A Very Trog's Thanksmas

[Rebonack]

[Post-Post-Devil Things]

Oh hey look, here comes Rose again! She's looking a bit more devil-y than before with a notable spade tip on her tail and pair of devilsh wings growing from the shoulders of her lower body.

Also?

Sekhmet is draped over her, unconscious.

Should anyone approach looking concerned she'll explain, "I think it's just magical exhaustion. She needs some time to recover."

Rose will be heading for a sufficiently large booth to lay Sekhmet down in. Hopefully Sapphira doesn't come zipping over to start causing trouble. Rose would really avoid some sort of confrontation. Mostly because it might result in Rose being killed later and Rose would really like to remain un-killed for the foreseeable future.

Isn't that how most people feel?

Rose sure thinks so. She'll be fussing over Sekhmet, trying to come up with a good idea for feeding her magic to aid in her recovery.


[Rose and Venus]

That's too bad. June should see about not being trapped in a painting anymore.

"I've mostly been doing my own thing, too," Rose says with a nod without getting into too much detail what her own thing is. "That's what most of the gaiads have been doing, surely. The Buttercupocolypse really up-ended lives for better or for worse."

Mostly better? Mostly worse? That remains to be seen.

"I wouldn't mind seeing your church some times. I could show you my giant boiling lava pit too, if you want."


[A Very Foxy Thanksmas]

"Sorta, yeah. Dunno whether the Dreamheart is actually AWARE like that but it sure feels like it is sometimes," Zee admits. "I guess I could... technically... pull them out of myself. I'm a seraphim so... yeah. They don't grow back, though. It would be like giving away kidneys. Not fun, even if you've got a bunch of spare kidneys. I don't know if I would be able to survive giving up enough to help everyone. It's a little piece of me each time."

Ouch.

That sounds bad.

But Zee is still willing to suggest it, even though it would diminish her.


[The FLOOFbegone]

"Well, the bet didn't TECHNICALLY say how long I had to stay like this. Just that I had to go to the party like this," Lucas admits before FWUFF!ing up hilariously like a giant poofy ball of wool. Then he sort of... pulls his sweater back down over the floof ball and there he is, awkward looking teen.

He rubs the back of his neck lamely.

"I... uh... I think you really really pretty when you're human," he says, blushing like an idiot. "Not, not that I think you're ugly like that! You look... cute?"

[bc56]

Post post devil things

Sekhmet is pretty out of it. The illusion which was making her dress look far more modest than it actually is is gone, and she's just comatose, sprawled in the booth. If Rose wants to recharge her friend's magic, she might have to leverage her new fully-fledged devilish nature. It's probably unlikely that Sekhmet can take fae power.

Foxy Thanksmas

"Maybe don't tear yourself apart on my behalf? Just tell me after you feed so my friends and I can clean up the pieces." Jade isn't sure how all this works. "You do have to feed, right? It's not just something you choose to do?"

[5a Violista]

[Rose and Venus]

It's okay, getting trapped in paintings is just practice for any possible future dungeons that are Mario 64-inspired.

"Yeah, I suppose." Buttercupocolypse? That's a pretty funny name for whatever had happened.

"It's pretty nice!" Venus says about her church. "Still in the process of clearing it up, but it's over towards the docks." She says what street it's on, and how to get there from the Black Dragon's Den which is a pretty recognizable nearby landmark. "I'd love to check out your lava pit," Venus adds. But, with only a bit of concern, she adds, "But I heard lava can get kind-of hot." She's not sure if she wants to catch on fire yet.

[Rebonack]

[Post-Post-Devil Things]

Oh. Right. Both Sekhmet and Rose probably draw power from Lethal Lava Land, don't they? Rose honestly isn't sure what the place is actually called, that's just the name that sprung into her head because it's a fun alteration to cut the existential horror a bit. Usually direct magical transfusions are REALLY tricky, but given that Rose and Sekhmet are both using the same power source?

Honestly this sort of magical exhaustion is nasty. Normally warlocks learn QUITE fast what their own limits are. If you start over-channeling then you're converting your own vitality into the same otherworldly fuel as your power source. That can have a range of side-effects along the spectrum from bad to really bad. Filling that magical void again can help work off the exhaustion. And since both of them have fellfire in their veins?

