[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/4c0MzYG.png[/img][/center] [color=fff200]“I think it’s because of Dan’s magic! Even our pets get to attend the party~”[/color] Lily answered Alex as she crouched down to pet Tim, before she stood up and looked Alex over. [color=fff200]“No, you look very handsome, Alex!”[/color] Her head leaned to the side as she had a goofy grin on her face, and she playfully tugged on the red scarf. [color=fff200]“This scarf especially looks good on you! You look like Kamen Rider with that on!”[/color] "Hey Sparky-chan, been a while." Lily turned, and blinked upon seeing the pink-streaked person speak to her. She blinked, as she did not immediately realize who they were...Until she remembered who used that as their nickname for her, followed by him confirming it. "Bet you don't recognize me. I'm Sakura." [color=fff200]“No way! Sakura! AAAHHH!”[/color] She hugged Sakura, and afterwards released the hug, seemingly a bit surprised. [color=fff200]“You’ve changed a lot since we last met! Did you use one of those Red Coins? Nice choice on the hair styling, it’s really vibrant and electrifying!”[/color] As they conversed, she took a mug of hot cocoa that was served on a nearby table, sipping on it as Sakura spoke. "Anyway, this is shaping up to be something nice, bud and Sparky-chan?" Lily nodded rapidly, causing the cocoa in her mug to slosh. [color=fff200]“Yeah, it’s wonderful! I get to see all my old friends, and meet new ones too! Dan really went above and beyond!”[/color] Sakura then noticed someone in the crowd and departed; Lily waved back to him, not minding it at all as she moved on. She was glad that Dina didn’t reject her show of affection knowing how fussy the cat girl could be about such things. [color=fff200]At least she’s really embraced the Christmas joy[/color], she thought as she noted her daring dress. She also noticed how she seemed to keep herself busy, pacing back and forth frantically as she looked over the party. [color=fff200]“You were working with Dan on this party, right?”[/color] She asked. Before she could follow up, she heard Sakura yell out at the back of the lodge. [color=fff200]“Vicky? Must be one of Sakura’s friends,”[/color] she verbally thought, smiling in a ditzy way. Umukamui arrived, and Lily curtsied in response to her greeting, wanting to show respect to what she thought to be a kind Puchuu. She nodded to her musings as she took another sip. [color=fff200]“I guess so. But wow! You look super pretty, mister Umu!”[/color] Lily observed as Dina first spoke up, followed by a shocking arrival as a large man dropped in, exuding a divine aura about himself. Lily reeled back by surprise. [color=fff200]“Woah! Is that a God?”[/color] She had heard about them from Alex as he occasionally spoke about Sol Invictus, but she had never seen one in person before. The sheer difference in presence from a Lesser Force like Dan was something else entirely. Seeing from his red coat and a sack full of gifts, it was clear he did not intend to crash the party, but rather join in it, which calmed her down. She audibly gasped as Odin then spoke, mentioning how Sakura was a man (something she suspected but wasn’t sure of until now), and how he mentioned the Yule truce. [color=fff200]“He mentioned Yule! And the eyepatch-!”[/color] Umukamui then mentioned who the God was, and Lily nodded rapidly, leaning over to Alex. [color=fff200]“It’s Odin! I remember reading about him in coll-high school!”[/color] Once Odin had calmed down the initial tension, Lily was approached by Mariette, who handed over an adorable cow plushie. Lily’s mouth was wide open in surprise as she held the gift, followed by biting her lower lip. [color=fff200]“Mariette...”[/color] She knew things were awkward between them, but she could tell from the dark magical girl’s expression that she really wanted this party to happen, no matter how difficult it might be. [color=fff200]“...Thank you. Also...”[/color] She picked up one of the cow plushie’s arms, and waved it at Mariette while speaking in a silly deep voice: [color=fff200]“Moo-rry Christmas, Moo-riette!”[/color] She hoped that she could catch the stoic girl giggling from her antics. It would be the tiniest step in mending their relationship, but a step nonetheless. Afterwards, as Mariette went on to give plushies to others, Lily went over to Alicia, greeting Summer on her way. [color=fff200]“Merry Christmas, Summer and Alicia!”[/color] Lily greeted after the hug, happy that her affection was reciprocated. She quickly bounced over to Connie’s group, her eyes sparkling as she saw Melisa and Magical Dream Princess. [color=fff200]“AAH, I can’t handle it! Connie’s red dress! Gaia’s hair! You’re all so sweet I’m gonna get diabetes! But I’m a magical girl, so fortunately that won’t be a problem!”[/color] She winked as she giggled, enjoying herself fully in this party. That was when Lily noticed a new entity had arrived; it was unsettling, as if an abstract art piece had been given life. Fortunately it changed into a recognizably human shape, seemingly having arrived with a benevolent purpose. Lily was curious about the game the Lord of Change offered, even if she couldn’t fully follow what it was saying. [color=fff200]“By cities or death? So could you meet with-”[/color] Then she heard her phone alert, and checked the new message, only to scream in surprise. [color=fff200]“AMBY?! Oh my gosh, this can’t be real!”