The town was decorated. The giant gift tree had been grown, and the sun was about to set.
As night fell, the lights grew brighter. The moon and stars did not glow, but the fires set the town alight. In the forest beyond, the moss started to glow, and lights like those of fairies began to float about.
Players and the world’s natives, Grizzlebeard, GYOAT, and ExpertBunny, gathered along with the other members of Sweet Victory to witness the first gift given by the Gift Tree, officially starting off the All Night Long festival.
The player was a newer one, a woman whose race was half cow, half elf. She was weirdly level 0 and had no class. Still, she walked with a bit of glow moss in her hands and placed it on the branches of the gift tree. The light glowed, and from its glow an orb came, gently landing in the cow-elf’s hands. She opened it and got a notification:
Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the skill [Pastoral Arts].
She wasn’t sure what it meant or how she’d use it, but she was happy with the gift. After she walked away, another player came up to the tree and did the same.
---
Noobkitty pulled tables from her inventory, and ExpertBunny pulled decorations from world storage. Together, the tables were filled with sweets, savories, pastries of all kinds, except for chocolates, because she had saved all her remaining chocolate for her self-serve hot chocolate pot with vegan marshmallows.
Yes, the hot chocolate was pretty heavy on the almond milk and coconut cream and had less chocolate than she’d have liked, but she did have a condiments tray full of things to customize the drink with.
Across the street, tables were being set up that were far more brown. When Noobkitty was done setting up, she went over to greet her culinary rival. She looked across the tables, it was mostly a horror show of pieces of animals, including several whole corpses on poles on display.
“Hey Grizzlebeard,” she said happily, trying to ignore her revulsion at his tables. She did see a few things she wanted to try.
“Hello kitty, your tables are looking pretty,” he complimented.
“Thank you. Your tables look very hearty. Is that a dog?” she asked, pointing to one of the whole smoked animals.
“It’s a wolf. They attacked me, so they ended up on the menu. There’s also, down the way a bit, a bobcat. I recommend avoiding that one,” he said, pointing a few tables down.
She saw it, and her ears went down. An odd shiver ran down her spine. “Will do. But…” She noticed an opportunity to change the subject. She grinned and looked to a tray of mushrooms. It had a little placard with the letter V on it. She grinned.
“Yeah, I made you and your girl a few things,” blushed the dwarf.
Noobkitty grabbed a mushroom and placed it in her mouth, soft, chewy, a hint of salt, infused with spiced oils and grilled to perfection. She swallowed and gave the dwarf a big hug. Then her eyes went even wider when she saw roasted sweet potatoes individually wrapped in parchment paper. She quickly grabbed one, peeled off some of its skin, and took a bite. Her heart leapt with culinary joy.
“Iw mave ooh sumpin ooo,” she said with her mouth full. From her inventory, she pulled out a present wrapped in green fabric and a red ribbon. She handed it to him.
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“Aw kitty, you shouldn’t have. I didn’t get you anything,” he said a bit shyly.
She held up her sweet potato. “Yes you did. You purposefully made things that I can eat. You were thoughtful and sweet. It’s not like I was going to grill an animal for you, so it’s appropriate that I make you a gift.” She grinned playfully. “Besides, crafters level up while making new things. So just think of it as me level grinding.”
“You also get XP for killing wolves,” he teased. “Thank you.”
He opened the gift and frowned slightly. “Really, kitty, spices that only enchant root plants?”
She tried to look innocent and held out her sweet potato. The dwarf grumbled and pulled a pinch of spice from the pouch, sprinkling it on her potato.
She bit in and her ears laid flat, her tail swayed lazily as her full senses were filled with sweet potatoey goodness. It was warm, soft, smooth, sweet, hearty, smoky, salty, creamy and just so much all at once. She made a sound that was a mix between a purr and a “mmmm.” She knew it was code, that her own code was reacting, but oh my, her fiancée was going to need to try one of these potatoes.
