BURN
BRIGHT

After the Coalition’s reformation of the earth itself, a deep snow covered the boreal forest from treetops to the forest floor. While their permanent homes had yet to be set up or decided upon, Ninazu had taken it upon herself to keep fires burning and shelters built in their temporary camp. The evergreens above them had been cleared of snow, the boulders had been cleared of snow, and several firepits dug for the various families and individuals within the Coalition.

“To celebrate the successful movement of the islands and reshaping Elysium’s mountains, gather around for New Year’s presents!” Ninazu called. She lounged atop a large boulder, cleared of snow, in front of a strong campfire. Her flaming tail-tip brushed against one present; she tapped it out with a hindpaw before it set the whole pile alight.

Wrapped in soft leathers and rabbit furs, the presents piled next to the lioness’s crossed paws in a lopsided, multi-leveled tower. She ran a pawpad over the bundle, tallying up the number for the last time, and nodded to herself. After all, wouldn’t it be quite embarrassing if she left an important one at home? She chuckled to herself at the thought and licked her teeth.

“If you’ve been waiting on delivering gifts yourself, now is a good time to bring and exchange them,” Ninazu added. She shrugged. The guru expected nothing for herself and nobody else to have prepared presents during the Coalition’s turbulent present, but perhaps someone had? Bonus points for effort, if so.

© MADI

BURN
BRIGHT

The lioness nodded to the two as they appeared, glancing down at the gifts clustered around her paws. She identified Sojourn’s—her childrens’ gifts clustered to form their own pile—at once. Picking out a gift suitable to Brutei took more effort, less because of how much effort she’d put into the gift and more because of how the ice demon and her weren’t especially close. Would he like anything? And generic things like soaps or candles could mean she implied he needed to bathe more often.

She jumped down from the boulder, crunching the snow beneath her paws. As she grasped the two gifts in her jaws, the green flames swirling around her neck faded out, least she burn either by accident.

Ninazu walked to Sojourn, her grin flashing in her golden eyes even if her maw didn’t show it. She set the package, a small bundle wrapped in soft blue rabbit fur, in front of her daughter. When Sojourn opened it, the younger lioness would find a gold and turquoise necklace and a few other gold pieces within. They’d been taken from the Typhoon a few months prior, and Ninazu’d stashed them for this particular occasion, as she knew the majority of her children liked such things. “I hope you like them. At the very least, the fur would make a nice decoration.”

Next, she walked over to Brutei and dropped a chonk of a parcel in front of his paws. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure what you’d like.” Within the white rabbit fur, she’d included: a book of of Edgar Allen Poe’s collected poems, a small carving of his previous body, and a grey scarf.


[member=16709]SOJOURN[/member] [member=16137]Brutei Tsune[/member]

© MADI