A Very Trog's Thanksmas

[Rebonack]

It's that most wonderful time of the year again! A time for friends and family, a time for cheer, a time for jolliness, a time for thankfulness, a time for light, a time for reflection, a time for resolutions, a time for GIFTS AND FOOD AND SWEETS! A wonderful, magical, fantastic time of the year!

Trog's Tavern is always open to everyone, but that's doubly true this year since it's overflowing with the Spirit of Thanksmas! Why, Maphtey could probably even show up here and comment on how much weight Zee has gained over the past year without getting a can of condensed soup thrown at him! That's how welcoming and jolly it is.

If you're showing up now, friend, you're just a teeeeensy bit early, but that's fine! The employees of Trog's Tavern (and probably several of Zee's children) are busy putting up the finishing touches on decorations. Zee is stringing up fresh evergreen garlands wrapped in silvery tinsel, filling the tavern with a fresh pine smell. Nina is arranging a collection of festive nutcrackers and fancy Santas keeping watch over the snack table. Paige is putting some finishing touches on this year's Santa Throne set up where the darkest Dark Corner usually is (the darkness has been replaced with holly jolly Thanksmas lights for this party only). And Cosmo is pretending to adjust ornament placement on the Thanksmas tree-candleabra-newyearsball. Wow, Cosmo! You're almost doing something helpful! Truly the Thanksmas spirit is strong this year.

Chestnuts roast over the Tavern's roaring fireplace. Sugar plums and chocolates and candied fruits and honeyed nuts and even some healthy stuff awaits at the snack table. Soft Thanksmas music plays from the jukebox (NOT All I Want For Thanksmas Is You). The stage awaits for anyone who wants to provide live music or read some stories to Nexus children. Gifts are being placed under the Thanksmas tree-candleabra-newyearsbalparty by goers for the anonymous gift exchange later in the evening.

The sights and sounds and scents of festivities permeate the tavern.

It fills you with determination. And probably a little bit of holiday joy, too.

Welcome to a Very Trog's Thanksmas!

[bc56]

A very Foxy Thanksmas

Jade enters the tavern.
She doesn't look at all like she normally does.
She's a fox. A little red fox with a tiny santa hat perched on her head. She trots into the tavern like she owns the place.
Time to find some unsuspecting children...

And get pets! No one will be the wiser!
Oh, and she needs to talk to Zee too.

Every time a Bell Rings

There's also a small angel here. Eao's hanging by her knees from one of the rafters with a sprig of mistletoe in one hand and a hammer and nails in the other. She looks like a white-haired human girl of about nine, wearing a black and white dress. She's trying to get the mistletoe to stick to the rafters. She's not sure what a little plant has to do with missiles or toes, but she's still okay with helping set it up. She just needs to figure out how to get it to stay put long enough to nail it in place. After another failed attempt, the sprig drifts to the floor. Aw man, now she's going to have to pick it up. Again.

A very Fiendish Thanksmas

There's also a devil. Sapphira enters, apparently trying to look nonchalant. Last time she was here, she got in a fight with the barmaid, but come on. It's Thanksmas! She's wearing the archetypal "sexy Santa dress" and carrying a black package with red ribbons under her arm. If she's not stopped, she'll find a booth to lounge in and wait, checking the door repeatedly.

[Recaiden]

Spike arrives, with the hound Spot at heel. This time, they're arriving at Thanksmas on purpose, rather than in response to an emergency.
The disguise has been adjusted for the holiday; instead of a winged human in shining armor, it's a winged human woman in a dress and tacky Thanksmas sweater.
A heap of presents is carried in their arms. Oh, and here, they can give one of them away right now.

The stalker strolls over to the devil and uses a tentacle wing to whisk a flat squarish present out of the stack and hand it over.
"Merry Thanksmas, Sapphira."

[Chaotic Bob]

Determination is one word for the spirit here.
The other might be "rabid mania".

That seems to be what has possessed the half-drow girl springing quite unsafely from one rafter to another, dropping the ends of rather fantastical crystal garlands from the huge tangle grasped in her arms as she goes.

Karaglen looks like she's having way too much fun here.

In her wake, looping tendrils of interlocking, iridescent crystals stretch across the ceiling, much as if she were a spider spinning an especially beautiful web.
That's not actually what she's going for here (wouldn't want to terrify Dad), but someone could uncharitably make the parallel.

