[ToxicShadow]

Foolish or not, the distraction was well deserved.

Although he had one foot in the grave the just the day before, Ryo was practically glowing now, more alive than he had felt in weeks, and for good reason. As he carried himself with an air of contented confidence while he strolled down the sidewalk beside the other man, hands in the pockets of is coat, they were considerably in contrast with one another. No one would have looked at them and first guessed that they may be lovers, although he considered themselves such. He even wanted to hold hands, but he had restrained himself, thus far.

It wasn't outside opinions that he was worried about, either.

There was only one person on his mind right now, even as other voices screamed inside his head, fruitlessly attempting to demand the attention of a god.

That morning, Ryo had declared that they were going out, that he was taking Prosper on a date, and should decide where they would go or what he wanted to do. He had reasons for this that he hadn't voiced, but it was an attempt on his part to bring comfort to Prosper in some sort of way, so they could get away, out of the house, and so, maybe, his partner could get his mind off of other things. He didn't know what else he could do for him. After all, this was something of a first for Ryo, too. It was the first time the god had ever cared about what happened afterward, and it wasn't like holding onto Prosper would soothe him or anything like that. It would probably only make him more uncomfortable.

He was content to walk in silence for a long time, while he idly took in the sights of the season, but watching Prosper play with lights was more thrilling and beautiful than seeing them as they were displayed. He only broke the silence with, what he thought, was an innocent question, as it was only out of concern, "Are you warm enough?"

[Jaykobell]

The Fenref looked over the maze, unimpressed. They sniffed and breathed the air deeply. "This way," they announced as they started making their way towards the exit. A strong smell came from the exit, making it easy for them to track the correct path.

The Nonaga seemed disappointed. "Why, there's no need to rush," they pointed out, and they followed calmly through the maze. "In fact, I think we have been here before, in this dimension. Don't you?"

The Fenref only gave a short, quiet grunt for an answer. Soon enough, they'd lead the pair through the maze; and the origin of the smell became clear.

An audible gasp from the Nonaga. "Oh, goodness me!" they exclaimed as they made their way towards the food. "Yes, yes! This is Evelon, just as I thought!" They picked up some food and turned to the Fenref, who looked quite sour in comparison. "Come and enjoy this. It looks positively delicious."

[Day 2]

[FrostWynd]

In her eyes, parties were an event meant for the more upper class type of people. The kind with money, power, and names that really meant something the second you even mentioned them. So the woman had held some level of expectation to at least receive an invitation for such a party, and that when she did - and of course would attend - it would be a grand affair.

It was definitely.... something, and not at all what she anticipated as she walked through the door and had to navigate through a maze of sorts. Her canine-like companion following along the whole way, but frequently taking an interest in the rose decorations that they passed by, as he went a took a big ol' chomp out of every single one and munched happily on his new acquisitions. "Don't eat too many, dear. Those might spoil your dinner."

[Jaden Wolf]

The girl's aesthetic was a confusing cross of Halloween and Christmas, in a way that made her stand out starkly against the typical crowd here. Gothic Lolita with plenty of skulls and bones and pumpkin designs met fur trim and red and white snowflake-pattern lace. Somehow it didn't go together at all but at the same time looked perfectly fine. Yuki scanned over the decor with blood-red eyes that could only be contacts.

"Queen of hearts for Christmas? Really?" she muttered, making someone nearby give her a look like 'you're one to talk'. Oblivious to the reaction, she shook her head and effortlessly found her way through the maze to a table.

"Tomato juice while I wait for today's prize thingie, thanks!" she exclaimed in a 'cutesy' tone.

[crow]

Prosper blinked, startled from his thoughts by Ryo's voice. He hadn't forgotten that Ryo was there; it was impossible, under the circumstances, to forget. But then, Ryo was usually the type to command attention. Right now, just walking alongside Prosper on the street, was understated for him.

The question brought on a small, wry smile and a slight huff of laughter, both a little self-depreciating. "It's warm enough," he said. Ryo hadn't, evidently, forgotten the incident where Prosper fell asleep on the balcony. And while it still felt strange to have someone worrying after him, it wasn't... a bad feeling. There was something ticklish and warm about it, a sensation that he had forgotten.

