> The little girl is not sure how it was done, but before she can say "Jack
> Frost", she's sitting in a big stuffed chair in front of a roaring fire,
> with a cup of tea in her hand.
She gurgles with happinesss.
> "Just rest for a bit. You *poor thing*! You must be half-frozen after
> hiding in that bush! How long were you out there, honey? Don't worry
> about a thing. We can arrange something for rent later. To be quite
> honest, I've been admiring your clothes, and wonder if you could whip
> something up for me for the Christmas party? -- call it even?" Poly's
> clothing situation has been getting very grim for awhile, and she's sick
> of everything she has...
The little girl has been watching Martha Stewart on the old TV in the
Chatsubo and has some festive ideas.
>
> The place quiets down again after the excitement of receiving a visiter, a
> *grrrl*, too -- very rare. In the half-light of winter twilight, snow
> begins to fall, building up quickly, covering the lawn and flamethrower
> turrets, and any gargoyles sitting still too long on the roof...
>
> Inside, all is warm and bright.
The little girl tweezes her toes back and forth and peers around with
interest. She tastes her tea--cinnamon? and her fingernails turn from
blue to pink.
"This is very good," she says to Sweet Poly. She's stopped shivering and
taken off her plastic raincoat (which, truth be told, was of little use in
this part of the world). The stealth bombers on her suit are ruined, but
one of them is starting to look like a biplane, and the little girl knows
that if she's patient, the suit will do something new.
She gives Poly and the punks a big grin, and there are spaces where
several of her baby teeth were.
"May I have a candy cane?" she asks.
Julia
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