She's particularly proud of this little design she's come up with. If you tweak a crystal segment just right, so that it slots into a neighbor, it'll start a little chain reaction slotting the whole strand together creating a neat rainbow light effect when light bounces off of it. Or, when you don't want that anymore, twist one out of line and it'll all loosen up into the regular old wobbly crystal string again!

This may have been obsessive use of her last couple weeks.

[Earl of Purple]

Somebody else arrives to help out! She's a half-elf with skin the colour of polished oak, brown hair and deep green eyes. She's wearing a rather short sleeveless red dress fringed with silver tinsel, a black and white feathered cape and a pair of fake antlers. She's not been to a Thanksmas party this big and important before, and is willing to help however she can.

[bc56]

Spike and Sapphira

Sapphira takes the box from Spike with a raised eyebrow. "Merry Thanksmas, Spike." She slices it open with a claw and takes whatever lies within out. "Is Sekhmet coming?" She pats the gift under her arm. "This is for her." The answer is yes, and Spike can probably check with the Hive to confirm that Sekhmet is on her way.

[Rebonack]

Zee waves at Mishnehel when she comes in and offers her a large basket full of pretty glass baubles. "Hey! Glad you could make it early. If you want to help just hang these up on the evergreen garlands we've got strung all over. Just arrange them however you think looks nice."

An ugly sweater featuring a dopey looking reindeer and a Santa hat is the extent of Zee's Thanksmas outfit. She loves it the thing's nose has a little red LED in it.

Cosmo, meanwhile, has begun sweeping up fallen pine needles on the floor while giving Sapphira the stink-eye. Isn't that the lady that attacked the tavern last year? Oh well. Thanksmas spirit and all.

[Karaglen and Lapis]

"Can I help?" Lapis Lazuli calls up to Karaglen for her position down on the floor. At present the half-drow girl's family resemblance is absolute unmistakable. "Those streamers are really pretty I love them!"

Her outfit isn't very festive, though. She's just got her VIGIL non-combatant uniform on! Kara is going to have to explain the importance of festive outfits to this fellow child since no one seems to have endowed Lapis with an understand of the salient points of Thanksmas finery.

She AT LEAST needs a cute Santa hat!

Why didn't anyone tell her?

Not really one to wait on an answer, she decides to make a point of scrambling up the wall like a hilarious child-shaped gecko to join her sibling up in the rafters.

"You're one of mom's kids too, right? I'm Lapis Lazuli! I mostly stay at VIGIL since mom made me to make sure no gross monsters try to sneak in there. I think all the gross monsters are gone so mostly I just help keep the grounds pretty and chase birds away."

No one has told Lapis yet why chasing birds away is important. She's just been doing so because that's what she was asked to do.


[Eao and Navvy]

"I got it!" says the little bronze dragon wyrmling encased in an absurd turkey-themed Thanksmas sweater. He snatches the fallen mistletoe up in his claws, spreads his wings, and does a great job of getting up into the rafters in the most graceless fashion possible. Apparently the rafters are a fun and wholesome place for small vaguely reptilian children to hang out. "You're Eao right? Mom said that's who you're are that's a swell name! I'm Navanaxinermis but you can call me Navvy if you want!"

He offers the mistletoe back to Eao.

"I helped hang the mistletoe last year if you stick the nail through the stem first then it's just aces! Goes up really easy and you won't drop is 'cuz then you've just got to hold the nail."

It'll be clear enough to Eao that this apparently mortal child has had a kernel of Glory invested in him that's just waiting to bloom. He's a tentative seraph. One that hasn't undergone apotheosis yet. But he will eventually. The mark of Mother's power on him is unmistakable.

[bc56]

Angel Dragon

"Hi! I'm Eao!" Eao replies cheerily. "That's a good idea!" Much easier than trying to pin it in place and then hammer a nail through it." Eao stabs the mistletoe and then bangs it into place among the rafters. She pulls herself back upright from her hanging position so she's sitting in the rafters. "This is my first Thanksmas! I'm so excited to deck halls go stalking and watch ships sail in!" Uh oh. Sounds like Eao's only knowledge of Thanksmas is through carols. Someone had better teach her how it works!

