It was the night before christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. There is some other flavor text to be had there but Connor just couldn't be bothered to finish the statement. No matter how iconic it was. Connor was at the moment on Drum Island, to be specific he was within the Sakura Kingdom. This place was already cold to begin with but around these times it just gets way too chilly. Connor being a Mink, and a Ox Mink at that, could take the cold...if he had a coat on. But for now he would just be wearing a hood. The man's foot prints would trail behind him as he entered a baking store. He wanted to get something warm and sweet to heat up his body, and Connor thought that hot chocolate might be the way to go. It was pretty late in the night so there was only one person watching the shop.

It was an old lady, who would nod off again and again in about 7 second intervals. It wasn't very annoying to Connor, he understood that it was late and she wasn't very young. She was just doing her job.  In fact Connor didn't even think she noticed him until he spoke up and jolted her from his short napping sessions. He had a fragile voice but it was an innocent filled one. She wen to that back filled a cup of Hot Chocolate and placed it gently on the counter. "Excuse me...how did y-" Before Connor could even finish his sentence the old woman put her hand up and stopped him. He voice shook a bit but steadied itself. "No need to ask how I knew, I just did. Now you go sit down and enjoy that cup and I don't want to hear another word." Connor would try to ask about the payment but she interrupted again. "Not. A. Word"

Connor smile and swiftly grabbed his cup from the counter. Finding himself a sweat in the back of the cafe esk baking store. The old woman reminding Connor of his own grandma, kind, always knew what you wanted. But enough about that, Connor didn't want to taint the sweet memories he had of her. Marines tend to take a lot of things away from kind innocent people. Connor tightly gripped the handle of the cup before letting go when he noticed where he was. "No need to get agitated" he ensured himself. He was a Revolutionary. And he was going to make sure that things that happened to him happen to no one.

Connor would glance back at the old woman and would notice that she was now gone. The mink man would stand up and look around before he would see a slightly opened door in the back. Curiosity mode would kick in for Connor as he would take a peek into the room in which the door led to. It was once again the old woman, but something would be odd here. She would take out dozen upon dozen of ginger bread cookies from out of the oven. And if you asked Connor he would tel you that there was no way in hell that many cookies fit into that small oven. But things were just about to get even weirder....

After the extraordinary amount of cookies were taken out of the oven, the lady would close the oven and would make way towards a refrigerator. As soon as she opened it, red and green lights would begin to eminate from it. It would switch from red to green and so on and so forth. She didn't seem to be bothered but the bright lights though. She didn't seem to adjust her eye's or anything. She just kept getting deeper and deeper into the refrigerator until she was no longer able to be seen. The lights continued to flicker though. Connor could feel the temperature shift....was...was the refrigerator dragging in the cold from somewhere else? Well it was posted against the wall, but looking outside the winds wasn't blowing as hard as the wind that was coming out of the refrigerator. Suddenly the old woman's head would jolt out of the refrigerator and would make a complete 360 around the room. First off...what the fuck....second off, Connor didn't make a sound. Well at least he didn't think he made a sound.

Was she using smell? Connor would attempt to smell himself but if the old lady wasn't who she seemed like who she was then she might hear him do that. After a few more seconds of 360 surveillance the old woman would smile. And if you could ask Connor what one of the creepiest things he ever laid his eye's on in this life, he would tell you this. The red and green candy canes, instead of teeth shined and reflected off of the single dim light connected to the ceiling. She would run her tongue through them and would slowly close her mouth. She would then come out of the ridge, mind you she didn't seem to have any sort of warm clothes on, and from Connor's perspective it was starting to get cold as shit in the shop. It was about time Connor got the hell out of here. He didn't know what was going on and didn't really feel like getting touched by the Christmas spirit.(You know what I mean :3)

Taking a single step back the sound seemingly echoing throughout the whole shop. The old woman's head would almost instantly run towards the direction of the door. She would squint and would then run towards the door. This of course made Connor's eyes widen. He quickly jumped back before landing next to his table and would act like he dropped something and was picking it up. The old lady would poke her head through the door and would spot Connor picking up a spoon. "Oh dearrrrrr, you don't have to pick that up" Connor would fake a smile "Oh don't worry about it" At the moment, Connor was trying his hardest to not show his sweat but he was definitely freaked out at the moment. He would pick up the spoon and would place it back on the table. Hopefully she didn't notice that she never gave me a spoon to begin with.

She would smile again this time, but it wasn't like the first one. It was a much more calm type of smile. She didn't show her teeth and the hungry like look in her eye's wasn't there either. She was obviously putting on a facade and she would of probably gotten Connor if he didn't peep on her before. Saying it like that sounds a bit....yeah.
Let's just go with spy on. Suddenly a moan could be heard from the back causing the old woman to take a step back. "If you don't mind....I will be right back....." The lady would once more disappear into the back....but to quell what? Connor didn't even want to know.

