Comfort and Joy [Holiday Thread - For Fun!]
By
Burning_Brawler_NA,
Posted on: 2006-12-14 10:54 in Roleplaying
"Big Bear!" Rosie yelled out, happily wagging at the sight of the Wyvern agent. "Good to see you!!"
She was instantly distracted, though, by the tumbling of Anna and Cobalt into the middle of the room through the fireplace. She stopped, and stared at them, before her tail slowly began to wag again.
"Holy crap..." she said, "That was the COOLEST THING EVER!!"
Kneeling down to help them up, she grinned widely. "Come on and join the party! Grab some refreshments or something. We're gonna have a dance in the basement later, so better stock up on energy now."
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Acid had entered, and grinned, giving him a quick nod. Rosie knew how far he had to travel...and it meant a lot that he'd made it.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!" Essex squeaked in surprise and alarm as Rulaag popped up and surprised them. Her feet quickly swept out from under her on the ice and deposited her quite neatly on her bottom.
"Oh, h-hello, sir." she mused a little, looking up at him with a sheepish grin. "Merry Christmas! Will you be caroling with us?"
Glancing over at John and Jenny, she smiled again. "Doesn't anyone have a suggestion for the next song we should sing?"
-------------------------------------------------------------
Deep below, in a solitary lab, a single figure sat with her head in her hands. Her eyes were level but narrow as she stared down at the desk in the darkness.
"...Another year." Zealstorm muttered. "Mein Gott...what a waste."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Jenny almost replied, had it not been for the hand instantly covering her mouth. She struggled, but compared to John, she didn't have much physical strength. "Nope, no songs at all." he answered in her stead. Jenny's eyes turned to a frown as he let go.
"I wasn't going to say anything sick. That's your job."
"Yes, you were. You have a weird look when you're about to say something like that."
"...Hmph."
Little did Rosalind know, a certain party was very interested in her on this night. They were poised, ready and waiting, equipped with the best technology money could buy in order to scrutinize her every move, sound and action..
"Big Bear! Good to sKKKKKKHK--"
...
"Holy crap... That was the CKKKKkkkkkkKkKKING EVER!!"
...
"Come on and join the party! Grab some rekshhhhhhHHHHHHhhhhhthing. We're gonna have a dance in the bassssSHHhhent later, so better stKKKKKK--"
...Or maybe not.
Lyden pulled off his headset, turned off the tape recorder and unplugged the shotgun microphone. There was no way he could pick up Rosalind's voice at this distance, on another rooftop several dozen meters away... with the way she was moving around... and with how poor of an aim he was with it. At this rate, how was he ever going to learn about common holiday socialization patterns?
Undaunted, however, he took to looking at the house through a pair of high-tech binoculars- after all, body language was supposedly just as important as the spoken word, wasn't it? Lyden would learn. After all, there was someone he hoped would be impressed by this commitment.
---------------------------------------------------
Kings' Row was always the last part of Paragon City to recieve snow clearing treatment. Odd, as the grid-like layout of the zone would seemingly make it easier than anywhere else to plow. Everything was covered in a neat, soft, undisturbed blanket, ruptured only by the almost rail-like indentations left by cars moving along in single file. In front of the towering Equinox Laboratories building, it seemed like nobody had come or gone for awhile.
"...I am working at this late hour, Ozell, because I am committed to my job. Any questions?"
"...Why are you so comitted to your job, Mr. Masters?"
"Any other questions?" The tall and muscular operations chairman Bryce Masters looked a little silly hunched over his desk, typing away at his laptop. Ever the hard worker, he didn't care that the e-mail he was typing out would not likely be read for a whole week- All the other employees had gone home for the holidays, leaving only the security staff, the artificial human Ozell One, and Mr. Masters himself.
"...Do I get anything for Christmas?"
"Isn't the tree in your room enough?" By 'tree', Mr. Masters meant the plastic Charlie Brown-caliber light-up electric tree someone had set on Ozell's bedside table. By 'room', Mr. Masters meant the horrid living space full of video cameras and one way mirrors meant to ensure Ozell never knew the meaning of the word 'privacy'.
"Well.." Ozell began, shakily, "I mean, I've done my best and tried hard all year.. All the other staff got to go home. Keith and Julia too, and I heard some people talking about holiday bonuses, and gifts they got for--"
"Ozell."
"Yes, Mr. Masters?"
"You are company property."
"...And?"
"This computer has done its best and tried hard all year. I am not buying it anything for Christmas. Incidentally, it is also company property."
"..........oh."
"Good, I see you've connected the dots on your own. Why don't you go back to your room and rest, take advantage of the fact that nobody is currently asking anything of you for once."
"...." Ozell, visibly crushed, knew that was not an idle suggestion- and he didn't have to be told twice. With his shoulders slumped and his head down, he trudged out of the room- down several hallways to his own. The door was open- he hadn't bothered to close it on his way out. What struck him as odd, though, was that the little tree had been turned on- he could have sworn he hadn't even so much as touched it before. His room was bathed in a soft, pulsing light.
Sitting down on the bed, he couldn't help but stare at the lights- how the colors softly faded in and out, and flickered to and fro. Real families had bigger ones of these, didn't they?.. They'd go to tree lots, and pick them out together, and take them home together and decorate them with care and really enjoy the time they spent together and-- no. There was no point in getting worked up over it. None at all. That was someone else and this was him.. whatever. Resolving to turn the thing off and stuff it somewhere he wouldn't have to look at it, he leaned forward.. and stopped.
