[crow]

"We didn't expect to see you here either," said Soda, sighing.

"Hey, is that any attitude to be showing your teacher?" said Xinyi, but there wasn't much heat to their words. Rather than waiting for his answer, they flagged down a waiter and ordered more drinks, rattling off a list of them that made the poor man's eyes widen in alarm. "And this guy will be fronting the tab," they said with a grin, jerking their thumb at Soda.

The waiter looked between them uncertainly, but Soda merely groaned and wilted forward onto the table. After a moment, Alex said, "I'll pay."

Maybe Alex just looked a little more put-together than Soda. Whatever it was, that seemed to satisfy the waiter at last, who bustled off like he couldn't be out of there fast enough. "Rough day?" Alex said, arching a brow at Xinyi.

"Well," they said with a shrug, "if Soda's so enthusiastic about these drinks here, I figure I might as well give them a shot."

[Adelie]

No time! No time! That seemed the story of her life these days.

You'd think, perhaps, that being on holiday would make her life less busy - but no, that's certainly nowhere near the case. Not having to attend classes, not having to do work - they really should give her some free time, but instead that's been taken up with all the stress and wonder of having to celebrate the holidays.

God, she can't wait for it to be over, to go back to the regular monotony of well, daily life. Even that's better than whatever she's doing now.

[Sarah]

"You couldn't have come sooner?" Relic asked, complained really, but he never complained.

"What? And watch you case the joint for half an hour before getting on to business?" Del asked. Relic had never known her to be patient, but he was still surprised. "You do a good enough job vetting the guests for the both of us," she said simply, in response to the look he gave.

"Why here?" Relic asked. He was interested to know. Normally they did their business in Hell, or in private.

"Because I love free things," Del replied, there was a mischievous light in her eyes that Relic could not decipher.

[Kyrit]

Perhaps he should just give up and just... let her do whatever. Estebanito didn't really like the idea, but she clearly had to be purposely looking out for him and doing everything she could to avoid running in to him if he hadn't been able to find her by now. It was frustrating, but in all honesty it probably wasn't worth the anxiety he was giving himself trying to push through the crowd everywhere. Ten more minutes. If he couldn't find her within ten more minutes he'd just give up and head back to the ship.

[FrostWynd]

Quietly watching everything going on with a scowl on her face, this whole thing looked an awful lot like a party of some sort? Though the general cheer and merriment being displayed by everyone around her did nothing to help her mood one bit, as Lydia was both upset and rather agitated about being stuck in a strange new environment like this. It would be a better idea if she just left while she could.

But... right as she turned herself away, intending to make her way back over to the door, she froze for a moment when something faint caught her attention.

Somewhere amid the chaos of strong smelling food and unfamiliar scents, there was something she did recognize. Lydia had almost missed it, but now, as she raised her head well above the crowd and wildly looked around the room, she could swear that there was no mistake.

"Grandam!" So this was where she had disappeared to! Finally after several days of her being missing, she had found her! Or, well, almost. Despite looking around, she couldn't seem to see her anywhere... Eventually she would find that this method was getting her nowhere. Changing tactics, she would let out a crocodilian hiss and dove into the crowd, forcing her way through to start seeking her out.

[zapdragon555]

Cyril's expression had softened as he glanced back at Cecil's face and saw something behind his eyes. It was only a flicker--and Cyril wondered if he'd truly seen anything. A small twinge of concern passed through him, and he nearly opened his mouth to backtrack on something he'd said, when Cecil quieted him with his own words.

Ah--relief, and a throbbing in his heart with an emotion he couldn't place. He blinked once, then smiled down at the counter, unsure of what to do with the feeling. He kept it in his chest, answering instead by simply leaning on the other man, curling into his side slightly. "Then I'll be around," he murmured, picking up his drink and sipping it, turning his head slightly to offer a wink to lighten the mood. "You know where to find me."

It was a quiet joke. He glanced up at the other drinks lining the wall, something to keep his eyes moving, before his concerns returned. "Are... you alright, by the way?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low as he turned his gaze onto Cecil's face, an openness in his eyes.

[RiDragon]

Perhaps he'd try something alcoholic tonight.  Had he ever done that before?  Not likely, he thought.  He didn't know if he could technically even become drunk, or if it'd even be healthy for him to try.  He supposed his human form had to have a liver though, or else it would die, right?  How does he even work, anyway?  Maybe a drink would stop him from thinking too much.  He knew from experience that questioning reality tended to cause reality to answer, and usually not pleasantly.  He stood and wandered to a quiet spot where some alcohol was set out on a platter and chose a pink one.  Mango Mahool?  Goodness, hopefully there weren't actual Mahool in it.

