24. Chapter 24

Before they knew it, the celebration was in full swing.

Aromas from the kitchens wafted into the hallways and sitting areas, invoking

hunger and causing people to look around, hoping for hors d'oeuvres.

They were not disappointed for waiters appeared bearing

trays. Music suddenly filled the air as the band began to play, and in a matter

of moments, the entire lodge was alive with excitement, happiness and

celebration. The band was comprised of a local group that had performed at the

lodge many a time. Never had they done so with such acclaimed guests, and had

been given instructions that it should be quite formal.

Bengali wandered downstairs and began placing his gifts

under the various trees. He felt hands upon his backside. Hoping it was Galina

and not the brunette waitress that had been giving him suggestive looks over

the last day and a half, he looked over his shoulder and was pleased to see his

girl behind him.

“Wassap shugah?”

“Gali, you better be careful, or I’ll carry you upstairs and

we’ll miss the party.”

“Mmmm, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She ground her hips

against him which was distracting with him trying to carefully arrange the

presents on top of each other.

"Gali...please...do you mind?" Ben chuckled then straightened once he was

finished and gave a long whistle.

"Damn babe, you look good enough to eat!"

“Oh, and I am certainly... on the menu." She leaned in and kissed him.

Bengali kissed her back and raised a hand passing it through

her white curls. "You are

incredibly beautiful..." He sighed

happily. "I'm truly glad we came on

this trip...Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes, I'd enjoy it much more if you took me upstairs

and..."

They were interrupted by Tygra and Rangerkitty who suddenly

appeared at the base of the stairs. Bengali already had Galina in his arms and

the orange tigers could both sense their friends’ intensions.

Rangerkitty sighed. “Guys, I get it, but can you hold out a

bit? This is a tradition and we are a part of it. Can you hang on for another

half hour?”

Galina scowled and Bengali grinned. "Sure Ranger."

The white tigress grumbled. "No fair."

Bengali caressed his mate’s face. Surely you can hold out for

half an hour or so can't you? Afterwards

you'll have me all to yourself. He

sent. Aloud to RK he grinned. "No problem Ranger...I think we can do

that."

"I'll try. But

if you see me checking out anyone else, know it's an invitation to jump

me."

He took a deep breath. "I'll register that."

The Sh'iars appeared and descended the staircase; all eyes

were focused on the handsome couple:

Argo bedecked in black and white while his wife was dressed befitting

that of a queen. Bengali gulped at the

sight of Crystalandra's outfit. It was a

colourful all- in-one pantsuit except it was missing material in strategic

areas namely the chest and sides. He

couldn’t help but wonder how the hybrid was able to keep the outfit from

falling from her body!

Crys wandered by the white tiger and smiled provocatively,

seeing how nervous she had made him.

"Double edged

sticky tape.” She whispered sweeping a graceful hand through her mistletoe

adorned mane.

"W-what?"

He stuttered not sure he heard correctly. The she-cat merely grinned, "Hey Galina,

I love your outfit...How come you've covered up your belly button? That's not like you."

"I can't compete

with this!" Galina exclaimed observing the Sh’iar queen in the center of

the room. She turned to leave when Rangerkitty grabbed her by the arm.

"And by the way,

yes you can." She led Galina to a white tree that was lit with blinking

lights. She indicated to a package underneath.

"What is that?

What are you showing me?"

The white tigress muttered.

"This is for

you, from me. You are my best friend, and I wanted to give you something

special.”

"What is it?

"Open it!"

Galina did, and as it became apparent, she squealed in

delight! "Where did you find this?"

“Tygra did, and he showed it to me, and I freaked out and

Bengali helped me craft it.”

Galina was stunned and speechless as she pulled the silver

chain from its box. Dangling at the base was a sapphire crystal that had been

cut into sharp and long facets. She dangled it in the air to watch the light

play in its angles, and then looked at her best friend.

“It’s so beautiful, and so are you.”

“Tease.”

Galina leaned in and gave Rangerkitty a short but sweet kiss

on the mouth. They smiled at each other then looked at their friends to see

Tygra, Argo and Bengali, all who seemed to be panting and watching with desire.

Galina winked and shrugged a shoulder in a provocative way;

RK blushed and touched her lips with her hand. She reached around Galina and

fastened the jewel around her neck and let it rest upon her chest. “It matches

your eyes.”

