[Saahs]

...Ew. Eugh. Guh. Eck. What was all this, bright warmness and beachy goodness? Omen did not APPROVE! He stepped into the room, little fists on his hips and hanging bones clinking together as he turned his head thiss-a way and-a thatt-a way. Sand. Palm trees. Pool. Weird colourful fruit punches and coconut cups. A part of him was tempted to go back out in the snow, but then all this wandering around would have been fruitless. Despite just how fruity this event was.

But then he spotted... them.

"... BOXES!" With a gasp, the strange little child scurried towards the secure boxes, finding a corner amongst them to huddle into, cooing in a most pleased manner.

[Middy]

An event of sorts was to be held, and certain prized were to be given out for each day. A good time to get back into the swing of things, and at least try to fit in even if they were... well... an eldritch abomination. Delirium slithered their way closer, opting to just watch from afar until they could come up with a suitable disguise for themselves. Heck, they could choose anything, but perhaps taking the form of a nonaga or human would be the safest option.

[Jaykobell]

He had been on his way to complete an errand when his task was brutally interrupted by... a door. Almost taken out of a comedy movie clip, he felt his head ringing as he was sent flying back and down on his back. After regaining his senses, he found a door — not, an entire tavern standing in front of him, having apparently materialized out of thin air. The Soveris stood there on the ground, dumbfounded, with his beak wide open.

Stepping inside, his expression changed little — in fact, not at all, as he took in this tropical paradise. Soon, his mind was overwhelmed. Tropical paradise? A party? A magical tavern, apparently? Prizes??

"I-I..." he hesitated, needing a moment to catch his breath and his thoughts. "Y-yes...?" he answered quietly, with just as much hesitation.

[Lilith Michaelis]

It had been awhile since he had been out and about for a big celebration like this for the holidays. It'd had also been quite awhile since he'd been outside of the Forest. He'd decided to check out this advent calendar thing on a whim, seeing as they didn't have too many things like it back in the village. He didn't regret it but it was certainly.....busy. There were a lot more people here than the ninja had expected. It was mildly overstimulating.

But he'd deal. He was okay.

Kakashi slipped into the bar, appropriately garish holiday sweater in tow, and was immediately greeted by...a tropical theme? Alllllright, that was certainly unexpected. Shrugging off his surprise, temporarily anyway, he made his way to the bar, grabbed one of those mango drinks the loud guy was shouting about, and found an appropriately secluded corner to watch people from for the moment.

[Kyrit]

Surprisingly, the shop hadn't been too busy yet this year. Hopefully that didn't mean it would be a slow year over all though. It did at the very least mean that she had a chance to step out of the shop and go do something she hadn't been expecting to be able to do; visit the advent calendar. Things seemed pretty busy already, with lots of guests showing up pretty quick. Guess that's what happens when you announce you've got free things. She was happy to see that things were going well though.

"Oh! Yes, I'd definitely like today's gift!" she responded upon being approached with the offer.

[Night]

The idea of doing anything special for the holidays was still a relatively new one for Doyun. His parents had never been particularly bound by family ties - a fact made obvious by the divorce, and his mother's subsequent sleeping around. He felt like if he reached far enough back into his memory, he could maybe dredge up some semblance of a fondness for Christmas. He'd just have to reach really far back, poke around in the darkest corners of his mind, and frankly he wasn't all that inclined to. As he'd gotten older things had only gotten more difficult, taking on that air of not quite everyday but close enough that things tended to do with age.

He hadn't been home for years at this point. Doyun was happy to keep the tradition of avoiding anything and everything to do with his poor excuse for a family - or any family - up to and including practicing all night until this god-awful holiday was over. Min-jun had other plans. He'd appeared at the window of the practice room not thirty minutes after Doyun had settled his bag in the corner, waving frantically in an effort to catch his attention. He had the good sense to wait until the song had come to a close before entering. He threw his arm around Doyun's shoulders, grinning down the scant centimeter he had over him and dutifully ignoring that he was already covered in sweat.

"Do you want to go to a Christmas party? I hear that it'll be pretty off the chain, or whatever it is you kids say now-a-days." Doyun wasn't going to punch him. He wasn't. Probably.