[/color] She stared at the message, not sure if she could believe it. [color=fff200]“She...I can talk with her? I could apologize to her, and...Thank her, too...”[/color] Lily then heard how Ruby addressed the crowd, stars lighting up in her eyes. [color=fff200]“Events? EVENTS! Gimme all the events!”[/color] She screamed as she rushed down to the tanned girl and wrote up her name in the application, signing herself to every single one. She was running in place from how excited she was as she made her White Elephant wish in secret. [color=fff200]“This is going to be the best Christmas!”[/color] [hr] [color=bc8dbf]”This is going to be the worst Christmas.”[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nBgNtpQ.png[/img][/center] Regret. That was the emotion ruling over Justine as Sakura was the first to explicitly acknowledge her presence in the party, or rather the impossibility of it. Indeed, it was nothing short of a miracle that she was still living...Or a curse, as some might view it as. [color=bc8dbf]”Well, I...”[/color] She attempted speaking up for herself, but the words would not come out from her soft voice. Fortunately, a God soon interfered, allowing her to hide back behind Maura. Her Patron had assured to be there for her, and Justine nodded, finding herself slightly clutching at the hem of Maura’s dress, as if a child clinging to a mother. But she wasn’t feeling nervous as much as ashamed. Her new Patron deemed it vital to attend this party, for reasons she had kept to herself. And as she had promised to keep her eyes on her newest magical girl, she had dragged her with her to the party. As much as she had wanted to stay away from the social gathering, fearing to meet the people she had hurt, she couldn't; if she didn’t obey, her contract would be broken ,and she would be sent to an infernal punishment. But it wasn’t as if she was afraid of such a fate, deeming herself deserving of perdition. Rather, she felt she owed it to her victims to save others from becoming new ones, and to prevent the kind of tragedies like she had inflicted in such glee, once. For centuries, she had let Father dictate her will, twisting it towards malice and cruelty, and she had enjoyed it, as sickening as it now was to reminisce. She bathed in the blood of her enemies, and deemed herself worthy of worship by all mankind so she could crush them all under her foot. All that evil was towards the goal of destroying love itself, like she had promised on that fateful day she forged the unholy pact. After she was defeated and spared, she thought she could have an easy life being worshipped as the best delivery service in the Overcity. But even so, that malignant will was there, a screeching bloodstain in her mind. A foolish misunderstanding led her back on the warpath, but eventually she would have been driven to commit more atrocities, an inevitability in her cursed life. Now that nauseous play had ended, and it’s curtains drawn away, revealing the true Justine that lay underneath the Horror’s domination. What remained was a meek girl who now wished she could take it all back; her weakness as she fled from the villagers so long ago, her hate as she cursed the world in the black rain while holding her dying sister, and her desperation as she accepted Father’s dark gift. At first, she had resolved herself to a hopeless fate once she was freed from her endless nightmare, only to be exhumed from the proverbial grave. She could not tell whether Maura truly believed she could be redeemed, or if she was simply to be used and discarded away, like she had done herself countless times. Justine couldn’t deny slightly feeling the latter soon after the party had started, as Maura and her were confronted by what she recognized to be her former adversaries and victims; Silhouette, whom Justine had fought on the floor of a cathedral plummeting from the sky and later in the lost dimension, and Betty, who was the bargaining chip she had used to enact revenge on Mariette. [color=bc8dbf]”M-Mis-”[/color] Maura gestured for Justine to leave, causing her to visibly pout before she nodded; it would make sense for Maura to abandon her, as she was the root of all the problems she was having. Justine then yelped softly, as she realized who had approached her; Mariette. The bat plushie was nearly shoved into her hands, causing Justine to step back and balance herself. Her face turned red as she saw the reminder of her shameful past in a cute, huggable form. [color=bc8dbf]”M-Mariette...I...”[/color] She tried to speak up, but she couldn't find it in her to look at her in the eye, and so the moment passed, with Mariette going to give plushies to others. Justine could tell something was different about Mariette now, but she couldn't say what, as she was already struggling to find her own identity. Knowing it was only a matter of time before someone would again come and yell at her, she resolved herself to imminent scorn and took a seat at one of the tables near the Christmas tree, holding the bat plushie close to her chest while waiting for the first one to cast the stone. [hr] Sally giggled with a hand over her mouth as a punkish-looking party guest saluted her. “Looks like we’re already making an impression,” she commented, only to be startled to a giggling fit by Aurelio. “Oh you~” She playfully mused when she was kissed on the cheek. “There’s not even a mistletoe. But you’re lucky you look dashing in red, Aurelio~” She gave him a kiss on the cheek as well. “Merry Christmas~”, she greeted, and afterwards pouted with a finger to her lips as the various games and events were revealed. “Hmm, it’s hard to decide what to do...Maybe I’ll leave it to Lady Luck.” As she did, she closed her eyes and reached for Mariette's plushie bag, finding a bunny plushie for herself. "Yay!" [hr] Kimble smiled widely, and wrapped her arms around Alicia’s arm, holding it close. [color=8dc73f]“Great to see you here too, Aurelio!”