It was Christmas day at the mansion and while a good chunk of students had gone home for the holidays there were too many that didn’t. The shifter was tired and just felt like being alone. Despite this he forced a smile to everyone followed by any rendition of “Merry Christmas” till he started to repeat himself. It was time to duck in a corner somewhere and wait for the day to be over.

Normally he’d call his mother and he’d wish her a Merry Christmas and they’d talk and then she’d wish him a happy birthday and then they’d talk some more. However this year wasn’t like any year previous. This was the first year he couldn’t call his mom seeing as she had passed earlier that year.

He cried his tears already though earlier that day and when that didn’t help he punched his wall a few times putting a hole in it and when that didn’t work he flew. None of it lifted his spirits or distracted him from the fact that the one thing he wished for that year was the one thing he knew couldn’t happen. Carrick almost left a voicemail at home but knew that would lead to interactions with them. With her gone he no family, no one to call home to.

Hefting his backpack into the corner he managed to find a seat by the window looking out into the grounds that was covered in snow. One of the reasons flying didn’t help him sort his thoughts, it was too cold to be out their for long. So he resorted to the next best thing to help ease his thoughts, his guitar.

Looking out the window he started to strum the cords until his eyes spotted the reflection of the large Christmas behind him. The more he played the more his music started to sound like the blues.

Amethyst was still not used to snow. She had seen in shortly after she first arrived at the Mansion, but it was just cold wind and flurries, without settling on the ground like she'd seen in pictures. This, however - this was the real stuff. Everyone at the Mansion was celebrating Christmas (and some other winter holidays), and everything was decorated with lights and pine branches. She was not sure she understood the whole thing, it had something to do with trees and the winter solstice, but the snow - the snow was more interesting.

And cold. Amethyst was not very well equipped for winter. She was wearing a velvet dress and things called leggings under it, and fuzzy boots that had been recommended to her. On top of all that, she was a cape, hemmed with fur. Thus attired, she ventured into the Mansion grounds, stepping gingerly in the snow, and watching it slowly, picturesquely fall from the sky. She even poked at it with her hands, and decided it was too cold to be entertaining.

There was music somewhere, and she turned towards the building. It was not hard to spot Carrick in one of the living room windows. He was playing his guitar, sounding... a lot less cheerful than he usually was. After that night in her room, they were back to playful banter, and Amethyst had concluded that he would tell her when he wanted more.

The window was a little bit up from ground level, but she could still reach it with one hand to knock.

"Happy Christmas?"

The strumming continued till he spotted some movement on the other side of the window. If he had been just been staring he would have seen her before she had approached however when she knocked on the window he jumped up fumbling his guitar in the process.

>>>"Happy Christmas?"

Catching the guitar by the neck he looked back to the Princess and smirked, ”Feliz Navidad!” he replied. His smirk was a short one however there was a little purring that echoed from his chest when he saw her. After the other night he had been wanting to see her but didn’t want to seem too desperate, be it from nerves or the cat in him.

”Were you not sure if you wanted to it to be happy? How you doing today love?” he felt like he was yelling so he unlocked the window and opened it. While he wasn’t smiling the purring continued. His tail far less expressive than usual.

Laying closer to the window sill he poked his head out the window so he could talk to her. It was then he was seeing what she was wearing. ”Not cold are ya? Don’t really looked dressed for snow.”

>>”Feliz Navidad!”

"What?"

Carrick unlocked the window. She could hear the purring now, but he looked less than his usual cheerful self somehow.

>>”Were you not sure if you wanted to it to be happy? How you doing today love?”

"I was not sure how to say it. I have heard like ten different versions" she explained, looking up at him as he poked his head out the window. It was either merry Christmas, happy Christmas, happy holidays, blessed whatever. She was trying her best anyway.

>>”Not cold are ya? Don’t really looked dressed for snow.”

"I never had to dress for snow before" she stated, pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulders. "Is sad music a part of these holidays?"

He smirked a little at her response, ”That was the Spanish version. Probably like two hundred versions to it.” he said lazily. The sun was hitting his back while he laid out the window. It felt nice the purring continued despite his blue disposition. The princess was around.

”Ah, that would explain it.” he said noticing her pulling the cloak tighter around her. ”Pulling off the look though.” he offered before averting his gaze from her at the question. ”Nothing wrong with the blues.” he said trying to remember what he was playing before being startled.

”Christmas is a family holiday, depends on the family?” he asked giving a grin before rolling himself on the sill till he managed to be looking at the princess from upside down. ”Normally I’d phone home. Almost forgot there’s no one to answer. Least no one I want to talk to anyways.” he explained.

