𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

─ 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡

𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒

━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 Alex hauled another log into it and within seconds the fire consumed the log and let it crack under its heat. Today was especially cold as the feelings of loneliness set in on the two in the small house. For both of them were feeling the same emotion, the same yearning to go home. Perhaps it was the holiday that made her feelings arise more prominent than before. For Azalea it had been four months since she had left her manor without any goodbye nor any word as to how things were going. Honestly, she knew it wasn't worth complaining about because, in the end, it was her choice despite being chased out. Unbeknownst to her, Alex was missing home as well. In truth, there wasn't much that she knew about him and she was still very hesitant to trust him. But something told her that he was her only option at staying alive far enough to get them back and if it came to the well-being of those she cared about she would trust her gut more than anything.

"What a merry Christmas this has become..." Alex muttered under his breath cutting through the thick silence of the small cabin,

Azalea nodded, not bringing herself to talk in pure fear that the tears that pooled at the depths of her body would quickly rise. She remembered her past Christmas, the ones where she received gifts that she wanted and ones where the gifts were memories instead. But the feeling of family was strongest above all else and she sat on the small couch the absence ate her up.

"I...uh...I used to celebrate it by making these holly strings...it's immensely stupid now that I've said it aloud," he said, in a desperate attempt to get her talk, he understood where her lack of communication was coming from and he didn't blame her but the silence was beginning to make him uncomfortable. She looked up from the fire and to him indirectly asking him to continue, "I would put them on the Christmas tree when I finished making them because there was really nowhere else to decorate."

"Did you have anyone with you?"

"...not really, it was always just me,"

Her eyes softened ever so subtly, the idea of having no one made her heart sink a little more. All her life she had Gabrielle and the manor staff there to celebrate with her. No matter how isolated she may have been, she was never alone. Without thinking she moved her bandaged hand to pick up the nearest roll of gauze and proceeded to rip it enough to make a string-like material. Alex watched her carefully, wonder glazing over his eyes as he saw her tear the gauze and make a single string-like line from the tear.

"will you show me how to make it?"

A mix of emotions rose inside him, surprise, shock, and mayhaps a bit of joy. He couldn't tell if she was being serious or not or if this was a way of getting him to stop talking to her. But he went outside anyway and picked a few holly berries and quickly returned with a handful. Alex didn't want to look too desperate nor too excited to make such a small and purposeless item yet he couldn't help but show a glimmer of eagerness. The two sat down closer to the fire, feeling the warmth radiate onto their frost-kissed skin. Alex spread out the holly berries, each one having leaves circles the center. A few had white snow still stuck onto the ends of the leaves. Azalea picked one up and felt the soft crunch of the snow as it fell when she ran her thumb over it.

"What do we do first?"

Alex picked up the makeshift string and a holly berry, "gently wrap the string around the stems," he instructed as Azalea watched him closely, "then tie a tight knot around it but not too tight to where you can't move the berry, only tight enough so it doesn't fall, this is what it looks like" he briskly tied the knot and showed her the end product. It wasn't an ordinary knot, it was intricate and strategically put together, "then from here you move to the next one, it's not that difficult truthfully,"