[F04 Event] Christmas Extravaganza 2018

[Krysta 0]

Krysta loved this wonderful time of year...but if only she had any family to spend it with... Memories of both sides of her family drifted throughout her mind, reminding her of all who she had lost, including one she had lost in this game... "I will avenge you, Leif, no matter what it takes... I will vanquish the one responsible for your death one day..." Why was it now that she must take a wistful walk down memory lane? She wondered if most of Aincrad's players had a shattered past, being trapped in this game, unable to return to their families or lives. Will the holidays ever be the same? Although the sights remained beautiful as always, there was always the pain of loss and separation to annually tear into Krysta's heart. She remembered so much, how her mother would often tell her stories, wonderful ones of adventure, chivalry, justice, and more, not to mention the Christmas stories she was told during December. Those childhood memories were precious to her, for they were among the memories she had from the years when her mother was still alive. She sat down on a bench for a minute in hopes of calming down, for tears began to run down her cheeks. The memories, and her situation, had began weighing down on her.

About a few minutes later, she was able to wipe her tears away, and begin focusing on the positives of this time, hopefully for the rest of the event that might be ongoing. She might not have had any family left, but she did have friends, and, of course, a very sweet boyfriend. She soon found Vigilon, talking to some players. Kanari was present as well. She looked around her, then above her. She smiled once she spotted something in particular hanging down from an overhang of a building's roof. She looked back over to Vigilon, smiling as she did so. "Aaaalleeeex, do you mind coming over here for a quick second?" Now all she had to do was wait and see what happened.

@Vigilon

 

Krysta's Attire:

Spoiler

Please note that I couldn't find any holiday attire pics with garments suitable for Krysta, so bear with me as I attempt to give a description of Krysta's apparel.

She is wearing a coat in the shape and style of a dress that is red, with a white hem and trim. Over the coat-dress is a red capelet with white trim. She also is wearing a red sash that goes around the coat-dress, a pair of white tights, a pair of red gloves, and a pair of black boots. No, she's not wearing a hat at the moment, but I may add one in if everyone thinks it would complete the outfit.

 

 

[Baldur 0]

Things had been going so well.

It seemed like there wouldn't be any misunderstandings, no confusion, everyone was going to get along just fine.

Therefore, Baldur was quite surprised to find that he was holding @Minako in his arms. The slight, tiny thing was so small in his arms that he didn't really feel like he was holding anyone. She was just suddenly... there. The look on Baldur's face, as he looked from Minako to @Lessa, said the he didn't really understand what reality this was. He looked back from Lessa to Minako, who then asked if Baldur could put her down.

That seemed perfectly reasonable. He would gently place her on the ground, figure out what happened. They would all, like adults, laugh about it and have a merry christmas.

What was unreasonable was what Baldur actually did.

In his mind, the words 'ruh roh' played out, and his hands shot up in panic. The kind of gesture someone does when they realized they just touched the hot stove, or had grease from cooking bacon hit their arm. The terrible, unfortunate side effect was dropping Minako into the foot deep snow that always covered the city.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry!" Baldur said, bending over to pick Minako up out of the snow, only to find that he was holding her again. His reaction was the same again this time, as soon as he realized what he was doing, but instead of just dumping the poor girl into the snow, he placed her feet first into the snow and then suddenly became very uncomfortable about what to do with his hands to keep them out of further trouble.

"I am so sorry, Minako-sama.

Baldur gave her a deep bow of apology, but this only put them on eye level. The blush returned to his face.

"Umm.. I'm going to uh... get drinks? Does anyone want a drink? I want a drink. I'll bring drinks. Something warm."

Then Baldur turned in a quick 180, and raced off to the nearby booth where someone was distributing warm mulled cider.

