Thanksmasnewyearskwanzakkah 2018 - 10 Years of Thanksmas!

[Morty]

[Harassing Calm Reed]

"This isn't like any dragon I've ever seen," Calm Reed says. "But it's not your true form? I'm not mortal, so maybe I could see it... but there's plenty of people here so I understand."

[Hobgoblin & Deer]

"I used to be fine with cold, but then I drew a magic card from my friend's deck. It's, uh, a long story," Batu says. He's pretty blasé about all the weirdness happening to him, but Div might find it more surprising. "Thanksmas is kind of an amalgamation of different winter holidays," he says by way of actual explanation. "People come to remember the passing year, celebrate the new one, wish each other all the best, give and receive gifts and eat good food."

[Wolf Snuggling]

Viima and two of her grandkids follow Kara in hope for treats.

[Snowgoblin]

"Your dad sounds smart," Oortka says. "Aunt Reelshka argues about it with grandpa a lot."

"Living underground is cool. But we don't get snow underground. So it's good to come outside sometimes," Blaggut declares.

"We can help you build your snowman and give him a ride," Tuskfang offers. "We're almost done with our one. Grapok says we could fight with snowballs over snowpeople. I'm not sure what he meant."

[Deathkeeper]

[Harassing Calm Reed]

Passing by at this exact moment is a tiny (about as large as a Labrador), actual lung dragon. Orange with a rusty red ruff of mane, long tufted tail, and folded wings complete the image along with his tiny pair of nose-tendrils. Those are clearly only barely starting to grow in. He is wearing a tiny bomber jacket, goggles on his head, and a wrist computer, just like his big sis/sort-of-stepmom. He stops immediately at seeing Zee.
”No fair! That’s my thing!” he declares, pulling a blue orb from his storage spell and striking the same pose. Only it’s obviously better because he has an orb.
”See?”

[Earl of Purple]

Goblins & Gnome

"That's fair enough... Wait. Smell where you are? Pookie, can you do that?" She narrows her eyes and glares at her Teddiursa, who stops licking his paw and slowly and deliberately shakes his head. "...I don't believe you. We're not playing that again." Cheasadh knows Pookie quite well, but not quite well enough it seems. Or maybe she just needed someone to tell her tracking by scent is a thing that some people can do. Cheasadh could do it too, if she practised at it and trained her nose. But she doesn't know that and neither do the humans at GLoG, so she hasn't tried.

Elsewhere

Alfred and Ben are still around somewhere! Exactly where is trickier to point out.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Fetching Treats/Harassing Calm Reed]

Karaglen bounds up onto and into the sleigh, barely noticing any of the other shenanigans going on near the sleigh.
Mom's doing her dragon thing for some other person, there's another little dragon over there, oooh the treats are right here-
Wait, another little dragon?

She pokes her head up from the sleigh for a moment, to stare at Nick Jr. and ponder this interesting turn of events.
Then dives back down to get those treats for Viima & Family.
They get priority, as promised! Once she's distributed the highly anticipated snacks, some more snuggles, and maybe a couple more snacks, then meeting other people can happen.

Viima's sort of Kara's oldest friend though, in a weird way. The wolf wins importance.

[Rebonack]

[Harassing Calm Reed WITH DRAGONS]

"Dragons are pretty fantastically diverse," Zee agrees, bobbing her head. "Strictly speaking, I'm a seraph. Seraphim are like... dragons squared. And I think you would probably be alright. People like you were kind of created to stand up to things like me, if my understanding of the history of Creation is accurate, anyway. Everyone else, though? I don't want to hurt anyone because of my own vanity."

She would feel just awful about that.

And then suddenly Nick Jr! He's being adorable and doing the classic lung dragon pose himself to show Zee how it's done.

Zee laughs. "You do it better than me, that's for sure. I don't have the mustache for it. I'm Zee, by the way, I don't think I've met you before."

And then suddenly Karaglen! She's being adorable and diving into the sleigh in search of wolf treats. They're in there somewhere, so it might take some rooting around to find them.

"Oh hey, there's my daughter. Hello, Karaglen. Remember not to feed the wolves too many treats at once, it can make them sick. We packed extras so Mister Dipsnig can take them home with him for later," Zee reminds the enthusiastic wyrmling.

In her rummaging about, buried under a thick woolly blanket (and more treats), Karaglen bumps into a little slumbering form that immediately snorts and sits bolt-upright. The blanket is still draped over his head and it takes a few moments of sputtering and flailing for him to free himself.

And then suddenly Navanaxinermis!

The blanket slides off the little bronze wyrmling, leaving him blinking sleep out of bright blue eyes. "Bwuh are we there yet?" he sputters, taking a few moments to gather his bearings. There's Kara, looking for treats. And there's mom, still hitched to the sleigh. And there's a human lady he doesn't recognize. And there's a little orange dragon? The sort with the manes and scales like a big fish; he can't remember what they're called. And there's... snow! "Golly..." he breaths, staring up into the snowy night sky, eyes wide with wonder. "It's so pretty..." He clambers up on the lip of the sleigh, gripping it in his little mittened claws.

