[MythicDusk]

Despite the anxiety that plagued him, Orion felt himself grin. Space was something he knew, somehing he loved more than himself. "I'm glad to meet someone with a love for space like me!" His voice had taken on an excitable tone, his cup forgotten and hos fingers drawing lines on the table to punctuate his sentences.

"I'm actually an amatuer astronomer. I make my own star maps. I have that book on my desk at home, do you happen to have the newest edition? Ithink mine's a little outdated now. I really need to upgrade." He knew he was nattering, but he had come alive at the mention of the stars. He smiled to himself, gently biting his bottom lip. "Honestly, I'd love to see the pillars of eternity with my own eyes some day."

[RiDragon]

Winter flopped back on his original chair, luckily no one seemed to be in much of a reclining mood and he was alone for the time being.  Alone to marinate in the awkwardness of the whole ordeal he put himself into.  He took a sip of a Shirley temple that appeared in his hand and sighed.  Well, at least he knew the fabric of reality wasn't going to unwrap itself while he was here.  For the time being, at least.  Oh well.  He'd just have to...  Drink away the memory.  

[crow]

Alex fell quiet at that. Christmas... He never knew what to do with himself when the holidays came, truth be told. It had been a few years since he'd first left home--- run away, really, except he didn't like to admit that, even to himself.

Since then, when the holidays rolled around, Alex had made a habit of shutting himself in. It was a difficult time of year if you didn't have a family to celebrate with. But in reality that was hardly an excuse; most of his friends at the Goblin were estranged from their families too, for one reason or another, and Soda hadn't been the first one to extend an invite to him to do something day of either.

Maybe he was just running away, or trying to punish himself for something he didn't fully understand.

A party wasn't really what he liked to go to on his time off, since he spent most of his time working at them, but maybe this would be a good first step. "You know," he said, "maybe I'll go after all."

[Flame]

It only took a few short minutes for Atlas to finish his treat, and before the plate could even be bustled away by one of the attending waitstaff, he'd already placed another order for yet another tasty treat. This time, he decided on something savory instead, although he had no idea what that might be, considering the fact he'd told the waitress to bring him the most popular (or her favorite) savory dish on the menu. He'd been impressed thus far with what he'd been served, so he figured it might be a good opportunity to try something a little different. After all, he wasn't planning on leaving any time soon anyhow, so he figured he might as well dig in (although he would have to remember to pace himself - not one of his classic strengths).

[Kyrit]

Finally, for the first time since he'd gotten here, he was pretty sure he'd finally caught a glimpse of Kyrit over at the bar with... cake? Yeah, that certainly looked like cake alright. Go figure. Alas, by the time he managed to push through the large crowd between him and the bar, Kyrit had already vanished once again. Looking about once again, there were no new leads on exactly where she'd gotten off to. That didn't mean he was going to give up his search though.

[ToxicShadow]

"It is not dignified for the captain to being doing the work," Ivan, the second in command, voiced his concerns quietly, as he reached to take the tongs from from Veer, whom was serving up a variety of barbecued goodies to any of the guests that approached them.

Though, as he reached for them, Veer moved their hand away, preventing him from doing so. "There is no loss in dignity for doing the same work that I ask my crew to do," the captain replied. "You already know that. Besides, do you not see the Master working, as well?"

[Mojave]

After soaking for a bit, Judah removed himself from the pool, dried himelf, and returned to his formal attire. Once dressed he went to the bar where he found a tall stool unoccupied. Positioning it where he could continue people watching, he called for another drink from the bartender. "Here's some keystones, make me the strongest and tastiest think you know." He was becoming bored, so out of curiosity he threw the challenge at the hapless stranger.

[Sarah]

Just as Relic was beginning to think he was being stood up the person he was waiting for walked in the door. He almost didn't notice her enter. It was a strange ability she had to go unnoticed. Relic left Oreon to his own devices. His brother had found something to occupy his time so Relic didn't have to worry about a shadow.

"You're late," Relic said softly, approaching the woman.

She smiled at him, small and innocent. "I came right on time," she replied. "Another prize has opened up," she noted. Relic only shrugged, he had not come for any human prizes.

[Jaykobell]

Oh, if only Orion knew how happy Canopus was to meet him. They'd seen his posts online, his papers, his ideas, his passion. Sure, maybe Orion was just an "amateur" astronomer, nobody with a massive famous reputation per se; but within their community, he might as well be. He seemed to be on his way towards just that.

Their smile grew even bigger as they listened, the passion of the other making them all the more comfortable. "Oh, I'm not sure..." they admitted when Orion asked which version the book was. "I-I bought it a little bit ago... B-but you can check if you want!" They were too ashamed to admit they didn't have the latest version solely because they were too financially broke to afford it.