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon sighed. Of course Stryder had to call him Boar Bait again. He was starting to get used to the nickname, but his problem was probably going to be Kanari's response. "Pffft...Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Boar Bait?? Ahh ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Alex, what, what did you do to get that nickname? Ha, ha ha!" Vigilon scratched the back of his neck as he groaned in anticipation. "This is gonna be my life now..." He muttered under his breath. "Well Amelia, I got that nickname during my early days. Most of the time whenever I left the safe zone, Boars. Boars everywhere seemed to come after me aggressively. I had to fight past every one I encountered. Well, almost every one." He turned back to Stryder. "I've been well. I'm up in the second tier now, still working my way up. I'm level 28 right now, but my progress is sure rising up a bit...I think." One player in particular was on Stryder's shoulders, and it was... "Fae?? Wait, does Stryder know what I saw? Did he hear about her...?" The fact that Stryder seemed perfectly fine right now, could be one of multiple reasons...so Vigilon hoped it was that the snapping point had been repaired. "Good to see you too, Fae." He smiled nervously, hoping the smile could hide that he was uncertain of the exact situation regarding Fae. He heard some rushed footsteps, but when he looked over in the direction of the sound, there wasn't anyone in sight. "Huh...I hope that was just me." Krysta called out for him, asking if he could come over to her for a quick second. "Hey, could you excuse me for a second? I'll be right back." Vigilon headed over to her. "Hey Jewel! Might I say you look great? Anyways, is there something you need me for?"

@Stryder @Fae @Krysta

[Jinx 0]

Jinx kept walking over to join Arabelle and Mishiro, uncorrectly mistaking their walking away as a unspoken signal for her to join them. After all, she hadn't been amazing at catching social cues when they were directly told to her, so unspoken ones were nearly, always, missed. However, on the way to joining the other girls to speak, she got distracted by a puppy and spent a good few moments stroking it. However, she quickly remembered she was supposed to be doing something else and walked through the snow. Ironcially, it wasn't hard to find Arabelle. Her hair, stood out. 

She overheard the girls speaking...wait, was it overhearing when she was part of the conversation? However, it didn't really matter as the girl had, no idea what they were talking about. The context of their conversation had been missed by the girl, and so, Jinx walked up beside Arabelle with a confused, and dazed, look on her face. All she'd really understood was someone had told someone else a story? Was that what they were doing, sharing stories of home? 

"Are....we sharing stories...?" The eye-patched girl asks softly as she reached down, once again attempting to make a snowball "Is that why we moved away from Stryder and Roman...?"

@Arabelle @Mishiro

[Krysta 0]

Krysta smiled when Vigilon came over to her. He complimented on her appearance, then he asked what she needed him for. To answer, she would simply kiss him. If Vigilon got confused, she would simply point above the two players' heads, where a mistletoe was hanging. "I just knew you'd come to me, whether you knew about the mistletoe or not. It's good to see you here on this wonderful time of year, Alex." She looked over to the other players, and saw two who she recognized. Kanari and Fae. The conversation seemed completely normal, so was Vigilon proven wrong, was this a facade, or did Fae have a change of heart once more? Only one way to find out. Treat the conversation as if it were a normal one. "Oh, hello Fae, you seem to be doing well." She then looked to Kanari. "You haven't been causing too much mischief, have you?" Finally, she would look over to the player she didn't know. "Hello, my name is Krysta. And you are?"

@Vigilon @Stryder @Fae

[Mishiro 0]

Her friends. Arabelle had a lot of friends apart from her and Roman, though Mishiro never learned who they were until now. She glanced at the little group they'd left behind. The people her friend fought alongside: Stryder, the little kid who spoke in third-person, and Jinx. They were a guild, so there had to be more. But one thing was for certain: Mishiro was not part of that circle. She turned back and gave a slight frown. Was Arabelle offended or was she just teasing? She was smiling, but then again, she always did even when she was mad. "No, I can answer that," she disagreed. The girl's teasing, her tone, it all seemed a little... off. Perhaps it was best to give an honest response. With her worldview, there was only one answer. "Both. I'm not leaving him for you, and I'm not leaving you for him." But if she had no other choice but to choose only one...

