Complete Private Xmas Express Delivery

[Luthien]

She had received the notification last night that the last gift to have been mailed had been delivered to its location. A note had been added within the package for Ronja to call her once she’d received it, nothing bold when compared to the big letters that the blonde had scribbled over the box she’d shipped Dayeon… but that call had never arrived.

The morning had greeted Val with zero missed calls, or even a message from the brunette, so after breakfast and exchanging gifts with Ari and Nico the girl had finally excused herself for a moment and dipped into her boyfriend’s room. "I hope it didn’t get ruined on the way…" She found the contact among her favorites, hesitating for a moment as Valeria wondered if perhaps it’d be best to text the girl instead, before finally pressing on Ronja’s name and initiating the call.

Riiing… riiing… riiing…

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja was finishing gluing one last piece of the small structure of popsicles sticks she had been working on since the morning. Her desk was covered with all sorts of tools and materials, ranging from partially cut papers, beads, glues and every sort of thing one could imagine.

As she was just about to put the last piece, the door's knob clicked, and it opened, making Ronja turn her gaze toward it.

"Hello, Lena..." Ronja smiled faintly to the maid.

"Greetings." She bowed, carrying a box on her freehand. "Delivery, Ms. Riemenschneider." The maid showed placed the box by the desk, with clear signs that it had been opened.

Ronja looked at it, rather surprised, then gazed up to the maid. "You should stop opening my packages..." She shook her head in disapproval.

"It could've been something dangerous." Lena said, assertively. "Like a bomb, or something poisonous." She looked at Ronja for a moment. "It isn't." She said, turning away to get past the door. "Call me if you need, Ms. Riemenschneider." She said, leaving the room.

Ronja sighed, stretching to reach for the package and noticing the message, blinking and wrapping her arm around the package, sliding the wheeled chair near the bed so she could get on it and place the box next to her just in time for her phone to ring.

"Oh..." Her cheeks warmed, along with a smile as she accepted the call.

"Hey Val!" She said, cheerfully.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The box itself was pretty standard, measuring 12” by 14 ⅛“ in size. Inside seemed to be something of equal size, wrapped in as much bubble wrap as Valeria had been able to put into it while still ensuring it could actually fit into the mailing box. The note within was clearly handmade and, while it had seen better days, had arrived in mostly good condition.

 

𝑀𝑒𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒳𝓂𝒶𝓈, 𝑅𝑜𝓃𝒿𝒶!

 

I was sad you weren’t able to spent time with us in Hawaii… so I tried bringing a little bit of Hawaii to you instead~​

Call me when you get this!​

𝒳𝒪𝒳𝒪, 𝒱𝒶𝓁​

"Hey Val!"
"Merry Christmas!"

She couldn’t help the wide smile that pulled at her lips upon hearing the cheerful voice of the girl on the other side of the call, the joy she felt easily slipping into her voice as the blonde spoke. "Wanted to check in and make sure USPS didn’t destroy the gift I sent ya~"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Merry Christmas!" She returned the greeting.

"I've just received it... Lena gave it to me." Ronja admitted, holding the box that was given to her with both curiosity and desire to see what was inside of it as her eyes brimmed.

It was the first time in a long while since she had received a gift from a friend. From family, they were always plentiful, but from a friend, an actual friend, was something that made something bubble in her chest in a way she couldn't quite describe.

As she picked up the note, she gave a rapid glance at it before finally opening and reading it carefully.

"Aww...Val, you... I want to hug you." She said, feeling warm for her friend's thoughtfulness.

She hadn't felt particularly bad for not being able to tag along, but the care Valeria offered was something that made Ronja's heart melt.

"I can... Already take guesses of what you gave me..." She mused, pausing for a moment. "Do you want me to activate the video?" She asked.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Phew," A relieved sigh escaped in a single breath, Valeria was already aware of how protective the maid could be towards ehr charge—understandable given the circumstances and whatnot—and a small part of her had been worried the package might never reach the brunette. "Glad to hear it passed the Lena checkpoint~"

"Aww...Val, you... I want to hug you." The words caused a beaming smile to spread on her lips, contentment filing her chest and coloring her voice. "I’ll give you the biggest hug when we login to play later tonight, ‘kay?"

"I can... Already take guesses of what you gave me..."
"Oooh? I’m curious so go on and guess first, hopefully I didn’t give the surprise away in the note."