What? He's not a silver like Karaglen. He needs to be bundled up against the cold. Mittens with rubberized palms on his front and back feet. Fluffy red and green and white jacket for keeping the cold out, though all things considered it's more like a snow suit with a great big zipper on the back nestled between a pair of wing-socks. And, of course, a Santa pikachu hat. Big gaudy yellow thing perched on his head and pulled over his nubby horns with a pikachu ear sticking out on one side and a red and white Santa hat sitting at a jaunty angle on the other.

"So this is what snow looks like?" Nax whispers, moments before a rather large snowflake alights on his nose, causing the little wyrmling to briefly go cross-eyed before licking it off. "Mom, can I play in the snow?" Nax asks, glancing back at Zee. Zee gives him a nod of consent, resulting in a delighted little whoop from Nax as he bails out of the sleigh-!

-and gets one of his hind feet caught on the rim, causing him to tumble end over end and face-plant straight into a snowdrift next to Nick Jr.

"I meant to do that," comes a muffled voice from the snow.

[Morty]

[Dragons & Dragon-Blooded]

"The orb is clearly a crucial part of the pose," Calm Reed says. Nick Jr. is evidently adorable enough even for the stoic, battle-hardened monk. "My name is Calm Reed. I'm also a dragon, but not like you are. It's just that my ancestors were blessed by dragons in days long past." She glances at Zee. "Is 'Mister Dipsnig' the owner of those wolves? They're remarkably well-trained."

Viima and her grandcubs hang around, munching on treats and generally being affectionate. Not much more to say about them for now.

[Deathkeeper]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"I'm Nick Richards. You might have met my brother, Nick Richards." says Nick Jr. with an innocent look.
"Well if you're just blessed I dunno if you're really a dragon at all. But if you say so, Miss."
And then new person splat! Oh no!
"Oh no! Are you ok new friend?" he says, dropping to all fours to examine the dragon. His orb is transferred to his tail, which flicks and swings, but does not lose contact with it.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"But...but. They look so hungry now!"
How can Karaglen possibly avoid giving the fuzzy and adorable wolves every single treat in her possession right this very moment?

Oh, perhaps by her new brother making a complete goof of himself in front of everyone.
A lot of siblings would probably poke fun at him for that, it's a really ripe opportunity for some solid teasing.

But this is Kara and it's possible that she doesn't actually know how to tease anyone.
So instead she (discreetly) slips her latest handful of treats over to the wolves before leaping out of the sleigh to go rescue Navnaxinermis from the horrible snow dune. Mostly by chomping onto the end of his tail and pulling him out.
"I dun fink thash how 'oo pay in 'a snow, 'avvy."
Talking with your mouth full is hard.

Alas, this delays the other introductions further.

[5a Violista]

[The Witch]

"..."

Awen just stares at her for a moment.

"Okay, I'll try that," she says, not really going to try it.

Actually, though!
This is a question she can answer!

The witch points over towards the campfires. "See those cauldrons?" The ones on top of the campfires. "Supposedly they'll give you whatever drink you want when you pour it in your cup."


[Frozen Pond]

Kikkawa is in her early 20s, so she's only been skating for about two decades. She's done well in a bunch of competitions, though. Probably would've won even more if she hadn't run away into a random unknown portal to get out of therapy.

"So what's your homeworld like?" she asks.

She continues skating as they converse; not point in standing on the ice and not skating! At the moment, she's skating backwards so that she can keep on facing Tavlii.

"Mine was pretty normal," she says, even though she has no frame of reference to define what "normal" is, anyway.


[Moping Around a Campfire]

She introduced herself as "Juliekana".

"Yeah, it's probably not that simple," Julieka says. She's still cold. Probably should've worn warmer clothing.

She reaches out to the fire again.

"While you're here, though," she tells him, "you should probably celebrate and party, at least. You're not going to run into any moral dilemmas here" - at least, she hopes not - "and you sound like you might need a break from your thoughts. So, go ice skating or build a snowman or ask Santa for something or go grab some food."


[Refreshments - Spilled Chocolate]

Oh! Thanks! *rushes to post#85*

[Rebonack]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"Nice to meet you, Nick. Don't think I've ever met your brother before. That naming convention must have been really confusing for your family," Zee comments. "And someone can be a dragon even if they don't look like one," Zee informs Nick Jr. "There's a whole game about that! The mighty dragonborn! With the power to shout goats off cliffs." Technically it is about a whole lot more than just shouting goats off cliffs, but Zee is trying to touch on the highlights here. She tilts her head to the side a bit, examining the little computer on his foreleg. "And judging from your accessories-"

But then the child's attention is elsewhere, fixed on far more interesting subjects than weird grownups talking about boring grownup stuff.

"Really well trained, yeah! Mister Dipsnig is the leader of the Nexus' adventurer's guild," Zee says. She thinks that sounds way better than 'band of mercenaries'. "I don't know him that well personally, but I know OF him."

