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Rhona had slaved over the sweater that she had made Xi-Wang. She had searched for the softest pink shade she could and then agonized over what sweater had the softest fleece inside and the most pleasant-feeling outside. It had to be perfectly comfy and cozy for her little mochi... well, not so little anymore. He now towered over her, and while that wasn't exactly a high bar as it was, still it was odd to her. He had been so small when they met, and certainly, he acted like someone much smaller as well. He reminded her of a large-breed dog, forever convinced that they were the size of a lap dog... the thought was endearing and caused Rhona to smile warmly to herself.

Her little snuggly boy.

Well. Not little anymore.

Still, his penchant for cuddling up to his loved ones had been the inspiration for the felt decoration of his sweater. A steaming mug of hot cocoa with fluffy marshmallows and gold cording glued on in script reading "I wanna hugge you." Really, Xi-Wang was the embodiment of hugge, and if he didn't know what that was already, then it was high time he learned so that he could ascend to his final form.

The hugge master.

Rhona laughed at herself, wrapping the box in festive paper in matching soft baby pink and little teddy bears in Santa hats. Like the sweater, she knew it was just perfect for Xi-Wang. She'd even gotten a little goodie back ready made from that same paper and filled it with different hot chocolates and little treats to eat with a hot mug of cocoa.

Maybe Rhona needed to have a little more chill when it comes to gifts.

But what fun was that?

And so she packed up her gifts and set the tea kettle to boil, eager to meet her friend after so long away.

The kettle in Rhona's kitchen went off at the same time her door did. She quickly took it off the burner and set some tea to steep and then went to answer the door. Of course, she met Xi-Wang with an enormous hug, even if he was a whole six inches taller than she was now.

"Oh god, when did you even get so tall? Well, bend down while you walk through the door, kiddo, don't hit your head." She winked at him as she finally released him from her embrace. "come in, come in! I have something for you and I am just dying to give it so sit down and get ready because it's perfect. If I do say so myself. And I do."

She stepped aside and allowed him in finally and bustled back to the kitchen. The tea had finished steeping by now so she set the pot down on the table with two cups, cream and sugar, and of course Xi-Wang's present. And while she did this, of course, Alois hopped down from his perch and intertwined himself around Xi's legs, chirping to be lifted by the newcomer.

Alois enjoyed what he wanted of Xi-Wang's affections, deciding in this time that he was quite an alright person to have around. Really, another face beside's Rhona's was welcome -- the tomcat needed variety, after all. But, having had enough, he hopped down off of Xi-Wang's lap with a trill and meandered back over to the ,bay window to lounge under the shade of a wide, green leaf and watch the snow fall outside.

By this time, Rhona had emerged from the kitchen with a tray of tea and scones for the two of them along with Xi-Wang's bag of gifts. Before beginning, she set the tray down and served up the tea. Excited as she was, she was still a hostess, and there were things that needed to be attended to. But once she had set down Xi-Wang's steaming mug in front of him she squealed with excitement, bounced a little in her seat, and produced the festive box and bag.

"Oh, I'm just so excited! I made it myself! Well... sort of. I bought the base, but I decked it all out myself. And in the bag is all of the fixins for a quiet evening in with your gift!"

Squealing again, Rhona sat back in her chair and curled up with her own mug, dying to see Xi's reaction to what she had given him.

The first thing Rhona saw was an adorable little piggy face staring out at her from the fabric of the shirt. She made a gleeful sound around a mouthful of tea and wiggled around happily in her chair. Once she swallowed, the muffled sounds turned into full on squealing and Rhona lept to her feet.

"Oh, Xi-Wang this is perfect thank you so much!"

She swooped down to capture the man in yet another bear hug and planted a smooch right on both of his cheeks.

"Oh this is going directly on my body there is just no question!"

And on it went, right over Rhona's bouse. Lucking, the fabric if said blouse was thin enough so as not to cause the garment to be too tight, and Xi-Wang had also bought it several sizes too big. Rhona sat back down and tucked her knees up into the body of the sweater for maximum coziness and dove into the rest of the bag.

"I read somewhere that these coins are lucky, do you think they'd make a good wind chime for the window?"

Wait... had that question... come out as a song? Rhona coughed and touched her throat, her brows knitted into a tight line. She hadn't sung around anyone before... it's not that her singing voice was bad per se. She'd reckon about average but that didn't stop her from being horrendously self-conscious about it. So why was she singing now?

"Red is a... lucky color too... isn't it? Should I use red string?" Saugh paused every few words to try and force herself to speak normally, but to no avail.

"Xi-Wang what the hell is wrong... with... me?"

For a moment, Rhona was distressed. She tried a few more inconsequential statements to test what was going on, and when they all came out sounding like a song, she broke into peels of musical laughter. Even those sounded like a song! Rhona wasn't sure what was happening to her, but she also wasn't sure she really minded. It was... well it was kind of fun! She leaned heavily on the arm of her chair as she laughed, trying to gain control of herself, only to be tickled again by the sounds of her own laughter.

"Oh, I think it's great," Rhona sang on, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "Leave it to this city, I guess! I think it's just this harmless old sweater. And besides," she laughed, playfully smacking Xi-Wang's arm, "It could be worse, it could always be worse here."

But enough was enough, and Rhona wanted to speak normally again. She'd let the sweater sit for a few days and try again later, see if the enchantment or whatever didn't wear off... maybe take it to Katya to have a look at. She tugged on the sleeves to pull her arms out but... nothing. she checked to make sure her watch and bracelet weren't caught on the hems... they weren't. Hell, she wasn't even wearing them today! She tried again and still, the sleeve didn't budge. She tried from the bottom hem and it only came up to about the bottom of her rib cage and then refused to move any higher.

she looked up at Xi-Wang to see if he was seeing what she was seeing... but he was putting on his own sweater.

"Xi-Wang, don't -- !" But it was too late. the boy had already put his on and Rhona broke into another peel of sing-song laughter.

"A bird is better than a donkey," Rhona laughed, "and I've been called that before too!"

And, she noted, though didn't say thing to save Xi from embarassment, he didn't sound too bad either. Now, whether or not that was the magic making both of their voices better than they typcailly were was still up for debate. After all, Rhona didn't typically like the sound of her own singing, limited it only to the shower, the car, and other private spaces. But now... now she didn't sound too bad, she thought.

"Well, if we can't take them off for a while... and if we're going to be sounding like this for that time," she sung-spoke slowly as she rose from her chair, "then we may as well make the most of it!"

Moving swiftly now, Rhona grabbed her coat and Xi's, tossing his over to him and flinging hers over her shoulders.

"Why don't we go on a coffee run, Xi, and serenade people along the way! Get them into the Christmas spirit and all that?"