Anna Petracci, Fantasy Author

Decorating a Christmas tree would be a lot easier if Tigerflight wouldn’t keep making mischief, Windsky thought huffily as her friend once more ran off with one of the jewel fruits they were using as ornaments. 

“Tigerflight!” she scolded. “You bring that back here right now!”  

“You’ll have to catch me first!” he teased in reply.  

Windsky growled, earning her an alarmed look from one of the birds helping the skycats decorate. Tigerflight, venturing nearer, laughed.  

“Well?” he called to her.  

In reply, Windsky sprang at him, a flap of her wings sending her a few feet into the air. Tigerflight laughed in delight, darting away with the ornament following close behind, held by his magic. The chase was on, and it was intense. A couple of times Windsky nearly caught him, but Tigerflight always darted away at the last moment. He was toying with her; they both knew that as clearly as they knew Windsky could’ve ended this long ago if she’d cared to. She didn’t, though. The purewhite skycat was smiling just as wide as her orange-furred, blue-winged companion.  

Even so, Windsky didn’t have quite the appetite for mischief that Tigerflight had, and when their chase came perilously close to knocking over a neatly-piled stack of enchanted lights, she realized it was time to call a halt.  

“Tigerflight, stop,” she called, panting slightly. “I think that’s enough.” 

Tigerflight wasn’t ready to stop just yet, though. He paid little heed to Windsky’s order, instead darting away again, this time toward the nearby beach, still carrying the ruby apple he’d swiped. Windsky’s tail twitched.  

“I said stop!” she shouted.  

“Nope,” Tigerflight called back cheerily.  

Windsky narrowed her eyes, her tail twitching harder. “Well, I did warn him,” she muttered. Her wings pressed to her sides as she concentrated.  

Technically, what Windsky was about to do would probably fall under what her many-times-great grandmother Moonsky would call “frivolous uses of potentially dangerous magic.” However, her mother often said that it was good practice to use her power like this, and Windsky preferred that idea. So, she focused, gathering all her power as she tuned in to the awareness which let her know not only where Tigerflight was, but where he planned to go. Then, when she was completely sure of herself, she acted. 

One moment, Windsky was standing on the thin grass near the shore. The next, she was hurtling through blackness, little points of light shining from all around and calling her toward them. She deliberately ignored their lure, concentrating on the one she knew instinctively led to Tigerflight. All of a sudden, the blackness cleared, and she was tackling Tigerflight as he let out a surprised yelp. Both kits tumbled to the ground, which was thankfully not far below. Windsky took advantage of Tigerflight’s distraction to grab the ruby ornament from his control, shifting it instead to hers as they landed in a tangle of legs and wings. 

“No fair,” Tigerflight complained as he untangled himself from Windsky.  

Windsky shrugged her wings, allowing herself a smug smile. “You would have done the same thing if you were in my place,” she pointed out. 

Tigerflight huffed. 

“Princess, Tigerflight,” a dove called from back by the tree. Both kits exchanged a rather sheepish glance as they turned around. 

“Yes?” they responded in unison. 

“We’re almost done with the decorating,” the dove told them. “Come and help!” 

“We’ll be right there,” Windsky called back, relieved she wasn’t about to get a gentle reminder that the granddaughter of the queen really ought to behave more responsibly.  

Together, Tigerflight and Windsky worked with the birds, squirrels, and one otter to place the last few ornaments and lights on the tree. Tigerflight was only a little mischievous, mostly goofing off by decorating himself (and occasionally Windsky) instead of the tree.  

“I think that’s good,” the dove (who seemed to have become the de facto leader, not including Windsky) declared to the others. “The only thing left is the star.” She glanced around. “Does anyone know where it is?” 

A hunt ensued, ending when the otter discovered the star behind the pile of trimmings they’d removed from the tree before decorating it. The star was a beautiful work of gold, jewels, and glass, all supposed to shine from the inside. It seemed the magic hadn’t held from last year’s decorating, so Windsky relit it. 

“Would you like to do the honors, Princess?” the dove asked her, bobbing her head toward the star.  

“Yes, please!” Windsky replied enthusiastically.  

She gripped the star between her paws (with a little magical help) as she flew up. With the others close behind, she flew toward the tree, only to find something else already decorating the top– or rather, someone. While everyone else had been distracted with the star, Tigerflight had apparently taken it upon himself to replace it as the tree topper.  

“I guess I’m your Christmas angel now,” he teased Windsky, laughing. 

“Apparently, but we need to put the star on top,” she replied. 

“Why?” he responded with a grin. “I’m bright enough, I think.” 

Windsky took a second to think of the right response. “Oh, sure,” she agreed. “We don’t need the star. You can just stay up here without moving until after Christmas. We might miss you when we eat dinner and open presents, though…” 

“You know what, the star’s better,” Tigerflight replied hurriedly. “You go ahead and put it on.” 

He jumped off the top branch, causing the tree to sway as he did so. Circling back, he watched as Windsky waited a moment for the tree to steady before moving from where she’d been hovering. She carefully placed the star on the highest branch, where it settled without difficulty.  

“Does it look straight?” she called to the animals below. Their cheers confirmed that it was.  

Windsky glided back down to the ground, Tigerflight close behind. From here she could see the whole tree; the ornaments, the lights, and the star on top. Come night, its glow would be as clear as the star it represented, the one which had led the wise men to the young Jesus so long ago.  

“I can’t wait till it gets dark,” Tigerflight announced, echoing Windsky’s own feelings. “I’m almost tempted to try and make this area dark just for a little bit. I won’t, though,” he reassured Windsky.  

“Thanks,” she replied. “It’s not too long till night, anyway.” 

“True,” he agreed.  

There was a long pause while the two of them sat in contented silence, admiring the tree. 

Tigerflight was the one to break the silence. “Race you home?” he suggested. “No magic this time.” 

“All right,” Windsky agreed. “Hey! We didn’t say go yet!” 

“Merry Christmas!” Tigerflight called as he sped away toward the glittering castle which could be seen nestled among the mountains in the distance.  

Windsky laughed as she sprang into the air in pursuit. “Merry Christmas!”