[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nBgNtpQ.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/4c0MzYG.png[/img][/center] 

Lily blushed profusely as Alex rescued her from falling down, smiling sweetly.
[color=fff200]”T-Thank you Alex! You’re always looking out for me, and that’s very kind of you."[/color] She gave him a little smooch, and then skated off fast, seemingly embarrassed.
Justine politely held back a giggle from witnessing the wholesome exchange.

Dan floated up to Alex’ level, a bright smile on his face.
“Oh, it’s simple! Once a participant has received their wrapped gift, they can choose to exchange their gift with someone else one time before unwrapping it. The term comes from the fact that in ancient Siam, kings gave their courtiers white elephants as gifts. It’s a surprise whether the gift you get is practical or not, and a white elephant is more fitting for Christmas than a gray one, right?”
Having shared his strange wisdom, Dan momentarily disappeared, promising to return soon as he left a magical clone of himself.

Lily spent the rest of the skating event shooting pucks with a hockey stick, and even asked Dan’s clone to play as the goal keeper; the dolphin was humorously decked out in oversized hockey gear, complete with a net helmet that obscured his eyes. The Lesser Force scrambled back and forth, trying to block Lily’s rapid shots, but ended up intercepting only a couple of them.
[color=fff200]”Now that was fun!"[/color]

Dan removed his helmet, and sighed in relief once Lily had her fill of the sport.
“Now, let us move on to the Wacky Downhill Race!” He created a portal as usual, and Justine lifted a hand to her chin as she thought.

[color=bc8dbf]”Yes, you mentioned that previously. I assume we have free choice of our vehicle for the race?"[/color]

Dan nodded, smiling brightly.
“That’s right! You can pick a sled, skis, or even a snowboard for the race! But that’s not all! Whoever is first place is not the winner! Instead, whoever finishes right in the middle, with the most racers both before and after them, wins! Isn’t that wacky?”

Justine was mildly surprised. 
[color=bc8dbf]”The most average racer is the victor? Well, in that case, maybe even I have a chance-"[/color]

The former vampire was interrupted by Lily giving her a big hug from behind.
[color=fff200]”Aww, don’t be like that, Justy! We’re gonna finish in first place, you’ll see!"[/color]
She then took her hand, dragging her through the portal.
[color=bc8dbf]”But it’s not first place that-"[/color] Her voice muffled beyond the portal.

On the other side, they found themselves on top of the tallest hill on the island. The downward slope ahead was marked with red flags on either side, and went straight for the most part except for some sways and turns. Lily grabbed a yellow sled, and placed it at the starting line, hopping at the front, barely able to keep still.
[color=fff200]”Hey Alex, if you boost me, I think we could go really fast on this thing! Wanna try it?"[/color] 
Justine was less enthusiastic about the idea.
[color=bc8dbf]”I think I’ll pick the ski-"[/color]
She attempted leaving, but Lily caught her by the shoulder.
[color=fff200]”Trust me, it’s going to be the best ride of your life!"[/color]
[color=bc8dbf]”More like the only one!"[/color]

[hr]
Meanwhile, Dan had returned back to check on the snowmen and ice sculptures that have been made in his absence, and found the large group of snowmen produced by Connie, Rose and Iris. “Oh, how lovely! While simple in design, you just can’t help but love the black coal smile of a classic snowman. And he has so many cute friends too! Good job!”

Then he gasped as he went to see the colossal snow dragon Betty's group had made.
"WHOAAAAHHHH! It's massive! Gigantic! Awe-inspiring! A monument to the grandness of winter, how it sweeps it's cold breath across the world! It's simply magnificent in its majesty!" He clapped his fins, and a triumphant trumpet blared out. "You have really given your all to completing this masterpiece. And through the hardships, a shining diamond of snow art has been born! I tip my hat off to you!" He ended his speech by actually tipping his top hat.

Next he went to check on their ice sculptures, and squealed in response to the snowbun sculpture. “Aww, snowbuns! It’s so adorable, I could hug it and still feel warm inside! I’m glad they were such a hit with you girls! I had to work some advanced magic with the little guys, but it really paid off.”

