chestnuts roasting over an open fire...

[feintofhart]

Who: YOU!!!
Where: Claude's Apothecary (also known as: his house)
What: Claude and Ethlyn decide to host a Christmas party -- they may not be familiar with Christmas, but when in Rome! There will be drinking, dancing, and much revelry, and it's open underneath the guise of a combo grand opening, meaning that it's free for all and sundry to attend!
Warnings: Probably some underage drinking Claude will make no effort to curb, but that's about it.





Welcome, one and all to the Apothecary's grand opening celebration -- which just so happens to coincide with winter festivities! Despite the fact that neither Claude nor Ethlyn have any familiarity with Christmas whatsoever, they've decided to put together a party anyway, and what a party it is! At the front of the room, Claude and Root have put together an assortment of festive outfits for people to wear: all manner of ridiculous Christmas sweaters from Root, and from Claude, an assortment of reindeer horns and Santa hats if you choose to get as decked out as he is.

Inside, all breakables and valuables have been safely tucked away and have been replaced by all manner of decorations: glittering lights, bristly boughs, a Christmas tree and, of course, an assortment of mistletoe hanging over everyone's heads, ready to ensnare an unlikely couple or two in a requisite smooch. The entire place is, in fact, absolutely covered in festive greenery, courtesy of Kurama -- a little overkill, maybe, but they can't help themselves. Even if you duck past the mistletoe, it may have a way of finding you anyway; Kurama has a mischievous streak, and the ability to grow unlimited amounts of mistletoe to dog your steps.

Every surface seems absolutely covered in anything you might want from a feast, from unctious meats still dripping in their own fats to enormous platters of roasted vegetables and freshly prepared rolls and flatbreads to trays filled with biscuits and pies glittering with sugar. Also available for everyone's consumption - and Claude's not checking IDs as long as the kids aren't being too foolhardy - is a seemingly endless supply of libations, from steaming jugs of mulled wine to mugs filled with buttered rum to an open container of punch ready for the spiking. In the background are a few local musicians that Claude hired to play for them, though the stage is set for any tipsy guests to try their hand at entertaining the crowd.

On a table at the back are wrapped presents that are ready for the taking for anyone who wins at an assortment of games - with anything inside ranging from the Apothecary's own wares of teas and tinctures to pantry items from local vendors to a cute cuddly stuffed animal or two - if you choose to partake. Games of Questions and Commands (essentially Truth or Dare), Flapdragon (a game in which you must drain your glass to see what prize you win at the bottom) to card and board games are available for people to compete at. Everyone loves a good parlor game. Or, for those with a bolder constitution, Snapdragon is available outside, in which people set shallow dishes of brandy and dried fruits out, set it aflame, and ask people to go bobbing for the fruit at deadly risk of losing their lashes and brows. Spectating the whole scene is Claude's wyvern, who guests are welcome to go out and greet anytime they like.

Finally, for those more retiring in nature, and exclusively Claude's closest friends: he will allow some into his private quarters to have a little rest from all the fuss and noise. It's a good place for quiet conversation if you can hack it, or even to nap off the worst of the booze. For anyone else who wants some peace and quiet, you'll have to settle for the employee break room, a modestly undecorated place with a supply of caffeinated beverages and flat surfaces to rest upon.

Feel free to make up your own prompts and just use this as a fun holiday space for gift exchanges and drunken festivities! Happy holidays, Expiation!

Comments

Root | OTA

[computation]

[!]:./merry

[ Root is indeed the purveyor of a huge pile of ugly Christmas sweaters in all sizes. She herself is dressed in one, of course, complete with a ridiculous headband that has a tiny stuffed Santa on top of her head. She's liable to throw one at people entering the party who aren't dressed festively enough. ]

Catch!

[ Or, if you're more cooperative, she'll help you look through the stack for the perfect one... ]

[!]:./snapdragon

[ Dangerous drinking games with a fun historical bent are right up her alley. Root actually doesn't drink to inebriation very much -- the past few years, at least, she's lived in a state of constant readiness for the Machine's next direction, which means she didn't dare take anything that could disrupt her ability to act -- but here in Aldrip there's no reason not to.

It's been a long time since she actually relaxed by any measure. Now she's a few drinks in (hot buttered rum is delicious) and allowing herself to kick back a little. Come find Root outside pouring brandy into a shallow bowl, tossing raisins in, and about to set it on fire with a lighter.

This is relaxing for her. ]

[!]:./mistletoe

[ Alternately, Root has done plenty of things as part of a cover before, up to and including be a bride in a wedding. She has absolutely no shame about teasing people by noticing they happen to be standing under some mistletoe. She doesn't actually care if they end up kissing or not -- she's just buzzed and using her powers of deception to troll people.

She bumps into someone comically and then looks up in believable surprise. ]

Oh, darn. Doesn't this mean we have to kiss?

snapdragon

[spidermenaces]

(he tried to drink in another party, it hardly hit him, and it still feels like something he shouldn't do until he's a little bit older, so he isn't back to doing it in this party - but that said, it's nice to see everyone enjoying themselves, they all had quite a time lately that it feels way too welcome.

except that fire hazard about to happen, to which he runs to it almost too fast.)

