[Indigo]

He'd never really been a party person, despite Ale's long-standing efforts to the contrary. In this packed, noise, brightly-lit room, holding onto a drink with a certain grim determination, he was not inclined to change his mind. He was here only under duress, because apparently there was some sort of reward that one of his colleagues wanted, but they couldn't be there. And, well. Lucius was not a generous man, or an especially friendly one, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

He couldn't, at this moment, call to mind the name of the person on whose behalf he was here, but that was fine. Someone was bound to know when he showed up at the offices with whatever it was.

[Freezair]

Today was the day everything needed to go right.

She stayed out of sight, sticking to the shadows, observing and not partaking. In one hand, she held a tablet that she jotted down notes on.

Holly? Festooning all the awnings and hung up in every corner.

Jolly? Certainly. Laughter and chatter filled the air. The smell of cakes, pies, and hot chocolate was absolutely everywhere, as intended. The music roared. People danced. Gifts were exchanged.

Christmas? According to the calendar, it was December 25th.

The Big Guy would be extremely pleased to hear this.

[Kylo]

When Feemor woke up the next day he yawned loudly and stretched before startling when he remembered where he was. id he really sleep the entire night in some crazy bar? He sighed to himself before getting up to grab some food. Hopefully something here would be more filling and substantial than cookies and sweets. He needed the energy to get back to the ship and back home. He had a feeling that Qui Gon was already waiting for him.

[Sarah]

So Hyx had missed a day. It wasn't totally unexpected. Christmas Eve was when most of the festivities happened within the castle. The big family event that brought together the many families that were related to the central grounds. No one had had time to go into town when such a large gathering was taking place. that was mostly beside the point. He had time today. Hyx was actually a bit surprised that the party was still going, but there was something to be said about not spending Christmas alone.

[Jaykobell]

As they waited for Caraway to make a decision, something caught the green plague doctor's attention. Being taller, they could see more than the other two. They heard the sound of utensils dropped hastily on a table, and saw two men hurrying away from their food. They watched, and when they turned their head a little, they saw two other men heading towards the fleeing pair.

Oh, now that seemed a lot more interesting than what they were doing right now.

They nudged the red doctor, never taking their eyes away from the pair moving through the crowd.

"Uh!" the red plague doctor gasped, and they looked up at their partner. "What?" When they were pointed in a general direction, they turned around. They, too, picked up on the pair suspiciously moving through the crowd. "Oh? What's happening?"

"Two guys chasing two other guys," the green one explained, and right away, the tone shifted. "You want in?"

The red one clapped their hands excitedly together. "Hell yeah."

Caraway, rather oblivious to what was going on, simply shifting his view from the two plague doctors to the two strangers they were pointed at. Even doing so, he was confused. "W-want in on what?"

The red one turned to the pale doctor and waved a hand nonchalantly. "Oh, come along, Caraway," they instructed. "You can join in on the fun too!"

The instructions were mostly lost in the loud Christmas music as the two plague doctors headed away towards the two strangers, only increasing Caraway's confusion. "Hey!" the green one called out, waving a hand. "You chasing those two other guys?" they asked, and they casually pointed to the other pair that was trying to escape quietly through the rest of the crowd.

"You want us to trap 'em for you?" the red one asked, gloved hands still cupped together against their chest, sounding and looking like they were happily offering a service. "We've got ways."

Caraway struggled to keep up. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he would've preferred something else entirely for his Christmas day celebration!

[zapdragon555]

Clearly, it wasn't going to allow him long. The crowd was thick, and the back door looked to be some sort of employees-only area. Not that it would stop them, but the strange nature of this bar seemed to suggest to Karl that they might be in trouble if they disobey the sign. Even so, Johan pressed onward, quietly apologizing here and there to people that he had to nudge past.

Back with Tenma and Grimmer, something else had arisen. Tenma stopped short as the strange plague doctor-looking fellow and their friend approached him, his dark eyes wide with alarm. "T-trap them?" he blurted, and looked to Grimmer for guidance. The man's focused stare on the retreating pair of heads told him that such guidance would not be delivered. Instead, Tenma tried for a smile, attempting to put on a casual air. "N-no! No, you've got it all wrong," he laughed, but it sounded so terribly fake.

