031 ~ [voice/action] | Forward-dated to Tuesday

[distressedude]

[Filtered to Auldrant Folks]
[It was nearing the end of the year, and that meant it was almost time for the annual Auldrant New Years party at House One. There'll be more than a few notable absences this year, but so long as everyone else is still here, there was no reason they couldn't still celebrate being together. That was the real reason for the tradition -- since not everyone saw another year in Luceti as something to celebrate on its own.]

I know it has become something of a tradition by now, but for those of us who've arrived in just the past year, we usually hold a small dinner gathering at House One on New Years Eve. It's always been a nice opportunity to have everyone get together, and this year should prove to be no exception. After all, Luceti is always so peaceful this time of year. It would be a shame to let that go to waste.

And of course, if anyone has someone they would like to invite, they'll more than welcome.

[But it's only after he makes the filter and leaves the message that he realizes he probably should have left someone out of it... ah, well. It would take more than a Christmas Miracle for Sync to come and peacefully join everyone else for an evening. And with everyone all together in one spot, he'd hardly be stupid enough to try and start something. You know. Hopefully.]

--

[Action]
[And with that out of the way, Ion gets all set to go out for the day and get some much-needed errands done. With all the snow these past two days, he hasn't been able to go out much at all. But now that it seems to have calmed down a little outside, he's makes his way out into the village.]

[Of course, as soon as he reaches the plaza, his first stop is to the clothing shop to find a new winter coat, because he's starting to outgrow the one he's been wearing. And maybe he should look into a few new sweaters while he's at it -- he could never have too many warm clothes, after all! After that he goes to the library to drop off a few books while picking up some new ones, just in case the snow starts up again later this week.] 

[After that, he finishes up in the item shop to look around and see if he can find something to give as Christmas gifts. They may not have the holiday back on Auldrant, but given this is his 4th December here in Luceti, he's more than used to it by now. But he might look a bit troubled -- choosing the perfect gift wasn't always easy!]

[After finishing his tasks for the day, he walks around in the snow for while, admiring how pretty the landscape looks when everything looks so white and fragile, before going to the tea shop to defrost for a bit. And once there, he'll be so nice and warm he might just doze off for a bit while reading a book. All in all, a pretty normal day.]

Comments

[Action]

[savedtheworld]

[This monk is bundled up as well, complete with a goofy-looking hoodie hat. He's playing with the snow alongside Ion's route. With some waterbending movements, he starts to pull together a snowman, not yet noticing Ion's presence.]

[Action]

[distressedude]

[Ion stops when he sees Aang and almost calls out to him, until he sees when he's doing -- he's seen air bending and earth bending, but not quite as much water bending. Particularly as far as snow is concerned. So he just quietly watches from afar for a little bit, perhaps giving a quiet applause when the snowman is finished.]

[Action]

[savedtheworld]

[It will take a minute or two, but he has the snowman built up, and he smiles at his work. Then he turns as he hears the applause.]

Ion! ...Hey!

[He's glad to see his friend. ...And at the same time, he feels a tug at his heart; his most recent conversation with Arietta is fresh on his mind, after all.]

[Action]

[distressedude]

Hello, Aang. [He walks closer with a smile, turning his attention to the snowman.]

That was water bending just now, wasn't it? I didn't realize you could use it to control the snow as well.

[Action]

[savedtheworld]

It is! [He moves his hands around, collecting a ball of snow between the hands in demonstration.] Snow's like really cold water, so it all works out. How - how are you?

[Action]

[distressedude]

That's incredible! [His eyes are shining about as much as the snow is -- it's always so interesting to see the different powers people have here.]

Oh, and I'm all right. Though all this snow certainly came rather suddenly, didn't it? If I'm not careful, I'll catch my death of cold out here.

[Action]

[savedtheworld]

[Aang's eyes widen at the mention of death. His hands stop moving, and the snow falls lifelessly to Aang's feet.]

No! I... Ion, you have to be careful! [And now he's conjuring a flame quickly to heat up their surroundings.] Do you need to be warmer? Please, let me help!

[Action]

[hollower]

[Guess who just so happens to be enjoying a good book and an even better cup of tea, tucked away in a quiet nook all her own? One pirate ghost princess, of course! Perona's legs are propped up on the chair adjacent to her at her table, eyes scanning the pages of a thick book as she sips at her tea.

Ah, this is nice...so relaxing, too. After such a huge dumping of snow, and being cooped up in her apartment room for those two days, she definitely needed to get out and get cozy. If only the surroundings were a little more to her style - dark and haunting - but she can accept warm and inviting in this sense. For once.

She's not exactly expecting to meet anyone here, so she doesn't look up from her book, nor her tea, when Ion enters.]

[Action]

[distressedude]

[Ion enters the shop, shivering. Even with his new coat, it was still pretty cold outside. He quickly orders a small cup of tea before making his way to a table nearer the back, smiling a bit when he notices Perona. But he doesn't speak up right away -- he doesn't want to disturb her from her reading, after all.]

[He doesn't take off his coat until he's settled in, but once his tea arrives he'll have already taken it off... along with no less than 2 sweaters, a scarf, and a thick pair of gloves. And he's still got on at least one more sweater and a smaller scarf under that. He doesn't do cold weather, okay. Which is why for now he'll just sigh and hold onto his nice hot cup of tea, letting it warm his fingers back up again.]

