"Okay!" Grace replied to Kaelin. As the girls made their way to the smaller table and chairs, Grace giggled as Mel did her seating ritual. "Just like our dog does," she said.

"Can we sit next to you?" she asked Mel, hoping the answer would be yes.

"It would be a pleasure to sit next to you," said Mel. "Would you mind passing the eggnog and pouring some in my bowl? I seem to be very thirsty all of a sudden."

"Oh! I can do that!" Kaelin said, eager to make up for her previous spills. She was not a clumsy person by nature, but rather was still working on that skill of determining what skills were outside-only skills and what skills were permissible inside. She very carefully lifted up the jug of eggnog and poured some into Mel's bowl, then into her glass and into Grace's. She noticed she also had a mug at her place, and briefly considered going and getting some cider, but then remembered hearing Maeve speak poorly of someone who was a "two fisted drinker" and decided it would be poor form.

"So," she said, tentatively taking her seat. "Um. What didja do for the holidays?"

"Well, maybe not for that exact scenario, no." Stammered Jeff, stuck somewhere between frustration and mirth.

"Squirrels make good eats', if done up right." Ainsley added, taking her coat back from Jeff, who in turn gave her a judgmental glance, she ignored it and the two of them began to cross the hall ,"what? I ain't talking 'bout no talking squirrels. Just the regular ones, side's I bet he tastes nasty. Whatta think Delia? Name's Ainsley btw, heard lot's about you."

"Thanks," Grace said after Kaelin had filled her glass. She was often a shy girl, since she didn't have a lot of friends her own age (except at school), but for some reason she felt at home here.

So when Kaelin asked what she did for the holidays, it all came out at once, with hardly even room for her to take a breath.

"Well, first we got a Christmas tree. Usually we do somewhere and Daddy cuts one down, but this year it was very cold and we had Emma and Mom didn't want her to catch a cold so we just went to a place where they sold them. After decorating it we went to church. I love singing the Christmas carols. My parents do too, but my dad can't sing." She stopped and giggled. "Sometimes when he sings at home our dog howls along. But Mom has a wonderful voice.

"Then we went to Grandma Baxter's house for dinner. It was really good." She stopped as she realized she was rambling and probably boring her new friends. "Anyway, how about you guys?"

((OOC: I just realized now I have to figure out what the Elementals do for the holidays.. ))

"That sounds sooo cool! We kind of got snowed in," Kaelin said, bouncing a bit in her seat. "So we couldn't exactly go out much, but Maeve makes some wicked decorations, and we lit the candles, and spent a lot of time reading. And making and eating cookies. Yesterday it was nice enough that we got to go skating for a bit, which was pretty awesome. It was a huge space and I got to practice some trick jumps!"

She paused.

"Do you ever go skating?"

"I tend to go sliding," offered Mel. "There's a lake out where I live, and when the wind sweeps it clean there are patches of smooth ice. You run as fast as you can toward one to pick up speed, and then sit down and let your momentum do the rest."

Her tail started to wag at the memory, thumping enthusiastically against both the cushion and the floor. Talking about the various holiday traditions when everyone was excited about what they did made her excited too.

"Super fun. And the landscape looks different from out on the middle of the lake." Mel paused for a generous slurp of eggnog, little flecks sticking to the fur around her muzzle. "Both of your ways of celebrating sure sound nice. I sleep most of the winter, but the talking mirror makes sure I wake up to hear it read the Christmas story."

She looked from Kaelin to Grace.

"Say! Maybe we could sing some carols later!"

Twig's accepted Delia's arm and followed her to the dinning room.

Pittersticks ran into the dinning room and spotted Mel sitting at a low table. Using his tail to steer, Pittersticks slid into Mel. "I'm so sorry," he said as he hit her. "these floors are so slippery." The impact made Mel bump the table which splashed eggnog on Pittersticks.

Kaelin giggled when the eggnog spilled onto Pittersticks, then clapped her hand over her mouth so as not to be impolite.

"Oh no!" she said, grabbing her napkin and picking Pittersticks up to towel him down. "I'm afraid you might be sticky for the rest of the evening."

She turned back to Mel and Grace.

"I'm sure some carols would be fun! Especially if your dad's singing is as funny as you say!"

