Holiday Planning

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The sleigh hovered in the air over the Atlantic, just east of the Florida coastline. Christmas Present and Dancer were doing some reconnaissance to see if the Krampus had already been in the area. If he had, then it would be safe for them to proceed. If not, he was far faster than they were, and it wasn't worth getting caught.

"Do you really think it's worth it?" Lily asked, staring at the distant lights of Miami. She rested her head on crossed arms on the side of the sleigh. With the Krampus stealing presents, their only option for prolonging belief was making personal visits from Santa. Deep down, Lily was afraid that the Krampus had already visited these children, scaring the poop out of them or telling them Santa wasn't real. "If Christmas Present is right, these visits won't amount to much in terms of Christmas preservation."

"Absolutely." Death was next to her, his eye sockets on the dark waters of the Atlantic. "From our point of view, we gain very little. Each special trip exacts a toll on us, and an imbalanced one at that."

"You're not exactly selling it," Lily muttered.

"But to that child, it means everything. Perhaps our efforts buy us scant minutes in the long run, but Christmas has never been about our own personal gains. It is the season of giving, that moment when someone's face lights up in joy. The best gifts aren't things you can hold with your hands, dear succubus, but rather things we can cherish in our hearts for years to come."

Lily sighed, turning her head to see the Reaper better. He had a point, but it was one she had trouble coming to terms with. The debate the team had on the way had been largely one-sided. Lily was in favor of going to the North Pole to kick some heinie, while everyone else, including the toaster, wanted to finish the list.

It was selfish of her, she could admit it. She missed Mike. She hated being Santa's Helper and playing cat and mouse with a literal giant cat had gotten old. She wasn't built for generosity or kindness, but sensuality and murder.

"I disagree." The part of Mike's soul that lived inside her was now rubbing her shoulders. It was rare to see him out in the real world, but he had appeared shortly after she had lost her argument with the others. At first, she had been terrified that Death would see him and react poorly, but it turned out that Spirit Mike was still just a hallucination brought on by stress.

As he worked the muscles in her shoulders, she couldn't help but wonder what it would look like if someone else was watching her skin. Would it look like it was being kneaded from the inside? Her body was capable of it. Or was it just part of the illusion?

Please. How many people have you watched me kill and eat? She spoke with her thoughts alone. Just because Death couldn't see Mike didn't mean that he wouldn't overhear her talking to herself.

"People don't judge a lion for eating a baby gazelle." Mike paused for a moment. "At least, realistic people don't. It's a predator, that's what it was made for."

Nobody expects that lion to go out and play Santa's Helper for months on end.

"You are far more refined than a lion." He worked his hands along her outer arms, then slid them around her torso, squeezing her from behind as he moved in to snuggle her. "I think what bothers you is that you see the wisdom in the decision, and it goes against everything you've believed up until recently."

Eat me. Lily kept her features neutral, her eyes flicking over to Death. The Reaper was wistfully gazing at his empty mug of cocoa, probably dreaming of how wonderful it would be to have tea instead. This had been maybe slightly entertaining, but now it's a fool's errand.

"You were having plenty of fun until the Krampus pooped on your parade." She could feel Mike wiggle his lips. "Darn, that really is annoying."

Almost an hour passed before Dancer appeared in the sky, descending from above. Christmas Present was astride the reindeer's back, her hair flowing behind her in the moonlight in a pose that gave Lily's tummy butterflies. Her mind flitted back to their interlude, and she wondered if there would ever be an opportunity for a second round.

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