”Take it ya don’t have this holiday back home? Anything similar?” he asked knowing that they wouldn’t have the same holidays.

>>”Ah, that would explain it. Pulling off the look though.”

She always did. Her look might not have been the most efficient, but she did look regal as usual. It was the snow's fault for being so damn cold. Even so, it was pretty.
Carrick rolled upside down, looking like he was not about to take her question seriously.

>>”Nothing wrong with the blues. Christmas is a family holiday, depends on the family? Normally I’d phone home. Almost forgot there’s no one to answer. Least no one I want to talk to anyways.”

Oh. She remembered he hated his father, and his mother had passed away. That was not very cheerful, for a family holiday. A lot of students celebrated at the Mansion, calling it their own family. It made sense.

>>”Take it ya don’t have this holiday back home? Anything similar?”

"Well... we have Kronia this time of the year, but that is... more like your Halloween. Masquerades and sweets and all. The... servants get free reign. Not really a family thing." she didn't really remember family festivities. Gatherings, sure, feasts, definitely. But not a holiday. "You miss your mother?"

Kronia sounded like a good time. He thought of the Halloween parties he had been to and how much fun they were. Servants got free reign. It felt weird when she when she mentioned she had servants but then again. She was a Princess after all.

He stopped purring and looked upwards at the sky, ”Only when I think bout her. Usually we’d spend the day decorating a small tree we found. She’d spend the day baking me a cake and then we exchange gifts. Wasn’t much never was. Didn’t have a lot… but ya never realize how much ya miss someone when ya can’t call ‘em.” he said his voice broke slightly before he cleared his throat.

”Oh… before I forget.” he said snapping his fingers and then pulling himself up reaching into his bag. ”Got ya something, nothing special but I wanted ta get ya something fer Christmas.” he grabbed the small package from his bag and then resumed his position hanging upside down.

”Hope ya like it.” he said offering up the brown construction paper wrapped gift. It was a small frame he found, two tickets from their first ‘date’ fanned out in it. Like he was it wasn’t much but he figured she should open something on her first Christmas. ”Don’t have to open it now.” he said with a little upside down shrug.

Carrick was still looking upside-down out the window, so it was hard to tell how sad he really was. He was not very good at expressing awkward feelings anyway. She had learned that the hard way.

>>”Only when I think bout her. Usually we’d spend the day decorating a small tree we found. She’d spend the day baking me a cake and then we exchange gifts. Wasn’t much never was. Didn’t have a lot… but ya never realize how much ya miss someone when ya can’t call ‘em.”

"I'm sorry." she could tell he was sad. The holiday reminded him of things that used to be. Amethyst related to the homesickness, even though the things she missed were of a different kind. She was once again at a loss of what to say.

>>”Oh… before I forget. Got ya something, nothing special but I wanted ta get ya something fer Christmas. Hope ya like it. Don’t have to open it now.”

He handed her a package wrapped in brown paper. Amethyst held it in her hands, a little confused. She knew this Christmas holiday involved gifts (it would have been hard to miss, in a building full of kids), but she was not sue about the conventions of who gave them to whom.

"I... didn't get you one" she admitted "Or a cake. Is the gift a cake, or is it a separate thing...?"

>>>"I'm sorry."

He hated hearing those words. They were ones of comfort but hearing the words sorry never helped the shifter much as a kid and now they just made things awkward for him because his first response would always be. ‘Not yer fault.’ He knew that would not help in this situation so he only offered a little forced smirk. ”One of the bad parts of getting older I suppose.” he knew his mom wouldn’t be around forever she always had health issues ever since he could remember.

”Didn’t need to.” he said with a shrug, ”Almost didn’t get ya one till I realized yer one of my only friends ‘ere. That and after the other night I was feeling like ya earned it.” the memory of the other night and being so close to the Princess now started another round of purrs from his chest.

”Don’t worry, didn’t break the bank or nothing I might have had most of it in me possession already so.” he smirked and turned over letting out a yawn in the sunlight. ”Cake was more of a tradition with me mother than the holiday. Today’s also me birthday.” he said lazily.

Gifting in itself was not a strange concept to the princess. It was part of the royal lifestyle; she knew what to give when to seem generous, and liked receiving gifts from people who sought her favors. But living in America came with a new set of rules, and sometimes those gifting rules were very confusing. Not to mention unwritten.

>>”Didn’t need to. Almost didn’t get ya one till I realized yer one of my only friends ‘ere. That and after the other night I was feeling like ya earned it. Don’t worry, didn’t break the bank or nothing I might have had most of it in me possession already so.”

