[Silver]

One big box of gingerbread cookies, coming right up! Jyagi stumbled into the party carrying a comically huge tub full of cookies. They were freshly frosted and smelled absolutely delightful. It wasn't just gingerbread people, either, but many sorts of animals, trees, and other cute shapes. He really went crazy with the old drawer full of cookie cutters at the shop.

"Hey!" he awkwardly bumped around the party until he came across the Quest Master. "I've got some cookies to share, can you point me to a place to put them? I promise they're good!" Jiyagi gave a huge smile, partially obscured by the big floppy scarf loosely wrapped around his neck.

[SpringsSong]

Lana and Xyshari were still at the strange tavern as midnight the previous day had passed, but neither had wanted to leave just yet.  After all, for all the rest of the Alliance knew, they were on a two-week tour of the Republic and Imperial worlds for Life Day--reports that said otherwise would be attributed to a failure with her ship's astrogation charts.  It was highly likely that the only people who would know they were lying would be Satele and Darth Marr.

...and Darth Marr could just as easily appear in the conference room of Xyshari's ship whenever he wanted, and probably tell Satele what the two were up to.  Being a Force apparition certainly had its uses.

"I'm sure that Darth Marr and Master Satele already know about us," Lana said reassuringly, to which Xyshari could only shake her head and laugh.

"Was I really projecting my worry that strongly?" she asked, to which the Sith nodded with a chuckle.  Xyshari continued, "I wonder what Satele would have to say about it all... Jedi aren't supposed to have such relationships, but with the Order gone..."

[zapdragon555]

The bartender passed Cody his cider, and the blonde boy took it with trembling hands, wanting very much to leave right about then. Cyril watched him hold it without taking a sip, and shrugged, sipping on his own glass of something Cody didn't recognize. "So where have you been, then? Ava mentioned you hadn't been coming around much lately." Cyril stressed his purposeful, pointed disinterest for the boy next to him by staring up lazily at the calendar on the wall instead.

"Um," Cody began eloquently, his tongue in knots. Please, just call, Zane, his brain repeated like a mantra over and over. He needed some kind of out for this--just leaving wouldn't do. Cyril would probably stop him, or it would be rude, or some rule that Cody's brain had made up last-minute. "I've... there's... there's working at the library... and, the shelter is decorating for Christmas, so I've been helping with that..." Cody swallowed, thumbing the rim of his glass, and finally took a sip of the alcoholic cider--oh. It wasn't alcoholic at all, not a trace of bitter taste. Cody blinked at the bartender, who was staring at him, and the person behind the counter gave a wink and a smile before turning to continue washing dishes. Cody's entire body relaxed, taking a longer swig of the stuff. It didn't even cross his mind that perhaps the wink was because the bartender thought he was cute, and that alcohol was very masked when it was hidden inside of cider. Either way. The stuff was good.

"That's all?" Cyril murmured in monotone, gracing Cody with a glance that made him nearly choke when he caught Cyril's sharp eyes on him. "You've never been truly busy in your life, have you?"

Cody's mouth parted in retort, but he was so taken aback by the statement that he had to think for a few moments. "I've..." he trailed off, indignation threatening to rise up in him like a flame, but he kept it tamped down with another long drink of his cider. "That's not true. Before I came to this city, I... well, I mostly was just trying to find food all the time. And a place to stay." Cyril's brow quirked, as if not quite understanding the concept of having to search for such basic things. Even so, he didn't press the issue further.

Cody scowled slightly at his drink, then finished it off. Cyril whistled at the bartender once more, and the glass was refilled within seconds.

[Claiming Day 10!]

[Sarah]

Because it was normal to do so Ütezi found himself at another holiday party. He could recall the times on Earth and the month-long event held for the holidays. It was one of the rare times per year that everyone could get together and be happy and safe. Guardians worked overtime to make sure the city was safe from siege. Being in Evelon meant every day was more or less safe. He'd never had so much time to do whatever he wanted to do.

