[PRP] Trick-or-Tree-ting (Xavier/Helmut)

[Enoh Love]

There was a massive box walking around campus.

Actually, it might have been more accurate to say that there was someone holding a massive box while walking around campus, but in halloween, the former could have been just as true. In this case though, it was certainly someone carrying a box much too big for them, giving the illusion of a walking box from certain angles.

Helmut was preparing for Giftmas, and had picked up a package from the post office - the massive box in question - which she was now trying to carry back to her place for proper decorating. It was her first Giftmas alone, which was as exciting as it was horrifically sad for her; but she opted to make the best of it, and besides: this box smelled just like home.

Naturally, she wasn't looking where she was going, and she ultimately crashed right into a pole she hadn't expected to be there (and why would she, she barely knew where the path was). She toppled to the ground with an oof and a startled shriek, the box tumbling to the ground as she let go of it in favour of holding her stomach and nose.

"Oooowwwww---"

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

Unbeknownst to the walking box, it had been trailed by a feather-headed raum demon for the past several minutes. Xavier had noticed the familiar fluffy head of his best friend, and had not actually been able to catch up with her, stumbling along behind her as she carted the enormous box to wherever her destination was.

This also meant that, by the time Xavier reached Helmut, out of breath and wheezing, she had crashed into the pole and he therefore crashed into her, bouncing backwards with a whine.

"Hi, Helmut," he said in a muffled sort of voice, one clawed hand rubbing at his nose. "What are you doing?"

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

Helmut yelped yet again as something else knocked into her from behind, and she went toppling in a whole new direction, nothing but a tangled mess of scarves and limbs. For a moment she lay there, blinking wide-eyed and wondering if a third knock would come, but instead came a voice. A voice she recognized.

"Xavier!" She cried out, twisting to untangle herself and to pounce on him. Quite literally pounce, of course, and with no regard to his personal well being, which was true to form for her. She landed heavily on him for such a small thing, quick to squirm to wrap her arms around him. "Xaviiiierrrr~" She chittered out happily, rubbing her face and head into his chest, antlers and all.

"My Mama and Papa sent me Giftmas things! Gonna decorate. Wanna Decorate?"

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

There was a great deal of lots of clothing, some feathers, and a few squeals, but eventually the two of them were able to find each other in the midst of it all. Xavier let out a little oof as Helmut flung herself at him, his arms automatically flying up to wrap around her and keep her from falling. By now, whether fortunately or unfortunately he wasn't sure, he was very used to this sort of behavior from the ghoul.

"Ow - antlers - Helmut - "

He twisted his head, a few more feathers falling, and peered curiously at the things in the box, blinking owlishly.

"Giftmas?" Xavier repeated slowly. He'd forgotten about that holiday. "Decorate what, exactly? A tree?"

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Oh. Oops! Sorry!" She apologized sheepishly, headbutting the spot with her forehead as if that would make it all better. Damn her antlers; she was so excited to have them, of course - at least growing ones - but at the same time, she was so used to them being a lot smaller.

A few feathers fell and she slid down, wriggling out of his grasp to collect them. In her mind he was too young to be losing all of his hair and she figured that by picking them up, she was helping. Plus, it was a habit at this point. She had quite the collection of abandoned Xavier feathers now.

By the time he questioned the decorating, she was sitting on the ground, legs spread out in front of her and both hands on the ground between her knees, trapping a feather that was threatening to blow away in the chill twelvth october wind. His inquiry had her looking up, blinking at him stupidly for a moment or two until drifting towards the fallen package from home. Upon seeing it, she instantly brightened with pride, and a very natural excitement.

"Yah!" She agreed to the whole thing, nodding enthusiastically. "An' doors an' stuff!" Getting back to her feet was about as graceful as a new fawn but she managed, and wandered over to him to put his lost feathers into one of his pockets for safe keeping. They were his after all, she couldn't take them all. She did however give a small pat to the pocket, as if to tell the feathers to stay.

