palingensia
amends
I did this for a Christmas writing competition on another forum, and figured I may as well post it here for pc++ feedback and such, since I may do some more Christmas themed one-shots. Idk we'll see. On with the story.
Snow crunched beneath the young tree's feet. He looked around uncertainly. This was not the forest he knew. It was too... white. Forests were usually green were they not?
He turned to his mother and shuffled his feet in the white powder that littered the forest floor. “What is this, mum?” he asked nervously. “It's not usually like this.”
His mother's central head smiled at him, while another rolled its eyes. “This is your first Winter, child,” she said kindly. “The white is called snow. It falls from the sky when it gets cold.” One of her heads stared at the snow, causing it to rise into the air and form a perfect sphere. “It's really just water, so it's perfectly harmless,” she continued as the snowball floated beside her.
The young tree turned back to the forest surrounding the mound of earth that he called home. It was certainly different, but despite the cold it wasn't by any means unbearable.
“Now get going before I throw this snowball at you,” his mother said jovially. “The cold makes the food less available, so it's ok if you don't find much.” The young tree nodded and strode off into the white canopy.
He had to admit that it was quite beautiful. The snow clung to the trees like a pearly dress and glistened in the morning light; the ground was coated with a thick layer of pure white which crunched and gave way to the young tree's feet. He wasn't very optimistic about finding food when everything was covered up and freezing, but he crunched on through the pearly forest. After some time, a clearing opened up in the distance, with an almost blinding shine coming from beyond it. He peered suspiciously around the mouth of the clearing; an Exeggutor could never be too careful when it came to predators in the forest. Sensing nothing, he pressed on into the shining clearing.
He found himself immediately shading his six eyes with a leaf, the light was that bright. It seemed to be coming from an area of what looked like water, but couldn't actually be water; it was far too solid looking. He edged towards the rim of the odd water cautiously. He had heard about this lake, and a rampaging Gyarados was the last thing he wanted to encounter. Even though the water appeared to be completely solid, he knew what Gyarados was capable of.
He turned to walk back into the forest, only to be met by a small child staring up at him. The tree jumped back, landed on the lake, and promptly slipped over. The child's face split into a huge grin and she giggled.
“Do you need a hand there mister tree?” she asked, holding a hand out to the young tree. All six of his eyes gazed at her hand, then he nodded. Surely such a small creature couldn't help him up alone, but by extension that meant she couldn't hurt him. He gazed more intently at her as she grasped his wooden body and tugged at it. He felt the energy in his body drain away as it was transferred to an aura around the girl. She could probably use a hand, even though he technically had none to offer. He felt his body rise off the cold, hard water and scrambled to position his feet in a balanced manner.
“What are you doing out of the forest, mister tree?” the girl asked as the young tree stepped from the hard water onto the snowy ground once more. He let two of his heads' gazes drop from her and felt the energy seep back into his body.
“I was looking for food,” he said slowly. “But there's none here. The snow must've eaten it all.”
The girl smiled. “We've got plenty of food at my place,” she said cheerfully. “We always do at this time of year. Do you want some?” All three of the tree's heads bobbed in what was probably a nod. “You follow me then,” she said, and twirled around. She pointed to a pillar of smoke that was floating above the treeline in the distance. “I live in the village over there.”
The young tree stared at the smoke. He had heard about this village from his mother. The people there weren't harmful, she said, but they weren't to go there in case there were harmful people there. One of the Parasect families that lived in a dead tree near his house had lost a baby there, so he had to be careful. He followed behind the girl as she skipped along, his feet crunching the snow into submission.
“What's your name then?” the girl asked over her shoulder.
“My mother doesn't give us names,” the tree replied. “She lets us decide our own name when we feel like it. I haven't got one yet.”
The girl's eyes widened slightly. “That's very weird,” she said, keeping her cheerful tone. “But I'll have to call you something.” She spun around to skip backwards and looked at him top to bottom, eyes narrowed. Then, seemingly thoughtful, glanced around at the forest. Her eyes snapped back to him, and seemed to spark.
“I've got it!” she cried. “I shall call you Snowleaf!” She smiled smugly, clearly pleased with herself. The young tree's heads turned to each other and exchanged glances, then turned back to the girl.
“I don't have a problem with it,” said Snowleaf, although one of his heads sighed. He hissed something incoherent at it.
“Well my name's Alice,” the girl said politely. She turned and peered ahead. “We're nearly there; I can see the tree.”
