[crow]

It took a moment for Leo to collect himself. Generally speaking, he felt that he was a fair hand at keeping his true feelings to himself when he had to. Maybe he had let himself relax too much; he didn't know how much it actually showed on his face, but Oliver's expression was becoming gloomier with every passing second.

It was an ugly sweater. It really was. It wasn't even that Leo didn't like sweaters, but he was very... well... very particular about what he wore. Fashion was one of the things he took great pride in, and one of the few things he and Vivi both enjoyed, even if their personal styles were different.

It had been... a long time since he'd received a gift of clothes that clashed with his style so badly.

But he didn't want to upset Oliver, especially not when Oliver had personally made it for him. He did still feel touched by the gesture, even if, as it turned out, he didn't care for the form it took. "No," he said, smiling as convincingly as he could. "No, it's great. I love it. Thank you."

[Moofius]

Grid

“That's fair,” Grid only smiled as she closed out the phone before tucking it in her pocket, “But yeah, if you haven't travelled far outside your own village, what brought you here?”

Because it was understandable not to leave your village. Beyond the village was danger, and in the Tengel the danger within each square foot was dense. Grid's innate sense for danger went off like CRAZY in that forest, it was pretty wild, and one of the only places she didn't have to address like, every danger she picked up on.

“Oh wow, that is not common!” Grid agreed, wondering how true that was. Not just the egg, but the only one thing. What if the other was washed away? Or taken? “Is that how the priestess is chosen for your village?” She asked, her attention now on the priestess from the Tengel.

[Sappheara]

A tall thin woman walked into the tavern. She looked around the place with disgust. It was just like these creatures to live in such distasteful place. She pushed her dislike for this place and these people to the side. She was only here for two of her favorite demons. If it was anyone else she would have decline the offer. Let's be honest she would have answer the invite. Azena had very little interest in people or things that didn't make her happy. It was rare for her to come to this realm and thought it was time to visit her granddaughter and grant granddemons. She slowly made her way around the crowded tavern to where she could see the four people that interest her. She knew that two out of the four wouldn't be happy to see her, she could care less what the spirit guide thought of her. The second, she had to be honest with herself, she wanted to win over. She tried everything she could think of when it came to her blood. She even gave Chumani her beloved demons. Azena go to the table only looking at Chumani as she spoke. "Good evening," Then eyed the spirit demon. "It's nice to see your presence here." There was distaste in her tone. Anguish pulled up a chair for his older metra to sit in. Azena smiled at him and took her sit. No one said a word.

{Claiming 3rd Day}

[Isalynne]

That was an interesting question, and one that Aranyani wasn't sure she had a simple answer for. Not in the common tongue, at least. Grid would practically be able to see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to piece together the words she needed.

"I.. as priestesses, every so many years, we venture outside, yes? A tradition, to help us be knowledgeable, and more wise."

Thank goodness her guide wasn't with her. He would have disapproved so thoroughly of the conversation. It was his job as a warrior to protect her, but even so.. he was particularly defensive over his kind.

"Yes! Usually, there are many, and the best are chosen, but.. this time, just me." A solemn sentiment, it appeared. But she shook her head to rid herself of the thought. "Tell me about yourself, Friend Grid."

[Jaykobell]

Hm. Granted, they much preferred this atmosphere over the deadly circumstances of war, but they still couldn't say that they enjoyed this place. What a ruckus it had been causing, as of late, though. People and pets going in and out all the time. After a little bit of deduction, they'd realized that the place was giving out small little prizes every day. It hadn't caught their attention very much at first, but in retrospect, why refuse free things?

"Hey," they greeted once they'd stepped inside. "You're giving out things?" Straight to the point: they couldn't really care less for festivities, and they had other things to do — like staying home and not socializing.

[Adelie]

The mail must be delivered; that is the rule. No matter how difficult it is to find the recipient, no matter what the contents of the message are, no matter who it is sent by or what purpose it serves.

For things to have come to her, though, must mean this message is of the utmost difficulty. She prides herself, after all, on being the end of a chain; she is not just a messenger, after all, but a ninja, and nothing is ever too difficult for her.

