The Holidays Can Get a Little Batty

The Holidays Can Get a Little Batty, Ch. 01

Christmas

***

This Story involves human females and Furry males engaging in sexual acts, so be aware if that isn't what you're looking for. I've taken a lot of inspiration from Jay Naylor's works, especially his "The Fall of Little Red Riding Hood" series, as well as E.Z. McCain's "Beastiverse" stories, so you may envision the world of these stories in a similar light. In this world, humans live in conjunction with various Beastman races, among other animals and mythical creatures. However, a curse borne by the ancient Goddess Hera has lived in the hearts of women for millennia, making them crave for Beast Cock and sex with Beastmen, Animals, and Monsters.

In this chapter, a young Bat high schooler gets an early Christmas present from his beautiful best friend, a night in bed with both her and another lovely older woman of his dreams.

***

December 1^st had finally rolled around, and with holiday fever starting to grip the student body the school had at once become abuzz in excitement and also an absolute slog to suffer through while waiting for break. At the very least, it was nearing the end of that particular day of drudgery; there was only one last class before the day's end, and most students were killing time in the interim period before it began.

Among the chattering of the restless teenagers, two in particular talked shop just outside the door of a classroom, a young man with deep, olive hued skin and a boy with a much more Animalistic appearance, rarer but not totally out of the ordinary in their town. Funnily enough, it was the Beast kid that was less the stranger in that town than this companion.

"You sure seem excited, Miri. I don't think I've seen you vibrating in your seat as much as you've been all day." The human boy commented towards the desk next to him.

"I am excited, it's finally Christmas season!" The Beast, Miri, spoke back through a wide grin on his muzzle.

"Really, that's it? I mean, not that I'm knocking Christmas or anything, but it's only December first and you look like your about to punch a hole through the ceiling."

"Oh right, this'll be your first holiday break here, won't it Marcus? We do holiday stuff pretty big in this town. Lots of events and stuff going on, and my family and a bunch of our friends throw a lot of parties. Trust me, you'll see."

Miri all but gushed as he explained his good mood to his new friend. The other boy, Marcus, had only just moved into the town of Odessa, Pennsylvania a few months ago, basically right before the school year started. His family found themselves right in the same neighborhood as Miri's, and besides that the two were both seniors in high school who found themselves sharing many classes. A friendship quickly formed between the two, something they were each rather grateful for; Marcus obviously as he didn't really know anyone else around, and Miri because he'd never had a huge amount of close friends to spend time with... well, no guys at least.

"Uh huh. Well, I'm glad you're excited, I think I'll be a lot more in the spirit of the season once we're actually on break. Just hearing Christmas music inside every store isn't really cutting it for me when I still have projects due by the end of the semester." Marcus fired back, mildly sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's fair. I'll still get you around to see everything before break, though." Miri assured his newest friend.

"So you're like the resident Christmas expert?"

"Hey, it's my favorite holiday."

"Gotta say, it is a bit funny. I really would've guessed you'd be way more into Halloween, you know, since you're a Bat and all." Marcus half-jokingly replied, though that immediately replaced the smile on Miri's face with an annoyed look.

Miri was indeed a Bat, a Pallid Bat in fact, and that would've been immediately obvious to anyone on first glance. Contrasting the golden tan of his friend, Miri's body was covered in a dark, silvery-gray fur that almost seemed to shimmer to purple in certain lights. Two massive ears sprouted from the top of his head, enough that anyone who only saw his silhouette could've mistaken him for a Rabbit. And while his arms stretched down into the same hands as any of his human classmates, a pair of leathery, velvet-lined wings filled the space between his wrists and his waist.

But that comment by Marcus was far from the first time he'd heard something of the sort, and in all truth, that kind of thing had become something of a sore spot for the poor Chiropteran. Miri didn't want to unload on Marcus, but he really resented that line of thought, hating that people always had to assume he must live for Halloween solely because he's a Bat.

"Nah, I'm not really that big a fan of Halloween..." But despite his grievance, Miri managed to hold back an outburst and just grumbled in mild displeasure.

"Heh, a Bat that hates Halloween and loves Christmas. You know, I bet we could write a best-selling children's book based off that." But Marcus just continued to gently prod at his friend.

