id: 275
name: The Christmas Special
author: TurboSperg
date: 4th March 2021
text len: 28181
views: 38

>the alarm clock rang loudly
>I woke up but refused to open my eyes
>I’d wait for it to go quiet and continue sleeping if it weren’t for the fact that I have an important job today
>hesitantly sit up on my bed
>hit the snooze button
>mind is hazy
>lips are a desert
>eyes are burning
>yep
>it’s 5:30 am
>god…
>I fucking hate it when they give me jobs this early
>wipe the lack of sleep of my face and jump out of bed
>admire the… uh…
>I don’t know…
>admire the walls of my hangar or… something…
>just anything to get my mind warming up while I change into my flight suit
>finish tying up my boots when my suddenly my hangar door gets opened
>a strong wind immediately blows in
>starts throwing some papers I had on my desk around
>who the fuck…?
>“good morning~”
>oh god
>it’s her
>the suit lady that forced me into this job
>what was her name?
>fuck I can’t remember
>did she ever tell me her name?
>what is she doing here?
>“I uh… hi…”
>“well you clearly don’t have the Christmas spirit in you today huh?”
>“the what?”
>I ask as I look up to see her wearing a white dress and a Santa hat
>my eyes go wide as I realize
>“wait… it’s Christmas?!”
>“well uh… yeah? couldn’t you tell by all the festive decorations we put up?”
>“no? what decoration?”
>“oh right… we didn’t have enough to decorate the hangars…”
>I raise an eyebrow in confusion
>“what?”
>“what? you never saw the lobby? I think it looks lovely”
>“no… I haven't left this airfield through anything that wasn't flying for like two weeks”
>“…nevermind, just… today you have a very important job Anon”
>“yeah, so important nobody ever told me what I was gonna do… just that it was today this early…”
>“it was a surprise because today…”
>she pinches her lower lip and whistles
>a ground crew dressed like Santa’s elves roll in with a bunch of weird containers mounted on carts
>…and a big red ball…
>“…ta-da! you are gonna be Santa!”
>“…what?!”

>“you are gonna be Santa this Christmas”
>“no I heard you but what does that mean?”
>“those aerodynamically shaped containers, you are gonna carry them like bombs and open them over a target”
>“containers? open over tar…? am I dropping cluster munitions over somebody?”
>“no no no! gifts Anon… gifts”
>“what kinds of gifts?”
>“oh simple things like toys, canned food, ammunition and uh… fruit baskets…”
>“fruit baskets?”
>“yeah, what we consider simple everyday items may be another one’s rare and expensive commodities”
>“ah…”
>“yep and harpies love fruit”
>I raise an eyebrow again and look at uh…
>I’m just gonna call her suit lady
>I raise and eyebrow and look up at suit lady
>“harpies?”
>her smile disappears and eyes go wide
>“oh uh… I… well it was supposed to be a surprise but… yeah you are dropping gifts over harpy city”
>“and what have those self-centered assholes done to deserve gifts?”
>“buy a lot of scrap from our salvage division”
>“…”
>“…”
>“what’s the big red ball for?”
>I change the subject as I point at the ground crew trying to roll it off its cart
>suit lady turns around and walks towards them waving her arms
>“guys guys hold on! that’s for the other jet!”
>other jet?
>“this one is the sled wrap!”
>sled wrap?
>the ground crew acknowledge her and start moving the red ball away
>instead, they bring another cart filled with big rolled up sheets of a metallic red and gold colored paper
>or at least I think it’s paper
>one of the ground service members pulls out a big rimmed hat and a staff from his bag
>oh hey I remember that guy
>it’s that engine service guy that could make stuff float
>he waves his staff at rolled sheets of paper
>they start to levitate and unfurl themselves
>now they looks more like flats of my plane’s… fuselage…
>wait a minute…
>the big hat dude flicks his hands and the decals fly off and stick to my plane
>dude!
>I stand up and run towards the hat dude
>“wait wait dude! you are gonna fuck up my paint!”

