Thanksmasnewyearskwanzakkah 2018 - 10 Years of Thanksmas!

[Rebonack]

[Snow Goblin]

"It'll be SUPER fun! But that's for later," Khannie concludes as she begins adding pieces of coal to the snowpeople.

Two eyes.

A nose.

And a nice smile!

"Now they've got faces!" she declares. "We'll need to find a nice hill to push this one down," she reasons.

Hmm...

Are there any good hills around here?

Wouldn't be very White Thanksmas-y without a good sledding hill.

AhHA! There's one! Once the snowman on the sled is done, Khannie will begin pulling it toward the hill.

[Reed and Zee]

"That is an excellent point," Zee declares. "This is a time to be thankful for what you have, joyful for what you've given, and kind of stuffed because you ate way too much food! Is eating way too much food a thing Immaculate Monks are allowed to do?" Zee inquires.

Over indulgence doesn't seem like a very monky activity.

At some point Zee started being human again. That transition is really fast.

"What sort of festivities WOULD you be allowed to do? Maybe help me hand out plates of goodies to people?"

That's what the little dragons are up to as well.

[Deathkeeper]

Dragons and Dragon-blooded

Nick pouts.
”I can talk to fish! And breathe underwater. And stuff.” he mutters. You don’t have to be metallic to do cool things! River dragons also have cool things! That’s what Nick thinks, anyway.

[Felandria]

Div gives up searching after a moment or two, lowering his hands to his sides. "Well, alright then! Should we go and see the Santa right now?" He asks boisterously. The young buck might offer to take Batu's hand and head over toward Santa's throne, or at least the line leading up to it.

Santa Fel waves.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Amongst the Trees]

From one of the portals, Adir comes a'wandering, likely hand in hand with his flowery wife. The latter probably looks a little startling in the winter wonderland, but Adir fits right in. His hair is a snowy white, his antlers covered in velvet, his size abominable enough to be comparable to a real reindeer. Furthermore, he's even clad in festive dress. Or, half dress at least. Adir, too, lacks a shirt beneath that big fluffy fake-fur coat. The cold does not seem to bother him even a little.

"This is... kind of insane," Adir comments as he starts to look around. "Does somebody live here?"

[Amongst the Trees]

"I'm not sure, but I think so?" Sakura looks around with keen interest. The dryad is like a patch of spring among the snow. A splash of pale pink and rich green, without the fluffy white trim she'd be totally off theme. "It's so pretty, though. Someone put a lot of work into this." A bit more time than they've had at home recently. New babies typically eat all that up. It's a wonder they're here.

[Amongst the Trees]

Oh look, more guests! Guests...in the trees. Huh. Aside from the occasional adventurous child or runaway reindeer sleigh full of kids, Ithuriel didn't really expect anyone else to be hanging out amongst the trees. She steps out a little ways in front of the two of them, still in her outfit. Her hair is still a snowy white but she does seem to have at least lost the beard now that she's out of the chair and done with her Santa duties. She walks over to Adir and Sakura with an amused expression. "Oh yeah, totally a crazy place, right? But I think everyone gets a bit crazy this time of year, you know? I mean, I must have been insane to try and fit into an outfit like this with wings like these."

She waits juuuust long enough for the penny to drop and for someone to maybe try and apologise before laughing and trying to give Adir a hearty slap on the back. No offense taken! Though Adir might be surprised by the amount of force behind her gesture - it's hard for her to keep her strength entirely in check. "Hi, I'm Ithuriel. Welcome to my home."

[Morty]

[Reed and Zee]

"Sadly, we monks are expected to restrain ourselves," Calm Reed says. "But trying some of the food at these festivities won't hurt, will it? I have to learn the local customs, after all. And I'll gladly help with distributing it to others."

[Snow Goblin]

Tuskfang, Oortka and Olon turn back to look at their snowgoblin, decide he meets their expectations and scurry to follow Khannie.

[Drow, Wolves, Goblins & Humans]

"Not normally," Iknika says. "Not even our wolves. Those belong to Dipsnig Razortooth, who has them trained by a druid. And I think Thanksmas makes them even friendlier. I'm Iknina, by the way."

[Gnome & Goblins]

Brinika steps back a little when Pookie tries to hug her. She'd rather not get honey on her clothes.

"Let's go see how the preparations for the snowball fight are going. Grapok is probably still explaining his idea to everyone."

[Santa's Throne]

Batu takes his boyfriend's hand and goes with him to Santa's throne. And Santa... is pretty big. Alright then.

"So how this works is you go up to the Santa and either tell her what you want or let yourself be surprised. Sitting in her lap is, uh, possible but not mandatory."

