miracle, that comes along with this particular coat – except a very striking shade of blue?”
”Try to do a high spinning kick!”
James right brow went up in amusement. His friend must have gone mad. There was no physical way to execute said maneuver, with such a long piece of cloth hanging around his legs; like a fence trapping a wild stallion from the freedom of wilderness.
Seeing his hesitation, Artemus pushed on. ”Go on! Trust me on this!”
”Alright, alright! Here goes nothing….”
Taking a step away from the table, Jim made sure that he had plenty of room for the inevitable fall that was sure to follow. He took a deep breath, and swung his leg around. As he did, a loud almost crushing sound was heard below him, and he was amazed to find himself still on two feet one entire lap later, having amazingly completed the entire kick without landing flat on his nose.
At his friend’s dumbstruck expression, Artie chuckled and grinned satisfied; eyes glimmering with a combination of pride and a gaze that clearly stated ’I told you so’.
James West could not be more amazed, as he was successfully testing the piece of clothing, swinging his arms around, not being limited by the bright blue fabric one bit – despite that it was very tightly tailored; a feature he treasured. The material had great stretch, giving him the full flexibility he’d demanded.
As he looked down again, he saw that the lower parts of the coat had split apart up to his waist. It was now several longer pieces of fabric, and not one single joint section anymore. Jim grabbed one of the strips and held it up, expecting to see a torn edge, but instead, he saw a slightly uneven surface covering the left edge. The right had a similar contraption, but another texture; smooth, the clear opposite of the harder and robust one.
”It’s called velcro,” Artemus explained. ”You can attach and detach the two halves unlimited amount of times, as far as I’ve understood it. Perfect for stubborn agents who gets into fights now and then, and need their agility, whenever necessary. It’s also warm for long horse rides from the saloon back to the Wanderer, since it can be mended into a wind protective piece of coat at will.”
James smiled, as he took in the long clear blue coat again. ”Well, thank you, Artie. This is brilliant! It will definitely make wonders; ticking all the boxes of necessary criteria!”
Seeing a growing grin on his friend’s face, James sighed, knowing how Artie had already anticipated how he would take fancy to the coat and accept it. ”What now…?”, Jim added, clearly amused of the whole situation.
Artemus pulled up a bag from beneath the table. ”I’m very relieved you liked it. I had the tailer create four more in spare, for when you manage to tear, rip, burn or whatever you always manage to do with your clothes. Then you have some extras.”
The two friends shared a warm laugh, as they sat down to enjoy a very cold drink – now when neither needed to worry about freezing, on the way back to the train.
THE END