[center][h3]Christmas Village - Presents of Mind[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Cloudy Thursday afternoon
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2046 (+3 EXP / 6 REXP)[/center]

For whatever reason, it took longer than Sandalphon expected for her to run out of steam and graciously withdraw from the snowball fights. Maybe Ace’s infectious positivity buoyed her up, or Tenna knew exactly how to make sure everyone had a great time, or the smiles and laughs of the playful children filled her soul with joyful energy. Technically speaking, the archangel had never experienced a youth of her own, but through these youngsters she managed to vicariously experience a little youthful wonderment. All good things had to come to an end, though, especially physical activities. When Sandalphon finally returned to the village’s workshop lodge, her extremities were numb from cold exposure despite her boots and gloves. It seemed like staying inside the workshop’s warm interior and finding some less exhausting way to make herself useful would be a smart move.

Naturally, the workshop was abuzz with activity as artisans toiled away in every room, be they cooks, brewmasters, toymakers, or clothiers. By now, only a few hours remained before the festivities officially began, so while a great deal of work had been done already, work on the remainder had reached a fever pitch. It was a bit overwhelming in fact, even for Sandalphon, so rather than try and insert herself anywhere else, she kept an eye out for any fellow Seekers whose endeavors might benefit from her help.

What she didn’t expect was that Sectonia would be one of the Seekers to help with presents. Although Sectonia was more interested in getting everything done than anything, and this was one of the few remaining jobs that could invoke some beauty once it was complete, she’d leave the other jobs for the other Seekers. [color=92278f]”Sandalphon,”[/color] Sectonia said courteously, overlooking the busy workshop. 

[color=92278f]”With all the hands at work here, what help would only a few extra be?”[/color] Sectonia said, rubbing her chin as she overlooked the busy workers, wondering just how much of an effect the Seekers could even have here. Sectonia’s Antlers could be a sizable increase to the workforce, but that would be about it.

Sandalphon met her gaze. “Even so, I’d like to be of whatever assistance I can.”

As the two began to get into the gift wrapping, a notable blue ball rolled onto the scene, somehow managing to keep a santa hat perched on their head as they bumped into Sandalphon’s leg. The ball, specifically Spheal, looked up at the angel and let out a happy “Sphea!” before rolling away to continue its exploration, just as Mokou herself walked into the workshop, already carrying a few fully wrapped presents, “Oh. You two are here. Looks like the whole festival is almost ready, just gotta handle the rest of these” she states, placing the gifts on a nearby table, “Just running some gifts around. Best to keep them all in one place so they don’t get misplaced.”

For a brief moment, the archangel’s pupils became delighted shining stars as she regarded the rotund, blissful creature at her feet. By the time she turned her attention to Mokou, though, they were back to normal. When the Phoenix mentioned her current task, Sandalphon glanced at the nearby table, laden with rolls of colorful wrapping paper, tape, scissors, labels, and bows. “I can help with that,” she ventured.

No sooner had Sandalphon seated herself at an empty spot at the table than her task began. She could eyeball gift dimensions and cut the perfect amount of wrapping paper with uncanny accuracy, and her long, delicate fingers moved with mechanical efficiency and precision, quickly and neatly enshrouding each item in paper. Once a gift was wrapped, a bow of a suitable color could be attached, and then the label with the intended recipient according to a ledger passed around by the workers. Sandalphon, naturally, memorized the list of gifts and recipients so she wouldn’t need to request the ledger again. This activity was just complicated enough to keep her mentally occupied without being difficult, although not so occupied that she couldn’t converse with the others. After a few moments, she asked, “Having a good time so far? This is quite the departure from our usual experience on the Midnight Walk.”

Sectonia, finding the process of wrapping gifts herself a bit too… mundane and simple, had summoned her full set of Antlers to help wrap gifts, bolstering the gift wrapping forces by 14 with them alone. After all, it was a queen’s job to delegate things that others could do and just observe, but much like one would expect from the beauty obsessed bee her summons worked to make perfectly wrapped gifts that had nary a flaw. 

Since she could delegate, Sectonia was up for chatting as well. Once everything was working smoothly, she replied to Sandalphon’s question. [color=92278f]”A bit too much manual labor for my liking, but I was not expecting to celebrate Christmas on our little adventure here. Being the one to choose outfits and decorate the place has been fun, even if I hear the occasional comment of there being too many hearts or stars for Christmas when it comes to decorations.”[/color] By occasionally, she really meant 1 from one of the locals said under their breath, but when chatting gossip and other such things it was customary to embellish a bit.

[color=92278f]”I wonder how a few of the other, less… festive members of our team are handling it. It seems like Ganondorf and Ramattra haven’t even heard of the holiday from their expressions. A few others haven’t as well, but those two feel like it might affect them more than say, Edward who is very matter of fact about things.”[/color] Sectonia said, starting a topic up of how the less good aligned seekers might see the holiday. While Sectonia wasn’t on the good spectrum either, she didn’t scoff at such a big holiday that tended to radiate beautiful light with many ways to design and make things gorgeous.