[Recaiden]

Monster and Devil

Sapphira takes the box from Spike with a raised eyebrow. "Merry Thanksmas, Spike." She slices it open with a claw and takes whatever lies within out. "Is Sekhmet coming?" She pats the gift under her arm. "This is for her." The answer is yes, and Spike can probably check with the Hive to confirm that Sekhmet is on her way.

Spike does check. And in fact goes so far as to warn Sekhmet, your mother is at the Thanksmas party, obviously waiting for you. There's a powerful truce here, but...be ready.
"Oh, surely. She loves these holidays." The gift is a leather-bound photo album, with slightly hazy, non-rectangular pictures. The first depicts a lush high-oxygen planet, green with jungles and towering sunwood trees. The others depict the same place much closer in, and in every one of them there is nothing but glass and ash as far as the eye can see. It seems like a devil might appreciate such vistas.

[bc56]

Devil and Monster

"How thoughtful." Sapphira says in a sickly sweet voice. "It really gives me some ideas." She's not sure what place is being shown. Meanwhile, Sekhmet responds. I, uh, understand the Thanksmas Truce. She can't harm us today. Do you, uh, know what she plans to do when I arrive? Sapphira seems to be aware of the conversation (she's not actually, but she knows about the Hive and can guess what's happening) "Tell Sekhmet I have a gift for her. A way of making amends." Whether or not Sapphira actually intends to make amends is another matter, but the gift is real. Or at least the box is real. With real ribbons.

[Recaiden]

Spike provides some context and a fun fact. "That's the site of the swarm's first real battle with our brothers. Used to be millions of people there." And then there were zero.

She will relay the message to Sekhmet, adding There *is* a large box. Of course, she doesn't actually want to make amends. Just put you off your guard in some way.

And then, already tired of listening to Sapphira, Spike walks away to look at the decorations in progress, and set down the other presents somewhere.

[bc56]

Devil and Monster

The gift isn't that big. About the size of a hatbox. Large enough Sapphira can't hold it in one hand. She watches Spike go with some uncertainty. That sort of gift isn't her thing. And it's not death that pleases her. She just sits tight and waits for Sekhmet to show up. She will come, Sapphira is sure of it. And she's lovingly picked out a gift, something she knows Sekhmet's always wanted. This will be the perfect time to try to connect with Sekhmet.

Ugh. Why did she think this was a good idea? The Thanksmas joy here is clouding her thoughts.

[Reinholdt]

The darkest dark corner being displaced and replaced with light sends its occupants scattering. One of which is about the size and shape of a young girl, maybe ten years of age. Though honestly, seeing anything under the cloak of darkness obscuring the monster's shadowy form is a challenge at best. Since the creature can't hide in the darkest corner, they hide in the darker corner instead. It's not as dark, and it's even worse with all the lights and cheer floating around, but it provides some relief at least while the creature examines the proceedings from the shadows.

******

In through the front door walks a catgirl with long flowing black hair juxtaposed with her even longer gothic black and red Thanksmas dress. Her most striking feature beyond her coal-like furred ears and tail must be her left eye - covered by some kind of cybernetic eye patch glowing with three circular dots. Held in her hands is an open umbrella which protects her head from some unknown phenomenon, certainly not the weather.

"Rejoice Peasants!" She declares confidently upon her entry, striding into the tavern. "For I, Raven Ebondark, has seen fit to gift you with my presence this holiday season so that you may personally enjoy knowing the Mistress you will be beholden to by this time next year! Preemptive tributes will be remembered." She accepts presents and/or cookies, even if they are gifted from the unwashed masses.

In the meantime, she'll need some place to sit. Ah-hah! That throne is perfect for her. She'll take her proper place there.

[Purple Eagle]

The darkest dark corner being displaced and replaced with light sends its occupants scattering. One of which is about the size and shape of a young girl, maybe ten years of age. Though honestly, seeing anything under the cloak of darkness obscuring the monster's shadowy form is a challenge at best. Since the creature can't hide in the darkest corner, they hide in the darker corner instead. It's not as dark, and it's even worse with all the lights and cheer floating around, but it provides some relief at least while the creature examines the proceedings from the shadows.

[Zarsha]

Zara arrives at Trog's Tavern, dressed in her standard getup of a long-sleeved black sweater, a long skirt that reaches up to her ankles, wrist beads covered by her long sleeves and simple black shoes. There's a difference in the choice of skirt she wears: it's red and has Thanksmas-inspired patterns on it.

