Its that time of the year again and Kate and Humphrey have to explain to their newborn pups just what is Christmas. *Short Story*

A/N: Yes it's kind of early but this is a special Christmas story I decided to write for fun, might not make a lot of sense but hey it's still a story. The pups are the same two from my 'Life Goes On' story so you can say this is somewhat of a sequel I guess, not really. So grab a cup of eggnog or whatever it is you like to drink and enjoy.
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What's Christmas? - TheChriZ1995

Kate's POV

I hummed to myself lightly as I walked through the snow on my way back home, my morning had consisted of the usual alpha duties but now I was looking forward to spending the rest of my day with my family. The peaceful and beautiful way Jasper looked is just what I loved about this season, sure it was cold and sometimes a hassle to move through the snow but I still enjoyed it. The same went for my mate Humphrey who had the day off today, I still remember the times when we played in the snow together.

Whether it was log sledding or snowball fights we both managed to have our share of good fun during our free time. However this year was extra special to both of us because we now have the addition of two beautiful pups. It's the first time they've even experienced snow before so it's been pretty entertaining to see their reactions to it. At first they didn't know what to make of it but with Humphrey's help they learned new games they could play together outside our den.

Arriving at my den I couldn't help but smile after seeing what my mate was up too in the entry way. He was doing his best to balance on his hind legs while putting up a bunch of flowers tied together in a circle. It was a pretty humorous sight and when I called his name I must have ruined his concentration because he fell backwards into the fresh snow.

"Hey hun-" He managed to say before falling back

I laughed a little before walking up by his side "I see you've been busy" I said looking down at him.

"Sure have, you know I like this time of the year" He replied getting up

"Oh I'm aware" We both turned our attention up to the circle of flowers that was hanging right center above our dens entry way "I love it"

"Yeah hopefully it stays up there so I don't have to do that again" He agreed with a laugh

"How did you manage to make it?" I asked, this was the first time I had seen him make something like this before.

"Well it wasn't easy considering most of the flowers are dying off from the cold but I weaved these together with a little tree sap your mother told me to use and ended up with this." He said

"It turned out really nice, I guess we'll be the only ones who really decorated for the holidays."

"Thanks, but that's not all I decorated our den with"

He walked inside of the den and I followed slowly behind to find something surprising, standing upright against the back wall was a tiny pine tree slightly taller than both of us. More flowers were placed randomly on it which made it not just a plain green color. I was amazed by it because all I expected was to see him make one decoration like last year but this year was different.

"Wow you're really going all out this year aren't you?" I smiled at him

"Well since we are a family this year I decided to make it a little more special, besides I got the idea from that patrol we did near one of the human dens." He replied talking about the small tree that was inside that den as well which was lit up in many colors and shined brightly.

I silently looked around our den and thought the tree was a good fit against the plain dirt and root walls "You know we're going to have to explain to the pups why our den looks like this."

"I know and I have a feeling they will be very open to the idea."

"True, well we got some time to think of what to say since there still out playing with my sisters pups near the feeding grounds. Anything else you want to decorate the den with?" I said before turning to head back to the entryway.

"No I think it looks great as is, but there's still one more decoration you have yet to see." He said walking up to me with a smile

"Which is...?"

He sat in front of me and pointed up to the ceiling with his foreleg, I looked up and saw a small pair of leaves with three red berries in the middle of it. I immediately knew what it was; I returned his smile and looked back at him "How could I have missed the mistletoe..." I said before pressing my nose against his.

I knew he only put it up there just for another reason to be able to kiss me which I wasn't going to argue against since I thought it was cute. We broke apart and spent the next hour or so discussing about how our days have gone so far during my absence. He said the pups had come by for lunch but other than that they had been out with my sis's pups playing all kinds of games since I left early in the morning. I was glad that they were having fun with others their age instead of being stuck in here to stay warm from the cold, as long as they don't get hurt or sick they can do whatever they please out there.
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Meanwhile

Nova's POV

"How about a little challenge on our way home?" I suggested, looking at my sister

"But Nova haven't we been doing that all day with the others?" She argued

"Oh come on Kairi just one more, besides you might like what I have in mind."

"Alright fine... What kind of challenge?"

"Simple, a race from here to home and the loser has to roll around in the snow for a few minutes without stopping." I said pointing up the valley towards the den grounds.

"That's all?" She said raising and eyebrow

"Yeah like I said its simple"

"You're on then!"

She suddenly took off in a mad sprint towards home, I realized that she had gotten a head start so I pursued after her. I knew she couldn't resist a race since she knew I was slower than her, however I had a trick that would get me ahead of her even if I'm slower. While she took the direct way towards home I veered off to the left and ran up a ravine that would buy me some time. I've been up this way before and I remembered that it was more gradual and faster than going straight up the valley walls.