He was, however, going to roll his eyes so hard they threatened to just fall right out. "First of all, don't ever say that again. What are you, fifty?" He shrugged Min-jun's arm off his shoulder and pulled a towel out of his bag to wipe the sweat from his hairline. "Second, I'd actually rather die. Go by yourself. Don't you have any other people to bother?"

Which is exactly how he wound up at the Christmas party. ("What if I don't? What if you're my only friend, Doyun-ah?" "Don't call me that. Do you have something in your eye? Why are you blinking so much.")

He wouldn't have guessed that it was a holiday-themed anything judging by the tropical decor; but then, he wasn't exactly fluent in the ins and outs of holiday party planning. Or parties. Or holidays. Or maybe even planning. Regardless, he'd situated himself somewhere near the wall as Min-jun bounced amongst the guests with a seemingly boundless energy. What he wouldn't give...

The thought stopped there, and he wasn't sure where he'd been going with it. What he wouldn't give... for Min-jun's energy? For the easy way he blended amongst the party-goers, making friends everywhere he went? To be anywhere but here?

Probably all of the above, if he were a man that were honest about his feelings. Luckily, he wasn't, and he felt little to no guilt as he pulled his facemask up and his hat further down over his face in an attempt to blend in with the colorful decorations. Probably shouldn't have worn all black.

[Silver]

"I do not understand what you see in this kind of thing," Descant mumbled, mostly to herself. She didn't know or care if Amity was actually listening to her complain.

"I can't believe you don't like parties," Amity said, rolling her eyes. What kind of person didn't like parties? She knew that Descant would have a fine time, so she dragged her along despite her grumpy protests.

"Parties are fine," Descant suggested. At least at a party, she could probably just drink until she forgot how stupid her best friend was. "It's all this bright, festive, sugary nonsense I don't like."

"It's so cheerful and nice, though!" Amity insisted.

"Yea, exactly. How on earth would you think that I like 'cheerful and nice'."

"Oh, look, we're here!" Amity said. It was unclear whether or not she had intentionally changed the subject to avoid an argument or she really was just that distracted.

"Great," Descant said. She rolled her eyes, but followed Amity inside regardless.

[crow]

"So hey," Soda said. "You got any plans for the holidays?" They'd grabbed a seat at a booth and settled in with more drinks, Soda with another Mango Mahool and Alex with a mulled wine. Despite the tropical theme, he couldn't quite forget the season, and winter had him in the mood for something warm.

Now he was glad for the warmth. He wrapped his hands around the mug, and for a moment he said nothing, merely staring into the murky depths of his drink. Then he looked up and smiled, but the smile was a little worn around the edges. "I think I'll just stay in. Catch up on some work."

Soda blinked, then laughed. "Come on, it's Christmas! You gotta live it up!" For a moment Alex tensed, wondering where this was going, but then Soda went on. "I have a friend who's throwing this party. You should come!"

"What, and that doesn't count as working on my day off?" said Alex. He laughed--- relieved, mostly. Soda hadn't said anything about his family. Maybe it was just because Soda was oblivious, but if that was the case, then Alex preferred it that way. The less he had to think about his parents, the better.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Today, the wind was even colder and blew through the streets with enough force that the shopkeepers had tied down any thing that was displayed outside their windows.

Rheese was wrapped up warm in a thick woolen coat, but she could still feel the cold and felt relieved when she found the tavern from yesterday. She stepped through the door and pulled off her coat as the warmth swept over her.

'I wonder what it will be today' she thought, as she made her way over to the Advent Event to pick up a gift.

[Sarah]

"What is this place?" Oreon asked. His brother was leading him all through the city until they reached this strange tavern. They'd passed plenty of interesting shops, but each time they kept walking Oreon wondered what exactly his older brother had planned.

"It's some event the humans are hosting," Relic explained. "Come on. I'm sure you can learn a thing or two once we're inside," he said.

Oreon made a face. He didn't want to be a third wheel to Relic's flirting and hook-ups. He'd complained when Relic had forced him out of the castle, and after a moment of thinking perhaps his brother just wanted to hang out with him Oreon realized this was no different than any other encounter he'd had with Relic. It was really too bad he and his siblings were not closer, but they could not be more different.

Upon entering the tavern Oreon took in the event with no small amount of awe. It was much... more that he had been expecting. "There are prizes?" he asked, eyes taking in as much information as possible. "I'm going to go figure out how to sign us up for today's prize," Oreon said before wandering off.

