Considering most areas were getting a green Christmas this year, it's of little surprise that applies to Dinosaur City as well. Actually, it would be a bigger surprise if they did have a white Christmas considering it is located in Texas. They did have a pretty severe winter a few years back, but fortunately not so bad so far, but it has been predicted to get a cold snap in January and February. Whether it will effect the Year of the Dragon competitions is yet to be determined. But for now, Dinosaur City was having a peaceful Christmas. Well, mostly peaceful.
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Polly had assumed visiting her brother's family for Christmas would be relaxing. As much as she loved living with the Whites, there were plenty of times where she missed living with Jeremy. Also, Polly was finally old enough to be given 'The Talk' and now she knew what Marcy and Chilly have been getting up to when she heard all the thumping in their room. And Mr. and Mrs. White have been doing a lot of that recently. Polly was suspecting that the two of them were trying to have another cub. And being a polar bear meant her nose was sensitive enough to keep picking it up. So she wanted to get away from it for a while so she could stop thinking about what they were doing. Surely Jeremy and Heather would be considerate enough to not be frisky while Polly's there. Besides, they already had two hatchlings to take care of.
And that was part of the problem Polly was currently dealing with. Both Heather and Tyra's hatchlings were entering the Terrible 2's and being Syntixisauruses meant they have a lot of energy to expend. And they found Polly's hair so fascinating that they keep tugging at it even when told not to.
Eventually, Heather said, "Anna-Poly, Mason, if you don't stop pulling your aunt's hair, I will call Santa and have him take back all the presents he brought." Her hatchlings quickly obeyed their mother's order. Jonah and Manuel also listened as they didn't want to lose their presents too.
"Heather, do we really want to raise them on the foolish belief of-" started Jeremy.
Heather shot her husband a fierce glare and said, "Jeremy Green, you are not robbing our children of their childlike wonder this early into their lives."
Jeremy would have protested that as a scientist, he shouldn't be endorsing fantasies, even to his own children. However, Heather's glared promised that he'd be sleeping on a very cold couch if he didn't comply. "Yes, dear," he muttered.
Polly rubbed her scalp and said, "Thanks, Heather."
"Hey, what are sisters-in-laws for?" asked Heather.
"Undercutting their sibling's spouses while their back is turned?" suggested Tyra dryly.
"Hey, I didn't say anything about you about Rex," said Heather.
"Nope, but I'd better see you giving Polly's boyfriend the 3rd degree when she introduces him," said Tyra.
Jeremy shuddered and said, "It is too early to be thinking of such a thing."
"Not for much longer," said Heather, "Polly will be starting high school next year."
"Has it really been that long already?" asked Rex.
"Not long enough," said Jeremy.
"Jeremy, I'm not a little girl anymore," said Polly. Jeremy hated to admit it, but it was clear that Polly was showing signs of becoming a woman. She hasn't really gained any more height after her unconventional conversion finished, but Polly was starting to gain a womanly figure, her chest starting to push out. It just felt so bizarre for the sister he had to raise since their parents' death not looking young anymore.
Heather put a comforting hand on Jeremy's shoulder and said, "Every older sibling feels this way eventually. We'll be feeling it again when our kids are big enough."
"Now that is far too early to think about," said Jeremy.
"For once, I agree," said Tyra, "I don't want to start thinking of myself as getting old again."
Heather rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she wished Tyra would still act like the grandmother she's supposed to be.
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While Mesozoic Enclave hasn't seen much snow, it was certainly cold enough for it. General studies have shown that Dinotopians are still warm-blooded. However, scaly skin doesn't offer a lot of protection from the cold and not everyone has a coat of feathers or pyncofibers to help keep them warm. A Brumation House was being constructed to a scale that would allow large Dinotopians to warm up in comfort. In the meantime, most citizens were staying indoors out of the chill.
Plenty of people came into Club Claw both to get warm and admire the Christmas decorations. The wreathes and red and green lights did a lot to give the place a holiday cheerfulness. Rachael kept in touch with Miss Fabina and their little 'guild' to better coordinate their respective clubs regarding themes and events. In fact, they were doing a group chat right now.
"If we get any more mistletoe, somebody would think we're trying to poison someone," commented Fabina.
"Setting up a club isn't so easy over here," said Aiko, "I can't be too close to the school grounds and they're still surveying the old mine for structural integrity."
"Well, it'd be really bad for business if the mountain comes down on them," said Rachael dryly.
"I know, but I need more stuff to do while they're doing the necessary reinforcing," said Aiko.
"You could always vacation over here while they're renovating," said Wendy, "I'm sure the captain can offer you a discount for your stay."
"What, you can't let me stay in your quarters? Not enough room with your rat girlfriend?" asked Aiko teasingly.
"It's more like a 'co-workers-with-benefits' than real girlfriends right now," said Wendy.
"Isn't that an ethical dilemma to be in a relationship with your employee?" asked Fabina.
"We keep our canoodling strictly off the clock," said Wendy, "And you know I would never hold an employee's job over their heads just to get in their beds. We've been through too much to ever even think of that." That was a sobering moment for them, a reminder that as high up they've come in the world, they were once at a very lowly position and at the mercy of inscrutable men. It reminded them that they should never abuse their positions at the expense of their workers.
"So, how has her mother taken your relationship?" asked Rachael.
"Mary Piper? Considering all the other brood she has, I doubt she'd even notice," said Wendy.
"Mom will notice eventually," said Ratlyne's voice offscreen, "But considering how many grandkids she already has, I don't think she'll be disappointed if she doesn't get any from me."
"I'd still like to be a fly on the wall for that first meeting," said Rachael.
"You made your choice of Animalian," said Fabina, "Besides, we don't do insects."