The dwarf blinked at her reaction. He then picked a roasted carrot from his table and sprinkled the spices on it. His gruff expression softened as he tasted a carrot like he never had before.
“Okay kitty, it’s a good gift. My customers will love it,” he said, trying to remain stoic.
She hugged him again, grabbed a second sweet potato for him to sprinkle spices on, and walked off happily to share with her girl.
The dwarf laughed and shook his head. “That cat.” He turned and grabbed a piece of wolf meat to get the taste of, well, too much sweetness off his palate.
---
Fizzypop logged in. They were dressed in sparkling blue and white, and despite having an inventory, they opted for a prop bag to carry. They found Noobkitty and ExpertBunny evidently enjoying a potato. Fair, the potatoes looked warm and the air was cold.
"Ladies, I bring you gifts from the multiverse," they said. They opened the bag and displayed dozens of small gift bags, each holding a treat from different worlds.
Noobkitty’s eyes lit up at the sight. She looked to her girlfriend. “Honey, you and Coro?en aren’t going to initiate a program of penalty for eating too much or something, are you?”
ExpertBunny shook her head. “Definitely not during the festival. Actually, I have an idea.”
She whispered in Noobkitty’s ear.
“That’s amazing, yes please,” she said excitedly.
The cat started to put more tables out. “Fizzypop, can you please line up all the treats on the table?”
“Um, sure… are you about to do some admin thing?” they asked the two.
ExpertBunny smiled. “Oh totally. What’s the point of basically god powers if I can’t do things like share multiverse snacks with players?”
So they set up tables, and with a few clicks, each treat, from sugar-encrusted fruits from strange worlds to hovering donuts to flaming lollipops was duplicated to fill the tables.
Fizzypop nodded with approval. There were a few things that would work well as food reviews, and now they could take some without guilt. “Happy holidays, girls. My gift is being your free delivery person.”
Noobkitty smiled. “We only got you one gift, not eight, but we think you’ll like it.”
Fizzypop playfully tisked. “What, no pen sets? No candles? No socks?”
ExpertBunny said, “I told you they would have liked socks.”
Noobkitty handed them a purple and sparkling red ribbon-wrapped package.
They opened it and looked at the polished crystal chalice. They read the stats on it and smiled.
“Well now, I’ll just have to test it out.” They went to the table with the hot chocolate. They scooped the liquid weirdly, splashing chocolate on the top and sides of the cup. The liquid shifted, moved to collect on the inside of the cup, and evened out. The sides showed a delightful swirl of brown.
Fizzypop experimented, popping whipped cream onto the cup, throwing sprinkles at it, dropping an oversized cookie into the cream, but the cup magically moved and arranged it all until it was a photogenic masterpiece of hot chocolate decadence.
“Oh kitty, this is too much, thank you,” they said, then took a sip, fluffy cream on their lips, but the fluff in the cup adjusted to look perfectly cloud-like.
Fizzypop put their drink down and shared a hug with Noobkitty and ExpertBunny. They then looked up. “Hey big boy!”
“Um… yes?” asked Coro?en. “I’m kind of busy coming up with gifts for everyone.”
“Well, I have one you won’t need to figure out, from Noobkitty’s family to you,” said Fizzypop. From their bag, they pulled out a large green glowing, speckled egg. They placed it on the table among some decorative garlands.
“It’s an egg?” asked Coro?en.
“Yep, it’s an egg, and it’ll hatch soon,” said the mage with a grin.
“What will hatch from it?”
“That’s the fun, you don’t know.” Fizzypop patted the egg playfully. “Now, I have some other parties to visit, and eventually my flesh body will need sleep and my real body will need food, but I’ll be back before the festival ends. I want to see what hatches.”
While keeping on top, Fizzypop logged off into their personal digital studio space, bringing their new cup and a few treats with them.
Noobkitty bit into a golden candied apple that had been sent by one of her sisters. She handed it to ExpertBunny to taste. Noobkitty was happy. It was going to be such a good party and, well… she had such an amazing family.
My writing focus for next year.
