Inside was a drab Peadackle Greeting Card. Only a little deterred, Bria opened it.

"We Wish You a Festive Time and Look Forward to Your Next Visit --Your Terror Mountain Terror-Free Dental Office." Ugh. Made sense none of her friends would've had time to write to her yet, and the only person she knew in the neighbourhood was her landlord.

"But we won't see you over the holidays!" Her mum had almost sulked when Bria announced she was moving.

"I just want to try living somewhere warm for once," Bria had said. "Especially with the Month of Celebrating coming up." She couldn't travel all the way back for a visit now, not after all the fuss everyone had made...

Now three weeks remained until the Day of Giving, and Bria was determined not to spend it alone. She had to make friends right this instant.

Pulling on her warmest coat, Bria leapt out the front door, obliviously crashing into...

"Oh!" cried Bria as she was pushed backwards onto her rear. The Krawk similarly found themselves on their backside, still dazed at the collision. "I'm so sorry!" Bria exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet and began gathering the fallen letters. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be at the door."

The Shadow Krawk worked their way upright, wiping their claws on their mail shorts. "'s no problem," they said, leaning over to help Bria in the cleanup. "I realized that there was another piece of mail for you stuck with the rest." The Krawk rifled through the handful of mail they had already grabbed, picking one out of the stack. "Here," they said, handing it to her.

Bria excitedly took the envelope, but could quickly tell that it was more junk. How did THEY find her so quickly, but her friends hadn't? "Thanks," she sighed, folding and tucking the unopened letter into her coat pocket. She resumed gathering the remaining mail on the ground.

"Not what you were expecting?" the Krawk asked, noticing Bria's change in demeanour. She handed them what she'd picked up and huffed slightly. "Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting," she said. "Something from someone I have a stronger relationship with than my childhood dental office."

The Krawk laughed in a short burst, wrapping the mail in a spare rubberband they pulled from their pocket. They considered her for a second before saying, "You're new here, right? Just settled in a few days ago?" They snapped the rubberband in place and stored the bundle in the satchel hanging from their shoulder.

Bria had been turning to close the front door behind her when she grimaced at their comment. She thought, 'Oh, of course the mail carrier would notice! How embarrassing...' Thankful they couldn't see her face, she composed herself amd secured the lock before turning to face the Krawk and said, "Yeah. Still getting used to it."

The Krawk looked at Bria a few moments more before the corner of their mouth quirked up into a half smile. "New places can be tough," they said, extending their right claw in front of them. "I'm Lief, by the way. Unless you had other plans, want to join me on my route?"

She reached out and shook Lief's claw. "I'm Bria. It's nice to meet you. Lead the way, Lief."

The Shadow Krawk nodded, and continued down the street with Bria close behind. The next house was a beautiful cottage and had a neat, carved stone path, and standing in the doorway was a sleek Pink Cybunny sipping a mug of coffee. She looked up over the rim of her mug and smiled wanly at the sight of Lief.

"Good morning, Lief." Her voice was warm like honey, though Bria felt that there was a certain edge to it - like honey that was a bit too strong.

"Good morning, Olga."

"Who's that?"

"I'm Bria," the Water Aisha said, immediately walking up to Olga and offering her hand - just like Lief had done for her. "I'm your new neighbour! I hope we can be friends!"

The Cybunny looked down her nose at Bria and frowned, leaning away. "Have you heard of personal space? And, I just installed my new garden path. Don't go stepping all over it. Oh, and Lief, you can leave my new magazine subscription in the mailbox; I'll have to scrub dirt off my stones, first."

"Oh...er, all right, Olga. Come on, Bria."

Bria tried to wave to Olga, but the Pink Cybunny simply turned away and continued to enjoy her cup of coffee.

"Olga's a bit...particular about her garden," the Shadow Krawk said as they approached the next house. "But maybe she'll be nicer later when she's had her coffee."

"'Maybe'?" Bria wondered.

Lief shrugged and stopped in front of a house that was plain and unimpressive - nothing but white and beige walls, and a mailbox that was in need of a new paint job. As the Shadow Krawk took out a bundle of letters and placed them gingerly into the mailbox, Bria approached the Green Quiggle who was outside gazing up at his house and taking some notes on a clipboard.

"You're not the mail carrier," the Quiggle remarked as he looked up from his clipboard.

