Christmas Day was a memorable event and one that many of the Animalians who had been born as mundane animals actually liked the idea of gift giving. Those that had been pets had been fairly familiar with the idea, as people did occasionally give gifts to their pets as well, though many of the gifts Animalians gave weren't always most expensive or ones that relied on having lots of money. Some of this came from the fact that many Animalians didn't see the full worth of money, as they'd lives their lives without knowledge or use for money. However, the thought and care that went into the gifts given were there and were quite genuine, and that lead to plenty of surprises in their own right.
"Oh... wow," Abby spoke in surprise as she opened the git that was actually given to her by none other than Calamity and Delilah.
Abby then lifted the gift out. It was actually a pair of old metal horseshoes that had been welded together in a way that they actually formed a heart if you went along the outside of the shape. On the inside was a small plaque that read: Samson and Abigail Brown and the year underneath their names. Abby was truly surprised to have actually gotten something from Calamity or Delilah. Things had calmed down a lot since Red Cloud became Delilah's mate and Thunder became Calamity's, but Abby had figured that they would be their own mares and be with their mates.
"We got some help from Thunder and Red Cloud in getting it put together," Calamity commented, "but we figured it'd be something nice for the both of you. You could make it the symbol for the farm when your dad turns it over to you... or you could use it as a decoration."
"Think of it as an additional "we're sorry" for being so jealous before," Delilah answered.
"Well thank you," Abby managed to say after a few moments, "thank you both."
"It does look nice," Samson commented from over Abby's shoulder as he looked down to it, "but how would we hang it? That looks too heavy for a simple nail..."
"The weight shouldn't be a problem," Thunder commented from beside Calamity, "and thankfully with all these switches over to rubber shoes so as not to damage tile... we had plenty available to put these together. You may need some string or something to hang it from if you're going to hang it inside. That "heart" shape isn't easily balanced..."
"And if you use it for an outside sign for the farm, you use two big nails to let it rest on," Red Cloud added.
"It would make for a nice sign," Abby said to Samson, "Two horseshoes in the shape of a heart."
"Me and you," Samson nodded and hugged Abby to him.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elsewhere in the Great Hall, Simon and his mother were having a sort of meeting with Thomas and Julia Wesley. Malice stood nearby her parents, even if they weren't her biological parents, with a happy smile and a wagging tail. She liked Simon. He was nice and handsome and shared her interests. It was the perfect match and she wanted nothing more than to make him happy. So far, there hadn't been any serious interference from the others that had had their eyes on Simon, but Malice didn't know if they'd given up or simply weren't going to try anything because it was Christmas.
"Shouldn't Sarah be here?" Simon asked as he looked around and not finding the other Husky sister.
"Sarah is with her mate right now," Julia spoke resting her hand on her stomach. Her womb wasn't that gravid, as she was only in her first month, but she did have more of a baby bump than what would be expected for a human pregnancy. The hypothesis that her puppies were developing faster than human children made some sense, though the doctors also carried the warning that the development was at the same rate as a human pregnancy but would be premature by human standards when one considered that when dog and wolf pups were born, they were born blind and deaf and that sight and hearing would actually develop AFTER the pup or pups were born. Julia didn't fully know which, and hoped that her youngest would be healthy.
"And this is to meet with the young male looking to court our Mary Alice... Malice for short," Thomas added.
"Combining the names," Simon's mother chuckled, "rather cute."
"Yes," Malice nodded as she looked to the newly transformed woman. As a double dosed wolf, Simon's mother looked younger and just as strong as any of the other uplifted dogs and wolves in Lyre and Animalia. "Is your..."
"My new boyfriend had to work today, sadly," Simon's mother grumbled, "but we will get some time together tonight..."
Malice detected a certain tone at the end of that line that gave an indication on what Simon's mother wanted. Simon also heard it and prayed the Wesleys didn't respond to it.
"Well, so long as you love each other that's all that matters," Thomas spoke and held Julia to him, "It's helped Julia and I through a fair number of things..."
"Yes, like you being a closet furry and never told me," Julia teased him.
"It would appear that you accepted it though," Simon's mother commented.
"I did," Julia smiled, "and I don't regret it."
Simon watched as Julia wagged her tail and looked to Thomas and smiled. He then heard her say, "because I love him." Thomas nodded and continued to hold Julia to him.
"The thing we want to make sure is that Malice is treated well and that there are mutually agreed on ground rules regarding sex and so on," Thomas spoke, "we don't want either to force themselves on the other and we'd prefer that that Malice not become pregnant until AFTER she's gone through school and can get a good start in life."
"Understandable," Simon's mother replied, "I'd hope that Simon doesn't make me a grandmother right now either... "
"We wanted to make sure that if they... enjoy each other that there is mutual permission," Julia spoke, "we... we may allow it for Malice, so long as she continues to show she can be responsible..."
"I'm not sure I can really say much," Simon's mother answered, "Simon was already eighteen when we took him in for Project Phoenix. He's still been at home with me because we've had a happy family and I'd do anything I can for my boy... even though he's growing up."
"Aw... mom," Simon groaned as he felt his mother ruffle his hair and ears with one hand, "Not in public!"
Malice gave a playful giggle and jumped to hug Simon.
"We'll have a happy family," Malice commented, "and I promise to make you as happy as you can be."
"Let's wait on that until after we're through high school and the academy," Simon commented.
Malice nodded and wagged her tail happily. In the meantime, she dug into her pants pocket and pulled out a small wrapped package. It was covered in red wrapping paper and was about the size of a credit card. Malice handed to him with a smile. Simon took it and unwrapped it, with the paper standing no chance against his claws. A wolf's claws might be fairly dull, as since they weren't retractable the way a cat's claws were, but they were still sharp enough to tear away wrapping paper. To his surprise, Simon found it to be a Best Buy gift card.
"I've been saving what money I can spend for the Animalia Ambassadoria broadcasts," Malice explained and, "and got the card. Mom and dad helped a bit with all the pricing research... but the card SHOULD have enough so that you could get yourself a nice computer and get at least a month's worth of high speed internet. What they call "dial up" might be free with any standard phone bill on a land line... but the man at the store said that would be slower."
"So we can watch the broadcasts?" Simon asked.
"And help with your homework and all that," Thomas commented and offered his paw to Simon, "just be good to Malice."
"I will, sir," Simon said to him and shook Thomas's hand. He liked Malice and did privately like that he'd gotten their permission to take Malice as his mate, but for the moment, he remained more of the opinion to wait until some of the others that had been making passes at him had calmed down. They might not be causing trouble on Christmas, but even before Christmas break, he had noticed some tension. Some had backed off, but he didn't want to put Malice in a position where she'd have to fight someone.