[center][h3]Esaka - the Pools[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Clear Thursday Afternoon
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (220/150) Level 11 Big Band (125/110)
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Pit’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Harry and Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse] Grima’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 534 (1+20 bonus) / 2035 (3+30 bonus)[/center]

As one might expect, Ms Fortune and Robo-fortune differed in their opinions about what to do next. Nadia wanted to celebrate in some way, since even if she was only two rounds into her tournament run, she was still afloat in the Winners’ bracket in the most dangerous tournament Esaka had to offer. Keeping her spirits up was critical, she argued, especially after coming dangerously close to a loss at Maya and Miras’ hands.

Meanwhile, Robo reasoned that if Nadia still had energy to burn after her last competitive match for the day, the two should spend some time on their teamwork. The half-sisters they’d narrowly beaten had demonstrated the terrifying potential of clever Kameo use in combo. Sure, the computerized catgirl’s assorted Theonite Beams made her a strong zoning assist, but if they actually practiced combo extensions, Nadia’s number-one strength (aside from her fast and unpredictable mixups) would be even stronger. Although the feral was by no means the most diligent person around, she wasn’t totally deaf to critique, either. Over the last day she’d been shown her own fallibility plenty, so she couldn’t deny that Robo had a point.

Before the two could come to a decision (or even get all that far from the stage of their last clash, for that matter) a familiar figure flagged Nadia down. She’d recognize that rich red dress and huge brown ponytail anywhere, and though the beautiful Primrose was always a welcome sight, the cat burglar still didn’t really want to see [i]any[/i] Seeker of Light right now. Not until she’d won Mortal Kombat, and hopefully redeemed herself after witlessly inviting the catastrophe that befell Banishing Flats and its tenants last night. Nevertheless, if it had to be any Seeker, at least it was Primrose. The dancer had already found her once that morning, breaking the ice somewhat, and even beyond that the dancer understood her better than anyone else, except maybe Ace. By now, Nadia trusted Primrose to be fair and give her a chance to make things right. As such, while she froze for a brief moment when she recognized her comrade, the catgirl did not flee, but sheepishly made her way over.

“Found me again, eh?” Realistically speaking, her new outfit did very little to obscure her identity, even if its hood did hide her face. Of course, that hadn’t been how Primrose rediscovered her; it was Esaka’s organizational bulletin boards that betrayed the location of every tournament competitor. “Maybe I shoulda entered under an alias. Crafted a purr-sona, if you will.”

Robo-fortune lacked context for the pair’s interaction, but she could put two and two together. “A friend of yours?” the android inquired.

Nadia nodded, her tail flicking behind her. “Uh huh. Or…I hope so, at least. Robo, meet Primrose. Primrose, Robo-fortune. Wonderin’ why I’ve got an evil robot clone? Me too.” She scratched at her neck self-consciously and shifted to move out of the way of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/MphjhZu.png]barrel mech[/url] piloted by a purple-haired dwarf, which took up most of the walkway as its pilot hurried toward a nearby stage for his next match.

“So…what can I do ya for, Rosey?”

[hr]

With a little encouragement from Chel, Big Band deployed his mechanical arms and pushed himself laboriously back to his feet. After that last round, he felt drained, both physically and emotionally. He’d made a lot of mistakes, both in overall game plan and moment-to-moment reactions. It wasn’t like the detective didn’t have a fighting chance, since he’d taken the first round handily, but fighting with a broken respirator was a massive hindrance. If he was going to triumph here in his third Pools match, he couldn’t take the same approach that he did in round one, not without burning out again. At the very least, Band’s many years as a beat cop and an Anti-Skullgirl agent meant that he was well-equipped to adapt to evolving circumstances, and no stranger to unlikely victories. He knew he could do this. It was just a matter of…well, doing it.