Well, Rose hasn't been doing any spellwork tonight. Just a little bit of redecoration of her garden. Which means she's got plenty of infernal juice to spare.

She'll start off slow, placing her hands on Sekhmet and trying to channel a bit of infernal power into her. If Sekhmet responds positively she'll increase the flow slightly. She knows better than to fire-hose her new friend. Power needs to be fed slowly so the body can acclimate it.

As Rose uses her magic the blossoms and crystals dotting her hair and body light up with internal fire as her underbelly begins glowing with heat. Thankfully her magic is such that she doesn't just ignite everything around her. That would be really awkward.

"Come on, Sekhmet, wake up. You're missing the party," Rose whispers.


[Venus and Rose]

Hey maybe June and Rose could discuss their Mario 64 themed adventures since Rose visited Lethal Lava Land recently! Or at least that's what she was calling it.

"Oh, your garden is down by the waterfront then?" Rose says, likely imagining a much more romantic local than it actually is. The Den isn't exactly in the nice part of the waterfront. "I've been working on my garden, too. Mostly adding climbing roses since they're my flower and making it a little more hospitable to visitors. Oh! And I'm going to try adding some thermal water features. I'll need to divert a few underground streams but that should be easy. Then the water gets heated up by the magma chamber and vola! Instant hot springs! I'll make sure that most of them are cool enough for visitors to bathe in but I'm definitely going to keep at least one boiling spring for myself."

Boiling springs are objectively the best if you are heat proof and don't have to worry about getting cooked like a lobster in a pot.

"The whole park isn't lava. The lava just features prominently."

Hmm.

It seems like they've gotten all the snacks set out, then?

Rose snatches a faerie-safe fairy-cake and eats it. Hmm... pumpkin flavored with cream cheese dressing.


[Foxy Thanksmas]

"I would rather not tear myself apart," Zee admits. "And will do! I can definitely point you toward feeding grounds. I'm trying to mostly keep things in one area-ish. That big mountain valley has been just great. Not a single person has seen me out there. Just let me know when you're planing on heading out and I can make sure I don't pop in while you and your friends are question."

Zee is a very thoughtful arcane terrorhorror.

"Yeah, I have to eat. So long as I'm here, anyway. Don't really have to when I'm in the Empyrean but I don't grow there, either," Zee explains. "Which makes the Empyrean preeeeeety dull. Nothing there really changes. If you want change you gotta play the game! Even saying that I eat stuff is... I guess it's an okay analogy? It becomes part of my purpose but it's not like, you know-"

She picks up a handful of peanuts out of ones of the bar-bowls and tosses them in her mouth.

"Om nom chewin' things up," she says before swallowing the nuts. "I ate big patches of that forest but they're still there. Just weird and more like me now."

[Lord Magtok]

A Bad Banana With A Greasy Black Peel

Magtok hates this tavern. The hate has softened over the years, and knowing that Zee more or less runs the place these days makes it a lot harder to cling to such distaste and vitriol, but even now, even in the Thanksmas season, he can't help but look around and see all the ugly, awful, unpleasant memories of this place, the hatred and discontent that clung to his back like a cape all those many years ago. He was such an awful person once, and this was such an awful tavern. He shoots a cold glare towards the staircase leading to what was once a completely separate thread, wondering if his many enemies ever felt regret before getting tugged away into the void. Maybe some of them, perhaps. Maybe if he'd been the one to fade out of the Nexus and they stayed, a few of those enemies might've even achieved some measure of peace and contrition over the years, much as we have. It's hard to say, honestly. Most of our enemies have been absolute scum, but when you look back at what we were before, the atrocities we could so easily commit and condone...if we could change, who's to say Idiotarum never would've? Maybe Marciano and Calublufiok could've found peace, if they had an entire century in a stupid stinky cave to reflect on their ways? It's too late to know now, but maybe they all had the same potential to change, and Magtok (and I guess Reinholdt) were the only lucky ones? Maybe this would be a good time of year to reflect on how blessed we truly are?

Food for thought, I guess. Magtok walks in, carrying in an absurdly large gift-wrapped box, struggling to set it down beside a tree it not because of its weight, but simply how huge and unwieldy and dumb it is. You could fit an entire person in there, probably. Heck, given that this is Magtok we're talking about, it's possible he did fit an entire person in there. Or possibly some sort of weird android, maybe. You never know with this guy.

