[Jaden Wolf]

The being (whose name was Mittelleo, though few people knew it and it’s entirely beside the point) wasn’t even on the ground anymore. They had been, at one point. And then they weren’t. There was no in-between state either. They did not climb. They did not fly. They were simply on the ground and then they were on the ceiling.

No one seemed to be noticing. Though to be fair, people don’t usually make a habit of looking at ceilings at parties. Only a little girl in the corner was gaping up at them silently. They were playing solitaire. The cards were also sitting on the ceiling. Probably best not to think too hard about it.

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari. Lana.

They'd nibbled on some of the treats here and there, and partaken of at least a couple of mugs of eggnog (Lana would never admit it openly to Xyshari, but she rather enjoyed indulging in this seasonal drink at this time of the year - even though she was jealous of her wife's ability to handle alcohol) before they finally decided to explore the dressing rooms. It wouldn't be long before both emerged, with Xyshari wearing an elaborate purple dress, and Lana wearing a simpler one in red and black. Xyshari smiled as she offered a bow to her wife.

"You look beautiful, ra svet," Xyshari said.

"As do you, my love," Lana replied, offering her arm to Xyshari. "I didn't think you would go for something quite so..."

"Fancy?" Xyshari asked. "Well, someone instilled in me the importance of making a favorable impression during my time as Alliance Commander..."

"Well, they clearly knew what they were talking about," Lana said, though she knew full well it was her that Xyshari was referring to. "Shall we rejoin the party?"

"Let's," Xyshari said, and the two made their way away from the dressing rooms.

[Azura Rayume]

This really was fascinating. No one here seemed to know who he was, so Wyatt was left on his own, a drink in his hand as he leaned against a banister. He could people watch for once without anyone else coming up to bother him, ask him questions, nag about his father... This really was wonderful. He had never been so thrilled to be ignored before.

The host was as unfamiliar to him as the rest of the guests, and that made him all the more curious. How had this person gotten it into their head to invite someone like him? Did he have a plan, or was it simply happenstance? Maybe he should call June...

[GrayGriffin]

"Hello there, Grayey," came a voice from behind him. He turned to see the floating fish staring at him, halo hovering in a similarly invisible manner.

"What brings you here this year?" he asked.

"I could ask the same of you."

"You know our fates are bound together," muttered Alpha. "Wherever you go, there I must follow eventually. Also, what are you wearing?"

The Diosol looked down at the waistcoat and pocketwatch outfit he'd put together. "I don't see what's so odd about it," he said.

"Wasn't that more last year's theme?" muttered Alpha.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As usual, Gabriel was in a corner watching the party rather than being right in the centre of it, but this time a smile played on his face.

It had been a long time since he could recall feeling genuinely happy about attending a party - even in life, he had often been more of a brooding cloud, but tonight he sipped his eggnog with contentment as he watched the other party goers swirl around in their finery.

The boxes on the wall caught his attention, and he wandered over to peer at the label at the nearest one, carefully side-stepping as he went and not noticing the hubbub of warmth and cheer that surrounded him, like sinking into a hot bath. He wondered what tonight's reveal would bring.

[ToxicShadow]

Tucked into a space beside the dressing rooms, Faceless had taken up the task of becoming something of a babysitter. In prior years, Faceless and the Quest Master had both realized that young ones tended to gravitate toward Faceless. Thus, this year, Faceless had set up an area with many canvases and paints, and was guiding anyone willing, especially children, in a lesson in painting. Even while wearing the mask, and not having a face of their own, they were fairly talented when it came to the arts.

[Jaykobell]

He eyed the costumes as he continued to eat. More guests had walked in now, and many had opted for the special, flashy clothes. It was a tricky situation: either he tried to rush in and grab something flashy, in case they all got nabbed; or if he waited, got something a little less impressive, but he would get to keep low.

Ah, the crowd had gotten even bigger. Now he wouldn't even get to snatch a good outfit, probably.

Well, no matter. He could get a "gift" by sticking around, so there was that. And the food was enjoyable, he had to admit.

Good things come to those who wait.

[crow]

Koh'a arched a brow at Senah. "I make no such promises," he said.

"In that case, the duty of making sure you stay sober falls to me, then." Senah had not budged an inch. At her words, Koh'a deflated.

"Oh, come on, Senah. It's Starlight. Surely I can imbibe a little."

"Yes, if 'a little' is where you'd stop at," Senah said. He looked at her with his best woebegone expression, and she made a show of seeming unmoved, but at length she sighed. "One glass," she said.

"Three," said Koh'a conversationally.