And then a thought occurs to her. "What are you doing here in the Nexus, Miss Reed? You said you're a recent arrival, but what brought you here?"

Zee feels like these are always interesting stories.

Meanwhile!

Navvy is pulled, sputtering, from the snowdrift. A good thing, since his tail and feet were poking straight up in the air and climbing out would have been tricky. A bronze dragon can breath under water, but probably if that water is a bunch of snow smothering them.

"J-j-jeepers that sure is c-c-c-cold!" he sputters as he does his best to brush all of the snow out of his face. Then gives a little snort to get the packed snow out of his nose. He gives himself a bit of a shake, tossing most of the slush that's still clinging to him away. "Golly! Snow is colder than I woulda guessed," the bronze wyrmling says. "But... I probably shoulda guessed better since I ate snowcones before."

Snowcones are cold.

They are snow.

In a cone.

Thus, snow on the ground (instead of in a cone) should also be cold.

He gives his tail a little wage, checking for any tooth marks in the giant fluffy red and white stocking (complete with some green felt ivy and a brass jingle bell) that's slipped over the limb. Thankfully he didn't get any snow inside it. Then he grins over at his sister awkwardly. "Thanks a million, Kara, I was stuck in there good!" he says as he pulls off his hat and shakes the last of the snow off it. Then he smiles over at Nick. "Ah yeah, I'm okay. Karaglen and I watch each other's backs!" he declares, striking the best protective, regal looking pose he can manage. He probably doesn't look very intimidating since he's dressed like a festive poof-ball wearing a pokemon hat. "I'm Navanaxinermis! Most everyone calls me Navvy or Nax, though, 'cuz my whole name is really long. But if you call me Navvy I'll have to yell 'Hey! Listen!' at you sometimes."

Then he glances around before leaning in close to Nick and whispering conspiratorially. "So... Nickrichards right? Mom told my sister and me that we can hand out treats from her sleigh to spread Thanksmas cheer. It wold be real swell if you wanted to help."

[Lord Magtok]

Kitten Mittens

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Floor 7: Cyborgs, Catgirls and Eldritch Abominations

Caelynn yelps in surprise as the sudden projectile strikes Magtok, bringing up a mittened hand to cover her mouth in an adorably stereotypical manner as she looks down at the fallen cyborg. The concerned expression turns to a puzzled look as she processes the nature of the projectile however. A paper plate? wait, no, a paper plate full of candy canes? Why would anyone throw that at someone?

Oh, it's Zee. That does explain it, though Caelynn doesn't know how it does. Thankfully, Magtok gives a fairly succinct - if slightly confusing - explanation as the catgirl helps him to his feet, and the baffled doctor takes the candy cane as she looks between the two before Zee begins to respond, musing on the nature of people in your heart and the negative side effects that it could have upon your health. Oh hey, Caelynn's a doctor, she can weigh in on that! "Probably clogs up your aortic arch too." There we go, good work Caelynn. Save face and try to pretend like you're not still baffled by this strange lady you just met, go along with the weirdness. Never mind that neither of the two parties probably know what an aorta is, much less an aortic arch.

And then, the strange lady is gone as swiftly as she entered the scene, though not it's nearly as striking. () Just an ominous warning of cryptic nature that leaves Caelynn with a quirked brow and a look towards Magtok. "...Okay, I have no idea what she's referring to but I'm sleeping in your room until whatever she's talking about is gone." Caelynn's been around the block before, and learned all too well to pay attention to the cryptic portents of strangers. The Nexus did love to give them credence.

Hey, Magtok totally knows what an aorta is! You can't exactly do much horrible science and prosthetic technology stuff without knowing the human anatomy and how its various organs and tissues function! Anyway, he passes the entire plate off to Caelynn, mostly so he can have an arm wrapped around her waist and still have the other free for gesticulating and pointing at things and warding off flying plates of yuletide candy. I guess Caelynn's arms are just less important or something, I dunno.

"Zee's just weird and a little bit crazy sometimes. I'm sure it's noth-" Magtok stops abruptly, his genre-savviness kicking in and punching him in the teeth for dismissing such an obvious portent of troubles ahead. His libido also joins in on the curbstomping, noting that the scared catgirl will need an outlet for all that fear and anxiety, and if she's going to be up all night and lying in the same bed anyway, well...

"Okay yeah actually you probably should. I'll keep a gun in the nightstand, you can keep yours under a pillow, we'll lock the door, and if you need to get a glass of water or something after midnight we'll both go," he nods, figuring that should be plenty. I mean, how nasty could 'remaining Spooktober guests' really get?


Silent Knight, (Un)holy Knight

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You're a Broke-Ass Fighter Who Feeds Her Page Gruel!

"F-Fair enough." Fidelia responds, straightening up a little. She... she was joking, right? Oh, please let her be joking. She loved that couch, she didn't want to go back to sleeping on the floor, even if there was a carpet! Well, at least there wouldn't be any elements to worry about.... But enough dwelling on that, Jen is already on the move! And so Fidelia follows with a hopeful little smile, stuffing her hands in her pockets and trying her best to ignore a cold breeze.

