[Kitsumi]

The bakery was getting a bit crowded, and Rosie began to wonder how exactly everyone was going to fit within the small building. There certainly wasn't enough seating for everyone in line. One girl in particular caught Rosie's attention, as she exclaimed something about a cookie being cute. Shooting a smile towards the girl, Rosie waved. "If you can't find a place to sit down after you buy something, we have a free seat at our table," she offered.

Tyre was a bit surprised at his daughter's offer, but he nodded, his mouth full of cupcake so he couldn't voice his agreement in allowing the girl to sit with them. They did have a free seat, and it didn't look like Astrid was going to be leaving anytime soon, as she was still interested in devouring every single treat that she had purchased. Rosie had very few chances to make friends, so if she could have someone to talk to even for a short amount of time it would be a blessing.

Whether or not Astrid was even aware of her surroundings was up for debate. Her facial expression was something akin to lust as she continuing rifling through the things on the tray in front of her, wondering what she wanted to try next. She didn't even notice when Tyre snapped a picture of her with her mouth full on his phone, hiding his laughter behind his hand.

[Post 12 -- Bakery]

[Baconwizard]

Ava's eyes widened like saucers at the girl's offer, and she stared at the family for a moment, trying to figure out if her presence was okay. Was it okay? The girl looked friendly, the father was nodding and the mother... she was a little busy. Swallowing, Ava grinned brightly, then sat down in the open seat, clutching her hands in her lap. "Thank you so much!"

Ava glanced around the table, her movements nervous. She couldn't be strange; these people seemed nice. "Um, this bakery is really crowded, isn't it? I-I guess it's because it's really good... It smells fantastic." Ava looked at the man, watching as he took a picture of his wife who was eating a brownie. Stifling a small giggle, Ava looked back at the girl who had first talked to her. "My name's Ava, by the way."

Ava: Bakery --- 5

[Kitsumi]

From what Tyre could see, the girl that Rosie had invited over seemed to be shy and a bit unsure. He hoped that his daughter's offer hadn't made her uncomfortable, but was relieved to see that she actually looked happy as she sat down. "It's a pleasure to have another young lady sit with us," he said in a welcoming way. "I hope you'll excuse Astrid over there - her addiction to sugar causes her to forget her manners every now and then." He had to dodge as a fork was thrown at his head, but Astrid was grinning instead of looking upset.

Rosie giggled. "Sorry about my parents, they're weirdos. You're right, this place is really crowded." She looked around at all of the people. "It is nice in here, though." She wiggled a little bit as she heard the other girl's name. "That's a beautiful name! Mine is Rosie. My dad is Tyre and my mom is Astrid." Of course, she never actually called her parents by their names. But she was slightly afraid that her mom and dad were too busy messing with each other to remember to introduce themselves. For a moment Rosie wondered if she should be embarrassed. Her family wasn't the most normal and she had at times been told that they could even be considered dysfunctional. But she loved her mother and father, and she wasn't going to let herself become too snobby to acknowledge them as her family.

[Post 13 -- Bakery]

[Baconwizard]

Ava relaxed slightly at Tyre's and Astrid's interaction, bringing a hand up to her mouth to hide a smile at their fork-throwing antics. Bringing her attention back to Rose, Ava brought her hand away, bobbing her head in agreement. "This entire festival is really fantastic. They have so much to do, and to see. It's a little overwhelming." Ava glanced around the bustling bakery, watching for an opening in the line. Maybe she could buy herself a cookie. Maybe...

When Rosie said that Ava's name was beautiful, Ava's cheeks bloomed a fiery red color, and she ducked her head, pleased at the compliment. "Th-thank you," she mumbled, grinning from ear to ear. "Your name is beautiful, too. A-and your parent's sound interesting, as well... Um, pleasantly unusual." Her face still pink, she beamed at Rosie, shifting a little in her seat.

Ava: Bakery --- 6

[zapdragon555]

Cody blinked at the Minstrel's words, staring at the lute, then back up at the Minstrel's face, clearly taken aback. "Umm..." he answered eloquently. Song requests? Songs? Did Cody know any songs? Of course he did. But... Cody blinked owlishly, then shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Um... j-just... a-anything is fine," he said softly, peering at the Minstrel's fingers on the instrument, blinking as they begun to settle on a familiar chord.

"Right you are! Hmm, let's see now..." the Minstrel mused, beginning to pluck out a few notes to test the instrument, and he winced at the out of tune notes that fell on his ears. "One moment, one moment..." he murmured, going to pluck the strings and turn a few knobs on the head of the instrument. Cody watched curiously, his breath puffing softly in the air as he watched the strings loosen and tighten until the Minstrel deemed them good enough with a monosyllabic laugh, and he began to strum out a few chords.

