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Teetering almost precariously at the top of a remarkably tall and oddly black stepladder, seemingly overdressed in a thick woolen sweater, long colourful scarf and fingerless gloves, Guyy hummed to himself in tune with the voices of the choir that echoed softly between the elegant shelves. The choir sounded as though it was coming from the far side of the Library no matter which end one was at and soon it became apparent that the soft voices, soft enough to not disturb the readers but loud enough to hear, was being piped in through some hidden speaker system. On the top edges of the shelves and wrapped around the tall columns were thick, luxurious garlands of realistic holly and berries. The leaves never prickled when touched and it did not take long for the curious to realise that it was not in fact real but expertly crafted fake holly, shiny red berries and all. Here and there the deep greens and reds were interrupted by a riot of colour and sparkle as the decorator decided to brighten up an area. Thick bundles of mistletoe were dotted between random shelves and near the main doors, much to the delight and embarrasment of those browsing the books.

Guyy himself had been caught out twice by it, both times by regular and well-liked customers. First by the round and red-faced Mrs. White, wife of his favourite baker who had cornered him as he finished decorating the romance section, a favourite of hers. She had insisted on a seasonal kiss and had squeezed his cheeks with good-natured humour before planting a lipsticky kiss on his cheek, much in the same way an aunt does after exclaiming how much you have grown. The second was the old and frail Mrs. Huntington, an avid knitter and delightfully pleasant old lady who had given him a chaste peck on the cheek opposite the red smudge of makeup left by Mrs. White before tottering off towards the massive and finely decorated tree that dominated the heart of the Library. Mostly he enjoyed the amusing scenes his high vantage point gave him.

He glanced around, burning crimson eyes scanning the area briefly for ordinary people. Thankfully none were present and with a wave of his hand his red eyes clouded over black for a moment. Within moments the end of the next garland he intended to fasten to the top of the shelves he was working on was pulled into his hand from one of the many cardboard boxes below him by a black rope that seemed to spin itself out of the air. He secured it to the shelving with a satisfied mutter, blinking his eyes back to their regular colour to properly inspect his handiwork.

He caught a bounding movement out of one corner of his eye. A red ball of fuzz, looking somewhat like a cross between a wolf and a lion cub, was stalking the large electronic Santa that sat nearby the main doors. He watched with amusement for a while until it pounced. The movement set off the motion sensors and the Santa began to laugh and wave. The red bundle squealed in shock and bolted towards him. A long tail caught on a wreath decorated with small jingle bells, further panicking the fleeing fluffball as it jingled and jangled in Guyy's direction. Too late he realised that there was going to be a horrible collision.

The bundle of red fluff sailed into, or rather through, the bottom of the stepladder. With an almost confused puff of shadow the stepladder's supports vanished into thin air. The fleeing beast fell headlong into one of the cardboard boxes littering the area, tipping it upside down and trapping it. Guyy, unfortunately, descended rapidly. With a clatter and thud he landed in one of the large boxes, the one containing the other end of the garland he was stringing. The upside-down box rattled and scuffled along the ground in a small circle before bumping into a shelf and lying still. After a silent pause in which a pair of legs that dangled out of a large box with no body in sight twitched a little helplessly, the upside-down box began to make a few pitiful squeaks of distress.

"Uncle Roobus?"
"Ouch." Said the legs, giving up their movement and resigning themselves to remain stuck upside down and wrapped in Christmas decorations.

Carys puttered around her workroom, working on getting all her Chrismas presents ready. The batch of soap she had made a month or so ago had set and was ready to be broken in to bars, but she wanted to finish the lotions to go with it. This year she had decieded to make pine scented soaps and candles. It seemed a little trite, but it was a wintery scent, and gender nuetral. She could have made two batches of everything, but she wanted to see how people reacted to getting soap for Christmas. If it went over well, she would make two batches next year.

She also had a batch of bayberry candles cooling in molds. She intended to give one to every one, along with a note about her faimly tradition of leaving one lit untill it burned out on its own Christmas night for good luck the coming year. Having finished putting the last of the completed lotion into the squeezable containers she had purchased specifically for this purpose, she looked up at the clock. Realizing it was well past time she ate, she made her way to the kitchen for some bread and cheese, and an apple. She looked around the empty room, and decied that she wanted some company. She headed up to the main library, hoping to find someone.

When she arrived, she stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the snack area in the front. She was half way there when she noticed the fallen step ladder and the large box with two legs sticking out of it. She waited a minute but the legs made no motions to get out of the box, so she went over to see if assistence was needed. When she looked in she saw Guyy lying tangled in a garland. She winced, and seeting her food down, offered her hand asking "Need some help?"