A Radiance Christmas (Stand Alone)

"Why yes, we are and umm why were you were watching me bathe?" Sabat said sounding both surprised and embarrassed.

The woman flushed bright crimson that was so deep that they could even see it under the moon and starlight easily. "Well umm the first time I didn't mean to I was looking for the mushrooms that grow along the water's edge in the forest and I just kinda spotted you in the lake, I was so scared that I dared not run in case you heard me and pursued me, so I'm simply sat as still as a stone and watched you," she admitted sounding embarrassed.

"The first time?" Serena pressed curiously and the woman's flush deepened as she shuffled her feet.

"Well I umm kinda came back another day wondering if he would be there, I'd never seen a Claw up close before and he just looked so well Ummm magnificent, like a force of nature make flesh and scale that I just couldn't help but watch him, it was like watching nature's sculpting hand at work, I was umm kinda mesmerized by just how peaceful and tranquil he looked, nothing like the stories I've heard about your kind, in them you are always portrayed at slobbering beasts that would tear you asunder for nothing more than existing but as I watched you that's not what I saw at all, you were an apex predator keen and majestic in a terrifying way sure but oddly serene all the same," the woman admitted sounding more and more embarrassed with every word that tumbled from her lips.

Now it was Sabat's turn to look embarrassed as something seemed to flash through his mind and rippled through his eyes though on perceivable to one like Serena who knew him well enough to see it, "Umm how long did you umm watch me for?" he asked quickly but also tripping on his words like he was worried that she knew some kind of terrible secret he was hiding and by the way, the woman's blush deepened to the point where her skin almost looked like it was made from pure ebony under the silver moonlight.

"One day I saw you arrive and I watched you until you left, I umm kinda well saw your whole ritual," she said sounding part embarrassed and part mortified though not as mortified as Sabat looked.

"Oh," he said simply in a quiet voice which instantly set Serena on edge.

Rather than continue their discourse the pair went quiet and both Serena and the woman's brother both looked confused, "Is this why you started scratching Claws Melody?" the brother said suddenly breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the group and Melody nodded.

"Yes," she said.

Serena looked between them all until her plan snapped her mind back into reality like an alpha matriarch's tail slapping her upside the head, "So if you are from the village then you obviously know of the problems you have been facing because of the raiders correct?" Serena said and the man looked at her curiously.

"Well obviously why?" he said and a grin broke out on Serena's face.

"Because I have a plan that could fix everything for both of us, your people and us," she said proudly and now both of the humans looked at her curiously.

"You wish to help us? But why?" he asked.

"Because not only is it the right thing to do but it will mean that maybe just maybe we will have a shot of having ourselves a new pack to be a part of, do you have any idea what it's like being stuck in a cave all day fearful that your every step will result in you being run off or worse killed for merely existing?' she said looking right at him making him wince/

"Well yeah I can guess how bad that would feel," he said.

"Bad? It's downright miserable, no proud claw should be forced to endure such things but that's why we are going to help you and I believe I know just how to do it all we need is an edge," Serena said.

"An edge?" the man asked curiously and Serena nodded.

"What would you need to drive the raiders off for good?' she asked.

"Well umm guns lots of them," the man said and Serena nodded thoughtfully.

"Know where such things could be found?" she asked and the man shrugged thoughtfully.

"Well there is an abandoned military outpost not far from here but no one ever dares go near the place as it's filled to bursting with feral Ghouls that will tear you apart, though from what I've heard there is supposed to be a cache in the place, it was supposed to be an arms dump for use for defence before the war," he said and Serena snapped her fingers again.

"And we have our plan! Come humans lead us to this military base, it's time for operation Santa Claws to become reality!!" Serena said joyfully and both humans looked at one another before turning to Sabat.

"Operation Santa Claws?" Melody asked.

"Just go with it, my sister is a bloody crazy tail but she's also a bloody stubborn Crazy tail so it's easier just to humour her," he said about a second before his sister's tail smacked him upside the head.

