Youth in December

[Jasper Blackwater]

With regard to all the things that Jasper Blackwater loved about Pilot Ridge, the winter chill was not among them; he’d been born of the desert, built for dust storms and dry heat, and no amount of time could ever endear him to the snow and frigid wind that gripped every peak and valley from October through early April. He stayed inside if he could help it, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. He hadn’t been made to stay still, either, and in the end his restlessness always won out—snow or no snow, wind or no wind.

It wasn’t far to Bunny’s house, and usually he walked, but today he rode his bike: it was faster, and after a languid and calorie-laden Thanksgiving, he felt that he could use the extra work. Unfortunately, quicker also meant colder, and he tried in vain to thaw out his fingers while he waited for his friend to answer the doorbell. He’d remembered to bundle up everything except for his hands.

He was pink-cheeked and sniffling, but he grinned at the sight of her nevertheless. He offered her his open arms, which were nothing but layers upon layers of sleeve; his hands had disappeared somewhere into the depths of his sweater.

“Hi,” he said, and he hugged her. “Ready? Don’t forget your gloves—seriously, brr.”

[Deleted]

It was December, and as a Youtuber (especially as a crafty/bakey/makeup-guru-y Youtuber) Bunny was practically expected to be putting up lots of holiday-themed videos. That meant holiday-themed eye makeup, holiday-themed goodies, and of course, holiday-themed DIY crafts. After searching around on Google during one of her not-so-good days at home from Hammel, she came across various pinecone crafts that she thought were super cute and super easy and doable for any and all of her audience to try if they wanted to.

She was all eager to get set up and going…. Until she remembered that there weren’t any pine trees nearby. Not in her neighborhood, at least, but she did recall that they passed by a small forest of them on the way to Hammel, so it couldn’t be too far away. And besides, it would be good for her to get out and go on a walk out in the snow. She would just bundle up super warm and comfy!

And she would bring along a friend. Her best friend, in fact, and one she knew would be more than happy to help her film her pinecone-craft videos. Her audience loved Jas (some of them even said weird things about him that she didn’t understand, and he told her not to take too seriously), so her only worry was that she’d asked too much to make him come all the way over just to help her.

But then he was there, and all of those worries left her mind as she ran to the door and practically leaped into his arms, already bundled up in layers and layers of pink and white coats and leggings. “Come inside and warm up with some hot chocolate first!” she urged him, tugging on his arm to get him to come in so she could close the door behind her. “Oh, goodness, do you want to borrow some of my dad’s gloves? I think they’d fit!” Her mittens were rather small and dainty for Jas’s man hands.  "And thanks for coming over!" she beamed up at him.  "I hope the trip over wasn't too bad..."