That Butler, New Face

That Butler, On The Hunt 2

{The Phantomhive Inner Courtyard}

Finni was humming cheerfully as he skipped along the garden path, holding the big burlap bag that Chêne had given to him to collect all the weeds in. He had just finished successfully weeding the garden... without destroying it for once. Chêne had decided that after Finni's herbicide sprayer had decimated the garden for a third time, that they should just go 'organic' and not use any chemical weed-killers. It meant Finni had to weed more often, but he didn't mind so much, since he actually got yelled at less now, since the garden wasn't constantly turning into a wasteland.

"Aaah, I'm so glad Mister Sebastian, Miss Chêne, and the young master are back~!" Finni said happily. 'If they hadn't...' Finni thought, shuddering slightly at the memory of when the three of them had suddenly disappeared the on the last two days of October, and he and the other servants had accidentally destroyed the manor... "I wonder what would've happened if they hadn't..." Finni said nervously. If they had been away for any longer, Finni didn't doubt that he and the others would've, at the very least, starved to death or died from being left out in the cold... He and Mei-Rin had clung to Chêne, both relieved and afraid, sobbing and begging for mercy, while Sebastian gave Bard a triple-decker ice cream scoop and then some. They could feel murderous intent radiating off of the butler, despite the brilliant smile on his face. "Ah~! The Christmas roses are blooming~!" Fine said cheerfully when he noticed the flowers as he ran past. "Soon it'll be Christmas, huuuh!?" Finni said excitedly as he stopped to smell the roses, drooling slightly at the thought of the feast of yummy foods Sebastian and Chêne would make for them. Since the young master was a little shy (?) about celebrating his birthday, Chêne had started the tradition of having a small party a couple days early and baking a Bûche de Noël cake for Ciel instead of a birth—

"AH!" Finni said suddenly in realization. He had almost forgotten something incredibly important!

=†=†=†=†=

{Phantomhive Downstairs, the main kitchen}

"You guys! You guuuuys!! Omigosh!" Finni yelled as he burst into the kitchen.

"Urrgh... What is it, Finny... This early in the morning," Bard groaned as he leaned his head on the kitchen table.

Last night, he made the mistake of making a comment about how women 'couldn't hold their liquor' as well as men while they were tasting wines to see which ones would be best to age longer in the wine cellar, and which ones should be set aside for any guests Ciel might have—and Chêne heard him... So she did what any hot-blooded, post-feminism movement, American woman would do, and she challenged him to a drinking contest...Who knew such a short girl could hold so much wine? Certainly not Bard. He probably should've realized what he was getting himself into when he saw Sebastian (who had volunteered himself as referee to make sure they  did not accidentally consume any truly valuable wines in their zealousness) had smirked like a Cheshire cat in amusement. Chêne had drunk Bard clear under the table, and to make his defeat even more crushing, Chêne didn't even have a hangover. She had even gotten up extra earlier so she could make a Bûche de Noël before she had to get started making their breakfast. Bard decided that he never wanted to cross Chêne again—she might look sweet, and she might be more forgiving than Sebastian, but... that was just plain scary.

"Quiet dowwwwn, wouldja?" Bard groaned as Finni's babbling aggravated his massive hangover induced migraine. No amount of coffee in the world would be enough to fix this...

"What happened, hmmm?" Mei-Rin asked, concerned, as she munched on the creole 'shrimp 'n grits' Chêne had made them for breakfast while Mister Tanaka sipped his tea.

"Sheesh, have all of you forgotten? Today's a special day!!" Finni said anxiously, furrowing his brow slightly in disappointment at them.

"Hrn?" Bard, Mei-Rin, and Mister Tanaka said as they glanced at the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall behind Tanaka. It was December 12th. "Special—?"