"I'm not," said Bria, flashing what she hoped was her most winning smile. "I'm Bria. I'm new in the neighbourhood. And - "

The Quiggle waved her away. "And I'm busy." He held up his clipboard as though to emphasize her point. "I'm thinking of what colour to repaint my house."

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea. Your house does need some colour," Bria blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Are you insulting my house? Look, I know it needs a new paint job, but don't go calling it ugly!"

"What?" the Water Aisha exclaimed. "I didn't call it ugly, I just - "

"Come on, Bria. Sorry, Feston, we'll go on ahead."

Lief pulled Bria away from Feston and the two of them walked on.

"That's strike two," grumbled the Aisha. "Being new is the worst."

Lief adjusted the strap of their mailbag. "Don't worry. I think the next one we'll meet might be in a better mood this morning."

The third house was a spacious affair, with a white picket fence and a large, bare tree. As soon as the Krawk stepped in front of the mailbox, a Pastel Ruki dashed out of the house with a bright smile on her face.

"It's here! Finally!" Lief had barely inserted the package when the Ruki immediately pulled it out of the mailbox. "My limited edition crystal figurine set! Thank you, Lief! And..."

"Bria. I'm Bria."

"Are you Lief's new assistant or something?"

The Krawk chuckled. "Oh no, she's new, but she's not my assistant. I'm letting her tag along on my route, and - "

"And I'm excited to make new friends!" Bria extended her hand toward the Ruki, but instead, she hit the Ruki's hand with the package. The box fell and landed on its corner on the pavement.

"My package!" the Ruki gasped, and glared at Bria. "What did you do?! Those figurines are made of pure Ice Caves crystal, and if any of them break..."

"I'm sorry!" Bria held up her hands as though in surrender. "But you mentioned Ice Caves crystal, I'm from Terror Mountain, I know a few - "

"I don't care!" the Ruki cried, snatching up her package and hugging it to her chest. "Leave me alone!"

The Water Aisha could feel her heart sinking within her. "I'm really sorry, I only wanted to be friends..."

But she found herself talking to thin air, as the Ruki had stormed back into her house, slamming the door behind her. Bria sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"So much for her being in a better mood. I only wanted to be friends, I didn't mean to knock her package over...what am I doing wrong, Lief? I just wanted to make new friends!"

Lief looked at her, and they took a deep breath, patting her on the shoulder as they walked away from the Ruki's house.

"Well, Bria, if you don't mind, I might have a suggestion..."

“Well, to be frank, it’s to stop doing that…” Lief answered as gingerly as they could, scratching a scale on the side of their neck.

“Stop doing what?” Bria was confused. She felt as if she was being as chipper and friendly as possible. What could be wrong with that?

“Unfortunately, Neopians around here are a bit… Conventional and… Uh, withdrawn. They like to keep to themselves and do their own thing and are pretty sensitive to, er, animation.” Lief said, trying not to offend either party.

“Oh. So, being so forward as introducing myself wasn’t the right approach here in Altador?” she asked, perplexed. “That’s so strange. It’s such a polite and welcome thing to do in Happy Valley…” Bria thought aloud.

“Exactly. And Neopets here are just a bit more stoic. They see bubbly personalities as… Unpleasant or over the top,” said the Shadow Krawk.

“That’s so different than what I’m used to…” She said, trailing off in thought.

“Yeah, it’s just a different culture here. Altadorians aren’t quick to trust. It takes them awhile to open up and move past initial judgments…” Leif said. “I don’t mean to discourage you, but I do want to be honest.”

“I appreciate that, Lief.” A frown creased Bria’s translucent brow, and after a minute of silence, she asked, “Do you… Do you think I just don’t belong here?”

Lief could hear the pain in her voice. It sounded as if Bria was stifling tears. “No, I don’t think that, Bria. In fact, I have an idea…”

Lief spread out their arms, claws up, and flashed a toothy grin. "Some Day of Giving cheer!"

Bria gave the Krawk a flat look. "Lief, come on. Be serious."

"I am serious," Lief said earnestly. "You mentioned you're from Terror Mountain, right? How do you celebrate the Day of Giving there?"

Bria fell silent for a moment, considering. She had been trying to put Terror Mountain from her mind all day, to stop missing the familiarity of home and family and enterprising dentists and embrace a new adventure. It felt like admitting defeat to return to those thoughts now.

"I guess..." She shrugged. "We would hike on Terror Mountain, go skiing, bake sugar cookies, have snowball fights..."

"That sounds perfect!" Lief interjected.