Our perpetually-smiling green-eyed beauty with the wavy hair arrives here, apparently very excited. She skips and dances about the area, wishing everyone she can a happy Thanksmas. Her girlfriend Abi'd probably arrive soon, but until then it's up to her to find something to do! Her trained eyes pick up something in a dark corner! She skips over in that direction to investigate, only to find a shadowy young girl standing around and observing the proceedings.

Ah, this must be the girl residing in one of the dark and abandoned houses in GLoG, where Zara herself works. She's never managed to meet the girl despite working in GLoG for about a year now, but she's heard things about her. Her name is... what'd Karasu call it? Suzy? Shanna? Sasha?

Sasha! That's the one. Though considering she apparently doesn't speak, could she get away with calling her Suzy?

When she arrives within speaking distance, she stands and stares at the girl, her arms folded before her. No one speaks for about a minute, and Sasha might get the sense that she's being studied. Suddenly though, she clasps her hands and greets the shadow-girl. "Hello there, little one! This one is called Zara Ben Haim! You live in GLoG, yes? Zara works there as well. You are Suzy, yes? Would you like to join the celebration, Suzy?"

[Rebonack]

"Uh, hey," Paige says as the catgirl takes the throne. "The party hasn't officially started yet, but you can hang out there for now if you like? Do you mind moving your legs I've still got some ribbons to tie down there."

Obviously this peasant isn't aware of who she's speaking to! Hopefully Raven Ebondark is merciful.

Meanwhile!

Navvy looks confused as best he can. Dragon faces aren't SUPER expressive but he sure tries.

"Mom already decked the halls though, see?" Navvy points out, gesturing at the evergreen garlands and wreaths all over the place. "You're thinking like the song right? ~Deck the halls with bows of holly! ~Fa la la la LA la la la la! It's a real swell song, but that I think it just means hanging stuff. Mom likes hanging pine 'cuz it smells nice and there aren't any berries kids might try to eat. Human kids get sick if they eat holly berries."

Wouldn't want the kids to get sick after all.

"And golly, it isn't stalking. Stockings are big socks you put gifts in 'cuz that's what Nicholas the Thaumaturge did! Do you know about him? He's just aces there's a story and everything!" Navvy says, getting excited! He loves this story his mom has told him about it before.

Also Meanwhile!

A gaiad enters the tavern! It isn't any of the Plum Sisters. Nor is it Pepper. In fact, this gaiad might not immediately be recognized as one by people only familiar with them through the recent Buttercupocolypse. For one, she has normal human ears. For two, she has a pair of odd forward sloping, branching horns that looks like they're made of burnt wood. Her upper body is that of a dark haired nymph while her lower body is some sort of leggy, draconic creature made of black volcanic stone with molten fissures running through it. Here and there she's speckled with lime green crystals in a pleasing pattern. A single deep burgundy rose is tucked into her hair just above her left ear, the interior of the blossom glowing like a live ember.

She's wearing a gown that literally looks like it was woven together out of countless strands of green crystals strung through tiny vines. Which is probably exactly what it is. The dress reaches down to the elbows and knees of her lower body, featuring a train that parts for her tail. The gown is worn over a burgundy corset that does an excellent job of extenuating the nymph's most eye-catching features. There's a pretty good chance that she made the clothing herself. She's hot enough that buying fire-proof clothing on such a short notice is more impractical than just fashioning something with rose petals, peridote, and gossamer.

Rose, the gaiad of Brimstone Park has arrived!

Sapphira is spotted almost immediately and Rose comes very close to losing her nerves. Instead she goes trotting off in the opposite directing to find some random person to talk to.

[bc56]

Angel and Proto-Angel

"What? No! Decking is when you hit someone real hard, and they fall flat on their back, like blam!" Eao punches the air. "Who? What's a thaum-a-turj?" Eao asks.

Demon stuff

Someone pushes open the tavern door nervously. A six-horned head peers in, then Sekhmet walks in. She's got her wings neatly folded behind her and is wearing a warm sweater and a long skirt. Sapphira immediately gets up and begins slowly walking towards her as she lets Prumathe in behind her. Rose will no doubt see the family resemblance. They both have six horns, large batlike wings, barbed tails, pitch-black eyes, and red skin. But the younger devil has none of Sapphira's unrealistic figure, and also has a ball of fire floating between her largest horns and lines of metal beneath her skin. "Sekhmet! Merry Thanksmas!" "Merry Thanksmas, mother." Sapphira tries to hug Sekhmet, but gets pushed away. "Oh, do lighten up. I have a present for you! We got off on the wrong foot last time, so I wanted to make amends." Sekhmet looks to her husband. What does he think of this?