But as Miri's ears just twitched in continued annoyance, a third presence snuck in on the private conversation. The Bat suddenly felt a small but familiar hand clasped over his shoulder, and knew at once who it belonged to.

"Uh oh, I know that look even from the back of your head. Let me guess, you're getting riled up over holiday stuff again?" A sweet, girly voice rang out just beside Miri's large, sensitive ears.

"Wow, spot on. I guess I'm not the first to make fun of that, then?" Marcus said through his grin as he eyed the young woman who now leaned heavily over Miri's shoulder.

"Not by about eighteen or so years." Came the good-humored reply at the Bat's expense.

"Noelle..." Miri could only continue to sourly grumble the girl's name in exasperation.

Noelle was the girl in question, and despite her immediate teasing of the Beast, she was in fact Miri's oldest and best friend. A beautiful, blue-eyed bombshell and often the desire of every young lad in the school, she'd nevertheless remained more-or-less glued to Miri's side ever since they were young children, and even in their senior year in high school the two were rarely seen apart whenever they could help it.

"Well, I know when I'm about to get booted from a conversation. I'll see you after class then." Marcus said with a sly smile and nod before heading into the classroom.

As his more recent friend departed, Miri turned his neck to cast a sideways glance at his longer-kept and infinitely more troublesome friend, but Noelle just came forward fully into his line of sight with a brilliant if playful smile.

"You know, maybe you should just consider going with the flow and embracing the whole Halloween thing. I bet it'd make instances like this a lot more pleasant to deal with." She unhelpfully suggested through a teasing grin, but Miri just blew her a mildly exasperated sigh.

"Not gonna happen. I've hated that I fall under that old stereotype for my whole life, and I don't think I'm about to stop hating it now." Miri whined some more, but ignoring the mischevious looks Noelle kept casting him, he made the decision he wasn't going to simmer over this anymore. So, huffing out a breath, the aggrieved Bat shook his head a bit and forced himself to pep back up.

"But whatever, it'll be Christmas soon, a real holiday, and that's all I care about." He continued on, his expression at once brightening, which Noelle was certainly happy to see. Even so she wasn't about to let up on her friendly ribbing.

"Oh, I know one of the big reasons you look so forward to the Christmas season. It's because you get to see Mrs. Klaus in her Mrs. Claus getup." Noelle fun at the boy, something that got an immediate rise out of Miri. She loved how easy it was to tell when he was blushing, even despite the dark fur hiding his cheeks.

"Oh shut up already." The increasingly embarrassed Bat angrily growled.

Mrs. Klaus was a member of the church that both Noelle's and Miri's families attended. She was an incredibly sweet woman and had always been so nice to them as kids, bringing them baked goodies and entertaining them at church functions and social parties and such. More important to the issue at hand, every year she and her husband Ruben would dress up as Santa and his Wife for the local "Santa's Workshop" at their mall.

Obviously, Miri and Noelle always knew it was their neighbors and not the master and matron of the North Pole themselves, but they never cared. But Noelle had always made a point of how, without fail, Miri would always gawk longingly over the pretty Mrs. Claus, even when they were kids. Now though, even as Mrs. Klaus approached forty years old, she was still a stunningly beautiful woman, and Noelle still never failed to notice when Miri's eyes would sparkle over his earliest crush.

"It's really too bad that you'll never get a chance to cozy up to Mrs. Claus for real." Noelle continued to mercilessly taunt her friend. "It just wouldn't work. Nobody would buy a purple, pointy-eared Bat in a red suit and white beard trying to pass himself as Mrs. Claus' husband."

"I could so play Santa if I wanted! Just because I'm a Bat doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to do the same Christmas stuff as anyone else!" Now Miri was starting to get truly indignant and defensive as he practically whined at his supposed best friend.

Unfortunately for the Chiropteran, Noelle had purposefully goaded him into saying something just like that, and he'd walked headlong into her trap. Now the teen girl utterly gleamed at him as though in triumph.

"I'm happy to hear you say that, because I just so happened to hear from my mom that Mr. and Mrs. Klaus are looking for a couple of extra helpers to play their 'elves' this year. And since you're so confident you can play up a holly-jolly role, I think we should go ahead and sign up!"