[bc56]

Post post Devil Things

Sekhmet gasps for breath and shudders when the first bit of power hits her. After a few seconds, her eyes slowly open. "Rose? Where am I?" She slowly begins to come to an awareness of her surroundings. She's in Trog's. She still has the ridiculous modifications Sapphira gave her. She's still wearing a lot less than she wants to be. But she's also too tired to move. "What happened? Where's Prumathe?"

Foxy Thanksmas

Jade gets it. "More like a metaphorical 'taking it into yourself'." There's something vaguely concerning about that though. What was it..? "Oh yeah. How hostile is the you-biome, especially to faeries?"

[Deathkeeper]

FLOOFbegone

Gara gives a very toothy grin and glows pink, rapidly shrinking into a familiar short teenagers with purple-ish hair and noticeably mizutsune features.
"That's okay. I know most people don't really know how to comment on giant aquatic dragons. Is this better?" she winks at him. It's amazing that she actually met someone who seemed to be even more easily flustered than her.

[Earl of Purple]

Sekhmet Things, Half A Devil

Prumathe accepts the gifts, a little creeped out by the vox, but appreciative of the thought that now he can get in contact with them easier to potentially discuss saving Sekhmet if it becomes necessary in the future. Hopefully they can't track him with that and plan on using it to keep an eye on when he's alone so they can kidnap, subvert or murder him. The sword is... Also appreciated, though now he needs to learn how to use it. If it was a paladin's sword, it should be able to stand up to the abuse he can throw at it by manipulating his body, right?

"Ah, thank you. They're... very thoughtful. I, um, couldn't think of anything to give you, so... I guess, if you want a small golem or something, to clean up your place maybe? I could make you one." It's a genuine offer, and unlike one he'd give to Sapphira, he wouldn't exactly tell it to sabotage anything. Just give it some instructions to free him if it finds him trapped down there.

Post-Devil Things

As soon as he sees Sekhmet return with Rose, Prumathe rushes over. "What's happened, is she OK? Who are you?" And why do you look like Sapphira goes unsaid, because it's not helpful right now, and Prumathe realises that if Rose was anything to do with Sekhmet's mother with Sekhmet in this state he'd probably never see her again.

[WindStruck]

[A bad banana with a greasy black peel]

Solstice has two wreaths left to hang up now.

She has to move out of the way, back to the wall as a man pushes past the crowd, carrying a ridiculously huge box. Size didn't necessarily mean everything, but.. why would anyone put something tiny in a box like that? That would just be rude. Maybe there was a statue in it?

The sheer volume of the present reminds her of something: gifts! Oh no! Wasn't she supposed to bring something?

"My word. That is.. impressive," she comments, struggling to find the right description.

"Is that for the host of the party?"

Come to think of it, Solstice needed to bring something! ..didn't she? This party seemed to sneak up on her so fast.

[Rebonack]

Zee waves at Magtok with one hundred and eighty percent Thanksmas Cheer. "Howdy Magtok! Glad you could make it! Things are just starting to get rolling we've got snacks and stuff and only ONE person has passed out so far but I think that's unrelated to the drinks."

Oof.

Why is Magtok's worldline always so sad and bitter? Probably something to do with all the sadness and bitterness. But know knows! Maybe some good old fashioned jolliness is just what he could use this year? Maybe even work at making Trog's a place that's worth having happy memories about to offset the bad ones. Even if the bad ones were really bad. The sort of bad things that you never really forget. The sort of bad things that leave scars.

Zee glances back up toward the stairs.

That whole episode was... terrible.

"If there's anything you need Magtok, you just let me know okay?" Zee says.

Meanwhile in other fox related scenes!

"Of course it's concerning. Everything about empyreans is concerning," Zee says with a bit of nervous laughter. "We're dangerous. We..."

She heaves a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. "Honestly? If I could be just human again? I... I don't know. I never asked for any of this to happen to me."

Fun topics for a jolly holiday.

"Assume everything there wants to eat you in the more literal sense," Zee warns.