>one of the other servicemen stops me and explains
>“don’t worry sir, this is just a temporary wrap”
>“yeah but what about the-the glue and shit?!”
>“don’t worry, we made sure to use light adhesives that should come off easily with a simple wash after the delivery is over”
>I take a deep concerned breath
>“ok fine, just-just don’t fuck up my plane ok?”
>“you plane is in good hands sir, now here, take this”
>he hands me a small plastic Santa hat with a suction cup on the bottom
>“what’s this for?”
>“you stick it on top of your helmet sir”
>“ah”
>“oh looks like the wrapping is complete”
>“huh”
>I turn around to see my jet lined in red with little golden and silver details
>it’s camo’d to look like Santa’s sled
>huh
>it…
>…doesn’t look that bad
>hmmm
>“so what do you think Anon?”
>I turn around to see suit lady admiring my plane behind me
>“it’s ok I guess”
>“anything you wish before going out there and making some people happy?”
>“I dunno, something to eat because I really don’t feel like flying on an empty stomach”
>“ah good thing you mention that… here”
>suit lady hands me a pre-packaged slice of fruitcake and a carton of eggnog
>“special breakfast for a special day”
>the fruitcake sags sadly on my hand
>I check the due date on the nog just in case
>“it’s…
>“non-alcoholic, don’t want children seeing Santa drunkenly slamming into their hom-
>“…expired”
>“oh”
>she grabs the carton out of my hand and chucks it outside
>“never mind, just enjoy the cake, we’ll have something better when you get back ok?”
>“ok”
>“you have until your plane is ready to eat it so be fast but also enjoy it”
>suit lady walks out of my hangar and drives away on her Bentley
>I sigh as I start to unwrap my sad slice of festive pastry
>I bite into it and…
>bleh…
>it’s expired too
>throw it away and retrieve my helmet

>one of the technicians walks up to me
>“sir I do hope you have been informed on how to operate our external gift delivery system”
>“now that I think about it, no I am not”
>“good heavens sir, looks like I’ll have to teach you myself”
>one of the other servicemen whistles and yells “2 MINUTES”
>“ok dude just make it quick”
>“it’s very simple sir, you just have to treat it like an unguided bomb”
>“treat it like a bomb, got it”
>“hold on sir, after you’ve dispensed gifts, the internal computer system of the pods will override and act like an external fuel tank which can them be jettisoned”
>“why…?”
>“you can drop them away should the necessity arrive, they are inexpensive and we don’t expect them back”
>“riiiiight…”
>“well, have a good flight sir”
>“thanks…”
>“oh and be sure to check in with your flight partners”
>“my what?”
>“you are not gonna be up there alone mister Anon, you’ll be accompanied by the gentlemen from the hangar front of yours”
>“the-the MiG guys?”
>“yes sir, now if you’ll excuse me, the obligatory festive breakfast is about to start and I do not wish to be tardy, goodbye sir”
>“bye…”
>the MiG guys are gonna be…
>hold on…
>I quickly pull down the ladder and climb on top of my plane
>my vision outside of the hangar gets cleared
>I can see the dudes standing on top of their plane too
>their MiG-29 is also wrapped but it’s made to look like a reindeer instead
>painted brown with white spots on the back
>and that giant red ball from before…
>they stuck it to the front of their nosecone like Rudolf’s nose
>my god…
>and the MiG dudes themselves…
>Dany and Rodrick they…
>…they have plastic antlers suction cupped to the side of their helmets
>one of them turns around and waves at me
>can’t tell which one but I still wave back
>one of the servicemen pulls out a megaphone seemingly out of nowhere and shouts
>“HORNET READY, MIG READY?!”
>I cover my ears to avoid further hearing damage