"Wanna help? It'll be fuuuunnn~" She waggled her dark claws before toddling back to the box, leaning down to pick it back up with a heavy-sounding grunt. "I'ma also makin' giftmas treats! Like spookies an' peanut flutterby squares!" Her follow up mmmm in delicious delight was punctuated by a very unsurprisingly loud grumble from her stomach. She leaned her head back to look at him upside down because the box didn't allow for much else, offering him a too-wide grin with too many teeth. "Pleeeease?"

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

She did look rather cute with her antlers.

(He wasn't going to say that. He definitely wasn't going to say that.)

Xavier plucked absently at the sleeve of his fur-lined coat. "I don't..." he said weakly. "I haven't, erm, done anything...Giftmassy in quite some time, my parents, erm, well, they were nice and all, but we didn't really...celebrate a whole lot of things."

Except my incompetence, he thought, but kept it to himself. Helmut had stuffed his wayward feathers back into his pocket, which was very Helmut-ish and enough that Xavier didn't even seem to notice her doing it. "Here, erm, let me help you - "

He reached out and tried to take the box from her little arms. "Well, I do like spookies," he half mumbled, but Helmut's grumbling stomach at least made him give her a small smile. It was just so very like her to be always hungry. "I guess I could help you."

A pause. "A little."

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"We LOVE Giftmas!" The wendigo cried, squirming under the box as though she wanted to throw her arms in the air, but understandably couldn't. "We've already got the snow, might as well make the most of it!" She was speaking of her home at least, as there was currently no snow in Amityville.

Helmut let him take the box, but only because he was taller than her, which meant he had longer arms, and in her mind that made the box lighter. Somehow. She watched him take the box, or at least made it so he had no other choice (entirely by accident, of course), and beamed up at him.

"YAY! I'll make you spookies, too!" She pat his side, and started leading him towards the demon dorms, "What kinda spookies do you like?" The smaller ghoul inquired after a moment, turning curious but constantly droopy eyes up at him.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

Xavier glanced around as if to say what snow. But then realized that she was probably not talking about Amityville and flushed deeply in embarrassment. Fortunately, however, the process of lifting the box from Helmut's arms meant that he could hide his face behind it.

He followed along obediently behind her.

"Erm," said Xavier, peering around the supplies to blink slowly at her. "Erm. Any...kind, I guess."

He lapsed into silence for a moment, and then asked, slightly too low and marginally awkwardly, "Erm...Helmut, is there...is there anything that you, erm....w-want for...for Giftmas?"

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Any kind?" Helmut parroted, her voice light and high with thoughtful wonder. "Mmm...All the kinds?!" She concluded gleefully, throwing both hands into the air, her little claws spread wide. Yes, all the kinds was clearly the best of all the options, because it meant you could never be disappointed!

The little Monster continued her trek to the Demon Dorms, though she lagged behind every time Xavier slowed down - she wanted to walk with him, not ahead of him, naturally! At some point during the walk she had not only fallen into step beside him (though she had to scurry a little more because he was still considerably taller), but she had also grabbed a small potion of his coat in her hand, holding onto it as they continued towards the ever-looming dorm.

"Mmm?" She glanced up as she heard her name, her mind fleeing from thoughts of Giftmas dinners and too-hot spookies for something a little more important; namely, what her bestest of best friends had to say. Even if she did have to strain to hear him. What did she want for Giftmas? Hrmmm...

"Umm." She started, using it as an excuse to delay her response. Thinking was hard. "I want..." Humming thoughtfully, she lifted her gaze to stare at him for a moment, blinking owlishly as she thought of what it was she wanted. Clearly he had the answers, right? He'd know. Xavier was a mopey genius.

"I want the biggest hunk'a meat ever!" She decided - and in true Helmut form, loudly - naturally, all she wanted was food. "And company!" She added - because it was Giftmas, and company was always always appreciated. "What about you?"

kuuropii

omg stop changing your name

 

[kuropeco]

The biggest hunk of meet ever."