I felt my body start to become tired from the constant strain of running but the finish line was just appearing ahead of me. Hopping my way through the snow and around trees I saw no sign of Kairi which meant victory would be surly mine. I came to a sliding halt in front of home and looked back behind me, my shortcut paid off because there she was running up behind me. She slowed down before stopping right next to me, we both were pretty out of breath from how much activities we've been doing today which has drained our energy.

"I see you took a shortcut" She finally said after a moment

I smiled "Clever huh?"

"Yeah, but I'll beat you next time" She argued before beginning to walk towards our den

I held up my paw to stop her "I don't think so, remember the deal?"

She rolled her eyes "You expect me to follow through with that?"

I just shook my head before knocking her over into the snow with a laugh "Your time starts now!"

She growled to herself before rolling all around the clearing in front of home, I silently laughed at the sight before I heard a voice behind me.

"What are you two up to?" I turned around to see my dad walking up beside me

"I challenged her to a race home and the loser has to roll around in the snow for a couple of minutes." I replied looking up at him

He smiled "So you managed to actually beat your sister this time huh?"

"Let's just say I took a little detour"

Before I knew it Kairi's time was up and I told her she could stop now, she shivered a little bit as her fur had some snow still clinging to it. She walked over to me with an unpleased look on her face and punched me in side before laughing.

"That's for pushing me over!" She smiled

"Hey a deals a deal" I argued holding my side where she punched me.

Dad just shook his head smiling at us still "Alright you two lets head inside and warm up, your mother and I have something to show you."

He turned around and headed inside with both of us following behind him, along the way I looked up to notice a ring of flowers hanging above the entry way. This puzzled me and before I was going to ask dad about it I noticed something else surprising in the den. There was a small tree sitting against the back wall and it was covered in followers, again I was confused as mother walked up beside of Kairi and I.

"What's with the tree?" Kairi asked walking up closer to it

"That kids, is a Christmas tree" Dad answered

"A what tree?" I turned around and looked back at my parents as they sat next to each other.

"A Christmas tree" He repeated

"What's Christmas?" I've never heard of that word before

Kairi and I were now both interested in learning about this new word so we sat down and waited for our parents to tell us about it.

They both smiled at each other before looking back at us "You see once every year there comes a time where wolves gather and give each other gifts." Mom started

"Not to mention there's always a big feast and moonlight howl on the night of the full moon." Dad added

"And the fact that all wolves get a week off from any duties"

"So we all get presents?" Kairi asked excitedly

They both nodded "Yep, but only if your good" Mom replied

"Well have we been good?"

"I guess you're just gonna have to wait until Christmas morning to find out" Dad said with a wink

"But that still doesn't explain why there's a tree in our den and flowers outside" I said

"That's kind of the confusing part, us wolves are not the only ones to celebrate this holiday..." Mother began

They both continued to explain to us that humans also had a Christmas of their own that was basically the same concept. At first I thought it was kind of strange that wolves would be copying humans considering that they are a threat to us. However they said wolves have been having their own Christmas's for many generations. Still seemed strange to me but I was starting to warm up to this whole idea of Christmas, mostly because it promised gifts for being good.

The reason our den was decorated was also because of the humans, while doing one of their patrols a few days ago they saw a human den with one of these trees in it and Dad decided to have one of our own. I thought it looked neat but from the way they described the human one made me want to go see it for myself, of course I knew they wouldn't let us near there.

"So when is Christmas?" I asked after they finished

"It's the morning after this coming full moon, so about a week and a half or so." Dad replied

"Aww but that's so far away" Kairi said a little upset

"Well it's better than waiting a whole year like we have, trust me it will be worth the wait."

"Especially because it's our first Christmas as a family" Mom added

I noticed the den was starting to become dim and an orange color due to the sun beginning to set. I watched as Dad walked over to the entryway to look at the sun before turning back to face us.

"What do you say we go get some dinner before it gets too dark out there?" He asked smiling

"Sounds great because I'm starving" I said

This caused him to laugh "I bet, you two have had a long day of playing in the snow"

"Come on maybe there's still a nice fresh caribou to eat" My mother said walking past him and into the cold outside

We all followed as we headed down to the feeding grounds, along the way I thought more about Christmas and what I have learned about it. I still didn't really understand why wolves and even humans celebrate it but I'm sure by the end of it I will understand it and be looking forward to next years.

"What do you think we're going to get as a gift?" I looked over to see my sister walking next to me

"I don't know, but I hope it's something cool" I replied

"Me too, maybe we'll get our own log sled or something"

I smiled "Who knows... but remember we have to be good in order to get one"

We continued to talk and follow behind our parents tails towards the feeding grounds still talking about the kind of things we could get for Christmas. It could be anything but knowing it was coming from our parents it would be something neat and exciting for both of us...

THE END
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A/N: Oh no an abrupt ending! but what will Nova and Kairi get as their Christmas presents? Well that's for your imagination to decide because this is the end of this holiday story which is meant to end on a cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed this story and found it to make sense because I found the whole idea of wolves celebrating Christmas kind of odd to describe. Anyway see you in the next story! Happy holidays!