[9 - The Fountain]

[zapdragon555]

Cody sat back and listened, recognizing the tune after a few lines. Some very old christmas song... he smiled, remembering he'd heard it when he was a kid. After a short time he found himself softly humming along, his voice cracking here and there from lack of use, but the tune was mostly recognizable in his own head. His voice was far too small to hear behind the lute, anyway.

Cody looked up to see a few people smiling at the Minstrel, a few gathering closer to listen, and Cody shrank under their gaze, despite not being the subject of it. He hated it when people stared at him. Oh, he hated it... Cody felt his heart drop in his chest as someone threw something in their direction, and he blinked, peering at it, his eyes widening to see it was a few coins. He gasped, looking at the Minstrel, who shot him a bright smile, chuckling as the song picked up in speed slightly, a few people beginning to clap their hands to the beat. Cody blinked a few times, then smiled himself, looking up at the people as a few more began to drop a few coins in the snow in front of them.

[10 - The Fountain]

[zapdragon555]

"Hey!" the Minstrel chirped, bringing Cody's attention to him, and he grinned, an open expression on his face. "You look like you know this song! Can you sing it? I'm sure the people would love... it...?"

Cody was already shaking his head rapidly, his throat closing up with nervousness. "Oh, n-no, no, I really don't think..." he trailed off, looking at the crowd to find all of their eyes were on the Minstrel, and not him. He swallowed, blinking a few times. "I-I don't... know this song very well, though..."

The Minstrel gazed at him for a moment, the gears in his mind working, and he smiled, straightening up. "Then I'll play a song you do know! C'mon, Cody, what's a christmas song you really like?" he asked, leaning a little closer to Cody, who leaned away slightly in response, blinking in thought.

"W-well..." he mused, looking at a rip in his jeans near the knee, staring at the threads for a moment as he thought. "Um... I-I guess... I could sing Silent Night. I-I kind of know that one..." At least it was slow, and Cody could think about the lyrics a little before he sang them, so he might not mess up... he might not...

[11 - The Fountain]

[zapdragon555]

"Hmm... Silent Night, huh? Alright..." the Minstrel mused, trying to remember the right chords. He smiled as he began to pluck out the new tune, and Cody's heart sped up about three times in his chest, realizing he was going to have to sing very soon. Oh, god, okay, sure, he could do this. Absolutely. Sure,  definitely, no, he couldn't do this, he couldn't...!

The Minstrel noticed Cody's tensing, and a few of the bystanders looked a bit concerned. The Minstrel bit his lip, a bit worriedly, then paused in his playing to gently reach out and touch Cody's shoulder. "Hey, Cody... you don't have to sing. I just thought it would be fun," he admitted with a small smile, rubbing a thumb over the thin fabric of Cody's hoody. Goodness, this boy had to be freezing, the Minstrel thought with a wince. Come to think of it... he looked downright haggard. Was he homeless? The Minstrel thought about this for a long moment. So they did have that in common.

Cody blinked as the Minstrel shifted a little closer and leaned down to his ear, beginning to whisper. "But I do still want you to sing," he said in a light tone, chuckling, and Cody winced, shaking his head a little. "Don't even think about those people in the crowd. They aren't there, okay? Just look at me. You can sing in front of little old me, can't you?" The Minstrel asked, leaning away and giving Cody a bright smile.

[12 - The Fountain]

[Baconwizard]

"C'mon, Seth! We're late for the festival!" The little girl stared up at her companion with bright green eyes, her expression positively sparkling with excitement. Rolling her eyes dramatically, Mel grabbed on to Seth's hand and forcibly dragged the large, dark man forward into the crowd. Seth complied, his expression not changing even as Mel yanked on his arm. He was used to be Mel's personal jungle gym slash bodyguard. Mel, for her part, was looking about the festival, practically bouncing with excitement. It wasn't often that she was let out of the house, and she was going to make the most of it. "I heard that there's a petting zoo! We should go see that. And the Christmas tree. And also, we have to go to... to everything! We have to go to everything, Seth!"

Seth blinked in response, then slowly rolled his eyes as the seven-year-old raised her arms in an almost queenly manner. Picking her up, he settled Mel on his shoulders so that she sat a good seven feet in the air, watching everyone from above. Laughing to herself, Mel held onto Seth's uneven hair, then pointed with a gloved finger in the direction she wanted to go. "To the Christmas tree! It's straight ahead!"

Mel & Seth: Bonfire --- 7

[Sarah]

“So what brings you out anyway? It’s cold and you have a lab filled with so many interesting things,” Niner asked her.

“I needed a break,” Lila said though her eyes remained fixed on the fire. “I have spent a few solid weeks there and though I have made a lot of headway in my research I knew that not being in the world would affect me negatively eventually. As you can see I can barely hold a conversation,” She told him wondering why exactly humans needed to be around other humans. It was annoying and time consuming and she had better things to do. “I suppose I hoped to find someone I could research, and then I got cold, and then I ended up here,” she said smiling to herself.