>one of the ground crew from the MiG’s hangar replies with their own megaphone
>“READY”
>my ears…
>the hangars are next to each other for fuck’s sake 
>JUST WALK OVER AND ASK THEM
>our guy with the megaphone puts it away and turns to me
>“get on the seat and get ready to fly, tow is on its way and they don’t like delays”
>I just give him an ok sign and jump into my seat
>I stick the stupid little hat to my helmet and start the plane
>the ground crew of both hangars clear out of the way but stay near
>I get my electronics up and engines rolling
>then I get a message through the radio
>“Santa leader this is Rudolph 1, do you copy?”
>it’s Rodrick, the backseater
>“yeah what’s up?”
>“nothing, I just wanted to make sure you had your radio on and to tell you that those are actually gonna be our callsigns today”
>“what”
>“yeah I’m serious, it said so in the paper”
>“what paper? wait… they gave you a briefing file?”
>“yeah, you didn’t get it?”
>“no! they just told me ‘you are Santa today boy’ and fucking… nevermind”
>Dany, the pilot, slots into the conversation
>“yeah I’m pretty sure they didn’t tell you because they didn’t want you ordering bombs to level Harpy city before it was time to leave”
>“I- ok fair enough”
>“and that’s also why we are allowed to carry two missiles for self-defense and you are not”
>“you guys are carrying missiles?”
>“yeah, unlicensed copies of the R-73”
>“that’s bullshit”
>Rodrick asks “what is it with you and firebombing the birds anyway?”
>“I live near Harpy city and they constantly come over to my house to bother me”
>“YOU LIVE NEAR HARPY CITY?!”
>I try to cover my ears
>but the speakers are INSIDE the helmet so I just smack the sides of my head like a retard
>I didn’t even manage to tell which one of the two said that
>“y-yeah I do, didn’t I tell you before?”
>Dany answers “no, not that we remember, we thought you lived here, you got a bed and a safe on your hangar and everything”
>but they have those too…
>they live here?!

>no wait
>I think I already knew that
>“I have them because I work for several days at a time here”
>“so all those times you left on route to Harpy city…”
>“I was going home, yes”
>Rodrick replies “shit, we thought you just left to harass the harpies for no reason and that’s why that bird mailwoman was mad at you”
>“no, she actually started my problem with the harpies”
>“oooooh…”
>“tow is here”
>“wooo let’s get going”
>the first tow truck takes a turn and hooks up the MiG
>it pulls it out and takes it on route to the runway
>“hey if I’m Santa leader how come you are getting pulled first”
>“I mean… what goes on the front?”
>“the reindeer or the sled?”
>“shit you right”
>“yeah”
>the next truck comes over and hooks on me when the MiG gets out of the way
>I finally get a full look at the climate outside
>dark blueish grey skies
>high probability of rain
>sun is barely coming up
>overall: miserable
>like great Britain
>“hey Anon you may want to unfold your wings when you can”
>“why?”
>“we got paparazzi up ahead”
>“what you mean?”
>“people with big cameras, probably from the PR department”
>“oh shit, you think they’ll put us on a post card? I want to send one to my family so they know I’m still alive”
>“I don’t know but now that you say it, we want one too”
>I fold my wings down and lock them in place
>the tow pulls us in parallel to the runways
>to our left is a line of cameramen snapping pictures of us
>I wave at them hoping that my eyebags aren’t visible through my visor
>then another voice comes through the radio
>“hey if it isn’t the Christmas squadron”
>all three of us reply at the same time
>“hey tower”

