[Kylo]

His inner sloth was showing again. How he managed to miss so many days in a row, Orion wasn't sure, but he was back again for more food. And to possibly fall asleep in the rose bushes again. It depended on how much food he consumed and how tired he got afterwards.

He went and grabbed his box for the day and stuffed the gift inside his backpack. Hopefully it would serve him well. In the meantime there was food to consume.

[Kitsumi]

The man's size itself was intimidating, but there was something about his demeanor that gave Xen the chills. He was unsettling... yet at the same time, somewhat familiar? The alien had a feeling that this man was someone with similar motivations to Xen.

"I can understand that," he said. "I suppose you could say that I'm the same way. I'm not out to hurt anybody, but you can't help those who won't help themselves, if ya know what I mean." After a moment of hesitation, he stuck out his hand, offering it in friendship to the other male. "I'm Xen, by the way. I don't think I caught your name?"

[SpringsSong]

Lana. Xyshari.

"Please tell me that nothing too embarrassing was said," Xyshari said, rubbing her forehead after a moment. Lana offered something of a chortle as she sipped her eggnog before reaching for a snickerdoodle cookie.

"Well, he did mention something about almost getting you killed once, and then saving you once," Lana said, tapping her chin. "Something about coming across a Sith that he had encountered earlier in his Padawanship, and you taking her on and nearly dying in the process, and then a Sith ambushing you in your embassy on Kashyyyk."

"Ugh, those were nightmares," Xyshari said, shaking her head. "Some Sith wanted to know about my work as the Gatekeeper, and thought that she could break my Padawan at the time. Left me on the edge of death and lured my Padawan to the embassy to ask her about it. She sensed something was off, and... called Ti in," she said, sighing. "Ti could sense something was wrong, though."

[Jedi]

The man reached his hand out to the man, who seemed to have a similar view of the world. "Dessel," he said in a stern tone. "The weak and gullible can't survive this world, nor any other." He may have said too much. Who knows how much this alien knows about Jedi and Sith. He figured he'd try to change the subject. "I don't like to get out a lot, so don't expect to see me out and about." Maybe he said that too harshly, but he didn't care.

[Freezair]

Hannah was much more of a Halloween girl, but she had to admit that Christmas had its charms. Both holidays had plenty of candy to go around, and of course... the parties! Hannah loved parties more than anything.

This was a quality party, right here. The little maze leading up to the main event was a cute touch, and the decor was wonderful--it was both seasonal and unique, with a delightfully rustic cast to it.

And as much as Hannah liked planning parties, sometimes, it was just fun to kick back and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.

[amanda784]

"When's Farley going to be here?" asked Piper.

"I'm not sure. He's on a hunt right now, but he promised to make it back by Christmas," replied Laura.

Piper was anxious for Farley to arrive. She was able to afford two small gifts this year. One was for Laura and the other was for Farley. She wanted them to all be able to open presents together. Piper knew Farley wasn't the gift-giving time, but Laura was so everyone would at least have one gift to open. Piper was getting more anxious by the minute. She had never participated in a Christmas party before and was worried her gifts weren't enough. She knew her friends would appreciate whatever gifts she got them, but she wanted them to be special.

[crow]

Prosper took his own seat after setting down Ryo's drink. It gave him something to do other than thinking about the way that Ryo had smiled at him. It had been a subtle thing, but it felt all the more genuine for it, somehow. Ryo probably hadn't even thought about it.

The food was still warm, most of it, though the chocolate had long since cooled and hardened over the pretzel from the fountain. Prosper picked through his selections, tasting this and that. He ate slowly, partly to savor each bite, and partly because the experience was still strange to him; hunger hadn't quite gripped him the way it used to, and he still found that he had to concentrate sometimes to keep his mind on a meal.

At length, however, his thoughts got the better of him. "Yesterday," he said quietly. If Ryo had been human, he might not have heard Prosper over the din of the crowd. Maybe Prosper was already regretting slightly that he had spoken at all; he wasn't entirely sure, even now, whether he ought to continue.

But this was Ryo, and Ryo would have heard him. And he did... want to know. Prosper bit his lip, then spoke again. "With your brother. Why... What was wrong with him?"

[Sarah]

"What do you expect we can do about it?" Zli hissed. The new angle of the room gave for little more to look at. The place was packed with people and none were any more interesting or suspicious on one side or the other.

Raziel was silent for a long moment. Zli let the silence settle. Whatever plan Raziel had or didn't have seemed to rest in the tension in the air. Zli almost wondered if anyone else could feel it.

[zapdragon555]

_{[Continued from...?]}

Another dropped call... Lupin stared at his phone with a furrowed brow, and then reminded himself that he was supposed to be having fun. He bounced back almost instantly, letting Jigen's contact information page fall against the bar as he set his phone down and flourished his hand. "So aaaaanyway, like I was saying, I know every swingin' party joint in town, but this one's... new?"

He glanced around again, at the strange but very obviously carefully-crafted decorations... surely all of this couldn't have popped up in just a night, right? Right...

He glanced back to the woman he'd been talking to—and... found she was no longer there. Lupin blinked, then glanced at his drink, raising it to his face and giving it a good sniff. Smelled like a regular hot toddy... no weird hallucinogens or anything. Then again, he felt kind of off ever since he'd stepped foot in this place. He was having a great time, sure, but Jigen wasn't returning any of his calls, and... how long had he been here, again? Time had a very funny way of standing still, in this place. The date on his phone was a garbled mess of pixels, and his calendar app was disabled.

Awfully weird, but man the place made a decent mixed drink. Lupin would... at the very least, relax here for just a little while longer. Jigen wouldn't be worried, anyway. The guy never seemed happy to be bothered during the holidays, and this year would be the one that Lupin finally gave him a break.

