( && chemically calm. )

“What the hell is that noise?” Richard says as he walks through the forest towards a shuffling noise 

@richard-donnly

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a monster.” He smiles and spins his sword before walking ahead.

Cora hears something going on outside her cabin and goes to investigate. “Should you really be doing that?”

Julian lifts his head out of the bushes. “I need drachma.” He returns to searching.

“Do you think that’ll actually work?”

“I have no idea. But I want to try it.”

“It is the good old typical Christmas story about family and everything cliché like that. And I don’t believe in Jesus, so I don’t think I’m the right person to tell that story. I’d probably say something completely unrelated to it - or cuss it out for not making sense.” 

“Okay. Well, at least give me some good details. Like did a drunk aunt insult people? Did your grandfather lose his dentures?”

He was telling her a story this whole time? “Crap. Well, I can’t really judge considering the fact that I didn’t even hear or understand any of it. Sorry, really.” Raine shakes her head at his question, she wasn’t really one to tell stories. “No - unless you want to hear the good old typical Christmas story or whatever, then really I have none to tell you.” 

“Is it your good old typical Christmas story, because I’m interested. Or are you talking about the one about the baby Jesus and all that?”

“I– I don’t know how.” She pouts. “Can you help me burn the cabin down?

“Definitely.” He rolls up his sleeves. “Or I can at least get a blowtorch and maybe scare them out.”

“I’m sorry,” Raine shook her head. She was gone for a week and she wasn’t even that hungover from last night either — so why was it so hard to listen and speak? And do the same thing at the same time? Fuck. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you repeat that again?” 

Julian laughs. “Never mind. It’s actually a really bad story. Do you have any good stories?”

“I was eating gummy worms while practicing magic and then they turned into real worms and when I tried to fix it more bugs popped up, there’s like worms and spiders and crickets and other ones!” 

“Holy shit. So you couldn't turn them back into gummy worms?”

He rolls his eyes. “Disappointed.” He mumbles but leans down and kisses him quick.

A scream erupts from the Hecate cabin which is shortly followed by another. Then Alison runs out screaming and shuts the door behind her. “There are bugs all over the cabin!” she shouts to the first person she sees.

“What? How? What kind of bugs?”

He smiles tossing the mistletoe behind him. “Awesome! Let’s spread holiday cheer then! And then we can make gingerbread cookies. I love the holidays.”

“Count me out of making gingerbread cookies.”

Auggie hold mistletoe up, “Looks like you could use some holiday cheer.”

“If you wanted to kiss me, all you had to do was ask.”

He goes back to petting Leto.

“Does it even really matter?”

“If it doesn’t matter to you, then I guess not.” He shrugs, giving up.

“Unfollowing her is too much of a job.”

“Why? Would she find out?”