From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. All of you who took the time to read, review, critique, follow or favourite any one of my works, you guys have made this past month or so very interesting for me. I love writing, it is a real passion of mine, and to not only get so much feedback, but so much POSITIVE feedback was simply incredible, and has made me a very happy person as of late.

This piece is mainly a poem, but I put in some fluffy little stories, all of which are quite short. In the story parts I really just wanted to look at how some of my favourite pairings and groups would spend Snowdown. Really, the stories are nothing exciting, it really is more a Christmas wish! :)

A Snowdown Wish

Another year passes, and so we are here

Valorians spreading the good Snowdown cheer

And so we must ask, what does this all mean?

This season where joy is undoubtedly seen

For some it is family, as simple as that

Coming together to catch up, to chat

No matter your differences, how large or how small

Family's there, from sunrise to sun fall

It had been a long standing tradition amongst the Crownguards and the Lightshields that the eve of Snow-day, the largest day in the Snowdown season, was a day of feasting and relaxing with the two families. It had started some years ago during the reign of Jarvan II, and now it is continued by his grandson, Jarvan IV, and his dear friends Garen and Lux. That is not to say the tradition had not changed, nowadays it was open to almost any friend of the royal family, and so come this Snow-day eve the Princes company included the majority of the Demacian champions, as well as Ezreal, who was here to spend time with Lux, not that he would ever admit something so selfish to the Prince. Jarvan was a little upset to see that a few of his friends, Fiora, Vayne and Lucian namely, had been unable to make it, but alas, if they weren't here they surely had their own plans. Jarvan made his way over to his seat, setting himself down between his oldest friend, Garen, and Shyvana, his… girlfriend? Jarvan still was not used to calling her by such a title, but he knew that was exactly what she was to him now. He smiled at the thought.

Looking around the hall, Jarvan felt an overwhelming sense of pride and contentedness. This was his family, as peculiar as it may have looked to an outsider, this rag-tag mix of yordles, men, and an angel was what made Jarvan's life worth living. Shyvana noticed the look on Jarvan's face and gave him a little nudge.

"You alright there? You look like you are about to burst into tears." Jarvan chuckled at this.

"Everything is just so perfect." As if to show this, he took Shyvana's hand in his, gently giving it a squeeze and watching as she blushed at the overt display of his affection. However, Jarvan should have that anything perfect was fickle, and when a guard came running into the hall, panting heavily, Jarvan knew he had jinxed himself.

"Sir, Noxian intruders, we tried to stop them, but they are coming right this way!" Garen instantly jumped to his feet, reaching behind his chair for the sword that never really left his side. He leapt over the table in a display of his strength, rushing his way towards the door, ready to defend Demacia at all costs. Jarvan and Xin Zhao were close behind him, all of them taking up a defensive stance facing the door. Voices could be heard approaching, and Garen readied himself to strike the first blow. The doors were slammed open, and Garen charged, sword at the ready. He swung, but managed to stop himself before he took the intruder's head clean off.

Katarina looked shocked.

"What the hell are you doing!? You almost killed me!" Garen just stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face, not sure how to process what was happening. He dropped his sword and, in what Katarina would label his greatest act of stupidity, embraced the Noxian assassin. The room was silent for a while, but was eventually broken by laughter.

"Well sis, this certainly makes things more interesting." The Demacian's had been so distracted by Garen and Katarina that they hadn't noticed Cassiopeia, followed by Talon, Singed and Leblanc, enter the grand hall as well. Jarvan was a little stumped, unsure how to respond to this. Putting on his best Princely appearance, he addressed them.

"How dare you show yourselves here at a time like this. Explain yourselves, why are you here?" Cass slivered her way further into the room, brushing up dangerously close to Xin Zhao who just kept staring the half-serpent down.

"We came for the feast." Jarvan stood there in silence, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, Xin took the initiative.

"What makes you think you are welcome to join us?" It was Leblanc who spoke next, following Cass further into the room.

"To be perfectly honest, we didn't. But, one of us was fairly convinced you'd allow us to stay." She looked pointedly at Katarina, who was now blushing.

"Besides, we spend almost every other day of the year together. Yes, sometimes we fight against each other, but sometimes we fight together, and no matter what our home states may wish, I do not feel you are my enemy." Jarvan felt his shoulders relax, and the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to become a little less tense. He lowered his weapon, and Xin did the same.

"It's Snowdown, if we can't come together at a time like this, when can we?" Jarvan's words seemed to trigger something in the gathered crowd, and soon conversations began to resume. Garen took Kat's hand and led her over to the table, pulling a chair up so she could sit next to him. Talon took a seat next to Quinn, the two awkwardly staring away from each other, although clearly trying to catch a glimpse of the other looking at them. Singed and Leblanc disappeared with Xin to talk with Kayle and her company, leaving Cass and Jarvan as the only two left standing.