Miri's expression immediately turned from vexed to horrified and he quickly backed down. Noelle could see the Bat choke on his words, flustered beyond rebuke by her sudden turnabout.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd jump at this, it's the perfect chance to get closer to your precious Mrs. Claus after all. Who knows, maybe you'll even get the chance to catch her under the mistletoe?" Noelle's voice grew low, almost tempting as she fluttered her eyes at the beleaguered Bat.

Miri was speechless, barely coming to terms with how he'd fallen hook, line, and sinker for Noelle egging him on like that. But before he was able to actually respond to her, the bell finally rung, effectively ending their conversation.

"Great, it's decided then!" Noelle emphatically said with a devilish grin before she skipped off to her class.

Left alone, Miri could only breathe a heavy sigh, a new and very unexpected wight having been left resting on his shoulders.

'Great, just what is she planning on getting us into?'

***

The Following Weekend

***

"Uhhhh, hey Noelle... I-I'm really not sure about this..." Miri's very uncertain voice rang out from behind a privacy curtain.

But Noelle had no mind to hear of hesitation from her Batty best friend at this point, and merely put her hands on her hips and cast a rather expectant look at the curtain, as though Miri would simply be able to sense it.

"Stop stalling and get out here Miri!" Noelle's commanding insistence reached the Bat's sensitive ears, and he knew he had little choice but to resign himself to this fate she'd sealed them to.

Miri stepped out from behind the curtain, a clearly reluctant look etched on his furry face, but as soon as he was in sight Noelle couldn't hold back her delighted gasp. Her precious, purple Bat boy was dressed in a very tight-fitting green Christmas elf costume. He was the perfect picture of what it would be like if Santa's workshop was based out of a cave in California.

"Oh my gosh you look adorable!" Noelle positively gushed over Miri, her own expression exuberant and the complete opposite of the Beast's. "I'll admit, I wasn't really sold earlier, but you were right, you do wear Christmas well!"

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I said that." Miri, though, continued to pout as he looked over himself in some dismay.

"What are you talking about? This is exactly what you wanted!" Noelle continued to assert as she fawned over the way his big ears poked out around his droopy green cap.

"I said I wouldn't have minded playing Santa! There's at least some dignity in that, but this..." Miri trailed off, gesturing ridiculously to himself.

"Oh, get off it. Besides, I'm gonna be right here doing it alongside you, and I'm not complaining." Noelle tried to assure her friend.

"Yeah, but at least on you the outfit looks... uhh..." Miri tried to argue back, but quickly trailed off as he actually looked over Noelle in her matching elf costume. The teenage Beast couldn't help blushing as he really started to notice that his already pretty friend looked extremely cute dressed up in the skin-tight garments.

But his sudden loss of argumentativeness had Noelle's ears (complete with pointy elf prosthetics) perking up in curiosity, and she grew a mischievous grin as she stepped closer towards the Bat.

"What's that now? The outfit looks what on me?" She asked him quite flirtatiously.

Miri had to gulp and lean back a bit as she encroached on him, but somehow managed to find the voice to reply.

"You know... you look... really cute like that." The anxious young Beast finally admitted.

At that bout of honesty, Noelle backed off, but also gave him a much more teasing grin.

"See, being sweet isn't all that hard, now come on..." Noelle suddenly sparked up once again. "...we're all dressed for the part, so we may as well get the show started."

*

Miri and Noelle had been dropped off at their local mall a little while ago, just before "Santa's Workshop" was set to open. It was by no means a small affair, and having been in the crowd as excited children numerous times when they were younger, both of the teenagers knew fully what to expect when the crowds rolled in with their kids who were so excited to meet the big red man himself.

Already feeling more than a bit self-conscious wearing the elf getup out in public now, Miri cast a nervous look towards his companion, making one last attempt to weasel out of this predicament.

"Noelle listen, I'm really not so sure about this."

But the bright blonde just melted his apprehension with a totally unworried smile.

"You just have to relax, Miri. I promise this is gonna be fun!" Noelle quickly shushed up the Bat, and before he could protest any more she pointed out their patron for the evening.