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler: Dragons and Wolves and Others

Show

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"They say it would be the bee's-knees to help you hand out the treats, KarAH!"

Navvy starts a bit when his sister suddenly shouts at him.

It's like surprising a cat. That sort of half-jump they do, realizing part way through panicking that they aren't actually in any danger.

His eyes flick from his sister, to the wolves, and then back again. "Yeeeeeah?" he replies, drawing out the word a bit. "All metallic dragons have got keen stuff they can do. Silvers walk on clouds. Coppers can walk on the ceiling like a spider. And bronze dragons like me can breath under water and talk to animals. My friend Nymmurah taught me about other dragons, she's-" he looks a little downcast. "Well... she was really nice. She was a really nice dragon."

He takes a deep breath and wipes a little tear away with his wing.

Gotta steel his resolve a bit, here.

"The wolves will help. Golly, this is going to be so swell. Who should we give treats to first?" he asks, looking around the gathering. There are a bunch of other children. And a WHOLE bunch of elves! Geeze, look at all those elves!

Meanwhile!

"Yeah, I... um... I hope it turns out okay for them," Zee replies to Calm Reed. Not really sure what else to say here. "I figured you wouldn't be able to use the path I found. But mostly I just wanted you to know there ARE paths back to your home. Probably lots that I don't know about. So maybe you'll be able to return some day."

Hope.

Zee is dealing in hope, here.

[Dragons and Dragon-blooded]

"Maybe I will, Dragons willing." The monk sighs. "But let's not dwell on my troubles, shall we? This is supposed to be a joyous occasion. And it seems your children and their friend struck a rapport with the wolves."

[Reed and Zee]

"That is an excellent point," Zee declares. "This is a time to be thankful for what you have, joyful for what you've given, and kind of stuffed because you ate way too much food! Is eating way too much food a thing Immaculate Monks are allowed to do?" Zee inquires.

Over indulgence doesn't seem like a very monky activity.

At some point Zee started being human again. That transition is really fast.

"What sort of festivities WOULD you be allowed to do? Maybe help me hand out plates of goodies to people?"

That's what the little dragons are up to as well.

Dragons and Dragon-blooded

Nick pouts.
”I can talk to fish! And breathe underwater. And stuff.” he mutters. You don’t have to be metallic to do cool things! River dragons also have cool things! That’s what Nick thinks, anyway.

[Reed and Zee]

"Sadly, we monks are expected to restrain ourselves," Calm Reed says. "But trying some of the food at these festivities won't hurt, will it? I have to learn the local customs, after all. And I'll gladly help with distributing it to others."

Karaglen is very obviously warring with the internal urge to badger Navvy straight into a permanent wolf-translator position for probably the rest of his natural scaly existence.
There are more than a few moments of peaking excitement on her face, opening her mouth while looking towards the wolves, then closing her mouth and frowning at herself, before starting all over again.

Work now, play later. Practical efficiency.

And then Nick throws in that he can talk to fish. Not quite as cool as being able to talk to her fuzzy bestest friends, but still pretty cool.
"Awwwww. I wish I could talk to animals..."
It seems a lot more immediately fun than being able to play around on top of clouds.
This tickles the edge of a happy memory somewhere though, and stalls out the mostly-good-natured pouting before it starts.

All people have their focuses and all have their purpose.

And right now, purpose says to deliver snacks!
So with that little bit of internal conflict resolved, Karaglen leaps back up to the sleigh in a spray of snow.
"Okay. Do we want to wrap up a whole bunch of snacks in blankets and have the wolves help us move them that way? Or maybe try to balance some on their backs, but probably less so we don't hurt them?"
She may be underestimating the wolves' ability to not break their spines because of some cookies. They're not rabbits.
But she also doesn't want to take advantage of them too much.

[Earl of Purple]

Tieflings, Cloves, Oranges & Looks-Like-An-Angel

Jack does take it, her face lighting up in surprise as the magic explains what the point of it is. "I see. Well, then I guess you get this." She'll lean in and kiss him, ideally on the lips but he could move his head to be annoying.

Drow, Wolves, Goblins & Humans

"I've never met wolves this friendly. Though I've not really met any other wolves, so I don't really know. I'm Natalie. Pleased to meet you." Natalie smiles but keeps stroking the fluffy, fluffy wolf. None of her shapes are so fluffy, not even the otter.

Gnome & Goblins

Pookie looks a little disappointed that he didn't get to spread his sticky, but he figures he'll find someone to hug when they meet up with the other goblins. "Yeah, that sounds good. Where are they?" Cheasadh probably could find them quite easily, since they're goblins her age and therefore the same height as her, but she could just as easily get lost until the spring. And since there's no time in this realm, she'd be lost a long time.

