@Eyther StrongStone Midnight's in here as a buck, but he's still called Midnight

Ugh Sorry my tablet's acting up again, anyways I was bored so I wrote another Helmer Returns story. If y'all have any feedback I'd welcome it!

The short doe rested her chin in her hands, pressing her face against the frosty glass. Her breath made a little splotch of melted frost on the windowpane that reminded her of spilled ink. The room around her was nearly bursting with Christmas Cheer, from her squealing siblings to the sound of Mother pounding cinnamon candies to put in the Christmas Eve Cider.

Her siblings were decorating the tall evergreen tree with Pa. The baby, Rosemary, was attempting to eat a sparkly red ornament that, unbeknownst to any of them, Lord Captain Helmer had tried to eat when he was Rosemary's age. Five year old Tarragon snatched it from her hands and swatted her with a strand of tinsel just before she took a bite. Pa was lifting seven year old Hayl into the air to put the shiny angel on top of the tree.

"Fennel, would you mind putting up the breakable ornaments?" Pa asked, trusting the strong eleven year old with the fragile collection.

The Doe groaned and left her window, wandering absently towards the tree. She grabbed the flimsy glass ornaments from the lace adorned box they were kept in and hung them gently on the draping boughs of the tree. Something howled right outside the window and Fennel startled, dropping a beautifully blown glass ornament with stunning pictures painted inside. She watched it fall, slowly, down as her Pa rushed outside and Mother rushed out of the kitchen to bustle Fennel's siblings away to the cellar.

Little Jo and Helmer screamed, dashing around Fennel. Fennel backed away from the tree, her heart pounding inside of her chest like an out of beat stopwatch.

"Is there such a thing as a Christmas Fools Day?" She heard her father say, laughing, in the distance. The twins, Jo and Helmer sat down on the rug and started giggling hysterically and Hayl, Tarragon, Rosemary, and mother were all laughing too.

"Fennel?" Mother asked softly. Fennel gave a little jump, dropping another Christmas ornament, and backed away. "I'm here."

Fennel gazed at Father, who was talking with storyteller Fortress Joveson.

"And what reason do you have for that?" Fennel fumed, angry that a storyteller would have the ability to imitate wolf howls. She stomped her foot over the shards of ornament (accidentally, of course) and ran off, slamming the doors to the cellar stairs behind her.

Fennel stayed in the stairwell all that night. After her family had dinner, Fortress (who insisted on being called by his nickname, Fleck) told a story to Fennel's family as they gathered around the tree. When Fennel stopped crying, she overheard a bit of it.

"The wolves surrounded us on all sides, growling, and everyone, even Bastille, was stumped. I was still sitting in a ball, praying desperately to the Maker, when a thought came to me. " Fleck said dramatically.

"What! What was it?" Tarragon screamed, on the edge of his seat.

"Remember that we'd just come from a banquet to celebrate the end of the school year, and I'd made a seven layer dip in Miss Neverie's classroom. So, naturally, I had a can opener in my satchel. I pulled it out and snapped it closed over their leader's snout, a good, evil fellow named Redeye Garlackson.

We broke through the other wolves, all distracted, and kept running until we got home." Fleck laughed a bit at the memory of five seventh graders temporarily defeating a ring of wolves.

Fennel smiled a bit at this. She rose from the ground and wandered downstairs to her room, where she sat down at her desk, dipped her quill pen in an ink pot, and filled a piece of parchment paper with vertical slashes. She needed to learn fancy calligraphy, or at least runic!

Eventually, she cleaned the tip of her pen on a rag, capped the ink, and fell asleep. The next morning, she sprung to her feet and wandered downstairs to breakfast, which smelled amazing. Pa was cooking waffles on the stove. "Hey Pa" she said.

Picket Longtreader turned, a plate of waffles in his one hand. "Good morning." He said, smiling brightly.

Fennel ate breakfast and wandered outside. Today was Christmas Eve, and there was a foot of fluffy white snow on the ground that must have fallen last night. She tread through it to the pathway, where poor Fleck was being pummeled with snowballs as he shoveled the walk. Hayl was throwing balls of snow at the one eared young warrior, who was currently holding a snow shovel. Wolf, Fleck's three-legged, beautiful sheepdog, was hiding behind Fleck.

"I wouldn't challenge a Highwaller to a snowball fight." Fennel said, smiling sheepishly. Fleck smiled.

Fleck picked up a wad of snow, shaped it into a snowball, and threw it at Hayl. Fennel laughed, that is, until one of Hayl's snowballs hit her in the face. "Oh no you don't!" She screamed, throwing her own ball, which missed terribly and hit Fleck in the face.

The prince grabbed some more snow and was soon throwing a snowball in her direction. Hayl and Fennel joined him and soon snowballs were flying through the air like cannonballs.

"Fleck!" A gruff voice erupted behind them. The three snowball-flinging rabbits turned around slowly to see an oldish, black furred rabbit standing gruffly on a stump. A bit of snow was stuck to his nose.

