The room we're in is...not very big, honestly. But there are a few windows that let some light in. It's a little dusty and dirty, but it looks like someone's already made an effort to tidy it up.
Mia's already laid out a little picnic blanket - or the closest to one as she likely could find - and there's food in the middle of the blanket, and even some bottles of some kind of drink.
Mia looks proud of herself.
Hestia is staring at me with those large, bright eyes of hers.
Eric looks annoyed, and he crosses his arms. "...Is this really a good idea?"
"Probably not." Mia shrugs, unconcerned. Her voice is warm and playful, her smile bright. She waves her hand in a broad, sweeping motion. "But. I think it still is worth it for the holiday."
I raise an eyebrow. "Holiday?"
Eric sighs, shaking his head.
"Yep. Holiday." Mia says, her tone light.
"What holiday?"
"It's Christmas." Mia says.
My eyebrows raise, and my gaze flickers to Eric.
He shakes his head. "I have no idea how she kept track, either. I think she's a witch." His tone is resigned, but there's a slight upward twitch to the corners of his lips.
"What do you mean?" Mia says. "I'm a perfectly normal girl~" Her voice is singsong. She laughs. "But it is. Christmas. December 25th."
I blink.
The sun is beating down just as hot as ever outside. Like the depths of summer. Like it always is. But somewhere back home...it's...
Cold.
Snowing.
My family is cuddled up in the warmth of the house, drinking cocoa and eating cheap food they bought from Safeway.
It feels like there's a hand that's just. Gripped my heart tight. I can't breathe.
Mia smiles, warm, but her voice is gentle and soothing. "It's alright, Sarah. Come on. We might not be back home for this Christmas but look~! We have our own little home here."
It's...it's a picnic, with food that looks nothing like what we'd eat at home.
It's basically summer food, or close to it.
There's no music. No snow. No family. No gifts.
Mia sits down and Hestia runs over and sits next to her, looking...excited just to be here.
Eric nudges my arm lightly with his and offers me a faint smile. "It's ridiculous, but I'm pretty sure there's some Christmas proverb about being with friends." His gaze flicks to Mia. "...Don't ask me quote it, please. I don't know it."
"Ah...but the sentiment is there." Mia laughs and gestures at the food in front of us. "And it is good to have friends around for the holidays." She smiles, looking up at me, and pats the seat on the other side of her from Hestia.
I finally relent and sit down. "...This seems...dangerous." My words aren't quite what I meant to say, and they're stilted, awkward.
But Mia laughs and waves her hand, unconcerned. "Don't be ridiculous, Sarah~! If our duties are done and the sun is up they don't really care what we do with our free time."
"It's not just that." I say, frowning. "...You stole all of this." I gesture toward the food. "They're going to miss it, aren't they?"
Mia laughs and shakes her head. "Mmh, they don't keep much track of it. So if we eat it all, they'll never know~" She grins. "...And this place? Oh, they haven't used it for years. I've been checking. We'll be safe."
"Is there...any point?" Eric's voice is soft, but he looks resigned to his fate of having a Christmas picnic in this abandoned building. "This place, the food. It's...well." His expression flickers.
I can tell he's trying to say it's nothing like Christmas. That it feels fake. But he doesn't want to hurt Mia's feelings, so his voice cuts off.
I understand the feeling.
Mia crosses her arms and sighs, closing her eyes. "Hestia."
The girl immediately looks to Mia.
"These two doubters. Don't understand the importance of Christmas." Mia says.
Hestia's gaze flickers to Eric, and then to me.
"...I understand it." Eric protests, but Mia ignores him, looking at Hestia.
"It's important because...well, we're far from home, aren't we?" Mia's voice is soft, but still playful. "And even though we're far from home, and the things that are precious to us, we have to remember who we are and where we're from."
She takes a breath, her gaze falling. "We have to keep a part of our home inside us. So that even if it seems like nothing around us is right, we still remember who we are, and what we care about. What's important. That's why we celebrate holidays, even if they aren't really that convenient or logical. So we remember our homes."
...So we can remember our homes.
The world, the lives that they stole from us.
Even if it's just a simple celebration in the middle of an endless summer, with stolen food on a picnic basket in and empty building.
"...Because they can't stop us from celebrating Christmas." I murmur, finally. "And we won't forget, no matter what they do."
Eric huffs suddenly, and he reaches out for one of the biscuits on the blanket.
"If you'd just told me it's food I'd have eaten it anyway but..."
He hums and takes a bite from the deceptively crunchy sounding bread. "...If it's defying them to do something like this...well." He smirks. "It is like home. Christmas is all about being stubborn, right?"
Mia laughs. "When in the world was it about stubbornness-?" Her voice is a bit exasperated, but amused.
"Always. Christmas is all about stubbornness. You have to be stubborn and keep up traditions and go to relatives you don't even like every year as if it'll ever be different."
Mia stares at him, and I can't help but smile.
He grins. "Well, that's just how it is in my house."
Mia's smile returns, and she shakes her head, sighing. "Well. Next year you're all coming to mine, understand that?"
I purse my lips and finally settle down across from her on the blanket. "You gonna pay for my plane ticket?"
"Yep. For all of yours!" She turns and pats Hestia on the head. "You, too."
Hestia's face is already stuffed with food.
It looks like some of it is the same bread Eric had picked up - some of it looks like meat of some kind, some vegetables, and...well, I can't quite recognize most of the things on the table - er, the blanket.
But that's to be expected, given where we are.
Hestia's certainly embracing the spirit of the season in her own way.
I reach out and pick up some of the food - a small slice of some sort of meat.
I bite down and chew thoughtfully.
The flavor is...strange, to be sure. It's unlike any meat I've ever had, but the texture isn't bad at all.
It's definitely better than the slop we normally get to eat. By a lot.
"...How long did you have to collect this?"
"Hmm. Around Thanksgiving." She wiggles in place. "Not all of it, just the stuff that I could pick up that wouldn't spoil. When Thanksgiving came I thought...wouldn't it be great if we could still have some kind of meal? So the day after, I started collecting some for today~"
"By stealing."
"Stealing is bad!" She holds her nose up, looking away. "...I didn't steal it, it's just that...no one else would use this, so I used it. And they're not missing it, are they~? No. I checked. They're not."
Mia nods decisively, as if what she just said made sense. "It's fine. They're just not paying that close of attention. If they don't care enough to notice it, I don't care if I take a bit of it~"
Eric snorts and rolls his eyes. "Well. I'm not going to say no, regardless."
He reaches for some more food, and I join him in the meal.
It's...not exactly the Christmas I'm used to, but...
Even without the snow.
Without the chocolate and marshmallows.
Without the familiar songs, the comfort, and the safety...
Maybe it does feel a bit like Christmas being with my friends after all.
It's nice.
Even in a completely alien world, where the seasons don't make sense, where there's no snow and there's no Christmas trees...
Having a bit of it here.
It's...it's enough.
Mia claps her hands suddenly, her eyes sparkling.
"Alright! Let's sing carols!"
"What-?!" Eric coughs on his food.
"Come on, it'll be fun, I'm sure you know at least one~" She looks to me. "Come on, Sarah. You have to sing one."
"...Uh-" My mind blanks.
She laughs then and waves her hand. "Alright, alright. You're all hopeless. Fine. I'll sing it and you'll join in. Hestia, you can clap to the beat, okay?" She grins.
Hestia hesitates a second, but nods.
...So.
I guess it won't be without the music after all.
Really, I don't know why I ever doubted Mia in the first place.