“Well then, you need to open my gift too.”

Argo had a difficult time tearing his eyes away from the

tigresses when the sound of laughter, Crys’ laughter, to be exact, reached his

ears. He turned—his smile quickly became

a scowl at the sight of his wife who was being surrounded by the male

staff. While some were clamouring for a

chance to sneak a quick kiss from the ravishing she-cat due to the fact she had

mistletoe laced throughout her long mane, others were waiting in the wings to

offer Crys treats from their plates. The

Tymperian chefs had delivered a scrumptious, mouth-watering array of delicacies

for the entire lodge along with personalized treats for everyone.

The Tiglon rushed

over and taking hold of his wife’s elbow he steered her away from the

group. “Hey I was having fun!” She protested, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Crystalandra,” He whispered not wanting to make a

scene. “Why don’t you come with me…I

want to give you your present.”

Her lavender eyes sparkled merrily, “You got me a

gift?” Crys kissed the corner of his

mouth. “You didn’t have to Lee; I really

wasn’t expecting anything from you.”

“Liar…You would have skinned me alive if I didn’t…” Argo replied laughing; he guided her to a

beautiful multi-coloured tree with gold-star ornaments.

“Your present is there…The small purple one wrapped with the

blue bow.”

“Purple, my favourite colour,” She bent to retrieve it from

under the tree; the Tiglon decided it would be better if he did since he was

concerned that no matter how much double-sided sticky tape she used on her

garment, her ample breasts might pop out (and he definitely did not want that

to happen—especially not here).

“Here my queen…Allow me to fetch it for you.” Argo said with great flourish.

He squatted giving the females in the room watching a

generous view of his nicely rounded derriere.

Straightening, Argo handed the dainty package over to his mate, “Happy

Winter Solstice!”

Crys eagerly ripped open the gift all the while wondering

what the Tiglon could have possibly gotten her; she gave a loud gasp of

surprise when she saw what was inside…It was a crystal snow angel pendant with

an amethyst stone. The she-cat sucked in

her breath, “Oh Lee…It is beautiful!”

“You are my snow angel and to me it signifies my undying

love for you…If you notice, it is in two pieces.”

“Really?” Crys asked

taking it out and examining it.

“Here…” Argo took the

pendant from his wife showing her. “This

part of the halo which houses the stone separates becoming a ring…” He slipped it onto the finger of her left

hand. “So you can wear it either way as

a necklace or a ring…”

“Thank you Lazhu…I love it!”

She whispered kissing him lustily; Crys pulled away grinning. “I have something for you as well.”

“You do? Now I wonder

what it could be?”

Crys’ smile grew broader.

“I had a devil of time figuring out what to get you then it dawned on

me…It’s in an envelope under the tree…You can’t miss it…Look for a deep blue

coloured envelope.”

Intrigued, Argo immediately spied it and pulled it out. “I honestly wasn’t expecting anything from

you…”

“Well, now we are even…Go ahead…Open it!”

He shook the envelope hearing a rattling noise from

within. “Cute—What is it a noise maker?”

“Just open it!” Crys

exclaimed feeling her frustration mounting as her mate tossed his unopened gift

playfully from hand to hand.

Laughing, Argo finally ripped the envelope open and a set of

gold keys fell out onto his palm, he raised a questioning eyebrow, “What’s

this?”

The she-cat took a deep breath. “I have spoken to the proprietor and have

made arrangements for us to spend our vacations here at the lodge…I’ve seen how

much you enjoy snowboarding and the different snow activities…Well, the least I

could do was to give you the opportunity to have more fun in the snow.”

“But Marozi…You hate

the snow.”

I dislike the snow

Argo; however, isn’t the whole idea of the Winter Solstice, according to

Galina, a time for doing good deeds?

Well…This is my good deed to you.

Do you like my gift?” isn’t the whole idea of the Winter Solstice,

according to Galina, a time for doing good deeds? Well…This is my good deed to you. Do you like my gift?”

Argo swooped Crys into an embrace hugging her tightly. “I love it and I love you dearly—thank you. Since we have exchange gifts there is only

one more thing to do…”

“What would that be?’

Instead of answering, the tiglon began to meticulously

remove the mistletoe from her mane.