"I know that look in your eyes Prince. The Demacians are your family, just as the Noxians are mine, do not think you are the only one who is worried here." Jarvan was silent, taking in Cass' words.

"But look around. Maybe it is time we reconsidered what our families are." Jarvan's eyes found themselves staring at Garen and Kat, the way they looked at each other, and he knew he did the same thing with Shyvana. Cass was right, in spite of their many differences; the two rival families had formed bonds too intricate to be ignored.

"What do you propose Cass?" She just laughed at this comment, offering him a cheeky grin.

"I propose we enjoy ourselves, brother." She left and joined Leblanc, seamlessly joining in the conversation. Jarvan himself went back to join Shyvana, still a little gobsmacked by Cass' words.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." Shyvana's voice gave no effort to try and hide her contempt. Shyvana hated Noxians more than most, so their presence here was not exactly pleasant for her. Jarvan pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's Snowdown, we might as well give them a shot."

The feasting continued for many hours and, come the stroke of midnight, both Noxians and Demacians were spreading the cheer of Snowdown. It made no difference who they were, what they were, or where they came from, they were a family, born from the Institute and formed through battle. A family that, when it comes to the important times, would always be there for each other.

But family is not what makes this the time

For feasts and drinks and carols that rhyme

There is so much more to this merry season

And so I present you another good reason

For some it is friends, the people you trust

The one's you adore, sans anger or lust

That help make this time what it rightly should be

Of happiness, plain and clear to see

Annie had been patiently waiting for what felt like a small eternity for a knock at her door. At this point, she didn't really care who it was; she just hated the idea of being alone on the eve of Snow-day. I mean, she had no shortage of friends at the Institute, she had spent a lot of time with almost all of the yordles, the Ionian champs had always been kind, so how was it she was still alone? Most importantly, how was it that her best friend hadn't bothered to come by yet? In all the years she had known Amumu, he had never once missed spending Snow-day with her, no matter what condition he was in. She would always remember the year after he had a horrible game against Darius top lane; his bandages were bloodied and torn, but he still showed up. So why wasn't he here yet? Annie feared maybe Amumu had moved on from spending the day with her, a thought which filled her with no small degree of panic, and thus was quickly forgotten.

Once there was a knock at the door, Annie was off her couch and onto the handle in an instance. Opening the door, she breathed an audible sigh of relief at the figure.

"Where have you been? You're never this late!" Amumu looked a little guilty at this, staring at his feet.

"I'm sorry, I just got side-tracked." Annie gave him a quick, friendly hug, showing the mummy that she was more relieved than angry. The pair made their way into Annie's room, setting themselves down on her couch. Annie reached over the side of the couch and pulled out a joyously wrapped box, handing it to the mummy.

"Merry Snow-day Amumu!" Amumu took the gift, and then looked at Annie.

"Aren't we supposed to unwrap these tomorrow?" Annie battered her eyebrows in a display of innocence, before smiling and nodding towards the present, telling him to unwrap it. Inside the box was a shining silver helmet.

"Your old one is dented and rusty, and it looks really bad, so I thought I'd get you a nice new one." Amumu smiled a little at this, a rare occurrence for the mummy, before pulling out his own present. Annie took it and unwrapped it, staring at the contents a little.

"That present was more for Tibbers, I know he's been having a rough time recently." The gift was set of patches, similar to the ones Annie would normally use on her beloved bear. While Annie appreciated the sentiment, she had been hoping she would get the gift.

"There's something else as well." This caught Annie's attention, and she turned her head back to Amumu, only to be met by a pillow flying straight into her face.

"A pillow?"

"Well, I was thinking about what to get you, what you really wanted, and had absolutely no luck. Then I figured, we really haven't spent as much time together recently, so maybe if you aren't doing anything this evening, I could possibly… sleep over?" Annie threw herself at Amumu, tackling him onto his back on the couch and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course you can sleep over! Thank you so much Amumu!" Amumu felt a little awkward about the position he was stuck in, Annie laying on top of him with her arms wrapping around his neck. To any outside observer, it would have looked like quite a romantic moment, but to them it was simply friendly.

The evening passed surprisingly quickly, Annie organising everything they did together, as was typical of when they used to do sleepovers in the past. Amumu didn't mind, he just wanted Annie to be happy. It was almost midnight before the youth made their way to bed, setting themselves up next to each other. They lay like that for a while, not really saying anything, just enjoying the others company, until the feint chiming of bells could be heard in the distance, twelve melodious tones making their way through the halls of the Institute.

"Merry Snow-day Annie."

"Merry Snow-day Amumu." Amumu gradually entered whatever counted for sleep for the un-dead, but Annie could not bring herself to shut everything out. She found herself staring at Amumu and, acting on instinct, shuffled over and gently kissed his forehead. She felt a tingle run down her entire body, a feeling that felt so overwhelmingly right. She snuggled up to the mummy, still being careful not to wake him, and was finally able to fall asleep.

