Private Garlands and Sunburns

Olwen had spent the morning pulling a few boxes out of her closet. In late November there was a good chill in the air, but it was hardly wintery yet. Even still, it was never too early to start decorating for Yule, which was undoubtedly one of Olwen’s favourite holidays.

This year was a little special, too. The dryad had arranged for Shiro to come over to help with the decorating. Since the party a month ago, the two had gone on a number of cute dates that still gave Olwen a burst of energy whenever they came to mind. She had liked to dress nicely for those occasions, but with this one being a little more personal, she’d opted for a more homey outfit; just a simple beige dress and her favourite shawl. She was satisfied with the choice, but did secretly feel a little self conscious.

Luckily the knock at her door distracted her from her doubt as her heart practically leapt out her chest. She dashed across the room to answer it.

“Shiro! Hi! Is it cold out?” she greeted cheerfully.


@Saber

Olwen giggled herself as she gave Shiro a small squeeze. She rubbed her hands up and down the girl's back to warm her up, chasing off any pesky, clinging chills.

She then paused as Shiro began hanging something from her antlers. She caught sight of the festive sparkles, and smiled once the feline finished. Olwen stepped back and posed.

"Better? Am I nice and Christmas-y now?" she giggled.

"I've been keeping warm. Though I have to admit, I kind of like the nip it the air. It's so refreshing after the humid summer!"

The dryad shut the door behind them and lead the way deeper into the room. "Oh, do you want anything? I picked up some Christmas cookies the other day," she offered.

Olwen stepped over to the little kitchenette and retrieved the cookies from a cupboard. She opened the pack and held it out to Shiro in offering.

"Gosh, if you want embarrassing stories, I should introduce you to my mom," she said, awkward but amused. "But... I suppose it'd be worth mentioning the time my antlers got stuck in our tree while we were decorating. One year, when my cousins and I were really little, we kept crawling underneath it to hide, and, well... I'm glad as many decorations survived as they did," she chuckled. "I did make a bit of a scene, though..."

As she spoke, she placed the cookies on the counter and walked over to where she'd set up a little pine tree in the corner. A few shoe boxes were stacked besides it. She lifted off the lid of the top one, revealing an assortment of rustic-looking decorations, most made of wood and cloth. Though there was a good collection of colourful bobbles as well.

"Although, I don't actually celebrate Christmas," she continued. "I celebrate Yule. I usually just say Christmas because that's what more people are familiar with. It's pretty similar anyway, at least in my family."