Chel, at least, seemed excited to trade blows once more. “¿Listo para pelear de nuevo?” [i]Ready to fight again?[/i] The Mexican mech performed a nimble backflip, then assumed her fighting stance. “Bien, ¡hagamos esto!” [i]Good, let’s do this![/i]

[b]FINAL ROUND: FIGHT![/b]

When the Heavenly Principles initiated the combatants’ last clash, Band held his ground, so Chel did what she did best. “¡Estrella!” Eyes narrowed, Band stood firm as if to block the plasma shot, only to seemingly push forward into it right before impact. He grunted in muted annoyance, shrugged off the splash of searing energy, and kept moving. Chel leaped backward, fired at a downward angle in midair, then landed and launched another Sun Void right after. This time, though, Band unfurled his high hat cymbal at just the right time to soak up his foe’s Sun Voids and give himself a little extra Dramatic Tension, one after another. Chel had only the one projectile, after all, and it was high time that the detective put a lid on its brazen overuse.

For now, though, Chel wasn’t convinced. She continued to fire off Sun Voids, retreating from and circling around her opponent to slowly build up a life lead. Although Band’s Noise Cancels weren’t perfect, he’d grasped their timing well enough to parry four out of five, allowing him to close the distance between himself and Chel one big step at a time. He didn’t even throw out Brass Knuckles as a shortcut, but patiently walked her down. After a few seconds, and getting rather close to one edge of the arena, Chel realized that this wasn’t working anymore. After another plasma shot, she jumped forward rather than back, hoping that Band was so focused on his intensive approach that he’d be blindsided by the change-up.

Unfortunately for her, this was exactly what Band had been waiting for. Before Chel’s jump-in could clock him on the head, the machine found herself caught between the halves of Band’s tambourine. “Gotcha good!” He pictured in mind the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_qEOovz7U]combo he wanted[/url], an effective but simple sequence, not so strenuous that he’d run out of gas before cashing out with a finisher. Without shaking to inflict Sound Stun, he let Chel drop into a trumpet whack, then hammered her higher again with a saxophone uppercut. Band jumped after her, serenaded her with baritone and then bass soundblasts from his side caps, then leaned back to send Chel sailing with a 5000 lb Slam. “HMPH!”

His opponent flew away and rebounded in a wallbounce, despite the conspicuous lack of wall around the combatants’ stage. At the same time, Band landed flat on his back and teched forward, bounding to his feet in order to meet the mech in the middle. His [url=https://i.imgur.com/c5BZlnF.png]Pneumatic Slide[/url] picked Chel up off the ground so that he could follow up with his Jelly Roll, that aerial tambourine spin of his keeping Chel captive as he reached the top of his low arc and began to fall. “Shake, shake!” He let off a baritone blast as the two fell, hopped back up for a tenor blast into another Jelly Roll, then thrust downward with his giant clarinet to plunge his target down. “Swing it!” Thanks to his large frame, though, Band touched down before her and caught her with Hot Socks just before she hit the ground. A hit from that tiny drum pedal was enough for him to follow up with [url=https://i.imgur.com/mygvIpk.png]Bass Drop[/url], then lean back on a music stand for a double kick. Finally, before she could fly off, he slid forward with his anti-air command grab Take the A-Train. “Slow train rollin’!” The next second, he caught her inside his giant mechanical arm. [i]BAM-BAM-BAM…CLANG![/i] After striking like a pile bunker three times, the built-in trombone slide finally belted her out.

Chel hit the ground hard, but sprang up the next second, as lively as ever. Now that Band had the life lead, it was on her to make a move. “¡Me llevo este baile!” She jumped forward, too far away to land a jump-in or be anti-aired, then canceled a plasma shot with Kinetic Advance to close the distance quickly. The mech battered Band’s guard with a couple light chops, the first of which Band blocked standing before hunkering down to crouch-block on reflex. His good habit paid off when Chel transitioned into a low kick, although the pushback left him too far away to strike back with Hot Socks or his musical triangle. He blocked a thrust kick at the edge of its range, at which point a half-step back put him beyond the range of the next one.

