Style Quest: Yulemas

    “Oh, I’m so excited to celebrate Yulemas with your family,” Raine smiled excitedly as the blue and green spotted snow leopard walked down the streets of Drakethorpe with Varick. Storekeepers decorated their shops for the winter holidays. Various celebrations took place during the cold months due to the wide assortment of different cultures that inhabited the city.

    “It’s not that exciting,” Varick insisted as the mahogany Clydesdale shifted the stack of wrapped gifts in his hands. “A quiet dinner followed by gift opening and dessert.”

    “Yes, but you promised me your mom would make a bunch of pies and cookies! You know how I feel about those,” Raine drooled a little, thinking about all the potential sugar they were about to have. “Wait is that Kaytlyn standing outside the house? Kaytlyn!” The young fennec looked over when she heard her name. She spots her brother and best friend and runs over.

    “Hey guys, so I’ve invited a friend, and I need you to be cool about it so Mom and Dad don’t freak out,” Kaytlyn told them in a hushed tone. Varick and Raine looked at each other and smiled. 

    “Is this about your secret boyfriend because we all know,” the blonde horse laughs as he shifts his load of gifts again. “Liam told me when I was fitting him for some clothes. I asked about his apprentice and he told me everything.”

    “I may have done some little stalking, but Vondell seems like a good boy. Shame his family sucks though,” Raine causally admitted to the misdemeanor. “I accidentally let it slip to your parents during the wedding after-party, but they kept buying me drinks.”

    “Can no one keep a secret around here,” Kaytlyn sighed exasperatedly before glancing down the road. She spotted her rainbow-dyed skunk boyfriend and perked up a bit. 

Varick and Raine smiled and warmly welcomed Vondell as everyone went inside. Thankfully, for Kaytlyn, nothing too embarrassing came up over dinner. The young skunk boy was a welcome addition to the family dinner, although he thought he would get away with only having one serving of food. That was an offense the Clydesdale parents would not stand for. After suffering some prying questions from everyone, Vondell found himself fitting in perfectly with the family.

Gifts came after dinner despite Raine’s insistence that dessert should come first. Gifts from Varick and Kaytlyn’s parents tended to be more practical. New pajamas and dress clothes for everyone, including Vondell. Raine made everyone personal portraits to hang on their walls. Kaytyn and her boyfriend teamed to make everyone druidic charms of good fortune and harvest. Varick’s gift to everyone was silk scarves dyed with elaborate, colorful patterns that changed and shifted as the wearer moved about.

Once it was time for dessert, Raine had to be momentarily distracted while everyone else got what they wanted. There were no dessert leftovers that evening. The family welcomed Vondell as one of their own and made him promise to come back for more holidays. Now that the not-so-secret secret was out, it lifted a weight off of Kaytlyn’s shoulders.