Okay, yeah, maybe Jen had been right about the skirt not being warm enough.

But while her legs might be a little cold, the squire's face is quite warm, as the knight's teasing evokes a blush. "Uh, sure, that... that sounds like fun. A beat. "Er, the snowman, I mean! I've - I've never really built one before." Okay, that wasn't entirely true. She once tried to build one in a small little park after she snuck into a part of the Raindrop District, but there wasn't enough snow, and she didn't really have any top hats and scarves or buttons to spare, so she had to make do with a snow hedgehog that she made with a small mound and a load of sticks.
"Besides, I'm not - I'm not really a fan of beards."[/QUOTE]

"It's not a real beard, Fi. She's just dressed up as Santa," Saint Laz points out, before peering into the distance at Ithuriel. "I don't think it's a real beard..." Wouldn't really put it past some people. Jenette's lived here in the Nexus her whole life; a bearded lady angel isn't even in the top ten strangest things she's ever heard of. When she was little, there were always stories about talking cats conspiring with fairies to end the world, a secret society living in a submarine city beneath the waves, and some dress-wearing goblin who'd eat kids who stayed out late on school nights. Just based off the weirdness she's seen with her own eyes, at least two of those things were probably real.

Anyway, never mind that! Let's get started on that snowman! First and foremost is the bottom part, the giant snowball used as the base. Gotta roll up as big a ball of snow as she can manage, if she wants this thing to look good. She does, of course. It's Fidelia's first snowman, it has to look nice.


Every Time A Bell Rings

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[Ithuriel's Sleigh]

Ithuriel shakes her head at AmbriElf, instead reaching into the sack and pulling out- huh, it appears to be a little stuffed toy rhino with wings. Ithuriel peers at it in mild bemusement. "UH, it's a little bit more narcissistic than I was hoping for, but here, go give her this." She awkwardly passes the toy across to AmbriElf, still looking a little perplexed at the sack deciding to give her a little stuffed toy Ithuriel to give to Atry. "I figured she might like another toy. I think she's probably a little too young for something like a Magtendo, but...yeah, give it a try. Hopefully she likes it." She hastily attaches a tag to the little rhino ["Happy Thanksmas, from Santa Thuriel"] and nods for AmbriElf to go about his elfy duties.

Ambriel nods, takes the rhino, and vanishes into the skies! What's Thanksmas without a few surprises now and then, a bit of yuletide magic? Better time this just right, sail overhead and drop off the stuffed rhino directly in front of Atry, when she's least expecting a gift to inexplicably tumble down from the heavens (which is probably all the time). No good deed goes unrewarded when Santa Thuriel's running things around here, no sir.

[Zefir]

[Refreshments - In need of Help]

The stone scorpion is still looking around for anyone who can help him. from his position it's impossible to look on the table.

[billtodamax]

The Witch

Hell yeah let's get blitzed! Violet says, trying to throw an arm around Awen's waist and drag her toward the cauldrons. She'll grab a pair of mugs and fill them both with what turns out to be a fairly strong mulled wine, leaning her spears up against the cauldron as she does. Hopefully the fox is still being placid enough.

She passes one of them to Awen and raises hers to her lips, before pausing for thought. Can foxes drink alcohol? Can you drink this or is it deadly poison? She turns to the fox, making another kissy face towards it and going for another scritch.

Snowgoblin

He's super smart. Olon agrees. But Khannie's dad is a wizard with a dragon! She says excitedly to the goblins as she piles some more snow on the sled, starting to shape it into a rough sphere.

Snowballs sounds fun. Endok says. Maybe we're supposed to hit other snowdwarves with them? He asks, holding a branch up to the young goblin's ears and deciding that it was close enough, pushing it into the snowman's head.

[Rebonack]

[Snowgoblin]

"My daddy's a sorcerer," Khannie corrects as she plops more snow onto the growing pillar atop her sled, then begins looking around for something that would make good eyes. There isn't any coal nearby... Maybe she could... "OH! I've got an idea, I'll be right back, okay?"

And then the little girl will go running off toward Santa's throne.

She has a good idea about what a snowman fight would look like, but getting proper eyes for the snowmen first is SUPER important.

[The Throne of Santa!]

"Santa Santa Santa!" Khannie, a little human girl all bundled up in snow gear hollers as she runs up to the throne. "My friends and I are making snowmen but we haven't got anything good for the eyes. Have you got any coal to give to bad kids that we can use for eyes? I've been good this year but I REALLY need some. Pleeeease!"

She makes her best sorrowful, deprived child face at the bearded angel lady.

Surely she won't be able to resist.

[Morty]

[Snowgoblin]

"I don't know what the difference is between a wizard and a sorcerer," Oortka admits as Khannie runs off. "They both do magic, don't they? My mom says sorcerers are weird and we should be careful around them."

