Episode One Hundred and Fifty: Surprises
I paused, listening to Indigo’s question, and realized she spoke better and in more complete sentences. The days away with the dragons had helped her language skills.
“Maybe…”
“Magic stirs magic,” answered Lady Twilight, at the same time as my response.
I glanced at her, wondering what she knew that she wasn’t telling. With a dragon, it could be quite a lot.
Instead of responding, she didn’t meet my eyes. I didn’t push the issue. One thing I had learned was that magic didn’t always make sense, at least not in the rational way math did. It leaned more toward the arts.
“Indigo, do you want to give out the stockings? Or…” The words were barely out of my mouth when she leaped off my lap and into the air.
“Stocking time!” she chirped in a way-too-sharp voice. She reached the stocking with the blue dragon on it and carefully lifted it up in the air. For a second she wobbled, then suddenly stabilized as she flew it over to Lord Bennit.
“Thank you, little one.”
She chirped in response and went to the one with the black cat on it. That one she flew to the Cat behind me. He purred in response and off she went.
Quickly she gave out stockings to Alas and Liluth, then Lady Twilight, before me. Last, she took her own.
“Oh, what is this?” asked Lord Bennit, pulling out the button candy.
“I stuffed them with old-fashioned candy and party favors…” I answered sheepishly, as he pulled out a wooden toy with a cup and a ball on a string.
Alas chuckled along with the Cat, as everyone quickly started trying various candies and toys. The ball and cup toy fascinated the dragons, including Indigo whose mouth got stuck shut with taffy.
While I’d filled my stocking as well, a few additional surprises hid inside.
Someone had stashed a bag of premium coffee inside. The writing on the back wasn’t in English, but I knew how it smelled. I wanted to make some right now, but I resisted as I set it carefully on the couch beside me.
Lord Bennit carefully glanced away with a soft smile as he tried to get the rubber ball in the cup.
Indigo darted in and grabbed it with her claws, which was not the game at all.
The second surprise in my stocking felt soft. I pulled it out and found a cute little sweater. It had bright green leaves on it and wouldn’t fit me if I tried.
“Oh, that was for Indigo,” said Liluth with a chuckle.
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“Hey Indigo!”
She flew my way, and glanced at the sweater, I held up.
“You have a holiday sweater.”
Her eyes grew wide, and she skidded to a stop on my knees.
I carefully pulled it over her head and slid her wings through the spaces on the back. My fingers tingled with magic.
“It’s a safety charm,” whispered the Cat. “So, it won’t get caught on anything, or it will unravel if it hurts her.”
I nodded at his answer.
Indigo twisted about, trying to get a better look at herself before I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture.
Her eyes grew even wider, then she took off to tackle Liluth.
I wasn’t actually sure if it was the wrong stocking to put it in at all. I bet if Indigo had pulled it out, she wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Or she’d get distracted by the candy, which I limited in her case, but still.
A cold glass container came out next, filled with a thick bright blue liquid. A stopper kept it shut.
“It’s bubbles for the warm spring that Indigo mentioned on the roof,” explained Lady Twilight. “It helps with relaxation, and creates pretty sparkles.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. Normally, you didn’t use bubbles in a hot tub, but given the magical nature of it I wasn’t worried.
Lady Twilight popped a cute little party popper, sending confetti in the air that Indigo flew through. Lord Bennit used one as well, followed by everyone else quickly finding the ones in their stockings and filling the air with the small bits of paper.
The Cat purred behind me, almost right behind my head. His stocking already sat empty, and the toys I’d gotten him were somehow gone. Yet, he smelled faintly of sweet candy, which warmed my heart.
“Having fun?” I whispered.
“Surprisingly, yes.”
I couldn’t remove my smile if I’d tried.
“Presents?” asked Indigo, flying my way.
“Yes, I have things for everyone,” said Alas, jumping to his feet. He approached the tree and picked up the woven bag before I could say anything. “Indigo, this is for you.”
The dragon zoomed over and took a small object from his hands. She then flew in my direction and slowly unfolded the mystery item. At first, it was just a scrap of leather, but then each time she unfolded a section it grew bigger, until it became a small bag with a leather strap.
“A bag…” she said in a hushed whisper before sticking her claws inside, then her entire arm. It somehow vanished. “All the room! My player can fit!”
Then she vanished, a puff of air all that remained as a streak flew toward a small dark shadow on the mantle.
“Well, you made her day,” I said with a chuckle. I stuck my finger into the bag she’d left behind. I couldn’t feel a bottom, though there should have been one.
“Space magic is hard for the little ones to learn,” explained Lady Twilight. “She’ll love having it.”
“This is for you,” said Alas before he tossed something my way.
I caught it reflexively and unfolded it to find a belt. I held it up, slightly unsure. The quality was amazing.
“It has space magic built in as well. After those boots I made for that Traveler, I wanted to learn the magic to do it myself.”
“He’d been saying for ages he’d learn, and now he finally has,” interrupted Liluth. “It just took him a few hundred years to get around to it.”
“Hey, I had to recover from being an adventurer.”
She chuckled at him, and he smiled.
“This is for the old coot.”
The next thing he tossed, I caught and held it up to the Cat, who laughed.
Actually laughed, out loud.