Christmas and Coming of Age (Brooke, Tristan, Aurelia, Caleb)

25th December had come with surprising speed, and before she knew it, it had arrived as a beautiful winter's day. The ground outside was littered in a fine white powder that covered everything like a blanket. It was still dark outside, and the sun had no plans of getting out of bed for at least another hour. Stepping out into the darkness, she took a deep breath of the chilled air, a breeze barely grazing her skin as she walked towards the gazebo, leaving soft footprints behind her.

She had requested to have a combined birthday and Christmas celebration, and so the 21st had gone by uneventful, without so much as a cake, for which she was thankful. Turning of age was usually a big deal for magical folks like herself, but all her birthday served was a reminder that she had lost her virginity before she could even perform magic outside of school. With a soft sigh, she took a seat on one of the couches, turning to watch the ocean. In the light of the waning gibbous, the water glowed in a pale light, mirroring not only the rays of the reflected sun, but the stars that had come out to play. It was a cloudless night, and so the twinkling masses were plenty, and the sight welcoming to Brooke. The gentle crashing of the waves against the shore were soothing and pleasant to the ears, but they did nothing to calm the queasiness that she felt. Christmas was supposed to be a time of joy, but she didn't feel that. School would start soon, which meant that she would have to face ... Josh. As usual, the name made her shiver, even though the gazebo was always kept at a constant temperature via the use of a climate control spell that her father had cast upon the finishing of its construction.

It's about damn time I got over what happened, she thought to herself, picking up a nearby pillow and hugging it tightly. The past is the past and I can't change it, so why should I let it keep me from enjoying the rest of my life? Sighing, she closed her eyes, mentally going through the plans for the day and preparing herself for any social interactions she had. Her grandparents were coming down, and, for obvious reasons, they were not told about what happened to her.

A light shuffling noise broke her out of her thoughts and she grinned slightly. Taking out her wand, she twirled it around in her fingers for a few moments before pointing it towards the entrance of the gazebo and muttering "Rictusempra," her very first act of magic outside of school.

"N-n-not f-f-fair," a giggling voice pleaded, and Brooke laughed along with it, ending the spell with another flick of her wand. She was beginning to grow quite attached to it, and was pleased to find that it was significantly more powerful than her last one.

"You shouldn't have tried sneaking up on me," she teased, motioning for Tristan to join her, which he did after sending a glare in her direction. A few moments of silence passed before they began in earnest conversation, taking about anything and everything until the sun had risen. He was proving a good distraction for Brooke, and even though pretending everything was perfectly fine hurt, she was getting better, whether she realized it or not.

As they made their way back to the house to greet their parents, there was a slight chill in the air, but it was overpowered by the gentle rays produced by the sun, which was just warm enough to keep whoever braved the outside from feeling the cold without melting the delicate snowflakes. They entered the house, leaving their boots outside and went to the kitchen, where they - with some help from Brooke's wand - made a simple breakfast. Placing the plate of food and a cup of coffee on two trays, they carried them, one each, to their parents room.

Caleb cracked one eye open and saw the first rays of sunlight peeking through the curtains. It promised to be a beautiful day indeed. He felt something stirring by his side. Looking down, he chuckled softly when he realized that Aurelia had snuggled up closely to him for warmth and was buried beneath the covers. Pulling up the blankets, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her temple.

"Come on, Relia. Time to wake up. The kids will be waiting," he whispered, a hint of amusement in his tone. He knew how much his wife hated waking up in the morning. She treasured her sleep.

Aurelia moaned and curled up in response. "Five more minutes," she mumbled with her sleep filled voice.

Caleb chuckled. An idea popped into his head. In one quick movement, he threw the blanket off completely as an evil smirk teased his lips.

"Noooo," Aurelia complained. She shuddered at the sudden lack of warmth. Turning around, she beat her fists into Caleb's chest. "Oh, you evil, evil man!" Caleb only let out a loud guffaw. When he began lifting his hands, her eyes widened in horror. "No. No. No Don't you dare --"

She was too late. His fingers found her waist and he began tickling her until she was screaming and laughing. Trying to avoid his fingers, she rolled to the edge of the bed intending to rise up. She underestimated the space left and fell right to the floor.

"Ow." Her whole right side was stinging from where she hit the floor.

"I trust you are fully awake now?" Caleb teased, looking down at her. She just responded with a glare. Just then, the door opened to reveal Brooke and Tristan standing there holding two trays of what could only be breakfast.