[Middy]

This "Christmas" was soon, and they were still hanging around the area, looking about the place in confusion. They still didn't understand the holiday completely, but still wanted to participate in it. People seemed happy, gifts were being given, and Delirium was still lost-- and curious. "So odd..." they murmured, yawning a bit since it was late even for a primordial god. What kind of gifts would be given out tonight? Or for the next two nights? For once, they were both curious and excited.

[Jaden Wolf]

She always heard so much about this 'Christmas' that so many visitors talked about. One of the more recent had told one of her younger people about this event called an Advent Calendar, where participants could get a gift for each day they went. Maka was fascinated. A holiday in which people give and receive gifts in this manner must be wonderful!

Therefore, she ventured from her land for a brief while, to find this Quest Master's tavern. Now that she was here, she was absolutely stunned. She honestly had no words for the...almost garish colors of red and green everywhere, though the occasional white complemented them. There was also some images of a large man in red who people called 'Santa'. It was all strangely curious, for sure. The earth spirit wondered how one goes about receiving a gift. Was there some kind of protocol or ritual to follow?

[MythicDusk]

Orion nodded gently at that, smiling slightly. "Of course, I understand completely. Personally, I like comparing the star maps to eachother, seeing where the loops are, y'know?" He smiled slightly to himself. Doing that was what gave him his first big hint towards a new star.

He found himself at a loss of what to day, his lack of in-person conversations since his grandparents had passed away nipping at his ankles. "S-so, what do you do for fun? I doubt you're as obsessive as me. Even if you were, I would advise against spending all your time looking to the stars when there's enough to be found on earth."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

It was Christmas Eve and the streets were deserted; a light sprinkling of snow covered the cobbles, and the lit windows cast a warm glow which made it all seem picturesque, as if it were an image on a Christmas card.

Rheese was bundled up in her warm woolen coat and hat, and she strode through the streets on her evening walk, hoping she would find the tavern sooner rather than later, as she wanted to get home early in preparation for the big day tomorrow.

She mused as she stepped through the doorway that it was probably one of the last times she would do this, and smiled at the bar keep who strode over to the Event area. She hoped she would find this place again, if only for one last time.

[Silver]

Now Gwen didn't have a strong opinion one way or the other about the holidays, but she did like a good party. A whispering in her ear, a little birdie perhaps, had mentioned to her that this was the way to go. Then, as if by magic, the tavern appeared. She would never know why she had been led here, but she wasn't about to chance it by trying to figure it out. There was no second guessing the weird coincidences in her life, especially if they were helping her out. The more she tried to fight it, the worse it got.

At the very least, the party would be somewhere to lay low. Everyone was dressed up, probably drunk, the perfect place to hide in plain sight. She was looking forward to a lack of responsibility and the chance to really be herself. When she walked through the door to see the theme, she laughed aloud. A genuine, hearty laugh. The world was in it to just keep surprising her, and she was going to get a drink and watch its best efforts.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Kakashi's lips split into a wide grin under his mask as Omen took both snowflakes and exploded in glee. It was an absolute joy to watch kids get so damn giddy over something like this, watching them try to contain so much joy and happiness and being unable to stop it from spilling over, and this was no different.

He stepped back away from the tree, his arms crossing across his chest as he glanced back out over the party's crowd, assessing the room's situation due to instinct and habit more than anything.

[Mousen]

Horatio looked about, trying to pinpoint anyone he knew. The TTA was fairly large, for one thing, and it would be unlike them to miss a party so close to home. He knew that a fair few of their operatives were from Genevieve's time, which ran just about parallel to now. Beyond that, there was the school Herringford was moonlighting at and both Horatio and Genevieve had played substitute teacher once or twice. Horatio made a fine, if dull history teacher and Genevieve's mechanics lessons tended to be entertaining but completely off-syllabus. His students were probably lucky that they hadn't been invited back yet.

In the crowd, Horatio caught sight of a short-ish figure in an oversized coat. Turpin. Of course she was about, stuffing her pockets with fig rolls and trying to look innocent. He nudged Genevieve with his elbow. "Look."

"Should we say hello?" Genevieve asked.

"She looks like she's on her way out. There's no harm in wishing her a merry Christmas.

[Freezair]

IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE!

IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE!

IT WAS CHRISTMAS EEEEVE!

He was too old to believe in Santa, but there was no such thing as being too old for excitement! Scrabble practically bounded all the way to the Advent Calendar--which was a bit dangerous, him being an enormous Paragon and all.

He was also too big to fit inside, but he didn't care about that either. Snow was falling down from above, and Scrabble swore he could hear sleigh bells as it did so. Amazing smells drifted out from the small building, and it made the snow feel perfectly cozy. Somehow, it didn't feel cold outside.

But Christmas was like that. And Scrabble couldn't be happier.