"What, snowball fights? There's no snow in Altador." Bria paused, suddenly uncertain. "Is there? Or maybe we could use something else. There's a quarry, right? What about a flat rock fight?"

"There are a lot of things wrong with that idea," Lief said patiently. "I meant the sugar cookies. Even the surliest Altadorian can't resist a good cookie."

Bria suddenly felt very tired. It had been no small feat, moving to Altador, but she had done it all with a smile, certain she could make friends and carve out a place for herself in her new home. But nothing she did seemed to work - in fact, everything she did went spectacularly wrong. And Lief's intentions, no matter how well meant, only muddied the waters further.

"You just told me I was too outgoing," Bria said, "but now you think I should go door-to-door delivering cookies? That's even more forward. Can you help me think of something less friendly?"

"I like how friendly you are," Lief said, without a shred of irony. Bria blinked, taken aback, but Lief continued without noticing. "I'm not saying you should be less friendly. I'm saying you need the right angle. I can help you there." The Krawk patted the side of their messenger bag, claws clicking. "Why would you be the one going door-to-door, after all? I'm the one with the post."

"Oh," Bria said softly. Then, "Oh!"

"What?"

"I just had an idea," Bria said, clapping her paws together in excitement. "About the cookies. It's perfect!"

Bria grew a large grin on her face. “You mentioned that it takes Altadorians a while to build up trust. I totally get that, but for you that’s a different story. They see you every day and trust you to deliver all of their mail and packages exactly how they want them to be delivered. You have shown them how much you care but tailoring every delivery to their needs, like knowing to stay away from Olga’s garden!”

Lief smiled and nodded in agreement. They knew what all it took to be an effective mail carrier. They had put in so many long hours and even holidays while trying to balance all the different Altadorians’ personalities.

Bria quickly continued. “So I think we start with that. I am happy to make all the cookies. I think I’m going to make cookies for all of the Altadorians on your route, but I’m also going to decorate them specifically to each one. Olga’s will have something to do with her garden, a painted house for Feston, and then one for the Ruki that is in the shape of a festive crystal figurine. I’ll need to know the others as well, if there are any other regulars on your route.”

Lief was in shock. “Wow! That is a good idea…”

“Oh, that’s not all!” Bria quickly interrupted. “I will have you deliver them with an invitation to a holiday cookie decorating event at my home. You can mention that I made these cookies and let them know that there are more cookies to come if they attend our event!”

“OUR event?” Lief asked.

“Well, of course, Lief! I’ll need help after all making all of the cookies and will also need someone that they already trust.”

Lief smiled. “I would definitely vouch for you and think this is a perfect idea. It is not too forward and offers something any Altadorian would like.” Lief grinned and looked at Bria with an eyebrow raised.

Bria laughed. “That’s it, I promise, no other interruptions.”

“Well, we just wrapped up my morning route, so how about we go grab some grub and discuss this elaborate plan of yours and see what our next step is!” Lief asked.

The two acquaintances nodded in unison and made their way towards the marketplace. As they approached the food stall, Bria began to think about what else they needed to consider.

“So I have plenty of baking supplies as well as ingredients, so we should be good there,” Bria said. “Are there any flavours that Altadorians are obsessed with? I could probably incorp…”

“FIGS!!” Lief exclaimed with a mouth full of food, nearly spitting out some hummus. “I’m sorry, Bria. What I meant to say is that Altadorians love figs. I know of a local stall here in the marketplace that sells the best in all of Neopia, but there is a slight problem…”

“So first, you don’t know the definition of personal space, but now you are already needing favours from your neighbour,” a familiar voice interrupted.

Bria gulped and looked up towards the source of the voice. It was…

“Hi Olga,” Bria said, plastering on what she hoped was a genuine looking smile. She was determined for some reason to get this Cybunny to like her. “I suppose you overheard our conversation about cookies then.”

Olga sniffed. “Unfortunate eavesdropping. I came here to get more dirt since some scuffling paws earlier messed up my garden. How lucky I should run into you two.”

Bria definitely did not miss the sarcasm in her words. The Aisha ignored the slight and continued. “We’re here picking up ingredients for a little cookie soiree we’re throwing later. I hope you can make it. I’ll be baking fig cookies and Lief will be dropping them off to everyone.”

“Figs, you say?” Olga mused.

For some reason, this made Olga laugh loudly and she waved goodbye to Lief before disappearing into the crowd without a final goodbye.

“What was that all about?” Bria asked, turning to her Krawk companion.