Fleck rubbed his eyes with snow, put on his glasses (which had been knocked to the snow) and squinted. "What in the Blue Moss Hills? It's been nine years!" Fleck ran towards the buck, catching him off guard in a huge hug.

"Don't suffocate me before I can see Picket." The buck squeaked. Fleck released him and smiled, with tears in his eyes.

"Speaking of Picket, these are two of his kids. Fennel and Hayl, meet Helmer Cove."

Fennel gasped. "The Helmer Cove?" She squawked, jumping up and down in the snow enthusiastically. "Pa will be so excited!"

Fleck, Fennel, Hayl, and Helmer decided to bring Helmer to Picket for a Christmas surprise. They hid helmer in a bush, and even though his complaints were loud (This bush is SCRATCHING me. I can't breathe through the brambles. Ugh it smells worse than Morbin's layer. YIKES IS THAT RAT TURD?) They got him to stay hidden.

During the day, three of the Longtreader children and one of King Jupiter's sons kept an exciting secret. Fennel helped her mother make angel food cake, stuffing, potatoes, and salad for Christmas Eve Dinner that night.

Hayl, Fennel, Tarragon, little Helmer, Jo, and Rosemary learned how to make a special recipe of sugar cookies from Fleck while Pa and Mother wrapped packages for the kids. Later, Fennel went to town to get a Christmas gift for Pa.

She wandered the market, desperately hoping that someone had what she was looking for. But alas, there was only one glass blower, and he didn't have a single ornament. Heart heavy, Fennel turned towards home. She was so distracted that she didn't notice the badly scarred buck wandering up the street towards her.

"Fennel!" Whitbie Joveson exclaimed as she ran into him on the street. "What are you doing?"

"I accidentally broke two of Pa's favorite ornaments." Fennel explained, "But I can't find any here to replace them."

Whit thought a second, rubbing his stump of an ear. "You could carve him one."

Fennel's eyes lit up. A wooden ornament would be personal, and less fragile. She ran home to get started.

A few hours later, after church, Fennel's cousins arrived. Hanna, Maggie, Ember, Justice, Willow, Aunt Heather, Uncle Smalls, Uncle Jacks, Aunt Harmony and their kids (Melody and Lee) Grandma Sween, Grandpa Whittle, Grandma Aiden, Grandpa Wilfred (and their fifteen kids) all crowded into the Longtreader house. Fleck was to leave after Helmer showed up.

A grand feast was laid on the table, so much food it was dizzying, but you needed to cook a lot of food if you have such an enormous family, especially since Uncle Jacks was great at eating everything.

"Hold on, before you eat." Fleck said. He winked at Hayl and Fennel, who joined him on a brisk walk to Helmer's bush. There were a lot more complaints from the old Captain (That RAT came while you were gone and NIBBLED my TOES! Get me out of here! I feel like PEMBRICK! And that's a BAD thing! I'm STARVING! Are you going to put me in a BOX? With WRAPPING PAPER!)

A few minutes later, Hayl was sledding down the slight hill on Helmer's neatly wrapped box, with Fleck and Fennel running behind him. They stopped at the door, dragging the box into the house. "This arrived for Picket Longtreader this morning."

The door swung open quickly behind them and Hanna Longtreader and her Brother, Kiowa, flew in. They were two of Wilfred's kids from before the war. Picket smiled at them and poked at the box.

"Open it!" Hayl squealed. Pa chuckled and ripped open the card. He read it aloud,"Dear Pick, we hope you enjoy your Lord Captain in a box. But it might be a little grumpy, so watch out. From Fennel, Hayl, and Fleck." A confused Picket tore open the box.

"FINALLY! SOMEONE WITH THE RIGHT SENSE TO OPEN THIS BOX!" Helmer roared as soon as he could get out. "Ladybug?" Helmer asked, starting to cry.

"Master Helmer!" Picket exclaimed, warmly hugging the old rabbit. Neither commented on Picket's lack of an arm or Helmer's extra scars, they just hugged and cried.

A few minutes later, Fleck prepared to leave. Kiowa Longtreader stopped him as he turned to go, however. "Uh… Fleck. You might not want to hear this but you've just been pranked." Fleck turned on him, but Kiowa, with help from Bastille (who had just walked in) dragged him to a seat at the table next to Hanna. Hanna and Fleck both blushed and looked away.

"Sorry we're late, Pick." Bastille said, Naylen joining her at the table. Midnight sat down next to them, giving the youngsters presents that he had in his satchel. Trinity joined them, then a few minutes later, Void.

"What are you doing?" Fleck asked, startled. "I thought y'all were celebrating Christmas with your families."

"We will, tomorrow." Bastille said. The five Skyward Flight rabbits high-fived each other.

That Christmas was one that Fennel would always remember. Father loved his ornament, hanging it proudly on the tree next to the glass ones that still remained, unbroken. That night, before going to sleep, Fennel looked up at the December Moon and thought she saw a face in the shape of the moon.

Helmer had returned.

Hope you enjoyed!

-Fleck Cove