Christmas's Beauty Within a Beast

5: The Fire Arisen

Jesper and kids eventually found the post office of Smeerensburg, or at least, the remains of it. It had been burned to a crisp during another of the typical battles the citizens have. Since nothing but chickens resided in the post office, no one really cared or even noticed the loss.

Jesper: God damn it! Am I just going to have to bury myself in a hole?!

Dorothy: (digging through Jesper's bag) It seems as though you have enough envelopes already. Along with quill feathers, clothes, and this trusty knife.

Jesper: Don't go through my bag, you... (snatches it) I can't exactly deliver letters if I don't have a post office to work in! I don't think I even have anywhere to live...

Edith: Usually, yetis sleep in caves. But since you're our friend, I'll let you sleep at my place. My mom never cared about anything ever since Dad left us. She won't notice.

Jesper: Oh.... I'm sorry about that...

Edith: Nah, you're fine. My dad was always going to leave us.

Louis: Enough of the small talk. Six thousand prank letters aren't going to write themselves.

Harry: (scribbles on the paper) I did it!

Edith: Yeah! It's beautiful, Harry!

Dorothy: (to Jesper) If you really think about it, art can express much more than words.

Jesper: Yeah yeah yeah, let's just get that sealed.

Louis: Before we do that, we have to address the elephant in the room. (To Jesper) You being that elephant.

Jesper: Well, excuse me, kid, I didn't exactly wanted to be turned into a freak.

Harry: You can't go outside. You'll freak the public out.

Edith: But we don't know how to seal an envelope. We have to have the beast come with us!

Jesper: My name is Jesper, by the way. You can stop calling me "beast" now.

Edith: But I like calling you beast! It makes you sound like a badass instead of the wimpy wimp that you are!

Jesper: You want those damn envelopes sealed or not, kid?

Edith: Okay, okay! I shall call thee "Jesper". Now please sign my envelope and mail it to the creepy Ellingboe who never wears a shirt!

Louis: Wear this old cloak around you so that they don't see you. It's big enough to hide your whole body... except your feet, that is. But who's gonna notice that?

Jesper: (sarcastically) Joy....

TIMESKIP TO WHEN TWELVE LETTERS ARE FINISHED

The weather turns 2 degrees hotter than when Jesper arrived, but with the combination of the fur and bulky black cloak, Jesper feels like it has risen an extra 20 degrees. He crushes the snow behind him, leaving the kids to try to cover up the massive footprints he makes. He stops at the first house, which the infamous shirtless Ellingboe man resides in. Luckily, he is snugged up in his bed, snoring. Jesper only struggles with opening the rusty mailbox, but Harry is able to pry it open with ease.

With this new form, Jesper thinks, he thought he'd be able to use some of that beastly strength to do tasks such as this. Perhaps he is not exactly used to it.

The next stop is on the Krum side of the town. Dorothy's profane letter is assigned to be mailed to a skeletal man. What he lacks in physical strength, however, he makes up for it with his guns, bear traps, and guard dogs, making him an intimidating figure to even brave souls. For cowards like Jesper, they will immediately run away. This is what Jesper tries to do.