Some Day Called Christmas…

  On a beautiful, snowy day in Haven City, children woke up to find presents inside their houses, ready to start their day. Parents are woken by their joyful children; they are at this time of year. Not everyone is having the most jolliest time of their lives, but they’ll make this day meaningful. To everyone not in Haven City, but across this kingdom, they’re celebrating the time of their lives, enjoying the festivity.

  In her apartment, Woofa wakes up, watching the snow slowly falling throughout Haven City from her window. To ease her situation, she has a day off, meaning she doesn’t have to wake up early in the morning. And with a satisfying time of 9 A.M., it’s a rest that she needed for quite some time, and a rewarding awakening.

  Meanwhile, she knows that Solid is staying inside her apartment, as the weather has forced him to get accustomed to the indoors rather than the outdoors. When she gets out of her room, she tiptoes her way to her living room, where she sees her best friend sleeping peacefully on her couch. Noticing how peaceful he’s sleeping, she does her best to remain silent, grabbing her mug and making coffee. She doesn’t want to wake him up because of how hard he worked the past week.

  Although the strong smell of the coffee causes the hedgehog to wake up, one sniff could probably linger for a few minutes. “That’s… a pretty strong smell, if you ask me…” Solid says, still lying down on the couch as she makes her coffee. He takes a look around, seeing the place in its festive mood, a Christmas tree with its unopened presents. Additionally, the snow outside adds to the tradition.

  The dog leans on the kitchen island, stirring her coffee while taking sporadic sips. “That’s a pretty normal reaction, if you ask- Okay, but genuinely, you should start drinking coffee, just like the rest of everyone! Even Tricky does it!”

  All the hedgehog could do was slowly sit up and shrug at her response. He grabs his phone and stands up, lazily walking to the kitchen. “I think everyone has their own preferences, and I have a tendency to dislike coffee.” He opens the fridge, grabs a small leftover breakfast sandwich, and heats it in the toaster. “So… if I don’t like coffee, that’s on me.” Slowly leaning against the counter next to Woofa, who continues to drink her caffeine-riddled coffee.

  Sigh… She can only look at him with a smirk, understanding how he feels about coffee. The last time she brought up a discussion related to Solid and coffees was around a few months ago, and now they’re back at it again. “Then again, you do realize that many of your coworkers slander you about your inability to drink one.”

  “Can’t blame ‘em. They have to get some entertainment while they’re at it. And just because they slander me doesn’t mean I find it annoying; in fact, I find it hilarious.” Solid scrolls through his phone, checking on the latest for his timeline until the toaster finishes warming up his breakfast. He grabs his food and sits down at the dining table, eating his breakfast to start his day off.

  Woofa amusingly rolls her eyes, drinking her coffee. “The one and only, Solid the Hedgehog, eating his sandwich like the typical, hedgehog worker he is.” Her teasing unsurprisingly amuses her best friend, both chuckling it off, though their conversation suddenly-

  Ding-Dong…!

  “Great, that black needle is here.” She approaches the door, taking a deep breath before looking at her best friend. “And don’t you ever tell him that I ate all the cookies here. You know how much I love them.” Seeing that he listens and nods to her promise, she immediately trusts him, opening the door-

  “Morning, brown mutt!” Tricky immediately pushes Woofa’s growling face, ignoring what he had called was offensive to her. “You know how much Santa loves these cookies, so… I bet he’s wandering around and saying to himself- “Yeah, I love cookies…”, or something.” He settles inside, looking at the Christmas presents surrounding the tree. Although what he noticed was an empty plate of cookies that he had intended for Santa Claus. Or so he thought, because the cookies were definitely for everyone. “Of course, Santa would eat these cookies FOR SURE!!!” He smirks, glancing at his younger stepbrother and giving him a wink, a cue for the two of them.

  “... Woofa ate them,” Solid tells his brother, now embarrassing the dog even more when he broke their promise. “She trusted me by not saying who ate them, but… lesson learned.”

  “Solid!” She immediately glares at him, who seems genuinely upset. “You’re supposed to be on my side!” She complains, now glaring at him as he eats his food.