[5a Violista]

Venus also arrives. She's so early! Not everything is set up.

So, Venus has red hair and freckles. A dress on. No shoes. A wool hat that covers all her hair. And she also has deer ears. That's the only deer part of her, though. Definitely very human, she is. Got a bag that has a spooky doll in it, too. Venus kinda looks similar to June, too, if you know her. June can't come by, though, 'cause work.

She walks in the tavern. Wow, it has been a while since she has been here.

Since she's so early, she walks up and asks if she can help set things up.

[Rebonack]

Oh hey look at that!

Zee is being approached by a pair of faeries! Both gaiads, too. Both probably victims of the terrible horrible no good very bad Buttercupocolypse.

She has sympathy for them, she really does. It's too bad she can't do anything to help them... Though maybe they can do something to help her!

"Howdy!" Zee calls down from atop her ladder, waving at Rose and Venus. "Welcome to a Very Trog's Thanksmas! You two are pretty early, so I guess you wanted to help set up?"

Rose glances at Venus, then back at Zee. "I... guess? I don't really know that many people around the Nexus so I just brought some roasted nuts for snacks. I wouldn't know who to get gifts for or what to buy," she says, holding up the bowl of nuts she had roasted over her lava pit. The tinge of hellfire has made them a bit on the spicy side.

"That's fine! You can put them over on the table with the other munchies. And we've got the option of blind gift giveaways, too! You can just put those gifts under the Thanksmas Tree and then everyone can go grab one. If you felt like ducking out and grabbing a blind gift feel free since we've got plenty of time!" Zee says, waving at the table and tree in question. "Y'know actually we've got more stuff in the kitchen that needs to be brought out. Do you two want to grab it for me?"

Rose glances back at Sapphira and... is that Sekhmet? It has to be. "Sure, I can help bring out some more snacks," Rose says as she sets her bowl of nuts down on the snack table.

Meanwhile!

Navvy shakes his head. "No no, you got it all wrong. That's decking a PERSON. Decking the HALLS is something different," the wyrmling explains.

Language is confusing like that sometimes. Why use the same word for two different things when there are TONS of words that aren't used? Like sundleblep.

"They're humans that have got a special sort of magic that only mortals can use," Navvy replies. "And Nicholas used his to be REALLY SWELL! He made gifts for people and made sure that poor kids had food and all kind of really keen things! See, on a special day when it was really dark he would go around and give gifts to ALL THE CHILDREN in the WHOLE TOWN to teach them about generosity and kindness! He was so nice that people kept doing it even after he died and that's why we've got Nicholas' Day!"

[bc56]

Angel and Proto-Angel

Eao seems somewhat uninterested. "What about the fighting? The action?" Then she perks up when Navvy mentions gifts. "Ooh, can I get a gift? Or lots of gifts?" She looks around. "Where can I meet this Nicholas?"

[5a Violista]

What no look at her, Venus is totally a human, see? Look at her legs and you can't even see any flowers in her hair
...
But she does know Zee, having met her before. Venus looks different and isn't really going by June anymore initially because of that weird vampire stuff and that other stuff going on at the same time and then...well, long story. Maybe it's better to just pretend this is their first time meeting.

"Well, I just didn't really have anything else to do so I got here early," she says.
But,
She also can help. "Yeah. I can help take them out, too."

She goes to the kitchen to find some things to take out and turns to ask Zee if these things should go here or over there

While doing this and when she's by Rose, she turns to her and says, "Hi, I'm Venus. Your horns look nice."

[Rebonack]

Oh wow wait that's June? Oh, yeah, yep. June right there and there. Man, poor June. She managed to avoid getting fox masked and then she got Buttercup'd instead.

Anywho!

The kitchen is DEFINITELY full of great looking food. Though most of it is being kept warm in a great big heating table with a little sign on it reading: For the ThanksFeast do not put this out yet! But there are plenty of other things in here, too! Snacks, mostly. Snacks of all kinds. From the very simple to the rather extravagant. Rose picks up a tray of little golden brown pastry puffs covered in brie and cranberry. They smell amazing but Rose has already had the chance to learn her lesson about human food and faeries. It's pretty disappointing, really. She can take human food as offerings (tossed into her lava pit) but she can't just eat it herself.

