TWAS THE NIGHT
BEFORE NO-POISON DAY
AN ICEHOME HOLIDAY SHORT
RUBY DIXON
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE
NO-POISON DAY
LAUREN
Christmas fever has hit the Icehome camp, hard.
It all started when Raven - darn Raven - made a musical
instrument of shells and broken bits of metal that sounded a bit
like sleigh bells. It immediately made her launch into ‘Jingle
Bell Rock’ and she sang it all day long. Normally I don’t mind
Raven’s singing, but this particular song caught the attention of
the kids.
“Is it No-Poison time, Mommy?” Ever-quiet Rukhar had
asked his mother by the fire that night.
Both Aayla and Raashel lit up. “No-Poison! No-Poison!!”
“I would enjoy a few games of foots-and-ball,” Sessah
added, his expression boyish and hopeful.
Liz shrugged and looked at Harlow, who also shrugged. “It
IS the brutal season. Might not be a bad idea.”
“What is No-Poison?” O’jek asked, curious. “I have not
heard of this.”
That started things.
It’s been a week now since that conversation, and the
entire camp is in full swing. The holiday fever has hit
everyone and plans have been changed on a daily basis. Were
you supposed to go hunting today? You can’t, because you
have to make No-Poison gifts for your mate. Gonna take a trip
to the fruit cave for a few days? No, you’re not, because No-
Poison’s about to be here and everyone is excited for the cele-
bration.
Well, except me. I’m a little cranky because I’m the one that
was supposed to go to the fruit cave with K’thar. Just a week or
so to warm up and eat delicious, juicy fruits, and then we’d
come back. Except now that No-Poison is hitting soon, that
plan’s been temporarily shelved. K’thar’s as excited as everyone
else about No-Poison, so it’s not like I can complain.
The fruit cave will always be there.
Maybe I wouldn’t be so grumpy about it if I had an idea of
what to give my mate for his gift. K’thar’s been hard at work on
mine, hiding things in our tent and casting furtive looks in my
direction from time to time. He’s full of secret smiles, and each
one fills me with joy…and a bit of despair because I don’t know
what to get him. I’ve never been good at giving gifts. I was the
first one to hand out gift cards on a holiday, and now I don’t
even have that option. It’s not that I don’t like holidays; I do. I
just love warmth and fruit more right now. It might be the preg-
nancy hormones talking, but I can’t think of a single thing to
get K’thar that would be special. I’d have to make something,
but my skills are not that great. I’m good with people, not a
needle, so I’ve thought and thought and thought…and I’ve got
nothing.
This morning, though, it’s No-Poison Eve (is that a thing? I
guess it is) and so I’m using those people skills to try and steal
ideas. That’s right, I’m desperate. I lurk around the fire, waiting
for someone who looks as if they’re working on something, and
pounce.
Maybe I have an unhinged look in my eyes, or maybe no
one wants to talk to a hormonal pregnant lady first thing in the
morning, but everyone blows me off.
“Me and Flor are going to go shrimping,” Sam says when I
approach them.
“I’m just coming out to grab a cup of tea before I get back to
sewing,” Bridget says, and makes a hasty exit.
“Z’hren has diarrhea,” Gail says as she passes through camp
with her son, heading toward Veronica’s tent.
Okay, so that one kinda scared me off, but no one lingers to
chitchat. I give up on the fire and head down to the beach,
where I see a few people walking. Devi’s there with N’dek,
doing their usual rounds of critter-cutting, but I don’t
look of it, and I’m not sure my early-morning pregnancy
stomach can handle an impromptu dissection. A bit further
down the beach, I spot Gren. He’s scanning the shores, little
Aayla holding his hand tightly and Raashel walking in front of
them.
Is he babysitting? Present making? Either way, he’s my next
target.
“Hey there!”I call out brightly. “What are you guys up to?”
Gren gives me an odd look. Aayla just clutches his hand and
Raashel wrinkles her nose at me. “Why are you talking so
loud?”
“Am I?” Shit. I try to be less anxious and crazy-eyed and
more chill. “You guys working on No-Poison gifts?”
“No, because Santa brings those,” Raashel tells me, scoffing
with all the confidence of a pint-sized Liz.
“Right. I forgot. So what are you guys up to?”
“Mama is hanging out with Harlow and Hannah and
Veronica, and Gren says Willa’s tummy doesn’t feel good, so
we’re looking for the island nuts to see if any of those floated
up.”
Island nuts? The ones with the peanut butter-type stuff
inside them? We haven’t seen one in weeks, but I don’t point
that out. An island nut would be an awesome gift for K’thar,
who sometimes comments on how different the food is here.
It’d be a taste of home for him. “Any luck?”
