Yuletide

"We wish you a Merry Christmas." Shut up! "We wish you a Merry Christmas." Why won't they shut up! "We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year."

I hate this time of year. The weather, the food, the decor, the charity...the music.

'Lighten up.' Arma breathes in my ear, I look at her as if she's lost her mind. 'What, can I not be an optimist from time to time? Besides Christmas suits you.'

"I'll thank you never to say that again." The crow pecks at my ear. "Who are you and what have you done with Arma?" I joke at her apparent insistence that I try and enjoy the festive times, the thought of which brings an actual smile to my face rather than my common smirk.

'Honestly, you're no fun unless the someone is suffering.'

"You know that's not what's wrong." I sigh before reaching for my violin, hoping to drown out the incessant zombie like droning of the carollers below. "I'm suffering at this moment." I begin Bach's Partita No.2 in D minor, lulling in the mellody, again my ear suffers the wrath of Arma's beak. "Okay, okay, what tone would you prefer?"

'Something to dance too.' She asks before taking flight from my shoulder. 'Something happy to fly too."

"Not my usual forte, but your wish is my command, my dear Arma." I say standing to a bow. "Lets try Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto 1st Movement in D major. Think you can fly for that long?" I add with a sly wink of my uncovered eye. The look she returns is playful, she is ready to play and enjoy her holidays, and I guess I shouldn't stop her.

I begin the piece with immaculate timing in my fingers and bow, just as she does with her movements. I almost feel guilt in knowing that this piece is not an entirely happy one, but Arma knows it is still a means that will lead to an end we both accept, but her dancing is truly something to inspire a happy feeling. At first she is slow and sombre, gliding through the park with ease flap her wings with each sudden note, her flight path mimicing the waves the music would create if visible. She flies between the rafters of the rollercoaster and ferris wheels in sync with the sequences of quavers and semi-quavers. The crow rises into the cold night sky with and with each pause she halts, frozen, until the next note saves her from descent. Her dive begins with an increase of tempo and her mastery of direction allows her to repeat her pattern with a new pace.

Mercifully our performance distracts the merry wishers below and they become mesmerised by the demonic raven danicng in the pale moon light to a solitary tune. At least they cannot ignore beauty when in its presence. I find myself enjoying this unscheduled concert, ignorant to anything but my shapshifting companion. I follow her across the park, ensuring I witness it all, never losing pace. It's odd to find myself enraptured by something so basic, but that is the wonder of music and dance.

The piece is beginning to end and I'm almost certain I see an equivalent to a smile on the faceless black, the blood red shines with an excitement I rarely see in Arma. Often she is calm and collected, ready to scold me for becoming too adventurous in my games. I know she is only giving what no other will, no other alive anyway, but that is her means to have the same given in return; friendship. I'm quite happy with that end, at least when it is her friendship. In fact this very performance, her own idea, is a means to bring me away from my hates of the yuletide and have me enjoy the time rather than loath as I have been doing.

"Thank you, Arma." I say on the final note, which she acknowledges by returning to my shoulder.

'What for?' She queries. 'I had the most fun.'

"You gave me something I needed." I answer. "You silenced them for starters." I continue after a moment's pause, pointing down from our vantage point atop the ferris wheel at the now cheering spectators.

'Anything for a friend on Christmas, right?'

"Right." I sigh, she pecks me expentantly. "Don't make me say it."

'Merry Chrstmas Karl.' She say with a nod.

"Now," I breathe glanicng down, "how do I get down!" I scream clutching the frame of the gigantic wheel.

A/N: AHHH! THIS IS SO WRONG AND OOC! I'm so sorry Burakku, I failed miserably, I just found it very hard to imagine Karl and Arma in a situation outisde of LoT. I hope this is some form of adequate, but MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm glad you liked it.

Random Reviewer: I direct you to what I think is technically paragraph 10. As Karl "follows" Arma across the park is when he "climbs" the wheel, in my mind he leaps from ride to ride as he plays. Karl being "enraptured" by Arma's dancing is why he doesn't realise he's getting higher and higher as he tries to keep her in clear sight. It's also why the narration doesn't describe how exactly Karl "follows" Arma, because he's the narrator and his attention is focused only on her, and the fact the carol singers stop singing. The main idea behind the vague description is to let the reader's (your) imagination fill in the blanks, because how they (you) envisage this scene might be very different in the details to how I do.