Sandalphon considered the fact that the wasp queen shared. “This holiday does not exist in my world to my knowledge, but superficially it has a great deal in common with Dragonyule, a winter festival where gift-giving and even red coats are commonplace.” She tilted her head slightly as she continued to work. “Now that I think about it, the commonalities are too conspicuous to overlook. I cannot help but wonder if there is some sort of connective tissue there.” Having not seen Ramattra or Ganondorf herself, she couldn’t vouch for either of their opinions, but hopefully this would be a chance for everyone to de-stress a little. Too much cortisol would only hinder the Seekers’ mission once they ultimately reached Moon Mountain.

[color=92278f]”Perhaps it is just an underlying pin of reality.”[/color] Sectonia said, shrugging.

Seeing as this was a gossip session, Sectonia offered a bit of her own. [color=92278f]”I wonder, what do you two know of strong rituals or objects of power? The locals are very convinced that preparing for this holiday will clear the blizzard that freezes even ice. Besides this place, I feel I’ve found a few in this world already. One source of great divine power was from one of the Guardians sure, but another was from some land of candy. Which you wouldn’t expect an artifact of such profound darkness and power to be frozen in caramel. So if you ever wonder why I look in the strangest of places, from experience I've found that unassuming places can still hold things of great power in this world.”[/color] Secontia said, mentioning her Chaos Heart powers. Even she knew there was more to be tapped into, somehow, even as she had already tapped into its power twice.

That was a broad question, so despite her wealth of knowledge Sandalphon found it somewhat difficult to come up with a suitable answer. After a few moments of fastidious measurement and snipping, though, she came up with her approach. “Most of the rituals I’m familiar with are for the suppression and banishment of demons,” she explained, thinking back to her time with the Apostles. “As for objects of power, there are many relics prized by the Ilian Church, but in all of Grastaea there are few objects more precious than Pactstones. The embodiment of trust and unity between humans and dragons. Pure, crystalized magic.”

“I’ve got a good grasp on rituals myself, though I didn’t bother checking out the blizzard. Admittedly, I was more interested in seeing if this festival could do the job of clearing it” Mokou comments as she finishes wrapping another gift and places it on a quickly growing pile next to her, “Not confident enough to say what [i]that[/i] blizzard is sourced from though. I’d wager a guess that it’s from an object inside that’s fueling its own power. If the festival doesn’t end up working, I’ll just burn my way through it.”

[color=92278f]”Or some creature. It could be either.”[/color] Sectonia said. [color=92278f]”As for relics of popstar, to be honest, there are far too many. I suppose the most well known is the Star Rod which can let one damage even invincible darkness, but I am sure many others exist with how many stories there are of the hero of the lower world saving popstar.”[/color] Sectonia said. [color=92278f]”If you were confronted with a powerful relic that would enhance your powers without corrupting you, no matter its source of power, would you take it? Or do you have limits on what types of power you’d stay away from?”[/color] Sectonia asked, stirring a bit more chatter on the subject. [color=92278f]”For me, as long as it is elegant and does not have too much of a downside I am not picky. Light or dark, I will use both.”[/color]

A shadow of an amused smile passed over Sandalphon’s face as her pupils became inverted triangles. “I’ve heard it said that all power corrupts, you know.” She paused in her wrapping, holding a fancy silver bow up to the light to see how it sparkled and glimmered. “I would think myself…highly selective. Even for angels, there are powers that should not be trifled with. [i]Especially[/i] for angels, in fact.”

She set the bow aside and selected a forest green one to attach to the gift she was wrapping. This one seemed to be addressed to Ramattra, so she could not help but take note of its contents, which intrigued her. “Regardless. Power isn’t everything. In my world, there are plenty of dragons, demons, and extradimensional entities with unbelievable power. Yet time and time again, heroes have triumphed over them all. In the wake of such events, I can only imagine that these heroes say such things as…’the strongest power of all is the bonds we’ve forged between us’.”

[color=92278f]”That is easily explained, their combined power surpassed that individual’s power.”[/color] Sectonia said, pointing at her Antlers working in groups to get presents done, showing teamwork being done to get a task complete. [color=92278f]”Those with a strong unified vision can do much more than anything they can do alone. But it doesn’t hurt to take power others waste either.”[/color]

“Certainly true. Though [i]some[/i] powers are better left alone” Mokou says with a sigh, “But trust is certainly a strength on its own. Admittedly, back in my world disputes were regularly handled in one on one affairs, so you didn’t get much in terms of ‘working together’.”

The three continued to chat as they worked at their task. While most of the topics stayed fairly surface-level thanks to their differences in perspective and/or social ability, and they sometimes lapsed into comfortable silence, the trio also touched upon somewhat deeper topics here and there. In the end, they managed to feel a little less like coworkers or allies of convenience, and more like comrades. All the while, anticipation for the coming festivities slowly built. The hours went by quickly, and at their end Sectonia, Mokou and Sandalphon had accumulated a pile of presents that the Antlers could then haul out to deposit under the village’s Christmas tree.