[hr]
Kimble was slightly disheartened by FanFan's response, but still smiled once Alicia asked her about her date experience.
[color=8dc73f]"Hmm...I'd say 8, maybe 9 out of 10,”[/color] she answered as she took a cup of glögg.
[color=8dc73f]"It has been wonderful to be here, and I finally get to see you relax a bit. It's the best Christmas I could wish for."[/color]
She waved to Dina when she approached the group, as did FanFan, though more politely.
[color=8dc73f]"Hiya! Have you enjoyed the party so far? Very cute dress by the way."[/color]

[hr]
[hider=Eli and Deni’s current appearance, or is it?][url=https://i.imgur.com/sy0PpIT.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/sy0PpITl.jpg[/img][/url][/hider]

A small bunny jumped across the fields. It looked like a normal snow-bunny… but was it? It was looking very attentively around, with a focused stare, tilting its ears so they were over her eyes to shield them from the light over and allow it to see further. It skipped some more, looking behind that tree, behind that bush, under that rock, searching so intently…

[color=DC9495]‘Ronin, are you finding anything…?’[/color] Eli asked, holding onto a tree some distance away, as the Deni-transformed-into-a-bunny jumped back to her.

[color=55B7AA]‘Not yet. But when we find one, my transformation will take it entirely by surprise!’[/color] Bunny-Deni announced confidently. [color=55B7AA]‘Now, let’s get back to it! Keep an eye out with your Third Eye, they may be magic…’[/color]

Eli nodded, and they temporarily parted ways again. Deni skipped off as a snow-bunny off into the wilderness, while Eli skipped up on some manifested platforms to scout out from on high, looking around from above while Deni searched down low…

While they wouldn't find a harebringer outright at first, Deni would suddenly get the feeling she was being watch. A cold chill passed through as a shadowy figure appeared to run by, dissapearing without a trace as soon as she turn to look.

 Or so it seemed.

 The figure had actually connected herself with Deni's shadow. Whether or not she shrugged them off, the scarlet eyed shade would start stacking snowbuns on the fake one, snickering.

Bunny-Deni flinched as something passed her by, the frightened rabbit spinning around to face against whatever unknown horror was stalking her, small pieces of sweat leaking over her bunnified form.

Then snowbuns started beomg stacked on top of her. That happened for a couple seconds before the Deni-bun recoiled, jumping back in alarm and fleeing back behind a tree, the tower of snowbuns somehow staying perfectly stable during the escape. If she got there she tilted her head forward from behind the tree, trying to see what had ambushed her, and the tower of snowbuns peeked right alongside her.

 The "shade" cackled from Deni's reaction, dark magic fading to reveal Maura as the mischevious culprit. [color=crimson]"Sorry- Sorry! I couldn't help myself, hahah!!"[/color] She apologized, wiping a tear out of her eye. Her group of snowbuns would hop back to her in a rhythmic line.

[color=55B7AA]‘Oh,’[/color] Bunny-Deni blinked a little in realization of who it was. As she'd both been temporarily recruited by the Crimson Cradle AND become friends with the girls under her command, Deni had naturally become acquainted with her. Still. Bunny-Deni smirked a bit. [color=55B7AA]‘What, am I cute? Am I the perfect bunny? Am I a worthy tease?’[/color] she asked, skipping forward to push herself against Maura's legs twice and then attempt jumping up on her shoulder.

Having clearly realized someone had shown up, Eli came floating down on some manifested wings made of thin barriers, looking a bit intimidated by Maura as she landed. This was the leader of a pretty powerful organization in Penrose, after all.

[color=DC9495]‘Er. Thank you for your help saving me, once again. But, um. What are you doing out here?’[/color] Eli asked while Deni was playing around, Eli figuring it'd be more fun to be at the party with the rest. Unless she, also, was... well, collecting bunnies, seeing how she had a bunch.

Maura snorted. [color=crimson]"Oh come on, you're just asking for me to pinch your cheeks!"[/color] She said, reaching over to bear-hug the shape-shifted girl before letting her sit on her shoulder.

[color=55B7AA]‘Teh-heh~’[/color] Bunny-Deni laughed as she was hugged, squiggling a bit before being placed on Maura's shoulder.