Blaggut, meanwhile, starts putting snow on the stick, giving the snow-goblin proper goblin ears. Or close enough for government work.

"Yeah, I think so. So we'd try to get hit instead of the snowpeople."

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"Oh, yes. I've heard of MERC," Calm Reed says, letting the tiny dragons talk among themselves. "I didn't come here voluntarily, really. I was sailing with some mortal monks to bring the Immaculate Philosophy to an island nation. Sadly, on our way we were caught in a terrible storm. Even my skills as a sailor couldn't save us, and our ship was destroyed." She sighs. "I survived, because children of Daana'd do not drown easily. But I doubt my fellow monks were so fortunate."

[Goblins & Gnome]

Brinika nods, looking between Cheasadh and Pookie.

"Yeah! Goblins can't do it, but Wolfen can. And Tuskfang has a Wolfen nose."

[Earl of Purple]

Goblins & Gnome

"So can Pookie. Don't believe him when he says otherwise. Pookie's a liar who isn't getting any honey from me this Christmas." That's also a lie; Cheasadh's already bought it, and she's got too much to eat herself. "Don't play hide and seek with him either. He cheats." So does Cheasadh, a little. When she thinks she can get away with it. They're both as tricksy as each other.

[5a Violista]

The Witch => Campfires & Cauldrons

Awen is, against her will, dragged towards the cauldrons.
She doesn't resist, and actually walks along as soon as she figures out what's going on.

Unfortunately, the dustpan is left behind in the snow...wait.

As Awen is getting dragged behind, a strand of greenish-black hair sneaks out from under her headscarf and stretches all the way back to the dustpan. Somehow, it appears she has really really long hair. Either that, or it really isn't hair. Or some other possibility. It wraps itself around the cleaning tool and then the hair retracts(?) back so Awen can grab it in her hand.
Then, the hair is pulled back into the scarf.

Awen grabs the mug passed to her with her free hand and starts to wonder what's in it, since she wasn't told. She's not against drinking alcohol during off time, it's just that it's really easy to find a drink that's too strong for her. She opens her mouth ready to ask what's in the drink and how much alcohol - but instead finds herself answering Violet's question: "W-well, yes, it's not poison to foxes any more than any other animal and probably happens all the time when they eat berries that have been fermenting for too long." It's technically a poison, but it's also a poison to humans but they drink it anyway.

She knows a bunch about foxes.

In this fox's case in particular, he just ends up making lots of weird foxy noises that sometimes sound like barking and sometimes sound like a dying cat, and loses balance.

Meanwhile, the fox makes a lick at Violet's face as she makes the kissy faces again.

[Deathkeeper]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

Nick shakes his head at Zee.
"No, Geneva never gets us mixed up. That's because I'm a dragon and he's a griffin. Really easy to tell us apart."
He listens to Nax, eventually ceasing his tail-flipping and rolls the ball to his wrist where it vanishes into his storage spell.
"Yeah, I think Geneva won't mind if I do that for a while. Uh, I just have to be back in time for lunch, okay?" Geneva will be upset if he misses lunch! Today is soup day!

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Ithuriel's Sleigh]

Coal? Coal? We can't have that!

But...but she wants coal.

Santa Thuriel looks at Khannie in confusion, "Ho ho...ho? Um, I guess I can give you coal? But I could probably give you coal aaanyway?" She frowns and pokes her head inside the sack. Yup, plenty of coal in there! "Is there anything else you want, like as an actual present? Uh, and have you been a good girl, etc. etc.?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

Karaglen tried to be careful to not ruin his costume when she pulled him out, because that would be terrible. She wouldn't want someone messing hers up either!
She also reaches over to wipe off any snow his shaking doesn't get, before smiling brightly and turning to Nick Jr.

"I'm Karaglen, like he said. Just between you and me, I thought he was going to sleep through most of this."
Not necessarily intended in a mean way, but maybe the cold was making him sleepy or something. She's not sure.
How could anyone take a nap on the way to something as exciting as this, otherwise?

But then we're back to the topic of the treats!
Which has Kara looking thoughtfully up at the sleigh. Then down to the wolves.
Then over to her brother and new friend.
Then back up at the sleigh.
"I bet if we get the wolfies to help us, we can get all the snacks handed out super quick."

[Rebonack]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

A dragon and a griffin?

Well...

She's a seraph, her husband is a drow, and her two children are a silver and bronze wyrmling, respectively. Zee really isn't in any place to comment on unusual families. "I can see how that would make things easier."

And then Zee looks a little crestfallen at Reed's reply. "Oh... I'm sorry about your friends."

She's pretty sure that Creation works on a reincarnation-style after life. Which means that Calm Reed's friends are gone now.

Forever.

The idea of utter annihilation of ego unsettles her deeply, especially since nothing ever really dies in the Empyreum. At worst, you might get consumed and pressed into someone else's will. But there's always a chance you might get free again, and would still be yourself afterwards. That's how she had recovered her other selves that had been consumed. Just hunted down and ate the things that had gobbled her up.