  “To be fair, you weren’t better when it comes to keeping secrets… Plus, I needed that 500 Lunars if I got a certain reaction from you, which you did.” Tricky gives Solid his 500 Lunars, earning it well for a challenge that he knew was risky, but fun nevertheless. He continues to eat his breakfast, minding his own business, until she approaches him. “... Or maybe, you’re upset, and you’re about to scold me immediately… Heh-heh…”

  “Help.”

  Tricky watches as Woofa playfully scolds Solid, tugging and tickling him as his punishment. The porcupine laughs at their interaction and instantly makes an impression of Santa Claus. “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! My name is Woofa Claus, and I decided to finish the entire plate of cookies without the two brothers eating a single crumb of-”

  “And you, prickly porcupine! I’ll pull off all of your quills to make sure you’ll become a rat!”

  Eventually, the three settle down around the Christmas tree, now getting ready to open their presents. There are six presents in total, two presents for each person. Starting with the rotation, it’s Tricky who begins to open the presents.

  — TRICKY’S TURN —

  “Alright! Let’s see what my brother decided to gift me!” Tricky hypes up their unraveling, expecting high hopes for his present from his brother, anticipating another basketball jersey that he usually gifts him yearly, without any shocker, it’s indeed a basketball jersey. “Hey. My brother is doing what he needs to satisfy my day.” He quickly daps up his brother in respect before putting the jersey on. “Plus, the right size. No need for clarification.”

  Solid smiles from his words, happy that he’s satisfied with his presents. “Not surprising when you’re a bit taller than me. You’re supposed to be a basketball player, but you ended up failing because someone captured a video of you breaking your-”

  “Shut up!” The porcupine remarks, annoyed by the embarrassing video that haunts him to this day. “You know how much I hate getting humbled! I know he destroyed me, but the way I folded was…” GROANS…!!! “Forget about it. Quitting sometimes leads you somewhere better…” He quietly mutters at the end, still wanting to move on from that moment.

  After the brief exchange between the step-brothers, it’s time for the present from the dog. The porcupine opens the present and reveals a mysterious tape recorder. It’s not new or anything; rather, it’s an old piece of invention that wasn’t meant to be sold around this time of year. It happens that she’s going to surprise him with something, and she quickly snatches the present, showing off her Christmas present to Tricky. “For the one and only porcupine… Stay quiet and listen…”

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  “What up? What up? I’ma just say this right now, since you’re the only person I can trust, other than my brother… Ahem. This is a secret, and you’re the only person I can tell this to… but one of our coworkers… I might hit her up one day, you feel me?”

  Laughing. “No way, dude! Who is it? Who’s the girl that’s on your mind right now?” One of his friends asks him, his voice in genuine shock now that he’s invested in the conversation.

  “Heh… well…” The porcupine’s voice reveals how embarrassed he is to fully say her name, showing the rare, yet weaker side of his personality. “She’s a… a…”

  “Bro, just say ittttt!!! It’s not that hard!”

  “Fine… Her name is-”

  “Nope!” Tricky immediately snatches the tape recorder, preventing the name of their coworker from being revealed. It’s gotten to the point where he had gotten tired of the dog’s antics that he opened the balcony door and threw it away, leaving it destroyed in the middle of the street, especially when the truck crushed it. “Too bad Solid didn’t get the chance to know her name.”

  With a playful smirk, Woofa turns to her best friend, ignoring what Tricky had said. “Her name is-”

  “NOOOOO!!!”

  — SOLID’S TURN —

  When Solid opens up his present from Woofa, it’s a box with a sleeping bag presented within the cover. Immediately opens the box up and reveals one with the right size, and it has a comfy texture to it. It’s soft and pillowy, designed for those without any real shelter. “... This is for me because I live on that rooftop, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, safe to say, someone needs a real shelter. And I know the bathroom is really comfortable, but it gets really cold inside there!” She mimics herself shivering in the environment, remembering the last time she went inside there. One time, when she was inside his bathroom, there was no A/C on, and it almost felt like a freezer. That point really changed how her best friend adapts to such environments; a sleeping bag was enough. “Speaking of freezing inside…” Getting up from her spot, she turns on the A/C, calmly warming up the apartment to a room temperature.