[Action]

[hollower]

[What alerts Perona to Ion's presence is, well...just how much noise he's making by unzipping and removing all those layers. She can see him out of the corner of her eye and good lord is it distracting. Her lips thin into a fine line before she puts her book down and lifts her head. Ugh! Who in the world is this urchin making such rack--oh.

Oh, it's the cute little okama boy she met that one time before....hrm. Fine, she'll excuse the noise for now, a-a little bit! But she still has to say something. So, shifting her weight in her chair, Perona speaks up, eyeing the youngster up and down. He looks more naturally dressed now...like a boy. Huh.]

Not very well suited for this cold, are you?

[Action]

[distressedude]

[When he speaks up, she might notice a bit more strongly how he seems more like a boy now -- his voice isn't exactly the same pitch it was when he was just 11. He's still too pretty though.]

No, I can't say that I am. I keep hoping someday I'll adjust to Luceti's winter, but it seems that won't be this year.

[Action]

[hollower]

[She definitely notes this, eyebrows arching up in quiet surprise. Huh, maybe she was wrong? Maybe he was just dressed up like that before for some sort of occasion? From what Perona can remember, this boy was supposedly someone important back where he was from...or something. He actually looked younger back then, too...hrm.

Looking him up and down curiously again, Perona moves her feet off the adjacent chair she was resting them on and sits up, stretching out her back with a sigh. Man, she must have been in the same position for a while, she feels stiff.]

Does it not snow where you're from? I've only encountered cold temperatures once or twice on the island I lived on for a few years, and Master Moria's freezers... [Where he keeps the bodies to make into zombies. 8Db] but I've never been too bothered by the cold. So long as I have cute and stylish clothes to keep me warm, that is, horohoro.

[Action]

[distressedude]

No, the climate in Daath was always rather mild. It was cold in the winter, but never quite enough to snow. [The first time he saw it was in Keterburg, after all. Though back then, he was able to handle it a little better.]

But it seems like even with a heavy winter coat, I can't keep very warm these days. All this snow is a bit much for me.

[Private Voice ]

[yourfononsarewhack]

[Time for some casual conversation about this upcoming party.]</small. Who exactly did you include in this invitation?

[Private Voice ]

[distressedude]

Everyone from Auldrant, save for perhaps Sync. Though I can't imagine he would want to be there, even if I were to personally invite him myself.

[He didn't exactly put much effort into that filter, so it's basically about as easy to hack as a regular cut on DW would be -- the easiest way to make a filter for a certain group of people rather than specific people in particular, so certain friends-of-friends wouldn't be excluded.]

[Private Voice ]

[yourfononsarewhack]

Are you so certain that he hasn't already received this invitation? My, he'd be mighty lonesome without his fellow God-Generals around to keep him company. You expect even Arietta to attend, in that case?

[Private Voice]

[distressedude]

I don't think it's much of a secret that we would get together for the New Year. But if you're worried, I'm sure if I did invite him, he would insist on not coming himself.

[Who says Ion doesn't know how Sync's mind works? That's totally how that would go down okay.]

And as a matter of fact, Arietta and Asch both attended last year without incident. I'm sure it goes without saying that if Anise and Arietta could be in the same room for one evening without fighting, I can expect that same from you, yes?

[Private Voice]

[yourfononsarewhack]

Come now, Ion. Have I ever been one to start conflict needlessly? [Don't answer that. Or perhaps, just count your lucky stars that Dist isn't here.] I'm simply surprised that the girl who fled at the very sight of me in this place could stomach being around the whole lot of us for an entire evening.

Then again, it sounds like this celebration is simply filled with the unexpected. [He says wryly.] Are you sure that you're referring to the same little Anise whom I've known?

[Private Voice]

[distressedude]

Well, Anise was the more difficult of the two to negotiate with... [They weren't exactly getting along at the time either, which didn't really help matters.]

But I made Arietta agree last year to be on her best behavior, or else she would have to leave. She spent most of the evening around myself or Asch, and didn't have any problems with being around the others as long as I was there as well.

[voice]

[wildlittlegirl]

Anise won't be there this time, right?!

[ JUST DOUBLE-CHECKING HERE ]

[voice]

[distressedude]

...no, I suppose she won't be. Not this year.

[There's a clear hint of sadness in his voice that he's not putting much effort into hiding -- but all the same, he's not going to dwell on that more than he needs to.]

But I do hope you and Asch will be able to be there, won't you?

[voice]

[wildlittlegirl]

[ Why are you sad Ion this is a good thing. Well okay she knows why you're sad but you shouldn't be sad because this is a good thing. ]

I'll come! And I'll try to bring Asch with me, too. I don't know if he'd go on his own.

[voice]

[distressedude]

Yes, to be honest I was wondering that myself. But I don't think it would be right to celebrate without him there as well.

[It's not as though he was only being invited before because Luke was here -- Asch is there friend, too.]

[voice]

[wildlittlegirl]

Because we're all from Auldrant, right?

[ Speaking of. ]

Ion, do you know why the years here are really short?

[voice]

[distressedude]

Well, it's not just because we're from Auldrant, no... [TOMODACHI....!!]

--oh, you know, that's something I've always wondered myself. Though from what I've heard, it sounds like Auldrant's years might just be really long. Most people I know come from a world with a calender similar to the one used in Luceti.