But all the friends in the world fall short of one thing

The heart racing ecstasy your lover can bring

Whether she brushes your hand, or whispers your name

The feeling you simply just cannot explain

And so come this Snowdown, spend time with your love

Your beacon of light, your own holy dove

No matter how long you've been with each other

I can promise you'll always have one another

Jax had visited Demacia on multiple occasions in the past, but after making his way through the upper-class district, he could only marvel at how different it all seemed. Nothing seemed to embody his feelings more though than the house that stood before him. The more he thought on it, this building was hardly a house, seeming more like a mansion, or possibly castle, it was that large. Making his way to the extravagant front door, he rapped his knuckles on the ancient oak, waiting patiently for a response. An elderly man in a waistcoat, clearly an employee in the houselhold, opened the door.

"I'm afraid the Madame Laurent is busy at the moment sir, perhaps you should come back later." Footsteps could be heard behind the butler, and soon he found himself pushed aside by the person Jax had been here to see.

"You came!" Jax could only laugh at Fiora's excitement. It had been a very last-minute idea for the two of them to spend Snow-day together, but one both of them liked the sound of. Apparantly Fiora would normally attend some feast held by Jarvan, but after some falling out with the Prince would rather not go this year. Jax wasn't entirely sure on the politics of the situation, it wasn't really his business to know.

Fiora ushered him in, dismissing the butler. The two made their way up an enormous wooden staircase, bordered by pictures of members of the Laurent household, new and old. Fiora continued to lead the way through the extravagant halls, Jax taking in the whole seen like a kid in a museum. Fiora spread him a glance, and chuckled at the face he was pulling. Jax was quite different when he wasn't in his whole warrior outfit, short black hair that stood to attention, and a set of warm, amber eyes that seemed to make Fiora melt whenever they looked at her. Eventually the two found themselves in a living room, Firoa wasting no time in throwing herself onto a couch. Jax awkwardly rested himself on the wall, watching the duellist.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Jax blushed, scratching the back of his head. He went over and sat on a couch opposite Fiora, an aura of helplessness still attached to him. Fiora sighed, she had spent so much time with Jax since the incident, and he still had no idea how to act around her. She thought it was quite funny that somebody who prided himself on the crowds of girls lining up for him had absolutely no idea how to act around the girl he liked. That was irony, she supposed.

Thankfully the butler entered, dispelling some of the awkward air. He put a bottle of wine and two glasses onto a small coffee table, bowing to Fiora before exiting the room. Jax reached for the bottle, whistling as he saw the lable.

"Chateau Neuf, that's some expensive taste."

"You know your wine?" Jax grunted, pouring the wine into the two glasses.

"I know about it. Quite frankly, I couldn't taste the difference between a merlot and a chardonnay, but I know quality." Fiora lifted her glass, swirling the liquid a little before taking a brief sniff.

"Rather dry, definite traces of oak and pepper. I'd say it's a rich wine, best served with something hearty." Jax raised an eyebrow at this.

"You seem to know your stuff, family requirement?" Fiora nodded, taking a sip from her glass. Jax followed suit, and soon the awkward silence fell back upon the pair. Once Fiora had finally drained her glass, she had become entirely fed up with the atmosphere. She stood up and moved to sit next to Jax, who looked at her a little awkwardly.

"Can I help you?" He asked, a smile brushing across his face.

"It's Snow-day tomorrow, and I'm with the one person I want to be with more than anything, and it is just awkward. That's not how I want this evening to go." She reached over and gently rubbed the back of her hand along Jax's cheek, causing them to turn a deep shade of pink.

"How did you want this evening to go?" His voice was a little too high pitched, his nerves clearly evident. Fiora leant in closer, her face close enough that Jax could feel her breathing on his neck.

"A little more like this." She covered the last inch, pressing their lips together. Jax seemed taken aback a little, but it didn't take him long to get the picture, and soon he was kissing her back.

Jax had never had a proper girlfriend. He had affairs, many of them before the Institute, but he knew Fiora was not like that. Waking up on Snow-day, rolling over and staring into the eyes of the person you loved most in the world was something so indescribable, Jax knew he could never let her go. He brushed a loose strand of hair off Fiora's face, smiling as he did so.

"Merry Snow-day beautiful."

But while I speak of cheer, and joy for the many

Some people out there have barely a penny

Or family, or friends, or a lover's embrace

Sometimes life feels like one horrible place

Hope, persistence, that's what I implore

Something this world could do with a lot more

No matter how dark this world may seem

Hope will be there, you only need dream

"What do you mean I've had enough? Give me another drink!" Lucian slammed his fist on the bar in outrage. This was his favourite bar, every person in there knew him, and the tender, one of the few people he would call friend, was telling him to leave. He felt his fingers drifting towards his relic pistols, his alcohol-induced anger becoming a little too much. The bartender did not back down, again trying to convince the purifier he had consumed more than his fare share for the evening.