She shook her head. A heavy, unexplainable feeling rested in her chest upon hearing Arabelle's accusation of favoritism. Of course she would have her own biases. She could only see the world and other people through her own eyes. She knew that, and she knew her friend wasn't being serious. But, this was... this felt different. Suddenly, the girl's playful smile didn't seem so friendly anymore. Mishiro calmed herself and responded, "I didn't say anything because I believed it was part of your usual banter." Honestly. Mean nicknames and insults were often a part of her two friends' interactions. But as far as Mishiro knew, it had always been completely harmless-- "Are you even thinking about what you're saying? 'It would have clearly affected him in some way.' Don't deny it, that's what you said, word for word. He never PMed you back, you weren't there to see his reaction, and neither of us told you about it. You knew he was going to take it negatively beforehand, so why did you even call him that in the first place? Different example, same argument. Honestly. I'm not impressed."

Now they were just starting to argue. It was time to stop. She didn't want to break another friendship. Not in the middle of a Christmas-themed event. They were supposed to be celebrating. "Let's drop that topic for now. I'm not mad, so can you tell me what happened earlier?" Mishiro offered her best friend an uneasy smile. It was Arabelle. They'd known each other since the first day. She took a step back, as if doing so physically would help her distance herself from her raging emotions mentally, and quietly counted to ten. And she listened, with a growing feeling of anxiety that only seemed to worsen as the small girl continued along her story. "The Laughing Coffin. Your accusations aren't baseless. Well, I haven't told you anything from that day yet neither am I planning to, so I understand why you don't trust him."

Still, she wanted to--

The silver-haired girl walked up to them and reached down to make a snowball. Oh. Jinx. The shielder had encountered the Laughing Coffin, too. It was how Mishiro had met her in the first place. How much did she hear? She heard the girl's question about sharing stories, and her grey gaze moved over to Arabelle, passing on a silent message to her with a nod. Jinx followed them here out of curiosity, and maybe even to have some fun. She would be uncomfortable if they carried on with their serious conversation. "Stories, huh? Arabelle, do you have any? Let's make it Christmas-themed. Family traditions, favorite gifts, things like that..." Mishiro prompted with an amused smile. As the purple-haired girl though, she decided to start. She crouched down and reached for a clump of snow. "I'll start. In my home country, we had something called 'Noche Buena.' It's a large feast that takes place on Christmas Eve, and you celebrate it with your family." She made circular motions with her hands, and the snowball slowly started to take form. "And it's not just immediate family. My parents would go all-out and invite relatives up to the third degree, so it kind of turns into a family reunion of sorts. As for what we do... I forgot the specifics, but I think it was basically just a Christmas party. Everyone brings food, there are gift exchanges, and you get to talk to relatives you haven't seen in a while. It's been a long time since then, but it was... fun. Even if it took place at night, it was still lively and I remember I didn't want to sleep because I didn't want to miss any of it."

[ooc: tag @Arabelle @Jinx]

Edited December 24, 2018 by Mishiro

[Dazia 0]

Dazia went on her own way again, and pretty soon, Yinangi came by. "Heeeey! How are you, Dazia? Hey, why aren't you wearing anything festive this time of year? Don't tell me that the nearest tailor shop ran out of festive outfits, that shouldn't be possible!" "I'm not exactly in the mood to wear such bright colors, it's not like they would suit me well. I may find myself able to relax, and at least try to have a good time, but I'm usually not one to wear something...like that." She explained, gesturing to the elf outfit that Yinangi was wearing. Yinangi huffed and said, "Oh come on, can't you show just a little Christmas spirit? Besides, this outfit looks cute on me!" Dazia sighed, and said, "Just...just don't ask me to change my apparel, and we should be fine for the time being. Alright?"

She passed by a nearby group of players, two of them being Krysta and Vigilon. Krysta called Vigilon over, and she was standing under a mistletoe... This revealed Vigilon's real name, not that it mattered to Dazia. Once Vigilon had spoken to her, Krysta kissed Vigilon. Dazia pulled the cowl back over her head. "Ugh, I didn't need to see that." She inaudibly muttered under her breath. Her enmity with Krysta was part of what caused her to be uncomfortable with that PDA under the mistletoe. Yinangi, however, didn't feel the same way. She called out to Vigilon, "What are you doing just standing there? Kiss her back, Lovebird!" "Great," Dazia thought. "Now I have to get involved in this..."