As she looks at this holiday party, though, with the crowds of people weaving back and forth, platters in hand, talking small talk to each other - she is starting to understand why this is such a difficult mission.

[ToxicShadow]

During their talk, the man behind the counter began wandering around, pulling a saucer from where they kept some of the dishes, and then the gallon of milk from the fridge behind him; it was only filled with things for drinks. After pouring the milk into the saucer, he served it up to the colorful feline. "Here, have a drink."

The cat stared down at the dish and frowned, as much as a Kuhna could. "I'm not a child."

"But I'm still not giving a cat hot cocoa, coffee, or eggnog," the man answered. "Just be happy you're not lactose intolerant, like many cats."

[zapdragon555]

Cyril's rage had been abruptly cut off by Zane's interruption, though it seemed to roil just below the surface of his skin, still up on the balls of his feet. Still itching for a fight. He shot a look back at Null when the man spoke, and he scowled as he felt that tug once more. "God--god, okay, just..." Cyril ran his hands through his dark curls and grit his teeth, gripping at his hair as he tried to focus. "Why don't... why don't we just..." Cyril blinked, realizing Null was inching towards Cody and Zane, and Cyril snarled slightly. He did not want to be anywhere near those two.

"Come here," Cyril snapped, reaching for the man's collar once more and dragging him slightly. His brows raised in genuine surprise. "Damn, you're light," he murmured, face blank for a few moments, before he blinked out of it and eyed the flush on Null's cheeks. He glanced up at where the man was looking--Zane--then rolled his eyes and shook his head with a 'tsk.' Zane's effortless charm was one that Cyril found horrendously irritating, if only for how little Zane seemed to actually use it to his advantage. "Let's ask the person in charge here. Surely they might know what happened. Could be part of this whole place's shtick."

Cody grinned as Kosok hopped off, giving a small wave to the creature. He wondered if Ava experienced that sort of thing with Pierre... that cat was a cute one, though he'd never been fond of Cody. Dog person--it was a curse, for sure. He blinked at Dahlia's offer to take the phone book back, and a pang of nervous guilt hit him. "O-oh, you don't have... to..."

Suddenly, he was alone with Zane--or as 'alone' as one could be, in a crowded tavern. Zane glanced down at the boy with a soft expression on his face, the hand on Cody's shoulder moving to rub at his upper back. "Hey," he offered softly, scooting to sit down on the chair next to Cody's.

Cody snuck a glance at Zane's face, his hands in his lap, wrung tight together. "H-hey," he managed softly, looking back down at the table, before he let the air seep out of his lungs in a soft sigh. "I'm sorry. A-about the... plate, and... f-for just running off."

Zane blinked, his face breaking into a sympathetic smile. "You scared me," he admitted. "The running off part. The plate thing... well, we don't even use plates that often, y'know? I've been so busy with finals that takeout has been the game plan for weeks now, haha," Zane cringed, trying to make light of things, before he sobered slightly and let go of Cody for a moment to take the boy's hand, gently pulling it away from the other. The tense white of Cody's knuckles lessened as a result. "I'm not mad," he said, voice just loud enough to hear over the din of the tavern. Cody looked up, staring at Zane with eyes that threatened to rim with tears once more. Zane drew in a breath, his heart clenching, and he squeezed Cody's hand. "I'm not."

Cody's eyes searched Zane's, sniffing, and slowly raised their joined hands to rest against his lips, blinking tears away. "Okay," he mumbled behind their hands, nodding and absently kissing Zane's knuckles. Zane felt a wash of relief come over him, a grin appearing on his face to see Cody relax a little bit. Cyril's voice barked above the noise, suddenly, and Cody visibly tensed. Zane's brows knit together, and he angled his head off in Cyril and Null's direction, his expression darkening slightly. "Hey, Cody," he said, turning back to the blonde boy, his expression serious, but encouraging. "Dahlia and Kosok seem super cool. Do you wanna stay with them a little longer? I think... I need to go chase Cyril off. He's kind of terrorizing some guy. I'll come join you as soon as things smooth over, yeah? And then we can go home whenever you want," he added with a pat to Cody's hand. They could talk back at home. For now, Zane was just glad the other boy was safe and sound, and in good hands for the time he'd been gone.