Xavier's expression was vaguely despondent because that wasn't very magical at all, Helmut. But it was very Helmut-ish all the same, and he couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips in spite of the ridiculous gift idea.

"Anything else?" he prompted her, hoping for something a little more holiday-ish. "And, erm..."

A long pause. Xavier was not used to getting things, as clearly made evident by his blank expression upon being asked what he wanted.

"Erm."

Another long pause. Xavier had not noticed he'd stopped walking in the middle of his thought process.

"I...don't know."

enoh love

^u^

 

[Enoh Love]

"More meat?" She hummed thoughtfully to the idea of anything else. "Food?" That was a broad term, right? That's totally do it! But after a while she realized it wasn't helping, so she tilted her head and picked at her lip.

"A coat? A big, fluffy one?" And it totally wasn't because she was staring at him as she walked backwards. His big fluffy coat totally didn't inspire her, nope. The question was put back to him next, and he seemed...gone...

"Halloween to Xavier? Come in, come in!" She cackled as he paused, jumping a few times while waving her arms above her head in an effort to get his attention. Did she break him? She was pretty sure she broke him.

But then he spoke again, and she felt better about the whole potential break thing. He might not have been helpful, but at least he was reacting!

"What?" Helmut stared at him, surprised. "Really?" The little Wendigo skittered closer, holding over the edge of the box so she could peek over it and stare at him with wide, curious eyes. "You can't think of anything you want?"

kuuropii

 

[kuropeco]

More meat. Food. Xavier hung his head, shaking it slowly. Helmut, you were so exasperating sometimes, honestly.

But the coat made him lift his head, a slightly hopeful look on Xavier's face. Clothing was something much more meaningful than something edible (at least to him), and he liked the idea of getting her something warm and fluffy and comfortable.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, startled into stepping back, an embarrassed flush touching his cheeks. Xavier hauled the box up a bit further and a few feathers fell out of his hair, twirling merrily to the ground.

"Erm. I'm not, errrrr...that good at things like that," he said, after a moment. "I can't...pick things well..."

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

Had Helmut noticed the falling feathers, she would have collected them for him, because that was the kind of monster she was. Instead she was staring at him, scrutinizing him suspiciously. How can someone not know what to pick for themselves?! Xavier was a weird bird-thing. A very weird bird-thing. But she liked him for his weird, and his nice.

"You're not good at deciding what you want?" Helmut stared at him, the scrutiny gone to leave behind the shocked, owlish stare. "But it's for you! Something you want! Nobody's gon' judge you for it." Unless it was weird like, wanting a pet human or something. Or something about a tiny creature in a top hat with pudding cups...

"Mama always said Giftmas was a chance to get something you wouldn't normally give yourself." She parroted, her eyes going starry as she talked about her Mother. "Soooo...? Anything?"

kuuropii

 

[kuropeco]

Xavier waffled.

"I, errm...have never really...gotten a whole lot," he said slowly, carefully. "...in general. I don't, errr...know what it is that I even want, or what I even like. I wasn't, errr, exactly raised with knowing anything..."

He trailed off, a little pathetically. Xavier shifted from one foot to the other.

"...maybe..."

A slight pause. His face flushed. The request was a silly one, he couldn't possibly say it.

"Let's just get these to your room," Xavier said hastily, picking up again.

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Your parents raised you weird." Helmut scoffed, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "There's not a candy you like? Or a place you like going? Oooor things doing? Games?" She lifted up her hands to mime driving, because the only game she had ever played was scario kart, and that was by accident with a distant cousin. It hadn't ended well.

Wait.

He was saying something.

He was starting to say something!

But then he was Xavier and backed off, suggesting something else, but the small Wendigo wasn't about to budge. She didn't budge.

"MAYBE WHAT?" Helmut shrieked excitedly, Flailing out with both hands to throw her weight on the box, insistent on being a total pain until he answered her.

kuuropii