She knew the brunette was on the shyer side, and as such the blonde was never as forward with Ronja like she was with Dee and Nico. Instead she allowed the brunette to dictate what she was comfortable with whenever they spoke, though the second Ronja suggested switching to a video call the blonde pushed the option on her device with zero hesitation.

"Absolutely!" It wasn’t long before the familiar face of the blonde displayed on Ronja’s phone, waving at her friend with a bright smile on her lips. "Getting to see your reaction live is the best gift I could hope for~"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja giggled at Luthien's optimism regarding Lena, rolling her eyes slightly. "Don't be glad, there shouldn't have any checkpoint." She protested, albeit well humoured as she picked up her phone. "I missed the count of how many times I've told her that it wouldn't make sense for someone to deliver bombs to me." At that point, the girl didn't know if it was overprotectiveness or outright paranoia.

"Hmm, considering it is from hawaii..." Ronja pondered for a moment with her index resting on her lower lips, as her own face flashing on Valeria's phone as she appeared, this time not in an awkward outfit like the last time in that unexpected video call.

"Some sea shells and a hula costume?" She guessed, with a tone that hinted it was a bit of a joke as she placed her phone on a holder to stabilize it, before then scooting closer to her desk that appeared on the background of the video, filled with several crafting tools and the funny structure of poscicles sticks.

Her hands traced the tools, taking an utiltiliy knife and fidgeting it on a hand dexteriously as she approached and rested her free hand on the box. "Alright... Can you see me? And your... Very nice box?" She asked, patting the box.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"It’s alright, Lena’s just a very concerned mother hen." Granted, there was truth to the brunette’s words as she spoke, and Valeria could only imagine how stifling the maid’s overprotectiveness probably was to the German girl… but at least Lena cared about the well being of her friend, even if she sometimes dipped into the extreme. "Just means I gotta work harder so she can approve of our friendship~"

An airy laughter rang through the air as Val listened to Ronja’s first guess, the face of her friend now displayed on her phone. "Oh nooo, you’ve caught me…!" Her words were light and mirthful as the blonde set the device down on the night table, angled enough so that she would still be visible for Ronja.

"Mhmm, I can see you well." She gave Ronja the universal okay sign, now sitting at the edge of the bed as she watched the girl pick up a utility knife, before shrugging her shoulders softly as Ronja commented on the box’s niceness.

"That’s on me, I should’ve checked their shipping sizes before deciding on your gift's… yeah." She barely stopped herself from giving Ronja a clue, a relieved sigh escaping her lips before Val continued. "The prettier boxes didn’t come in the size I needed them."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"She doesn't need to approve anything." Ronja shook her head. "... But I think we will need to at least convince that you are all very wonderful." She smiled faintly, honestly preferring that they didn't need to go through this. But she understood it was probably partially her parents' fault for being overprotective as well, and encouraging Lena to do this sort of thing.

Ronja giggled at Valeria playing along with her guess, and a smirk crossed her lips when it seemed her friend almost had slipped what the gift was about.

"Well, let's not linger much longer then..." She said, resting the blade on the box and carefully tracing it to slit it open.

Ronja was rather dexterous, despite the lack of physical constitution, and soon she had the gift open, looking at Valeria for a moment and letting the air of suspense and curiosity linger for a moment before finally peeking at the open box one last time, trying to take one last internal guess before pulling out the gift, for both her and Valeria to see it.

@Luthien (Show iiit)

 

[Luthien]

"I know… but can you blame them?" Given Ronja’s circumstances, and also her family’s wealth status, it wasn’t hard to understand why they watched over the brunette so zealously. "You’ll see, the gang will win them over in no time~"

Her words brimmed with confidence, not a single trace of doubt found in her voice because Valeria was certain of it. Sooner or later (though hopefully sooner) her family would see that Ronja’s friends only wanted the best for the girl, with Nico being at the forefront of it all.

"Hahaha, alright have at it." It was clear that Ronja was curious as to what surprise the box held, the blonde finally nodding in agreement before watching the brunette carefully open it with the assistance of her utility knife. "Be honest when you see it, I wanna know if you truly like it."

It took a few moments as Ronja was careful with her movements, not wishing to accidentally ruin whatever lay within the box wrapped in so much bubble wrap. As the brunette finally pulled the object out she probably began to realize what it was, a myriad of colors somewhat noticeable through the protective layers, before she started to work on removing that last cover to reveal her christmas present.