Surprisingly a three piece suit was far more comfortable than full armor and a space suit. When he'd been out buying clothes he heard no end of complaining by the people who also needed formal attire. Ütezi knew it wasn't their fault. They'd never known hardship as he'd known it. If the worst they had to complain about was clothing then they were lucky.

He felt an arm wrap around his own, and it tore him from his thoughts. "We're here to have fun," she cooed. Ütezi offered the woman a pained smile and allowed himself to get drug along into the party.

"See anything you like?" she asked, gesturing towards the advent calendar.

"Oh, I don't need anything," he assured her. "Why don't you enter us in for today anyway," he added quickly - before she had the chance to turn and scowl at him.

"Very well," she said, bowing her head slightly. "I'll be right back, try to stay here this time," she said softly.

[FieldsofIris]

Kosok growled slightly when he noticed the younger man's trembling hands go around the mug. He really didn't like the way the two were interacting; it was almost like the bossy man was intentionally intimidating the other.

Dahlia took another sip of her hot chocolate, carefully listening in to the conversation. The nervous man seemed so nice, and like a genuinely good person. When a bartender passed her to drop off the men's drinks, she noticed the odd interaction between him and the small man. Quickly, Dahlia finished her current mug and waved down someone for a cider.

Feeling Kosok shift above her, she glanced up to see his eyes had narrowed dangerously. Dahlia turned to look at the men again just in time to notice the almost malicious look the one threw at the other. Her blood heated in a familiar way and she felt it rise to the surface. There was no way she was leaving the smaller man alone with that guy.

The cider came just as she was ready to open her mouth, so she paused for a moment, inspecting the drink. It didn't seem odd... looking up at the bartender, she saw him looking back at her. Once their eyes met, he jerked his head towards the men next to her, as if confirming her fears. With a slight nod, she turned to the two men.

Kosok was quicker, though, and leaped down onto the bar in between the two, growling. Dahlia quickly stepped next to the nervous man and smiled down at him, before stepping slightly in front of him and glaring the other man down. "Honey, I don't like causing a scene, so if there's a problem, you better fix it right quick."

Looking back at the other guy, she smiled warmly. "I'm Dahlia, and that little guy is named Kosok." She let a hand hover over his shoulder, not wanting to touch him without permission. "You need to get away from this sourpuss, sugar?"

[Momma Dahlia is in the house][Claiming the prize for day 10/December 16th! c:]

[Jaykobell]

Oh my, what was this now? This wasn't his holiday at all, even though they shared themes and morals. His wasn't for another two months, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the other holidays. This one was closest to his, so he couldn't help but to have some strong sentimental attachment to it. He did enjoy the generosity and kindness that happened thanks to this holiday. What a beautiful thing it was.

"Hello, sweetheart!" he greeted with a suave and smooth voice. "I'm loving this beautiful event you have going on here, love. Please, I do hope you'll let me participate?" If he could get a little gift of generosity from this, he certainly wouldn't spit on that kind of hospitality.

[Middy]

Haze wasn't around too much these days, but she still had time to get in on the festivities of Evelon. This was an advent calendar apparently, and she was honestly a bit more than excited about the prospect. "I'm... here for the event, for day 10," she said with a small caw at the end. Haze wasn't much in the mood for talking, despite it being the time for happiness and festivities. Maybe the weather was getting to her.

[Claiming Day 10]

[Moofius]

Phil was planning on keeping his drinks non-alcoholic. Somebody with such a chaotic nature really didn't need to risk cutting loose in a party that was not his. As fun as it could be, it could be disasterous for his reputation.

Sometimes being the leader sucked.

“Really, though,” He chuckled, a little disheartened he had missed one of the prizes already, “I'll definitely have to find the planner and hunt them down, see what sort of sponsorships they got or investments or what have you.”

He nodded along as the party continued to fill and swell with noise and activity.
“Busy? Better than a clusterfuck, but not as good as a relaxing year?” He asked, before answering her, “I'm not sure. I suppose it depends when the party gets boring. For now I am more than enjoying myself and the activity in the place.”