Unless of course the monks' deaths were tragic enough that they stuck around as ghosts. Then they're still sort of around, just trapped in an awful half-existence.

Zee really doesn't like souls and all the depressing fates that await them. She's convinced that of all the cruel faerie creations, souls are the absolute worst.

"I guess that makes you a very literal castaway, then," she says a bit glumly. "That's the term around here for people who were swept here to the Nexus without their consent. I was a castaway too, originally," she explains, hoping to maybe build a little bit of common ground with Calm Reed. "And I should probably mention, I found a path that leads to Creation. I'm not sure how useful it would be to you, though, since it goes through a desert that's made of fire. I was able to walk through the flames, but flammability would be a pretty major problem for you, right?"

Meanwhile!

Navvy is in fact quite glad that Kara was kind enough to avoid damaging his super-swell tail-sock. It's SUPER warm and he's planning on hanging it up for stocking stuffers. This appreciation doesn't stop him from sticking his tongue out at his sister, though. "It's wicked cold out here, Kara! I'm not a silver like you, so I thought napping under that nice warm blanket would be a swell plan." He was kind of hoping his sister would wake him up when they arrived, but the ghost of Continuity prevented her from remembering that she was supposed to do that.

Then he grins a toothy little grin at Nick's agreement! "Keen! But we're on a time limit if you've gotta get home by lunch time, Nick," Navvy reasons as he looks up at the sky-

-and promptly falls victim to another large snowflake landing on his nose. "Jeepers, that's a pain," he grumbles as he brushes it off with his paw. "It's already night-time here, so I hope you've got a watch."

And Kara suggest enlisting more help! Navvy brightens considerably at that suggestion! "Oh keen! Oh that sure is a swell idea, Kara! I'll ask them if they want to help."

Then he turns to the wolves, holds a paw up to his mouth to give a little cough, and then begins speaking in a series of yips, boofs, and very canine body language.

<Hey, want to help Kara and Nick and me give out treats to people?>

Speak with Animals sure is a handy supernatural ability to have.

[SANTA!]

"I've been super good, but I already have a nice house and lots of food and a family that loves me very, very much," Khannie insists. "I don't need anything else for Thanksmas, I'm very thankful for what I've got since I'm not like the poor hungry dirty kids with no parents in Skyside. You can give my present to them if you want, Missus Santa. I just really really SUPER need some coal to make snowman faces with!"

Oh.

Oh my.

A thankful, content child with a heart full of gratitude and Thanksmas spirit?

Santa might have to slip her something cool just on principle now.

[bc56]

Moping Around a Campfire

"Does this look like it could ice skate to you?" Tethrik points to his massive, half ton body, and laughs. "I'd better not. And I have plenty of toys." Of course, by toys, he means exotic weapons. "Of course, I could use a better coat. It's so frigid in here." Tethrik's winter coat is smoldering from being near the fire, but the demon wearing it is still shivering.

[5a Violista]

[Moping Around a Campfire]

Juliekana also laughs at his joke. It was pretty funny.

"You can say that again," she says, also cold. If she were closer to the music, she'd be probably fine but because she came over here chasing after that dragon (who didn't even stay around for all that long!) she has to resort to shivering and also holding her hands out to the fire.

"I mean, seriously? When people came up with this holiday, why did they also want it to be cold and snowy? It would be nicer if it was on a beach or something. Coconuts, suntans, and surfing would probably be the ideal Thanksmas party, in my opinion."

[Artemis97]

"When did you become a were then?" Clearly Raril doesn't want to talk about that other thing, and he can put it off for a moment.
Nadas shakes his head.
"I just have to keep it from making me predictable. Actually, a pack of house werewolves...that doesn't sound like a good idea to you?"

[Raril and Nadas]

Raril gives his son a curious look, frowning. "I don't want to give my sister any more power than she already has." He replies, before going back to answer his previous question. "I don't think you were here when that big undead blight blew through. Got attacked by a woman, werewolf, killed her only to have her get up and attack me again, thanks to that blasted plague. Barely survived it. Wasn't sure if I deserved to. Never got myself healed properly to get rid of the infection in time, so now I'm stuck with the curse, such that it is."

[Arkhosia]

Roses Are Red, Out Here It Has Snowed, And This Cyborg Hastens, My Sinoatrial Node

"That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the holidays, my Pilecki~" It's a little bit of a jest, but Caelynn allows herself to take a moment and affix Magtok with a heartfelt grin, pressing affectionately closer even if her hands are burdened with a plate of candy canes. Not sure what she'll do with them; maybe hand them out to random folks? Pay it forward and "yeet" them at random passersby, as the kids are calling it these days? See Blanche, your mom isn't out of touch! She makes sure to know just enough to embarrass you in front of all your friends; nothing more, and nothing less.

