[Mousen]

Ezra didn't look convinced, but there was really nothing he could do. Perhaps this Dean Winchester guy did document paranormal experiences or whatever the hell he said he was doing, but, maybe he didn't. Either way, Ezra didn't trust him. Call it instinct or a premonition or whatever, but there was something very off about him.

"Ezra Rosenberg, and this is-"

"Mia Halsey. Aaand speaking of strange goings on, some couple were talking about seeing something odd by the Bakery, they sounded really freaked out."

"Really? I didn't notice anything."

"You wouldn't have. I've got amazing super-hearing, remember?" she joked. "They rushed past us a few minutes ago muttering something about... I don't know, a... dark shadow? A plate smashing? Something like that."

"Well then, Mr. Winchester, you'd better go... document that. Nice meeting you." Ezra said, making it obvious that he didn't expect the hunter to hang around for much longer.

"See you around, Dean."

(( 8 | Ezra & Mia: The Bonfire | Luke: The Christmas Tree ))

[jackie125]

Oh, me? My name is Mariana. So what have you been doing around here?
I was just wandering around really, he said nervously. Well, I arrived at the bonfire,  I looked at the tree for a bit, then I was feeding the geese in the fountain.

  Lucario had no idea what to do in the awkward silence that followed. Mariana piped up and said, Thats cool, have you been yo the bakery yet?
Ahh... No?
Do you want to, I was just heading over?
Ahh... Sure?
The two Lucain headed towards the petting zoo, on their way to the bakery.

Post 7/Area 6

[Elektra]

Despite the fact that she'd looked all along her way to the hot chocolate stand, there still weren't any presents in sight.  Akari was really wondering if there were actually any to be found at this point, since she hadn't even seen any other people walking off with presents either.

At least the hot chocolate was something to look forward to.  She'd already gotten two cups, but the server didn't seem to to mind giving her as many as she asked for, since she just kept coming back for more.  And since she didn't have to wait for the drink to cool, it was gone within minutes.

Akari licked her lips as she finished off her second cup and crumpled the little paper cup in her fist, throwing it toward the nearest trashcan and watching as it just barely made it in.

She walked up to the hot chocolate vendor once again and asked for two this time, and the woman just cocked an eyebrow and handed her two, this time with extra whip cream and cinnamon on top.

"Thank you!" Akari said, grinning.  She finished off the whipped cream first on both of them before trying her best to drink them slowly this time around, and started to look around for any hidden presents in the area.

{Post 8 | Hot Chocolate Bar}

[Elektra]

Seeing as there were a lot of tables to hide things under, that's where Akari started.  There weren't to many people here yet, so she didn't have to worry about spooking people by touching their legs or feet either.  She'd learned from experience hat wasn't a very fun situation to get stuck in.

Under the first three tables there didn't appear to be anything, but under the fourth, there was a nicely wrapped bowl of chestnuts that appeared to have been left there as a place for the local squirrels to go to get out of the wind for a little while, probably done by a little child the night before.

How sweet. Akari thought to herself as she looked around.  She spotted medium size bowl that was also empty, and she grabbed it, looking around for a source of water.  She certainly didn't want to give the squirrels chocolate, since she didn't know if that might make them sick, but water was always good to have.  The problem was that the only water was coming from the fountain.

So, she decided that she might as well go and explore around the fountain, since that was literally in the middle of everything, and while she was there, she could go ahead and fill up the bowl she'd found for the squirrels that might come out later that day.

{Post 9 | Moving to the Fountain}

[Mousen]

Luke spent several minutes admiring the Christmas tree, and for one moment he could have sworn that he saw something move within the branches, however, he simply passed it off as a lack of sleep. There wasn't going to be anything moving about in the branches, and even if there was, it was clearly just a batti or scribblen or something. Nothing to worry about, anyway. Besides, no one else had noticed it.

His boots crunched in the snow as he wandered idly around the tree. Luke adjusted his scarf slightly, pulling it closer around his neck, as it got later and later into the day, it seemed to be getting colder and colder. He was just thankful he hadn't lost his gloves or his hat, or he'd be even colder. He looked back towards the bonfire and even though he was relishing the chance to explore further, it wouldn't be any fun if he was freezing to death. It was with that in mind he headed back towards the bonfire.

(( Post 9 | Luke: Moving to The Bonfire. | Mia & Ezra: The Bonfire.))