Grimmer butted in, gently, a hand touching Tenma's shoulder as he leaned forward to meet the taller plague doctor face to face. His expression was placid, though his eyes held none of the smile that adorned his face. "Those two individuals are important to us. And it's equally important that we get to them quickly. And that they're unharmed, too." He held up a finger, almost like a schoolteacher pointing out something on a board. "So if you know this bar well, or this area, we wouldn't mind the help. Would we, doctor?"

Tenma blinked owlishly at Grimmer, then at the two figures, his expression tight with discomfort. If there really was no other way... Tenma craned his neck to see around the two plague doctors just in time to see that blond head of hair disappear through a back door. He let out a sigh, shoulders drooping under Grimmer's touch. "Yes," he nodded, finally, looking up at the plague doctors with an uncertain smile. "If you can help us find them before someone else dangerous does, we'd be extremely grateful."

[Claiming Dec. 25 (to be clear I missed the 24th!)]

[ToxicShadow]

The holiday was almost over, but, even so, a man barged into the tavern without the slightest hint of hesitation or any reservations. One might even think that he owned the place, aside from the fact that it was well known to be that of the Quest Master.

Still, the blond man marched up the strange figure that was the Quest Master, and abruptly gave them a hug, in the form of a pretty decent squeeze, declaring, "Happy Holidays!" before finally releasing them. A smirk was worn on his face, as the Quest Master stared back at him with a contemplative look, seemingly uncertain on if they recognized him or not, but perhaps they did, and if they wanted to scold him or not for what had transpired.

[crow]

Koh'to gave the location a dubious look as the two of them materialized before it. Rinh'a, glancing back at him, tried to offer a reassuring smile. "It's a holiday celebration," he explained. "There's food and music and dancing... At least, that's what I've heard. That's what there was last year, anyway." When Koh'to didn't respond, Rinh'a added, "If it's too much, we can always leave."

At that, Koh'to seemed to bristle a little--- no, it was more subtle, though Rinh'a felt that maybe Koh'to had glared at him a little. It was harder to tell now that his hair had grown out a little more, obscuring his eyes from view. Rinh'a had been worried that it was making things harder for him in battle, but Koh'to seemed to be doing just fine, so after a while, Rinh'a decided that Koh'to was probably alright after all.

In retrospect, he supposed that if it had become an issue, Koh'to would have cut it himself. Koh'to didn't let anything get in the way of his ability to fight.

Inside the tavern, it was even louder than Rinh'a had anticipated, to the point where he found himself the one being overwhelmed. Koh'to, by contrast, was bearing it all with his usual stoicism. When Rinh'a caught up with him, Koh'to wordlessly pointed out an available table for them to sit at.

"Thanks," Rinh'a said, taking a seat and sighing in relief. "Let's see about ordering something..." But despite his intentions, anyone who looked like staff seemed to be occupied at the moment. Changing tacks, he brought out a small package instead, laughing a little when he saw Koh'to's gaze immediately drawn towards it. "It's for you," he said, setting it on the table and nudging it in Koh'to's direction. "Go on, open it."

Koh'to glanced between the package and Rinh'a for a moment, then picked it up and undid the ribbon holding everything together. His features were still blank, but the restless movement of his tail gave away his excitement.

And then he lifted the lid, and saw what was inside, and his ears immediately flattened. He shot an accusing look at Rinh'a.

"W-Well... We just thought it would be good to keep in touch!" Rinh'a said. "Come on, I'll put it on for you." He half expected Koh'to to swat his hand away, but Koh'to merely sighed with an air of long suffering, and let Rinh'a pin the linkpearl to his ear.

Stepping back to admire it, Rinh'a grinned at Koh'to. "Welcome to the team, little cousin!"

[Adelie]

At long, long last - her chance to finally leave this place; it seemed that whatever magic had summoned her and the others to this venue was fading, and people were beginning to either leave by the front door of the tavern - which had totally escaped her notice previously - or simply disappearing into nothing. Sipping just one more drink before it swept her up - of course, not that she wanted to or anything - she waited patiently for her turn.

All things considered, it wasn't that bad of a way to spend her holiday; she might've complained the whole time about it, but as things drew to a close, she had to admit it had been just a little bit of interesting, just a little way to break up the monotony of her daily life.