“Argo? What are you

doing? Do you know how long it took me

to weave those into my hair?” Crys tried

to escape but he had a secure hold on her.

“Crystalandra, this nonsense has gone on long enough. Don’t you think I know what you are up to?” He said rather sternly.

“What are you talking about?” She asked feigning innocence. “I haven’t done anything.”

“Marozi, this is your ingenious attempt at making me jealous…Your

way of getting back at me for everything that has happened on our holiday. Don’t deny it since I am quite attuned to

your devious Sh’iar mind and how it works.”

Finishing, Argo tucked the discarded mistletoe in his jacket pocket. “There you go, all finished.”

Crys glanced at her mate, “Okay, I admit it and I’m sorry

for what I’ve done. Am I forgiven?”

“Yes, I forgive you.

Marozi, you are a minx…Listen, this has been a rollercoaster of a

weekend with jealousies running rampant between partners; there is no need for

this to continue.” The tiglon

sighed. “Do you think for once we can at

least enjoy this one special day without further drama?”

“Of course but I cannot vouch for the others.”

“I don’t want you vouching for them; I am only concerned

about you.” Argo cupped her chin tilter

her head towards him. “I told you Crys

you needn’t worry because you have me for life and I have no intentions of

going anywhere.” And he planted a kiss

on her spotted forehead. “Now let’s eat

because I’m starving!”

She laughed, “Argo, you were born with a bottomless stomach! We can’t eat just yet because the food hasn’t

been laid out.”

He groaned. “I’ll

starve before they get this party started!”

“You’ll live.” Crys

giggled. “Come on and let’s dance until

their ready.”

Galina got down on all fours, hoping to strategically give

the tigers and Tiglon a good view of her posterior while she searched under the

tree for where Bengali had arranged all the gifts. “Ah! Here it is!”

She pulled out a cylindrical parcel that was adorned with a

ridiculous number of ribbons and bows. She beamed at it for a moment, pleased

with her wrapping job and handed it up to her friend and sat back on her legs

in a kneeling-sitting position. Rangerkitty accepted it from her and took a

moment to appreciate the insanity and love that had gone into decorating this

gift.

She carefully pulled the decorations off and found that one

end of the cylinder could be opened. Pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment

paper, she was confused seeing nothing else inside. Holding it carefully, she

unrolled it and gasped out loud when she viewed what was upon it. Tygra

overheard this and walked over to join her; he viewed the paper, his face also

registered surprise.

It was a painting, but not of scenery or some impressionist

array of color, but a portrait of Rangerkitty and Tygra, holding one another

with love in their eyes that came so poignantly across in the way they had been

recreated on the canvas. They were without clothing with Rangerkitty’s hair

covering her so that it was in no way distasteful. It was like the moments

after mating, when a couple truly feels no fear, no barriers, only adoration

and love.

“Galina... this is...” Tygra began, looking for the right

words.

“Beautiful.” Rangerkitty finished, tears coating her eyes.

“This is so beautiful.”

The white tigress was pleased. “Well, so are you two. You’re

very welcome. Oh, and just as an FYI, I created this on my own. Totally wasn’t

hiding in the closet of your room or anything.”

She winked at them both and wandered away to show Bengali

her new necklace; they both looked back at the painting. Rangerkitty marvelled

at it. She’d had no idea her friend was so talented. It was an intimate

portrait, but even a more intimate gift, obviously made from love. She looked

up at Tygra who was studying Galina from where she now stood at the other end

of the room.

“What are you thinking, Ty?”

“I’m wondering if she really meant what she said.”

“What do you mean?”

“About not hiding in the closet--this picture is pretty

close to the real thing.”

Rangerkitty giggled and rolled the paper back up before

re-inserting it into the protective cylinder. “Whether she did or not, I adore

this gift. We’ll have to frame it properly when we get back home and find a

place to put it that’s not in full view of everyone else at the lair.”

At that moment, the lodge owner arrived downstairs and

announced a warm greeting to all the staff as well as to his own family and the

guests. “Please everyone! Happy Winter solstice! Please give your gifts, enjoy

the fine food and music! Thank you all for making this one of the best and most

memorable mid-winter celebrations we have ever had!”

The crowd clapped and applauded the man who had organized

the festivities and the band started back up into celebratory holiday music again.