Verace layed on his back, trying to aleviate the tautness in his midsection, produced partly because of an inability to say 'no' to yet another batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, but also partly by the boulder of a dragon perched atop of his overstuffed stomach.

The warmth radiating from the fireplace almost made the ill-fitting sweters all the more unnecessary, yet the two creatures didn't mind the slightest being so balatantly exposed. The vague zing of ginger floated in the cozy atmosphere, constrasting sharply with the tantalizing notes of hazelnut and dark chocolate coming from a baking tray, whereupon only crubs testified the previous existence of about two dozen discs of golden-brown dough. Maybe more. It was hard to tell after they had been consumed so fast. And that could only be the fate of the gingery morsels that were about to be done, according to the distant ticking of a timer somewhere in the adjacent room.

As if on cue, an enthusiastic 'ding' interrupted the sluggish cracking of the timber, being consumed by the flames. The orange hue, casting shadows accros the floor, flickered swiftly, unlike the only other source of illumination: the constant glow of the numerous LEDs, which barely lit one of the fluffy tails of the bigger fur. After the timer went off, a cacophony of ruffling feathers, sliding scales, shifting rolls, and patting fur caused the two figures to change their supine positions. They instead became aware of yet another opportinity to let themselves go, always looking forward to the predictable side effects that would have on their waistlines.

It was then when the groggy feathered dragon noticed there was still a gooey cookie on his left claw. Tzin smiled holding the sweet treat above his fox-looking friend.

—And here I thought we'd miss out on the Christmass celebrations!

He paused for a moment, watching Verace blink a couple of times, shifting his gaze from the dragon's friend to the last cookie from the previous batch, only to leave his tongue lolling, poking out of his mouth in a silly grin.

—...but not under my watch!

The mexican dragon tossed the treat into Verace's snout, where it dissappeared in a matter of mere seconds, which caused his cheeks, jowls, double chin, and, eventually, his whole body, to jiggle uncontrollably. One could picture it as an igloo made up of jello instead of ice. Bright green. And way comfier.

Tzin prepped up to slide down from the summit of the mountanious vulpine, in order to fetch the next batch of gingerbread cookies and leave some more inside the overworked oven. It must have been the twentieth tray by now. And yet there was no sign of slowing down:

—More?

The chubby dragon asked rhetorically, since he already knew the answer.

The answer is always MORE.

---

Christmas might be over already, but it is hard to resist the indulgent feeling of joy that lingers after the feasts come to an end, the presents are delivered and the glasses are raised, always hoping to reminisce the good memories from the past and share the moments that will come in the future. One more year has gone by, and with it I've learned a lot, but also I have noticed there is still plenty of room for improvement. Including my dire need to become faster finishing a pic. It really takes me ages.

So this is my part of the Secret Santa organized by
 kikatsu
who was kind enough let me koin the fun and participate along with such amazing artist in this site!

Made for the wonderful and ever-patient
 verace
who is lucky (or unlucky) enough to have been drawn twice by yours truly this year.

Artwork was —sluggishly— made by me
 dragontzin