@Krysta @Vigilon @Stryder @Fae

[Frank 0]

Breaking away from his deep reflection, Frank turned his attention to the sights around him. More then the surface details of the town, their were younger-aged players who were grouping up and conversing, laughing together, seemingly enjoying each others company. Frank could hear snippets of the conversations too, a physical compliment here, a small boast from a red-eyed male, a girl with dark hair had launched into a personal story of a family Christmas event involving her parents back home. 

Just kids, doing kid things, Frank thought to himself. With a sigh, he suddenly felt very old inside. He was the oldest person he had met in this game so far. Not to say that he was an old man, but Frank wasn't even sure if any of these kids had been to college, much less had kids, a true significant other. Picking up on a blonde girl, Frank could tell that she had been crying. She must have just recently stopped, as her face was still blotchy, though not overly-so.

She's talking to that young man over there, but if he notices she'll blame it on the cold no doubt.

These conversations were well and good, but Frank was no eavesdropper, and he had his own business to attend too. Turning his attention towards the market stalls here in the center of town, he decided to see what was available.

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon was a bit surprised when Krysta went in and kissed him. Of course, when his surprised expression was seen, Krysta pointed to the mistletoe that hung above the two players' heads. "Oh..." Now, that was clever. Kanari put two and two together, and realized what this was. "Wait, so you two are...? Oh...I...I see." Vigilon looked over to her, and saw her expression. That expression she had was not good news for Vigilon. Throughout the years that he'd known her, he'd been able to figure out what some of her expressions meant. "She's feeling crushed...judging by what she said earlier, I'm guessing that...oh dear..." Now Vigilon was a bit nervous. Of course, some words from a familiar face snapped him out of his thoughts. Yinangi was calling out to Vigilon for him to kiss Krysta back. He decided to do so. Afterwards, he would wave hello to the white haired player. In the distance, he noticed a merchant shop that was set up. "Hey, Jewel, do you think we should take a look at what that merchant over there has in stock?"

@Krysta @Dazia @Stryder @Fae

 

Regardless of the answer, he would walk over, and take a look. "Man, this stuff is so expensive..." He would notice something having to do with a raffle, and he decided to sign up for it. "So, could you put me down for the raffle?"

@Benny

-Vigilon signs up for the raffle

[Krysta 0]

Krysta would notice what Kanari had said. "In a relationship? Yes." The expressions on Vigilon's and Kanari's faces told Krysta something that brought a potential problem. Based on the situation...there was a chance that Kanari liked Vigilon...and he had just now realized it. Krysta's calm demeanor broke, being replaced by concern. Yinangi called out for Vigilon to kiss Krysta back, which he did. Krysta tried to focus on the positives, but other than her relationship with Vigilon, they were starting to dwindle... Vigilon would ask Krysta if she thought they should see what the merchant across the road had in stock. "Sure, I'll come along." When she passed by Yinangi and Dazia, she thought about the two. Yinangi seemed to be a much kinder person than Dazia, so why did she befriend that murderer?

@Vigilon @Dazia

 

Vigilon noticed that there was a raffle, and he decided to sign up for it. Since Krysta's pockets were probably too light for certain items, she might as well enter it too. "I would like to enter as well."

-Krysta enters the raffle

@Benny

Edited December 24, 2018 by Krysta

[Dazia 0]

Turns out, Dazia might not have to get as involved as she thought she was going to. The awkward situation of the possible triangle wasn't worth listening to, but at least there wasn't any unnecessary hostility directed towards her. Soon, Krysta and Vigilon walked over to the merchant to see what he had in stock, soon finding out about the raffle. Who knows, her luck here in the wintertime might be far better than than the summertime, judging from personal experience. "Go ahead and talk to them if you'd like, Yinangi. I'm entering that raffle." She would walk over to the merchant, take off her cowl, and notify the merchant, "I'm interested in that raffle, and I'd like to enter." She would then browse through the merchant's wares, hoping there was something useful, but cheap enough for her to buy.

@Benny

-Dazia has entered the raffle

 

Yinangi would walk up to the players who were still there. Only one of them she knew. "Hiya! My name is Yinangi, nice to meet you two!" She said to the two players he didn't recognize. To Kanari, she would say, "Long time no see, Kanari! How have you been since that summer beach party?"