"O-oh dear," Cody mumbled, catching Zane's drift. Geez, everyone was giving Cyril what-for today. First Dahlia, and now Zane. "P-please be careful," Cody added, a tiny smirk tugging his mouth, and he planted a proper kiss on Zane's fingers before standing up and breathing in a deep breath of air to steady himself. He waved at Dahlia and Kosok, and pointed over towards the table she'd indicted, wordlessly telling her he'd sit down and take her up on that offer.

Zane, meanwhile, turned his smiling face back to the situation at hand, correcting his expression into something a little more impassive. He walked up to Null and Cyril, his hands moving to rest at his hips as he regarded them both. "So--I don't know what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure fighting isn't gonna fly here," he said, then looked pointedly at Null, offering a friendly smile. "What's the problem between you two?" he asked, recognizing fear on a face as easily as anything. Plus, even if Ava swore by Cyril's kindness, Zane could tell he didn't treat everyone with that kindness. "I'm Zane, by the way. Friend of Cyril's," he said, pointing a thumb at the dark-haired man, who at this point just looked exhausted and very much wanting to go home.

[Claiming Day 3!]

[FrostWynd]

Leaving behind a small trail of pawprints in the snow in their wake, and Bee might've also gotten some bits kicked up into his face a few times, the pair quickly made their way across the street. On the other side, they stopped several feet away from the door itself that belonged to the tavern, hiding wherever they could so they wouldn't be spotted.

"We're seriously gonna do this?" Bee asked nervously. Now that they were this close to all the people, he was starting to have his doubts about this plan. Kass had a wide grin on her face as she carefully studied the door. "Of course! We can't turn back now!"

After a few more moments, she finally turned around to face Bee. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do! When I give the signal, we'll run right through that door and get inside. It'll be easy!" All they needed to do was get into position, and wait for the right moment.

Sitting very still at another hiding spot just a bit closer than the last one, they waited.

And waited.

Then the door opened...

"Now!" Kass shouted, and put all her strength into this next sprint. Claws dug as best they could into the ground, and she sped off for the door.

Bee heard the signal... but hesitated. His feet remained exactly where they were, completely still. It was only now that seeing a human up this close, as they were coming out of the building, had frightened him and his body sunk low into the snow. He watched helplessly as his friend succeeded with slipping in through the door without him, and he couldn't make a single peep to get her attention.

It was the craziest thing Kass had ever experienced in her life so far. As she was scrabbling at the tavern flooring to dart in and out through so many feet. The place was so crowded and full of activity, that one of them even nearly got her tails! Which definitely earned the owner of that foot a very loud hiss from her.

When she finally managed to find refuge beneath one of the tables, and get away from all that insanity, she promptly collapsed into a heap, breathing heavily. "We... we did it, Bee! We did it..." Kass would say between each large breath. But after a few seconds, she heard nothing in response. That was when she realized something was wrong. "...Bee?" Looking around her, she only now noticed that he wasn't there by her side.

...Shoot.

[Skylark]

The merry atmosphere was getting to him, he could tell. Normally he wasn't one to partake in social interactions. He preferred to observe first because through observations he could begin to come to an understand about what would be expected of him in certain situations. But this event wasn't one where just observing seemed to be acceptable. The host was giving out gifts left and right and accepting such gifts required interaction. There were drinks to be purchased with currency! That required interaction as well. Truth be told, it was somewhere overwhelming for a creature such as him. Perhaps he would retire soon before it become too much entirely.

[Kestrel]

"Renz! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Netali cried from across the room, rushing to greet her brother with arms wide open. A few of the partygoers turned their heads as she pushed past them. Still more looked to see who had emitted the loud cry.

Koyren matched her wide smile with one of his own. "Nita!" he replied, catching her in a big hug. His voice, while equally excited, was much more restrained. "Oh, you've been so busy, I haven't seen you in so long! Where were you last?

