[Freezair]

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What neither of them knew was that Fredrick was already there.

He'd been there for hours as a volunteer. Specifically, he was helping with the lighting. Giant chandeliers were right awful to set up, and Fredrick had the know-how to get things going. And he was quite literally working for peanuts--they'd offered him all the holiday appetizers he could eat. Especially some of the crispy homemade peanut brittle they had out on the tables... Fredrick could demolish an entire plate of that by himself easily.

At the moment, he was biting the head off a gingerbread Kuchi Nagi when a flash of dark mist caught his eye.

It couldn't be. ...Could it?

[Azura Rayume]

"Fine, fine!" Clearly, he had interrupted something important, but as far as he was concerned, this was important, too. "You gotta let me get cleaned up first, though."

"How long will that take?" Wyatt whined, and a handful of guests looked his way. He barely kept himself from flinching, instead guiding himself over behind one of the sweeping staircases. "Please say not too long..?"

"Ten minutes." That sounded finite, and he whimpered again. "Longer if you keep making me hold your hand over the phone. Just- try to have some fun, okay? You're getting so caught up in this little game of yours that you're forgetting how to talk to people that aren't me."

She hung up without another word.

[FrostWynd]

All along the way, Bacca would continue to loudly protest. Though for a different reason once he managed to process what was now happening. "Wait, no! S-Slow down, Kass! Don't be fooled by the "thiiiiings"...!" Everything was quickly getting out of hand, yet again, for him. Just because, yet AGAIN, Kassia couldn't help but run headfirst into things without actually taking the time to think things through. And Bacca would be in absolutely no position to really stop her. What made this even worse, was how he was now at her mercy as he was being brought into the mansion against his will.

There probably would've been a chance that he would've been okay with it, given that enough time was taken to actually form a plan that he could feel reassured with, but, no. Clearly that was not going to happen today.

It wasn't long before Kassia reached the large double doors, and the very first thing she'd do is use one hand to start fiddling around with the doorknob. Bacca had gotten shifted over to be situated under the other arm while she did this. The doors didn't appear to be locked, which was great news, so she proceeded to try giving one of the doors a nudge with her shoulder, under the expectation that its much larger size meant it'd be harder to open.

[Day 4]

[Jaykobell]

After fiddling with the options for a little bit, he thought he'd found something that could work. It wouldn't really hide his face much, but the clothing was very much unlike him. He hoped that this would, at least, make anyone who knew him -- if they so happened to be here, at this party -- doubt whether they had truly seen him, or mistaken someone else for him.

He put on the costume, but unlike everyone else, who was wrapped up in the food and the other festivities of the party, he didn't stick around.

He had rooms to pillage.

[crow]

Koh'a felt one corner of his mouth tug upward in an involuntary smile. For all that she was three years his elder, Koh'a often felt that Senah was more like a younger sibling than not. She was the one who had grown up in a big city, but he remembered his aunt and uncle as being simple folk -- or at least his aunt was, anyway. Their lives were full but not lavish, and it had become abundantly clear over the course of their journeys together that Senah was more of a stranger to luxury than Koh'a.

Or perhaps his own sense of wonder had been deadened by his cynicism.

Still, it was fun to watch her features light up, right up until she noticed him watching -- at which point she cleared her throat, and schooled her expression as best she could, though he could still see a slight wiggle to her ears and a sparkle in her eye.

[Lilith Michaelis]

Their hair moved like flame as they meandered through the crowd, a matching rainbow-- no, not quite the right word. But it would do. A matching flame flowed down their arms. The creature made its way over to the boxes, inspecting each of them carefully and with interest. But they were sure not to open any.

It wouldn't do to offend the Host of this little get together, now would it?

Though it would be a little funny.

[Adelie]

It's the holidays; always a difficult time for her. No family to go back home to, no one to celebrate it with - and worst of all, the dorms are closed because apparently, it's not good for optics to provide students with somewhere to stay during the winter. What a mess.

So she's been going around, looking for somewhere to park herself. A friend offered a couch for a couple of nights, but they also had to head off after that and weren't able to offer much more than that. But they did point her to a mysterious party...

[ToxicShadow]

Sharing one small table, Yosuke and Diva casually chatted while munching on various goodies that the younger of the two had gone and collected on a small platter for them.