But they didn't come here to stand around being all lovey-dovey like the Frescots probably are, in between dwelling on the looming terror that is the astronomical cost they're spending on babysitting right now and how every hour they spend here means it only grows; they came here to do stuff! And so, presumably walking forward, Caelynn asks the important question; "So, anything strike your fancy, dear?" I mean, there are so many options. Ice skating, snow ball fights, saying hi to Ithuriel and Ambriel, sitting on Santa's lap, laughing at Malice in Dumb Baby Jail, and plenty more! It is a veritable wonderland of activities, after all.

Let's Build A Snowman! We Can Make Him Our Best Friend

"..." Darn it Jenette, Fidelia was trying to be funny! She knows who Santa is and that it's probably not a real beard, she was just trying to escape her awkward flustered stammering and any focus Jen might give it by injecting some levity into it. But even if it wasn't exactly as intended, the topic was changed, and her squire can rest easy hoping she isn't teased further about it. And so snowman crafting begins, and the pair team up to push a fairly large base for it! Lazarus's zombie strength probably does most of the work and can be thanked for the result; thank Ithuriel that this place is magical, or there might be a weird looking bare patch left behind in the snow.

With the base one, Fidelia begins work on the torso, packing together some snow before starting to roll it along. It isn't long before it starts to get large enough for her to struggle with, sneakers digging into the snow as she pushes it for the last few inches it needs to grow large enough. That done, she goes to try and lift it... but it's a little too heavy for her, and Fidelia stumbles back a little once she hefts it upwards. "um, a little help?"

[Ashen Lilies]

[Elfpocalypse!]

Because Thanksmas means elves, right? So some elves are arriving. A fair number of them, in fact. So many elves.

The first, and most fabulous, is Geneviève. The tall high elf is dressed (rather aptly, perhaps) as an ice queen, with a magnificent gown of glittering snowy veils and a circlet of icicles upon her elegant brow. She glides regally across the snow, admiring the decorations and festivities without much of a care for the people actually enjoying them, surveying the venue with an imperial air of bemused regard.

Following her is Cass. She's dressed rather more sedately in a long grey coat, any of her usual instincts towards flashiness having been muted by the hated chill weather. Even with a sorcerous charm against the cold, she quickly retreats to the bulwark of one of the big fires, where her curiosity is quickly aroused by the enchanted cauldrons. Taking a mug, she dips it in and takes an experimental sip, sighing with pleasure as she tastes the hot mulled wine. Anyone familiar with the dark elf might notice a few changes to her appearance - her white hair has been cut into a new, asymmetrical style, short on one side and chin-length on the other. Additionally, her pointed ears are carrying a number of new piercings, including some along the top.

The third is a dark-skinned wood elf, his long dreadlocks adorned with sprigs of holly and mistletoe. He's dressed not particularly adeptly for the weather, with a small green vest and green shorts over candy-cane patterned stockings, green felt shoes and a pointy hat, but seems much more adept at not noticing the cold, despite his choice of attire. He also steps up to one of the cauldrons and steps away with a glass mug of golden-brown bourbon, garnished with a fat chunk of lemon and a cinnamon stick.

The fourth elf is actually only half an elf. But that's still elf enough to qualify, right? A buxom redhead takes a seat on a log, on the other side of the clearing from the orchestral pit, setting down her instrument case and a big mug of spiked hot cocoa. Her copper colored hair falls in merry waves to her shoulders, framing a ruddy-complexioned, heart shaped face with big, shockingly blue eyes and bow lips. She's wearing a long, heavy dress in traditional Thanksmassy colors that hugs her figure well - perhaps a little too well, especially in the chest area, and fancy fur-lined boots and fluffy mittens, though it's the mittens she takes off in order to uncase a large harp, decorated with red ribbons and garlands of pine and holly. Another wreath of such sits on her head, crowning her brow like a circlet.

Finally, a drow girl in her early teens stands slouched, staring at the wolves with her hands in her pockets. Much to her regret, she's wearing a spectacularly ugly sweater, and a thanksmas hat liberally wrapped with tinsel. Her delicate, aristocratic features are a complex mask of a multitude of emotions - profound, personalized disgust at the disaster of an outfit she's been forced into; generalized cultural disdain at this silly surface holiday and all the silly surface folk who celebrate and participate in such foolishness; the type of cultivated boredom that only exists in teenage girls of that certain age; and OMG CUTE DOGGOS!!!


[Tieflings, Cloves, and Oranges]

The sixth person to show up is, thankfully, not an elf, though he does have pointed ears. And pointy horns as well. Because it's Kal! He's dressed in a similar theme to Geneviève, with blue and white and snowflake patterns on his slim jacket, though he's broken it up with a bright red scarf and the slightly incongruous addition of a red thanksmas hat as well. In one hand he's carrying a large orange decorated with embedded cloves in an elaborate spiral pattern. Looking for someone solitary (and, perhaps, seeming a little lonely?) he'll attempt to gift them the orange, which has been enchanted specially so that anyone who receives it will know the rules of what to do next.


[Pretty Lights!]