The refrigerator would rattle and shake viciously. It seemed like something was attempting to get out. Truly where did this refrigerator lead to? Water would begin to leak from the bottom of the fridge. Then a stick would poke out of the side trying to force it's way through. Connor would be back to spying. Watching the old lady attempt to keep what ever was trying to get out, in. She would try to reach for a broom who was placed against a table placed across the room. Which was about 4 meters from one wall to the next. She looked like she was starting to lose grip and was losing strength. At this point, Connor couldn't just stay back and watch. He rushed in, to the old woman's surprise and started to help her keep whatever was trying to get out back. After a few minutes the shaking and rattling would suddenly stop and the woman would jolt up.

She stood still for about 30 seconds before opening her mouth to proportions that shouldn't be humanly or minkly possible. Her teeth was still candy cane but it would begin to change color. From the looks of it, it was rooting. Then a low hum could be heard from her throat but would being to raise in sound and disturbance. This sound would then morph and contort into a freakish scream. Connor covered his ears and made way to the front door. He would look back, grab and drink the rest of his drink and would run out of the shop. Heavy breathes would escape from the mink's mouth. But then that same sound could be heard faintly. No fucking way....was he scream getting louder? Wait wouldn't she wake people up? Connor would fix his coat and keep the hood over his face.

Connor didn't want to just walk away just incase someone was int eh shadows hiding and thought he was the source of the sound and would report him to the Marines. And having Marines here while dealing with this would probably be the worst situation possible. He wanted to keep a low profile but it seemed like with every passing second that wish would be crushed. Connor wanted to go back in, but with how loud it got outside, going in might just blow his eardrums.  But for some reason the volume would just continue to rise. Connor would once again cover his ears. But something that would freak him out even more than the old woman. Looking around....why wasn't anyone coming out from their houses to check on the noise? It was quiet loud and would probably wake up the surrounding residents. But that's just it, no one was around as far as Connor could see.

Dark, lifeless houses. In an instant the scream would silence itself. This caused Connor to have a sigh of relief and would begin to chuckle. This was definitely wasn't going to be a winter he was going to forget. Not for a while at least. Just as Connor started to calm down, A giant snowball would smash into a house next to him. Around 5 meters away. Of course Connor was shocked but what shocked him more was the fact that this snowball began to move....

It broke apart, but then it reformed itself. It attempted to roll itself off of the house it smashed into, but with the bits and piece of wood that make for a makeshift spike trap caused it some trouble keeping it's shape. Finally it would collapse onto the street but it wouldn't instant come back together. But soon enough it began to move once more. It's various piece of snow coming together like cogs being place in a clock. It was very reminiscent of something very mechanical. It has almost robotic like movement. It didn't seem to flow like a usual life-form. Which made sense, this thing wasn't anything usual. Connor would grip the handle of his sword but would loosen his grip. Would cutting this thing down even stop it? Was using energy worth it? Well, due to the scientific method, one must test their hypothesis.

And Connor's hypothesis was that his attacks wouldn't do a damn thing to it. But it was time for experimentation and Connor was very eager for results. He would once more grip the handle of his sword. He would dash towards the ball of forming snow and would stop right before it. He would perform the standard Iaijutsu stance and would quickly slash at the ball of snow and would reshealth the sword in quick succession. He would then gracefully jump back and would wait a moment before the ball of snow would be divided in two. So first things first. The ball of snow isn't very hard. Connor was about to cut through the thing almost effortlessly. But next was whether or not cutting it would be effective. Connor probably already knew the answer to his question but testing it shouldn't hurt.

After the ball of snow collapsed it would shake a for moment, attempt to reform and would collapse once more. It would continue this process a total of 3 times before successfully reforming itself. Connor gripped his sword once more, but had another question. And it would be quiet troublesome if what he was thinking was what was actually happening. Connor was thinking that the ball of Snow was adapting and was getting used to getting cut, so that if it happened again it would be able to quickly reform itself. Conor would place his hand on his head as the thought of that would ruin his day.....more that it already was ruined. The sound of something descending would quiver throughout the sky. As the gently falling snow would continue to fall without trouble. SMASH! the sound of a second ball of snow would fall smack dab in the street behind the first ball of snow.

Connor was filled with questions. Because from his knowledge, when balls of snow are gathered together, they are either meant to be throne or are meant to put together a sn- Connor would face palm at the fact that he didn't grasp at what the ball of snow was at the first sight of sticks. Speaking of sticks where did they go? As soon as Connor finish that sentence a shadow waved over him. Speaking of the devil it was one of the sticks and they didn't seem to friendly. It seems they were going to conduct the first strike as the Hand began to move down at quick speeds. Probably attempting to fatten Connor.