[Mousen]

"You didn't like him, did you?" Mia commented after the hunter had left. They'd moved slightly closer to the fire now and Mia had her jacket pulled even closer around her. Ezra had already offered her his coat twice, but she'd refused to take it. (She could take care of herself, thank you very much.)

Ezra took a moment to answer the question. "It wasn't about that, Mia. I just don't trust him. Something isn't right, there. I might have to ask Vincent to look into the matter."

"Psh. It's always work, work, work with you, isn't it? Can't you relax for a second? I'm sure it'll be okay, Ezzie."

There was only one person in the world who could get away with using that god-forsaken nickname. Luckily, she was the one stood beside him. As it was, Ezra could only sigh. "Could you please not call me that?"

"What is it with you men and your names? Gabe refuses to be called Gabriel, you won't be called Ezzie. I can only remember so much, you know." she replied, sounding more exasperated than she actually was.

((10 | The Bonfire))

[Elektra]

The fountain, amazingly enough, flowed freely, despite the cold temperatures, which was something Akari admired.  She set the bowl down beside the fountain to go look for anytying out of the ordinary that might be one of the prizes in the event, since she figured no one was really go to be interested in a cheap plastic bowl.

There was more shrubbery around the fountain and in that general area, so she had figured that there might be a better chance of their being presents that had been passed over, but she had no such luck.  There was a discarded bow under one bush, and some wrapping a few feet away, but that looked more like a small gift a mother had given to her child one evening at the park, not one of the prizes someone had found.

And so she continued on, searching, but finally, she just gave up on that area for the most part, figuring that she should try to get back to the bowl.

She scooped it up and quickly filled it up to the brim with water, and stuck her index finger into the water, closing her eyes and willing to unnatural amount of heat flowing through her to be channeled into the water.  She could feel her hand holding the bowl slowly getting warmer, so after a few seconds more, she took her finger out and walked back over to put it beside that bowl of nuts.

{Post 10 | Moving back to the Hot Chocolate Bar}

[Mousen]

That was funny... Luke could have sworn that he recognized that voice. The warmth of the bonfire was welcome, and it was only when he heard the voice again that Luke started to take notice. He walked around the fire for a moment before he spotted them. Mia and Ezra, what a co-incidence!

"Guys!"

Ezra swore under his breath. As much as he liked Luke, this was supposed to have been a date. Instead it had been disrupted by... well, just about everyone. "Luke, nice to see you."

Luke tipped his head to the side. "That's funny, because it doesn't look like you're happy to see me at all. In fact, you look kind of annoyed."

"I'm beginning to think he's always like that." Mia commented.

Luke sat down on the log, a little apart from the others. "What brings you guys here? I was kind of just... drawn here. I don't know why. Maybe it's fate? Maybe we're supposed to all meet on this same spot. I mean, why else would all three of us end up here, like, randomly?" Luke always looked a little bit gaunt, and the dark circles under his eyes that appeared whenever the full moon was close didn't help either. He was of average height, with wiry brown hair that he never seemed to be able to do anything with.

((11, Bonfire.))

[jackie125]

Lucario was acting even more awkward than usual.  He stumbled along, into the barn thst housed the petting zoo.  Baby animals were in pens and fences all around the barn.  He loved animals, but they tended to be afraid of him being a Lucain and all.  He stayed closer to the middle of the barn, away from the enclosures.  Mariana, on the other hand, was interacting with the animals and having a great time.  The animals weren't afraid of her obviously.

Post 8/Area 4

[Mousen]

"Uhm, actually Ezra asked me out. You're the only one who's turned up here randomly, Luke."

The werewolf gaped at her. "Woah, Ezra asked you out? I mean, I'm not surprised because you're the one being asked out, because you're absolutely lovely and everything, but Ezra? I didn't even think he was human. I always thought he was like, oh, I don't know, like a robot or something."

"First of all, I'm right here, and secondly, the only person here who isn't human is you, Luke."

"Harsh! I'm actually a bit offended by that, I mean, gosh. Does the fact that I'm a bit not human exclude me from humanity altogether? Do you think of me as the guy that 'isn't-human'? I used to be human, you know, Ez. I used to have a life, and friends and... stuff."

"Awhr, look what you've done now! You've gone and upset the poor little werewolf after he called me lovely and everything!"

Ezra started to laugh, the more he got annoyed at them for being, well, them, the worse it was going to get. "Sorry Luke."