@Vigilon @Stryder @Fae

[Frank 0]

Perusing the many vendors was no small task, you had merchants hawking furs, merchants hawking potions, crystals, and other consumable items. It was a smorgasbord of activity and going-on's. Of course, it was obvious that these street vendors were small-time. The main event, if you will, was a large stall set up in such a way as to be unmissable. Making his way inside the tent, Frank first took note of the red-headed boy bustling around the shop with a small dog dancing about his feet as he worked. The second thing Frank noticed was as unmissable as the stall had been from the outside, a regular giant of a man who was clearly the Shopkeeper. As people were currently interacting with the shopkeeper at the moment, Frank decided to take a look at the many strange and exotic items which were for sale.

He had come hoping to obtain one of two items in particular, both of which he had already heard talk of from players who had visited the shop just a few hours earlier when it initially opened. Frank's primary interests were the True-Light Lantern, and The Hammerspace Backpack, but to his dismay, these items were both priced well above what Frank could afford at this time. The thought of waiting again until next Christmas for simply a chance at these items again, was not appealing. Still, these things can't be changed.

After the group in front of him had finished, Frank made his way to the front counter and, after reviewing the list of items possible to win, politely spoke to the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me. I would like to enter your raffle."

With not much to do but wait, Frank made his way back outside the tent-stall. He wasn't one to hope he might win such a thing, but even he had to admit, from the items available in the raffle-the cloak, the the snowglobe necklace, and even that fairy-they would all be useful. Frank chuckled to himself at the thought. You believe that [censored]? A guy like me with a [censored] fairy?

@Benny

 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Frank

[Fae 0]

Wow, so Vigilon and Krysta were here? They were a perfect couple, and the missiletoe just fit them perfectly as well. While Vigilon she was fine with being here, since he knew, although just him knew, another person who knew started to put Fae on edge. When Krysta greeted her, Fae let out a low growl before waving back at her. "Hi miss Krysta! Fae is glad to see you again too! You and mister Vigilon hooked up huh?" Fae greeted back, smiling from atop Stryd's shoulders still. Thankfully, not too much attention was given to Fae from her, so she sighed with relief. She was trying to fix things, and the last thing she needed was one of those two do-gooders ruining things with her and Stryd. Yinangi came up to them as well, and Fae waved down to her. "Hi! Fae remembers you from the Valentine's party! Fae is Fae, nice to meet you!" Fae introduced herself cheerfully, recalling her saying hi to Fae at that party.

@Krysta @Vigilon @Dazia @Stryder

[Hazado 0]

Haz looked as the two kids took the cookies Neo gave then they looked happy at least it looked so and Haz laughed a bit as they spoke again about how love was going on, then he got it as he smiled. He let's go of Neo and kneels down to Kimiko, "Well Kimiko, if you truly love someone you stop them from doing stupid stuff as you did with Maro. Do you like him a bit because if so just make sure he stays safe," Haz said to the girl before standing up and patting her on the head. He looked to Neo, "Neo if you want you can do sign up for the raffle, I know my luck won't help me at all so you can do it if you want I will say hello to some people around here," He said waiting for Neo to sign up for the raffle.

@Neopolitan @Hydravion

As Neo did this Hazado walked around to look who was around spotting someone he could get back after some time, He picked up snow and with a good swing he landed a Snowball on the back of @Arabelle before walking up innocent like nothing happened, "Hello small one," He said to Arabelle before giving her a pat on the head with a smile as Arabelle's Hair was a bit messed up from that.. Sure it was unfair as Hazado was quite tall and Arabelle had never even successfully patted him on the head to mess up his hair. "Sorry to walk in like that, Name is Hazado, you are @Mishiro and you are?" He said looking to @Jinx With a friendly smile like some big brother. Before turning to Arabelle again and cleaning off the snow from her back, "There you go small one, we don't want you to get a cold, do we now." He said jokingly.

