"Maybe. Who knows what's in them." It's on the tip of Arie's tongue to tell him about the necklace, but what would she even say? Some sick fuck thought the sister who let him go would be a better caretaker than you? Besides... the fewer people know about it, the easier it will be to keep safe, right? He should know about it if anyone does, but if she doesn't say anything now, she can still say something later. If she does, she can't unsay it. And it had seemed almost frightened, somehow, at the presence of even another part of the same soul. It wants to stay with her, and for once, she's going to let it.
Ethan has carefully made his way over to take some of the cookies from the table, watching Mutt uncertainly.
The gifts that Mutt found last night are still sitting on the table, so he picks one up and looks at the tag. It has his name on it, so... He shoots a glance at Arie, then starts peeling off the wrapping paper.
Mutt grins, not realizing that that might unsettle Ethan. "The cookies are good," they say, lifting up the one they're eating.
Nul, what falls from the package is... it's... it's soft, like someone took the sweetest, most tender dream you could think of and wove it into fabric...
Nul presses his face into the fabric without thinking. It smells faintly of...something warm, something safe.
The scarf changes in colour, slowly, until settling into pale, calming shades of silver and gray, with hints of iridescence here and there. Pulling it into his hands reveals a second part to his gift - an amber bottle, small and plain, with a note tucked into its' mouth.
Ask for protection, and you will receive it. A gem clinks from the paper, settling to rest on the table.
Well, he's pretty sure that he won't want whatever protection is being offered. Wasn't Mica offered protection? It didn't do him any good, and Nul doesn't feel like testing his luck. He sets down the paper and the bottle and looks to see what Arie has to say.
"It looks good," she says, dubiously. "What does that say...?" She peers over and reads the note, then lets out a brief bitter almost-laugh.
"What? What's going on?" Mutt comes back over and looks at the scarf, then at Arie, then back at the gift still on the table. "Is this one mine?" When Nul nods, they tear off the paper.
A knife falls into Mutt's hands, along with a new pair of boots and matching gloves and coat. The knife is a small, gorgeous companion to the first the Queen have them.
They're going to have to find a sheath for the new knife; it deserves better than the ones they have right now. Or maybe - yes! There's a pocket in the coat that fits it perfectly. They bounce up and down on the balls of their feet, grin wider than before.
That's quite a bit to fit into a package no bigger than hers or Nul's. "Is there a note?" Arie presses.
There's a piece of paper in one of the other pockets. They stare at it for a few moments before handing it over to Arie.
To match the other one. Use it wisely, and guard those close to your heart. You have much to live up to. Be still, be silent, be secret... and make every time you draw this blade count.