It really was started to get noisy, the music seemingly fighting the volume of the voices, at least a little. The music, though, was a bit too slow for Phil to do more than bob his head every now and then.
“After the party, assuming I haven't exhausted myself, I'll meet up with a few friends, acquaintances, and professional entertainers to get ready for the New Years bash. If you don't have new years plans, you're more than welcome to come as a guest. The name's Phil, by the way.” He said with a friendly, but closed smile and a tip of the head. No handshakes, that felt far too formal, though he wouldn't turn it down if Trevelyan offered one.

(( Sorry for the slow reply, Indigo. ))

[Sappheara]

Chumani and Enigma sat at their table while the demon grabbed more food and drinks from the staff that walked around the tavern. Even though Chumani wasn't eating or drinking anything, the young demon still grabbed some food for her metra. Chumani watch the krone demon stuff her face. Chumani smiled to herself as she watched Enigma. It was rare to see Enigma in such a state. It wouldn't be long until the rest of the family showed up in the tavern, so she should make the best of it.

"I'm very surprised that Hono didn't come too." Chumani left it at that. Knowing that Enigma got upset talking about Hono when she wasn't around. Enigma froze for a moment. She recovered quickly as she answered Chumani. Crumbles from the cookies fell from the side of the demon's mouth. "Gin and her had to do some errands in the other realm. Hono should be here later but I don't know about Gin." She stuffed more cookies in her mouth. "You're going to have to ask Anguish about him." Enigma took a sip of her coco.  She stuffed more cookies in her mouth as crumbles from the cookies fell all over the table.

Anguish shook his head back and forth with disappointment. This was one of those things his sister wanted the "family" to do together. They weren't humans. So why was this type of event important to his sister? He may have been younger than his sister and didn't always understand the events that happened around him but he did understand that this wasn't something his kind nor his metra kind celebrated. Slowly the family will come together for this onetime event. He just hoped that it would be over soon. He pushed passed the tavern doors. His eyes burned as he looked around at the awful things on the wall. The so-called decorations were the worst part of the holidays. He pushed pass the crowd until he could see his metra and sister.

He waved at them a gave them a slight smile. He hurried to the table and took his sit. "Hi, guys. What have you been up too?" It probably not much since they were sitting at the table. His sister hugged him with excitement. "Nothing much, just enjoying the food and drinks." Enigma spoke as she stuffed more food into her mouth. He looked from his sister to his metra. "So..." He looked back at his sister. "...are we going to just sit here or are we going to interact with the other guest." He looked around the crowded tavern. Chumani shrugged her shoulders. "Do whatever you like. I'm just here to keep my eyes on the two of you and wait for the rest of the family to show up." Anguish frown at the tone of his metra voice. There was no real tone.

{Claiming 10th day prize.}

[Kestrel]

"I told you before, I hate people," Adayra griped as she leaned against the wall of the tavern, arms folded across her chest.

Koyren hummed in response, bright eyes flickering over the crowds. Third day, and he was already seeing many of the same faces. "You like me though, right?" he answered, throwing a glance over his shoulder as he grabbed some eggnog off a nearby table.

He saw her glare soften. "I won't anymore if you keep dragging me to these things."

His perusal of the crowd finished, Koyren stepped back to stand next to her again. He looked down at the inky black head of his eldest sister. The slouching added nothing to her already tiny stature. "So, where's my big brother? I can hardly remember the last time I saw you without him."

Adayra's mouth didn't move, but he saw something of a frown in the lines at the corners of her eyes. "Sick. Eli won't be able to make it to the big family gathering either, I don't think. In case he's still contagious."

Koyren let out a low whistle. "Brave of you to come down by yourself, Ray Ray. All alone with your little brother and his mob of friends, and no Eli to commiserate with?" He snickered and ducked as a wayward cup flew at his head. It caught itself a few feet behind him and floated gently back to the eggnog table.

"Well enjoy the corner, sis! I'm off to socialize," Koyren called, waving as he vanished into the crowd.

