(Don't ask about the Grey line. IDK where that came from and how to remove it)
Jay squinted at the label. " Uhhhh... Kai, this is for you from my sister."
Kai, who was rubbing his eye, squinted. " You're not lying?"
"I wouldn't LIE about gifts!"
Kai sighed and took it. " Good point."
It was Christmas Day.
And all the ninja were together.
... Except Mia.
She was out on a mission, five cities over.
... As a Wind Ninja she was the only one who would be able to do it quickly.
But...
... It had been three hours.
The gift was small—wrapped in silver paper with little gusts of wind doodled all over the tag. Kai turned it in his hands slowly, brow furrowed. Jay had said it was from Mia... but it didn't feel like a prank. No buzzers. No weird rattling. Not even glitter bombs.
Still, Kai hesitated. "...Three hours is a long time for a quick wind mission."
Jay, sitting with a mug of hot chocolate and a candy cane half-stuffed in his mouth, nodded grimly. "She said she'd be back before lunch."
Cole, who was trying to untangle a string of lights from Lloyd's foot, chimed in. "Maybe she got caught up in something. Wind missions don't always go exactly to plan."
"Or," Nya said from the couch, peeking up from her book, "she's stalling because she didn't actually get you anything and is hoping the wind will blow away your disappointment."
Jay gave her a look. "Harsh."
"I'm her sister-in-law. I'm legally required to roast her."
Lloyd looked up from the floor. "You guys... do realize that Kai hasn't opened the present yet, right?"
Everyone went quiet. Then they all turned to look at Kai.
He stared down at the little box.
Then, very slowly, he peeled the wrapping off, unfolded the tissue paper, and—
Kai blinked.
Inside was a tiny, wind-carved wooden phoenix.
Beautifully detailed.
His eyes softened. "Oh..."
There was a note tucked under it in Mia's scratchy handwriting:
"This is for being my sparring partner, my fireball of a mentor, and for always making sure I eat when I forget. Happy Christmas, Hothead. —Mia."
Jay leaned over, trying not to cry. "She really... she really called you Hothead in a heartfelt note, huh?"
"She always calls me Hothead."
"That's how you know it's real."
Then—
BANG!
The door slammed open and a flurry of snow whirled in.
Mia stood in the doorway, windswept and soaked, panting, holding a squirming white ferret in a little red ribbon.
"...I come bearing a peace offering and also possibly a stolen animal."
Everyone stared.
"...I had a detour," she said, like that explained everything.
Kai, still holding the phoenix, smiled. "You made it."
Mia grinned tiredly. "Wouldn't miss it."
Jay: "Uh... why is the ferret chewing your hood?"
Mia, deadpan: "We're working through things."
