With the double-dose of snow now blasting over the garden, everyone gathered back up to see that the Dragonfly Demon Ettins were in the middle, with huge grins on their faces. "While you guys were out chasing for frogs, we put together a little game!"
"A game?" I had to wonder what they'd done - this wasn't in our plans, after all! "What kind of game?"
"A finding-stuff game! See, we brought all the parts to make something super cool, but we thought it might be more fun if everyone found them together. They're all pretty close by!"
Everyone glanced at each other and smiled. We couldn't argue with that! So off everyone went, finding little pieces high and low - on the roof of the greenhouse, wrapped up in the lemon trellis, and there was even one being carried around by our Carrot Beetle, who looked a little disgruntled.
Once all of the pieces were found, the Dragonfly Demon Ettins took each one and got to work, putting the whatever-it-was together so fast that they were practically a blur.
"Okay, now we just plug in the battery, and..."
There was a big zzzzzap!
"Ta-da!!"
It was an Ettin-style Winter Festival tree! Made up of all sorts of bits of wires and machinery, it lit brightly, towering over us. The snow that fluttered down from our snow machines sparkled and glittered in the lights, making it look even cooler.
"Oh, this looks wonderful!" I told them, beaming. So this was what their special gift was - a super-pretty, super-fun Winter Festival memory!
After that part of the afternoon, things began to calm down. Everyone hung out and chatted for a while longer, playing around as we wound down for the evening. When the sun began to set, and the stars started to come out with the night sky, everyone began gathering their things up and packing their ships.
"This was a lot of fun!"
"Yeah, it got a little crazy, but you guys did a great job!"
"You should totally host next year, too!"
It might've been colder than usual on Our Albia with all the snow, but the things our friends were saying made me feel pretty warm.
Adrien and I watched as everyone said their goodbyes, hugging and waving to one another, trading last-minute gifts and making future plans. When they were ready to go, they'd hop in their ships, close them up, and blast off into the reaches of space. A couple of groups were sharing rides with somebody else, no doubt because they came from places that had less technology, like us.
Soon enough, it was just us left. Adrien wasn't looking forward to cleaning everything up... but I figured it was a good time to reflect on how much fun the festival had been and enjoy the good feelings for a whiel longer.
No matter what kinds of ways you celebrate the winter season, whoever's-reading-this, I hope it's as comfortable, happy, and full of fun as the Winter Festival on Our Albia was this year. Stay safe out there - and thank you!
~Sprite
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