Subject: Holiday Party 2011!
Author:
Posted on: 2011-12-10 04:41:00 UTC
(( Hello! Before we start, just a few ground rules to keep things running smoothly:
1) When you join in, post your response to the end of whatever the most recent post is, to keep just one string of sequential posts. That way it should be easier to keep track of what's going on, and thus easier to include everyone. When the string gets too long, we'll come back to the top and start a new one off this post.
1.5) Don't worry about your characters being "late" if you can't get here until this has been going on a little while. It gets old fast, and this is an open party: people are welcome to come and go as they please. You can even write in yours as having been there the whole time if you want to.
2) Keep posts in past tense. It's easier to read if everything is in one style, and it will make it easier for me when I put the whole thing up in a log.
3) No controlling other people's characters. Some may be okay with it, but I'm not (unless you have explicit permission).
And of course, OOC stuff gets marked somehow, but you all know that. {= ) So, here we go! ))
As near as Ilraen could figure, someone almost always threw a big party in the Headquarters Lounge around the month of December. It was linked to some kind of seasonal festival in World One, and elsewhere, though he had never quite worked out the specifics; everyone he asked seemed to have a different answer. They agreed on a few things, though: there had to be decorations involving lights and shiny objects, there had to be presents, and there had to be special music and food.
The latter had been the deciding factor for his attendance at this year's party. He wanted more chances to socialize with his friends and fellow agents, which was difficult without either leaving Nume alone or spending the time to convince him to come along. Nume was adamantly anti-party, and no amount of persuasion had moved him this time. Ilraen had considered staying in, too, for his partner's sake, but finally the thought of missing out on all the rare and wondrous holiday food items overcame him. He promised at least five times to behave himself in human morph, and to bring back some for Nume, and now he was here.
As a human, he was a willowy and youthful-looking man with messy ginger hair and green eyes. He had finally gotten himself a pair of bluejeans to wear around when he needed them, and Jenni had given him a traditional knitted Christmas sweater two years ago: it was pine-green with bounding white reindeer across the breast. He liked it. It made him feel less naked without his fur. Nothing could make up for being half-blind and liable to fall over, but he had enough practice with disguises that he managed, even with his bag over one shoulder. He had gifts for his friends, in case they happened to be around.
In the Lounge, the party was already in swing. People milled about, cheery music blared over the sound system, and whoever was organizing the thing had found one of the big pine trees favored for their long-lasting needles, and strung all manner of shiny things on it. It was probably the second one in its place—someone always tried to use real candles for the lights until something burned down. Ilraen wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but he thought he could smell a hint of burning. That could just have been the Lounge, though. It had a history of being set on fire. Ilraen couldn't pick out a single piece of furniture he recognized from his first visits here.
He did pick out the spread of snacks on the bar top to his left, though. Unable to restrain an eerie, unpracticed grin at the prospects ahead, he shifted his way through the crowd. He did want to socialize, but a little bite first couldn't hurt.