Techniques Used:

Rolling out of the way, Connor would evade the giant stick hand. It's impact with the ground signaled that if he got hit by that then he would of been seriously injured. Which mean't Connor wasn't going to be playing around anymore. He was going to make sure this thing would perish. It's attack patterns were unique. At one moment would would be quickly would enormous amounts of power. The next it would be slumped on the floor, moving like a worm out of dirt. Connor wanted to check something out though, he wanted to see if anyone was in the house that the snowball crashed into. He would jump over the stick hand and would make his way into the rubble. Not paying much mind to the balls of snow attempting to merge into an even large ball of snow.

And to Connor's surprises there was no one within the house. Which was weird because during the day these people could be going in and out of the house. So Connor was sure that people living within these walls. Well, rubble now. Another loud noise would draw his attention once more. This being one final ball of snow. But it wasn't alone. This ball of snow had a hat on with a carrot nose and a face made with stones. The snow would now finally merge into one. But there was a hole within the head. And out from the roof of the shop Connor come from was the old lady. She still looked like she was screaming but no noise was coming from he mouth. She looked frozen. And after being placed within the hole it would be covered up.

Which was weird to Connor. What did the snow man want with the old lady? Did they have something in common? The sizes wouldn't match as the stick hands he saw in the shop looked like they belonged to a regular snowman. Not one that was the size of a building. This whole situation was quiet confusing for Connor. The events that are transpiring in front of him isn't things that regularly happen within the laws of nature. Giant Moving Snowmen aren't a thing....are they? Was there an island with living snowmen? Are they all this size? As the snowman turned towards Connor he would stop thinking and would prepare himself for an attack.

The snowman would drag his hand agains the floor in attempts to swipe at Connor. But Connor would make quick work of the hand cutting and dicing it 3 times. Reshealthing his blade he would jump back and observe what would the snow man do now without a proper hand. Roots started growing out of the hand and within a matter of seconds the hand would be regrown. Connor would sigh, as the thought of this thing being unkillable wouldn't really be fair now would it. This thing had to of have some sort of weak point....and maybe that old lady has something to do with it.

Techniques Used:

The snowman would grind his hand across the floor, and instantly Connor noticed something. The thing couldn't move, it doesn't have any legs. Well, it must have some sort of travel system. Seeing how it's right in front of him right now. Connor would jump back dodging the attack. The Snowman was tall almost 2 stories tall so it was quite slow but Connor wasn't doubting it's strength. The snowman was starting to try a new tactic. It would grab a chunk from it's body and would then throw it at high velocity. Connor would wait and quickly slash the basket ball sized snowball in half. Having crash behind him into a building.

But the snowman wouldn't stop there. It would seem that he was absorbing the snow from the ground to rebuild itself. But this was quicker than before. Has it learn to speed up the process? It wasn't even falling apart anymore. Connor thought that the longer that this fight goes on the more this thing will learn and get stronger. Connor quickly rushed the Snowman and went in to slice it in half once more, dicing and slicing any snowball that the snowman chucked at him. Spinning and cutting, if someone was watching him it would look like he was dancing around and fighting at the same time.

As he would finally reach the beast as his blade inches from it's body. He was proceed with a horizontal strike. He was aiming for where the old lady was placed. But something truly interesting occurred. The snowman lifted half of it's body up dodging the strike of Connor and returning it with a swipe of it's mighty hand. Connor blocked most of the attack but was still sent flying into a building on the right. Connor was begin to move the rubble off of him as blood ran down from his head and flowed down his face. Connor would rise slowly from the now destroyed building.

He began to chuckle as this was the first time he met a beast as unique and as powerful as the one he was currently facing. In fact it filled him with excitement at the thought of putting it down once and for all. He dusted his clothes of dust and snow with a hint of dirt. And would go in once more. Slashing and dodging the snowman's attacks while the snowman did the same. Both being attempting to kill the other. This was truly a battle to the death. After a while Connor figured that the Snowman wasn't going to let him get to the old woman's body without getting hurt himself.

So Connor decided that he was going to do that. But taking a hit full force just might kill him. And Connor wasn't it the mood of being killed by a snow monster with an old lady inside of it. Connor would spin under the snowman's sweeping attack and would go to the kill. He would notice the Snowman other hand and decided it was time to end this, Connor was starting to get bored of this fight. It had no flavor to it. Connor would throw his sword into the spot the old lady would be place. But the snowman's attack would lady square on Connor's arm. Shattering it, Connor after landing on the floor would writhe and contort with pain.

He would gaze up and look to see if the beast was still there. And after seeing it's hand raise into the air, Connor sighed at the fact that he was going to be beaten. How could he lose to such an anomaly. But the snowman's hand would freeze in midair and blood would begin to leak from out of the snowman. And in an instant it would turn into Coal. Connor would slowly get up and would marvel at the new piece of art that now stood before him. It was quite beautiful. Connor's left hand would be limp and would sway with each step Connor took.

Connor would use his right arm to retrieve his sword from the coal pile in the shape of a snowman. He would place the sheath in his mouth and would reshealth his blade once more. Limping away Connor wouldn't really be satisfied with his victory as it came with great loss, but a win is a win right? Or so they say......