Almost, it overcame his lingering embarrassment. Almost.

He knew he couldn't be quiet the whole time, so Prosper sought a distraction. "That place over there," he said, pointing out a building made to look like a castle. "Is that... some sort of event?"

[GrayGriffin]

As the two Meji continued their wild game of croquet, making up more and more elaborate declarations of their trick shots and doing their best to fulfill said shots, Aster heard a slight beeping coming from his cloak. He let out a groan, and Bonbon paused in swinging.

"What is it?" he asked, right as the pin on said cloak started glowing with energy, before pulling itself free of the cloak and rising into the air, hovering ominously in front of them.

"Aster!" came a feminine voice from it. "What are you doing, and where are we?" It fluttered in circles around the two. "I detected quite the surge of magic in your vicinity, you know! More than it takes to bring Bonbon to life!"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about that!" laughed Aster, waving a paw. "That's all the Quest Master's magic, you know?"

The broach-turned-Lunafly continued to circle the two of them, before moving on to circle the whole place and returning.

"Fine. This isn't all your magic. But you know I've got to keep an eye on you from now on, right?"

"Yes, mom," said Aster, rolling his eyes. Bonbon did his best to imitate the movement without any eyes of his own to roll.

[Adelie]

The answer, apparently, is stuck in traffic. Preferably spoken with an air of absolute incredulity, with a dash of scorn for the full experience.

The conversation had gone something like this. "Fischer," he had announced into his cell phone, in the tone of voice he had specifically developed for such exchanges. "Where exactly are you?"

He had been met with a silence that he suspected Fischer had also specifically developed for such exchanges - if not intentionally, then as a natural result of practice. "On my way?" he offered. His tone of voice reminded Mirny of those nature documentaries, with the penguins all standing at the precipice waiting for one particularly brave - or unlucky - penguin to test the waters for them.

Today, Mirny was the orca. "You haven't left your house yet, haven't you." It was not a question, and thus did not need an answer - but the lack of one certainly answered another question. "Oh god, you haven't even gotten out of bed yet."

[Kitsumi]

There was still a lot for Xen to learn about this 'Christmas' holiday, but he had picked up on one thing, at least. People seemed to view eating as a form of celebration. And if the scent wafting from the table of food was indication, sweet was the celebratory flavor of choice.

Having watched multiple people simply walk up to the food and take some, he believed that it would be safe to do so himself. He only hoped that he hadn't misunderstood the situation. Nobody seemed to need to pay for the food, nor did there seem to be a particular limit on what was taken. Of course he didn't know what sort of foods he would like on this planet, but he was excited to find out.

He started small, with a single pastry that was shaped like some sort of striped red and white... J? He didn't understand it, but figured it was worth a try.

(Advent Day 3)

[Lunch]

The Shielupe made his way towards the sounds of merriment and joy in the main center of Evelon. Though he was bound to his owner, he was asked to travel to Evelon to investigate the new events that were happening. With respect, he carried out his master's wishes and took the long trek towards the middle of the festival.

It seemed there was quite a bit going on actually. He didn't pay attention to the fact that he stumbled upon a wall of noise and other creatures from the realm, chattering and eating and talking amongst themselves. His ribbon swirled quickly around him, growing thin and spreading around him in a sort of defensive position as he walked past a long table that was covered in sweets. A pastry flew past as a couple of Rengosetts screeched and ran past him. He moved his body at an angle and snuffed out of his muzzle. The ribbons moved faster around him as he was about to have some sort of sensory overload when he turned and noticed a board in front of him. It seemed to be some sort of calendar with two days already marked off. He was late to the beginning of...whatever this could be.

"Hmm. Master might not like that, but..I can always gather more information while this is all going on." As soon as he finished saying that, his back right foot bumped something hard. Not hard enough to hurt him, but just enough to make him notice it before he tripped and looked like a fool in front of all of these other creatures. With a huff, he turned around and noticed it was some sort of box. It was bright and shiny and looked like it had a ribbon of its own. He sniffed it delicately as the commotion went on around him and while curious, he began to paw at it to see what he could find. Maybe this was something he could take back to his master!