[Post Devil Things]

Okay, good. That's working. Rose is pretty glad that the magic infusion didn't make everything worse. The last thing she needs is hurting Sekhmet on accident. She can still spare a little more power, so that's exactly what she does. A little more infernal magic channeled into the fiend. She doesn't want to dump her whole reserve, though. Not if she can help it. Just on the off chance that Sapphira decides to cause trouble.

"I brought you back to Trog's," Rose says, her tone heavy with concern. "After you finished pulling all that corruption off me you passed out from magical exhaustion. I'm giving you a boost."

Prumathe is given what is, possibly, the most awkward and appologetic smile ever. "Sorry! Sekhmet was helping me and a friend of mine. She-"

Rose gives Sapphira a quick glance, assuming the fiend is still there, and drops her voice to barely a whisper.

"-her mother was trying to turn us into devils. Sekhmet was able to halt the process before we turned into evil, nasty slaves of Sapphira. But it took a lot of magic. She's just tired."


[FLOOFbegone]

"Yeah, I think that's better," Lucas replies with a lame smile. "So... uh... do you..."

He glances around the room quickly. Quick! Think of something to talk about!

"...like eggnog?"

Wow.

It's like you're going for one of those cool parry-counter montages and whiffing every single one, Lucas.

[bc56]

Post Devil Things

Sekhmet weakly reaches out to take Prumathe's hand. "Sorry I, uh, scared you. Rose is a friend." She seems quite drained. "She's got a nice place, with, uh, hot springs. We should go sometime." There was also something very important, wasn't there? Oh, right. "She, uh, says she knows my father."


Foxy Thanksmas

Jade finally decides she's had enough and squirms her way out of Zee's arms. "If faerie is curable, empyrean probably is too. If you want, I can have my friends look into it."

[5a Violista]

[Venus and Rose]

Yeah! They totally should. Hopefully Rose managed to get a Power Star out of it, at the very least.

"Not right on the waterfront," Venus says, "but if you climb up then you can see it from there."

'diverting a few underground streams should be easy.'
...
Okay, sure. That totally sounds easy. "Ooh! Yes, hot springs are really fun. It's been forever since I've been in one. You could even have several at different temperatures, too. Maybe the higher-up ones are hotter and slowly, more and more cool water gets added as it goes downstream."

She looks at the fairy-cakes that Rose took from. "So are those good?" Venus asks. She grabs one, and bites it. Pumpkin's...okay. Not as good as other fruit, obviously.

[Recaiden]

[Half a Devil]

The cocoon holds a Worker that is ready to start to metamorphosis into a Mother. It's for Sekhmet's bizarre interest in children and family. She can oversee family happening a proper way, as a sort of honorary queen of her own little hive.

"You can just thank them yourself, right?" It's not like they aren't all connected.
Spike shifts the few remaining presents aside and wraps their tentacles around Sekhmet for a hug. That's an easily understood gesture. Unfortunately distracting, though. Though it manages to be limited to making the illusion blush.
Opening the box gets a smile. "Oh, is this Spot?" That's a weird gift, but...nice? Spike thinks it's nice, and puts the necklace on right away. "Lovely, thank you."

Prumathe can also use it to contact Sekhmet if normal means of communication aren't working. It is going to help track Prumathe. But if they wanted to kill him, they've passed up great opportunities already.
"We have, uh, animals that keep things clean already. But maybe some other golem that would blend in when I'm, ah, in disguise?" Spike suggests.

[Post-Devil Things]

The duke who had been watching the 'cavalry' gives Sekhmet a bit of an answer to what she asked.
You went on a mission to help victims of Sapphira. You exhausted yourself because there was limited time. Mission was successful.
You asked us to be ready. Our help was not necessary.

[bc56]

Half a Devil

Sekhmet thinks the Vox is a great gift. It's much more convenient than a phone when she needs to call Prumathe, or he needs to call her. But most of her focus is on the cocoon. Why, uh, what am I supposed to do with it? What does it do? How does she take care of a little mini-hive? Can she keep it in her cabin? "Yes, uh, it's Spot. I made it myself." She's glad Spike likes it.

[Recaiden]

'Little' was meant in an organizational sense, not a literal one.