The mention of a tree made Snowleaf look ahead too. There was something there alright, but he wasn't sure whether tree was the right word for it. “That's... a tree?” he said uncertainly. “It's a very bright tree.”
“Because it's a Christmas tree silly!” Alice said, giving him a somewhat shocked look. “Do Duke Nukem not have Christmas?”
“I have never heard of such a thing, no,” Snowleaf replied. “What is this Christmas?”
Alice trotted alongside Snowleaf with a look of wonder sparkling in her eyes. “It's the time of year when families stay home together and give each other presents, then have a huge feast,” she said breathlessly. “And in the night, Santa comes down the chinmey and leaves behind more presents! It's quite wonderful really.”
Snowleaf's heads gave each other a puzzled look. “And what is the tree for?”
“That's where the presents go!” exclaimed Alice, still staring off into a dreamland.
They wandered in silence for a while longer, the tree in the middle of the village getting larger as they went. The village seemed to be quite small, with a few houses dotted sporadically around the main centre which consisted of a tavern, a grocery store and an ancient looking building. As the pair drew closer, Snowleaf saw a sign on the ancient building saying 'Homage to the foundation of Mahogany Town'.
“There's the tree,” Alice said, pointing; not that it could be missed. Snowleaf stared up at it. It was indeed a very large tree, decorated with shiny ornaments and ropes of variously coloured light. The overall effect was rather pleasing on the eye, and the addition of fresh snow topped it off perfectly.
“I have never seen anything like this,” gasped Snowleaf, all six eyes enchanted by the lights. “It's very beautiful.”
“Isn't it?” Alice agreed, leaning against him. “We've had this same tree every year for as long as I can remember. It's a very special tree, or so people say.”
Snowleaf nodded. This was a very special tree indeed; he was a tree himself, so he was intuitive about these things. This tree was cared for a lot, and also got a lot of attention. He walked over to it softly and stroked its thick trunk with a leaf. Yes, this tree was happy.
“Would I be allowed an ornament?” he asked softly, gazing longingly up at the streams of light strewn across the tree's thick branches.
Alice beamed at him. “Of course! There are boxes of ornaments, and I don't think anyone would miss one or two.” She patted his body. “Shall we get you that food as well then?”
“Yes,” Snowleaf replied, tearing his eyes from the glittering tree. “Thank you.”
Snow crunched beneath the young tree's feet. He looked around uncertainly. This was not the forest he knew. It was too... white. Forests were usually green were they not?
He turned to his mother and shuffled his feet in the white powder that littered the forest floor. “What is this, mum?” he asked nervously. “It's not usually like this.”
His mother's central head smiled at him, while another rolled its eyes. “This is your first Winter, child,” she said kindly. “The white is called snow. It falls from the sky when it gets cold.” One of her heads stared at the snow, causing it to rise into the air and form a perfect sphere. “It's really just water, so it's perfectly harmless,” she continued as the snowball floated beside her.
The young tree turned back to the forest surrounding the mound of earth that he called home. It was certainly different, but despite the cold it wasn't by any means unbearable.
“Now get going before I throw this snowball at you,” his mother said jovially. “The cold makes the food less available, so it's ok if you don't find much.” The young tree nodded and strode off into the white canopy.
He had to admit that it was quite beautiful. The snow clung to the trees like a pearly dress and glistened in the morning light; the ground was coated with a thick layer of pure white which crunched and gave way to the young tree's feet. He wasn't very optimistic about finding food when everything was covered up and freezing, but he crunched on through the pearly forest. After some time, a clearing opened up in the distance, with an almost blinding shine coming from beyond it. He peered suspiciously around the mouth of the clearing; an Exeggutor could never be too careful when it came to predators in the forest. Sensing nothing, he pressed on into the shining clearing.
He found himself immediately shading his six eyes with a leaf, the light was that bright. It seemed to be coming from an area of what looked like water, but couldn't actually be water; it was far too solid looking. He edged towards the rim of the odd water cautiously. He had heard about this lake, and a rampaging Gyarados was the last thing he wanted to encounter. Even though the water appeared to be completely solid, he knew what Gyarados was capable of.
He turned to walk back into the forest, only to be met by a small child staring up at him. The tree jumped back, landed on the lake, and promptly slipped over. The child's face split into a huge grin and she giggled.
