No Ordinary Exchange

the perfect gift

1. Tis the season! Specifically, the season of Hanukkah, which began December 10th and ended yesterday, December 18th. The royal family in The Dragon Prince is actually Jewish-coded (or at least very popularly headcanonned as Jewish, I think?), and since I ended up going a strictly secular route with my fic, I thought it was only right I still talked to you guys about Judaism. And, since Hanukkah was so recent, let's quickly break down the history of this holiday. Hanukkah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime "festival of lights," celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers, and fried foods. The holiday originates from the second century BCE, when the Seleucids ruled Jerusalem and tried to make the people of Israel conform to their beliefs instead of letting the Jews worship freely. Judah the Maccabee led a small band of Jews and defeated the army of the Seleucids in an "against all odds" battle. They reclaimed their temple in Jerusalem, but when they went to light the temple's menorah, all they found was a small container of tainted olive oil. Miraculously, they were still able to light the menorah, and the oil lasted for eight days. Thus, Hanukkah commemorates this act of bravery and the religious miracle. For more information on how Hanukkah is celebrated, you can check out Chabad dot org!

Bonjour vous-autres! I am back, and I am very pleased to announce that I passed all my classes with the grades I desired. I missed you guys so much these past few weeks, but on the bright side, that should (emphasis on "should" lmao) be the last break I'll need to take for this fic. We're really in the home stretch now, aren't we? Enjoy the chapter!

xXxXxXx

Sonya: bad news

Sonya: i'm sick. so i can't go shopping with you today

Callum: wait are you okay??

Sonya: yeah lol it's just a cold. my cousin Samirah is looking after me so i'll be doubly fine

Callum: oh okay. that's good. i hope you feel better soon!

Sonya: trust me. i'm trying

Sonya: also :) i told Claudia :) to meet you :) at the arts' market instead :)

Sonya: she was very, very upset :( that you didn't ask her first :(

Callum grimaced. Now he had Claudia's wrath to look forward to on top of the stress from shopping. Fantastic.

Callum: you're evil. but thanks, i guess; at least now i won't be alone lmao

Sonya: why do YOU use semicolons in your texts when RAYLA is the english major

Callum: wish i knew

Callum: alright gtg. don't want to give Claudia even more reason to get mad at me by showing up late

Sonya: good luck

Sonya: and feel free to text me pics of stuff you're considering for Rayla while you're out. i'd be happy to provide my humble opinion from afar.

Sonya: trying to give myself SOMETHING to look forward to while i'm ill

Callum sent her a thumbs up emoji, then unplugged his phone from his charger and the charger from the wall. He promptly tucked his phone into his pocket before heading out of his bedroom and into the living room. "I'm leaving!" he called to his dad and brother, though he wasn't completely sure either of them were within earshot. "I should be back in an hour or two!" He figured two hours worth of energy would be the max he could set aside for one shopping trip. The longer he was out of his house, the more exhausted he always ended up.

Yeah, he wasn't great with most forms of social interaction.

Ezran popped out of his bedroom, Bait sticking to his chest. "Where are you going?"