The walk to the base was a relatively short one and as they walked Serena explained her plan to both the humans and her brother, both humans seemed both surprised and genuinely amazed by it but more so that they would be willing to go to such lengths just to help them out.

The base wasn't big but it was well fortified, it looked like a staging post that had a large concrete bunker in the middle of it, it was a shipping area that would act as a FOB if the country ever got overrun with hostile forces.

Even from here, they could see the packs of feral Ghouls wandering aimlessly around the place, some of them had blatantly once been the soldiers that manned the post that had been dosed with the radiation from the falling bombs of the war who now even to this day endlessly patrolled the silent structure their final duty seemingly never-ending, well that was until two angry Claws and two unsure but willing humans hit them like a force of nature.

Both Serena and Sabat cleaved their way through the Ghouls drawing their attentions away from the two humans who had stationed themselves in one of the tall watch towers so that not only would they be safe from the Ghoul's counter-attack but also they could rain arrows down on them.

It took them just half an hour to completely clear the place out of Ghouls after Sabat had the genius idea of drumming his claws on one of the metal blast doors to draw the Ghouls from inside the building out into the open where they could be far easier dispatched by both the humans and themselves.

Once the place was clear and the ghouls were no more than a pile of corpses and severed limbs the group made their way inside and began searching through the depths.

"Damn you guys are serious fighters! I never would have believed we could have taken a place like this on with just four of us!" the man who Serena had learned was called Timothy said enthusiastically.

Serena shot him a fang-filled grin, "See what can be achieved if good Claws and good humans work together?" she said reaching out to ruffle his soft fur without even thinking about it until after she'd done it.

Both of them looked at one another in surprise at her actions, "Umm sorry I err didn't mean to do that it umm kinda just slipped out, I've always liked human fur it looks umm soft and exotic," Serena quickly stammered and Timothy who had asked them to call him Tim snapped out of his confusion and simply smiled at her.

"Well then tit for tat I guess as long as you don't get shirty with me if I pull your tail then we'll call it even," he said and Serena's jaw almost dropped open until she realised that a human would have no way of knowing the meaning behind pulling a female Claw's tail given that an interested male suitor would use it as a kinda o friendly and playful challenge to show his interest in her but it was the words that accidentally slipped out next that made her brother's mouth fall open let alone her own.

"You can pull it if you want, just make sure your ready for what comes after it I'm not a girl to back down from a challenge," she said making Timothy simply chuckle and continue on his way obviously oblivious to the gauntlet she had just thrown his way but Sabat sure as hell wasn't and was now looking at her like she had indeed gone full crazy tail on him.

Down in the deepest bowls of the military bunker, they found one or two straggler Ghouls that were instantly and easily dispatched by a few silent and well-placed arrows by their human companions but it was they found in that room that really got Tim and Melody worked up because they're on the rack and in boxes were shelves upon shelves of mint condition military-grade firearms as well as a few other things.

"Holy shit! We found the fucking motherlode! We could equip a fucking army with these hell not only could we equip every man woman and kin in the fucking village but we could seal a load and it still wouldn't put a dent in it but how the hell are we going to move all of this!?" Tim said his smile turning to a frown and once again Serena ruffled his hair by pre instinct making him dodge and bat her large hand away as she grinned down at him.

"Fear not little human leave this to the Santa Claws! I have just the plan to sort this out and you can thank the wisdom of this human tome for it!" She said showing him the book at which he looked confused but he shrugged all the same, it seemed he was just learning as Sabat had said to just roll with it,

Four hours later they had all the guns and ammo for them all on the surface, the armoury was now as empty as the grave that the base had become, while the humans and her brother had been busy fetching and carrying Serena had been busy building, it had been pretty hard to get what she needed from the human base given it wasn't exactly how it was in the pictures but by the time they were done she had managed to build a pretty fair approximation of it.

"I-Is that a fucking sleigh?" Timothy exclaimed looking at the large metal structure made from a couple of pickup truck beds that had been bolted and welded together which thanks to her love of pictures and diagrams in human tomes Serena had figured out how to do that sat upon four sets of salvaged truck axles complete with wheels and a large harness at the front so it could be pulled along.