[Murkus]

[Amongst the Trees]

"I'm not sure, but I think so?" Sakura looks around with keen interest. The dryad is like a patch of spring among the snow. A splash of pale pink and rich green, without the fluffy white trim she'd be totally off theme. "It's so pretty, though. Someone put a lot of work into this." A bit more time than they've had at home recently. New babies typically eat all that up. It's a wonder they're here.

[Amongst the Trees]

"Do you want to decorate our place like this?" Adir tries to haul Sakura close and fold his arm around her. She is suddenly engulfed in fluffy coat sleeve. "You and the kids can hang lights... we can murder a tree and prop up its carcass in the living room..." New babies or not, the stag thinks they could find the time to make the house festive.

Suddenly a wild Ithuriel appears! Well Ithuriel is right about one thing, the stag's got no idea what to say to that. He doesn't even consider that someone would get offended by his 'insane' comment - he obviously meant that the place is amazing! Then there's that pat on his shoulder. Just what was this woman? "Well, hi there Ithuriel. Gorgeous place you got here. How does someone volunteer their house for the big Thanksmas bash? I guess it doesn't technically have to be in the Nexus to qualify, because..." The stag casts his gaze around meaningfully, a gentle prompt that he's curious about their location. "Well it looks fantastic, anyways. Like a fairy-tale place."

"Oh, I don't mean to be rude-- I'm Adir," says the stag. He elects to let his wife introduce herself. Not like either of them get to do it often.

[Santa's Throne]

"That is the Santa?" says Div, blinking. He glances at Batu. "And she will just give something to me? That doesn't seem right. Things are scarce in the wintertime. How will she survive if she keeps giving things away?"

[Lord Magtok]

Every Time a Bell Rings

Spoiler

Show

Every Time a Bell Rings

Suddenly! A stuffed rhino with wings comes tumbling out the sky and lands in the snow in front of Atry with a soft poof! That was unexpected. The little girl stops in her tracks and stares at it as if unsure if it'll start moving. After a moment she wanders up to it and looks at it closer. Finding nothing unusual about it, she looks up into the sky trying to find the origin of the rhino.

Oh shoot, she's looking up! What kind of person actually looks up?! Years of spy movies and videogames have dictated that nobody ever does that sort of thing in situations like this. You would make a terrible disposable goon, Atry! The winged cyborg elf tries to speed away, but he's almost certainly been spotted already, and there's no clouds or especially gigantic trees to hide behind in this demiplane. At least not around this altitude, anyway.


Winter Boots and Cats and Boots and Cats and-

Spoiler

Show

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.

"You're still doing that Pilecki thing in public, huh?" he feebly retorts, one hand fussing with his hood as he looks off into the distance and tries his best to act like the dumb, icky, lovey-dovey stuff doesn't cause him to blush each and every time. That's another upside to our plans to resign from Conference Z soon, incidentally. She'll have to figure out some other weird, obscure historical reference to make once he's no longer skulking about in the Nazi compound, working for Kram.

"I dunno, I didn't actually think...I mean, usually the world just throws things out at me, like with that plate of candy canes. Actually going out there and finding something to do seems so-" So what? So primitive? So vulgar, so lowborn, so proletarian? You're not famous anymore, Magtok. Nobody's going to run up to you, shake your hand, and try to convince you to hire them as MagCorp's premiere web designer. Old friends and enemies might recognize you and wave hello, but everyone's heard about the Spooktober party; they all know they've got nothing to gain from schmoozing and mingling with the fallen cyborg these days. You're not the prince of the Nexus, buddy. You have to approach them now.

"...Caelynn, my head's doing that 'self-loathing tinted with nostalgia' thing again, can I have a hug?" She's holding a plate of candy canes, Magtok. "Right, hold on, pass me the plate, then hug. I'll set it down somewhere and we'll go pet a reindeer or something." Okay sure, that works.


Carol of the Brains

Spoiler

Show

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?"

Jenette considers lifting the snow up with just one arm to show off, but she can't recall exactly how much food is left in the fridge back home, so she probably shouldn't put herself through any unnecessary strain or muscle damage just to look tough and strong. Besides, Fidelia doesn't need a reminder that Saint Laz is a fearsome slayer of bad dudes; she knows that better than anyone. Jenette's just going to help lift the snow like a totally normal person.

"Lift with the legs, Fi. Okay, an inch over this way...got it!" The snowman's got two-thirds of his body now! Just need a smaller snowball for the head, and then whatever trinkets can be spared to decorate it. Maybe just draw a simple smiley face by sliding a finger across the head, since there's something of a coal shortage going round.

[bc56]

Moping around a campfire

"Mmph. I literally can't eat vegshtables." Tethrik says with his mouth full. He swallows. "Except grains sometimes."

[5a Violista]

[Cauldrons and Campfires]

*waits for the stone scorpion, because Violet has already posted*


[Spilled Chocolate]

*waits for the halfling*


[Frozen Pond]

I feel like that line about the kids may have belonged to a different scene, but for completeness, we can say that Tavlii has at least one daughter, who was left to be raised by wolves. If she weren't wearing gloves for the cold you could easily see that she has a wedding ring on.

...
Yes.
It did belong to a different scene.
But it's still true anyway.

Anyway.
Marcie's doing great! "Good job!" Kikkawa shouts out at her. Maybe being complimented will influence her to do figure skating.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," the figure skater says to Tavlii. "Not really the magic, didn't really see any of that, but some people here have pretty crazy technology and machines. Almost just like stuff that was in books."

Kikkawa actually comes from a factory town, so she knows a bit about machines.


[Moping around a Campfire]

Moping around a campfire

"Mmph. I literally can't eat vegshtables." Tethrik says with his mouth full. He swallows. "Except grains sometimes."

"Oh," Juliana says. "That's too bad, some of the vegetables are really good. You're really missing out."

Maybe he should find a way to reincarnate as a herbivore.

"Like, some are okay-ish, but sometimes it's cooked right and it's just the best thing ever."

Juliana has a thought: "But, wait, like no vegetables at all? What about that seaweed stuff that is sometimes put in meat and cooked in the meat grease? What if somebody makes a stew, does that contaminate the meat and you can't eat it anymore? Because I know some vegans like that. Or what if someone simmers the meat in tomato sauce? It must suck to only be able to eat meat."

[bc56]

Moping Around a Campfire

"Well it wouldn't kill me. I'd just get a terrible stomachache. But in all my life, I've never wanted to try vegetable. Meat is good." Tethrik shoves in another mouthful of food.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

Every Time a Bell Rings

Oh shoot, she's looking up! What kind of person actually looks up?! Years of spy movies and videogames have dictated that nobody ever does that sort of thing in situations like this. You would make a terrible disposable goon, Atry! The winged cyborg elf tries to speed away, but he's almost certainly been spotted already, and there's no clouds or especially gigantic trees to hide behind in this demiplane. At least not around this altitude, anyway.

[Ithuriel's Sleigh]

Waddling up to the sleigh is a bright eyed four year old girl, maybe five years. She has blue eyes and red hair, an almost supernaturally fair complexion, and is bundled heavily in Thanksmas sweaters and other overly protective clothing to ward off even the potential of being cold.

From the woods come a cadre of Art characters, mostly drow.

First comes Sszinyon and his son Landon. The elder vampire-werewolf-drow wore dark brown, with his personal sigil embroidered on the chest, a wolf's head, split vertically, half white with a red eye, half brown with an amber eye. Two matched swords cross behind the wolf's head, and a hammer is centered behind as well. He also wore a piwafwi cloak lined with silvery-white wolf fur.

Landon wore a heavy fur cloak, with the same sigil on his chest. On his head, he wore a red and white santa cap. He held his father's hand, and was pulling him along excitedly towards the cabin.

[Every Time a Bell Rings]

Atry is no goon, though she may be a goonie. Ambriel is spotted pretty readily and gets stared at with an inscrutable smile. Meanwhile some thoughts may come unbidden to Ambriel about that altitude. About how everyone seems to just defy gravity and go about their business at any old altitude they want. And how maybe Gravity is tired of it. GraVity's having a mid LIFE crisis right now guys send just can't even. But if GRAvity is on ^strike then what's holding Ambriel's molmolmolmolecules together? Ambriel is Jjjust a mass of

Spoiler

Show

molecules

no longer being held together and everything is ripping painfully apart at the SEAMS.

A blink later and everything is fine. Gravity is still and always has been in its place. Ambriel was likely just imagining something far too weird. I mean, molecules aren't even held together by gravity in the first place!

It was probably nothing.

Atry turns her attention back to the stuffed Rhino and goes to gleefully pick up it up with both hands, waddling with it in front of her towards...

[Sszinyon and Son]

Where she stops and stares up at the two over the top of the angelic rhino toy Atry held like a box. "Hello."

[billtodamax]

Snowgoblin

Olon and Endok will similarly follow Khannie to the top of the hill.

I hope he's gonna be ok. Olon says. She put a lot of work into that dwarf. I think me and Olon are gonna go see Santa after this. She adds.

[Zefir]

Cauldrons and Campfires

"Oh, that's okay." the scorpion replies after they told him non of those kids belong to them.

He rises up his claws with appear to be a bit broken on the outer shells, but that's not his point.
"Don't worry about me eating. It's hard to gab anything from the tables without thumbs or a head on table level." he says friendly. "I was just looking for someone to talk to the little one can have some fun with other kids. What is your reason to be here?"

In that time a small fire elf girl comes over and puts a package next to the scorpion. Then is just heads off. The scorpion notice it but doesn't try to stop her.

[Snow Goblin]

A small elf with dark skin comes over to those who build the snow goblin.

"Hi." she says. "can I play with you?"

[Gullara]

[WOLVES]

A shrill scream cuts the cold air. Is someone in distress? Will some terrible event mar this beautiful day?

...

Or maybe a little girl is extremely excited. "WOLVES DADDY LOOK!" Eshe runs as fast as her little legs can carry her toward the wolves. The young tiefling may cause the wolves to stir some with her rambunctious approach. At the last minute she remembers to listen to her mom's advice the last time she saw these wolves. The end of her approach is more controlled as she settles next to the closest wolf that'll let her approach and hugs it.

Val sighs and trails behind her daughter. Eshe is very easily distracted. She carries another of her daughters on her hip. Orlane is just as bundled up as Eshe, though with the addition of a mask over her eyes and a cape for some reason. For her part, Val has a full length, festively coloured dress for the occasion. She stops near where Eshe has settled and puts Orlane down on her feet.

[Amongst the Trees]

Oh look, more guests! Guests...in the trees. Huh. Aside from the occasional adventurous child or runaway reindeer sleigh full of kids, Ithuriel didn't really expect anyone else to be hanging out amongst the trees. She steps out a little ways in front of the two of them, still in her outfit. Her hair is still a snowy white but she does seem to have at least lost the beard now that she's out of the chair and done with her Santa duties. She walks over to Adir and Sakura with an amused expression. "Oh yeah, totally a crazy place, right? But I think everyone gets a bit crazy this time of year, you know? I mean, I must have been insane to try and fit into an outfit like this with wings like these."

She waits juuuust long enough for the penny to drop and for someone to maybe try and apologise before laughing and trying to give Adir a hearty slap on the back. No offense taken! Though Adir might be surprised by the amount of force behind her gesture - it's hard for her to keep her strength entirely in check. "Hi, I'm Ithuriel. Welcome to my home."

[Amongst the Trees]

"Do you want to decorate our place like this?" Adir tries to haul Sakura close and fold his arm around her. She is suddenly engulfed in fluffy coat sleeve. "You and the kids can hang lights... we can murder a tree and prop up its carcass in the living room..." New babies or not, the stag thinks they could find the time to make the house festive.

Suddenly a wild Ithuriel appears! Well Ithuriel is right about one thing, the stag's got no idea what to say to that. He doesn't even consider that someone would get offended by his 'insane' comment - he obviously meant that the place is amazing! Then there's that pat on his shoulder. Just what was this woman? "Well, hi there Ithuriel. Gorgeous place you got here. How does someone volunteer their house for the big Thanksmas bash? I guess it doesn't technically have to be in the Nexus to qualify, because..." The stag casts his gaze around meaningfully, a gentle prompt that he's curious about their location. "Well it looks fantastic, anyways. Like a fairy-tale place."

"Oh, I don't mean to be rude-- I'm Adir," says the stag. He elects to let his wife introduce herself. Not like either of them get to do it often.

[Amongst the Trees]

"Well maybe." Sakura smiles at the thought, though the kids helping with lights probably means it'll take longer.

Oh, but here's someone coming now. Sakura blinks in surprise, mostly due to having been listened in on. She's about to speak when Ithuriel changes her tune all of a sudden. "Hi, I'm Sakura." The dryad adds to her husband's introduction. "I couldn't imagine hosting something like this. There's so many people here." Not that Sakura is bad at managing a lot of people, but those people are usually her children.

[Rebonack]

[Pile of Dragons]

Navvy for his part doesn't notice his sibling's excited waffling. He's too busy climbing up into the sleigh and bundling up plates stacked with treats inside the blankets. They'll be like little makeshift sacks! And people carrying sacks around full of great stuff is a symbol of Thanksmas if ever there was one.

The climb, as it happens, was pretty adorable to watch. With his wings inside those wing-mittens, he can't really fly. So there was quite a bit of hopping and scrabbling with his hind legs and flailing about with his wings and tail involved. But he made it!

"We can each take a sack," he says as he holds one out for Kara and Nick. "And we can balance some on the backs of the wolves, too. This will be lots of fun! We should take treats to the other kids and let mom give stuff to the grownups," Navvy reasons.

[Reed and Zee heading toward deer and tree people]

"Great! Let's see... we can start over there," Zee concludes after a moment of consideration, pointing at the group of folks lurking off in the trees over there. An angel, a guy with antlers (festive!) and a lady with cherry blossom hair.

They look like they could use some Thanksmas treats in Zee's opinion.

She'll wait for Kara and her little scaly friends to finish gathering their share of the goodies and then set off toward Adir, Soraka, and Ithuriel.

"So what DOES the Immaculate Order teach, anyway?" she asks conversationally.

[Snowgoblin and Sleighman]

"If we did a good job he should stay together, right?" Khannie asks. She really isn't that familiar with the structural integrity of snowmen. She knows that most ice-types are really tough. Slow and tough, like a glacier. But she isn't sure if that applies to snowmen, too. "But just in case we should aim him so he doesn't hit a tree."

There ARE more than a few trees around.

Once at the top of the hill, Khannie will position the sleigh at the precipice and begin carefully adjusting the aim. Gotta get it all just perfect!

"Seeing Santa next sounds like a good plan," she agrees with a nod. "I already saw Santa, so I'll probably ride down the hill a few times until you guys get back."

Then she glances around at those gathered! "Okay! Who wants to push the sled?"

Moment of truth time!

[Morty]

[WOLVES]

The wolf that the little tiefling hugged so enthusiastically turns out to be Kullervo, the venerable and aloof patriarch of the wolf family. Though not as friendly as most of his kin, he recognizes the little two-legs who has visited them before. He gives her a sniff in greeting and rubs his head against her a little. Meanwhile, another wolf appears, a younger one. It seems to be Teerka, a large she-wolf who serves as one of Dipsnig's mounts nowadays.

[Snowgoblin and Sleighman]

"Yeah! We haven't visited Santa yet!" Blaggut squeaks enthusiastically. "Let's all go there!"

As the posse prepares to push down the sled, they're approached by an elf. Tuskfang turns to meet her.

"Sure! What's your name?"

[Santa's Throne]

"That's the whole point," Batu explains. "Santa is a... spirit, of sorts, that gives out gifts to make people happier in gloomy winter."

[Gnome & Goblins]

Brinika leads Cheasadh into a much larger group of goblins. One of her cousins, Grapok, is currently gesticulating widely, explaining something.

"...so we've got three snowgoblins, right, and we try to throw snowballs at the other teams' snowgoblins to knock them over. And try to stop the others from doing that."

[Reed and Zee heading toward deer and tree people]

"We keep the world's natural order," Calm Reed explains. "All creation is striving towards the perfection of the Elemental Dragons. We help make sure it happens. We teach restraint and obeying one's duties. We keep the gods working towards the good of the world, rather than extorting worship from mortals or settling petty grudges with each other. We teach the Dragon-Blooded the responsibility and restraint that come with our station. And we hunt down the Anathema that would upend all of it."

[billtodamax]

Snowgoblin

The elf is given a long look by Olon, and Endok backs up a little so he's behind his sister. You aren't gonna tell us we aren't allowed to use any wood cause the trees have feelings or something right? She asks suspiciously. An' you aren't gonna threaten to invade if we use bone or leather right?

Elves cannot be trusted.

[Felandria]

[Snowgoblin and Sleighman]

"Yeah! We haven't visited Santa yet!" Blaggut squeaks enthusiastically. "Let's all go there!"

As the posse prepares to push down the sled, they're approached by an elf. Tuskfang turns to meet her.

"Sure! What's your name?"

[Santa's Throne]

"That's the whole point," Batu explains. "Santa is a... spirit, of sorts, that gives out gifts to make people happier in gloomy winter."

Santa Fel nods sagely.

Yes, exactly.

It’s the spirit of the season.

Now, come, tell Santa what it your heart desires.

[Arkhosia]

You've Got Red on Yule

It's still a little bit of effort for Fidelia to hold up her end of the weight, but teamwork does indeed seem to do the trick, and the pair do indeed succeed on adding the second layer to their snowman! Fidelia still needs to take a second and catch her breath though, bending over somewhat and sucking in some air. No doubt exhaling some impressive clouds of cold air too - which does make one wonder if Jen still breathes, actually. It's not something Laz should worry about though; her squire only spend a couple of seconds like this. She also gives the knight a thumbs up, just in case.

Soon enough, Fidelia is back in action, starting work on the head! And also asking the important questions. "Any... any idea what we should name it?" Every snowman has to have a name, after all! It's the fifth rule of snowman building, right after "use locally-mined coal if possible to support your local businesses" and just before Amendment I: "Bill Watterson does not represent the views of the Official Snowman Guild. Those who attempt to copy his snowman designs and concepts will have their memberships revoked."