>“delivering gifts to Harpy city today huh?”
>“yeah”
>“well you are lucky to get to leave this early…”
>lucky? to get up at fucking 5:10 am?
>“…because according to my schedule, today is gonna be a very busy day, next slot for you to return without much traffic is a 20 minute window starting at 7:35”
>“Jesus…”
>“yeah you guys probably don’t want to take long if you want to take it easy”
>“don’t worry, I know the place like the back of my head, we’ll be done in no time”
>Dany questions “don’t you mean the back of your hand?”
>“uh…”
>“you guys are free to take off as you need”
>“roger that, so what’s the plan Rudolph 1?”
>“we take off, fly to the place, drop the things, do some stunts or whatever and come back”
>“sounds like a solid plan”
>“now, balls to the wall on your signal”
>“my signal?”
>“you are the leader aren’t you?”
>“r-right… just a moment”
>one final checkup
>flaps are good
>ejection seat is good
>battery is good
>blah blah blah everything is good
>“ok ready?”
>“yeah”
>…
>“now!”
>I grip the throttle controls and push them all the way forward
>my plane starts accelerating
>the MiG takes a split second to react and start moving
>we pick up speed as we accelerate down the runway
>“take off speed reached or V1 or whatever”
>“ok, rotate now”
>I command as I gently pull back on the stick
>my plane lifts off the ground
>the MiG takes off besides me but climbs more aggressively
>shooting above me
>then we level out a few hundred feet above sea level
>“so what now squadron leader?”
>“well uh… just follow me I guess”
>“ok but like at what altitude? what cruising speed?”
>“what position and how much separation between aircraft?”
>“man I don’t know, shouldn’t we have discussed this on the ground?”
>“yeah…”
>“fuck it… let’s climb to 30,000 feet and fucking uh… 500 knots?
>“Rodrick, how much is that in rest of the world units?”
>“oh you mean not flag in the moon countries?”
>“…”
>“…”
>“…you do know that NASA uses metric right?”

>“shit, really?”
>“uh, yeah”
>“fuck!”
>after that, the cruise is silent
>mostly silent anyway…
>we reach out target attitude and say next to nothing
>just some short comments about the big red ball on the MiG’s nose and how it affects the plane’s handling
>the weather thankfully get clearer as we get closer to the coast
>I take advantage of the downtime to program my dropping pattern
>the two underwing mounted pods are gonna open at the same time
>the centerline one…
>well I got quite a different plan for that one actually…
>maybe I should tell the guys
>see if they’d help me out
>I look over and see Rodrick with his feet on his instrument panel playing on his phone
>is he…
>is he playing fucking temple run?
>…
>maybe I should ask them later
>“hey guys, we’re getting close”
>“shit… already”
>“yeah actually… yeah look, Harpy city dead ahead”
>“yeah we see it, where we dropping tho?”
>“I think they have like this big plaza near that beached boat, I think that’s a good place”
>“roger doger mister Claus, taking position”
>the MiG pulls ahead a few hundred feet
>“I think we should slow down a bit for the drop”
>“yeah maybe we should”
>“to how much though?”
>“eh just feel it”
>I pull back on the throttle and try to stay in sync with the MiG as we approach
>“I think I see the plaza, it’s got like a big circular open space doesn’t it?”
>“yeah that’s it”
>“yeah it’s straight ahead, get ready”
>I select the gift pods as armament and the bombsight appears on my HUD
>I line it with the center of the plaza
>“dropping”
>I pull on the trigger and hear something rumble under my wings
>I look forward to see the pods under the MiG open
>dozens of little balls of cloth fall out
>they unravel and become little parachutes for parcel containing all sorts of gifts
>all covered in blue and golden wrapping paper
>the company’s colors
>damn…
>this actually feels kinda cool…