 She then waved at Eli, who flew down to them. [color=crimson]"Oh, don't be thanking me dear, I only intervened at the last minute! It's the others you should be thanking!"[/color] She nervously chuckled. [color=crimson]"And I'm out here because I wanted to try harebringer hunting. Ice skating's kinda boring alone, there was already enough contenders at the snowball fight,"[/color]

 Maura paused at the sight of the dan-shaped satelite in the sky; as if Poseidon decided to send a quick "Fuck you" to Boreas with the help of his brother Zeus, raining down a deadly deluge to the Earth. She slowly looked back at the twins.

 [color=crimson]"And uh...yeah. Stuff like that Keijo thing ain't my style."[/color]

[color=DC9495]‘But, it was partially thanks to you they were there, so, thank you,’[/color] Eli said, bowing slightly. Then, there was the matter of what Maura was doing out here...

[color=55B7AA]‘Oooh! Us too!’[/color] Bunny-Deni excitedly called. [color=55B7AA]‘Not necessarily that other activities are boring, but we wanted to try out hunting one of those things, see how well we'd fare! Wouldn't you say my disguise will flawlessly fool it? Riiight?’[/color] Bunny-Deni asked, posing ironically seductively with glimmering eyes like she'd seduce the harebringer.

 Maura patted Deni's head in thought. [color=crimson]"Eh, depends on if these harebringers are magic or not. And then again, they're probably unique to each other in vastly different ways. Still though, it's worth a try!"[/color]

[color=55B7AA]‘Yeah!’[/color] Bunny-Deni happily called, smiling up at the patting hand.

[color=DC9495]‘Uh,’[/color] Eli looked a little curiously. Going through her mind was "aren't you a patron, aren't you exceedingly overqualified or something?", but she decided not to ask. Besides, she could decide it sounded fun, anyway. So... [color=DC9495]‘Do you... want help?’[/color] she eventually settled for.

The cradle mother looked back at Eli, then smirked. [color=crimson]"The more the merrier, yeah? I wanna try and do this without my magic, so I'll need the back up.[/color]

[color=DC9495]‘Huh. Uh. Should we also try doing it without magic? For, like, authenticity?’[/color] Eli asked, genuinely unsure.

 [color=crimson]"I mean, it's up to you! I just wanna challenge myself, that's all."[/color] Maura shrugged.

[color=DC9495]‘Well. Um. We'll decide if we have to depending on the situation, I'd say,’[/color] Eli said, looking over at Deni.

[color=55B7AA]‘I'm doing my disguise,’[/color] Bunny-Deni insistently declared. Eli smiled and nodded.

The three of them then went off searching for a Harebringer.

The three of them didn't take long to find tracks for a group of snowbuns that headed deep into a forest. There, in the middle of a snow-coverd clearing, they saw the Harebringer; it's coat was a deep blue in color, and it was lop-eared, its ear flaps covering it's eyes as it slept peacefully under a tall pine tree, in a cozy pile of branches. 
Five snowbuns have scattered around the Harebringer, also sleeping.

Eli was peeking at the creature from a distance, and Bunny-Deni turned to Maura with a little smily on the transformed bunny's face. [color=55B7AA]‘May I?’[/color] she asked, intending to try getting close as a bunny before the hare had raised its guard.

Maura only nodded, giving her the go ahead.

Deni gently skipped off into the snowy field, acting as snow-bunny as she could. Just being curious about the tree, curious about the snow piles, curious about the gathering of snowbuns and the Harebringer. She gently skipped forward with clear interest, like a little outsider seeking to join the pack, looking so happy and curious as she approached.

The Harebringer seemed undisturbed as it continued sleeping, unaffected by Deni's charms. However, one of the Snowbuns awakened upon her approach, and chittered at the sight of her with hearts in it's eyes; Deni had successfully seduced the snowbun. It hopped closer to Bunny Deni, making a kissy face and inadvertently blocking her path to the blue Harebringer.

Deni froze up a little, blinking in surprise at the snowbun. She hadn't actually intended on charming this particular snowbun. ... Still, being popular was kinda nice. Using perhaps a bit of her above-average agility, she skipped to give the snowbun a happy little kiss on the forehead before trying to skip over him and closer to the Harebringer, intent on trying to cozy up next to the supernatural hare.