Ruben Klaus, aka Santa Claus, was just arriving to his big throne, his own prestigious outfit already adorned, and while Ruben was hardly a senior Miri felt that the kindly man filled his costume far better than the Bat did his own. But at least he was a familiar face, and the two volunteer cast members made their way over towards him.

Ruben's face lit up as he saw the two children he'd known for nearly a decade approach, all geared up and ready to be his loyal little helpers for the evening.

"Well just look at you both, you look fantastic! I really can't say enough how happy I am that you volunteered for this!" The kindly gentleman greeted them heartily, reaching out and pulling them each into a firm, gracious handshake.

"We're totally happy to be here! All the years we were the ones who were sitting on your lap, it only makes sense we should help make that magic for the next generation." Noelle happily assured the Santa stand-in, earning a decent chuckle from the man.

"Yeah, happy to help." Miri added, though not quite as enthusiastically. "Actually, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are we going to be doing tonight?"

"Hohoho!" Ruben seemed amused by the little Beast's question, and gave his best Santa laugh in response, a decent tribute all things considered.

"You don't need to worry, ol' Saint Nick does most of the work at these things. You two are mainly gonna be helping my wife settle the children, keep the crowd moving and such. She'll be sure to show you two the ropes." After that bit of assurance, the red clad man turned to head off to his seat of honor.

After Ruben had turned his back, and as Miri was distracted fretting over his responsibilities, Noelle playfully elbowed him in the side, earning a bit of an over-dramatic response from the Bat.

"See, we're gonna get a whole lotta face time with Mrs. Claus herself. Bet you feel pretty lucky now, huh?" The bright young girl smugly teased.

"Will you quit with that already?" Miri pathetically pleaded, but before Noelle could stoke his ire further, a voice suddenly piped up from a short ways behind them.

"Ah, there you two are!"

The serenely sweet voice instantly drew both sets of eyes, but it was Miri's eyes that quickly turned from malcontent to hazy daydreams as he eyed the festively gorgeous woman approaching them. Mrs. Brandy Klaus was quickly strolling towards the two teens, her bright smile practically illuminating the room and her Mrs. Claus outfit making her look utterly enchanting.

Unfortunately, the captivated Chiropteran couldn't deny that Noelle was totally right. Ever since he was a little kid he'd had quite the crush on Mrs. Klaus, and she always looked her most beautiful to him every year at Christmas when she would adorn her warm, inviting Mrs. Claus outfit.

But as Miri gawked, Noelle just rolled her eyes and waved Brandy over to them with an equally warm smile.

"Hey there Mrs. Klaus! Gosh, you look great in your outfit!" The girl gushed as much as ever.

"Oh thank you sweety, but just look at you two, you both look so precious in those outfits! I felt so lucky when I heard you both wanted to help with the workshop this year, the children are just gonna love it! I can't thank you both enough.

As Brandy praised them both Miri just continued to stare brainlessly, but another quick elbow jab from Noelle managed to loosen his tongue.

"Y-yeah, we were definitely excited to volunteer." The Bat spoke, hoping he didn't sound more than half as awkward as he thought. But ever the angel she was, Mrs. Klaus merely continued to beam at the young Beast.

"Wonderful! Well then, why don't you two follow me and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Mrs. Klaus led the teenagers off, guiding them around the "North Pole" and filling them in on all that they'd be doing. Not long after that Santa's Workshop opened to the public, and children flooded the mall. Miri and Noelle were largely responsible for helping Mrs. Klaus direct the crowds, but more than they were there to interact with the children and families, help sell the magic.

Noelle took to the task as easily as Brandy herself did. Miri, understandably, was a bit more anxious at first, as despite his own professed hopes he expected that most people wouldn't find a Bat like him very Christmassy. But as the minutes and hours wore on, it became more and more clear that the kids didn't mind one bit, and only cared about him as the elf, not as the Bat. Before too long, Miri's smile was as sincere and unconcerned as Noelle's, and he found himself having a wonderful time helping so many kids have fun.

The event lasted a couple hours, and despite there being a tidal wave of people, Noelle and Miri felt the time fly by for them and eventually the evening came to an end; Santa's Workshop (at least this one here) had to close.