The last person to show up is also not an elf, though you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise, as his form is certainly very elf-like. He's in the form of an effeminate young humanoid with pointed ears and bronze skin, with pale blonde hair in an unruly mop that brushes his jaw line. Less humanoid are the ivory and gold horns that sweep back from the top of his head, or the small golden scales dotted around his skin, especially in patterns at the edge of his face and around his eyes, one of which is bright gold, the other sky blue. He's dressed in a biiiiiiiig oversized sweater and thick warm (albeit mismatched) colorful wool stockings, with sheepskin boots.

Jazirian wanders around, looking at all the bright and colorful lights. So pretty... O.O

[Shadowcaller]

[Elfpocalypse!]

Wow, a real realm of winters veil!
It had been a long time since Anika had been able to celebrate the season like this. Back home, the dwarves had celebrated it and she had always thought it was the best thing, especially with the gifts that came with it. Her family had always held a feast around this time anyway so this felt like a natural extension of it.

But the life of an adventurer did not lend itself to annual celebrations, at most she could just try to remember when it occurred and remind others of it.

Now, being in another world, she hadn't exactly expected to be able to celebrate it ever again. But lo' and behold, it turned out people around here celebrated something very similar around the same time. It didn't really surprise her though, it made sense that people made the darkest time of of the year a season of light and fun.

Anika had dressed herself in what she considered proper winter veil clothing, a heavy red woolen robe with linings of dark green combined with a stocking cap on her head. Staring in childish wonder at the world around her, all the decorations, all the unusual people (wow, that was a lot of dragons!). But while all of this was somewhat reminiscent of winterveil, the druid yearned for something even more familiar.

Perhaps there was someone she knew around here? Hmm... there was Calm Reed but she seemed to be preoccupied with someone really weird. Maybe she should make a new friend? Someone that looked familiar- oh hey, a quel'dorei!

And what a quel'dorei!

In fact she was pretty sure she wasn't one considering that they tended to be more lean. Whatever she was though, Anika had never been shy at approaching strangers and this particular stranger at least looked somewhat familiar to the people back in her world.

"Hey there, you know how to play that?" She gestures at the harp the woman was holding. "I always thought it was one of the best instruments if played right. I know for a fact I'd suck at it though, my fingers are too crude and burly." She grins, displaying her unusually pointy canines as she offers her hand as if to show her "crude and burly" fingers. "The name's Anika by the way, how do you do?"

[billtodamax]

Campfires and Cauldrons

Haaaa. You weirdo. Violet says happily to the fox. She definitely did not pay attention to whatever it was Awen was doing. She takes a long draught of her wine before holding it up to the fox for him to drink.

She would not be a responsible pet owner.

Hey come on, drink up. It's good for you. Spices or whatever. She tells Awen.

Snowgoblin

Sorcerers are a special type of wizard. Olon says authoritatively, plugging a pair of sticks into the snowman atop the sled for arms. But they don't have to read all the books that a normal wizard has to read I think. Yeah they just get to wave their fingers around and make little pictures! Endok adds enthusiatically, another ear-stick plugged into the snowgoblin. Anyway he didn't seem that weird when we met him.

[Morty]

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

Calm Reed sighs, her features becoming pained for a moment.

"They were good people. They sailed with me into the unknown. It was my responsibility to carry them through safely, but I could not. They died serving the Dragons, so I hope their souls were ushered to their next, better lives. Maybe even as Dragon-Blooded." She breathes out. "I doubt I could cross a fiery desert, sadly. So I will just have to carry on my duty here."

Meanwhile, Viima and her two grandkids look at the scaly little thing that communicates like they do. They're not sure what he means, but if it means helping their friend Kara deliver tasty things to people, they can do it.

[Snowgoblin]

"If Khannie's dad is a sorcerer, I guess it's fine," Blaggut surmises. Khannie is nice, so her dad has to be too.

"My dad's a shaman. I asked him if it's the same thing as a wizard and he said no," Tuskfang pipes up. "There's lots of people who can do magic."

[Elfpocalypse!]

A fairly young female wolf with a silvery coat walks over to sniff at the sullen young elf and look up at her with friendly wolfy eyes.

[Goblins & Gnome]

"Aw, don't be so hard on him," Brinika says, patting Pookie's paw. "Maybe we could all hide and then Pookie and Tuskfang could race to see who finds more people faster."

[Murkus]

[Hobgoblin & Deer]

"I used to be fine with cold, but then I drew a magic card from my friend's deck. It's, uh, a long story," Batu says. He's pretty blasé about all the weirdness happening to him, but Div might find it more surprising. "Thanksmas is kind of an amalgamation of different winter holidays," he says by way of actual explanation. "People come to remember the passing year, celebrate the new one, wish each other all the best, give and receive gifts and eat good food."

[Dur and Harbgarblin]

Div blinks. "A card from his deck?" The Frescot boy doesn't seem familiar with cards. "That is all something I understand at least! A winter fest! Oh my, I didn't get you anything, Batu! Um..." Div begins to rifle around in his clothes, sticking his tongue out one side of his mouth.