Netali stepped away from a moment, then returned with a candy cane hanging out of her mouth. She popped it out and waved it around a bit as she spoke. "Oh, around Idalani. Beautiful there, of course, and I was looking for some nice warm weather after my stint up by the Yuunu Sea. You, of course, just had to drag me back up here before I had time to properly warm up!" she said, one corner of her mouth cocked into a grin.

Koyren smirked. "No worries sis, I'm sure you already have your flight to the warmest parts  of Barakka booked already."

"Day after Christmas," they said in unison, and broke out into laughter.

[Sarah]

A kind of blissful silence had washed over him. Even with all the people mingling around him, he couldn't help but be deaf to it. It was the kind of peace he'd only felt once before. Back in the hot rain forests of Venus when Oryx had first come. Before the dreadnought, before the Queen sacrificed herself. Just before everyone became aware of the newest enemy. He'd watched as the Taken infection reached out and plucked him out of the forest.

Sure, he'd been dying. His squad had all perished weeks before. Sure, he was stranded - left for dead - but he'd been human. Now... Not only was he totally disconnected from everything he'd once known, but the Taken had followed him here too. Would there ever be a time when he could live without the constant fear of death?

[Night]

Oliver seemed hesitant, his eyes sliding from Leo's face to the plastic Santa Claus that adorned their table near the salt shakers. "Are you sure? It really wouldn't hurt my feelings." Which was likely a lie, but he wasn't about to force Leo into wearing the sweater if he really didn't like it. He definitely should have taken the safe route of finding something more suiting to what he knew of Leo's tastes. Or a gift card - then Leo could have just gotten whatever he wanted.

Though he supposed Leo likely had money to get whatever he wanted anyway. Perhaps he was just one of those people that were particularly hard to gift?

But Leo had seemed sincere, even if it were just to Oliver and his complete inability to read a situation. He grinned, his gaze flickering back to Leo's once again. "I'm glad. I was kind of worried." He admitted. The priest was about to say something else, try to make a joke or suggest that Leo put the sweater on, but their waitress was arriving with their food. He slid back in his seat to make room.

Once she had vanished back into the kitchen amongst assurances nothing else was needed, at least on his end, he carefully unwrapped his silverware to dig in. The food was a good distraction from the fact he was quickly running out of safe topics to discuss in public.

[Mojave]

Haru hadn't been to Basantha in some time, and had come to shop for the kids at her orphanage when she'd noticed the Advent event and the crowd it was drawing. "Oh, this must be where the boys came with Roxy." She mused under her breath, sliding in line without a second thought. While she waited, she watched the families and couples around her, scheming of a way to incorporate this kind of thing into the orphanage's Christmas celebrations. Just because the kids didn't have parents didn't mean she wanted them to [i]feel/i] like orphans. And besides, she made enough money from her modeling to afford to spoil them sometimes. When it came her turn, she gratefully thanked the odd woman hosting the event and picked the smallest box she could from the bag.

[Flame]

Luckily for Wren, if she had been in for a telling-off, Valk couldn't get around to it with his mouth stuffed full of pastry. There was momentarily what sounded like a halfhearted, mumbled protest from her brother, but a very pointed look cast in his direction very quickly quelled the resistance. Even Valk knew that the path of least resistance (and to get her to listen to him) was to just give her what she wanted first. Perhaps then she would be more amenable to reason, especially when it pertained to her own personal safety and well being. He swore, sometimes it felt like he cared more about her livelihood than she did.

"Okay, now will you listen to me?"
"Wasn't it delicious? Humans make the best foods! We should get someone to cook for us -
do you think Zion would agree to it if we asked her?"
Valk sighed - with Wren, it really was impossible to get a word in edgewise until she got exactly what she wanted. "Yes, it was quite tasty, but I've had them before. You forget I frequent the mortal realm a lot more than you do, sis." His voice had taken on its token tone of practiced patience. He loved his sister, but by golly, could she be a handful sometimes. "So you do realize that Loki is going to notice that you're gone soon, right? If he hasn't already done so, that is."