>after the drop, we pull up to not blow everybody’s eardrums below with our fans…
>…as much as I would have liked that
>instead, we get on a safe level and prepare to turn back around
>I take a good look at the island below and how the city is structure
>specially the main canal that passes straight through the city
>it’s wider and deeper that the rest of the canal system
>almost like a highway for boats
>hmmm…
>“hey Anon, are you thinking what we are thinking?”
>“what are you guys thinking of?”
>“looping around the back of the island and mach looping down that bitch of a main canal”
>“I am thinking what you are thinking”
>“fucking nice”
>“just let me get a good look before we go”
>I start focusing more on the main canal
>memorizing its path as much as I can
>it’s mostly straight but there are some sudden bends here and there
>plus, I don’t want to clip a bridge with my wings by accident
>we fly out to the ocean for a few miles before turning 180° and descending
>Dany advises “slow down a bit, don’t actually try to dip into the canal ok? rooftop level is flashy enough”
>“roger”
>I pull back on the throttle
>“if you feel you can’t keep up just brake off, no shame”
>“no shame?”
>“hey we may lean heavy on the jokes but safety first… for us and for the ones on the ground…”
>and then Rodrick ads “…but mainly for us”
>“he… ok ok”
>“here we go”
>phew… come on… concentrate
>the ocean turns into buildings as we pass over back into the city
>gently banking right as I follow the general direction of the canal
>the cockpit is pretty much on level with the rooftop of most houses
>first few seconds in and we are already almost to the center
>I can see a bunch of big towers like 2 miles to our right
>that must be the city center
>“here comes a left bend, keep it gentle…. now!”
>both our planes quickly turn from a gentle right to a steep left
>still gently pulling back on the stick
>“alright, keep it steady… we’re almost out”
>the MiG starts to gain altitude as we approach the other end of the canal
>“clear the rooftops and break off to the right”
>“roger, breaking now”
>the MiG break to the left while deploying flares
>I start doing aileron rolls at the end of my break for extra flashiness and to compensate because I didn’t get flares

>man… that was good…
>“aight… that was good Anon, good coordination, smooth moves”
>“thanks”
>“now join up on me at 600 feet”
>“I’m here”
>“good, we’re gonna start climbing to-
>“hey… Dany wait…”
>“what is it?”
>“look, I’m not gonna go back to base just yet, I have things to do”
>“that’s ok, you said you lived around here yes?”
>“yeah, I got people here that I want to spend some time with”
>“that’s ok, but before we part ways, there’s one last thing I want to ask you”
>“yeah?”
>“you said you wanted your family to know you are ok right?”
>“right?”
>“if they could see you right now… would they be proud of you?”
>“…”
>“…”
>“honestly… yeah, maybe not the mercenary part but… my parents always knew I had a thing for planes… my dad would totally be jealous”
>“does he like planes too?”
>“he became a crop-duster pilot after retiring from his job at an oil rig, he’s the one that taught me the basics of flight”
>“that sounds nice Anon, hopefully one day you’ll get to see them again… see you back at base”
>Rodrick’s microphone opens to the sound of him munching on potato chips
>“hava gud uan anoh… si u leitah”
>“peace guys…”
>Dany and Rodrick wave me goodbye before breaking off in the direction of the airfield and quickly gaining altitude
>…
>ok…
>…
>now for my next trick…
>I pull up a bit to have a better look around
>I quickly spot the river’s mouth by the shore and from then I’m able to tell  roughly where I’m at
>looking around some more I spot my home and a little more inland there’s the trail that leads to the village
>perfect
>I follow it while keeping a decent height above ground
>when I get to the village, I start to circle around it and slowly descending
>my plan is to create enough noise to draw people outside but not so much that it annoys them
>and then that’s when the last gift pod comes into play
>the one I refused to open over harpy city
>I was saving it for them