"it is indeed my dear Tim, the sleigh of the Santa Claws and look there's even a set of antlers for Santa's loyal radstag!" Serena said popping the pair of shaped metal antlers on top of Sabat's head clipping them between his horns so he couldn't easily pull them off.

"What the hell! I am not pulling that! I am a proud Claw not a beast of burden!" Sabat grumped as he tried fruitlessly to remove the metal antlers.

"Actually brother you are the only one strong enough to pull it, I doubt even I could get the thing moving alone now it's fully loaded, though between us I think we could get it going," Serena said gesturing to the second set of harnesses next to the one that her brother had seen.

Sabat growled and scowled at her, "Just think of it like this you could use it as an excuse to show off those incredible muscles of yours for a certain human lady not oh so far away now couldn't you?" Serena said with a wink and a gentle flick of her tail to his side making his tail go as ridged as a board and Melody blushed as she caught the hint.

"I-I-I have no idea what you are getting at!" Sabat exclaimed and Serena nudged him and winked again.

"Sure you don't brother dear but if it makes you feel any better let's just say like brother like sister and let's just say if my tail gets pulled its a challenge I will not ignore, now come one we have human holiday cheer to deliver but first a slight diversion this plan has to be perfect," she said taking up one of the harnesses as both of the humans climbed onto the cart/sleigh and he grumpy but also stunned brother took up the other one, then just like that they were off towards destiny.

They stopped off at the little human city at Serena's instruction and while her three companions sat watching in confusion Serena scoured the city from top to bottom until she found what she was looking for then while grumbling and moaning Sabat continued to pull the sleigh alone she sat in the back working hard, though to be fair he very nearly had refused until Serena had ever so subtly hinted that she'd noticed that Melody appeared to have become hypnotized by the swishing of his tail while he'd been pulling before, then suddenly he had more than enough strength and motivation to get them all moving again.

By the time they arrived back at the village Serena's plan was complete and now she sat happily decked out in red fluffy fur trimmed in white between two very confused but happy humans as Sabat pulled the sleigh grumbling along all while he did, though Serena noticed it didn't stop him from glancing over his shoulder every so often to see if Melody was indeed watching his tail swish, infact she was almost tempted to tell him she was no longer watching his tail but instead was watching his sculpted rear end bunching as he walked instead.

"I gotta say I never imagined in a million years that not only would we get saved by a pair of Claws from raiders today but that I'd be part of delivering salvation to my people with said claws when I woke up yesterday morning," Timothy said looking up at Serena who simply flashed him a toothy smile.

"And here I was thinking that it was you, humans who invented the concept of a Christmas miracle," she said chuckling at her own joke as he smiled and chuckled before reaching out and patting her thigh which made a shot of pure pleasure and joy travel right up her leg and into her belly where it appeared to have released a cloud of miniature blood bugs which buzzed around her belly now.

"Goddamn Christmas miracle it is, well either that or I'm either dead or got jacked up with so much jet by those fucking raiders while they have their way with me and my sister that I'm hallucinating the fuck out of my skull right now," he said chuckling.

Serena growled darkly, "No one will ever 'have their way' with you as you say while I still draw breath," she snarled and he shot her a surprised look which morphed into a warm smile.

"Oh? Seem awfully confident of that big girl, you gonna keep on guarding me every day then? Who knows I might wander off into the woods and get set upon by a savage pack of human-hungry mutants or ghouls or something?" he said playfully and Serena growled again.

"Well then I would simply show them exactly why it is your kind call my kind 'Death' Claws," she said proudly and he roared with laughter and patted her thigh again sending more blood bungs into the air o her stomach.

As they neared the village Timothy decided to get their stuff from the rear of the sleigh and he stopped over the large set of car seats that Serena had fastened to the frame and into the bed, but as he did they hit a rather sizeable bump which caused him to nearly over balance and fall flat on his face so wheeling his arms like a pair of windmills he reached out and grabbed the first thing he could to save himself, which unfortunately just so happened to be Serena's long tail which was resting atop of one of the crates.