Instead, they tried to focus on nicer things. "I-I love it all," they whispered, almost out of breath. "I... I-I like to... to draw things," they admitted, and they stroked the cover of their sketchbook. "I-it all really inspires me. It gets my creativity going."

[zapdragon555]

"Mhm!" Cyril nodded, mouth full, and swallowed the fruity alcohol with a smile. "Oh, it's very good," he chuckled, taking another sip and relaxing into his seat. Cecil was less on-guard too, now, it seemed. They both deserved to feel as such. Cyril was tense, too, and how could he not be? The mere concept of a day off, knowing he could be called away at any moment by his father, was in its own way rather stressful. Whether or not he'd answer he call, well, Cyril liked to believe he wouldn't. But habits were difficult to break.

The temptation to just turn it off was there. In spite of that, he kept it on.

And then, as if continuing his previous train of thought, he stirred the straw around once in the glass and gave a small chuckle. "You know, if I really did have some kind of lookalike in this town, wouldn't it be silly if he could trade places with me. Go to meetings and business parties with my father... leaving me free to run about with you all day, hm?"

The small moment of vulnerable thought was quickly covered by a side-eye from Cyril, cracking a grin as he reached over to twiddle one of the pompoms on Cecil's sweater with a finger. "Hard to believe you managed to be any amount of intimidating in this thing," he murmured, humor touching his voice to cover up the wistful tone it had held moments before.

[Flame]

With the same quick service, Atlas soon found himself with a new snack on hand, this one considerably more substantial than the last. Placed before him was a steaming plate of what appeared to be a deconstructed beef burger, swimming in some sort of thick, hearty stew. If the chocolate cake had been tempting, this was almost overwhelmingly so as the pungent aroma of spices and meat rose to his nostrils. He would have immediately begun digging in if the first bite he took hadn't almost scalded the taste buds right off his tongue. Whimpering slightly as he nursed his tender taster, he waited - impatiently - for the dish to cool enough for him to consume. It was all he could do not to slobber all over the wooden tabletop in anticipation.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Today had not been a very good day, and Rheese was fuming silently as she walked along the cobbled street, searching for something to help calm down.

She should have known that nothong good could come from Lloyd showing interest in shopping, and she really ought to have known better than to take him with her - and the results had been disastrous. Thankfully nobody had gotten hurt from his pranks, but she had been forced to pay for the damaged goods and had been banned from three of her favourite shops until after the new year.

She had yelled at him, of course, but it always seemed to go in one ear and straight out of the other, and he had just walked away whistling.

She spotted the tavern door and breathed a sigh of relief. A hot drink and and plate of chips sounded perfect, and she could definitely use a pick-me-up from the Advent Calendar Event.

[MythicDusk]

Orion smiled and gently took the book, flipping open the cover. "If you look here, under the publishing house, you can see the edition." He pressed a bitten fingernail to the line of dates. "It's actually newer than mine! A lot newer, actually." He laughed, smiling. "Mine's the 1988 version."

He didn't mention how he had a mention in this edition. It was just before it was released that he discovered his binary star, after all.

"Sorry for just grabbing it like that. I've not actually managed to grab ahold of a newer edition. They sell out so fast!" He laughed, blushing slightly and handing the book back. After a moment, his interest was piqued again.

"Oh, well I'd love to see, if you'd let me?"

[Mousen]

Most people were mingling, drinking, chatting to one another. Very few of them were actually out on the dance floor. Horatio looked at her, as a cover of yet another Christmas song began to play and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Shall we?"

She downed the last of her drink, setting the empty glass to one side. "Absolutely," she said, taking his hand and allowing herself to be lead into the centre of the room.

"It's been ages since we've danced," Genevieve commented. They seemed well-practised, if a little formal.

"It was... 1805, wasn't it? The coming-of-age for that prince?"

"Yes! It was snowing remember?"

"They led us out into the courtyard. The musicians must have been freezing."

"They'd decorated the whole square. They had those branches with the blown glass on them, and the candles?"

"I remember. I had to get my dress specially made from the TTA, the embroidery took weeks! The seamstress wouldn't speak to me for ages after that."

"You looked wonderful though," Horatio said, spinning her into his arms and dipping her.

She laughed, a few strands of hair coming undone. She spun out again, and they came together, settling back into their dance.

[Freezair]

The Quiksylph glided eeriely into the center of the establishment that was hosting the Advent Calendar. She did not flap her wings or move her legs--she simply glided through the air, posed ever so slightly like a figure skater, moving towards the building. A few people moved hurriedly away. But those who moved close noticed the beautiful trail left in her wake--she walked on lines of beautiful light, with patterns woven into it like intricate lace. She was clearly a benign creature... and probably here for the advent calendar as well.

Probably. She had just begun chatting with one of the other patrons, who had the misfortune of being dressed somewhat nicely. It seemed she'd mistaken this person for the proprietor and was asking them to give her the day's reward...