The snowbun was stunned from the kiss it received, turning red in the cheeks, giving Deni the chance to move past it. However, now the rest of the white snowbuns woke, and surrounded Bunny-Deni while also making kissy faces, leaving her no room to jump or move.

Oh, geesh. Um, the Harebringer isn't looking, right?

Deni focused inwards, imagining what the other snowbuns were currently seeing... and then shapeshifted. As in, she left a bit of snowbun behind, and then sent a snowbun-shaped bit to kiss each of the snowbuns, making sure to make the snowbuns she sent out big enough to cover the sight of the abomination that was past it from the sight of each snowbun. This way, she'd give them all a kiss on the forehead at the same time. After which she quickly surged it all back and regrouped as a single blob of a snowbun again. If that worked, and all the snowbuns were blushing, she'd leap over them to finally get to the Harebringer...!

The snowbuns were successfully placated, as their affections were reciprocated by Deni's expert shapeshifting. However, just when Deni jumped up, having reformed herself, that was when the Harebringer's attention was finally piqued: it lifted it's lop ears, revealing the dreamiest pair of eyes Deni had ever seen in her life, blue and sparkling like an infinite ocean. In fact, they were so dreamy that Deni found herself lost in the comfort they brought to her. She fell asleep, as did the snowbuns who had recovered from their post-kiss daze and turned to see where Deni went. Even Maura, who had observed from afar, slowly collapsed down into the snow upon meeting the Harebringer's gaze. Once they fell asleep, the Harebringer lowered its lop ears again, and returned back to its peaceful slumber. Only Eli, who by chance had missed out on seeing the Harebringer from a brief lapse in attention induced by embarrassment, had avoided the hypnotic effect.

[color=DC9495]‘Oh, Ronin, what are you doing? I can't watch...’[/color] Eli muttered to herself as she looked away from behind the tree she was hiding behind, embarrassed by her sister's promiscuous tactics. Still, that had somehow turned out for the best when it turned out that... [color=DC9495]‘Eh?’[/color] she made a slight surprised noise looking towards Maura, and then off towards Deni, finding that Deni was sleeping way over there, somehow still a bunny. Huh. Eli quickly skipped over to poke Maura, which would develop into shaking if it didn't wake her up.

[color=DC9495]‘Are you okay...?’[/color]

 [color=crimson]"Z..z..z...- E-Eh?"[/color] Maura flinched awake, looking over to Eli, then Deni, then the harebringer. Her eyes widened once she realized what had happened. [color=crimson]"God damnit! The thing knocked us both to sleep!"[/color] She whisper-yelled, appalled. She shouldn't have been made vulnerable like that! What if the harebringer was hostile?! She sighed. [color=crimson]"Looks like Deni's plan won't work. Here, I'll need your reinforcement magic for this."[/color] Maura place a hand on the side of her head, creating a quick mental shield for herself, then reached over to do the same for Eli.

[color=DC9495]‘Um, alright!’[/color] Eli said, a bit alarmed that the Harebringer was apparently able to put a patron to sleep, but very much willing to lend a hand. She held her hands up to help use her Reinforcement magic to strengthen said mental shield, and then for herself as well.

[color=crimson]"Okay, you go grab your sister, I'll sneak behind and grab the harebringer."[/color] Maura whispered, her form turning back to the shade that first approached them. She'd be cautious, keeping to shadow by shadow, until she was in the best proximity to their target. She traversed across the normal snowbuns' shadows, all the way to the harebringer's.

As Maura approached the Harebringer, she had an ominous feeling about it. The magical blue critter continued calmly sleeping, even after it had been approached by a magical girl in disguise. It was seemingly confident in not being able to be petted despite not having moved an inch from its nest. Maura invisibly closed in, shadow by shadow, until she had reached the hypnotizing hare's very own shade.
That was when it turned, it's lop-ears lifted to reveal its enchanting blue eyes once more. How could it have known that Maura had approached it? Even the most sharp-nosed Harebringers couldn't have detected a Patron's scent. Still, Maura's mental shield protected her from succumbing to the soporific effect of the creature's pupils. She reached for the grab, only to find a white Snowbun in her grasp instead; the bunny had leaped to protect the Harebringer. Strangely, it seemed the Harebringer knew this would happen in advance as well, as it had already opened its mouth. Before Maura could escape, it quietly chittered, producing a sonorous lullaby, so soothing that it lulled her to sleep, overcoming her mental shield as her ears were not protected. Before her eyelids were too heavy to keep open and she was met with somnium, the Witch of Death saw a glimpse of Eli dragging a half-woken Deni away.