  For now, the hedgehog tests the sleeping bag, plopping one onto the ground and zipping himself up comfortably. It really is comfortable and pillowy, something he hasn’t had when sleeping on the concrete ground, or literally inside the bathtub whenever it’s not a great day to sleep outside. Other than that, it’s a great gift overall. Once he gets out of the sleeping bag, he folds it up and returns it to the box, satisfied to bring it back home. “Wasn’t the gift I needed, but glad you got that out of your mind. Because if you’ve never bought it…”

  “... I would’ve been worried like HELL!” She raises her voice, understanding how she would’ve felt if she had never made that holiday purchase for him. “Plus, why would I leave you dying in hypothermia…?”

  Soon after, the hedgehog sees a Christmas present from Tricky, which reads the words… “Happy Christmas to my favorite brother, Solid.” It isn’t much, but it’s a heartwarming quote that reminds them of the Christmases they spent. Even if it’s without their mother, it’s something to account for. “Specifically for you, Solid… Enjoy your present from yours truly… Tricky.”

  With a reassuring smile on his face, Solid opens the present up. It’s calm, peaceful, and a reminder of what he’s given to his brother. It reveals a small box, where inside…

  It’s nothing.

  Woofa looks appalled by the present Tricky had sent, but Solid says otherwise. “Thanks for reminding me of what I wanted… Just a simple reminder of who’s here with me.” Instead, that empty Christmas present was intentional, as the real Christmas present is… Tricky.

  “No problemo, brotha!” The porcupine instantly hugs the hedgehog, both brothers patting their backs as a sign of their relationship. “You didn’t want anything, so I got your wish. You wanted nothing… but us.”

  The dog checks the present that her best friend had received from his brother, and it’s indeed nothing. Like, literally nothing. “Are you… Serious…? WAS THIS MEANT TO BE INTENTIONAL?!”

  — WOOFA’S TURN —

  Expecting something positive from Solid, when she opens the gift, it’s a new mug, something for the coffee dog to have. It’s new and polished; in fact, it literally has the name Woofa attached to her mug. It’s purple; it’s soothing; it’s cinematic. Everything about it is beautiful to her eyes. Additionally, the gift was at the right time due to numerous things related to her mugs. One of the things was that-

  December 7th, 2024.

  “Man… all of these mugs are worthless!” Exclaims Woofa, as Solid walks out of the bathroom, to the scenery of a bag, dedicated to the mug she no longer uses. “Some look cute, to which I’ll thankfully keep for now…” She sets one of the saved mugs onto the counter, happily looking at it with a soft tone. “And the other one SUCKS!!!” One of the mugs that Tricky gifted- well, actually, all of the mugs that were gifted from that porcupine were immediately thrown out, showing which mugs were liked and which mugs were despised by the dog herself. “I wish for a better mug other than what the porcupine gifts me every year…”

  When she finished taking care of her mugs, she walked to the front door to deal with the trash, but Solid insisted on doing it. “... Just rest… Woofa.” The hedgehog grabs the bag for her, to which she softens her mood and smiles at his help. “Maybe I should gift you a mug myself… since you should probably get more soon.” He reassures her before going out to the hallway, leaving her inside the apartment.

  All she could do was let him be, watching her best friend walk out and into the hallway. Whenever she feels tired, he always helps her out (that is, when he’s there with her), even if she pushes away initially. “I don’t deserve a best friend like this…”

  December 25th, 2024.

  Another reason is that every Christmas, she has a tradition of receiving mugs. To everyone, it’s flat-out unnatural, but on the other end, she doesn’t mind it. She enjoys receiving mugs that she personally likes based on their looks. And today, that’s exactly what she received, and without hesitation, hugs her best friend. “The ONLY person who understands!”

  Solid returns the hug, patting her back to show his support. “For sure, Woofa. For sure… It’s something I said earlier, wasn’t it?”

