(Untitled)

[pere_noel]

One of the first things Nick discovered about the island was that it had a supply of woodworking tools. No, that wasn't quite true. One of the first things Nick discovered about the island was that it had an almost endless supply of wood. The discovery of the tools happened only after he had been introduced to the interior of the Lodge. Still, in

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[abbysciuto]

Abby bounced into the rec room, humming bits of random songs (which may have included Christmas Carols) under her breath.

She tossed a cheerful "Hello!" to the man in front of the fire as she skipped to the bookshelf and started looking through its current attempt at driving her nuts.

Books on the theory of Christmas? Did those even exist?

[pere_noel]

Mere moments after she came within hearing distance, Nick caught the tune of Good King Wenceslas and started humming it, then eventually singing it to himself, as he continued to sand. He did look up at he sang to give her a friendly, welcoming wave.

[abbysciuto]

"Y'know, most people don't know the words to that one. It's not one of the really popular ones, mostly because I don't think anyone really knows how to pronounce Wenceslas," she chuckled.

[pere_noel]

"Wenceslas," Nick repeated back to her with a cheeky grin. "I've always found it a very jolly tune, not quite as upbeat as Jingle Bells but not so solemn as Silent Night."

[abbysciuto]

"Silent Night is really solemn. Maybe it's cuz I associate it with the very end of midnight mass when the entire parish was tired and wanted to go home," she agreed.

[pere_noel]

"It's one of the most beautiful songs I know," he said, "but it's definitely a solemn one. But then, that's part of what makes it suited to a quiet, snowy night like this one."

[abbysciuto]

"True. You can imagine it being sung in a little church with no organ or piano or whatever they were missing," she said, since she was a little vague on her hymn history.

[pere_noel]

Nick didn't have to just imagine that scenario, and gave her a wistful smile and a nod. "It's no surprise that it was able to touch people's hearts the way it did," he said.

[abbysciuto]

"No, in whatever language it's sung in. I like it in the original German, even though German is not exactly a language I speak," she mused.

[pere_noel]

"Most things lose something in translation," said Nick, "but every so often you come across something that just works any way you look at it." It was part of the reason he loved what he did so much; his toys spoke all languages.

[abbysciuto]

"Science is good for that. DNA is DNA is DNA, and it works in Russian or Esperanto or whatever," she agreed with a geeky grin.

[pere_noel]

"That is very true," said Nick, "though I come across few children who know much more about DNA than its name."

[abbysciuto]

"Clearly you didn't meet me when I was a kid," Abby laughed. "But you're right, most kids, even ones who like science, understand music better than science."

[pere_noel]

"Oh, I expect you were one of the few," said Nick with a gentle laugh. "Still, when you're five DNA's not quite a recognisable as a sailboat. Though if you've grown up in the Sahara, a sailboat's not exactly a universal icon either."

[abbysciuto]

"Camels. Lots and lots of camels," Abby replied solemnly.

[pere_noel]

"I'll have to remember to make some camels too," said Nick just as solemnly, though his eyes twinkled when he said it. "It's only fair, after all."