"Hmmm, I wonder what light I got painted in this time," Delia mused, winking at Ainsley. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. Why don't we head in to the other room? I'm interested in food, if no one else is."

She guided the group in, settling Twigs between herself and Maeve, and then glaring at the empty seat for a moment.

"Dare I ask what happened to the chair at the end of the table?"

When the squirrel careened into her, Mel gave a startled whooof as the air left her lungs. Fortunately, she was much larger than the squirrel and already sitting down, so there was no repeat of her own slide across the floor. However, the table was also jostled by the impact and her dish of eggnog spilled all over the unfortunate creature.

Kaelin's quick action saved the table from being showered with tiny droplets of eggnog, but Pittersticks was still sticky! Mel licked her chops, memories of her youth on the farm where mother cats were always preaching the virtues of cleanliness rising to the forefront of her brain.

One heavy paw shot out and pinned the squirrel to the table, and Mel half rose. "I'll take care of that," she assured her friends. "He'll be clean in no time!"

Pittersticks made a horrified noise as an enormous St. Bernard tongue swiped up and down his fur, leaving him more waterlogged and bedraggled than before.

Kaelin giggled again.

"I'm sure our squirrel friend will be a bit more careful on such slick floors in the future," she grinned. "More eggnog, anyone?"

After more eggnog had been passed around, she swiped some rolls from the center.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starved, and bread is usually tasty. Anyone else want any? There's butter and...something green that I'm not familiar with."

“This eggnog is especially tasty. I’m so fortunate to be able to partake of a traditional, Dittonian beverage.” Aristotle prepared for his exit. “Well, thanks for the hospitality everyone, but I think I must go looking for my hotel now. Does anyone know of a place where I can stay for the night?”

Aristotle didn’t necessarily want to leave, but he was used to Minnesota goodbyes, so he thought if he didn’t start now, he might be there for hours yet. Who knows how long a goodbye might take in Dittonian culture!

Pittersticks chattered and scolded at being washed by Mel. However, he was so upset that he reverted to speaking squirrel. As soon as Mel had released him, he took off for the large table and arriving just as Aristotle was asking about a place to stay. “I don’t think there are any places around here that are open,” he said. “However, if you take a train, you can be in the town of Reading in no time. There are plenty of places to stay there and lots to do. Don’t you agree Twig’s? “
Twig’s stared at the squirrel. “Um, I don’t know about that,” she stammered. “I have a nice little house there but um other people just pop in and out. The buildings are large and most people just explore a room or two at a time. * “
“Nonsense,” laughed Pittersticks. There are several splendid rooms where people could spend the night. Aristotle, maybe Mel would like to go with you? I hear that Saint Bernards are great at finding things.” The whole time he was speaking Pittersticks was inching towards Twig’s backpack which was sitting beside her chair. He started to paw through it. Twig’s looked down and saw the squirrel digging in her bag. “Pittersticks!” She cried. “What are you doing?” Pittersticks held up her brush and scampered off. “My fur is such a mess,” he said. “Do be a dear and let me borrow this.” “Bring that back,” She shouted after him. Pittersticks paid no attention to her. He saw a place that was missing a chair and climbed up onto the table. He busied himself with the brush.
“Yuck,” Twig’s groaned. “I think I will get a new brush.”
*OOC My idea is that the reading groups are like a town. Each book is a building and each chapter a room. The rooms would be decorated in a way related to the chapter and those room are where the discussions take place. Since it is a slow moving forum, I guess the guests would write their thoughts in a guest book

Dan and Angie, meanwhile, were at one of the "adult" tables, enjoying conversation and an abundance of food associated with the holidays (I will spare you the details since a list of the foods might make us all very hungry).

Emma had squawked earlier and had been given a bottle, and was now contentedly sitting in her carrier by her mother. Her parents, in addition to talking to those at their table, were keeping an occasional eye on their older daughter, chuckling at the antics of talking squirrels and dogs and musing that she seemed to be mighty lucky in avoiding the spills of eggnog and other assorted liquids.

~~

Grace could do little more than take in all the antics of those in her vicinity. Watching Mel lick the (relatively) small squirrel made her break out in giggles.

"Dad and I skate together," she eventually said in answer to Kaelin's question. "Sledding is fun too." She paused, stifling another giggle. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Dad what I said about his singing."