A thumbprint was showing pretty clearly on the lit up on/off switch.. It was sort of dirty, and smudged a bit, but he recognized the simple patern of the loop to be his own. He didn't think his hands were that dirty, but.. there was that mystery solved.
Ozell smiled beneath his mask. It wasn't so bad, the tree. He'd leave it on and watch a little longer.
-----------------------
Whatever sound or silence Zealstorm heard in her lab would be broken by a sound that seemed to come from within her own head- someone had found her comm frequency. Whether the speaker had done so by sheer dumb luck or an educated guess was clarified instantly, when a familiar cocky yet serious voice came through on the airwave. With the clarity of the voice, he had to be within a mile or so.
"I told you I could find you again if I had to, Zealstorm. Don't even think of keeping quiet on me- I know I'm right."
Topaz put in a deliberate pause, to see where she would steer the conversation... if she replied.
Zealstorm instantly straightened, her face hard.
Now that someone knew where she was, she could not afford to show weakness. No; not now, even in the most tender of seasons.
"Topaz." her voice returned icily over the comm. "So good to hear from you. And what exactly are you doing in this area?"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Lyden would soon observe another partygoer approaching the small house in Siren's Call - long, straight black hair rippling down between her shoulderblades and a warm coat, cute fuzzy boots, a muffler and earmuffs protecting her against the cold.
Just before she reached the door, she paused...and turned.
Towards Lyden.
"Why, aren't you cold?" the young woman called up. Her voice was soft and calm, but amazingly Lyden could hear her perfectly. "Do come down from there and join us, won't you? The party promises to be...most diverting."
Truefeather held her hand up towards Lyden where he sat on his rooftop, more symbolically than anything else, regarding him with her inscrutable gaze and enigmatic smile.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Topaz grinned, brushed some falling snow out of his orange hair, and grinned.
"In this area? I was hoping to get some information, but all I seem to be getting is cold. Know anywhere I can.. warm up?"
-------------------
Lyden blinked down at Truefeather. Who was this woman, and why was she smiling at him? Did he have something on his face, other than his mask?
He shrugged and pulled a black tarp over his gear, standing up. If he had been invited directly into this event, it would give him an opportunity to observe social behavior up close- which was better than he could hope for on the roof. Looking like he was sliding off it, he vanished into thin air- promptly appearing beside her in an at-ease position.
"...Proceeding on signal?"
One year later...
"O hay, lookit what I found!"
AGS-3
Status: In transit
Heading: Luur System
Heavy eyelids blinked gradually open. He knew that voice. Slowly but surely, his mind groggily caught up.
He couldn't see through the blanket that lay draped over him, but there was definitely bright on the other side. What in blazes was bright doing here? He wanted to sleep - bright was not something that accommodated sleep.
"Up and at 'em!" Vern's voice reached him yet again, full of cheer and energy, "Time to celebrate you-know-what."
Acid's eyes burst open with the same speed the Krayten flung the blanket from his friend. With horror, he beheld the quadruped at the door to his cabin, flooding it with that dreadful bright from the corridor.
Still, even that couldn't compare to the terrible chill the line of colorful Christmas lights inspired, snaking its luminescence toward him with inevitable certainty.
"No!" Acid protested with a shout. Too little, too late. Vern only grinned toothily as the snake of rainbow light encircled the reptilian, dragging him toward the door without mercy.
"Not this idea again!" the Khelari desperately tried to dig his claws into the floor. Fat chance with terconium, "I don't have enough self-confidence for this!"
"Nope, not listening." Vern but smirked even more broadly, "I've dragged everyone else into this. Did you really think you'd escape me? Feh. SENECA, new heading please."
AGS-3
Status: In transit
Heading: Sol System
Sorry, boss...heh heh heh_
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
OOC:
Well, guess this thing ain't happening this year. Too bad. In any case, merry Christmas everyone. 
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Happy ChristmaHanaKwanzmas. >.>
)
"I told you my services would be expensive," said a shadowy figure.
"Expensive, yes. Expensive I can handle, but this?! You're charging me four-hundred thousand on collateral damages alone!" said a very flustered man.
The two stood in an office, in a skyscraper in Steel Canyon, high above the city. The man looked extremely distressed, his suit ruffled up and his hair sticking out everywhere.
"If you can't pay..." started The Uniter.
"Can't pay? I REFUSE!" he shouted, springing up from his chair.
"Refuse?"
The Uniter leaned over the desk, hands gripping the edges tightly. His sunglasses reflected the man's terrified stare, and he promptly sat back.
After several intense moments of silence, The Uniter turned to leave. "I suppose if you refuse to pay me, there's nothing I can do."
"There isn't?" said the man with a small bit of bewilderment.
The Uniter quickly whirled around, and flung both hands out. A bolt of force shot forward and slammed into the man's chest. His chair shot backwards, and straight through the window, taking him with it.
"I could always do that of course." The Uniter walked out as if nothing had happened.
"Is everything alright?" asked the secretary as he passed. "I thought I heard something."
"Mr. Rayneford isn't feeling well. I'll leave his Christmas gift with you," he said, setting a small brown package on her desk.
"Oh. Thank you. Merry Christmas!"
"I'd say the same to you, but there's really no point," said The Uniter. Her face turned to confusion, and sudden alarm as the package began to rapidly beep. "Think of it this way. Your last year really went out with a bang." He disappeared in a flash of light. The woman didn't even have time to scream before all became flames.
There is no rest for the wicked, Christmas Eve is no different.
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell