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Post by RedLenai on Dec 11, 2019 11:28:55 GMT
Gallerian charged once again towards the Fake-Santa, his morning star switching immediatly to his massive axe. He moved in an attempt to cut all those ribbons, he even threw some of his feathers again to pin some of the ribbons to the ground.
Vladimir by other hand created hsi path towards Caroline, avoiding not only the attacks of the Fake-Santa but Gallerian's as well, but he didn't notice the feathers evaded him enterily. Taking his spear, the ex-paladin swung it to create a torrent of air in an effort to hinder flapping arms of the creature.
Behave you little thing! - The angel exclamed as he now charged against the enemy, aiming directly to chop it in two.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 11, 2019 20:45:41 GMT
As the golden energy ripped through the earth, Aaron could only be glad he jumped away from the evil santa before she swung. As it connected, the pain Aaron felt from the evil santa's silent wails subsided.
"Impressive. You're very strong. But..." Osechi's clothes wnt back to normal and she collapsed. "...I already told you not to be flashy if it makes you useless!"
The santa's retaliation came right after. A swarm of paper airplanes left its body and started coming down on them. One of them came right down at Aaron who punched it away. Pain shot through his arm instantly, a long bloody trail traveling down it to show bone.
"Fuck!" Aaron yelled out. Punching them was a bad idea. But there were so many, dodging them was impossible. He pulled out the stick he had with him before and it transformed. From a stick barely fit for one of his hands, it grew into a dark-red hilt thick and long enough for both his hands to wrap around it. One end started peeling as it grew, turning into a handguard out of which a long sparkling blade extended. It shimmered in the moonlight as it cleaved the first airplane that came for Aaron.
The vigil sigil turned and took off toward Osechi. Flat on her face, she was a perfect target for the airplanes. And they were aware. Before he could reach her, one took a nosedive straight at her. Only to be shot down by a shard of ice. The same fate met another, and by the time a third came down, Aaron was close enough to reach it with Caladsvalon.
"You keep an eye on her," Arthur said. "I'll cover the others, let them deal with the santa." The ice mage zipped around, cutting down the airplanes he could and shooting down those that were out of his reach.
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 13, 2019 10:02:31 GMT
Seeing the incoming planes and remembering the horrible cars from before, Erin diverted a stream of petals from the main group attacking the false Santa in order to eviscerate a few, but few managed to approach. Erin let out a yelp as she dives out of the way, but the resulting explosion sends her skidding across the snow, the right side of her coat now frayed. “Ngh…” The HWIC agent grumbled, looking toward her arm and seeing that it was now bleeding. Her eyes then widened when she saw the seemingly thousands of streamers coming for Caroline.
“...oh dear.” Caroline muttered when the torrent of streamers began to barrel toward her. Normally whipping out of the way would be easy, but it was far more difficult to move when holding this delicate machine. She began to extend her leg out to move as far as she could, but luckily, Osechi’s knife came crashing down upon the streamers and stopped the attack entirely. Caroline smiled in Osechi’s direction and lifted the machine in appreciation. “Many thanks, oh bubbly chef!” The doll called out. Turning her attention back to the false Santa, a fun new idea dawned upon her.
Hefting the machine onto her left arm, Caroline extended her right arm out and grabbed onto the giant’s back, retracting it and sending the doll swinging upward along its body. “Harder to get me now, isn’t it jolly man?” Caroline called out, landing on top of his massive belt and thrusting the machine forward once more, attempting to hit him square in the small of the back.
Erin’s jaw practically fell open when she saw Caroline swinging up the massive holiday god. “Wha...huh?!” She asked in surprise. Why was she climbing on top of it?! What if he fell over?! Sucking in air, Erin slowly let it out. “Ok, calm. Trust. Right.” She told herself. Looking back up, Erin focused her attention on sending petals out to intercept the various airplanes, keeping an eye on Caroline’s progress with the machine.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 14, 2019 3:31:27 GMT
Osechi and Gallerian’s efforts were a devastating one-two punch. Osechi’s blast ripped right through the streamers reaching for Caroline and Gallerian’s wild swings kept them at bay, his pins keeping it still as he rushed in. His axe raised and in a flash, its sliver blade tore a cavernous hole in the creature’s sacklike stomach. Its movements slowed, its body going limp. Minus a head and with its gaping injury, it looked like a sliced-open Thanksgiving turkey. It wasn’t just dead, it was the wrong holiday. “Well, I was going to say nothing, but it looks like I will not even need that.” Jun turned her sword to its sheathe.
“My weapons simply work best against bleeding targets and… do you hear that?” She did not put her sword away, instead tilting her head. Indeed, anybody paying attention would hear it, a tiny clattering, steadily growing, from a little solo crab snapping its claws to an army of flamenco dancers clapping their castanets. They came swarming out of the gaping void, clacking their jaws. Plastic wind-up teeth, armed with jaws like bear traps. Gallerian was the closest, so he would face their wrath first, and he would find their bite even more cruel than their appearance would suggest. The cobblestone they hopped on was chipped into powder by the sheer force of their jaws springing open, and the power of them snapping shut was twice as fierce.
They came forth in an unending wave, reaching Vladimir, then Gan and Jun, spreading more and more to targets more distant. Dan was backing away from one or two hopping his way when Caroline put the weapon to the god’s back. A gurgling noise, like it was yelling an endless ho ho ho while flushing its head down the toilet, came rushing from the false deity, its whole body shuddering. It seemed to deflate a little, sack growing looser and wrinklier. Its legs seemed no longer able to support it and it toppled backwards, drain cutting off as Caroline’s footing failed. “Caroline!” Dan yelled as it hit the ground, finally propelled to action. He lunged over the nearest biters, kicking his way through the thinnest portions of the crowd.
Fortunately, with the drain, they had ceased to emerge, but they had their numbers supplemented by a new threat. The moment the false Santa hit the ground, two things sprung from his body. From his chest, strange, mushroom-shaped structures of glass and metal that rooted themselves where they landed. From his head-hole, a scattered horde of marbles, from those actually the size of marbles to the size of a basketball to taller than any human being or angel fighting in the field. They began to bounce wildly, off of each other, off of the walls, off of what Dan now recognized as bumpers. They were moving at bullet speeds, cutting through the hopping chompers just as readily as they did any of the god’s enemies.
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Post by othus on Dec 14, 2019 8:17:05 GMT
As the creature unveiled more of its twisted creations, Gan readied his sword, the giant marbles rolled, crashed and destroyed everything in their wake, but those that aimed for Jun met instead a golden edge.
"Let's keep our guard tight, please cover my back as we get out of the Killzone"- He told Jun as he swung yet again at the barrage of projectiles headed their way.
The first slice split in two a rather large one, the second, deflected multiple smaller ones, the edge of his weapon resonated like glass every time it struck a marble, it was clear the sacred treasure was not pleased being used by Gan, even after all these years, the weapon still longed for Tomoe's grip.
Meanwhile, Osechi had managed to get her second wind, she waved back at Caroline happily in the distance as she clumsily got up, Aaron's comment made her pout for a moment before she looked the other way.
"I...am fine, thanks for asking"- She told him as she dusted off her clothes. Osechi looked into the battlefield, she looked at the fighters and began counting with her fingers.
"You know, I just noticed someone's missing! the skinny guy! i think he was playing with cups or something a few minutes ago...and my cookie, he's not here either!"
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 18, 2019 11:06:34 GMT
As had happened with the first time the device struck, the false Santa made a menacing sound and appeared to grow weaker, as if the device was a straw and she was pulling out the power directly from the source. “What a neat little machine.” Caroline mused to herself. Once the giant began to stumble however, Caroline’s footing was lost and she began to fall backwards, gripping the device in one arm. “Oh dear.” She said with surprise.
Scanning the battlefield, the snake-like doll could see the others fighting what appeared to be large disembodied teeth. Erin was less than gracefully jogging to keep out of range of the ones approaching her, utilizing her scythe once an opening became apparent and chopping at the teeth. Caroline’s eyes then fell upon Dan, who had shouted up to her and was charging toward the giant. Her eyes narrowed with interest. “And so his confidence returns. Perhaps…” Reaching up with her free arm, Caroline grabbed the coat of the falling giant and swung herself forward, preventing herself from being crushed. However, her hand suddenly lost its grip upon the device, sending it sailing through the air towards Dan.
“DAN! Catch it!” Caroline bellowed toward the fighter. While she was still airborne, it would be hard for the others to see the small smile that had spread across Caroline’s face. Her left arm extended out to try and catch it, but it was clear that it wouldn’t reach in time. “Your turn to be the hero, former bad boy.” She whispered, approaching the ground finally. The massive pinballs were next to impossible for Erin to deal with, so she dove between two nearby buildings, creating an Erin-shaped imprint upon the snow until she stood back up and readied her scythe to deal with any teeth that came her way.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 18, 2019 22:08:39 GMT
The clattering teeth approached on the ground. "Goddamn Santa, keep your filthy dentures to yourself." Aaron swung his sword wildly at the pests. Some were crushed or sliced, some bit into the sword but the enchanted blade proved too hard to chew through, and others got in, biting chunks out of Aaron's arms or legs, giving his healing sigil more work before being smashed into pieces with even more enthusiastic swings.
The fast orbs being added to the equation made it worse. "Fucking hell. Come on, we need some cover from those damn orbs." He told Osechi and ran toward the buildings, cutting down any teeth in his way.
Meanwhile, Arthur provided air support against the teeth until he saw Caroline struggling with the giant. He rushed over to help, but then he noticed she was dealing with it just fine. At least she was able to avoid being crushed by the giant. The ice mage still rushed over, catching her before she fell into the teeth.
"You sure you want to encourage him, Flirty? You know he'll want the bragging rights, but that isn't gonna be good if he dies in the attempt." His point was made when the giant's fall set loose bullet-like pinballs everywhere. Dancing through the storm, Arthur knew his mobility was obstructed by holding someone in his arms. Even controlling a pair of floating ice swords wasn't enough when a pinball almost twice his size came at him. Doing his best to minimize damage while protecting Caroline, he turned toward it feet first. Thankfully, despite the speed of a bullet, the impact being spread over a larger surface lowered the damage. Arthur's feet still hurt though while Caroline and he were pushed away.
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Post by RedLenai on Dec 19, 2019 3:08:31 GMT
KYAAAAAAAAA! HOW CREEPY! - The angel screeched as he saw the army of plastic teeth coming his way. Trying to fly away some of them managed to climp to his wings, chomping and causing a lot of weight on him - OW! OW OW OW OW! - The angel protested as his feathers began to fall product of the abuse. His body shone in a bright blue light, becoming smaller and smaller at having the form of a tiny cat. Landing on the pentagrams that Vladimir thankfully left the transformed angel made its way towards the ex-paladin.
Vladimir caught the kitten as he made more pentagrams to walk higher and try to avoid getting bite, if Gallerian protested that much that meant he was surely going to loose more than flesh. However he didn't get why the angel transformed into a black fluffy cat with deep blue eyes... the royal symbol of the Van Dercycle family was an Eurasian blue tit, a bird known for having blue and yellow wings.
Boohooo~ I won't be able to fly in a whole month thanks to this dummy-fake-whatever it is! - The cat protested - You! Make pentagrams for the others to climb! I don't think we'll be able to stop the marbles for now...
Everyone jump! - The ex-paladin shouted, making as many pentagrams as he could for his allies. Some of them ended up destroyed by the high speed of the marbles, he tried his best to make the pentagrams to don't be too near to the ground or otherwise the teeth will start jumping higher.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 20, 2019 2:46:04 GMT
Jun nodded and twirled her blade in preparation. Marbles bounced off the walls and each other, coming in at unpredictable angles, but given when she had just gone through earlier, this felt easier. She kept them off with mostly a few bruises before one person-sized ball came rolling right for Gan’s back. Jun’s sword had just left the range where she could get it back in, engaged with swarm of chompers. In a burst of instinct, she punched it away. The marble went rolling back, in exchange for the structural integrity of her knuckles. She stifled a scream, stuffing broken fingers into her mouth to keep the yelling down. She would have time for whining after the marbles were gone.
Dan caught the machine flying to him, more by reflex than design. He looked up with wide eyes, now no longer facing the horde of biting things in order to save Caroline but to attack a god. It was a significantly less pleasant motivator. He hesitated on the edge of the horde, their tiny jaws ripping away at the ankles of his pants, ignoring their armored quality entirely. He gulped and raised his foot for his first step into the horde, but he did not end up stepping into the biting swarm at all. From his distant left a roar came, and with it winds that nearly bowled him over and left frost on his hair. A series of marbles came rolling by with it, ripping through the crowd, scattering teeth and springs into the air. Wilson came marching forth, waiting for a particularly big marble to come and yelling at it. Again his voice became a hurricane, throwing the truck-sized sphere right back at the creatures around him.
There were still hundreds, but their numbers were thinned. “Go. You have backup.” Wilson jumped up onto a pentagram and pointed. Dan followed his gaze and smiled. “Looks like I do. Thanks, man!” He stretched as a brassy tone filled the air. On the edge of the plaza, the Gingerbread Knight lowered his horn of hardened honey. “I am the Knight who brings joy! You have taken many people’s joy, and for that, I bring you not joy but sorrow!” He stood at the head of an entire candy army, bees made of honey candy, hooded figures dripping molasses, dragons that gnashed teeth of candy corn and drew a miniature army of gummy fruit driving a bowl for a chariot, a licorice kraken, a peppermint UFO, huddled creatures covered in razor-sharp scales of peanut brittle, and a dozen other bizarre sugary fiends.
“For Christmas!” The Gingerbread Knight yelled, and the army charged. Little chomping things were scattered before them and Dan joined the rush. The false Santa was overwhelmed by sheer numbers, hacked at, struck with red and white striped lasers, and soaked with boiling molasses from all sides. Dan pushed his way past gummy warriors throwing sour axes and a honey-dripping queen (he thought she winked at him, but she had 5 eyes so it was hard to tell) to get right up into the creature’s stomach. “Wait until I tell Huntsman that I’m a godslayer too.” He grinned and pushed the device in, squishing it like a pillow. There was surprisingly little resistance, like it was a balloon rather than a physical organism. He pulled the trigger.
The light was blinding, coming off the god in waves as it deflated. The candy folk retreated to a safe distance, but Dan was right in the midst of it. There was no harm to it, none that he could feel, just a tingle through his body. He wondered what he would be feeling were he still an avatar. Presumably something like what the miserable beast before him was feeling. Its limbs popped and cracked into human configurations once more, a red coat sloughed away, 20 feet of height snapped away in an instant. A god stood there no more, now just a small man with brown skin and eyes, shivering in the snow.
“My experiment! It worked! How dare you interfere! I was going to bring Christmas to the world! Overthrow the cycle of a lazy god and mmmphmm!” He was silenced by the Gingerbread Knight’s frosting, splattering over his mouth, then binding his entire body. “By authority of Christmas, you are under arrest!” He pushed him over to two gumdrop cops. “Book him and give him a prison sweater. I have somebody to talk to!” He ran over the plaza until he found Osechi. “Ah, good cook! I am glad to find you intact! This truly was a treacherous field of battle!” He looked down at the remnants of the chattering teeth, decaying away now that their motive force was gone.
Not far away, Jun saw the marbles cracking apart and decaying into dust and her body relaxed. Every bit of tiredness she had accumulated the last few days came rushing in with the certainty that it was at last over and she could rest. After she got her fingers fixed, anyway. “Owwwww…” She grit her teeth. With the end of battle, her adrenalin was failing. Now she was actually feeling it. She crouched, sticking her fingers in the shallow snow to numb them. “Well now you owe me again. That is twice I have become injured defending you.” She raised her head haughtily, but it was countered by her pitiful position in the snow, nursing broken fingers. After a second, she seemed to realize this and her face crumpled in an attempt to decide upon amusement of humiliation.
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Post by othus on Dec 20, 2019 5:36:24 GMT
Osechi's eyes turned into hearts when she saw the Gingerbread knight, she clearly had missed him in the few minutes he had been gone.
"My cookie!!"-she said with excitement as she jumped on his arms and cuddled him.
"This time i wont let you get away! hug me lots while I decorate you!"- she said as she made edible glitter appear out of nowhere, which she began to sprinkle right away onto the knight's armor.
Gan knelt as he held Jun's injured hand with utmost care.
"I'll have to make it up to you. Next time, just you and me"- He said as he sat next to her, he looked at the destruction brought upon by the battle and smiled. it was truly amazing everyone managed to make it with just minor injuries.
It would have been somewhat inconsiderate of Gan given Jun's situation so he didn't say it, but he wanted to stay like that with her for another while. How many years had it been since he felt like that? perhaps it was truly the first time ever.
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 23, 2019 7:03:14 GMT
After being caught by Arthur, Caroline looked at the ice mage in surprise, then narrowed her eyes in amusement. “I have absolutely nooooo idea what you’re talking about, penguin. I just lost my grip on the thing, and it was lucky that the big, strong ex-bad boy was there to save the day.” Wrapping her hands around the back of his neck for support, Caroline continued. “How irresponsible for you to fly in and save me, when the important thing was about to shatter into a million pieces.” The doll teased. Before she could continue, the onslaught of pinballs made Arthur smash his feet into one and send them both flying.
“Oh wow, your legs are tough.” Caroline observed, whistling in amazement. From their new position farther away, Caroline could see the Ginger Knight and his army of Christmas-themed warriors charge at the false Santa, Dan running up and delivering the final blow with the device. A smile spread across Caroline’s face as she watched the Christmas god disappear and the culprit taken away. “And would you look at that, Christmas has been saved by a group who had nothing better to do on this sacred holiday. But at least we all now have bragging rights, no?” Caroline joked to Arthur.
Erin peered out of the alley between two buildings to see that the false god had been defeated. It was a surreal experience, seeing all the candy creatures attacking a gigantic Santa monster. The HWIC agent let out a long sigh of relief, then remembered her duty as an agent. “W-wait! I would like to get a statement before he’s handed off to prison!” She rushed out toward the two cops who were carrying away the prisoner to try and convince them to let the HWIC get a statement.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 27, 2019 19:29:22 GMT
Arthur spread his icy wings to stabilize himself after the ball's impact. "Comes with years of training," he answered Caroline's compliment. "And some magic." He watched alongside Caroline as the candy armies rode in as reinforcements. They helped open a path for Dan to finish the faker off and the latter turned back into a regular human.
"And would you look at that, Christmas has been saved by a group who had nothing better to do on this sacred holiday. But at least we all now have bragging rights, no?" Caroline joked.
"Hey, you'd have to look really hard to find something better than saving Christmas. Especially at this time of night. Imagine all the presents Santa's gonna owe us now! Although if we're this far away, they could say we ran away and we'd lose our bragging rights. Come on, let's join the others."
Arthur's first instinct was to take her to Erin and drop her in her arms. But Erin seemed busy. Distracting her while she's doing important HWIC business wouldn't help her reputation, so instead he flew elsewhere. When suddenly he fumbled, completely accidentally of course, and dropped Caroline!
"Dan, watch out! Grab her, quick!" He shouted to the pink brawler below him.
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Post by RedLenai on Dec 28, 2019 19:37:56 GMT
Yaay! - The angel complimented as the Fake Santa was defeated, still in his cat form, he jumped from Vladimir's arms to greet the others.
Walking towards Caroline, Arthur and Dan, the fluffy kitten complimented them for their good work - You all did Good! I'm glad! However... - The angel stared at Arthur - You still need to improve your balance, even with heavy weapons, I don't mind teaching you a few tricks if you need, take a card! - With a movement of his tail a white card appeareared, it had written "Sunny Smile Café" in one side, and in the other was written "Mr Finnian".
I wish my wife came, she would have liked you lots, Caroline! - He said to his Uno partner - But taking care of the kids is an angel's job, is good we were two to begin with!
Vladimir vanished all of his pentagrams and now was contemplating the small soldiers and militia, they were adorable and really well decorated. Maybe later he should try to make a tiny dessert inspired on them. He then, discovered he was completely alone, everyone has formed little groups to chat with...
He didn't want to interrupt Gan and Jun, Mr Cromwell just got nagged by the angel which probably wouldn't be a good thing considering Gal is not... soft at all with his criticism. Aaron didn't like him, and Wilson seemed to don't be the type to hang out with lame adults... He didn't know a single thing about the rest. He felt at lost
Ah! True, true I almost forgot - The cat jumped towards the Gingerbread Knight and Osechi - Pardon me! But my friend over there - He pointed his tail at Vladimir -Won't admit it but he loves sweets! Is there something I can give to him? Like... - He got near to the Gingerbread Knight - Something to make him gain a few pounds, he is too thin!
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 29, 2019 5:38:33 GMT
“Oh, glitter! A delight, but I’m afraid I must run that by somebody before accepting such a gift!” The Gingerbread Knight waved to the UFO floating overhead and it lowered. A peppermint panel turned into dust and a long tube came out, vacuuming up the dust. “Oh, a shame. She is right though, it would get all over the carpet! Osechi, I would like you to meet my wife!” He waved and a figure was carried from the ship in a beam of light. It turned out to be a four-foot gummy green alien, emphatically signing to the Gingerbread Knight. “She’s saying to thank you for helping me so much! She was worried when I did not return.” He interpreted and the little alien hugged Osechi. She was uncomfortably sticky. “Ah, Santa will have just the thing! Come along, we should meet him!” The group of candy creatures hurried at the Gingerbread Knight’s call, pushing Dan along with them. He was near-delirious with accomplishment. He did it! He actually did it! Without powers, he had saved the day! And the day was Christmas! It was a genuine accomplishment. How many of the people he saw as better than himself had managed that? Only Arthur’s yell broke through the haze of his joy. He looked up just in time to stretch his arms out, catching Caroline deftly. A quick juggle settled her comfortably in his arms, light and cozy and resting her barely-skirted ass right on his arm. “Oh, uh, sorry. You were with Erin. I’ll, ah, put you down.” He said, but he was slow to actually do so, still being pushed forwards in the crowd. “...thanks for letting me do it. I needed that.” He smiled at her. “Hmm. Perhaps I will fight many trolls with clubs. Allow you to block things that would break me rather than the other way around?” Jun didn’t crack a smile, but her eyes were lit up. “Ah, or perhaps a paladin with a holy morningstar.” She stood, wrapping another scrap of her ruined coat around her broken fingers to hold them stiff. “For now, I am owed a cup of wine and a warm seat. I believe Santa will provide us those.” Her uninjured hand twitched towards Gan, but she pulled it back tight. No, it was too much for now. She still barely knew him. Was that even fair to say though, after what they had been through? Yes, yes it is. The last one cheated. Your sister vanished, and your parents betrayed everything you hold dear. Opening up again too quickly just invites disaster. Her hands were put in her pockets and her face downturn for the rest of the walk.
When they got back to Santa’s hall, the place was awash in light and color that had not existed before, elves of all colors dancing and singing. In the midst of them all was Santa, in all his true glory. He was plump, but in a way that only looked healthy and right on his frame. His coat was a perfect red, both lighting the room and calming the soul to look at. His beard bordered on viking, elaborately braided, falling to his belly, and laced with holly. He twirled elves in delight, laughter like a chorus of bells. “Thank you, heroes, perfect souls of the south! I have rewards aplenty here, for I believe you have all been very nice this year!” Santa clapped his hands and a box fell down before everybody’s faces, hanging from its ribbons. Everybody reached for their boxes, some hesitant, some stripping away the paper before they could even get the boxes to their laps. Osechi’s box contained the mug of infinite hot chocolate she was drinking earlier, empty now but filling the moment she placed hands on it. Gan’s contained a little glass flask, expensive cologne on closer inspection. A tag on it had something written in most delicate cursive; “Use this after your shower”. Next to him, Jun found a gorgeous, flowing dress, deep blue with red roses across the skirt. The tag attached said in the same handwriting “wear this on your date”. She went red, moreso when she glanced at Gan’s. Oh no, she knew that stuff. That stuff was sexy.
Vlad’s box was the same size as everybody else’s, but when he opened it, he found box after box of food stacked. Freshly baked cinnamon rolls covered an army of protein shakes, all packaged with a schedule for eating them and the exercises he should do for healthy weight gain. Gallerian, not far from him, but a stack of matching sweaters for his family, his own depicting his axe, Chloe’s covered in winged hearts, Thomas’ covered in various Kamen Riders, and Derek’s black with blue flames. Aaron found his crammed with a lacy umbrella that cast more shadow than it should have and a box labeled “For Robbie” that was individually wrapped. A peak would reveal yarn in multiple colors and a small booklet of sewing tips.
Upon first glance, Arthur’s box only contained a note saying “You can afford your own presents”, but looking again would fill the box with a plush black butterfly and a book on talking to teenagers who were just starting to date, apparently for Loveline. Caroline opened up her box and found a variety of Christmas-themed accessories, including a skimpy elf outfit that wasn’t her size. It looked more like Erin’s size. Dan pulled a brand-new shining oboe from his box and smiled. “Just what Qiang was asking for.” He glanced away to Caroline’s box and shrugged. “Heh, looks like your Christmas will be fun in a very different way than mine.” He put the oboe back and scooped up the box. If Caroline looked closer, she would find another outfit under the elf suit, composed of a tiny wrap and some wings on straps, wide enough for a muscular man’s chest. “For another holiday, perhaps” the label said. Erin got the smallest box, shaped to hold the stack of papers within. There was a full report on the mission, including statements from all currently interrogated and a pass for any HWIC agent to return for further questioning and information. It seemed purely functional, nothing personal until she flipped through. At the bottom, there was a sealed envelope, stamped with a wax Christmas tree. When she popped it open, she would find an entire letter addressed to herself.
Hello Erin, I know you do not see the good in yourself. I cannot make you love yourself, because that is a gift only one person can give you. But I can offer you a tale from your past. You see everybody in your family as surpassing you, but there is an area they cannot reach you. You are endlessly kind, Erin. Elyssa was such a clever, precocious child, but she really did look up to you. When she thought you wouldn’t come to her elementary school graduation, she cried the night before. You could only see her face the next morning when you said you used one of your vacation days at work to go with her. Who else in your family could do that? Their work is important, but as a man who works every day of the year, let me tell you no work is more important than a moment with somebody you love. There are people who love you, Erin, you and your big heart. Love, Santa Claus
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Post by Vapovile on Jan 1, 2020 5:54:00 GMT
An exaggerated look of disappointment spread across Caroline’s face when Dan thanked her. “Aaaaaaaaaw, but what do you mean? I did drop it, hooooonest.” The expression then morphed into a smile. “But do you want to put me down right now, hm?” The snake-like doll asked. “I, uh, well… I admit I like holding you, but it feels wrong to intrude on whatever you’ve got with Erin.” He mumbled. Caroline only shrugged in response. “You’re not intruding, she’s currently busy with official stuff, and we’re not doing anything major. You’re just my trusty reindeer for the moment.” Looking up at the fighter, Caroline reached up and briefly squeezed the tip of his nose to try and turn it a light shade of red for a second. It worked, his nose soon matching the rest of his face in color. “We-well okay then!” With more confidence in his stride, he kept going through the snow until they reached the hall and he set her down beside him.
After listening to Santa’s speech, Caroline opened her gift and cocked her head with interest when she saw the elf outfit, but frowned slightly when it didn’t seem to be her size. But one sidelong glance at a nearby redhead made her realize what was going on. Putting it back, Caroline attempted to hide the other outfit and packed it all neatly back into the box. “It looks like you got something too, what’d you get?” Caroline asked. “Oh, something for my son. He’s big on music and was asking me for an oboe. I couldn’t afford a good one, but now I don’t have to worry about that! ...oh, my son, uh, don’t worry about that, I’m not trying to cheat on anybody. I’m a single dad.” He quickly added. A smile of interest spread across Caroline’s face.
“My my, you have a son? And you aren’t with him on Christmas? Naughty naughty.” Caroline waggled her finger in a tutting motion. “Please, he’s asleep. Besides, what sort of parent could let Christmas be ruined on their watch?” He winked. Caroline placed her fingers on her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose someone needed to make sure he got presents. You are the big hero, after alllll!” Strangely, her eyes narrowed and a grin spread across her face as she reached her arm up, the sleeve on her jacket falling to reveal a strange green bracelet with a small plant hanging down. She hovered it over his head. “Ooooh? What’s that?” The doll asked innocently. “Wha- wait, isn’t that-” Before he could finish, Caroline leaned up and pecked Dan on the cheek, pulling away and giving him a wink before dashing off toward the others in the room. “...mistletoe, yeah.” He mumbled, smiling and rubbing his cheek. Maybe he would call her later and see if she wanted to hang out. It was tricky thinking about it. He would prefer a woman he loved and would be with him outside of a quick fling, but really, who was he to turn down an opportunity like that?
---
Osechi embraced the gummy lady, it was the cutest thing ever to see the love of treats. “Of course! I’d never let anyone harm my cookie, a pleasure meeting you too! you can be my gummy as well” Once Osechi opened up her present her eyes shone with excitement, this was exactly what she wanted! now she could have the taste of Christmas all year round! The chef god walked towards Aaron as she sipped on her hot cocoa.
“So, did you get anything? Or were you a naughty boy? Don’t worry if you didn’t, I will share my cocoa with you!”- She told him as she tilted her head with a smile full of curiosity.
Osechi caught Aaron examining the lacy umbrella, opening it to see if the shadow stayed bigger than expected. Closing it again, he said “No, everyone who deserves one got a present. I just need to do the fat man’s job of delivering them, but I’m used to that.” At least it was better than the standard fae MO, this was work to make someone else happy instead of spreading their own power. Rob and Leslie were going to enjoy these for sure, and that was enough a gift for Aaron to bring a smile to his face.
He looked at the mug in Osechi’s hands, just as full as it was before she took a sip. “So you got one of those infinite mugs? Yeah, sure, I’ll take you up on that offer. “ He reached for her cocoa.
For Gan, this was the first time he had ever gotten a present from Santa. He smiled, held the gift tightly to his chest and looked upwards, trying to hold back some of the emotions that he was having at the moment. *So this is what it feels like*- He thought to himself.
Walking up to the others, Caroline looked between Gan and Jun’s presents. “Oooooh, those look neat. Isn’t it odd how Santa knows exactly what we all want?” Caroline asked, cocking her head. “You know, some might say I am also a festive person…” The snake-like doll motioned to her red Santa dress under the coat. “And well…” Reaching her arm over, she grabbed Jun’s side and lightly pulled her next to Gan, her other arm raising to put the bracelet above their heads, a smile spreading across her face. “...my giiiift!” She chirped.
Jun glanced up and realized in an instant what was above her. A hot lava tint spread through her ears and down her cheek. She wanted to. Of course she did. She leaned in, almost ready, but then a finger raised, a barrier between their lips. “Might I… take this as a token for the future?” She backed away. “A promised kiss, for when we are… presentable.” She flicked her ragged hair, looking down at muddy, torn clothes. She just couldn’t do it. She was filthy and worn and smelly. It would ruin everything to leap in so quickly.
W-what are you doing? he told Caroline with a nervous laugh, the sight of the bracelet felt to him like ice-cold water. that was damn clever. As Gan leaned in he was stopped by Jun’s finger. That was quite a weird sensation, somehow, it felt like getting punched in the gut. Fortunately, Jun’s words took the sour out of the moment almost immediately. He reached for her hands, then looked at her in the eyes. “For you, I would wait any amount of time”- he then looked at Caroline and shrugged with a sad smile. “Sorry Caroline, it looks like I’ve let you down on this one”
“Let me down?” Caroline retracted her arm, looking at the two of them with sparkles in her eyes briefly. “This is more than I had hoped for! You two are just so cute together! I hope to hear aaaaaaall about how it goes, you know. You both have my number.” With a wink, Caroline strolled off toward her next victims of Christmas cheer.
---
“Oooooo, is that a mug you got?” Caroline asked, sliding up next to Osechi to check out the drink inside. Was this one of those that automatically refilled?
Osechi handed out the mug with a big smile, Once Caroline arrived she began to tell her about the present. “Yup! I ate the last one I had, but I’m taking much better care of this one! what did you get?! Also, tasty, right?”- she told Aaron and Caroline respectively.
“Sure,” Aaron said. “A bit too sweet, but thanks.” He handed her the mug. He just looked at Caroline. He didn’t know much about her since she was on the other team. Not that he knew much about the team he was on.
Hearing that Osechi ate her last mug made Caroline pause for thought, but decided not to question one’s ability to eat ceramic. “That is great to hear! I got some adorable outfits to try on later. I see you got some neat gifts too!” The doll motioned toward Aaron. “I don’t think we’ve met, by the way.” Reaching out her hand, Caroline gave a smile. “I’m Caroline, two-thirds of the hero tonight. No need to thank me.” She joked, holding out her hand.
Aaron shook it. “Aaron. As long as it’s done, doesn’t matter who did how much. Long as it’s done, the fae can’t complain. What’s up with your eyes though?” The response made Caroline bring her hand to her chin thoughtfully, Aaron now finding a card in the hand he shook. “What, do you not like them? I think they look quite exotic. My natural eyes, you should know.” Caroline fluttered her eyelashes at the grumpy person before her.
“I’m not a big fan of snakes.” Aaron looked at the card. It was a fancy green card with gold trim that listed her name and number, but it didn’t say where she worked. “Are you a freelancer or something? Fancy card for something that doesn’t tell you what you do.” Caroline narrowed her eyes at the question, stretching out her arm a little. “You could say I am self-employed, yes. I bring a certain other kind of joy into people’s lives, if you know what I mean.” Caroline explained. Realizing what she meant, Aaron smiled and stowed it in his back pocket. From her outfit and the card’s appearance, she might be a bit expensive for him, but keeping an option open never hurt.
Meanwhile, Caroline reached her arm out and grabbed Osechi’s side, pulling her over, noticing she was a little harder to pull than Jun. “Aaaaaaaanyway, I noticed you two were quite talkative together, so in the spirit of the holidays…” She held her hand up above their heads, the mistletoe handing down. “...oh, what could that be?” She asked innocently.
“Yeah, what is that?!”- Osechi innocently replied. it took a second before she recalled she had actually seen this before. “Oh right! that’s the thing that makes everyone kiss!” “...” She stood silent as she looked around, a slight red slowly began to take over her face. “I um...am sticky and, yeah, I probably don’t look very pretty right now...I-I guess I taste a little bit sweeter now, Y’know...if you like that, which, you probably don’t,” she told Aaron as she twirled her index fingers while looking at the floor.
Aaron looked at the mistletoe for a second before realizing what she was doing. “Heh. You’re a fun one,” he told Caroline. Although Osechi’s hesitation gave him pause. He was definitely an asshole, but he wasn’t a creep.
“Hey, I’m down. Question is if you are. I’ll let you decide, but you should be quick or Caroline’s arm’s gonna get tired.”
Osechi took Aaron’s advice and quickly grabbed him by the shirt as she pulled him towards her, it was a slow, gentle kiss that made her heart race a little. “You...don’t taste half bad”- She told him as she looked away completely blushed.
“And you’re just as sweet as you look, “ Aaron responded. Caroline’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “My, I wasn’t expecting that to actually work. You two are wonderful sports! Merry Christmas!” Grinning, Caroline darted away toward the next unsuspecting group.
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Vladimir tilted his head when he opened his box, he didn’t get why he had… such a weird gift. It was true he didn’t had a healthy routine but it wasn’t as bad as he thought at the point of having Santa to interfere with it. He finally found himself conscious about his own appearance and felt embarrassed. He looked thinned compared to when he was a teenager without any kind of training. He glanced at the schedule he should follow, of course it will take him months to gain his weight again.
You know, I’ve been wondering, since you got a sweet tooth it was weird to see you this bad - The angel commented back in his human form, but this time both his size and appearance were different, this time he looked shorter than Vlad his skin was a bit more beige compared to his previous porcelain skin, hair being short with a potent caramel color and eyes staying the same blue as always. That was the appearance Gallerian had back when Vladimir was young, it caused the other to feel a bit nostalgic.
Well… Is not like I don’t have food, I prefer saving it… - The ex-paladin excused himself as he put the boxes and papers inside the bigger one again.
Is not like you are going to starve again, your clothes are clean and especially your shoes - The angel commented - What you use to walk the Earth talks a lot about your condition or maybe I’m just experienced but try eating more and try to hang out with people a bit, just so you don’t have to overthink about stuff that isn’t your fault, Derek does the same thing so is not like I don’t notice it
The other raised his head as the angel mentioned the young prince, he probably didn’t have a great life either. However, that reminded him of something very important. Taking out of his pocket a small toy briefcase, the man used magic to change its size to a normal one, opening it he took three items. A white baby blanket that had small blue sewing marks with celtic symbols, a plushie bunny, and a gold bracelet with a black pearl at the end of the name engraved on it.
Gallerian opened his eyes when he noticed the first item, his height, hair and skin color returning to normal before grabbing it - I can’t believe you had Derek’s blanket this whole time
Before I got banned and cursed, I tried to take the young prince with me. I wasn’t fast enough. The only things I had in hand were King Abellio’s sword and the most Ancient Book of Driaochtas… - He closed his eyes as he remembered, feeling bad for not being faster back then
I see… - Gallerian nodded - I’ll fix these things up, I have to give them to the troublemakers, right? - At the mere touch, Gallerian turned the small baby blanket into a bigger size, the bunny got its fur white as it was quite old originally, and the bracelet that seemed to be for a kid, got turned in the size fitting an adult - I don’t think you should put your name on them, these kids are… a bit reckless, and we have to do lots of things first, there’ll be time… However I’ll try to find something to free you from your curse
Just then, a familiar green-haired doll strolled up to the two talking men, hands behind her back. “Sooooo, I couldn’t help but overhear you two talking about children. Who’s the lucky man bringing back gifts directly from Santa?” She asked, curious.
I am! - The angel commented - But I’m just a guardian, not a real parent… He is the uncle ot two of them - He pointed at Vladimir, who suddenly turned as red as a tulip - Did you get a nice present, Caroline~?
The response intrigued the doll. “Oh reaaaaally? So you two must know each other quite well! And yes, Santa gave me a wonderful gift. Not sure if you’ve been paying attention to the rest of the room, but I have been giving out my own present to people! Sooooo…” Siding up next to Gal, Caroline reached over to pull Vlad closer, and raised her arm up above both of their heads, letting the bracelet become visible. “Merry Christmassssss!” She chirped.
Gallerian started giggling as he saw the mistletoe on Caroline’s arm - I won’t give a kiss to one of the babies I ‘ve taken care of!
T-This is awful, I won’t kiss my Master… - The ex-paladin explained to Caroline - I-I’m terribly sorry, and I know we both ruined the mood, but… just… no - He closed his box, still flustered
At least you could give me a kiss on my cheek! Like you did when you were little! - He then moved towards Caroline - He used to be a really cute kid! Actually, one of his nephews resembles him a bit - He took out his phone, passed through some pictures of Derek, Chloe and even Andy until he found one of Thomas - The only difference is that Vlad’s hair is straight
He resembles more of my younger brother anyway… - the ex-paladin excused himself. At least Gallerian wasn’t asking about a girlfriend, being married or having kids, that would have been awful…
Caroline at this point had started laughing. “Pahahaha! Oh, don’t worry Vlad dad, you didn’t ruin anything. I was just teasing you both.” She wiped a tear from her eyes. Looking at the phone, Caroline examined the similarity between the two, and able to see some. “There is some similarity there, yeah...well, thanks for humoring my little joke. I’ll catch up with you later, Uno buddy!” And with that, Caroline bolted to her last targets.
---
Opening his box, Arthur let out a short chuckle. “You can afford your own presents” the note read and Arthur couldn’t disagree. He’d already prepared the girls’ gifts so this adventure was more of a crusade for all the kids of the world than for his own gain. As he was about to put the note back in the box, he had to chuckle again. Santa was apparently a bit of a prankster.
He put the box down while he looked over the gifts. The black butterfly was obviously for Hazel, but the book was weird.
Nearby, Erin looked at the note, eyes wide as she read. How did Santa know about this?! Was he actually a god?! She felt the ping of water in her eyes, and fought them back to not look like a weirdo in front of everyone. But unfortunately, her efforts weren’t enough to contain two droplets that slowly ran down her cheeks, which were quickly rubbed away by her sleeves. Two vertical pupils observed this, and turned their attention to Arthur.
“It’s nice seeing her this happy, no?” Caroline whispered to the ice mage, taking note of the gifts he received.
Arthur looked over to Erin, seeing her clumsily trying to hide her tears. “Daw. It has to be a very good gift. She deserves one. I’ve not talked much with her, but from what Haruko said, she really is a great person.”
“Quite the haul, by the way.” “Hm? Oh, yeah. Gifts for my daughters. I think. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to give the book to Loveline or if I’m supposed to read it.” Caroline’s eyes narrowed when Arthur finished talking. “Loveline? Well isn’t that a...lovely name. And if you truly are as old as you say you are, this book is for you. Though depending on how old she is…” Caroline’s voice trailed off. “...you miiiiight be a bit overdue for this book, penguin.”
Arthur smiled at the pun. “She’s 14 now. Adopted, by the way. Her and Hazel both.” He looked at the box she was carrying. “What about you? What did you get?” He asked. Caroline looked at the box in her hand, and smiled. “Hm...just a costume that would go nicely with my current one.” She waved her hand down to point to her Santa dress, and opened the lid to show the top of the green elf costume.
“Ooh, sexy,” Arthur said. “Seems a bit… big for you though. Made for Santa’s big helper, hm?” Caroline’s eyes rolled innocently upward. “Who knooooows~?” Shifting her eyes back to Erin for a second, Caroline’s face softens. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, penguin. I have been going around the room and holding this above people’s heads.” The doll motioned toward her bracelet. “Juuuuust a little teasing. I was going to hold this above you and my little helper there...but I don’t want to ruin the mood. She deserves this moment, you know? So here.” Holding her arm up, Caroline put them both under it and pecked the ice mage on the cheek. “Consider it a consolation prize. Not too disappointed, right?” She asked, showing fake concern.
“Aww, pretty disappointed actually. A bit of teasing would’ve gotten a cute reaction. But...” A pillar of ice pushed Arthur up high enough to kiss Caroline on the cheek. “I guess we’re even now. Go and tease her yourself now. But don’t you two just disappear on us. I want a pic to commemorate the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We should get Dan in on the action, too.”
Gladly accepting the response, Caroline held up her phone and smiled. “But of course! I plan to get plenty of pictures before everyone leaves! And don’t worry, I won’t be going anywhere with her until the group’s split up. You have my word.” Caroline winked at Arthur at the last word, putting one leg out and striding toward Erin, who now had slightly puffy red eyes.
“Why hello there! Did Santa get you exactly what you wanted for Christmas?” The doll asked, peering at the note that Erin quickly moved downward, hurriedly trying to return back to a normal expression. “Erm, uh, you could say that!” She hurriedly stated, Caroline’s eyes narrowing. “Hooooo? I don’t see much in that box besides paperwork. Are you just that passionate about your job?” She asked, looking concerned.
Erin’s eyes widened and waved her other hand in protest. “N-no! I uh...got a nice letter from Santa.” Her eyes drifted to the side, away from Caroline, who ducked own to meet Erin’s gaze with a smile. “Aaaaaaw, that’s adorable! He really does know what everyone wants, right? Must have been an amazing letter, judging by your face.” The doll stated, Erin looking away and fighting back a blush of embarrassment. “Y-yeah...it was…” She muttered.
Suddenly, Caroline reached out and interlocked her hand with Erin’s that wasn’t holding the letter, catching the HWIC agent by surprise. “That makes me happy, seeing you like this. Aren’t you glad you went on this trip now?” She asked, smiling once more. Erin now kept the gaze and nodded. “I would say so. You’re all just...so nice.” The agent muttered, Caroline lightly chuckling to herself. “You’re a nice person, and I like making friends with nice people, what can I say? Now, ready for your Christmas present from me?” Caroline asked, a small smirk crawling across her face as she flicked her eyes upward.
Looking up, Erin saw the bracelet above both their heads, and instantly went red. “Uh...here…?!” Erin asked in surprise, eyes flicking to everyone else in the room. Caroline nodded her head. “What can I say, it’s the rules. Hands tied.” She teased. Erin stared on for a few seconds, thinking of what everyone would think...but strangely, those thoughts slowly melted away as she stared at Caroline’s reassuring face, her eyes showing full honesty. “...ok, I’ll take your dumb gift."
The two embraced for a few seconds, before pulling away once more. Erin’s face was more red than ever, while Caroline was smiling once more. “Aaaaaw, that was good!” Caroline said, clasping Erin’s hand with both of her’s. “Looks like I picked a lovely person to go with. Now, why don’t we finish up here and pick this up soon, hm?” The doll asked, Erin only giving a smile and nodding, turning to see if there was any other business to attend to. Despite the biting cold and less-than-stellar jacket she now wore...Erin’s heart was strangely warm.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 2, 2020 16:17:36 GMT
The party drug on into the night, more and more Christmas creatures appearing to celebrate. Santa himself vanished one moment to travel the world and deliver his gifts, leaving the party unsupervised. Jun and Gan whiled away their time largely separate from the party, Jun constantly teetering on the edge of asking Gan to dance but always holding back. Wilson sat nearby, bored and frustrated by the army of people who smelled like food dancing around. It was only a few minutes before he left to sit outside.
Dan tried to keep to himself, but it seemed the Gingerbread Knight had spread the news about who finished the false Santa off, and he was constantly swarmed with attention from the North Pole’s denizens. He was glad when Jun’s loud whistle cut through the noise of the party. “Our plane has arrived. It will be taking us back out of the teleportation denial zone.” She waved for everybody to come and Dan half-apologized to the candy-folk asking him to dance as he retreated. This time, the plane was actually in the city and they could take off and fly without incident. Jun watched the North Pole vanish out the window and the darkness drew her eyes to a close. A mere half hour later, the plane was landing and her eyes were blinking open. Something warm was under her cheek. It took her a few more blinks to realize it was Gan’s shoulder and she shot bolt upright, red as a steamed lobster. “I’m sorry!”
Gan looked over Jun’s sleep for a while, it was completely normal to be exhausted after all that. again, being beside her also made him feel at ease. When Jun finally woke up and apologized, Gan slightly tilted his head. “Don’t be, It is the least I can do after all you have done for me” -He told her in a reassuring tone as he offered his hand to her. “Plus...I was enjoying it myself quite a bit”. He added just to tease her a bit further. “You know how I actually feel about you, right?”- he told her a bit more seriously as he looked at her
“I… I surmised.” She stared out the window, not managing to look at him again until they got off of the plane. “I… I suppose I should be going home. The restaurant we were invited to is all well and good, but I want cleanliness more than a meal. But I wondered… ah, no, there must people at your home waiting for you.” She muttered, looking away again, wishing she could say the same for herself.
“There is nowhere I’d rather be than with you, so I’ll go if you’ll have me”- this time looking to meet her face. This was something he wanted her to fully know without fear.
“Well, I suppose that settles things nicely.” Jun gently offered her hand, only pausing a moment to glance back. Wilson saw her and nodded, stepping away to walk off into the night. He would be okay. A teleport scroll was pulled from her pocket and unfurled in a single clean motion, taking them away. Jun felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Gan standing in front of the skyline out her window. She had brought one or two men here before, but those were half-drunk one-night stands.
Too many emotions to speak of were rattling around in her head for her to think straight. Was she doing this too fast? Oh dear god, she had her clothes from yesterday on the floor still, he would know she was a slob! She should have gone to his place! Or gone nowhere! “Jun.” The Shattered One spoke deep in the back of her skull. “I am confused. Do you not wish to enjoy this man’s company?” Of course I do. She thought back. But doing it carries so much weight. “I cannot pretend to understand, but I am getting the feeling much of that weight is self-imposed. It is an imperfect metaphor, but when Atlas had the chance to cease carrying the world, he did so.”
Jun closed her eyes for a second. Her heart still pounded, but there was no use standing her sulking about it. “Your friend, she was fine going back on her own?” She asked, something safe to think about while she decided whether to let go of his hand or not.
Gan looked upwards for a moment as he thought about that but ultimately chuckled a little. “She is definitely fine, saw her enjoy Aaron’s company quite a bit, plus she must be excited about the meal”- He held her hand a little bit more tightly, it was a little bit hard to breathe normally with his heart racing like crazy. why was he feeling like that? It was something entirely new to him. would she notice that? “So...I suppose we have all this time to ourselves then”- He said barely being able to hold back at this point.
“I…” Jun choked on her tongue. What was she to say here? She did not want to ruin the mood, but she could not continue in her current state. Slowly, a solution dawned, and it appalled her that it did not show earlier. “I require a shower, and allow me to speak frankly, I doubt one would harm yourself.” She poked his chest. “It would be simply wasteful to take two.” She had her face straight again, but that flicker of joy was dancing harder than ever, a sparkling little galaxy flirting with him.
“Oh, I am VERY much for saving our planet”- Gan told her as he picked her up in a bridal carry. It was something out of this world, truly the best Christmas he’s ever had and one that he would never forget.
Dan and Arthur skipped Vlad’s place to go bowling and talk about relationships. Arthur won, but, as Dan will remind you if you ask him, only by a single pin.
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