"Twelve as my witness, Koh'a--"

"Okay, okay! Two! ... Fine, just one. Happy?" Koh'a put up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

[Adelie]

She is, of course, invited. That is simply a fact; it does not matter what event it is, nor how exclusive the invitation list is - she is always welcome. She simply presents herself at the door, and the way - like the parting of the sea before some mythological figure - appears in front of her.

This is not the kind of event she prefers, though. It's too - noisy, really. Too many people. Too many children.

A side effect of it being the holidays, she supposes. No matter. She can put up with it, if only for a short while.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Riley eventually moved away from the boxes, resisting the urge to peak at one of the labels out of curiosity. He  meandered through the crowd a bit, eventually finding a comfortable nook by one of the walls, with a little less people. It didn't feel so crowded over here. But it was a comfortable place to people watch for a bit and get a little bit of air. For now, he was content to sip on his eggnog and watch the crowd move and mingle.

[FrostWynd]

Despite how it is that Kassia appeared now, it hadn't taken all that long for her to adjust and adapt to the new changes that had been brought about from turning human. Though there had absolutely without any doubt been plenty of hiccups along the way in figuring out all the nuances and brain melting complexities that came with "being human", as the girl had gotten herself into plenty of trouble in the past already with that attitude of "learning as she goes", she liked to believe that she was already starting to master it!

The only thing that still needed working on, was finding out a better way of securing a more constant source of food. It was kind of the entire reason why they were even wandering around the streets right now. Humans had their own way of managing it, and they too wanted to learn these particular secrets somehow. But it was safe to say that they weren't having the best of luck with it so far, before that invitation was dropped into their paws. So when their continued wandering turned up nothing, that encounter falling to the back of their minds, all hope was seeming lost. Meaning that once something new began to waft into the air, the pair took immediate notice of it. Noses turned up to the sky, and they sniffed around.

"That smell... I think it's... FOOD!" Kassia was the first to act upon it. Suddenly breaking away from her friend to seek out the source, tearing through the most promising path and rounding the corner to come upon a sight she didn't expect.

Maybe her memory was somehow faulty, but was there always a building this big out here in this part of town?

[Day 2]

[Jaden Wolf]

Seems like Mitty got bored with the card game. They were dangling sprigs of mistletoe over random people who may or may not even be together. What is gender? What are relationships? Judging from the being's curious expression, it seems they were just trying to figure out why this 'mistletoe' stuff was a big deal anyway.

In fact, it seemed like there were a few attempts to turn the entire ceiling into mistletoe. Yet just as fast as they appeared, they disappeared. Perhaps it had something to do with the mysterious magic of the mansion/tavern. Not that it seemed to matter to Mitty, giggling with delight over each successful kiss.

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari. Lana.

Xyshari and Lana had returned to mulling about the tavern/mansion, and while they were certainly interested in the calendar and the other festivities, it was admittedly challenging for them to keep their eyes off of each other. Xyshari could probably argue that Lana looked gorgeous in just about anything - but that this dress in particular made her look especially gorgeous - and Lana would smile, insisting that Xyshari was just as beautiful.

While Xyshari was looking around the room, Lana happened to glance up at the ceiling and noticed a sprig of mistletoe near where she and Xyshari were. She'd learned of this peculiar tradition within the past year from Arcann, of all people - he'd told her that couples would endeavor to end up underneath it and share a kiss. She gently tugged Xyshari towards where she'd spotted the sprig and gave her a tender kiss. While Xyshari did not protest (Xyshari made it plainly clear in her thoughts that she greatly enjoyed kissing her, and felt that they did not do it often enough), she did furrow her brow in question. Lana pointed up to where the mistletoe was... or had been, because it was now gone.

"What the... I know there was mistletoe there earlier," Lana said. Xyshari laughed.

"You know you don't need to pull me under some parasitic plant to kiss me," she said, and as if to prove her point, she kissed Lana warmly.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Ren smiled and raised his glass as his flame for the evening caught his eye from across the room. No matter that at present, she was entangled in the group she had come with - there was plenty of time to join her. After all, the night was young, and the party was just getting started.

He glanced to his left, at the wall of boxes, and his thoughts drifted to his sons. They were getting older now, and although they seemed to share his passion for flowers he wanted to give them something special this year.

He smirked as the beauty of the evening slipped away from her group and beckoned him into her corner with a smile. Perhaps worrying about gifts could wait until the morning - after all, the night was young.

[GrayGriffin]

"Hey, if it works, it works. And you shouldn't blame me, I wasn't the one who put this outfit here," chuckled the Diosol. The Werebetta sighed.

"And I assume now you're going to pick out an outfit to put on me, aren't you?" The Diosol giggled.

"Aw, Alpha, you know me so well." Flipping through the selection of outfits, he pulled out a tall top hat and a waistcoat that was somehow fish-shaped. "So, you wanna match?"