Heeeey, Root? Maybe let's not redo the girl looking back at the burning house meme, how about we don't set fire to stuff?

(party pooper :( )

[computation]

You don't think I'd burn down my own workplace, do you?

[ Root pauses, leaving the brandy unlit, purely to turn to Peter and pout at him with an imploring expression. It's very believable; Root is a consummate actress and after a few drinks puts some real energy into the performance. ]

I was a firefighter once, Peter. I take fire safety very seriously.

[ She technically was a firefighter once. For like a day. ]

[spidermenaces]

Sober or drunk?

(is he joking? questions to be answered, and he won't answer... and her performance, pristine as it might be, has very little effect on the facts of what he has seen!! he seen an attempted arson, m'aam!! that's not very neighborhood-friendly of you.)

Oooookay, sure, so let's not add-- what is that, it smells awful-- alcohol to fire, you know it's a bad idea.

[computation]

This isn't drunk, [ she retorts, mildly offended. ] I don't need to be drunk to set things on fire.

[ She really doesn't, but she also isn't drunk, just nicely toasted. She does consider for a moment that Shaw might be upset she hadn't waited for her to light the alcohol on fire, but then realizes she can turn that into a saucy flirting moment easily and reaches out to light it.

To her credit, Root flicks the lighter and pulls her hand away quickly enough that she doesn't get singed by the low-level woosh as the brandy turns alight with low flickering flames. ]

Don't be such a party pooper. I'm reenacting a historical tradition. I was a reenactor once, too.

[ This is also true. Root being nicely toasted is making all the tidbits slip out. ]

merry

[cupidsammo]

[ She's caught off guard by a flying sweater, but it's easy enough to catch. Once in her hands Koharu lifts it up, staring it down in all its ugly sweater glory. What even... ]

Are we supposed to put these on?

[ Was there a dress code she didn't know about? ]

[computation]

It's festive!

[ She intentionally picked a deep green one to color coordinate for Christmas with Koharu's red hair stripe. Root's considerate like that.

But then she pauses in consideration. ]

Do we need to cut holes in the back for your wings? I can do that. [ She has a knife on her and everything. ]

[cupidsammo]

[ How sweet, thinking of important fashion decisions such as color coordination. The green truly does match with her already holiday appropriate hair, and this might dawn on her eventually—but for now, she can't deny the coziness of a large sweater in these chillier months, even if this isn't something she would purposefully decide to wear any other time. ]

You don't have to go that far! Maybe I can just...

[ Koharu pulls the sweater over her head and straightens it down, though there's now an odd lump where the sweater reaches over her back. ]

It's not too silly, is it?

[computation]

Kind of a cute Quasimodo effect. Not bad.

[ The sweater itself is, apart from being a nice dark green, patterned with two-dimensional Christmas lights and garlands all across it. The lump on her back gives a slight impression of a tree. ]

So is this when I get to find out what the wings are about? [ Because she really hasn't forgotten to ask that. ]

snapdragon

[cactusy]

[Holiday get-togethers with a bunch of strangers isn't Shaw's scene, but she has to admit, this is a cooler shindig than she thought it would be - and this particular drinking game is a big part of it, because anyone willing to play with fire gets a few points in her book. She'd resisted the draw of the ugly sweater (having tossed it right back to Root with a deadpan "Look at that, it's a boomerang"), which means she's easily missed as she glides around the darkened outdoor space. She also purposefully picks Root's bad side to slide up to, making her presence known only when her hand flies up to Root's face, intent on tugging her down for a kiss.]

[computation]

[ Even tipsy and distracted by playing with fire, Root has good situational awareness, and she's especially sensitive to her deaf side -- without the Machine she feels like she's doubly impaired -- she's just not good enough to realize it's Shaw sneaking up on her as someone enters her peripheral vision.

Not until she grabs Shaw's wrist in an iron grip to stop her, then looks up and blinks as she recognizes her assailant. Root leans in for the kiss without letting her go. ]

[cactusy]

Could've broken my wrist.

[Shaw admonishes, mumbling against Root's lips during a break in the kiss.]

That's kinda hot.

[computation]

Don't try to sweet talk me, I know you could break my fingers with one hand.

[ She was joking but also not joking about Shaw being the one with the guns. Root's agile and merciless but knows she's nowhere close to Shaw's level of physical strength. And, of course, she's sweet talking her by saying that.

Root is seated in a patio chair at a table where her game of snapdragon is currently set up, and she uses her hold on Shaw's wrist to try to pull her down into her lap. ]

snappy dragons

[manifestering]

[Octavian is here solely thanks to Root's needling, and since that leaves him... less than keen to just walk into someone's house he doesn't know, he's lucky to catch her outside.

...Doing god knows what, but still lucky. He has even come in his body for the occasion, so his footsteps can even be heard on approach. He moves oddly like this, both too loose in some places and stiff in others, because it takes some getting used to - being whole again. Here he shuffles up to linger beside the... event...? The flaming thing.

Hmm. It is on fire. Indeed.]

Hello. What is this, then?

[computation]

Hey, Howie.

