[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon]Word Count: 743 (+1 exp)[/color]
[color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 467/90
[sub][i]Thursday Evening[/i][/sub]
[b]Location:[/b] Christmas Village, the Frozen Highlands[/color][/center]
Royalty he may have been, but the Ice King was still a cat - and so the white team's appeasement worked like a charm. No felyne could resist good food, good pets, and a stroke of their ego. The Ice King turned out to be quite magnanimous even as he joined the festivities himself, letting the party continue. The ruler of winter's summoned  storm grew weaker and weaker as the merrymaking went on until both the blizzard and the celebration worn down. 

What remained was still a warm, jovial atmosphere. Snow still fell and bonfires still burned, and as party goers gradually made their ways back to their lodgings it made the festival area feel more cozy. The Ace Cadet could have lingered there for the rest of the night, but duty called.

Though before setting off for the stagecoach, Ace took a moment to actually open the mysterious gift he'd gotten. Or that was was pretty sure he'd gotten. It was possible someone in the village just had the same name as him, so best to check the contents either way before leaving just in case. It was a small cube, and the wrapping paper was already fragile; the exterior did not last long before it revealed a plain looking box. And inside of that... a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b9843b33e726.png]snowman figure[/url] on a metal ring, about the size of Ace's palm.

It was actually pretty similar to the stuff he'd been making earlier, save for the craftsmanship which was of a higher level despite the simple detail. There didn't appear to be anything special to it, but just the sight of it brought a smile to the hunter's face. Not only was it sure to be a reminder of a fun day, but the snowman's design perfectly appealed to him. Someone could have made the argument that a snowman with sunglasses was some kind of symbol for facing adversity, but to Ace it was just a clever little visual pun: a [i]cool[/i] snowman. 

It looked like the ring also had a heavy duty magnet that could be used to affix the figure to, say, a weapon or other piece of equipment. Instead, Ace fastened it to his backpack where it was little less likely to get jostled around too much. Pleased with the token, Ace made one last round of the area to say goodbye and thank the few locals he'd met and chatted with - and when he did return to regroup with the Seekers at the coach, he was redressed in his big coat and cold weather armor, along with a few ample containers that he hadn't arrived with.

The Cadet poked his head into the coach to set these containers down in it, nearby the stew pot, before glancing at Sandalphon. 

[color=salmon]"Aw, couldn't we stay overnight here, boss? Everyone's so nice,"[/color] he said, and as if that fact needed anymore demonstrating he continued by explaining what he'd brought back, saying, [color=salmon]"I asked if we could take some food for the road and they gave us all these leftovers!"[/color]

With such a large group the extra food probably wouldn't last for whatever remained of their journey even stretched out by being made into stew, but it would definitely help. Their hosts in Christmas Village really had been kind, even if technically the Seekers had been put to work (on a volunteer basis). Ace would have liked to stay longer, but his remark to Sandalphon was far from a plea or complaint. If the boss said it was time to go, it was time to go - and she made a good point anyway about getting as far as they could today while they were all well fed and in high spirits. 

He hopped down into the snow again to head to the carriage's front to assist with getting the steeds hooked up and ready to go, passing the professor who was about to enter and giving the man a friendly nod. Ace intended to ride along up front again like he'd done that morning, mostly for the same reasons (quicker reaction in case they came across anything interesting or dangerous), but also so he could easily take the reins from their designated driver if the dreadnought wanted a break from it, now or later.

Settled on one side of the driver's bench, Ace glanced at the Seekers he could still see and declared his status with a thumbs up. [color=salmon]"Ready to floe when you guys are."[/color]