Lame.

But that's when she notices another sign.

One of the tables of snacks is labeled 'faerie-safe'.

Oh wow. That's... actually pretty great?

She hasn't ever spent much time at Trog's, but this Zee person seems quite thoughtful.

"Thanks," she replies to Venus. "You must be Venus, right?"

There's that weird gaiad thing of always being able to pick out each other's names even when their hair flowers are being hidden. "I'm Rose, but you probably knew that already. Why are you covering up your ears?" a beat. "And what happened to your back legs, did you lose them?"

[5a Violista]

Venus nods.
Yeah, that is weird, especially with the whole 'knowing people's names' thing.

Venus looks around to check to see if anybody's listening.
Then, she leans in close to Rose and whispers: "Well...I heard from a..someone, that people were going around murdering people like us. And that the police were arresting us. Especially people who have more than one name."

She stops leaning close and her voice returns to normal. "So I made a trade, and then found a way to not stand out as obviously." Namely, the hat. She puts something on a table, and makes sure it's in a good place - aesthetically, and also in a good reaching distance, and around other things that you'd want to have with it. "So that's how, and that's what happened," she concludes, finishing off answering the questions.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel

"Sure thing, Zee." The half-elf's feathered cape turns into- or maybe always was- a pair of large black-and-white feathered magpie wings, and she flies up to help apply things to the ceiling.

Zarsha

Abi does arrive! She's a pale-skinned half-elf, about fifteen, with short green hair tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes are currently blue, with some red mixed in. She's wearing white-and-red striped tights, a green skirt and a red Thanksmas jumper with a tree embroidered into the wool, with actual plastic baubles hanging from it. She's got odd earrings, silver or steel; her left ear has a zircon stud next to a silver-coloured bauble dangly, and her right ear has a candy-cane-shaped dangly ornament, a silver hoop near the top of her ear and a square stud near the candy-cane. She's carrying a little box, and looks around for her girlfriend.

Demon Stuff

Prumathe is wearing a pair of thick black trousers and a green jumper, with a pair of floppy fake antlers on his head. He frowns at Sapphira, thinking about the situation. "I don't trust the gift, whatever it may be. However, whatever it is... might provide some way of dealing with her in the future. The gift isn't for me, so... So I don't think I can tell you to accept or not. I think it's bad idea, but I will support you whatever choice you make." He'll put an arm around Sekhmet, and... has an idea for something he could have prepared to give Sapphira, but it's far too late now.

[Rebonack]

[Eao and Navvy]

"Yeah! Mom said that that everyone gets to put a gift under the Thanksmas tree/candelabra/new-years ball. Then later on during the party everyone gets to pick one! It's really keen you don't know what kind of gift you'll get it's a surprise," Navvy says. "I added my gift already."

But he's not going to tell Eao what it is.

That's a secret!

"Umm, I don't think there's any fighting during Thanksmas? Just singing and being friends and opening gifts. It's SUPER swell you'll like it," the bronze wyrmling insists. "Nicholas died a long time ago, but I guess some people call him Santa and so we have a Santa throne! A person sits on the throne and gives people gifts from the Santa bag if they've been good."

Have you been good, Eao?


[Rose and Venus]

Rose looks kind of guilty at the mention of murdering. She knows that what Alexandria was doing to the gaiads wasn't technically murdering people but it sure did kill all the goodness and joy in their hearts. They'll probably never have a merry Thanksmas again! And they won't even care.

"Well... I don't think people are doing that anymore," Rose says. "Intersection isn't arresting any gaiads unless they're doing bad things. And we're citizens of Inside just like everyone else. There were a few vigilantes but Intersection has put a stop to that pretty hard. I think we're safe."

She glances back toward Sapphira again.

Okay, yeah. Safe. It doesn't look like the fiend has recognized her.

"I've only been harassed a little bit but that might be because I've got a salamander bottom-half instead of a deer bottom-half. People might not realize I'm a gaiad."

Rose sets out a collection of condiments for chips to be dipped in. Everyone loves chips, right?