Eli had successfully started pulling Deni away from the scene, but blinked as she realized what was going on over there. Deni, who was still in the shape of a bunny, blinked tiredly awake. Eli, meanwhile, bit together as she came up with a measure of a plan.

[color=DC9495]‘Deni, shapeshift into a lasso.’[/color] 

[color=55B7AA]‘... Wut. Why would I...’[/color] Deni asked, but before she could finish the question Eli was already hauling her over her head. With Martial Training, Eli was accomplished with any number of weaponry or kinda weaponry, and Deni managed to shapeshift into a bunch of rope with a noose on the end. Eli threw the lasso, and threw it to attempt to grab Maura and just yank her to a safe distance away from the Harebringer for now.

Maura managed to wake up once more as soon as she was away from the harebringer. Realizing that she fell asleep again, she quietly knocked her head against the nearest tree a few times, then took a deep breath. [color=crimson]"Okay. Okay. I don't wanna bother someone to help us, and I don't want to resort to going all out. So do we have any ideas?? What do we know so far?"[/color] She looked between the twins, then the harebringer. For some reason it hasn't done anything besides sitting there, even with their attempts.

[color=55B7AA]‘I didn't consider that I could be used like that, hah!’[/color] Deni admitted after turning back into human.

[color=DC9495]‘Just got to adapt a bit. Shapeshifting is very versatile,’[/color] Eli replied, smirking back through her fright.

[color=55B7AA]‘Just, don't do that against a real enemy. If I'm cut in half as a whip, I'm [i]actually[/i] cut in half, so,’[/color] Deni said, shivering a little at the less-than-glamourous way to go that would be. Eli shivered similarly, nodded, and then onto the subject of what they knew of the target.

[color=55B7AA]‘It had… the most beautiful blue eyes…’[/color] Deni said, a stupid little smile on her lips. [color=55B7AA]‘… That I fell asleep after seeing, so don't look at them!’[/color] she then added with a smirk.

[color=DC9495]‘But it can also put you to sleep with a song, strong enough to even down a patron through a mental shield…’[/color] Eli shuddered, frightened by the power of the Harebringer.

 [color=crimson]"...Wait a minute. This thing might be able to predict our next moves. Can't tell how though, atleast not yet."[/color] She noted, narrowing her eyes. [color=crimson]"Lazy thing's just sleeping. Not even pretending to! He's just...there! Asleep! Strange little bugger only wakes up when we try to get near him. His cronies don't help either."[/color]
 
 [color=55B7AA]‘Hey, it's had to turn towards us each time it put us to sleep so far. If we just attack from three different directions, at least one of us should be able to reach it!’[/color] Deni suggested.

[color=DC9495]‘Could work, unless the Harebringer has another ace up its sleeve, then it might put all of us to sleep at once…’[/color] Eli voiced her concern.

Maura thought for a moment. [color=Crimson]"Maybe I can try and scare it awake, but we also gotta keep the other snowbuns away from it too. Not to mention I might not be effective enough, and besides, I'm not Maribel-"[/color] She paused with furrowed brows. Then groaned. [color=crimson]"I'll have to drag her over here, one second."[/color] Maura walked off to find the Witch of Nightmares, and after a brief while, the two walked back to the Harebringer nest. 

[color=55B7AA]‘Hey, no plan's without risk! I say we could go for it! And we can bother it with snowballs as we home in, so it can't focus on its hypnotising!’[/color] Deni continued, kinda enthusiastic now. Still, Maura had an idea and departed.

 [color=crimson]"...So I was hoping you could help jolt these little guys awake, or something."[/color] Maura explained to Maribel what she and the twins were up to, which earned a snort from the other woman.

 [color=9966CC]"Oh come now, I'm sure the fuzzball isn't as hard as he looks!"[/color] Maribel grinned, approaching the entrance to the harebringer's den.
 
 When she came back with Maribel, Deni happily waved to her and Eli nodded a bit hesitantly. They then got to look on as Maribel went to action.