[Advent Day 10]

[FrostWynd]

The moment the call was made by large monster, the whole doorway would suddenly explode with activity and bodies as even more monsters of different shapes and sizes now pushed their way forward into the maze. Any and all foot traffic that was unrelated to this group would be put to a complete halt, and even forced back in part due to some of the biggest individuals holding up things until the smaller and more child-like ones could get in first.

One trio seemed especially determined to squeeze through all the rest, just so that they could be the first ones in. A dragon-like male sporting a bright red hide would be the one taking charge as the leader of the three, rushing forward as far as was deemed allowed by their guardian to see what this party had in store for them. "Wooow...! This place is so cool!" He piped up, his eyes bouncing around from one spot to the next in rapid succession to discover all the decorations that he could see from here. Following closely behind him was a much paler and strange looking creature, his red eyes glinted nervously as he kept pace with his friend on all fours. And the last was kind of hanging out more towards the back, taking a slightly more casual approach as he went about admiring the flowers, but still trying to stay close enough so that he wouldn't fall too far behind and lose his group. Though with how packed things had gotten in the maze so far, getting separated seemed very unlikely.

[Jaykobell]

The aggressive and abrupt behavior of the other witch didn't bother him - or at least, he made a conscious effort to not let it bother him. That was the usual: even though they were related somewhere down the line of their families, their paths were different. And while he would have nothing against making amends for whatever issues had plagued their two families, Izzie herself wanted to hear none of it. Her pride and love for her own family - now almost entirely gone - was too great. Her way of keeping those deceased family members alive and kicking.

So he wasn't surprised that she wanted to leave. "Oh, uh, I don't think there is one," he said sheepishly, and already expecting her anger when her face started to change at his answer. "I've tried looking but I couldn't find any," he added quickly. "That's why I've been hanging out here by the food."

[Day 10]

[Kitsumi]

Taking the man's hand, Xen gave it a single solid shake. He tried to match the vicelike grip, proving that he was no weakling. But it was difficult, considering the strength that Dessel displayed. Still, he hoped that he had at least proven that he had some strength, even if not as much as the larger man.

"Well Dessel, some people would say that that's a pretty harsh view of the world," Xen said. "Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with you. I would just be careful who you say that kind of stuff around. People might accuse you of being heartless or something." When the other man said that he didn't get out much, the alien nodded. "Yeah, me neither. I don't usually like to come out like this, but when I heard that gifts were involved, I decided to come." It was partially a lie. On his own planet, he loved socializing. But here, he had to be much more wary, at least until he figured out how to blend in with the natives.

[Jedi]

The fact that he hadn't batted an eyelash at the other worlds comment only further added to his suspicions. Of course, he couldn't just come out and accuse everyone who looked strange as from another world.

"I don't care if people think I'm harsh or insensitive. If they think that, maybe they're too sensitive." He continued after Xen finished, "I'm not one for social interactions either. Although sometimes I manage to find someone with a sharp mind worth talking to."

So he figured he'd take a risk and just come out with it. After all, this wasn't his first gamble. "So what planet are you from?" He then carefully watched to see any sign of faltering or shock which might cement or disprove his theory.

[Adelie]

He picks up what remains of his plate of treats, refills it at the counter, and then slides over to ask, "Hey, is this seat taken?"

God, he sounds like a terrible pick-up artist or something; his lack of practice at the art of making friends and influencing people is certainly on full display. Thankfully, his newfound conversation partner doesn't seem particularly interested either way - he doesn't seem to find this whole thing awkward, nor does he seem to take it as an invitation. He simply nods at the seat and says, "Sure. There was someone sitting there a little while ago, but they took all their stuff so I don't think they're coming back."

The extended explanation is nice, but there's nothing for Mirny to latch onto and start a conversation with, and that's what he's here for to begin with. A few moments pass as he wracks his brain for an appropriate conversation topic until he finally settles on, "So, how'd you find out about this party?" That sounds ridiculous, so he ad-libs and answers it himself. "I'm just here because my friend invited me, but it looks like I got ditched. Guy hasn't even bothered to show up."

"Oh," the man says, looking a little unsure of how he's supposed to respond to something like that. "I'm sorry, I guess? I'm just here as the caterer - well, one of the caterers."

[ToxicShadow]

Ryo was content enough to eat his sweet treats in silence, glad that he wouldn't end up with a stomachache, as the average person might from eating nothing but a pile of surgery goodness. For one, the god was simply pleased that he was out with Prosper, and didn't want to push it more than that, at this very moment, so matching the other's pace and flow was fine. Secondly, he wasn't even certain what he should talk about. It seemed strange to volunteer too many details, if Prosper didn't care to know, but small talk about the weather or some such wasn't ideal, either.

He had been mid sip of his champagne when he heard Prosper's hushed voice, and Ryo lowered his glass from his lips as he swallowed the sweet drink down. He didn't say anything at first, only waiting for the other man to continue and, when he did, there was a hint of sadness within Ryo's eyes.

"Jiro? Was it not obvious? He's dying." Though, strangely, Ryo said this as a matter of fact without any faltering in his voice, so different from his gaze. His identical twin brother was dying. He'd been dying, for some years now. The god may have glanced up at Prosper at first, but now his eyes were on the glass of champagne, which he gently swirled  around in his hand. "If we said that, last night, I had one foot in the grave, it would be most appropriate to say that Jiro was already buried alive in the grave, about to breathe his last breath before suffocating."

"I've been keeping him alive all this time, for the last decade or so, sacrificing my own energy, but nearly at the cost of my own life. The exchange rate is too high, with very little pay off. It takes almost everything that I have, just to keep him hanging on by a thread."

At no point did Ryo speak all too loudly, just enough for Prosper to hear him, without others intruding too much on their conversation.