[ToxicShadow]

The door to the tavern was practically thrown open and a myriad of chattering voices came from the outside, almost enough to overwhelm the voices of those inside. The person in the lead, dressed up in a long ornate coat, a large hat with a feather, boots, and a cloth mask covering the lower portion of their face, and all things that screamed pirate, stepped through the doorway first, gave a greeting of, "We heard you were throwing a party, and thought you might be able to use the extra hands."

Beside the captain, was a curiously colored cat, and behind them, many others began to file in; most dressed similarly, though not as ornately, as the captain that entered before them.

[Mojave]

It had taken some time to psyche herself into being willing to venture forth from her warm hideout in Wilt'No. Betwen a headach that had lasted several days and the weather being suitable for nothing else than sleep, it hadn't been easy. But here she was, and it was as cold as she'd feared it would be. Raising the hood of her jacket, she rubbed the sleeves to warm the skin beneath with friction. A twinge passed through the left side of her head, causing her to wince as she craned her head to see how much longer she had to wait in line. Once it was her turn, she entered the pleasant smelling building with relief. Deciding to sit on one of the available couches, she was soon fast asleep despite her best efforts to remain awake. Her last jumbled thought was something about pain meds having the worst timing and how being cold blooded in winter was the absolute worst.

[zapdragon555]

Cyril had been so distracted looking at the decorations on the wall, one hand on his phone in case it vibrated with a text, that the hands on his shoulders made him jump slightly, eyes going wide with alarm. Instantly, though, familiarity--it came in the form of Cecil's recognizable scent, the weight of his hands, and the sound of his voice and that infuriating pet name. Cyril cracked a grin and craned his neck back, leaning his upper back against Cecil's chest to peer up at him with a coy smile. "What a coincidence--we can't keep meeting like this, good sir," he snorted at his own joke, then squinted at a white ball in his vision, leaning forward to properly twist around in his seat and give Cecil a good look.

A long look. Finally, his pensive gaze flicked up to meet Cecil's, and he arched a brow incredulously. "What in God's name are you wearing?" The cat design was, at least, somewhat fitting, given how often Cecil acted like an overgrown cat anyways. He reached out and flicked a pompom with his finger, a grin spreading over his face. "Somehow you look alright even that hideous thing. And here I tried to look a little bit nice. Typical," he sighed, leaning his elbows back against the bar. "You're buying drinks as payment for... whatever this is," Cyril grinned, spinning a finger in a circle around Cecil's sweater. He was clearly beside himself just to see Cecil, but playfulness was something he was learning, and getting rather good at. Then again, he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion either, all dark colors and slim, but cozy fabrics. More than half the people in the room wore tropical print.

[Isalynne]

Cecil was immediately endeared. Something about Cyril warmed his heart to its depths; every time he saw him, a fresh wave of affection bubbled in his chest and threatened to sweep him away to the land of love. It was too early to proclaim it, but there was no way to stop himself feeling. He pressed a kiss to the tip of Cyril's nose, and made sure the boy was supporting himself before stepping back, ready to showcase his outfit.

A look of mock surprise and hurt crossed his features at the response to the delightful sweater.

"Aw, love! I thought I looked good," He huffed. In typical Cecil fashion, he had tucked the hem at the front into his jeans, making sure his slender hips and waist were still noticeable. A standard obnoxious habit. "Y'always look good, Cyril. Thought I should try being more like you."

After sidling into the seat next to him, he turned to face Cyril straight on. His hair had been once again piled up into a bun atop his head. There was no need for him to worry about its appearance here; most people would end up too drunk to notice, and he doubted his company would complain.

"Fine! You're hard work." He rolled his eyes playfully when he hailed the bartender with one hand. "What do y'want?"

[Jaykobell]

Well, it hadn't been in his plans to come back here. His errands were done, though, and the mysterious appearance of this tavern had bothered him ever since. With a bit of hesitance, he returned to the strange place.

The same tropical feel and decorations were all around. More people had appeared, too, surely to partake in these festivities. It was a little jarring to be spending the Christmas holidays in a tavern that promoted it with a tropical, exotic feel.

He settled at a table, all alone. He was shy already, but in big crowds, he was always self-conscious that others were staring at him. He twiddled his claws together nervously.