Jul!

At the headquarters, Present began to grab the holly crown that had fallen off his head and his hair tumbled in front of his face. He screamed when he saw that it was grey instead of the sumptuous brown it had once been.

“My beautiful hair!” Present cried as he clutched chunks of grey in his fists.

Elf was near the fireplace with Past, whose flame had shrunk to one third its original size. Elf’s hands had become translucent, but he did his best to pump bellows to reignite Past’s head.

“I feel so sorry for you.” Past sounded like he had sucked down a whole balloon’s worth of helium. The flame flowed to the side as the air from the bellows hit it.

“Krampus, can you help me over here?” Elf looked across the room to a corner where Krampus was partially hidden behind a chair. A smaller Jólakötturinn was seated next to Krampus, licking his paws.

“Nein.”

“Why not?”

“Mein Umhang ist weg.”

“Your cape is gone?” Past squeaked.

“So? You can still help.”

“Nein.”

“Why not?” Elf was exasperated.

“Ich bin nackt,” Krampus replied sheepishly.

“Mew.”

“Your lower half is goat legs. They’re covered in fur. How could you possibly be naked?”

“How do I fix my hair?” Present asked as he surveyed the new grey color out of the corners of his eyes.

“Krampus!” Elf shouted.

“Ich brauche meinen Umhang.”

“You don’t need your cape. Just come here.”

“Nein.”

Elf groaned. Past’s head had grown back to half its original size, but at the rate Elf was going it would still be a while before it returned to normal. Yet to Come wagged a finger at Krampus and then floated over to help Elf. His bony fingers had become hollow and the tips had disappeared, so he could now push air out the ends. He pointed at Past, took a deep breath, and a large rush of air shot out, making Past’s head momentarily swell to three times its actual size.

“Whoa!” Past shook his head when it was back to normal. Elf set the bellows down.

“Now, can we do something about my hair?” As Present grabbed a chunk of it, his hand brushed his face. Noticing something different, he felt around and registered the deep wrinkles for the first time. “MY FACE!”

“Now, Present…” Elf tried his best to stay calm and be a pillar of comfort.

“It’s happening. We’re all disappearing!” Present screamed.

“I don’t want to die,” Past wailed.

“Meow!” The candle on Jólakötturinn’s head had just blown out.

Yet to Come, unable to etch shapes into stone anymore, drew a tombstone and R.I.P. in the air.