Sekhmet receives the beginning of an explanation, images of what could happen.
Keeping it in your cabin would be absurd, Sekhmet. Even a young Mother grows to be a hundred feet tall.
It needs to be planted in a wide-open space (like the hive on the mountaintop) and tended as it grows. And then it needs leadership! It is the center of the hive ecosystem and lifecycle, but it does not have the wisdom to make a way in this crazy world, to decide which children should be workers and which marquesses.

[Lord Magtok]

Bad Banana

Spoiler

Show

[A bad banana with a greasy black peel]

Solstice has two wreaths left to hang up now.

She has to move out of the way, back to the wall as a man pushes past the crowd, carrying a ridiculously huge box. Size didn't necessarily mean everything, but.. why would anyone put something tiny in a box like that? That would just be rude. Maybe there was a statue in it?

The sheer volume of the present reminds her of something: gifts! Oh no! Wasn't she supposed to bring something?

"My word. That is.. impressive," she comments, struggling to find the right description.

"Is that for the host of the party?"

Come to think of it, Solstice needed to bring something! ..didn't she? This party seemed to sneak up on her so fast.

Zee waves at Magtok with one hundred and eighty percent Thanksmas Cheer. "Howdy Magtok! Glad you could make it! Things are just starting to get rolling we've got snacks and stuff and only ONE person has passed out so far but I think that's unrelated to the drinks."

Oof.

Why is Magtok's worldline always so sad and bitter? Probably something to do with all the sadness and bitterness. But who knows! Maybe some good old fashioned jolliness is just what he could use this year? Maybe even work at making Trog's a place that's worth having happy memories about to offset the bad ones. Even if the bad ones were really bad. The sort of bad things that you never really forget. The sort of bad things that leave scars.

Zee glances back up toward the stairs.

That whole episode was... terrible.

"If there's anything you need Magtok, you just let me know okay?" Zee says.

There's something...off about Solstice. Something imperceptibly disquieting about her presence. Maybe that's just Magtok's usual paranoia about strangers and anxiety about talking to new peop-

Wait, no, this is Magtok we're talking about. He's not afraid of talking to new people! It's her who's odd here, not him! It's hard to put our finger on exactly how or why, but something in our circuits just doesn't like her. Maybe one of her parents was a gremlin? Some kind of fae creature, perhaps? Is she another one of that talking cat's progeny? It's not our place to ask or wonder, but the ringing between his ears is incredibly unsettling, and it insists that it has to be because of her somehow.

"Oh, this? It's-" Magtok glances down at the box, as if he'd completely forgotten about it until she mentioned the box a moment ago. Maybe he did. It's not impossible; he's clearly a very absentminded, scatterbrained cyborg. At least we have strange headaches in our neural circuitry and Zee's Thanksmas Cheer to bring him back down to earth, though.

"It's a secret to everybody," he says with a devilish grin, which definitely has nothing to do with him forgetting the actual answer to her question. If Solstice looks closely though, she'll see the tag on the box says NEEDS FOOD BADLY. That...is that a warning for the gift's recipient? Sounds a little scary, doesn't it?

As for Zee, he gives her just a polite nod of affirmation. He doesn't think there'll be any issues. It's been a while since anyone's actively wanted to go after him, and even longer since anyone's been inclined to violate the spirit of the season by taking their personal beefs here. So he's probably not going to be attacked by any assassins, and less than an attempt to murder him isn't really fussing about, is it?

[bc56]

Half a Devil

I, uh, think I understand. I don't know where I'll, uh, put it. Maybe out in the woods near GLoG? There's space there, right? It might be a lot of work to take care of it, so she should start with a brood of Workers, right? Do you, uh, have any recommendations?

[WindStruck]

Bad Banana

A gremlin? Half-gremlin? Really?? There definitely was something off about Solstice, though. Maybe she was a Faerie or something. But she didn't look like a gremlin at all, that's for sure.

She looks at Magtok a bit blankly as he doesn't answer her question and blinks. "Of course," she says. Noting the tag (or was it a warning label?) she adds, "It seems that whomever it is for, they will have their hands full."

She looks down at her nearly empty box of wreaths. "Oh, excuse me. I need to finish putting these decorations up."

She'll find two more nice places that would look good with wreaths. But just then, something warm and fuzzy brushes against her ankle. Solstice looks down to see a wolf pup nuzzling her foot. It was so cute! She can't help but smile, slowly crouching down to pet the tiny creature.