Niner nodded, “I know the feeling I think. Sometimes the benefactor has us all locked away for so long we forget the passing of time. It’s nice to be out and see that others are around as well,” He said while watching some townsfolk go about their business.

[Post 4 ; Bonfire]

[Kitsumi]

Rosie was relieved to see that Ava was watching her parents with more of a humorous look, not a judgmental one. It was usually the same thing any time the two parents took their child somewhere together; they would promise to behave themselves, but then they would end up getting into some kind of argument. Even in times like this when the "fight" was more of a playful thing, it could easily draw the attention of those nearby. The disapproving looks were becoming something that Rosie was used to by now.

"I never thought of it as being overwhelming," Rosie replied, but not in a rude way. "I just wanted to go to the petting zoo, but my parents decided to stop everywhere along the way. If you're just focusing on one thing at a time, it's easier to take it all in, I think." She beamed at the compliments. "Thank you, as well! Yeah, my family is far from normal. But at least things are never boring." Her gaze fell on her parents again, who were finally back to a more suitable activity for adults. Astrid was taking another look at the map of the different festivities, while Tyre was cleaning up the garbage from their table and preparing to throw it away.

[Post 14 -- Bakery]

[Baconwizard]

Seth waded through the crowd of people, passing the large bonfire and heading in a straight line towards the Christmas tree. His dark eyes were scanning over the crowd, constantly analyzing and scanning for threats. It was his duty... Mel was his charge, and Seth was to protect her at all costs. Even if it cost him his life. This was a simple fact of his life. But what the scientists in the laboratory did not know was that Seth would do that regardless. Mel was the one who saved him, after all. She had brought him out of that place; she had been able to tame him. And Seth would do his best to repay her.

Mel tugged on his hair roughly, yanking him to a stop. "Seth, I said stop! Jeez, were you zoning out again? We're at the Christmas tree." Seth blinked, realizing that he had indeed almost walked past the tree. He should have known better than to let his mind walk down those dark roads... He walked towards the tree, then knelt down so that Mel could slip off of his shoulders. She brushed off her skirt, then marched towards the pile of presents. "So many! Who are they all for, Seth?" Not waiting for an answer, Mel waded through the pile, looking for her own.

Mel & Seth: Christmas Tree --- 8

[Baconwizard]

Ava giggled at that, nodding her head. "Not boring is really good, I think. It keeps things interesting, a-and... um, I think it's good for a family to be a little weird. It gives the kids an excuse to pretend to be embarrassed of their parents, and it gives the parents an excuse to lighten up a bit." Ava glanced down at her lap, smiling. "B-but I'm not a parent, so that might not be quite true..." All Ava knew was that she would have enjoyed her own family life a bit more if her parents had lightened up a bit.

Sighing, Ava looked back up, looking around the table at the family. "So, um, are you all going to the petting zoo next? Do you know what animals they have there?"

Ava: Bakery --- 9

[Atoli01]

"Elliot! Come on, hurry! O-oh no, Magi, grab Rupa!"

Horatio heaved a great sigh. It seemed his days of peace were long over, long gone. He could hear Dolly screaming her head off from Zuhai only knows where, and he was not pleased. Rather, he simply hadn't the slightest clue how children could have so much energy. (Why did he take them in again? Well... Elliot was quiet and toned down enough to bear, but Dolly was just... something else. That's why he gave her Magi-- to help her calm down for all of five seconds. Only, Magi seemed to only have the opposite effect on the girl.)

"Horatio!" The man simply sat there on the log, now caring little about the cold, and rubbed his temple in frustration. That was what he was doing for a moment anyway, before he went flying forward into the snow, a certain twintailed girl laying right on top of him. "Dolly! Calm down, the man is going to skin you!" he could hear the newly arrived man hiss at the girl from above.

[2: The Bonfire]

[Atoli01]

He could only stare forward in horror as he saw his fedora now being used as fuel for the fire in front of him. Dolly got off of him very slowly, and he heard her back away in the same manner. "Dolly, I think the least of your concerns right now should be getting skinned! Skinning you is kind  gesture compared to what I want to do to you right now!" Horatio snapped as he sat up, trying his best to fish his hat from the fire without burning himself. He was tempted to send Magi in to go get the thing as punishment.

He looked back, intending to chastise the girl more, but instead, that little gray rabbit was standing in the spot she had been, and Elliot was standing with his arms crossed, his gaze directed at a nearby log. She could not have, he thought, looking at the thing. Him and Elliot locked each other's gazes and blinked at each other. And then, without working, Horatio jumped to his feet and kicked the log, eliciting a high-pitched scream. Horatio was certain that logs didn't scream, unless he had just stumbled upon another rare creature. He was sure he didn't.

[3: The Bonfire]