“Do you need a hand there mister tree?” she asked, holding a hand out to the young tree. All six of his eyes gazed at her hand, then he nodded. Surely such a small creature couldn't help him up alone, but by extension that meant she couldn't hurt him. He gazed more intently at her as she grasped his wooden body and tugged at it. He felt the energy in his body drain away as it was transferred to an aura around the girl. She could probably use a hand, even though he technically had none to offer. He felt his body rise off the cold, hard water and scrambled to position his feet in a balanced manner.
“What are you doing out of the forest, mister tree?” the girl asked as the young tree stepped from the hard water onto the snowy ground once more. He let two of his heads' gazes drop from her and felt the energy seep back into his body.
“I was looking for food,” he said slowly. “But there's none here. The snow must've eaten it all.”
The girl smiled. “We've got plenty of food at my place,” she said cheerfully. “We always do at this time of year. Do you want some?” All three of the tree's heads bobbed in what was probably a nod. “You follow me then,” she said, and twirled around. She pointed to a pillar of smoke that was floating above the treeline in the distance. “I live in the village over there.”
The young tree stared at the smoke. He had heard about this village from his mother. The people there weren't harmful, she said, but they weren't to go there in case there were harmful people there. One of the Parasect families that lived in a dead tree near his house had lost a baby there, so he had to be careful. He followed behind the girl as she skipped along, his feet crunching the snow into submission.
“What's your name then?” the girl asked over her shoulder.
“My mother doesn't give us names,” the tree replied. “She lets us decide our own name when we feel like it. I haven't got one yet.”
The girl's eyes widened slightly. “That's very weird,” she said, keeping her cheerful tone. “But I'll have to call you something.” She spun around to skip backwards and looked at him top to bottom, eyes narrowed. Then, seemingly thoughtful, glanced around at the forest. Her eyes snapped back to him, and seemed to spark.
“I've got it!” she cried. “I shall call you Snowleaf!” She smiled smugly, clearly pleased with herself. The young tree's heads turned to each other and exchanged glances, then turned back to the girl.
“I don't have a problem with it,” said Snowleaf, although one of his heads sighed. He hissed something incoherent at it.
“Well my name's Alice,” the girl said politely. She turned and peered ahead. “We're nearly there; I can see the tree.”
The mention of a tree made Snowleaf look ahead too. There was something there alright, but he wasn't sure whether tree was the right word for it. “That's... a tree?” he said uncertainly. “It's a very bright tree.”
“Because it's a Christmas tree silly!” Alice said, giving him a somewhat shocked look. “Do Duke Nukem not have Christmas?”
“I have never heard of such a thing, no,” Snowleaf replied. “What is this Christmas?”
Alice trotted alongside Snowleaf with a look of wonder sparkling in her eyes. “It's the time of year when families stay home together and give each other presents, then have a huge feast,” she said breathlessly. “And in the night, Santa comes down the chinmey and leaves behind more presents! It's quite wonderful really.”
Snowleaf's heads gave each other a puzzled look. “And what is the tree for?”
“That's where the presents go!” exclaimed Alice, still staring off into a dreamland.
They wandered in silence for a while longer, the tree in the middle of the village getting larger as they went. The village seemed to be quite small, with a few houses dotted sporadically around the main centre which consisted of a tavern, a grocery store and an ancient looking building. As the pair drew closer, Snowleaf saw a sign on the ancient building saying 'Homage to the foundation of Mahogany Town'.
“There's the tree,” Alice said, pointing; not that it could be missed. Snowleaf stared up at it. It was indeed a very large tree, decorated with shiny ornaments and ropes of variously coloured light. The overall effect was rather pleasing on the eye, and the addition of fresh snow topped it off perfectly.
“I have never seen anything like this,” gasped Snowleaf, all six eyes enchanted by the lights. “It's very beautiful.”
“Isn't it?” Alice agreed, leaning against him. “We've had this same tree every year for as long as I can remember. It's a very special tree, or so people say.”
Snowleaf nodded. This was a very special tree indeed; he was a tree himself, so he was intuitive about these things. This tree was cared for a lot, and also got a lot of attention. He walked over to it softly and stroked its thick trunk with a leaf. Yes, this tree was happy.
“Would I be allowed an ornament?” he asked softly, gazing longingly up at the streams of light strewn across the tree's thick branches.
Alice beamed at him. “Of course! There are boxes of ornaments, and I don't think anyone would miss one or two.” She patted his body. “Shall we get you that food as well then?”
“Yes,” Snowleaf replied, tearing his eyes from the glittering tree. “Thank you.”