Deck the Halls With Maus, Somalis

"Of course. I'll keep using it as long as it makes you blush and look away like that," the catgirl teases. And probably a while afterwards, too. It does become habit at some point or another, after all, and habits can be so dreadfully hard to break. Though chances are, once that little case of affectation runs its course, it won't be too long until Caelynn figures out a new term that warms their hearts, yet doubles as a spectacularly and embarrassingly nerdy reference for both of them to feel simultaneously proud to know and shy for indulging in.

But there are more pressing matters at hand than pondering the future right now! Specifically, boosting the morale of everyone's most bygone favorite as he adjusts to the strange and depressing reality of no longer having the nexus-wide renown of his glory days. Handing off the plate, the doctor smiles and leans up to wrap her arms around him, embracing him tightly but positioning it so they can continue to walk onwards to interaction as she hangs off of him.

"...You know, I'm sure it's tough to get used to, but I think it might be better this way." she comments after a brief interlude. "Sure, you don't have swarms of fangirls chasing after you, you don't get to revel in the attention of everyone in the Nexus whenever you want... but it also means you're not getting bombarded with everything either. You don't have every two-bit villain or starry-eyed hero knocking down your door and trying to make a name for themselves, no ten to twelve different nemeses watching you like a vulture so they can figure out a way to swoop in and take revenge, no going to the grocery store and getting annoyed at the idiotic headlines the tabloids are printing about you...."

[Rebonack]

[Amongst the Trees]

"Wow, it sounds like you've got a bunch of really important responsibilities," Zee whistles as she pulls her goody-laden sleigh through the snow. She's pretty deft about maneuvering it between the trees. "And you mean gods like... kami, right? Smallish spirits in charge of places and objects and things? The word 'god' gets used for lots of different things around here. It's pretty confusing when you first show up! Gods, dragons, magic, demons, angels, faeries, none of them really match up from one world to another aside from a few core concepts. And even those are different sometimes!"

It probably won't take too long for them to pop out from behind some trees and into the middle of the conversation between Sakura, Adir, and Ithuriel.

"Howdy!" Zee calls out to them. She's a pretty unremarkable looking human woman with a tan complexion and dark hair. At present she's clad in an ugly Thanksmas sweater, warms pants, and sturdy snow boots. She totally forgot about the antlers she had made earlier, sadly. She's hanging onto the a harness festooned with jingle bells, which in turn is attached to a miniature sleigh loaded down with paper plates stacked with confections and wrapped in plastic cling. "Merry Thanksmas!" she declares as she begins rifling about in the sleigh.

Hmmm...

Oh!

She holds out a plate loaded with sugarplums to Sakura.

[Snowgoblin]

Oh hey an elf!

Khannie doesn't know many elves.

She DOES know to continue hanging onto her little sled, though. Otherwise the snowman would go racing down the hill before they were ready.

The behavior of her friends seems a bit weird, though, and puts Khannie on edge. Is a little girl elf a threat? She sure doesn't look like it.

"Hi, I'm Khannie," the human girl offers. "We're going to push this snowman down the hill on our sled."

She really hasn't considered her plans much beyond that. Though it sounds like her friends are going to visit Santa when they're done.

[Deathkeeper]

[Pile Of Dragons]

Nick frowns.
”Well...I can try my best but I’m not so good at carrying heavy things. I’ll have to use my pip-drake. Is that okay?” he asks.
Nick has a long body and comparatively short legs. It makes his back much less ideal for carrying loads than more traditional quadrupeds like Nav.

[Earl of Purple]

Gnome & Goblin

"So instead of hitting each other with snowballs, we're trying to hit the snowgnomes, and stop ours getting hit, probably by getting in the way. So if I hit your snowgnome whilst you're defending it from Brinika, how do you know you've lost? Snow's all the same colour." Cheasadh isn't just asking so she can figure out how to cheat. She wants to make sure it's properly thought through, and also to figure out how to cheat.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Amongst the Trees]

"Hah! Sorry, I guess I'm still in high spirits from getting to play the role of Santa. I've wanted to do that for sooo long. It's a very rewarding feeling when a kid hops down with a present in their hands and a smile on their face." Ithuriel is positively beaming, even her glow is a little glowier than usual. "Oh, but yes, this is my personal demiplane. And, um, I'm honestly not sure how I ended up playing host. I guess I was just sort of thinking about how it'd make sense and one day-" She shrugs and gestures to her outfit, "There it was. So I got everything ready, opened up a bunch of portals and here we are? Maybe it just follows the same rules as Santa's gifts? Whoever has been really good and really wants it..."

'tis a mysterious thing, the magic of Thanksmas. Best not to think about it too much.

"I put a lot of work into this place, yeah. I'm glad it's going down well. Oh, can I get you anything? A drink maybe? The cauldrons by the campfires will give you whatever drink you desire!"