A short hop backward coaxed Chel forward, only for him to lash out with a hugely disjointed [url=https://i.imgur.com/012lYKQ.png]Cymbal Crash[/url]. She reacted just in the nick of time and blocked, even though the tremendous clamor left her ears ringing. Eager to apply pressure, she decided to fire back with Night Sun, then Kinetic Advance forward again. A string of energy swipes from her blade fed into another plasma shot, but this time Band decided to exploit her habits. Rather than let her reset the neutral, he bulled forward through the projectile with a medium Brass Knuckle and drove his fist straight into Chel’s chassis as she recovered from the shot’s recoil. She yelped as Band went for an early spend himself and canceled into Super Sonic Jazz, plowing into her as a giant French horn for maximum unscaled damage. He’d lost his Bagpipe Blues buff from last round and couldn’t follow up with a punch barrage, but as Chel skidded away Band took the chance to reapply it.

Chel regained her feet to the strident, blaring notes of Band’s bagpipes and immediately shot a Night Sun at him to shut him up. Running after her projectile afforded her relative safety, and when Band tried to jump over her plasma to try and tag her with a Jelly Roll, her Crush Breeze successfully anti-aired him. After he hit the ground, she managed to catch him with a throw. “¡Sonríe!” A quick shoulder bash allowed her to flip his massive weight over her back and onto the ground, slightly closer to the stage’s edge. “¡Allá voy!” She charged into melee range as he rose, but stopped at the last moment to back off, anticipating a reversal. Band did challenge, but with his trumpet instead of Beat Extend, which she blocked but could not counterattack.

That left the two to spar with normals and try to open each other up once more, with the unseen match counter slowly closing down all the while. As the seconds ticked by, Chel’s attacks gradually became more frantic. The playful mech was a great grasp of spacing, and she excelled at punishing mistakes from foes forced to chase her down, but Band’s new style, defensive and low-risk, forced her to quit lobbing Sun Voids and go after him instead. Able to conserve energy, Band took a few pokes and projectiles but maintained his life lead. And when the opportunity finally came, he had enough energy to hit hard.

It happened when Chel overused her Kinetic energy and then got a little too cautious, allowing Band to throw her, and after ringing her ears with his bell he launched into a full combo. A Giant Step pedal slam dragged her back into close range, where a Bass Drop set her up for his Air Mail Special. “Saximum!” A brief air string led into the same extender he used before, then a similar but distinct air string followed by a second 5000lb Slam. Rather than follow through normally, though, Band deployed a set of drums and unleashed [url=https://i.imgur.com/ItaBgNX.png]Timpani Drive[/url]. “You’re gonna get beat!” With each strike of a drum, a pulse of sound energy blasted out, resulting in an aerial beatdown that left Chel flat on her back at the stage’s edge.

“Ohh…metí la pata.” [i]I put my foot in it.[/i] Gritting her metaphorical teeth, Chel dug deep for a second wind and launched an uppercut to blow through Band’s meaty attempt. That was a welcome surprise for her, given how patient he’d been so far, but it would take a lot more than that to make up the life difference between them. Her mental clock was counting down–just about fifteen seconds left. Could she even win in that time? She had to try.

Chel charged forward, using Kinetic Advance. Unwilling to abandon her courage, she pulled off an overhead, a move so wildly unsafe and unexpected that it somehow worked. A forward heavy double energy blade lunge paved the way for a low thrust, Night Sun, Kinetic Advance cancel, rising blade slash, and Crush Breeze. After the final axe kick, she put all her power into her Overdrive: a massive plasma blast that struck Big Band head-on. “Supernova!” As he hit the ground, she closed the distance with her Stinging Wind Kicks, only for the detective to quick-rise, block, and reversal with Beat Extend. That sealed the deal, and long before Band’s ensuing combo even finished, the Heavenly Principles interceded to decide the match.

[b]TIME UP! BIG BAND WINS![/b]

Straightening up, the cyborg let Chel fall from his grasp. “Saved by the bell, eh?” He let out a heavy breath, his respirator wheezing.

The mech sprang to her feet the moment she could, stomping one foot in a pout. “Ay, estoy tan decepcionado.” [i]I’m so disappointed.[/i] She shook her head, then shrugged and stuck out her hand. “Bien jugado, señor.”

