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Hugh scowled and tossed it over his shoulder. It made a great crashing noise on impact, like
a very expensive anvil.
“Where the devil are your gifts?” Hugh muttered. He rooted through a few others, but they were
all labeled as from him. Several more tossed boxes and many clanks and clangs later, he
shook his head. “All of yours must be in the trunk, but let me assure you, they exist. I made
sure of it. I even inscribed the gift tags myself.”
“That’s… that’s very kind of you, sir.” The tips of Finch’s ears had taken on a cheerfully pink
tint, which Hugh assumed was from joy at his thoughtful and inclusive gesture. “Did you wrap
them yourself, too?”
Hugh blinked. “How did you know?”
Finch reached down to smooth a mangled piece of tape stuck to the side of one of the gifts.
“No reason.”
“It’s because I didn’t use enough tape, isn’t it?”
“Sir, I can assure you that is not the case.”
“Is it the paper, then?” Hugh wrinkled his nose. “None of the paper I bought came in the correct
shape.”
Finch opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“Wrapped presents are supposed to have edges that meet neatly as well as triangular side
pieces,” Hugh explained. “The paper I received was one large rectangle. I had to cut out
triangles and tape them to the sides to get them to look even remotely like traditional gifts.”
Finch opened his mouth again and shut it just as quickly.
“It was terrible.” Hugh shook his head. “I have no idea where you go about procuring the proper
paper. I paid an exorbitant amount for mine and it still wasn’t right. I suppose that’s why gift
bags exist, but where’s the fun in that? Had wrapped decorative boxes existed when I was a
whelp, I wouldn’t have wanted anything but. Not only can you claw them to pieces, but some
of the papers have metallic sheens. As a young dragon, I would have gladly collected as much
of it as I could to add to my hoard.”
“I’ll write a strongly worded letter to the manufacturers on your behalf, sir.”
“You are a treasure, Finch.” Hugh patted his knee, eliciting more pink from the tips of Finch’s
ears. “I hope you realize how dear you are to me. I’ve never known an Attendant who goes so