[Zandra 0]

Zandra continued her strolling between the parties of players. Everyone seemed to have others to be with and have conversation with. Usually she would have either jumped in and joined one where people she knew was beeing. or she would stay in the shadows somewhere, scanning the surrondings making sure noone would sneak up to her and attack her. All after that event with Ariel she have been on her guard. But today, she did neither. She had decided to change herself, in more then one way. The first step was searching for the labyrinth, showing she will work for progress, even noone have her in their group. But proving herself in combat wouldnt be enough, not at all. The social part was as much if not more important. So she walked around in the crowd, relaxed with a warm smile on her face. She had always loved the christmas in the real world. The feeling she have now was almost equal to that. She stopped infront of the big tree. "If I just wasnt here alone." and her face changed from a smile to a faint shadow of sadness.

Edited December 24, 2018 by Zandra

[Arabelle 0]

Mishiro got her point. But with the way she was talking, Arabelle could almost hear the 'but' coming up. But... But what? "But he's actually a nice, friendly person, Arabelleee!! He's just misunderstood!" Ew. The small girl pulled away from the hug. What was this, a good girl meets bad boy Wattpad romance? She didn't want to hear any of it. Then The Other Girl came along - why was she following them around?! - and asked about stories. Arabelle watched the eyepatched girl carefully before concluding that she'd only heard that last bit. Well, not like it mattered. She smiled innocently at The Other Girl. "Roman? Who's Roman? I only know a Claude. You know, tall scout-healer-DPS-whatever guy. Long pink hair, and a sister complex."

Then her best friend went along with The Other Girl's idea and suggested telling stories. From real life, probably. Arabelle sighed. What a cliche and sappy thing to do. She didn't have any nice stories when it came to her life before SAO. "Fine. Not like I have anything better to do. You're so cheesy, Shiro-chan~!" she giggled and thought of her own story. Mishiro mentioned a tradition from her country. "So a Christmas party with snooty old relatives. Huh. Are you Spanish, Shiro-chan? I mean, you kinda already look the part." And then it was her turn to tell a story (probably). If it was The Other Girl, she'd just blather on about how depressing her real life was and the mood would totally be ruined. "Well... the only family tradition I had was going to mass on Christmas and eating dinner in some fancy restaurant after. It was boring. But there was this one fun event in my boarding school, maybe a day before everyone leaves for Christmas break. It's an annual snowball fight. There's no program or anything, it just kind of happens. You could just be minding your business outside and get randomly attacked by snowballs. Hehe. That was fun." Arabelle smiled slightly. "But the best part... is that you can throw a snowball at that one teacher you really dislike and make the excuse: 'It was just an accident!'"

That gave her a wonderful idea.

"Watch." Arabelle bent down and scooped up some snow, forming a snowball. Then she looked over at the group. Claude, Stryder with Fae, Vigilon and his pretty girlfriend, Ruby, some random woman, some random kid (who better not also be with Stryder!). Eenie meenie miny moe. She smirked, cocked her arm back, and threw the snowball with all of her strength.

...

Being ambushed by wolves...? Dragging random strangers along with her on quests? Then immediately accepting a guild invite? She usually wasn't that reckless. What the hell did Arabelle get into while he was gone? "Well, thanks for protecting her. We weren't talking at that time, so I'm glad she had someone to--Oof!" A snowball had landed right at the back of his head. Claude took a few disoriented steps forward before he regained his balance and whirled around. Jinx (unlikely), Mishiro (unlikely), and Arabelle (very likely) at the secluded corner between two booths stared back at him.

"My hand slipped!" And from where they were standing, they could hear that annoying laughter.

He turned red with embarrassment. That little...! Claude looked down at the ground, covered in piles of snow - unlimited ammunition - then back at Arabelle's smug smile, and then back at the ground. Come on, Claude. It's just one, annoying teenage (?) girl. You're a grown man. Don't take the bait. Don't take the bait. Don't take the...

The pink-haired scout scooped up some snow and threw one back at her.

...

Arabelle turned back to Mishiro and The Other Girl. "Ahahahahaha! Did you see that, did you see that? If people could kill with glares... ahahahaha-- ow, ow!!" Two snowballs, one after the other, landed on the back of her head. All she could think was: 'Oh god, my perfect hairstyle.' and 'Claude that flipping bastard.' as she tipped forward and fell against The Other Girl and her stupid cat onesie. She recovered quickly, her face a bright red, and she turned back to where she knew that stupid, pink-haired scout was. She cupped her hands and yelled, "One is enough, dummy!"