Band extended a spindly mechanical arm, careful not to pinch too much, and shook the mech’s hand. “Well played yourself, little lady. Good luck out there.” As the two drew apart, Band’s physical and mental exhaustion began to set in. Chel had been skilled enough to make him take the fight very seriously, but not so skilled that she could change up her own style successfully. He needed a break after a fight like that, but more than anything, he needed his apparatus fixed. And ideally, the temporary solution engineered by Junior replaced with actual repairs.

After double jumping back from the stage to one of the Pools’ many bridges, he set off in search of a lift to the low tier in hopes that he could find an affordable technician. A couple yokai, drawn by the musical commotion of his fight, trailed after him, perhaps hoping that he’d be heading for another brawl they could watch. Their presence reminded Band that he’d rely on donations from spectators like them to stay afloat in Esaka, especially now that he needed money for repairs. Unfortunately, the mutters and remarks of the yokai suggested that they had mixed feelings about the defensive style he’d ended up using. While impressive on a technical level to more competitive watchers, defensive fighting seemed to dissatisfy the casuals. He didn’t know what to do with this realization yet, but it was something to keep in mind as he made his way further through the Winners-side bracket.

[center][h3]Esaka - Metropolitan Square[/h3]
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Harry’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard][/center]

On the subject of discretion, Hilde made sure to remind her new associates about one of Esaka’s many dangers. “Keep in mind that if we create too much of a scene, like attacking Azucena or the Gigas outright, the Heavenly Principles will summon Aurumatons to suppress the disturbance.” She seemingly assumed that the Seekers knew enough about Esaka’s guardian constructs to get the weight behind her warning. When Terry second-guessed Harry’s ability to take Azucena on, Hilde gave a tentative nod, somewhat dubious of Du Bois being combat-ready right now.

She considered Terry’s alternative suggestions, though the lady knight appeared to be in favor of a more expedient course of action. “There’s no telling what’ll happen once her publicity stunt is over with. We should take advantage of her Coffee Challenge while we still can. It’s a golden opportunity.”

Hilde kept her eyes on the Peruvian MMA fighter as she accepted another challenger and prepared herself for another match. The crowd drew back from the combatants as they squared up, creating a perimeter that made use of nearby objects like phone booths, planters, traffic barriers, and hot dog stands to create the boundary for an impromptu stage. With all the pedestrians around, not to mention the people involved, these bouts were drawing more attention than most Pools matches. Her prospective opponent, a short blonde woman with an elegant black-and-blue dress and a white greatsword, was [url=https://i.imgur.com/rf66VfF.png]Es[/url], allegedly an upper Mid-tier fighter of some renown. With an immovable deadpan expression and rather robotic body language reminiscent of Sandalphon, she remained impassive until the challenge began. Then she unleashed an impressive array of acrobatic sword slashes, revealing superhuman power, speed, and reflexes. At first it seemed as though Azucena, unarmed and without any special abilities, was hopelessly outclassed. It didn’t take long for her to mount a comeback, however, using special taunts, dodges, and counters to toy with her opposition. Her flair didn’t seem to faze Es, but it did excite the crowd, which in turn almost seemed to empower Azucena. In the end, the coffee magnate narrowly claimed victory to a chorus of claps and cheers.

“¡Parece que mi café era demasiado fuerte para ti!” she declared with a huge smile, the Heavenly Principles’ decree automatically interpreting her words from her native Spanish. [i]Looks like my coffee was too strong for you![/i] After helping Es up, though, Azucena waved her toward the table next to her promotional banner, laden with goodie bags emblazoned with her business’s logo. “Pero me gustan los luchadores atrevidos igual que el café atrevido, así que, por favor, ¡sírvete de un premio de consolación!” [i]But I like bold fighters just like I like bold coffee, so please, help yourself to a consolation prize![/i] Es nodded, still expressionless, and walked over to be carefully handed a bag by a Gigas. Without another word she then marched off down the street, and Azucena launched into her usual advertisement, extolling her coffee’s flavor and power as she sought additional challengers.