"Lucian, you're not thinking straight, go home, sleep it off." Lucian growled and went to draw his weapon, but found he could not pull it from his belt. Looking down, he noticed a hand holding the barrel, and followed that hand up to meet a pair of eyes he wished he didn't have to see.

"Don't worry Arnold, I'll take care of him." Arnold just nodded as the figure practically carried Lucian out of the bar. Once outside, the purifier pulled free, walking away.

"You could always just say thankyou." Lucian growled but did not turn back.

"You shouldn't have been there." The figure was following him, their footsteps echoing his own.

"Really? Because it looked to me like you were about to shoot Arnold." Lucian turned, allowing himself to shout, not caring how many people heard him.

"What do you want from me?" A couple walking down the other side of the road looked at the pair, only to be sent running with a death-glare from Lucian. His friend however was not fazed.

"I want you to calm down."

"You don't understand, just go."

"Lucian, we both know you can go overboard, it's nothing new. I'm not angry, I just need you to calm down." The figure took her hood off, Vayne doing her best to play the caring friend, although she was pretty sure it wasn't going to work. Lucian groaned as he now met Vayne's eyes, the typically reassuring sight only causing him grief.
"Vayne, I mean it, you don't understand." Vayne was about to retaliate, but something in Lucian's gaze made her stop and doubt herself. She had dealt with Lucian's inability to stop drinking in the past, and while he had gotten aggressive before, he almost always ended up apologising in between. But the look he was giving him was not apologetic or regretful, it was one of pure sadness, and Vayne began to understand.

"You were trying to get drunk, why?" Lucian sat himself down on the sidewalk, rubbing the back of his head. Vayne thought he wasn't going to respond until he finally found his voice, far frailer than usual.

"Back before… When she was still here, she made sure that we never hunted during the Snowdown season. It was our own little tradition; she claimed that Snowdown is a time to remember all the little good things that have happened to us, not dwell on the dark ones. I suppose it's ironic that now I spend every Snowdown trying to forget them." Vayne sat down next to him, minimal emotion expressed at Lucian's sad story; he usually preferred it that way.

"Snowdown used to be my favourite time of year. My family was anything but perfect, my parents were all business, my siblings rowdy and competitive, but come Snowdown everything seemed to be so normal. I have this one memory of when I walked in on my parents by mistake and saw them kissing. It was the only time I ever saw them do anything vaguely romantic, and in that one moment I could believe they genuinely loved each other, that maybe everything I worried about was simply paranoia." Vayne took a deep breath.

"Next Snowdown season they were dead, along with the rest of my family. I haven't celebrated it since." Silence fell over the pair, a long and painful silence that seemed to slowly drain the light from the already darkening Deamcian streets. A wandering guard came to tell them to move on, but recognising who they were decided to leave them be, but it was enough of a sign that they had best move on. Somewhere in the distance a belltower chimed, followed by another, and soon there was a chorus of dings and dongs flying through the midnight air. Lucian stood, offering a hand to Vayne so she could do the same.

"I have a new proposal." Vayne scoffed, taking the hand and jumping to her feet.

"You're drunk, don't do this to yourself."

"No, I'm fairly certain this one I won't regret." Vayne looked at him sceptically, but let him continue.

"Come back to my place, I don't have much, but I'm sure I can throw something together." Vayne laughed.

"That is by far one of the craziest ideas you've ever suggested. You and I, celebrating Snowday together?" Lucian shrugged.

"Honestly, at least when I wake up tomorrow, well, evening if my headache at the moment is anything to go by, I don't have to wake up alone." The sincerity of Lucian's words got to Vayne, and suddenly she found herself unable to say no. She slowly nodded her head, earning a half-drunk smile from the purifier. Taking Vayne's hand in his, Lucian began to lead the way through the streets, and for the first Snowdown since Senna's death, he found himself able to forget his sorrow.

And so come this season, wherever you dwell

Whatever you call it, Christmas, Snowdown, Noel

My wish is the same for all of you, friends

For cheer in spite of what the next year sends

And so raise your spirits, raise them up high

Let your worries dissolve and head off to the sky

And know that no matter where our cards may fall

I wish you the merriest Christmas of all!

So, to the future. It is the joyous season, which inevitably means it is also the 'why-am-I-so-busy' season. I will update Sentimental when I can, do the occasional one-shot if possible (I am happy to take recommendations on those, just pop me a PM), and do my best to keep in contact with you guys.

Again, a massive thanks to all of you out there, even those of you who stopped by, had a read, and didn't let me know (Yes, I know you exist, I do it too!). I wish you all a really merry Christmas, and a happy new year.

-BJ