"Hmph. I'm not sure I forgive you." It was then Mia calmly reached out and grabbed a fistful of Luke's hair and tugged it. "Ah! Okay, okay. All is forgiven."

((12, the Bonfire.))

[Mousen]

"Gee, Mia. I'm beginning to think you and Ezra are perfect for each other, because you're both equally matched in mean-ness." Luke pouted, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, you couldn't have given me some warning before you tried to scalp me?"

Travis had been sleeping fairly peacefully while Mia and Ezra had been sad by the bonfire, however, her attention was suddenly grabbed by Luke. The guide-dog stood up and stared at him, she didn't move, in fact, she barely blinked, she just... stared. Luke glared, and Tavis whined and laid down again. Most dogs had odd reactions to werewolves, Travis' was one that was actually pretty mild.

"Oh!" Mia exclaimed. "I'd forgotten, Thursday gave me flask of tea before I left since he knew I was going to this outdoor event thing. I told him that they'd be food there, but you know what he's like... mother hen and all of that." She opened her bag took the flask out of it. "There's three mugs in there somewhere, too."

"See? Fate."

Mia laughed. "Whatever you say, Luke."

((13, the Bonfire.))

[Mousen]

They were silent for a few moments after that. The plastic mugs were found and the tea was poured. The cold was really starting to set in now, but it really didn't seem to matter. It was nice, three almost-friends, a dog, and an open fire. Snow on the ground, Christmas a few days away. It was times like these where you really started to appreciate life.

Mia was leant against Ezra, her head on his shoulder. "So there was a werewolf going through the trash by your apartment? That's how you got bit?"

"Yeah." Luke replied, idly.

"God, that sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"I always feel bad for werewolves, you know. It's like out of all the magical creatures one could be, you've ended up with the short straw. Horrible wounds, post traumatic stress, the potential to kill everyone you love."

"Thanks for reminding me, Ez."

"Sorry. ...You know, I was just thinking. Anyone looking at us now wouldn't see a werewolf, an alchemist and a... whatever you are, Mia."

"A whatever-I-am? What I am is an awesome defeater of poltergeists and protector of humanity. Even the ones that are a bit-not-human. I'm basically amazing."

Ezra laughed. "Anyway, they have no idea. In the eyes of most of the world we're completely normal. Us, completely normal. Isn't that something?"

"Yeah, that is something."

"Definitely."

((14, the Bonfire.))

[Elektra]

Immediately after she walked away, a couple of the bravery squirrels cam out and scurried under the table, and she smiled before turning back and walking toward the fountain.

She'd picked up a thermos of hot chocolate from the hot chocolate vendor, and she could've headed back to the bonfire, but for some reason, that fountain was just mesmerizing.  The lights underwater shimmering and blurring on the surface and turning into all different patterns.  It was beautiful, and as much as she hated water - especially cold water - the beauty overpowered that dislike.

As she got there, she sat on the side, channeling a little extra heat into her fingers as she waved them around gently in the water, stirring up different ripples and currents and causing a few of the ducks to swim away while attracting the attention of others.

"Hey honey, would you like a couple bread slices to give to them?" an older woman asked from behind. Akari turned to see who was talking, and gladly accepted.  She broke them apart and began to throw them in, bit by bit, until none were left.

{Post 11 | Moving to the Fountain}

[Elektra]

While the ducks and the squirrels were now quite content, Akari was beginning to bore of this event.  Sure, it was fun seeing all of the different stands and vendors and animals, but really, this wasn't her thing no matter how hard the tried to convince herself that it was.

She threw in the last couple of bread pieces to the younger ducklings that were swimming behind their mothers, amused by their feeble squawking, and got up from the edge of the pond, nodding in thanks to the woman who had given her bread before making her way to the other side of the fountain just to check and see if there might be anything on the side, but as she expected, there was not.

Were there no presents to be found in any of these areas?  Because that was what it was beginning to seem like.

{Post 12 | The Fountain}

[jackie125]

Mariana was really enjoying the petting zoo. The animals seemed to be attracted to her, because they would always come up to her when she was near the cages. She turned to look at Lucario, to find that he was shying away from the animals. She decided it was time to leave when the reindeer was neighing and rearing when he neared the fence.
Lucario walked out of the barn with a downcast expression. He sighed, but he looked  to the bakery and his face brightened. He could already smell the cookies!

Post 9/Area 4