[bc56]

Demon Things

"You're my husband." Sekhmet replies. Sapphira visibly cringes at this news. Her daughter is married? Scandalous! "Anything that affects me, uh, affects you too." She holds out her hands and takes the gift gingerly. Black and red isn't a normal Thanksmas color, but Sapphira's not a normal Thanksmas gift-giver. "Fine, mother. I'll trust you this once." Sekhmet carefully unties the ribbon and opens the box. "What? It's just a piece of paper." She fishes the scrap of paper, no larger than a movie ticket, out of the comically oversized box. "It says, 'Free Makeover.' What?" But as soon as the word "makeover" leaves Sekhmet's mouth, there's a burst of magic from the paper. Sekhmet begins to change. She gets a little taller. Her figure fills out suddenly. Her silky black hair forces its way out of its ponytail and into an elegant, flowing mane framing her face with its high cheekbones, luscious lips, and deep, dark eyes. Her clothes evaporate, leaving her, for one mortifying instant, unclad, before reforming into a sexy santa dress matching the one Sapphira's wearing. Short skirt, low neckline, and all very showy. When all this is done, Sekhmet looks down at herself. An expression of shock on her beautified face, she covers her (significantly enlarged) bosom with both arms and shouts, "Mother!"

NavvEao

"But if everyone chooses at random, how will they get something they can use?" Eao is derailed by the mention of the throne and gifts associated with it. "Oh, oh! I've been good! Can we go get gifts now!?" Eao, the party proper hasn't even started yet. Have some patience.

[Earl of Purple]

Demon Things

Prumathe can't help himself- he smirks at Sapphira's reaction to the news of their wedding. It's petty, but it's good to see that it's upset her plans. Or just disgusted her; either works, honestly.

When the transformation occurs, Prumathe watches before looking at Sekhmet's face, and he doesn't look away even as her body and clothing changes. Well, he briefly does- he takes off his jumper to offer it to Sekhmet; underneath, he's wearing a plain black t-shirt. "Do you want this? Um, it doesn't have space for your wings."

[bc56]

Devil Things

Sekhmet looks like she wants to crawl out of her skin. She's looking around. Who's staring at her, is anyone staring at her? "Mother, you can't just..." "What's the matter? I know you've always wanted it. And you wear it so well." "But..." "I always meant for you to look this way. I just gave you what you were always supposed to have." Sekhmet just looks frustrated. She can't get a word in edgewise. When Prumathe starts talking to her, she focuses on him. He's focused on her face, not her... other things, and that helps her center herself. Although he'll probably notice even her face is affected by the change. She's simply effortlessly beautiful. Focused on Prumathe, Sekhmet manages to calm down a little. "No, I, uh, got it." She creates an illusion, with the hem of her dress lowered and the neckline raised. Now properly covered, she can stop thinking about all the eyes in the room and start thinking about other things. She hugs Prumathe. It feels... different. "You were right. I, uh, shouldn't have opened it. And you, Mother. What were you hoping to do here?" "I just wanted to make you happy." "No. I don't know what you wanted, but it wasn't that. I don't have a gift for you, but you don't deserve one. Prumathe, should we, uh, leave her?"

[Earl of Purple]

Devil Things

"Yes, I think we should." Prumathe smiles at Sekhmet, and puts his jumper back on, before turning to Sapphira. "I'd say it was lovely talking to you, but I'm afraid that would be a lie. Goodbye, please leave us alone." Prumathe is ready to leave now, guiding Sekhmet away. The two can make their own comments, though.

[Recaiden]

[Devil Things]

Looking around, Sekhmet can see that Spike was staring at her. The hiveling's illusion is fraying from distraction, and they are pointedly not focusing on their connection to the hive.
Indeed, when Spike notices Sekhmet noticing them noticing Sekhmet, they sort of hide behind the stack of gifts they're carrying.

[bc56]

Devil Things

"Fine." Sapphira disappears in a puff of smoke and reappears in a booth, an eggnog in her hand. Sekhmet and Prumathe pull aside. Sekhmet keeps glancing down at herself. She's got quite a figure now, and she's not quite comfortable with it. "Let's, uh, just try to have a good time and, uh, ignore it." She smooths out her skirts nervously, quite aware that all the skirt below the thigh is not real. She spies Spike watching her. That's a bit awkward. She's obviously trying to hide how she feels about Sekhmet's transformation. Spike, are you all right?