Weihnachten 5.3: Kanin and Anika

Anika sat bundled up rubbing her mitten covered hands together for a moment before aiming them at the fire. Her feet angled the same way, waggling them to keep movement also pointed at the fire. Her teeth made occasional clacks against each other as they chattered from the cold. Watching steam from the boiling stew melding with the smoke from the fire. A sound from the woods in front of her pulled her attention back as her found guardian came from the treeline carrying an arm load of wood. Their attire couldn’t have been more different and she still hadn’t figured out how he did it yet. He wore some kind of weird coat that was barely thicker than bed sheets, thin fingerless gloves on his hands and something sort of like very flimsy slippers on his feet but they were missing the part that should cover his toes. And he never seemed to get cold.

Kanin dropped the wood close to where he had made a spot to sit. Close enough to be out of the way but easy to reach and place on another log. Leaning forward the jabbed at the coals under the logs to stir up the fire a bit, keeping it alive in this kind of cold and approaching storm made things a challenge. “Still cold?” Kanin asked.

“A little.” Anika said, slipping her hands under her hood to rub her ears. “I wish it wasn’t so cold.” she added.

Kanin tiled his head back to look at the sky. “I know,” he replied. “The stew should do something to warm you up a little. He told her. Kanin shook his head a bit. The snow that had fallen on him from branches above while he was gathering wood had started to melt and made his hair wet. Kanin stood grabbing a different long stick with a Y shape and lifted the lid to the pot to check the stew. “Remember.” he started making sure she was looking at him and paying attention first. “Don’t leave your boots when you go to sleep tonight. I know it's cold but if your boots are wet you could get frostbite.”

“But what…” Anika started.

Kanin sighed. “Anika, no buts. Just do what I say.”

“But you don’t even get cold.” she spouted.

“That is because I am not human.” he said, tapping off the ladle before returning the lid. “Its almost ready.

Anika puffed her cheeks out, pouting. “I know…”

A short time later Kanin was pouring a bowl of stew for Anika then himself. And he fished another smaller put off of some coals he’d pulled away from the main fire. Taking out the half burnt bread. And frowning as he cut the unburnt part for Anika and taking the burnt half for himself.

After a few happy bites of her stew feeling it warming her up Anika looked up to Kanin. Quiet for a moment before finally asking “Do…you think I’ve been good this year?”

“What makes you think you haven’t?” Kanin asked, as he attempted to eat the burnt bread.

“Well…I changed your life, you have to be strict with me something only bad kids need, my uncle wanted me gone…I just want to know if that makes me a bad kid.”

Kanin unceremoniously spat the mouth full of bread into the snow and toss it for the birds brave enough to risk their lives for it. “None of those things are your fault. Even the strict part.” he said, “You’ve never been in a situation like this, and sometimes you just need to know how bad something can be if you don’t listen. I’m never mad at you.” he went on. “I just don’t want you harmed by something avoidable.”

Anika thought about what he said for a moment. “Oh…so you think Kras Krunkle will bring me a present this year?”

Kanin raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Kras Krunkle.” Anika repeated unsure what else to say. “You know, he brings good children gifts. Last year he brought me this glass ball that when you spun it on its base at night it would make stars on the ceiling and play music.” Seeing Kanin still confused she felt a bit of pride that she knew something he didn’t. “He’s a gnome with a big red hat, and magic staff and brings you gifts if you are good and fights Der Entführer.”

“Der…who…?”

Before Anika could answer they both heard a scream. At first Kanin was going to ignore it. All kinds of animal calls sound like panicked human voices. But then he heard an animal he couldn’t place, another voice of something smaller, and the third voice screaming again for help.

Kanin stood “Stay here.” he told her, and ran off. He hated the trees being too low to hop it was much faster than running. Near a spot that wasn’t quite a break in the trees, he saw the source of the sounds, a man clutching his arm, sitting on the ground leaning on a tree. Then he noticed the small form of a humanish thing with a pointy red hat. A gnome to be specific “Kras…Krunkle.” Kanin thought and had to stop himself from laughing, until he saw what he was standing between and the man. Had it been standing at its fill height it could easily be over twelve feet tall. Maybe more. A bone white deer skull sat on a body of ill matched and stretched out animal parts.

The thing spoke in a voice that sounded like it was coming from the wrong part of its body or that it didn’t quite know how language worked. Kanin was about to turn and leave not wanting to be involved but something hit the back of his legs. Anika had disobeyed and followed him. She gasped. “Der Entführer” she then saw Kras Krunkle. And she saw him backhand the poor gnome, sending him flying out of sight. “You have to help him!” she said too loud, and the things head snapped over to them.

“Guess I don’t have a choice now.” Kanin thought as it charged. “Hells its fast.” He managed to get Anika out of the way as he barreled past, nearly knocking him down, as it ran after the man gripping his wounded arm. Kanin watched as the gnome for lack of a better word launched himself like a catapult at the creature giving chase. “Go back to camp.” Kanin told her as he took off in a sprint after them, and started to bound as space opened up. And then he finally could fully jump, flying past the gnome who looked to see Kanin zipping past.

Kanin caught the monster with a flying axe kick. It was more like kicking a wall than a living thing but he felt the skull give, just a little, as he carried throw and front flipped past the monster and its swinging claws as it stumbled. Landing with a roll and a shift of his shoulders to change direction Kanin was about to launch forward again, to boot the monster while it was on the back foot from the kick when he saw the little gnome’s staff glowing like a massive torch diving out of the way just as a beam of solid light cut a terrible line from the staff to the beast.

“Young Kanin. Do you think you could do that again? I need a moment to recapture this fiend." Kras requested.

Kanin blinked, not sure how this man knew his name. “Uh…sure…” Kanin leapt for another kick but the monster swung its large hand, Kanin kicked early slamming its palm and the monster’s arm went limp. As if the arm had been shattered in many places it made a sound like an elk trying to howl like a wolf, grabbing the arm and working it back into shape like clay.

“I would suggest you move young man.” Kras said.

Stupidly Kanin turned to see what the old man meant this time when a clawed hand caught his flank and sent him rolling through the snow. “Good enough, well done Kanin.” Kras said. What happened next few saw. Nate, as he held his arm in half sitting half scrambling in the snow, Lanabelle from her window in the house not far away, and young Anika from her hiding spot in the trees. The ground rumbled, and light like ruby fire spilled from the crack the formed as tendrils of red coiled round Der Entführer, dragging him towards and then down the fissure, his claws struggling for any purchase, tearing four long furrows all the way to the edge as he was pulled down down down, it shut leaving no trace.

A moment later Kras was standing over Kanin, “Well done.” he said, offering the man a hand up. Which looked strange because of their vast size difference.

“You are welcome?” Kanin wasn’t sure how to respond.

“You can tell Miss Anika to come over.” he pointed at the trees, “I need to deliver a gift to his house over there.” he pointed to Lanabelle’s home. “Then I will give Anika her present,” he said.

Lanabelle received the book she’d been looking at, a very old famous book by the author Madam Jocelynn, Though Kras didn’t like the material it wasn’t his to read.

Anika received a cartoonish stuffed rabbit and a small bag of sweets.

Kanin had not considered to ask or want for anything so Kras gave him something practical: a new whet stone.
At some point he’d managed to stand and get away, but Nate for his choice of being a ‘bad child’ his only gift was the authorities were not alerted and the gifts he had stolen were returned to where they belonged. Giving him one more chance to not be bad.

“Happy Weihnachten, to all.” Kras waved as he vanished into shimmering light.