[/color] She then nodded as Alicia suggested going outside. [color=8dc73f]“Yep, let’s go! I would love to take a tour of the island. I heard Lily say it’s beautiful! Would you like to build a snowman~?”[/color] Kimble asked in a singing voice. [color=8dc73f]“There’s snowman building and other events from what I heard over there,”[/color] she said, pointing in Ruby's direction. She also expressed her gratitude when she received a cat plushie from Mariette. [color=8dc73f]“I bet Beacon would crush it in a snow fort battle!”[/color] But before Alicia and Kimble reached the door, the star atop the christmas tree began to shine brightly. Like snowflakes, blue particles slowly drifted down from the ceiling until they spun around in a vortex and in a blue flash Dan had appeared. [hider=Christmas Dan][img]https://i.imgur.com/AmkIkCU.jpg[/img][/hider] “Merry Christmas, everyone!” The Lesser Force greeted in a booming voice that reached to every corner of the lodge. “First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming to this Christmas party! It means so much to me to see so many familiar faces, and even a few new ones, together at such a happy time of the year. I'm glad that even great lords have graced us with their presence! I am truly honoured!” He bowed to Odin and the Lord of Change. He then floated down, drooping from tree branch to tree branch like a waterdrop, until he hit the floor like a cube of jelly. “But all of this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for my good friend Mariette for giving out invitations!” Suddenly, a spotlight appeared over Mariette, followed by the sound of hands clapping everywhere in the room including Dan before the spotlight closed. “Thank you, Mariette! Now, as you may have heard from my lovely assistants, there will be many events that people can participate in if you’re feeling bored, including a sleigh ride for two pulled by genuine [url=https://i.imgur.com/APlncdr.jpg]yule goats[/url]. Of course, any outdoor activities will be rewarded with a Bronze coin for participation, and stage events a Silver! The Arena also makes a return, for those wishing to further practice their skills in Keijo.” He then summoned a Snowbun on his fin, showcasing it to all. “And last but not least, there is a petting zoo, where you can pet fluffy Snowbuns. But oh no, the snowbuns have escaped and scattered across the island!” He added, sounding theatrically dramatic. “But don’t worry, any snowbuns you find and pet will be touched by the joy of Christmas magic, and will hop on back to the petting zoo. Whoever catches the most snowbuns gets a little reward. But be warned; only the very best can catch the Harebringers of the Bunnypocalypse; they are tricky little bunnies! Whoever can catch even one of them earns a Gold Coin! Good luck!” Lily grinned, rubbing her hands. [color=fff200]”You just wait, Harebringers! I’m coming for you! But wait, isn't it cold outside? I'll be fine, but there's, um, others...”[/color] She glanced at Umukamui and Aria. "Oh, no worries! Your clothes are enchanted to provide warmth and protection from the elements, so you'll only feel the slightest bit chilly when outside. Even if you were buried in snow you'll be as snug like a bug in a rug." Lily nodded, glad to hear that hypothermia was not a danger. “Later today, we will be holding dinner over at the feast hall, just beyond this door,” he said, gesturing to a massive door that was placed to the back of the lodge. Lily’s mouth watered. [color=fff200]”Oh, I wonder what kind of delicious food we’ll be hav-”[/color] “We will have carrot casserole, cabbage casserole, and liver casserole,” Dan announced with a bright smile. “Traditional Finnish Christmas foods. Isn’t that great?” Lily’s eye twitched. [color=fff200]”I get that you want to appreciate Christmas culture, Dan, but [i]liver casserole[/i]? Really?”[/color] “It’s traditional!” He protested. “But oh well, if that’s not up to your appetite, we will also have more regular food like porridge and chicken. Anyway, we will also hold the White Elephant gift exchange at the feast hall, as well as a special gift I have for Mariette," he added with a wink. "For more information on the White Elephant, please consult Ruby,” he said, opening a spotlight on her in turn before it closed. “For refreshments, we have hot cocoa, eggnog, ale, and [u]glögg[/u]!” As he said that, he summoned a big red cup. Lily now looked befuddled. [color=fff200]”What even is glögg in the first place?”[/color] “A traditional spiced drink from Sweden made from berry juice. It’s delicious, I assure you! And if you find an almond in your cup of glögg, it’s a sign of good luck!” Lily sighed, and took a sip of her cocoa. [color=fff200]”Well, I guess I could try it.”[/color] “Now, without further ado, please enjoy the party!” Dan announced. Dan then floated down to Sann, a smug smile on him. "Anything I want? There is something I definitely want~". He dove towards Sann and...gently landed on top of her head. "Aahh, nothing beats the cushiony feel of a girl's hair..." He squeaked.