Adayra rolled her eyes and let the smallest of smiles touch the corners of her mouth. Some people weren't so bad.

[FrostWynd]

Eliza wasn't exactly the biggest fan of parties. They were always loud, crowded, and the many unspoken rules about how to conduct yourself during one were always a challenge to keep track of and remember. She didn't really have the energy to keep up with it all, and much preferred to stay at home where it was quieter.

But today she had to make a bit of an exception. For she had taken notice that a certain someone wasn't home when she was supposed to, to watch over the library.

Normally she didn't mind when Skylar would vanish to do her own thing for a couple of hours. But it had been a couple of days since she last saw that cat.

And her only clue was word going around in town about some type of Advent Calendar thing going on.

Eliza had to be sure that the little furball was okay, and so managed to find her way to this particular party to look for her. Upon getting inside, she was greeted with all sorts of activity and confusion going on. There were so many people in this tavern, that she actually worried that she wouldn't be able to find Skylar at all in all of this. "'Scuse me... Sorry... Pardon me..." She would keep repeating these words to anyone she accidentally bumped into as she tried to make her way through the crowd. Keeping an eye out for that troublemaker.

[Day  10]

[Skylark]

Now, normally she wasn't one to be out in a crowded place. Too many witnesses, you see, and way too little places to hide. But, be it the time of year or the stink of cheer in the air, Velkar felt herself drawn to this particular tavern on this particular day. And, well, she was never one to deny herself impulses when the mood was upon her.

The greeting at the door was unexpected, but pleasant enough. She could feel a grin stretching her face more than should be considered normal, her claws flexing at the sound of prizes. "Oh, yes, yes of course." She replied, teeth on display. "I couldn't possibly turn down a prize."

[Skeetzybug]

Farley was definitely not one for social events. In fact, one could say he was not one for socializing as a concept. It wasn't his.. area of expertise. Spending eons alone in the woods as an unbound spirit did that to you, really. Still, Keahi had insisted he at least give it a go. The Advent parties were very lowkey, she'd said, too much so for her tastes. Farley didn't take that as much relief, knowing the sort of things the witch considered 'lowkey'.

He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands and watching his breath mist in the chill as he hesitated outside the door. He'd meant to come the day before, but he'd only gotten this far before turning away, the thought of being around so many warm bodies throwing a literal chill down his spine. People were milling about inside, but it was quiet and slow, laughter and music echoing gently into the winter air. It really didn't look so bad.

Well, as humans said, no time like the present. Right?

[Indigo]

"I haven't had a relaxing year in...well, years," Trevelyan said. "But I think I might get bored, if I tried to spend a whole year relaxing." She returned his smile, though no other gesture occurred to her. "This party doesn't seem likely to be too exhausting so far, though I suppose it may pick up later on, but hopefully your plans will still be attainable. I don't know if I'll be able to attend." Not that she had plans, unless skipping town in short order was a plan; there was no chance at all someone might have tracked them here, but Steed insisted.

Maybe she could arrange to stay behind for a few days. Simple enough to come up with a mysterious excuse, and Steed would sigh and grumble and roll his eyes, and she'd get a break from him for a while. And he from her, so he wouldn't question her too deeply. The perfect plan.

"You can call me Trevelyan," she said. "Everyone else does. You know, I have to wonder how they're managing to distribute these gifts. It seems like a lot of work."

[Isalynne]

So, this is where that ragtag soldier had been hanging out. Victor had tailed his colleague all the way to the tavern the previous day, as nosey as anything, and was amused by what he found - festivities and gaiety so brazenly displayed? Alex didn't strike him as the type to enjoy the seasonal frivolities.

Thankfully, he was a man of a more jolly nature, despite his ridiculous hulking figure. With a bit of luck, everyone would be too busy filling up on eggnog and mince pies to be intimidated by him. Plus, he was wearing his cute holiday sweater! Complete with garish red-nosed reindeer.

"A gift, huh.." He hummed as he observed the advent calendar concept. Of course, Alex would have been in with some ulterior motive.

[Picking up day 10's gift. <3]