Amethyst arched an eyebrow, and Carrick began purring again. He said she didn't need to get him a gift - but he also said he got her one because she was a friend. Which meant gifts for friends were the norm. She needed to fix that. She was not sure about him saying she earned the gift. How did one earn a gift by not sleeping with someone?...

>>”Cake was more of a tradition with me mother than the holiday. Today’s also me birthday.”

Now, birthdays, she could understand.

"What?" the princess blinked "Seriously? Your birthday is the same as Christmas?" One was a national holiday, which was confusing, but the other, that was something personal. Amethyst was always pampered on her birthdays. "Why are you not celebrating?"

”Aye, used to joke I was the holy child born again.” he said with a little grin, ”Mother used to joke I’d get the same fate it I kept up with the blasphemin.” his tail flicked behind him. While watching the Princess in the snow study the gift then him.

”Doesn’t really feel like a birthday ya know?” he shrugged, ”Only thing I usually did was call me mother. Kinda hard to do that and I don’t really want to get creative with the ways to call her.” he said yawning again.

Sitting upright and pulling himself through the window and leaving it open he hoped out of it and landed on the snow next to the princess in a loud crunch. ”Sides, got no one to celebrate with.” he yawned and stretched again this time getting his wings involved, knowing the Princess’s fascination with them.

>>”Aye, used to joke I was the holy child born again. Mother used to joke I’d get the same fate it I kept up with the blasphemin.”

The only reference Amethyst gleaned from that was that Carrick indeed had a Christmas birthday. The rest was somewhat muddy, with the child and the blasphemy. She knew his family was religious, but she'd never cared about the religion enough to learn. Christmas had something to do with a big fat man in red, and also with his baby, somehow.

>>”Doesn’t really feel like a birthday ya know? Only thing I usually did was call me mother. Kinda hard to do that and I don’t really want to get creative with the ways to call her... Sides, got no one to celebrate with.”

"Well, that is a very flimsy excuse" the princess pointed out as he landed next to her in the snow, stretching his wings. "It's your birthday, which means you celebrate yourself." Treating yourself was never not a good thing to do. "Besides, you have me. And you have friends here. You should have treats. And gifts. Is there a gift you would want?"

The princess seemed not to like his answer. Tucking his wings behind him he shrugged, ”I usually do that the other 364 days of the years. Don’t I get a day off?” he asked scratching the back of his head. His wings adjusted to fan out behind him a bit blocking his back from the cold and wing.

>>>"Besides, you have me. And you have friends here. You should have treats. And gifts. Is there a gift you would want?"

”Do I?” he smirked putting his hands in his pockets. ”Few of ‘em went to visit family for the holidays.” he shrugged some more then scooped down and picked up a little bit of snow to form it with his hands into a ball.

The snow was cold, he regretted not wearing gloves. ”I always want stuff. Doesn’t mean I should get it.” he smirked. Once the ball was formed he tossed it to the princess. ”The one thing I want isn’t something yer able to do unless ya can reverse time.” he eyed her wondering if that was something she was capable of. She could create gems why not time control.

While there was nothing wrong with celebrating yourself, Carrick actually had friends among the Mansion residents. It would have been foolish not to point that out. In fact, Amethyst was fairly certain he had more friends than her.

>>”Do I? Few of ‘em went to visit family for the holidays.”

"I wish. The place would be a lot quieter" she noted. There was still a whole lot of squealing.

Carrick tossed a snow ball at her. Amethyst made a move to catch it, but it turned into dust between her fingers. It was cold, so she shook it off. She didn't have gloves.

>>”I always want stuff. Doesn’t mean I should get it. The one thing I want isn’t something yer able to do unless ya can reverse time.”

"I can't." the princess admitted. It was not one of her power sets. "What is it?"

The shifter smirked at her failed attempt to catch the snowball. He bent down and scooped up some more snow this time packing it on the ground, ”I know what ya mean. It was hard to find a spot without anyone around. Ya found me though.” he said looking at the snow pile, ”Not that I’m complaining.”

Working the pile into a large ball he was confident it wouldn’t break apart like the last one did. His hands were freezing now and wet. He shook them dry before hefting the snowball that required two hands to lift. He spun slightly and lobbed the snowball towards her slowly so she could dodge it if she wanted. ”Shame, let me know if that changes.”

”Talk to me mum.” he said honestly with another shrug. His tail drooped behind him and his hands went into his pockets to warm up and dry off. ”Ever build a snowman?” he asked curiously.