In a panic, Stress threw her sword in front of her face as a shield as the ghast ball aimed right for her face. She squeezed her eyes tight and braced for a painful impact. Probably not enough to kill her, but it would hurt, and probably ruin all of her cookies in the process too.

Stres expected the explosion to be immediate, but there was a few seconds before she heard it, and it was much farther away than she expected.

"Huh?"

She looked up at where the ghast had been, and a small tear drop shape fell from its place, plopping into the lava and burning up immediately.

"I- I killed it!" She realized in a cheer. Adrenaline was rushing through her and her eyes were wide, as she glanced around and down at the sword in her hands to make sure it was all real.

"I actually killed it!" She cheered again. "Oh wait- I should get outta 'ere before another one can come sneakin' up on me" She chuckled a little, talking to herself, and looked around for the direction of Cleo's portal.

The swirling purple mist washed over her and the overworld breeze was enough to put her heart rate back at ease. (Hey it rhymes!)

After a very long day, Stress had done it. Her arms were empty, the weight of the cookie baskets lifted from them, and they dragged by her side, awfully tired. Her legs were worse, walking around everywhere had really put a strain on them, but at this point, she swore she couldn't even feel them anymore.

Stress walked into the skull and kicked off her golden boots, throwing her jacket and scarf onto the couch as she walked past the kitchen. Her hair was a mess, from the wind of the overworld, salt of the sea surrounding the shopping district, and humidity of the nether, but her drousey smile refused to droop. Delivering most of the hermits cookies was exhausting, but seeing their smiles and holiday cheer was worth all of it.

She collapsed on her bed, deciding Joe's cookies could wait a day or two. She had gotten the oats from the shopping district, but there was still the task of actually making the cookies. Eh, they could wait until tomorrow.

Her eyes closed and a wave of relaxation and exhaustion combined washed over her. The only thing keeping her awake was a small thought nagging at the back of her brain.

"Oh right! Alex still has the scarf! I hope it's keeping him warm."

She smiled to herself as she drifted off to sleep quickly. Out like a light!

------

Just a short one today, but thanks for reading! And hopefully I can actually get this done before Christmas this year!