[Zefir]

[Snowgoblin and Sleighman]

"Yeah! We haven't visited Santa yet!" Blaggut squeaks enthusiastically. "Let's all go there!"

As the posse prepares to push down the sled, they're approached by an elf. Tuskfang turns to meet her.

"Sure! What's your name?"

Snowgoblin

The elf is given a long look by Olon, and Endok backs up a little so he's behind his sister. You aren't gonna tell us we aren't allowed to use any wood cause the trees have feelings or something right? She asks suspiciously. An' you aren't gonna threaten to invade if we use bone or leather right?

Elves cannot be trusted.

[Snowgoblin]

Oh hey an elf!

Khannie doesn't know many elves.

She DOES know to continue hanging onto her little sled, though. Otherwise the snowman would go racing down the hill before they were ready.

The behavior of her friends seems a bit weird, though, and puts Khannie on edge. Is a little girl elf a threat? She sure doesn't look like it.

"Hi, I'm Khannie," the human girl offers. "We're going to push this snowman down the hill on our sled."

She really hasn't considered her plans much beyond that. Though it sounds like her friends are going to visit Santa when they're done.

[Snowgoblin]

the fire elf got red skin, orange hair and pure black eyes. It's a bit spooky thought, but she is remarkable different from those wood elfs.

"I'm Ixen." she replies to Tuskfang.

She looks confused at the siblings who seem be afraid of tree loving elfs.
"Nop, neither of those." she says. "If you want to chop those trees I can ask my daddy he will chop them down easily." she points at the trees where they wanted to push the slide down.

"Hello" she says to Khannie. "I can help if you want."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Pile Of Dragons & Wolves]

"She would probably agree with that plan."
Karaglen suspects that mom would really rather like it if they kept meeting other kids, snacks or no snacks.
This just makes for a tastier excuse.

Nick's problem doesn't seem too bad, to her, either!
She pokes her head back out of the sleight to look him back over.
"Um, we could always pack you smaller ones. Or...what's a pip-drake?"
Weird adventurer tech? Her uncle sometimes brought home weird devices from his travels, this sounds like it could be one of those.
Or maybe just a toy drake named Pip, that he wants to have help somehow. Kara won't judge.

[Rebonack]

[Pile Of Dragons]

"That's okay, carry them however works! Because we're on a holy mission!" Navvy replies, doing his best to sound triumphant and regal.

He does a terrible job of it.

It just comes off as being cute and kind of dorky.

"A holy mission to spread Thanksmas cheer! Should we start with those goblins over there?" Navvy suggests. "Or... um... Those other goblins?"

There sure are lots of goblins here.

Oh wait! There are some other kids playing with the wolves over there!

A tiefling?

Tieflings need Thanksmas cheer, too.

Looks like he's deferring to the other wyrmlings regarding who they should give candy to first.

[Murkus]

[Santa's Throne]

"Oh, well," Div blinks at Santa, blushing a bit since they weren't paying attention. "Spirit business. No arguing with that. I think you should go first, Batu."

[Amongst the Trees]

"Oh, Gods. Just thinking about it landed you in the job? I'm going to stop asking before the Ghost of Thanksmas Future picks our house for next year," Adir says, though he never once stops grinning like a great big fool.

"A drink..." Adir looks at his wife. "I've been told I can be a bit of a pest when I drink, but it isn't like we get the chance very often. Surprise me." The stag blinks and raises his eyes to Ithuriel. "Oh, uh. I suppose there's not much point in asking if it costs anything...?"

Adir's ears flicker just a moment before Zee and Calm Reed appear. Gosh, everyone here was really in the spirit. He gives them a grin and an ironic tip of his cap, making the bell at the end jangle and leaving it jaunty on his head. "Merry Thanksmas to you too." The stag raises his rather thick, expressive white eyebrows at the offered sweets. Those sugarplums sure look tasty... Still, they're being thrust at Sakura, not him. "Ooh, try one. And then share." Perfect.

[Morty]

[Snowgoblin]

Tuskfang, Blaggut and Oortka are confused by Olon's accusations. They've never heard about elves doing that. But once things are cleared up, so they just introduce themselves.

"I'm Tuskfang."

"I'm Oortka," says the goblin girl.

"And I'm Blaggut," says the boy.

[Gnome & Goblin]

"The idea is that it doesn't matter if we get hit, as long as our snowpeople don't," Grapok explains. "Once your team's snowperson falls over, you've lost."

[Santa's Throne]

Batu steps forward.

"I'm... well, I'd like something that'd remind me of home. In the woods and hills. The better parts of it, not the one where they kicked me out," he says uncertainly.