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Inside, all breakables and valuables have been safely tucked away and have been replaced by all manner of decorations: glittering lights, bristly boughs, a Christmas tree and, of course, an assortment of mistletoe hanging over everyone's heads, ready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

[feintofhart]

[ While Claude is choosy with who he lets into the comforts of his own home, allowing Cait safe passage there was an easy decision. He's known her for long enough to trust her and besides, once she showed up with an eyepatch... Claude would be cruel to not offer her a place to gather her thoughts. Something big had happened to her back home, bigger than just the physical violence inflicted upon her; there was something different etched across her face, some silent story that only she knows.

So she'd been given formal permission to enter Claude's home, which looks more or less as one would expect his home to look. Almost every flat surface is covered with books, several of them lying open, dog-eared, written-in and worn. The rest of the place looks more like Claude's home than the outside world does; even with full lighting and heating available to him, there's a proper wood-burning fireplace and candles lying the wall, with plenty of equipment set upon the shelf for maintaining his bow and arrow and his sword, as well as an assortment of mysterious jars lining the shelves filled with different substances being preserved, pickled, fermented, or otherwise made into wild concoctions. Above all else, though?

It's very, very peaceful. Claude had made a sanctuary for himself here, and now Caitlyn gets to benefit from it too, a hot cup of tea at the ready for her, and a delightfully squashy cushioned couch to sit upon. He greets her with a warm smile when he sees that she's made herself comfortable. ]

Too long, judging by... well. I'm only sorry I couldn't make my way up here sooner. People to greet, elbows to rub, you know how it is. [ He grabs the kettle from the stove and pours more hot water into the teapot, settling to sit down across from her. ]

...are you all right?

[ The answer is obviously no. But it's a better question then okay, what the hell happened to you? ]

[bulleting]

You're fine. You know I understand.

[More so than ever before, now. As a Kiramman, she had always been expected to "rub elbows", as he stated. As much as she loathed the parties and mingling with the well to do in Piltover, she was still dragged along. She was a Counselor's daughter, after all. And even if Cassandra Kiramman wasn't a Counselor, the family had a name for itself in Piltover. Therefore, Caitlyn just had to suffer, as much as she always hated it.

And then she became Commander after Ambessa declared Martial Law. She ruled Piltover for months. She thought she hated politics before, but she definitely had no taste for the pleasantries that came with hosting now.]

As...well as I can be. Vi and I returned yesterday. Just in time for you party, it seems.

[There's...so much to catch him up on. She remembers all their talks about the 'what ifs' she might face. She had no clue what would be in store for her when she returned home, and it was so much worse than she could have ever expected. At the very least, she did have Vi at her side, both at home and again here. That's all she could ask for, after the hell she had been through.]

[feintofhart]

But not in the festive mood, I see, [ Claude says. His words and expression are wry, but his eyes betray his true worry, unable to quite hide the knitting of his thick brows.

He's worried. He knows so much about their lives back home by now -- the political unrest, the coming rebellion (the coming war, it sounded like), the fact that they were on opposite sides, torn apart in part because of Vi's temperamental sister... what happened? Who won?

Maybe most importantly: ] Please tell me you're both still alive.

[bulleting]

Just...tired. Silco made a move on our businesses. It's been a headache, trying to sort that out.

[Mostly the part where she tried to keep Vi from doing something completely stupid and kill Silco again, but. They both deserved and needed the break that came with this party.

She can see the concern on Claude's face. She knows what he's going to ask before it even comes out of his mouth, and she's never going to be over the relief she feels when she can gladly nod in reply.]

We are. We both survived. Somehow. A lot of our friends and loved ones weren't so lucky.

[Jayce and Viktor are two of the names that come to her mind immediately. She had already expected to lose her mother, but her brother? His partner? She had been so determined to see them safely, and while she did get a little more time with Jayce, Viktor was never himself again after the explosion that killed so many, thanks to his hexcore. And both were here. Both were here. Jayce, thriving like the horrors he witnessed in the hexgate anomaly never happened. Viktor, dying but still alive and not yet a mutated cult leader. Gods, it was such a relief to see them like that, even if it also hurt. But they were here and alive, what more could she ask for?]

[feintofhart]

[ He shakes his head. ]

I'm sorry. I really am. It's... rare that everyone comes out of a conflict like that alive, but knowing that never does take the sting away.

[ As unsurprised as he is by the news - and as relieved as he is that the friends that he knows had made it out alive - he feels great remorse for Cait's lot. It has occurred to him time and time again how wonderful so many people's lives could be if not for the conflicting factors of money, religion, and war, if Cait and Vi could go off and live as a happy family together, surrounded by family and friends, not torn apart by something neither of them had began. ]

And is it... done? Or will you two be returning to more of the same danger you've already experienced? [ He waves, vaguely, at his own eye. He's pretty sure it takes some doing to fell Cait the way that she's clearly been felled, though not for good. ]

[bulleting]

I know. The hole never goes away, or so I'm told.

[It just gets smaller. And it's starting too, finally. For a time, it felt like that hole was being ripped open and made even bigger, but that was her own fault, losing herself in her grief. She made so many mistakes, has so many regrets. All she can do now is do the best to make up for those. But it's far from easy.]

Yes. It's done. There's still plenty of work to do, but... the war is over. Peace is...tumultuous still, but we're getting there. Slowly.

[When he gestures to his own eye, addressing the elephant in the room, Caitlyn's hand touches the edges of the eyepatch.]

I actually.. wanted to ask you about this. It's been over a month since the surgery, but I had been instructed by the healers at home to keep it moistened regularly. I had creams for it, but unfortunately, those did not make it with me for my return trip. Do you have something I could use? It's been getting uncomfortable again.

[feintofhart]

Then... it's up to you all to make sure that their sacrifices weren't made in vain, [ Claude says solemnly. He knows that's not necessarily what Cait needs to hear, not amidst his sympathy, not amidst everything she'd gone through -- but it's the truth, isn't it? At the end of the day, sometimes it feels as though death would be the easiest way out; to sacrifice yourself for a noble cause means that you no longer have to be responsible to seeing it come to fruition.

That's the job of the survivors, beaten and battered down as they may be, as traumatized by the deaths of their fellows as they are everything else they've been through. But there's work to be done. There's always work to be done. He's quiet for a moment. ]

For all that you've been through... I'm glad that there's peace on the other side. Truly. That all of that wasn't for nothing. [ He reaches a hand out, beckoning for her permission before she'll feel healing magic wash over her. As always, his specialty is not to heal grievous wounds, for permanent treatment, but just... to ease the pain a little. Any headache she feels from long nights without sleeping, the phantom pain of her eye, a persistent itch, pain from clenching her jaw -- she will feel it abate, at least a little bit. ]

I've got all the creams and salves a woman could ask for, [ he promises. ] But tell me... what happened?

[ Who did this to her? ]