  “I think I remember wishing for one…” Trying to recollect her memories, but fails to; otherwise, the mug is enough to keep her satisfied. “Speaking of where to place this mug…” Not only does she have as many mugs as this writer has eggs in his house (literally 20 eggs in my fridge), but she also has a cabinet with three tiers of mugs.

  The bottom tier is empty because most of it was gifted from Tricky. But only one mug was there, being a gift from her parents, whom she personally doesn’t like, but keeps it for remembrance.

  The middle tier has several mugs; 18 of them are inside, with the vast majority being good for use. She has used them before, but not by much, opposed to the last tier…

  The top tier is the best mugs she has ever owned and collected. With only one mug, which was her first mug in high school, where her addiction to coffee started, and she became the person she is. (A.k.a. Mrs. Woofa the Sheep or Lanolin the Dog, whatever you call her.)

  Where she places the gift from Solid, it rightfully belongs in the top tier, symbolizing how she views the mug as a masterpiece. Unsurprisingly, his mug was placed that high, but maybe because she was a bit biased. Though she does have one… and one conspicuous question… “Solid… how much did you pay for this cup…?”

  The hedgehog looks guilty from her questioning, because she knows she’ll react when she hears the actual price. “... One… thousand-”

  Sighs… “As said… I don’t deserve a best friend like this…” Hiding her emotions, concerned about his spending issues and generosity. “You’re too generous… how should I repay you in such a way…?”

  “Maybe go on a date?” They forgot Tricky was there, recording their interactions. “Solid and Woofa sitting in a tree! K-” Woofa instantly snatches his phone and goes to the balcony, testing his patience. “H-HEY!!! GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE!!!”

  Luckily, the dog permanently deletes the video from his phone, now tossing it back to his hand. “Oh yeah, seems like you’re invested in our best friend bond. Why don’t you open up the present for me?” Signaling to the porcupine to open the last remaining present, knowing that there’s something suspicious inside.

  “Oh! Uhh… but shouldn’t you open up the present? You know it’s your turn to open the present.” Tricky nervously questions, now caught in a trap by her.

  “Tricky, I’m not dumb. I remember the last time I did, I-”

  “No! No! There isn’t! I’ll-” Groans… “I’ll open it up for you…” He warily opens up the present, suspiciously taking his time to open it up, with the ever-growing smirk on Woofa’s face. Each wrap was ripped apart into pieces, some as small as a minuscule. He’s deliberately doing so not to set off whatever is going on inside the present that’s intended for the dog herself.

  “Come on, Tricky! Chop! Chop! Chop! We don’t have much time left for you to take the wraps apart one by one!” She mockingly exclaims to him, forcing the porcupine to take bigger wraps apart. “It’s funny looking at your face, seeing how nervous you are… Looking way too much like a baby… Aww… Did I hurt your feewings? Do you want me to open the pwesent?” Showing off her puppy eyes as if she’s a dog… even though she is a dog. But the mockery continues, forcing him to listen to her, taking huge chunks of the wrapping apart until it’s just the box itself.

  With a simple opening, Tricky hesitantly opens the box, showing off- “SIKE!!!” It’s actually a machine that opens and targets Woofa specifically, where a cup of cranberry sauce flies directly to her. The sauce stains her clothes and face. Luckily, it wasn’t designed to stain the floor, but that really did it for the two of them. One reaction was all laughter, while the other was straight up with a death stare.

  “Tricky…”

  Laughing! “Yeah?” Tricky falls to the ground and kicks his feet up in the air, revealing how much fun he’s having on this Christmas morning. However, his brother can be best summarized as worried… worried that the porcupine is going to have one hell of a show from his best friend. “You like my acting? The best thing I have ever done in this-”

  “I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

  Now spooked, Tricky instantly runs outside the apartment, and Woofa doesn’t care one bit if she’s covered; she chases him down the hallway to get some bittersweet revenge.

  “... I’ll just… clean this place up then…” Solid starts to clean up the Christmas wrapping, ultimately wrapping up their Christmas morning.

  “COME HERE, TRICKY!!!”