Most of the primary decorations were complete now, with only one remaining centerpiece to handle. Vanessa would be using that spot for a special individual, however, and had elected to rest a day or two until the night before. At least, until she re-examined the lore behind this ‘Santa’ individual, taking note of a plate of cookies, as well as a glass of milk, set upon the table within the picture.


“Could this be necessary too?” she asked, unsure. Drawing a blank on this affair, she summoned two individuals, Zoro and Maai, from their personal time together. Zoro had acted as Maai’s cushion for the fall, although this meant that the former was slightly dazed.


“We’re friends, right?” Vanessa asked the duo, hesitant. Maai looked up, as did Zoro when he recovered, and the two nodded.


“I mean, you gave us the spellbook,” Maai said. “And you probably could do worse to us if you wanted.”


“But please don’t,” Zoro added. Vanessa merely waved this off.


“I need your help, you two,” she said. “I need a batch of cookies and milk for the ritual, and I’ll need you two to act as them for a couple of days.”


Zoro narrowed his eyes. “We won’t be eaten, will we?” he asked.


“I don’t know,” Vanessa admitted. “This is my first time doing this. But I’ll recover you either way.”


Zoro sighed. “Alright, I guess I’ll bite,” he said. “Maai, do you want to be the milk and I’ll be the cookies?”


“That sounds pretty nice,” Maai agreed.


Vanessa behaved herself and did not say the lewd comment she was going to say, but gave a nod. “It’s one per day for me,” she explained. “So Maai, you’ll be turned into milk tomorrow. You can stay the night if you want.”


Maai nodded. Zoro, meanwhile, stood on a large plate Vanessa conjured up, waiting. “So how would this work?” he asked. “Would you be baking me?”


“Nothing so simple,” Vanessa said. She concentrated, zapping Zoro with a single finger. He could hear a small clatter from under him, and he felt unstable, his limbs not as balanced as before.


Looking down, he could see his body breaking down into individual cookies, piece by piece, dropping onto the plate in an ever-growing pile. His eyes widened, mostly from surprise, as he felt his body condense into hardened dough, complete with small chocolate chips adorning the top. He bet he tasted delicious.


Eventually enough of him broke down, and he was entirely a massive plate of cookies, to be served to Santa upon his arrival. Vanessa held the tray carefully, in consideration.


“I suppose this is his offering,” she said. Maai, however, was unsure what she was talking about.


“You’re referring to how Santa goes down the chimney and eats the cookies and milk?” she asked. “Because that’s not an offering, that’s just a tradition.”


“Aren’t they the same thing?”


“Not quite,” Maai said, shrugging. “It’s just a fun thing families do to celebrate the season, you know? There’s no ritual to it, it’s just...for fun.”


And she went upstairs to choose a room for the night, leaving Vanessa standing, staring at the decorations she had set up. It wasn’t a ritual? Then...What did she do all this for? 


No, this wasn’t right, it couldn’t be. She had gone too far to give up now. Only two more days left, and she would see for herself.