[ Root greets him casually over her shoulder, sipping at her brandy. She'd poured herself some before pouring it into the bowl, of course. Octavian is easy to hear coming up on her with his odd gait -- something like Harold, almost, though that sends a pang of missing him through her that she ignores -- and she's mostly just surprised he'd actually come at all. ]

Glad you could make it. This is a historical Earth tradition. You try to grab the raisins and eat them without burning yourself.

[ She's clearly about to try to rope him into trying it with her if she can. ]

[manifestering]

[He's here to further test drive the new ride, as it were. How well does it take actual food? Drink seems to have gone over well, so far, even alcohol—although not the kind that's on fire, which he comes around to look at dubiously, with a little hum.

First question, why the fuck would someone invent this.]

Why... is it raisins?

[They have grapes on Mars, but they don't set them on fire? Raisins aren't even that tasty. He holds up one hand to give it a long look, as if calculating just how much fire it can handle and how much pain tolerance he doesn't have after thirty years as a ghost. This is exactly what he's calculating, in fact.

Also, while he's doing that, with a glance,] Howie?

mistletoe

[traumaticus]

[Well, well. Look at that, finally a party that 'matches Richard's freak', as the cool kid say. The atmosphere was something that he was more familiar with, a quite lot of it reminding him from his own home. From the activities to decorations. So yeah, he does notice the mistletoe and does not think too much of them, seeing that these are somehow free of the pesky toads, and keeps a polite distance to them.

Or you know, he tries to with a varying success, seeing that he just wound up under one with Root.]

That is what the tradition would demand, yes. [He says dryly, quickly glancing up at the plant above them before looking back at Root.] However, I believe there is another your lips would prefer.

[computation]

Oh, we're not exclusive.

[ Root rattles this off without a care in the world, once again expecting Richard to keep up with modern terminology. Talking down to him would be pedantic and insulting, and in any case, Root firmly believes it's good for his mental health to shed as many out-of-date concepts as possible.

She thinks that of people in her own era, too. ]

I'm down as long as you promise not to make it weird, [ she says cheerfully, adding a flirtatious wink for good measure. ]

[traumaticus]

Really now? That is surprising.

[The phrase itself isn't one that he is familiar with, but Richard can make an educated guess what she's talking about. And well? Color him intrigued. Though then again, he really shouldn't be all that surprised considering that this is Root. An anomaly, bride of the ai god, lover of women.

So yeah. He guesses it's on brand for her.]

From my experience all these modern people tend to scoff at the idea of a person holding more than one lover. [At least he had been met with ire and suspicion when he mentioned his own marital status.]

What do you mean by 'making it weird '?

CATCH

[ashesofkatarr]

[The Force warns Visas that something is flying through the air towards her, even before she hears Root's warning--but it's not anything harmful or hurtful.

It's... clothing? Visas unfolds it. There are blinking lights and felt patches in the shape of strange animals sewn on.]

What is this?

[computation]

[ Oh right, Visas won't be able to see it, possibly? Root hasn't quite internalized that yet, but then, she has little idea of how Visas is actually experiencing the world. Which is fascinating to think about... ]

Traditional holiday garb for us Earthlings. Put it on and get a drink, [ she suggests eagerly. ]

[ashesofkatarr]

[She can see the shapes and the textures--the differences between colors are less clear. Color does not matter so much in the Force. The major distinctions are more about what is alive and what isn't.

It will look strange to wear the sweater over her dress, but as long as she isn't asked to do anything else....

She pulls the sweater on over her head, pulling her veil back straight.]

What is the purpose of it?

snapdragon;

[runeing]

[ he is only here as... hm, in gratefulness to claude, really — caitlyn had brought him to the apothecary, and claude's healing magic, while unable to heal his condition, had still made things better. and so he is doing what he normally never does: socialise willingly.

at least there is something interesting to look at — namely, root standing near a bowl of alcohol with a lighter. viktor approaches the woman he doesn't know, but that's fine; he doesn't really know anyone except claude and octavian here, anyway. ]

Go on, [ he says, eyes flitting between the lighter and the bowl. ]

[computation]

[ Meanwhile, Root is here to have a good time, not a long time, and while she doesn't typically celebrate holidays in their own right, she isn't going to turn down a chance to have fun with people she likes. Maybe even meet some new people to add to that list while she's here. People in Aldrip are sometimes her kind of nuts. ]

Don't mind if I do, [ she chirps back, mostly to be a bit of a shit since it sounded like he was giving her permission.

She's in a ridiculous Christmas sweater, sleeves pushed up, and has a floppy Santa headband holding her hair back as she reaches out with the lighter. Root swiftly retracts her hand so it doesn't get burned, and the bowl of liquor goes up in a whoosh of flames. ]

You want to go first?

[runeing]

[ the quip earns her a minute quirk of his lips, amused as he is — he tends to appreciate people who aren't too concerned with politeness, and sassing him back immediately points to that.

he watches as the flames spread over the bowl, and then, with a lift of his brows, ] I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the tradition. [ not that he can't guess what you're supposed to do... but he might as well demure with this as his excuse. he wants to see how she does, first. ]