Folding her arms, Hilde considered the situation. “After so many wins, she’s definitely getting cocky. Maybe we could appeal to her showmanship and change the terms of the fight.” She glanced at Terry. “You might be our best chance. Just big enough of a name to make it happen.”

As she spoke, one other event unfolded not too far away. There was a disgruntled-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/cNXUtWz.png]polar bear[/url] in a blue apron, leaning against a white van with a logo on the side reading [i]Polar Star Coffee[/i]. He attempted to talk to Es as she walked by, but Es ignored him, eliciting a disappointed grumble. Afterward, the bear crossed his arms and sat back down to continue watching Azucena’s Coffee Challenge from a respectful distance, a grim frown on his furry features.

[center][h3]Esaka - Opera House[/h3]
Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Grima’s [@Goggy][/center]

Darun Mister looked Kim up and down. “I don’t recognize you, so I doubt anyone else would. But tricking your way in there won’t be easy. If the production crew is a tight-knit bunch, they’ll sniff you out right away.” The Indian wrestler shrugged. “Also…there’s no telling if Chloe’s even in there right now. If her people are still setting up, I doubt it.” He turned and looked over the area around the opera house. There didn’t seem to be anyone out of the ordinary, though given how many oddball fighters populated Esaka, that wasn’t saying much. “Perhaps if we ask around, we’ll find someone who’s seen her. Then again, ask the wrong person and she might get tipped off. It’s a tough call!”

[center][h3]Esaka - City Outskirts[/h3]
Bowser Jr and Rika’s [@DracoLunaris] Therion’s [@Yankee] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse][/center]

A few minutes after Junior and Rika reached the agreed-upon meeting spot outside Esaka’s northern gate, Anji showed up in what Dolores had assumedly referred to as the ‘company car’. Looking at it, though, one could only imagine that the Darli Dagger had been the one to pick this vehicle out. The [url=https://i.imgur.com/9RZ9s2M.png]Frying Dutchman[/url] appeared a miniature pirate ship on giant offroad tires, completely with a sail and a fishy figurehead, not quite as big as a monster truck but still more sizeable than an everyday SUV. A look at its cabin from the back revealed that it was essentially a stylized, souped-up food truck, though whether or not the UN agents ever used it for its intended purposes was highly debatable. Anji, at least, seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he drove the unwieldy thing over to the rendezvous.

“Haha, yes!” Darli grinned ear to ear at the sight of the Frying Dutchman. “I LOVE this stupid thing.”

Dolores tried to hide her embarrassment behind a sophisticated adjustment of her gold-rimmed glasses. “It was…the most affordable option that could cover our bases.” The look on her face suggested that she wanted to add the word [i]unfortunately[/i], but the elegant lady kept herself composed as she followed her excited comrade over to the truck. While Darli climbed aboard and parked herself atop the poop deck, Dolores paused beside the vehicle and made a flourishing motion with one hand. The earth beneath her high heels suddenly began to shift, becoming malleable and muddy as it rose upward, lifting a very unfazed Dolores along with it. After a moment she could step onto the truck’s main deck with minimal effort, and the earthy spire sank back down into the ground. “If we’re all present and accounted for,” she announced, looking around. “Let us depart.”

A Chopper, the Kuebiko, and the Flying Dutchman made for a very strange and rather intimidating convoy as the vehicles proceeded north, then hung a left at Ashwat Village. The dirt road took them west, gradually angling more south as the fields of lush farmland gave way to bamboo forest, the long stalks getting thicker, taller, and more plentiful the further the vehicles went. 

[center][img]https://gh.cdn.sewest.net/assets/ident/news/701f8f55/02Imperial%20China-zztrsrn8z.jpg?quality=65&width=66%25&height=66%25[/img][/center]

As they drove south, of course, the Seekers and their new associates were well aware that the APC they were after was coming the other way, full of deadly Jack-5 robots meant to reinforce the G-Corp personnel still in Esaka. There was no telling when the opposing forces would meet, so to maximize their chances of success, Dolores called out to suggest that their caravan stop in a clearing where they could lay in wait for their foes and ambush them once they arrived. With her powers over the earth, she was convinced that she could bog down any vehicle long enough for her allies to strike, no matter how much horsepower it had.