Serena let out a very unclawlike squeal of surprise and whipped her large head around to see what was happening and when she did she found herself face to face with Timothy still holding onto her long scaled tail and looking at her with a rather embarrassed look on his handsome features.

'Err sorry about that big girl, no harm done I hope?' he said slowly placing it back on the crate it had been resting on.

Serena's eyes tracked it and then travelled back up to meet him, she growled throatily as every instinct she had buzzed like the beating of a million insect wings in her head and heart, so great was the effort of restraining herself that she was only able to speak two words, "Challange accepted," she said.

The sentries on guard duty repeatedly rubbed their eyes as they saw the incredibly odd sight approaching them, it wasn't until Timothy and Melody called up to them to open the gates that they snapped out of their stupor and went to work at opening the large wooden gates allowing the sleigh to glide silently on through with only the sound of Sabat grunting and panting cutting through the silence.

As they finally stopped in the town square the sentries approached cautiously as the three occupants of the sleigh jumped down and one very knackered Sabat collapsed into a panting heap with his tail end in the air as he tried to recover his strength.

"Oh, you poor thing! You must be exhausted, come with me we'll get you a soft fur to lay on and some water to drink!' Melody exclaimed rushing over to the big crumpled male claw trying to struggle to hoist him up onto his feet.

But being the gentle Claw that he was Sabat could only manage to look confused as hell as he allowed himself to be towed off by the very insistent little human woman towards what must have been her hut all while Serena simply gave him a powerful and very knowing grin.

"What in the name of hell is going on Timothy? What's all this?" one of the sentries exclaimed looking from the human hunter to Serena to the retreating male claw being unceremoniously stuffed through a small doorway by a still very insistent little human woman who was currently driving him through by putting her shoulder to his arse as he cot his hips stuck in the doorway until he popped through like a cork shooting out of a bottle before the door slammed shut behind them and then onto the sleigh now loaded with very colourfully wrapped boxes and gun like shapes.

"This Emmet is a real-life fucking Christmas miracle, grab the rest of the sentries because you are about to witness operation Santa Claws in all of its glory and trust me it ain't gonna disappoint because today our fucking home is saved!" he said leaving them all stood stunned to silence staring at a Claw dressed in red and white riding aboard a sleigh filled with beautifully wrapped gifts.

It took a lot of stealth, patience and skill to pull off what Serena had in mind for the town but thanks to the sentries getting on board after Timothy explained what she had in mind they got to work and got it done, pretty soon not only did every single house have bright coloured gifts but they now had little trees to put them under thanks to two of the sentries knowing about a little patch of pine trees near-by.

Serena also decided to really put it over the top by going out night hunting while the sentries delivered the gifts like a well-trained army of little elves, so with a gargantuan effort from all except for Sabat and Melody who hadn't been seen since she had dragged the exhausted Claw boy into her hut for some much needed TLC after his gargantuan effort of pulling the sleigh to the town, they finally got it done.

Thanks to Timothy knowing some very good hunting spots near by both he and Serena managed to bad quite a few mole rats and rad stags which between the pair of them they quickly ferried back to the village and Serena had to admit the striking little human really had a talent for hunting having seen him take down more than one radstag on the run with but a single arrow, she did so like a male who could provide for his pack.

But the real joy came when the morning broke and people began to stir from their beds when the people of the village were roused by cries of alarm that rapidly turned to joy as they realised that their homes had been entered during the night but intruders hadn't made off with their meagre belongings oh no, instead they had given them something, hope.

"Mom what's this!?" Serena hears a hatchling's voice yell from one of the houses filled with wonder and joy.

"Billy you put the bloody rocket launcher down right this moment or I swear to god I'll tan your hide and Emma do not point that sniper rifle at your bloody brother!!" the matriarch yelled her voice not so much filled with joy but exasperation, they had, of course, left some things for the hatchlings of the village as well in the form of little toys that Serena had grabbed while hunting for the wrapping paper in the city they've passed through where she'd found the book.