 [color=crimson]"Oh uh..Deni, Eli, this is Maribel."[/color] Maura quickly introduced the three to each other, the latter mentioned waving to the twins. Maribel looked at the harebringer with a smirk. [color=crimson]"Hey, what are you gonna-"[/color]

 [color=9966CC]"Shhh. It may have a way to hear us~"[/color] Maribel waved her off, calmly walking inside the den, and to their target. The other three would see she was waiting on something; waiting for the harebringer to wake up, to make her move. She brought a finger up to her lips, like one would if they were shushing someone. Then before it can lull her to sleep,

 Maribel grinned wickedly.

 [B][color=9966CC]"Phantasm."[/color][/b]

 A pulse of nightmare magic would spread out across the nest, forcing both harebringer and snowbun inside out of their dreams by a sudden plague of night terrors. (Though, not bad enough to where their little hearts would stop. That'd be cruel, even for her!)

The Harebringer had predicted that someone would approach it, and opened its eyes to gaze in Maribel's direction. However, the witch knew to avert her eyes as she cast her spell, and a dark wave emanated from her palm across the clearing. A snowbun jumped to intercept the spell, but the Patron's magic was potent enough to spread through the entire area, reaching the Harebringer. The blue bunny's shimmering eyes dulled, and its prophetic dreams of the future were replaced by visions of fear and anxiety, causing it to visibly shake. It closed its eyes, attempting to fall back to peaceful slumber and sing an enchanted lullaby to end the mental assault, but the spell had hit the creature right in its weak point; it's dreams. Without them, it chittered loudly, its eyes now strained and bloodshot as if it hadn't been able to sleep for days. The other snowbuns, no longer protected by the Harebringer's dream magic, fled in terror. Finally, it plopped out of its nest and attempted to flee. However, this turned out to be a futile effort; the others could see it was quite plump even for a Snowbun, and thus very slow and jiggly as it barely managed to hop a meter or so at a time, like an overweight hamster or a sentient water balloon.

Seeing as her spell managed to do something, Maribel spun around and called out to the trio with a smile. [color=9966CC]"Better do something now, before the magic wears off~!"[/color]

 [color=crimson]"Ack! Right!!"[/color] Maura ran after the Harebringer, and reached out to pet it. If she managed, Maribel would call off her spell early.
 
 The fat bunny was easily caught, and with a hand over its head, it had been successfully petted and thus placated. The poor thing was panting and sweating all over; it must have never had as much exercise as it did in that one panic-stricken moment. Predictably, it fell asleep, even as Maura now carried it in her arms.

[color=DC9495]‘... Huh... was that it?’[/color] Eli asked, walking forward to them.

[color=55B7AA]‘... Uh. I'm kinda unsatisfied. Can we let it go again?’[/color] Deni asked, tilting her head looking at Maura holding it.

Maribel giggled, placing a hand over her mouth. [color=9966CC]"I did say he wasn't as hard as he looks. Sometimes it's easier than you expect~[/color]

 [color=crimson]"Uh, yeah. Thanks again, Mari."[/color] Maura nodded, gently petting the harebringer in her arms.

 [color=9966CC]"You've gotta break this habit of overthinking things, dear. You'll burn yourself out otherwise.[/color] The nightmare witch genuinely smiled to her, and turned to walk away. [color=9966CC]"I should head back to the others. Let me know if you need anything!"[/color]
 
[Color=crimson]"....Well, I'm gonna go take a nap."[/color] 

Deni sighed a little, but went up to pat the head of the Harebringer as well, just to have it official that she had, in fact, patted a Harebringer. [color=55B7AA]‘Well!’[/color] She said, spinning around to Eli. [color=55B7AA]‘Let's go to the next event, then! There was some sort of race that was happening, right? Sounds fun! Let's go!’[/color]

[color=DC9495]‘Er, okay!’[/color] Eli said, slightly more pensive, but as Deni walked off she also walked forward to pat the Harebringer, and smiled to Maura. [color=DC9495]‘Thank you for helping us! We'd probably have both been asleep and missed all the events without your help, and the backup you called in. Thank you. Have a nice nap!’[/color] she said, before turning around to run after her sister.