In less than half an hour, Team A’s patience would be rewarded. The Seekers heard their target before they saw it thanks to its loud, heavy-duty tank treads, and a moment later the [url=https://i.imgur.com/uXTiZDg.png]APC itself[/url] roared into view. It stood a solid twelve feet tall, with thick, black armor plating and a forward-mounted cannon. Those treads meant that it would have an easier time escaping Dolores’ mud trap than she would have liked, but they also limited the APC’s top speed. That gave the Seekers a few moments to put together a plan of attack, then put it into practice.

[center][h3]The Midnight Walk - Christmas Village[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Wintry Thursday Evening
Lvl 9 Sandalphon (71/90) Level 7 Heismay (7/70)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double] Ramattra and Tenna’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] Mokou’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1272

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/p76VSWM.png]Nameless Stagecoach[/url][/b]
𖥞: [color=lime]8[/color]/8 | 🛡️: 6/8 | [color=blue]◆[/color]◆◆◆ | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/Vegetubes/Lightning Rod/(None) | [b]Companion[/b]: Ratshaker Rat[/center]

After she and the others finished placing all the gifts they’d wrapped beneath the tree, Sandalphon straightened up and took a deep breath. Between wish inquiry, letter-writing, snowball fights, and gift-wrapping, she’d been doing something or another for many hours now. Her body was stiff and aching all over, with especially creaky and unpleasant joints. Despite her new garments, courtesy of the Christmas clothiers, as well as the parka purchased in Snowdin, she still felt uncomfortably cold. From what she’d gathered about what lay ahead for her, she wouldn’t be feeling much warmer anytime soon, either. Trying not to shiver, the archangel made her way to a bonfire and stood by the roaring flame, her hands gingerly extended for warmth. 

There she stood, still as a statue and uninterested in making conversation, until Maeve fluttered out of the workshop with a little cup of soup in hand. The pixie steeled herself, quaffed the foul liquid, spat out a pebble into the snow, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem…is this working?” Thanks to the magic of the Loud Soup, Maeve’s voice resounded throughout the whole village, perfectly audible to everyone. Although it possessed a booming quality, it wasn’t deafeningly loud, so fortunately poor Heismay didn’t need to cover his sensitive ears. “Oh, great! Well, I just wanted to say, thank you so so much to everyone working hard to get the festival ready. It’s now six o’clock, and you know what that means! It’s officially Christmas time! Eat, drink, make merry, and don’t forget to check under the tree to see if you got a special surprise! Merry Christmas, everyone!” Maeve then turned to the elven chef as he strode out of the workshop, trying to lower her magically boosted voice. “Okay, haha, so, how do I…stop being loud now? …Wait, how long!? Oh no…”

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34R5u1eHdcU[/youtube][/center]

Within minutes, the Christmas Village was full of people. All the travelers passing time inside their igloos and lodges emerged in holiday outfits, joining the elves, fleas, and Seekers to mill around what was essentially a festive fairground. Well-fed fire pits all over the place kept pots full of cocoa, cider, coffee, siegbrau, and fleabrew toasty, while stalls offered sizzling fried fish, roast boar, and sumptuous fluffy bread fresh from the ovens. Thanks to Geralt spearheading a team of elven hunters, including the surly Iorveth, the feast even had an awe-inspiring centerpiece: a gigantic Gammoth haunch the size of a sedan, spit-roasted on a tree trunk over a giant bonfire. Once they’d eaten their fill, festival-goers could embark on reindeer sleigh rides, assemble snowmen, sing along with jubilant carolers, and more, all without having to worry about snow implings impeding them.

Perhaps best of all, with the return of his caravan’s thirty youngsters, Fleamaster Mooshka could treat everyone to the grand unveiling of the Flea Games from his newly-constructed [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlK5buH6yQ]stage[/url]. With the help of the energetic young fleas (some turbo-charged by overconsumption of fleabrew) attendees could compete for top scores in Flea Bounce, Flea Dodge, and Flea Juggle, with prizes promised for first, second, and third place in all three games.