>after all, they are the only form of civilization I have all the way out here
>it’s the least I can do
>after flying around for a few minutes, I see people starting to walk out of their homes
>I don’t know if it’s because of me though
>they seem to be going about their business just fine
>doesn’t matter
>people outside is all I need
>so I get some separation to maneuver into the right position and also to slow down enough
>I arm the gift dispenser
>the bomb sight appears on my HUD
>I align myself with the main road of town
>that’s where the most people seem to be at
>just at the right moment I press on the trigger
>the indicator on my DDI tells me the centerline pod deployed successfully
>I immediately pull up and to the left
>turning just enough to let me look back at the trail of little parachutes slowly descending over the village
>many of the townsfolk on the ground look up in amazement as supplies rain down for them
>food, ammo, tools and toys
>to cover their needs for a couple of days and to raise morale
>it’s not much but is the best I can do for now
>proud of my work, I head towards my own airfield and land without trouble
>I deposit my plane on the hangar and change from my flight suit into some jeans and a jacket
>the climate is still cold, and skies are gray
>doesn’t matter
>I get on my bike and ride into the forest heading towards the village
>having to ride through the dense forest is a pain
>perhaps I should carve a path from my airfield to the village road
>that would take some time and a lot of effort though
>maybe sometime in the future then
>and maybe with the help of the townspeople
>but for now, I continue on my way until I reach the village
>the people are still outside picking the gifts that I dropped
>some are gathered in groups and talking to each other about what they got
>they seem to be having a good time
>some turn towards me when they hear the engine of my bike approaching
>they wave at me as I finally enter the village proper
>I return the greeting as I head deeper into town

>I end up driving straight to the back of town where Ablia and Henst live
>The door to Mr. Henst’s house swings open and Ablia comes running out
>she has a small present in her hands, though it looks quite different to the other ones
>“ANON!”
>I hadn’t even gotten off my bike when she jumped at me
>she almost took me and my bike down, but I managed to plant my feet on the ground well enough to not get toppled by her hug
>“woah there!”
>Ablia quickly let’s go of me and steps back
>“oh sorry… sorry I’m just exited”
>she tries to stand still but her tail keeps wagging uncontrollably
>“yeah I can tell”
>“I-I’m serious, there’s nothing we can do to thank you enough!”
>“does the rest of the village even know I dropped the presents?”
>“oh no… they thought it was a really generous roc… b-but I can tell them. I told Mr. Henst, we can show-
>“hmmm… nah”
>Ablia’s tail stops wagging, and her ears droop down
>“w-what? don’t you want them to know it… but how will we…”
>“to be perfectly honest, I would say something corny like ‘I do it for the love, not the recognition’ or other but in reality, I just don’t want to bother anyone”
>“huh?”
>“I just want everyone to enjoy their presents, besides, it didn’t cost me a thing”
>Ablia stares at me still processing why am not asking for anything in return
>I try to break the awkward moment by asking her about her gift
>“so uh… what did you get?”
>“oh uh… I don’t know”
>Ablia hands me her present
>It’s a plastic container wrapped in foil paper like the rest of the gifts
>however, unlike the rest of the gifts adorned in blue and yellow, Ablia’s present is completely furbished with golden foil
>weird, maybe it means it’s a special gift or something?
>“I waited for you b-because I uh… I wanted you to see my reaction”
>Ablia holds the present close to her chest, her cheeks turn pink
>aw
>“ehehe w-well, since you are here…”
>Ablia pulls off the wrapping, revealing a slick pistol hard case
>one of the corners of the case is engraved with three ringed arrows
>“beretta…”