Gren shrugs those big, furry shoulders and lets Aayla tug
him further down the beach. “Fishies!” the little one cries,
pointing at the waves.
“Willa doesn’t want a fish, does she, Gren?” Raashel calls
after them, following behind.
The big guy patiently offers Raashel his other hand and
leads them down the beach. I don’t hear his answer, just the
sound of Aayla crying “Fishies!” over and over again, and
pointing at everything she sees.
Okay, it’s clear that they’re hunting for those nuts for Willa’s
gift…either that, or he’s just babysitting. But the nuts are a good
idea. I head up and down the shore, watching the waves
intently, and telling myself that if I see a cluster of them, I’ll
share with Gren and the others. I just want one good one for
my K’thar. I imagine his bright, delighted smile, and how he’ll
share with Kki, who shivers and huddles against his neck at all
times, practically a permanent fixture under his hair. The
nightflyer doesn’t like the cold much and has turned into a
mega-snuggler.
Which is nice…unless you’re trying to get intimate with
your mate.
I walk up and down the beach twice before I give up on the
island nuts idea. If there are any to be found, they’re not
making their presence known this morning. I need a new idea.
I pass by a group of the men - Sh
adowed Cat, Strong Arm and
the clones - listening intently to Taushen as he explains the
rules to a bastardized version of football. Or soccer. Or some-
thing. It sounds like it involves hitting or crashing horns, which
makes the men grin with enthusiasm. I pass by the rows of
wooden huts that are tucked along the cliff, and at the far end, I
see Bek hard at work on the hut he’s making for Elly. She sits
nearby, bundled up in furs, her eyes full of pleasure as her mate
settles the pieces of wood together for the floor. Vaza helps —
well, sort of. Mostly he’s standing nearby and telling stories
while Bek does all the work, but they all seem happy enough.
Seeing Vaza with them reminds me that Gail went to Veronica’s
tent.
And Gren said that Liz is with Harlow and Hannah? Hmm.
That sounds like a gift-making group to me. Hopeful, I head in
that direction.
I hear the laughter coming out of Veronica’s oversized tent
before I even get to the doorway. “He fainted at the sight of his
own blood,” I can hear Brooke saying. “And poor Kate had to
carry him off the glacier!”
Howls of laughter meet this pronouncement.
come in?”
Liz appears in the doorway, glancing around, and then pulls
me inside like it’s top secret spy stuff. “Don’t let the girls see
you. Gren’s keeping them busy.”
The anterior room in Veronica’s tent is normally reserved
for people coming to visit the healer. Most days, it’s neatly orga-
nized with baskets full of herbs and roots, and there’s a ‘bed’ for
patients. Today, though, the place is a mess. Liz, Harlow, Brooke
and Willa sit with Veronica, Gail and Hannah. There are piles
of things in front of each of them, and as I watch, Liz returns to
her seat, skewers a few small pieces of dried fruit on a small
stick, and passes it to Harlow, who wraps it in leather and adds
it to the stack of bundles at her side.
“What are you guys doing?” I ask, sinking down to sit next
to Hannah.
“Christmas presents,” Veronica whispers. “Rukhar and the
girls are supposed to be surprised.”
“Along with half the camp,” Gail adds, rocking an oversized
Z’hren as he sleeps in her arms. She pats the baby on his back.
“Luckily this one is young enough that he can sit here with me
and still be surprised tomorrow morning.”
“It’s my fault,” Hannah admits, adding dried leaves to pouch
after pouch for what’s probably a tea blend. “I was watching the
kits with J’shel and telling all of them about Christmas stock-
ings and how Santa would fill them, and the next thing I knew,
there was a boot outside our hut.” She grimaces. “I didn’t have
the heart to tell him Santa wasn’t real. I’m pretty sure he knows,
but now he thinks it’s our custom to fill shoes with presents and
the kits think that, too, so here we are.” She gestures at the
spread. “Making gifts for everyone’s stockings.”
“Boots,” Brooke corrects, chuckling. “Every hut I’ve passed
has a boot outside it now, so word has spread. So we’re making
a little something for everyone so no one is disappointed.”
“Thanks, loudmouth,” Liz says sarcastically to Hannah.
“Oh,” I say as Veronica strings bits of shell onto a bracelet.
She stabs herself with the needle, grimaces, and then looks up
to see if anyone noticed. “We’ve had a boot at our doorstep, too,
but I thought K’thar was just airing them out.”
“Nope,” Liz says. “They’re waiting for presents.”
“Is there something I can help with?”
“I think we’ve got it?” Harlow says, gesturing at the group.
“We’ve got dried fruit skewers going, the hraku-seed cookies are
made, the tea bags are almost done, and there’s just the
bracelets for the girls left.”
“Coming along great,” Veronica promises, and promptly
stabs her finger again.