"I'm glad that we could be here to close out the year," Yosuke said, his gaze only shifting to Diva momentarily, while also glancing around and keeping an eye on the party's goings on.

Diva nodded his had and made a sound of agreement. Although it was no surprise that their youngest crewmate would enjoy something like this, he actually enjoyed it, too. It was a brief change of pace and the Quest Master's tavern was like a second home to the lot of them.

Being both guests and something of undercover guardsman was not something they would protest.

[Jaykobell]

There was something else he hadn't planned for. A rather stupid mistake on his part, in retrospect, he had to admit. Of course such a massive party would employ bodyguards, both to ensure the guests didn't go overboard, but also to ensure those with questionable intent could be thrown out to the curb.

He would have to be subtle and smart about this. His specialty, arguably. Doing things undercover and under the shadows was his preferred method of crime.

He tried to mingle in with the guests. Some of them were going off to try and visit the luxurious rooms; it was his best chance for now.

[GrayGriffin]

The two had ended up doing what might charitably be called a "fashion montage," though it mostly consisted of the Diosol dragging the Werebetta into various sorts of duo costumes and snapping photos before he could object. Finally, though, they were out of proper costumes.

"Now can we get down to our proper business?" asked the Werebetta, fins folded in front of him. The Diosol laughed again.

"Our proper business? You know it's simply 'waiting,' right? I was simply trying to make it more entertaining a wait."

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari. Lana.

"Aw, but I adore your singing, svetlobi," Xyshari said, leaning over to kiss Lana's cheek. Lana offered a soft scoff in the back of her throat as she shook her head, placing a hand on Xyshari's cheek.

"You might, but I don't really think my singing is... meant for anyone but you. In the privacy of our quarters, or the refresher with the shower running," Lana said. Xyshari purred as she placed one of her hands on top of Lana's before pulling her away from the refreshments.

"Are you going to protest to dancing with me?" Xyshari asked, and Lana stammered slightly.

"My love, you know I'm not really a--" she began, but Xyshari placed one of her fingers over Lana's lips.

"It's not like there's a lot of people watching," Xyshari said. "Besides, I've been wanting to practice waltzing again."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Corthrim had missed this. Though he'd never admit it, Christmas was a special time to him, and the season never failed to fill him with cheer - which was why he was extra grumpy, to hide any sign of it from anyone who happened to be watching.

Tonight, however, he had borrowed a tailored Santa Outfit from the hostess and was quite happily hiding in plain sight, enjoying himself without worrying who would see him.

"Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! He cheered, as a waiter handed him a mince pie. If he was going to dress the part, he was going to act the part - after all, who knew when his next chance would come by to let loose and relax?

[crow]

Koh'a hadn't expected anything to catch his attention; having been to his fair share of fancy functions, he considered himself pretty well immune to their charms by now, aside from maybe the quality of their refreshments, as it were. Not to say he didn't enjoy a good celebration, of course -- any occasion where someone else was paying for the food was fine by him. But it wasn't the sort of thing he went out of his way to seek out either, contrary to what most people might expect.

But then he did catch sight of something, and nudged Senah with an elbow, before indicating a series of changing rooms with a slight toss of his head.

[Sarah]

The pair wandered inside. The dry warmth itched along their skin, but it was decidedly better than the wet cold outside. The crowd inside paid them no mind as they made their way around the room. Soon enough they stood before the giant advent calendar. The giftboxes glittered under the many lights. Nothing immediately spoke out to them.

Their eyes narrowed in examination, but they didn't linger for long.

"It seems too easy."

A passing server brought drinks to anyone with empty hands, theirs included.

One of the pair shrugged, "it is and it isn't."

[Lilith Michaelis]

Losing interest in the adorable little pedestaled presents, they began to observe and look over the crowd. There was an interesting assortment of people and lifeforms here, themself included. They saw humans of various dress, some very eccentric looking groups scattered here and there. A floating fish. They even sensed the presence of a few that felt not of this mortal coil.

An intriguing notion indeed.

Their glowing cyan eyes finally landed on a mortal tucked away in some sort of reading nook, quietly observing the crowd while sipping on eggnog. They weren't quite sure why, but this one felt different. Seemed interesting. They felt drawn. So the creature began stealthing towards the stranger.