>“huh? what did you say Anon?”
>“oh It’s the brand, look there’s their logo”
>“ah”
>Ablia undoes the locks and flips the top open inconveniently blocking my view
>Ablia gasps, her pupils dilate as she reaches in and pulls out a beautiful pistol
>that frame
>those slide details
>those 3-dot sights and the rail cover
>it’s a 90-TWO
>one of Beretta’s unsuccessful attempts to evolve out of the 92
>considered a commercial failure but by god if it isn’t a beauty
>“wow, it looks very uh… interesting I guess”
>“you don’t like it?”
>“oh I do, I’ve just never seen something like this before”
>“what else is in there?”
>“huh… two spare magazines and this thingy”
>Ablia pulls out a grip cover
>“I don’t know what this is for”
>“if the grip feels too small for you, you sleeve it over and get a better grip”
>“oh, well I thought out of the two special gifts this was gonna be the lamer one but I actually really like it”
>“…wait …what do you mean two special gifts?”
>“oh there were two gifts with this gold paper and I managed to get both so I ran over and gave Mr. Henst the bigger one”
>“oh… so uh… can I-
>“hey Anon boy!”
>I turn around in surprise
>it’s Mr. Henst coming up the dirt path, he’s being pushed by Fridy
>“Hey Mr. Henst, weren’t you inside drinking your evening tea?”
>Ablia asks
>“I was but I ran off to tell everyone in the village about what blessing our great boy right here brought us!”
>Ablia’s tail start moving again
>“you heard that Anon?!”
>“you what?”
>“you heard me right, look!”
>I turn to look further down the street where a giant mob was marching towards us
>a lot of them are waving at us
>some even wooing and screaming in joy
>my spaghetti sensors are detecting an inevitable spilling
>“Mr. Henst… when did you say you left?”
>“uh… just when Ablia left to greet you, why?”
>“Ablia… how long did we speak before Mr. Henst arrive back?”
>“hmmm, like two, maybe three minutes?”
>HOW THE FUCK

>alright never mind
>not questioning it
>I have a bigger problem to deal with
>a group of people appreciating me…
>well, there was no getting out of this one
>so, I sucked up my social disability and decided to at least try to have fun
>the mob of villagers surrounded us with cheers and whistles
>some even reached out and gave us some friendly pats
>I could feel the spaghetti throbbing in my pockets
>yet I kept my cool and replied to the praise with a smile
>a dwarf made his way through and shook my hands
>it was the same dwarf with the fanny pack of holding
>the one that helped Fridy with the interrogation
>“you have done us a good deed my English friend, is there something we can do in kind?”
>“look, I did this just to be nice, there’s no need to repay me or anything, I just-
>“oh nice… hey guys, he say we don’t need repaying him!”
>the crowd cheers even more, some sigh in relief
>“so uh… what were you guys doing just now?”
>“nothing really, but now? we’ll have a village lunch to celebrate! and you are invited boy”
>“oh, thanks…”
>“yeah no worries”
>the dwarf then shouts something in their language
>the crowd calmly walks back to their homes
>I’m left alone with Ablia, Henst and Fridy
>I turn to Mr. Henst and ask
>“what’s village lunch? Is it a local celebration analogous to Christmas?”
>“no, we just gather what everyone was cooking at the time and share it, we do it when something nice happens in the village”
>“oh…”
>I feel Ablia poke me in the shoulder
>“Anon… what’s Christmas?”
>“uh… I’ll tell you later”
>we walked over to the main road of the village
>Fridy and Henst were talking with each other while I showed Ablia how to operate her new pistol
>we found the villagers had gathered in the middle of the road where they lined up tables and chairs from their homes
>pots and pans of hot food were being passed around
>people were talking chatting it up and having a jolly time
>we sat at the very end of the line of tables where we were offered all kinds of stews and roasts
>Mr. Henst disappeared for a few seconds, only to come back with his giant golden gift in his hands
>turns out it was a giant centerpiece decorated in feather and full of exotic fruits and ammo
>he passed it around, offering fruit and handfuls of rounds to the villagers
>when he offered me, I just grabbed an orange and a few rounds of 9mm
>rounds which then I handed to Ablia
>“hey, remembered that box of bullets you gifted me?”
>“yeah”
>“these are the same type of bullets, your new pistol uses them too”
>“oh cool… you don’t happen to still have that box, do you?”
>“uh I’m fairly sure I have like three quarters of it left… why do you as-
>Ablia was stared at me with puppy dog eyes, her ears were folded back, and her tail was gently swishing back and forth
>the sight alone gave me a giggle
>“fine… I’ll share it back”
>“oh no I was uh… I was joking, it’s yours”
>“no no it’s ok, besides, I want to help you get used to it”
>“ah… well… thanks Anon”