And of course, at any time visitors to the Christmas Village could check out its titular tree, a towering pine covered in lights and baubles and crowned with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Qt7ZFSo.png]cheerful living star[/url]. Presents of all shapes and sizes, colorfully wrapped, were piled high beneath its boughs. Whether by luck or some Christmas miracle, there was actually something there for everyone. When Heismay stopped by, he was surprised to discover a package addressed to him. After tearing off the paper, he discovered a fine anklet that bore the visage of a falcon. Touched by the gift, but without anyone to thank for it, the eugief donned the anklet right away. Just wearing it made him feel a little stronger, a little faster, a little hardier–in short, a little better all around. It was a nice feeling.

[center][hider=Item Obtained][b]Falcon Anklet[/b]
A fine accessory that fills one’s heart with valor. All stats (Strength, magic, agility, endurance, luck, health, magla) +5[/hider][/center]

Conversely, Sandalphon did not join the merriment immediately, instead content to watch the others enjoy themselves by her fire. After a few minutes, though, Maeve flitted over with a gift in her hands. “Um, hi?” she greeted Sandalphon tentatively, perhaps afraid that her voice would still be amplified by the Loud Soup. When it wasn’t, she sighed with relief and continued. “I wanted to thank you and all your friends in particular! You guys put in a LOT of work to make the festival possible. Thanks to you, I’m absolutely sure there will be enough Christmas spirit to melt the blizzard!” She held the present out to Sandalphon. “Here! I saw this one was for you!”

Taken momentarily aback, Sandalphon carefully accepted the package. “...You’re too kind. Thank you, Maeve.”

“Aw, it was nothing!” The pixie looked away abashedly, a bright smile on her face.

Sandalphon unwrapped the present, her motions opposite the ones she’d done many times before. After a moment, a small scroll of parchment unfurled in her hands. “Seguiriya to your Eyes like Stars,” she read. 

“It’s a prayer!” Maeve explained. “A hymn to the night skies. I don’t exactly know what it does, but if anyone can make it work, it’s a miracle-worker like you.”

Silently thinking, Sandalphon slipped the paper into her pocket. She could indeed feel some semblance of holy power in that hymn, not quite what she was used to, but something she could work with. Right now, though, something else was on her mind. “Maeve, may I ask you a question?”

She nodded, smiling. “Of course!”

“What is the meaning of Christmas?” For a moment Maeve floundered in silence, confused by the question, so Sandalphon elaborated. “I can see and appreciate the costumes, the decorations, and so on. I have partaken in festive activities like the gift-giving process, and I would like to enjoy both food and company. But there is…I don’t know, something about Christmas I just don’t quite grasp. Something missing…a reason for doing all this.” She looked over her shoulder at the great blizzard that obstructed the Midnight Walk. “It isn’t just to dispel snowstorms, is it?”

Maeve fidgeted, uneasy. “Well, no…we do it every year, snowstorm or not.”

“So…” Sandalphon could only shrug helplessly, then wince at the aching pain. “What does this celebration…well, celebrate? Is it just for companionship and communal happiness? Giving for giving’s sake?”

At that, Maeve brightened up. “Yeah, sure! I mean, isn’t that enough? Buying people gifts, getting gifts back, fun clothes and decorations, good times and good food with friends and family…it’s all good, right? What else do you want?”

“...I don’t know.” That was a good question. Try as she might, the archangel couldn’t articulate the strange feeling inside her. In the end, there was no reason to overthink or analyze. Everything Maeve said was true enough. There weren’t enough people doing good things in the world just for goodness’ sake, so this festival afforded the Seekers and other travelers alike a chance to strive for everyone’s happiness, even if just for a few hours. That in itself was a precious thing, and Sandalphon decided not to question it further. “Thanks again, Maeve. Please enjoy yourself, I know you’ve been working hard, too.”

The tired pixie beamed at her. “Thank you! And merry Christmas!”

Sandalphon watched her go, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Merry Christmas.”