[SpringsSong]

Lana. Xyshari.

"Are we going to actually navigate the maze?" Xyshari asked, and a mental question followed. Lana chuckled and nodded after a moment.

"Yes, we're going to do this the old-fashioned way. After all, the Force wouldn't really help us here, now, will it?" Lana asked, and Xyshari responded with a hearty chuckle of her own.

"Perhaps not sense, but sight is a different matter entirely," Xyshari said, but Lana frowned as she shook her head.

"Remember what you told me happened the last time you utilized your senses like that, love? You were absolutely despondent," Lana said. Xyshari offered a resigned nod.

"Well, that's because of where I used it," Xyshari said.

[Sarah]

Zli sat for half an hour just watching. He had a drink in his hand now. Someone had brought it over to him. He nursed it and watched and wished he didn't have to feel every painfully slow second tick by. He rose suddenly at the sight of a newcomer. A newcomer that spotted him instantly and came over.

"Raziel?" Zli hissed. His eyes narrowed and his tone hostile. What was the stuck up angel doing here?

"Keep your voice down Zli. Someone might here." Raziel chastised in that annoying way of his. A patient teacher, and clearly more informed. Zli rolled his eyes and sat back down.

[Celtic]

Seishi kicked Jack approximately 30 minutes into his nap. The man jolted awake, springing to his feet with his hands in a boxing stance (apparently he wasn't good with surprises). The quiksylph rolled her eyes, clearly used to this, and waved her hands all around them. "We're at this lovely party and you're going to sleep?"

The man shrugged in response, transitioning from his boxing stance to rubbing his tired eyes. "Cake makes me sleepy, you know that!" Another eye roll, but this time accompanied by a good-natured laugh.

"Then you shouldn't have eaten so much of it. You're a grown man! You can think about these things on your own." Jack gave her big pouty eyes in response.

"But Seishi you're so good at looking after me, why would I ever think on my own?" He batted his eyelashes purposefully at her. Yet again, he was met with another eye roll. Seishi was a big softy though, and decided to abandon the thread of conversation, instead linking her arm in with his (be damned his coat) and floating towards the great big maze.

[Jedi]

Nigma and Dent

"So," the man in green started. "How about we have some fun?" Harvey, whose scowl curled up into a grin, answered promptly. "Why not? But first," he said as he pulled his scarred coin out and aiming his sidearm from the waist. "For old time's sake." He flicked up the coin, both faces reflecting off the bright lights with a loud ring, then caught it as soon as it would've fallen. He slapped it to his wrist, and checked in secret. "You're kinda day," he said as he revealed the pristine face. Nigma let out a sigh of relief, "Do you really have to do that every time? Last time you actually shot me."

[Kylo]

Was it alright for the literal anti-Christ to even accept a holiday gift? Orion didn't know, but the offer sounded nice and people so rarely gave out free things anymore...and he was broke. So very very broke. So free food and a warm place to stay for a while was too tempting to not take advantage of.

He crept inside quietly and took his gift before sitting down to eat. He was incredibly hungry, as always, and so was gobbling down warm and tasty treats.

[Isalynne]

The relevance of the theme was lost on Joseph, if there was any relevance at all. Roses? Chessboards? He was starting to feel like he’d fallen down some rabbit hole that was going to take some work to scramble out of. To see Hermey surprised by what greeted them was a relief - so it wasn’t just him who was a tiny bit boggled, then.

“They’re real?” His nose was starting to itch. “I, uh... I have allergies.”

There was no way he was going to chicken out, though. Not when he’d been brave enough to come along on this date— not date. This... outing? Of two friends? There was no correct way to phrase it without sounding suspect! Trying to ignore the colour rushing to his cheeks, he stomped forwards into the maze, craning his head to look for the next sign.

“Keep an eye out up there, blondie. Us normal height civilians don’t have that advantage.”

Normal height was generous for a pipsqueak of a man like himself.