[Deathkeeper]

FLOOFbegone

Gara stops to ponder and shrugs.
"You know, I have no idea. I've only ever seen the alcoholic stuff around and I'm too young for that. Why, do you like it?"
Gara thinks that maybe he could make good eggnog. His sheepy form is fluffy enough that she could see him being good at making holiday concoctions.

[Arkhosia]

Seasick Crocodile?

It's funny that Magtok's mind might wander to the deplorable spawn of that fiendish Amurrun, as he's seemingly forgotten that one is accompanying him! Blanche is here too, dressed up in a comfy looking Thanksmas sweater with her usual combo of dark jeans and boots. Not entirely by choice, but mom insisted that she spend some time with her aggravatingly smug boyfriend.

"...I'm not sure I've ever been here, honestly," Blanche comments, more to remind him of her existence than anything else.

[Rebonack]

[Foxy Thanksmas]

Zee gives a tiny ghost of a smile. "I would appreciate it. I'm not sure how something like that would even work. I mean... I'm not even actually here," Zee says, gesturing at herself. "This is like... somewhere between a video game avatar and getting digitized in TRON. The real me is off hanging out in spooky-town."

The fox is set back down on the floor and Zee adds in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Spooky-town is REALLY spooky, for the record."

Possibly the spookiest.


[Venus and Rose]

"That must be really nice, watching the sunset over the ocean," Rose says wistfully. "It's been too long since I've done that. My apartment is over on Steele Street. The fog gets really bad there."

Since Steele Street is basically the Victorian London themed part of Inside.

"That's a good idea," Rose says, considering the possible layout for her springs. "Obviously the ones closest to the caldera would be the hottest. And as they flow from one pool to the next the water would naturally cool down. And if someone wanted to try out a hotter pool they could just move to the next tier! But... I always was thinking about giving the pools privacy screens of climbing rose bushes. Some people don't like being watched while they bathe."

Like certain spiteful goddesses.

Not Rose, though. She really doesn't care. Probably a nymph thing. Or possibly a succubus thing. Maybe both?

"Tell you what. You visit my garden and try out the hot springs and I'll visit your garden and watch the sun set. Deal?" Rose proposes, holding out her hand to shake.


[FLOOFbegone]

"I've honestly never tried it before?" Lucas replies. He just knows that eggnog is a Thanksmas thing. A quick glance around the room will reveal SEVERAL bowls of eggnog in fact! He heads over to the table for NORMAL NOT FAERIES since his body is actually able to handle mortal food as he is definitely not suspicious in any way. One of the bowls is marked 'Hard Eggnog' and the other is not. Ostensibly the second one has no alcohol in it. He picks up a glass and ladles some out for Gara. "So I guess... maybe we can try it together?"

That would be a fun Thanksmas memory right?

Trying eggnog for the first time together.

[bc56]

Foxy Thanksmas

"Are you sure that's the real you?" Jade asks. "What you've been told might not be how it actually is. Like when I was masked, the Dreamheart tried to convince me I'd been a fox for years. I'm lucky I had friends who could confirm that I hadn't been the day before. Maybe it's a similar sort of thing? After all, humans can get out there through apotheosis. If that's real, and this is a simulation, that doesn't make much sense. How do you turn a game object into a player?" Jade is absolutely sure that the empyreans are lied to about the nature of the universe as much as the fae are. "Hey, could you pass me some of those faerie-safe snacks?"

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

[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?"

"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.

[Darker Corner]

The displaced shadow monster stares at the exuberant newcomer, this Zara Ben Haim, with cold, dark eyes devoid of light. There was a chilled silence, as if the mere space around the creature somewhat muffled the sounds of the revelry. While she never broke that silence, the stillness was destroyed by a shaking of her head as tendrils of inky darkness rose up beside her. Those tentacles split and curved in patterns as if alive, each time becoming thinner and more focused, until the nightmare became reality and spelled out SASHA in the air.

She hasn't really mastered much else in terms of reading and writing, finding the concept more difficult than expected, despite a tutor. But with the practice, she has learned her name.

[Throne of Power]

"Pfft. Of course the party's started darling," Raven Ebondark makes a sassy hand gesture. You know the one. "After all, I'm here."