​

"It’s not m-much," There was a light nervousness that seeped into her voice now as the gift was revealed, a sheepish smile on her lips as she spoke. "There’s a cool hillside spot that Ari showed me while we were in Hawaii, the view from it was absolutely stunning, but I might’ve taken s-some liberties with the colors…"

To the bottom left of the 11" x 14" canvas Ronja would be able to see the title for the artwork, ”A Sunrise in Hawaii” along with today’s date and the blonde’s signature.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja rose an eyebrow and nodded to Valeria. "Yes, I can!" She said firmly, but with a tone that hinted a joke of her part. Of course she understood her conditions, and being a whole continent away from her family probably made them sick worried every day.

Her rebellious expression then shifted to something calmer, and she smiled. "Someday, I will talk to them properly about it... But they are a little stubborn." She sighed.

Pushing that topic aside, Ronja focused on the gift, with Valeria's words making Ronja even more curious as she pulled out the frame, squinting when noticing the blurred colors and blinking in surprise at them.

It was enough time for her to take another guess, carefully opening the last few layers of protection until the painting finally revealed itself. Ronja's mouth half opened for a moment, with her eyes tracing it up and down. The colors were mesmerizing, lacking any regard to the reality, and bringing a more emotional expression of the landscape, rather than just a reproduction of it.

Yet, what truly caught Ronja's attention was Valeria's words, that implied- "You made this..?" Ronja stared at her friend, rather surprised... But above anything, fairly happy.

"It looks great..." Ronja averted her gaze back to the painting.

There were barely no palpable things that her family or Ronja herself couldn't buy, and that included pieces of art. But this one was different. It was made to her, and because someone wanted to make her something to her, someone special too, a friend.

Her gaze lingered on the painting, letting out a brief, cheerful sigh as she caressed the frame.

"I love it, Val... I will treasure it." Ronja turned to look to her friend. "I didn't even know you painted... We should do it together, someday."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The blonde watched with nervous excitement as the brunette carefully unwrapped the framed canvas, a hand on her mouth as she barely resisted the urge to bite the nail on her thumb and release some of her worries. It had been a long time since she’d last painted, or did anything arts & crafty geared as presents for people she cared about.

"You made this..?" The surprise in Ronja’s words was hard to miss, causing the girl to give the girl a sheepish smile and a soft "M-Mhmm...!" in response.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips as a soft "It looks great, I love it, Val... I will treasure it." echoed through the speakers of her phone, causing the blonde’s chest to bubble in happiness as Ronja gazed back at the painting—the brunette’s face said more than words ever could.

"Y-Yeah, I always liked keeping my hands busy growing up…" There was something special about being able to create something with your own two hands, whether it was music or physical trinkets and costumes. "It'd been a while since I pulled my easel out of storage, but I’d love to paint something with you one day~"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

It was impressive that her friend had such a wonderful artistic skill, which was an unexpected similarity they shared. Ronja had never befriended a fellow artist, at least not at a level that real life information had been exchanged between them.

"It is the best way to grow up, truly." Ronja giggled, feeling the similarities only growing, almost as if they were happy coincidences.

She just couldn't stop holding the painting, struggling to divide her attention between Valeria and the piece of art that had something new to observe every time she glanced at it, until she eventually gave up and kept her eyes on it, looking it inch by inch, half-dreaming as she reminded herself of every picture they had sent.

The smile of each one of them, even from those she didn't have the opportunity to talk as much as she wished.

"You really had a lot of fun there, hadn't you?" She asked, already knowing the answer, after all... "There is a lot of passion in this painting..." Ronja looked at Valeria again.

"Next time, if it isn't a problem, I will try to go with you all..." She said. "And then we can paint together, so we can show everyone how much fun we had."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"It is the best way to grow up, truly." The smile remained on her lips, though the vibrancy of it had diminished slightly, as Valeria nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it’s really cool to breathe life into ideas that cross your mind."

Having seen the look on Dee’s face as she’d unwrapped her handmade biscuit cushions, and now Ronja as the brunette seemed unable to keep her eyes away from the painting for more than a few moments, helped remind the girl that the skills she’d learned growing up were actually pretty cool… even if she’d initially picked them up for the wrong reasons. A soft giggle escaped as Ronja finally gave in, her eyes now fully focused on the artwork she held, and the blonde’s smile brightened again.