Then she saw Hazado walking toward her. It was obvious from his dumb smile that he was guilty, too. Karma had somehow allowed for those two to throw their snowballs at the same time and effectively knock her down. "I'll get back at you," Arabelle seethed, but calmed down slightly when he patted her head. So many headpats in one day. Mishiro with her headpat fetish would be jealous. She didn't say anything at his comment, only letting out a low, annoyed growl that sounded like, "Rrrrghhhh..."

[ooc: @Jinx @Mishiro @Stryder @Hazado]

[Jinx 0]

Jinx had to admit, she wasn't sure if the only girls would want to share stories. From what she remembered, some people never wanted to reference their real life here, so much so they made an active point of mentioning it. So the fact Mishiro was willing to share a story of her christmas adventures interested Jinx, was Mishiro less caring about that 'rule' she'd been taught, or was that rule Stryder messing with her again? She honestly wasn't sure now. However, she was distracted by the name Mishro used. Noche Buena. The part of the girls brain dedicated to Spanish hit the bell as she blinked...Mishiro could speak, Spanish?! 

The girl seemed to liven up speaking about the event, clearly having fond and positive memories about the event. Christmas for her sounded like a good time, a party true if that many people were gathered...

Arabelle now spoke up, catching Jinx's attention. Roman...Claude? Wait...they were, the same person? She had no idea what a Sister Complex was, but if they were the same person...which was his real name? They both sounded, well, correct. Jinx pouted a little, she'd have more to learn when she did sharpen up. However, before she could ask, the pink-haire girl, fell into her?! Jinx couldn't not panick a little, what was happening?! Arabelle seemed to recover, and it took her moments too long to realize Arabelle had been hit by two snowballs, each coming from a different source. Was this considered playful? 

The first, the boy Hazado, seemed rather light-hearted as he introduced himself "Pleasure Hazado, my name is....Jinx" It took the girl a few moments to remember her 'name'. Jinx had expected a level of calmness to evolve from this...Then she let out a sigh. 'The chances of Arabelle not retaliating is slim to non' and visible tensed up a little, expected a snowball war to commence. However, nothing seemed to come out it as the boy petted the top of Arabelles head, and Jinx couldn't not frown "Arabelle, you're not going to retaliate? That's...unlike you" She observed, before looking down with a small smile. In her 'paw', sat a snowball. Jinx had, finally, manged to make a single snowball that was proper. She grinned at herself, it hadn't taken her as long as she'd expected, and was super pleased with herself at her work.

@Arabelle @Hazado @Mishiro

[Stryder 0]

 

The girl near Vigilon started to laugh, asking how he got that name. She also called him Alex, which he was guessing was this guys real name. He wouldn't call him it though, he already had a nickname for this guy, and he kinda liked it personally. He listened to the guy explain it, and when he said almost sky pretty much put a hand on the back of his head and laughed a small amount, then listened to what he was talkin about. He had gotten to... level 28? This guy was a lot stronger than he was the last time they had met! He noticed him looking funny at Fae, but he zoned ito ut. After tonight.... He was gunna have to talk with quite a few people. 

"Good job man! Doubt any more boars will want to chase you around" He said to him before watching him turn, someone having called to him. She called him Alex to. They talked for a moment, though he noticed someone entertaining. She kissed him. She walked over to the group it seemed, and then he recongised her, and felt a pang in his chest. It was.... Krysta. He remembered meeting her when he had found Wardege on the monumnent. She didn't seem to remember him though...

"My names Stryder, nice to see you again! You seem to be doing well" He said, smiling kindly at her. He then heard something, some... person calling out for him to kiss her back. He looked over, though didn't recognise either of the two. He didn't say anything however, as they hadn't really approached them yet. Vigilon's companion seemed to notice that the two were an item, then... he dind't know. He didn't know this little thing. He watched as he walked off towards Benny. Soon after, Krysta walked off with him. He didn't really pay any attention to the player with the cowl, though one of the two walked over to them. He didn't know them though.