The catgirl tsks, but moves her legs to one side. "I'll forgive you this once, if you bring me cookies, but next time complete the decorations on time!"

[Zefir]

[A small present]

Mia has arrived here. As she enters the event she stops for a moment. These festivals come rather quick. She smiles for a moment thinking about that in her homeworld she never had the time to go on such events. She shakes it off and heads for the tree placing a small present next to the others. After that is done, she heads straight for the snack table, looking for her favorit winter snack. Sadly they are still working on that part so she waits in front of the snack impatient.


[Walking present]

A little bit later apresent arrives at the party. No not like some kind of delivery guy dropps it. This one seems to be walking on it's own. it appears to hover around an inch above ground while heading for the tree. Anyone near that walking present may here something mumbeling. Either it is the box or in the bos or somewhere else.

"Next year I will go with the delivery Service. Sure i saved 4,99$ but that's not worth it anyway."

The present will likly need half the evening to cross from door to tree.

[Deathkeeper]

FLOOFbegone

Gara smiles and takes the cup.
"You ready?" On the count of three, they take a swig!
"It's pretty good. Not really sure why you'd want to spike it, though. It tastes fine. I don't get why people are so obsessed with getting drunk." Gara is a good teenager who has never tried alcohol underage like some partying high schoolers. She doesn't really get the appeal of the idea on paper.

[Recaiden]

[Half a Devil]

Princess Osa takes over the job of answering Sekhmet's questions. Give it space to grow. Not anywhere too hot. Even if Sekhmet is fireproof, the others are not! Avoid cliffsides or lava flows. Provide plenty of sunlight. They can grow in lightless conditions, like Eurus did, but that requires a lot more work and complication. Not recommended.
First you must oversee a safe and healthy metamorphosis. Simple unless disturbed. Then, you are correct; the first things hatched should usually be six Workers.


[Walking Present]

A little dragon hatchling, with scales of many colors, hops over and lowers her head down to get a better look at what's going on here.
"Hello? Are you a talking present?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Darker Corner]

Zara continues to smile widely as she turns to observe the tentacles spell out her name. So it indeed is Sasha, and she can't get away with rechristening the girl as 'Suzy'... too bad.

As she looks back into Sasha's dark eyes, something in her own eyes gives way. The jolly, friendly look has been replaced by the cold, dead eyes of a predator. It doesn't last, but she's already deliberately shown Sasha that there's more to her than meets the eye.

"Sasha it is, then! Nice to meet you, do you want anything? There's food, dancing, stories, santa and jolly fun to be had all round!" She spreads her arms and twirls in place like a ballerina. "Is fun, yes? Zara can read a story to you, if you want? Or we can talk about you... Karasu says you had a scientist father, can you tell me about him?" She'll probably get silence in response, but she still asks.

[Shadowcaller]

[Location tags, in MY trog's?!]

Anika gleans the door to trog's open to peek inside.
Once she's sure no one's near the door she slams it open. "I'm here now!" She loudly declares to no one in particular as she steps inside and puts her hands on her hips.

She's dressed in a green sweater and brown outdoor pants.

[5a Violista]

[Venus and Rose]

Venus actually hasn't taken the time to just watch the sunset yet. Having your entire life completely upended five times in just a couple months kind-of sucks away your free time.

"You could always just go with privacy screens on half of it and not on the other half," she suggests. "Being able to choose is a huge deal that I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate."

So.
Venus shakes her hand. "Yeah, deal. I'll make sure to go there."

[Earl of Purple]

Post Devil Things

"I'm glad you could help, but... maybe next time ask me to come? I'd be more than happy to help, however I can." Prumathe smiles at Sekhmet, and strokes her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose. I'm Prumathe. I look forward to visiting you."

"Your dad? Your bio-dad? I... I thought he was dead. I wonder why he isn't." Since Sapphira's plans all seem to hinge on Sekhmet, why keep the dad around once he'd played his part in the conception? Particularly since he'd so totally failed in keeping track of her to raise Sekhmet as a good little cultist.

Half a Devil

"Yes, I should be able to do that. Might not blend in very well, though. I'll need Sekhmet's help for that- I can't make or maintain illusions." But one that looks like just an eccentric pet should be doable, and possibly even good advertising for Pontius. Not many people want pets they can't easily hug, unfortunately.