Lief sighed. “That was the problem I was going to mention earlier. Figs sell out so fast during this time of year. Chances are slim we’ll find any in the market. The only other source for figs around this area are the fig trees growing in the usually pristine garden of a certain pink neighbour…”

"What are we going to do, then, Lief? There doesn't seem to be a fig to be had in all of Altador." Bria said glumly. "Are you sure we couldn't use something else? Blueberries? Strawberries? Tchea?"

"I'm telling you, if you want to win the hearts of your neighbours, we need figs. Follow me, I know just where to go to get the best of the best..."

Bria followed her friend nervously... straight to Olga's house. This time, Bria was sure to watch her step as she carefully made her way up the curving stone path. This time, she noticed the delicate carvings on each stone, with carefully pruned plants on each side, each bursting with colourful fruits in various stages of ripeness. The stones were even arranged in a gradient of colour that grew more saturated, the closer they got to the front door.

Bria gulped as Lief worldlessly motioned for her to step forward. Bria took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.

The Pink Cybunny cracked the door. "Oh, Lief and Bria, it's you again... what a surprise." She said with a raised eyebrow and wry smile.

Bria felt a knot in her throat. Luckily, Lief spoke up. "Yes, as you might have already known, they were all sold out of figs at the market. But even if they had any in stock, we need the best figs in Altador for our recipes, and we all know that your figs are the most flavorful in all of Altador... well, all of Neopia!"

Olga beamed at Lief, a much different attitude than she had given Bria.

"Why thank you, Lief. I did anticipate you'd be coming back here. I've even prepared some baskets especially for you." She opened the door a little wider, and Bria was almost knocked over by the sweet, rich aroma that wafted up from the baskets overflowing with perfectly ripe figs in a rainbow of colours.

"You... you picked these.... for US??" Bria's eyes widened.

Olga seemed quite pleased by Bria's reaction, and picked up a gorgeous rich purple fig from the top of one of the piles. "Would you like a taste? This variety won first place in Neopia's garden competition last year, Judge's Choice."

Bria delicately accepted the fig and took a taste. The flavours practically exploded in her mouth. She was almost speechless. "This is DELICIOUS, Olga!"

Olga's icy demeanour seemed to melt into warmth. "Why thank you. Would you like to see where I grow them?" Lief and Bria eagerly accepted the offer to tour Olga's private garden out back. Bria was blown away by the variety and beauty of her orchard and garden beds, with vegetables and fruit as beautiful as they were tasty. For the first time, she noticed all the handmade artistic elements, as well. Along with the meticulously hand-carved stone paths, Olga had decorated her garden with sculptures, bird baths, gazing orbs, and handmade signs identifying each tree. They couldn't stay long, however. Bria promised to return at a later date to join Olga for tea on her garden patio.... but first they had to get to work making cookies!

How will this story end?

Bria had taken care of personalising the cookie for every pet she had met. The painted house for Feston and a crystal figurine for the Ruki whose name turned out to be Ella. For Olga, she had prepared two cookies, one shaped like a fig tree and one decorated with one of the intricate patterns Bria had noticed on her neighbour's stone path.

Leif had told her about their other regulars, and so they had cut a cookie into the shape of a boat and infused another one with Borovan. Bria still wasn't convinced about the mixture of figs and Borovan, but Leif convinced her that Calix, a Brown Xweetok who lived a few houses down the road, was obsessed with the chocolate-y drink.

And, of course, while Leif was decorating some cookies for the neighbours, Bria had made one in the shape of a mailbox. It was slightly bigger than the others, and she stuffed it with an extra portion of figs, because Leif deserved it for their help.

Now, Bria was waiting in her kitchen together with the Shadow Krawk, ingredients spread out on the counter in front of them. They had prepared the cookie dough, and Bria anxiously paced up and down the kitchen, hoping that her neighbours would follow her invitation for the cookie decorating party.

"What if nobody comes?" She repeated, starting to feel anxious.

Leif placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "You already know Olga's going to come." The Cybunny had stopped by earlier to deliver another basket of figs, for the party. "And don't worry about the others, they'll be here any moment."

The moment they said those words, someone knocked on the door. Bria raced to get it, pulling it open.

Outside stood all of her neighbours. Bria smiled, her face lighting up as she saw that everyone had come.

"Come inside!" She motioned for everyone to get into her house. Just a while ago, she had been afraid that she would spend her holidays alone. Now it looked as if this year's Month of Giving season might end up extra special.

The End.