𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 || 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘤

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕖𝕟‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

Harvey keeps thinking back to what Ananya told him, especially now as he stood alone, his friends having gone off to find a better view for when Santa comes out. He doesn't mean to be hurtful, but he wants to show that he's smart, and that he knows what he's talking about. He's 10 years old and adults still treat him like a little kid that doesn't know anything about what's going on.

Mama and Mom are good about not doing it, but his grandparents always talk to him like he's still in kindergarten and doesn't understand things about the real world. People have wars, wars are bad. There are bad people with intentions to hurt others, so you have to be safe. He's been taught these things since he was little, so why do adults still feel the need to not talk about "bad things" around him?

Sometimes he has to remind them that he's not dumb by showing them he knows what he's talking about. But that doesn't mean he's mean, right?

"Harv!" He glanced over to see Johnny waving him over. "Come on, we saved a spot for you! Better get it quick before the elves take over!"

The boy's smile was infectious; Harvey found himself smiling slightly as he came to stand next to the other children; he had a perfect view of the large arched doors that Santa would, supposedly, come through in just a few minutes. Even with the elves standing on each other's shoulders, he'd still be able to see.

"This is a good spot," Harvey said, really just to fill the silence.

"Thanks, the train conductor helped us pick it out," Johnny said–and seriously what kind of toothpaste did the boy use for such bright white teeth?

"Oh. Cool." That seemed kind of lame, but Harvey didn't really know what else to say. Johny, thankfully, was more than happy to keep the conversation going.

"Did you know that Santa is actually an elf?"

"Well," Harvey measured his words carefully. "That's just one theory."

He looked around and made eye contact with Ananya, who gave him a small nod of encouragement. Cautiously, he continued on.

"Some theories say he's the oldest elf. Others say that he was a human that was gifted with magic." Harvey explained. "I think he was a human gifted with magic, because he doesn't have pointy ears."

"Ooh, that's a smart idea!" Johnny agreed.

Ananya watched her two friends converse about the origins of Santa (somehow, they had gotten to the theory that Santa simply came from another planet where it's Christmas year round, so Santa brought it to planet Earth for Earthlings to enjoy). She was glad to see that Harvey was doing his best to listen to Johnny, instead of acting like his opinion was the only right one.

The boy was learning, and it made her happy to see. Hopefully, he'll be able to get past his friendship barrier with this new attitude.

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Agnes was quite sick of falling on her butt.

The cobblestones were slick with ice, making them hard to run on. But being short on time, they couldn't just stroll along, but she had fallen three times now.

"Thanks," she told Felix as he helped her to her feet. "There's gotta be a better way to do this that doesn't involve a bruised butt or us being late."

The three braced arms as they walked along, discussing ideas.

"Maybe there's an elf around that could help," Clove suggested. Felix and Agnes braced themselves as she slipped, then waited for her to regain footing before continuing.

"The train conductor said they're all gathering at the center of the town, and the streets are empty," Felix said, panting slightly with the efforts of trying not to fall and also keeping Clove and Agnes from falling. "Everyone's probably already there."