"Voknar," I called out. "Come here!"
There was a long moment of silence, and for a moment, I was worried I had miscalculated. It would be a little embarrassing if he didn't show up tonight, after that entire speech I just gave. It wasn't like I had included him in my plan, but that was because springing this on him was important to me. If he wanted the kind of aggression out of me that I wasn't used to, then he needed to be able to handle the kind of aggression I was comfortable with.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head to see that he was up against the wall, right close to the door.
I reached out and took his hand, making sure my touch was gentle and non-violent. I didn't want to have him drag me off right now. This wasn't about a public display of lust, this was about a public display of solidarity.
"Will you help me hang ornaments?" I asked, my voice soft as I waited for him to respond.
He blinked, clearly processing the surprise of my gentle request. Given the contract and how strong I had come onto him at the party, he likely hoped I would come charging out the door, swinging that ax I had hidden and let him bang me into a committed relationship.
“Yes,” he said, and let me lead him into the room and onto the livestream.
"Everyone, this is Voknar," I said. "He is officially courting me. Voknar, this is my livestream."
He looked at the camera and then back at me.
"There are people watching," he said, his confusion still evident.
"Yes, they are here to hang out with us while we hang Christmas ornaments and chat and nothing else," I said, clearly laying out the boundaries of what was allowed to happen right now.
"I'm sure they have questions for you as well if you are willing to answer?"
He looked over at the screen scrolling with responses, narrowing his eyes.
"DragonSlayer5678 believes he can drive me from your space," he growled.
I reached out and gripped his chin, tilting his face away from the screen. "I don't see him here. Seems to me like there isn'tany male in my space but you. How about you help me with the Ornaments, and I'll read out the questions from the chat. And chat," I tilted my head and adjusted my tone so they were clear I was talking to them. "Chat is going to refrain from making anything that could be construed as an attempt at Noscaryn style courtship or risk a ban. There is only one person I have a courtship contract with, and that is Voknar. This is a safe space for learning more about aliens, and that safe space includes not being rude about cultural differences. Earnest questions are okay, instigation isn't. Understand?"
One of my mods gave a thumbs up, and the chat was then filled with agreements.
I directed Voknar towards the table and handed him a small snowglobe ornament.
He held it up, examining it.
"What is the purpose of this?" he asked.
"It's a decorative ornament," I said, lifting an ornament shaped like a malformed potato off the table, reveling in the warmth in my heart that accompanied the misshapen root vegetable. I hung it lightly on the branch before reaching for another ornament.
"What is the purpose of putting ornaments on a dead tree?" Voknar asked.
I grinned, glancing over at the camera to share my delight with my viewers, only to see that they had caught on to what I should have understood before. He was an alien. He had only been on the planet for two weeks. As well-versed as I had found him in conversation about Norratar law, we hadn't discussed many details about human culture outside of dating.
"Well, Voknar," I said. "I think it is time we talked about the meaning of Christmas."
"Christmas," he repeated. "That is the human holiday that occurs this month that revolves around purchasing gifts."
"Christmas is a holiday to celebrate familial love, express gratitude, and practice giving," I said.
"It is a holiday where people are given an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to be thoughtful of one another by giving presents. You decorate the tree with memories. This one, for example," I tapped the misshapen potato. "Reminds me of the time Lamia decided we were going to take a ceramics class and signed me up for it, but then didn't tell me about it until the last minute. It was a moment in time where I had the choice to reject what seemed like a sudden imposition of an activity, but instead I chose to lean into my trust in her and went. I ended up having a great time, even though I was terrible at it. So every year, when I hang this pathetic potato on the tree, I think about how letting my friend drag me out of my comfort zone led to a small slice of happiness that has nothing to do with skill or accomplishment."
"So it is a time to review pleasant memories and spend time thinking of those you love," Voknar said.
"Yes," I said.
I glanced over at the chat to see that it was filled with jokes about me being the spirit of Christmas and a few questions.
"My fans want to know if you have any holidays like Christmas on your planet," I said.