"Names' Stryder, nice to meet ya" He responded to her. Fae then commented on the two of them hooking up also, though he was suprised the young girl understood all of that. She seemed to know the other girl also.

He then listened to calude thanking him for protecting her, well, at least, he was trying to thank him but before he had a chance to finish a snowball cocked him in the back of his head. He seemed embarrassed about it, and looking over he saw Belle, Jinx and that other girl standing over there.

The whole event was just crazy, everything was happening just so fast paced, he was having a hard time keeping track of everything. He called over to @Benny, as he was more or less right next to them at the moment.

"Hey Man, i'd like to enter the raffle, i can't remember if i did so earlier. Names Stryder!" He said to him. He really didn't remember if he had entered the raffle or not, as with everything happening he was forgetting nearly everything. He then turned and paid full attention to everything aroudn him.

 

 

[Calypso 0]

Callie realized, as Shield mumbled to himself and mulled over who all he knew well enough to get a present and what in the world such a present might be, that she had a very similar conundrum. "Good question..." She tapped a knuckle against her chin. She tried to think, if she'd ever gone out of her way to get one of her online friends a gift inside of the game. There was usually something like rare equipment, maybe limited-time items that one might like. Or even cosmetics from an in-game shop that required a bit of real-life spending. But anything impressive would probably take a while to even obtain. Living in a game made the whole thing a bit trickier.

She shook her head when Shield asked about the exclusive items on display. "Nope, I pretty much just got here." A smile played on her lips after she wondered if there was even anything for sale there that she would make good use of. "But I did see that sign about 'only one item per person'." She waved a finger through the air as one would when limiting a child to a certain number of sweets, and chuckled. "If you want, I can grab something extra for you, assuming they're not untradeable." She offered.

"Huh?" She almost followed her instinct to pull away when Shield's hands suddenly reached closer to her, unable to process what exactly he was holding out. She saw the puff of white yarn, then glanced down to see the comical moustache and beard combo dangling below her chin. "Pfft! Shield!" She broke out in a laugh, playfully swatting his hand away. "Ohh man... That's a fun thought," She began to recover. "What's the most ridiculous outfit you've seen someone fighting in?"

@Shield

[Shield 0]

Shield shook his head at @Calypso's offer to buy something on his behalf. "That wouldn't be right. I'm plenty survivable as it is. This is a good chance to get you something that will keep you safe or make you hit harder. Whatever you get you should keep it yourself."

He lowered the beard, placing it back on the merchant's display rack, the proprietor of which rolled his eyes. Shield got the impression he had not been the first person to play with the wares rather than buy them. He subtly took a few coins from his inventory and set them next to the stall owner's elbow. "Hard to say," he thought aloud, turning and walking further down the line of stalls and shops as he mulled over her question. "I never saw it myself, but supposedly there was a player on the lines before I got there who wore armor that had twin stained glass dragon heads coming out of the shoulders. Again, that's only hearsay, but I've never heard of anything more gaudy and pointless as that." He chuckled a little, momentarily forgetting the season and his resentment towards it.

As they walked, he saw a stall run by a girl with long hair. At first glance, it looked to be a shop that sold cooking materials, but as he drew closer, he noticed something unusual about the specific materials that she had listed. "Wait... do these ingredients actually taste like what their labels say?" he asked her, glancing over the bottles and phials that lined her sales rack.

"They certainly do," the girl answered brightly, giving a proud little bow of her head. "They're my own creations!" Shield looked them over once more, noticing a list of familiar seasonings.

"Garlic... wasabi... ginger root..." he paused on the last one. "Soy sauce? Is this how chefs create those flavors? They have to craft them on their own?" He immediately began taking items down, placing them in front of the young woman until he had amassed a small mound of bottles. "Beat is gonna get a kick out of this! I think he's been having to synthesize everything on his own!"

She added up the total and Shield transferred the necessary Col before storing the items in his inventory. "Well, that's one name off of the list!" At the next stall, Shield found an assortment of kitchenware. He picked up a single pint glass and eyed it suspiciously. "I'm... not sure why, but this makes me think of @Baldur." He shrugged, handing over the col to purchase it before turning back to Calypso. "Was there anyone specific you wanted to shop for while we're here?"