"Hm-mm,no problem at all. I’d love for you to go with us next time." A certain pinkett crossed Val’s mind for the briefest of moments then, earning a light chuckle from the girl as she added. "I’ll even bring a few bribe snacks for Nico too, keep her happy for a couple of hours while we paint~"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja gave an approving smile to Valeria's words, with it only growing as she went on saying she would love to have her in their next trip. She did wish to be with the others at some point, in person and not for emergency reasons like the first time she had met Nico.

"Does she misbehave too much at trips? I may try to put her on her place next time, at least she didn't misbehave when we met." Ronja said, pondering for a moment.

"I'm pretty sure she will want to watch us doing it anyway, at least knowing how curious she can get..." The girl hummed, but soon she shrugged, not giving the idea too much thought about it before returning her attention to Valeria.

"Thank you again for the gift, Val..." Ronja said, resting the painting next to her. "I will make sure to retribute this someday."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I wouldn’t say she misbehaves... okay, maybe a little actually." She tried to defend the pinkett’s name, though it proved to be quite the arduous task as a chuckle escaped her lips. "She’s very spirited, I think that’s the best description I can give."

Not that the blonde minded it, if anything Nico’s antics could be quite the source of entertainment… though there was a moment the first day where Valeria had honestly feared Ari and Nico would end up physically fighting on the kitchen floor. When the brunette mentioned putting the gremlin in her place the next time Valeria couldn’t help the way her eyebrows arched up in equal amounts of surprise and curiosity, an impish grin on her lips. "Can’t wait to see that happen~"

Ronja’s words caused an idea to spark in the girl’s mind, a soft hum escaping as Valeria weighed it for a few moments. "Y'know, maybe we can do a painting session between all of us.That’d be fun to do on a trip, right?" She wasn’t sure how artistically inclined Ari, Dayeon and Nico were—but the blonde was willing to bet it would be a memorable experience.

"Don’t mention it," The smile remained on her lips as she spoke, shaking her head softly. "Like I said, seeing how much you liked it is plenty enough for me~"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"What it is, after all?" Ronja laughed at Valeria's attempt to defend Nico, though at the same time, she couldn't help but envy her friend. She knew far more about Nico than Ronja did, she got to talk to her plenty, to enjoy her time with her far more times.

"It will be worth it." She winked, feeling a smirk growing in her lips as she thought how to be a bit mischievous to Nico, making her have to behave in front of others... or if she couldn't manage it, she could witness Nico being a brat, so it was a win-win.

"With all of us? That could be amazing, actually..." Ronja's eyes filled with joyful sparkles, loving the idea of all of them sharing a same painting. "It will probably be a mess, but it sounds... Extremely fun."

Even if some of them didn't know how to paint, it would still be fine. In fact, it could create something unique, that only someone new to it could bring to the table.

@Luthien @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

"It will be worth it."
"I’ll be sure to have popcorn ready then when the time comes~"

If someone could probably curb Nico’s gremliness it was probably the brunette on the other side of this call, a soft chuckle escaping the blonde at the thought. It was truly unfortunate that almost all of them all lived so far away from one another, and yet the distance alone hadn’t been enough to prevent their paths from crossing and weaving together.

"Right?!" The joyful look in Ronja’s eyes was quickly reflected back in her own amber gaze, happy to see that her friend was equally fond of the idea Valeria had proposed. "It’d be really fun to see what everyone ends up creating."

The sound of Nico’s voice caused Val to look at the wall that connected with the living room, a soft exhale escaping her lips before she turned to look back at Ronja with a sheepish smile. "Better get goin’, I think Nico wanted us to go somewhere today… I’ll share pics in our group chat, since we both know she’s not the best at remembering to take them."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Enjoy the show." Ronja chuckled at Valeria's plans for whenever Nico got to be bonked.

"It will be very fun, I am sure they will create really fun things!" While the excitement for the eventual collective painting was hyping Ronja up, it seemed like their call was reaching for an end, especially with Valeria having other plans.

"Oh, it is fine, you shouldn't let her wait." She nodded, knowing very well how impatient Nico could be, even if she sometimes wasn't the most reliable on schedules. "Do take a lot of them, please." She chirped.

"And next time, remember the hug I am in debt with you." Ronja giggled, raising her hand too wave a brief goodbye before the call ended.

She turned to look at the piece of art once again, taking a hold of it and looking around her room.

She needed to make it be on a very special spot.

@Luthien