It wasn't so hard to get used to this place, all in all. The chalet, which the local folks seemed to call the compound, was a well-appointed and comfortable building and Nick wasn't displeased to be spending some time there. Truth be told, it was nice to take a little vacation from time to time.
When he found a young woman looking unhappy just outside, his first instinct was to pull a paper-wrapped mint from his pocket.
Delirium pulled off a pink mitten to take the sweet from the man and popped it into her mouth. Delirium looked up to thank him and stared, her mouth opening until the sweet dropped onto her knee. That was Santa, Nicholas, the man who should in theory being whipped and beaten by creepy little blue dwarves. "yOU'RE WearinG CLothes," Delirium said, her face a picture of puzzlement. "You'RE WeariNG CLothes and... do THey knOW You SneAKED awaY?"
"Well, I'm not sure I'd call it sneaked as much as was snatched up," said Nick, a bit perplexed, "but I'm sure I'll be back before they notice. Time's funny that way."
"yes iT is," Delirium said, picking the sweet off her knee and popping it into her mouth. Delirium couldn't help but stare at the man. "yoU Better mAKe suRE YOU're bACK, theY aLways knOW WheN YOu've beEN Naughty or nice. theN again so did i buT i don'T GO arouND KidnapPing fat meN... oNE of them Bit me once, i had An owie for weeKS."
"nO, nOT REaLLY. yOU mighT'VE Met Despair, she's my sistER AND she's nakED and fat too." Delirium said, wrinkling her face in concentrated thought. "oR Not, it dePEnds thERE ARE LOts of pARA-thiNGy UniveRSes and somE THings hapPEn difFeREntLY in eACH."
Delirium grinned and laughed. "siLLY i'M not strANGE, i'M DeLiRiuM!"
"yeSSUm," Delirium said, still a little in awe of the man. Even anthropomorphic personifications could have idles, he just happened to be one of them although she was quite keen on Mr Hoppy too, he was a space hopper. "i'VE NEver had snOW befoRE, weLL i have it's just diFFERENt when You are HUman."
"Snow's a wonderful thing," said Nick, "but it does require a bit of preparation. Mary would have my hide if I sent you out in it again unprepared. So inside you go, and we'll see what we can do for you."
"my sisTER, Death, she Likes-LikeD THE snow bUT it's toO COLD." Delirium said as she went up the steps into the compound carefully, fearful that she will fall over again and bruise her already tender rear. Delirium takes off one of the many layers she's got on and hangs it over a chair. "mARY is yOUR Wife, my oNE he didn'T HAVE a wife just creepy evil DWARves."
"I'm quite happy to say I'm not your one," said Nick, following the thread of her narrative without only the slightest hiccup. "I think I much prefer the company of my wife and my friends than a bunch of - what was it you called them? - creepy evil dwarves."
"tHey hAVE very cOOL tattoOS but thEY ARe vERY, vERY creEPY and yOU arE very, VERy sad. it's NOT A HappY fuN time Like chiLDREn thiNK bUT soMETimes whAT thEY DOn't know woN'T hURT THem." Delirium said, tilting her head at the man who is very aware of what she was saying. But then again he was Santa, he knew what lisping four year olds wanted when they went to sit on your laps- a little bit of insanity was nothing compared to that. "iT was kiND OF a Loki thiNG, a puNishMENT of sorts bUT Loki goT out of his whEN i was hOSTing a party for the deAD and my BROTHer was aLL broODy. mY Brother is aLWAYS broODy."
"That's just how family can be sometimes," said Nick. "We all balance one another out. And certainly children should be allowed to believe happy things while they are still children. Sometimes believing happy things can make them come to be. Would you like some tea?"
Delirium quite wondered which one of the family balanced her out, the only one who had ever been able to get some semblance of control over her had been Destruction. And Delirium and Destruction didn't seem to counter the other, they just ended up causing more havoc and chaos.
"i uSED to be a hAPPY thing, kiND of HAPPy thiNG bUT THat was a LOng timE AGo and nOW i'm JUST... yES, PLease. i'M not ALLOWED CofFEE, wiTH CapiTALS, not rEALLY it maKES me... uNCOntrOLLABLE." Delirium said, perkily to the man. "diD you EVer havE ChiLDREn?"
"None of my own, regrettably," said Nick, making short work of steeping the tea, "but my occupation makes up for that most of the time. All the world's children are my own, in a way. The children and the young at heart."
"i'M foURTeen biLLion and a bit, bUT i'm THe yOUNGEST so doES THat maKE you my fATHER? i'VE nevER Had a fATHer bEFOre, mainLY Because i wasn'T born bUT i haVE a gRANdfather." Delirium said, sitting down in the kitchen on a chair for a change. She didn't think Santa, St Nicholas, Nick, whoever would appreciate her sitting on the table. Delirium smiled. "excEPt he'S not mY GRandfather REALLy, i jUST say that to winD him Up. hE's A GRumPY gus- i BET you gaVE hiM COaL evERY YEAR."
When he found a young woman looking unhappy just outside, his first instinct was to pull a paper-wrapped mint from his pocket.
"Maybe this would cheer you up?" he offered.
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Delirium grinned and laughed. "siLLY i'M not strANGE, i'M DeLiRiuM!"
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"i uSED to be a hAPPY thing, kiND of HAPPy thiNG bUT THat was a LOng timE AGo and nOW i'm JUST... yES, PLease. i'M not ALLOWED CofFEE, wiTH CapiTALS, not rEALLY it maKES me... uNCOntrOLLABLE." Delirium said, perkily to the man. "diD you EVer havE ChiLDREn?"
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