I study the others, thinking. “What are you getting your
mates? For the holiday? I need ideas for K’thar.”
Liz shrugs. “Harlow, Gail and I are switching off with Angie
on babysitting. We’re all going to take a different day and just
have a day of peace and quiet with the occasional interruption
for breast-feeding. I’m not sure if that’s helpful.”
It’s not. I’m pregnant, but Liz and Harlow both have
multiple children. A day ‘off’ is probably more exciting to them
than it is to me. K’thar would just be bored. “You, Brooke?”
She grins wickedly. “I’ve been playing with hair colors and
I’m going to dye one of Taushen’s braids. He loves my pink hair,
especially now that I’ve re-pinked it.” She fluffs her locks, and
while they’re not the same shade of pink as before, it’s pretty
close. She also smelled like the worst sort of dead fish for two
days after thanks to the dye, so I’m not sure that’s something
K’thar would be interested in, either.
“Veronica?”
She just blushes. “Um. Stuff. Private dragon stuff.”
“Buttsex,” Hannah whispers loudly.
Everyone erupts into laughter again, and Veronica turns
redder. Z’hren jerks in his sleep, then settles back against his
mother.
“Did you talk to my mate?” Gail teases. “Because he’s been
suggesting all kinds of nasty things to me for his gift. I told him
we do that shit on the regular, so there’s no need to wait for a
holiday.”
Annnnd now I’ve learned too much. Though their tent is
pretty close to ours, so it’s not really a surprise. More of a just
‘so that’s what that noise is’ answer to a question I never, ever
asked. “Uh, Hannah?”
She smiles sweetly. “I’ve been working on new gloves for
J’shel in secret for a few weeks now. Callie showed me how to
do a few decorative stitches and I even made a matching hair
tie for his braid.”
“That sounds awesome.” Hannah’s so thoughtful. She’s
been preparing for weeks? I feel like the worst mate in the
entire tribe. I know K’thar could probably use some new gloves,
but he’s got four arms. I literally don’t even have time to make
two decent gloves, much less four. And he doesn’t have a
magnificent braid quite like J’shel does.
This is so not helpful.
“What about you?” Harlow asks me. “What are you giving
K’thar?”
“That’s just it. I have no idea.” I try not to whine. Try, and
probably fail. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
“You will,” Veronica says confidently.
“And if you don’t, everyone’s going to get their boot filled by
Santa,” Hannah says. “So no one’s left out.”
I smile at her, but I don’t feel better. A boot gift is for every-
one. I need to do something that’s just for K’thar. Just from me.
And I have no flipping clue as to what.
I hang out with them for a little lon
ger, but when it’s clear I’m
just in the way and distracting them from their assembly line, I
take off. I look around the camp for Mari, but I don’t see her
anywhere. My shy, sweet friend will know what I should give
him, I think. Mari’s thoughtful. She always wants to help every-
one, and I desperately need help. Another brain to pick is
always useful, and I just like talking to Mari.
Okay, so I like whining to her. And I feel like whining right
now. I never thought I’d feel so inadequate over gift giving, but
here I am.
Mari’s not in the tech cave, though. She’s not in the tent she
shares with T’chai — the one with two beds because they’re
having trouble figuring things out. She’s not walking on the
beach. It takes me a while to find her, but when I do, I find both
Mari and Sessah sitting together at the far end of the cliffs. Her
hand is on the lanky man’s shoulder and she gives him a
sympathetic pat as I approach.
It takes them a moment to notice me. My boots crunch on
the sand, and Sessah’s head jerks up. He turns, a look of hope
on his face, and it dies the moment he realizes it’s me. As I
watch, his shoulders slump in defeat once more, and Mari bites
her lip.
Uh oh. “Is this a bad time?” I hesitate. “I can go.”
Sessah gets to his feet, a furry bundle in his arms. “I am
leaving. Perhaps I will see if they need another for the foot-on-
balls game.”
Mari winces but says nothing as he leaves, and as I pass by
him, he seems…utterly dejected. Less full of energy than usual.
Sessah’s the youngest of all the warriors here, an adult, but
without the years of experience and life some of the others
have under their belts, which makes him seem that much
younger sometimes. Like…right now. He looks like a kicked
puppy.
I sit down next to Mari and watch as Sessah leaves. He
doesn’t head for the ball game, but instead heads to his tent and
disappears inside. “What’s that all about?” I ask her.
Mari gives a little sigh. “Heartbreak.”
“Uh oh. What’d I miss?”
Her eyes are kind and full of understanding. “Just a little
Christmas snag. Sessah’s spent days and days making Tia a
cloak out of some really nice furs he’s been holding for her.”
That must have been the bundle in his arms. A cloak.
Hmm. I wonder if I can make one for K’thar.