joy to the world, we have some peace and quiet

[wrfm-mods.livejournal.com]

Who: everyone ever \o/
What: Christmas all over the world
Where: everywhere \o/
When: Christmas

It was perfect. It was Christmas morning and for one day there was peace throughout the universe.
There were presents to be open, feasts to be had and company to enjoy.


Merry Christmas!




[mod note: so to keep this at least a little neat for viewing pleasure, there'll be separate threads for each world and if you want; location. And all comments would go under each of that. . A sample with Radiant Garden will be posted before you guys even start tagging Also~ we're gonna try something new! Action tags will be allowed for those who want to use 'em. For those who don't know what they they're basically what we use in the crack room at times. The [I am doing such and such] 'blah blah blah' type tags. HAVE FUN]

Comments

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You remember Sora and the Christmas tree yesterday. That's why I didn't put it under the tree." He opened the door for her, letting her step inside first.

A quick glance around the room would show nothing out of the ordinary... until one looked at the window. Sitting on the window sill was a sculpture completely made of colored glass, perhaps about ten inches high. It was an upright, unfinished ring, red in the lower left hand corner, blue in the upper right. At least, at first glance, that's what it looked like.

Further examination would show that it wasn't simply a sculpted ring - it was two creatures circling around each other. The red half of the ring - which turned out to be not just red, but bright orange so vivid that it might as well have been gold - was actually a phoenix, blue crystal eyes peering upwards, each tiny feather meticulously crafted, and its body gracefully strained in flight. Its wings lay close but not flat to its body, and its golden beak was open in a cry, not of challenge, but something else. It lay flying just beneath the blue portion of the ring - a dragon of the East, its scales glinting in teal, blue, silver, and green. Its claws were outstretched, and its body twisted as it reached for the fiery plumes of the phoenix's tail. Its own eyes were a startling red and between miniature yet still sharply pointed teeth was a pearl.

Both creatures framed an intricately-woven dreamcatcher, and the glass caught the light thrown from the winter sky, sending colors flying across the windowsill. The phoenix's form shifted like fire itself while the dragon seemed to capture the ice of winter, perfectly balanced, so realistic that it almost seemed that they would both take flight at any instant.

"I figured if I left it beneath the tree, it would end up broken," Josiah explained with a shrug.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Suzaku and Seiryu," she murmured, as the first thing that came to mind was the Eastern lore she'd picked up from her days of anime fandom. Perhaps it wasn't specifically those two, especially if he'd obtained it on another world, but she liked the similarity.

More than that, it was one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork she'd ever seen.

"It's amazing," she said quietly as she moved to peer more closely at it, lifting a hand to follow the curve of the dragon as if stroking it without actually touching it. He'd chosen the perfect place for it, too. Her windows had been Mabry's design, grand arches of prismatic glass. Along with the variety of other figurines perched around the room - mostly dragons and fanciful equines - this piece managed to stand out while still seeming to belong here, and Song was quite obviously enchanted by it.

When she could pull her eyes away, she beamed at him.

"Thank you. Where did you find it?"

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"One of the worlds I traveled to," he said with a faint smile. Honestly, he had been surprised that that world even had something like this. "And no, you don't get to know which one because you might run off looking for real dragons to adopt. I hear they're hard to house-train."

He hesitated then and almost seemed to fidget. "So you like it?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Heheh. I wouldn't need to. Kairi still has that dragon egg from the Star Market," she pointed out.

His sudden uncertainty, even though faint, made her grin warmly. "Josiah, I love it. I'd love it if Maleficent gave it to me, but coming from you makes it... better than I have words for, at the moment. Although," she added, "I do prefer the other gift."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"Some girls carry around toy poodles in their purses - you'd carry around a dragon," he teased, although the mental image of anyone carrying a baby dragon around in their bag was amusing enough.

He seemed relieved at her next comment though. "Even though the first gift is only temporarily?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

She laughed again at that idea. "Probably, yes. And lead it on a leash even when it got bigger than myself... but, as for the other gift, yes. Actually I need you to leave for a while," she said mysteriously, "whether or not I want you to."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"That'd probably scare the hell out of the neighbors. Might as well make it official and add a sphinx, a centaur, and a unicorn to your collection too."

He only gave her a suspicious look though when she said that she needed him to leave. "What did I say about taking over the world when I'm gone?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"With such a magical menagerie, I probably could take over the world, somehow. I'm creative."

But she shook her head, still smiling. "Thing is, conquering the world never lasts long. Too many heroes around here trying to defend it. No, this is a more personal thing, and that's the only hint I'm giving you."

Her demeanor was light and flirtatious. She wouldn't say more, because if she did, that cheerful mask would crumble and he would see the weight on her mind and heart. What she needed was time to think, away from the allure of his touch and his voice. She could not afford to repeat the mistake of jumping passionately to a conclusion and finding her choice to be wrong.

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He didn't press the issue - something was on her mind, and if she didn't want to say anything about it, then she wasn't going to say anything about. Instead, he just smiled and nodded in silent understanding. He wanted to help, but maybe that wouldn't be the best thing at the moment.

"Alright then," he said after a moment. "I think it's time we go see where everyone else has disappeared to. For Christmas Day, this place is suspiciously quiet."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

And that was what she was counting on. It was strange, for her, to be comfortable with this. She held honesty in the highest regard, and normally went out of her way to be completely open, with everyone. In the same way, it bothered her when others kept secrets.

But josiah had his secrets, and she understood. If that was what he needed, then she didn't mind, because she trusted him.
It was very strange to feel safe, and not guilty, keeping this secret from him until she'd had time to figure it out for herself.

"Perhaps they've all evacuated. I think we set off the sap alarm down there."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"Ah, right. The dreaded sap." He grinned, a devious look in his eyes. "It'll probably get a lot worse before I leave. Guess they'll just have to deal."

He offered her his arm. "Mademoiselle."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Her eyes lit up in amused delight at his gentlemanly act. And the French.
She slipped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her.

"Shall we head back towards the common room? It just occurred to me that I haven't checked my stocking. And if the others have crawled out of the woodwork yet, they may end up there too."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He escorted her from the room. "Sure, why not? We never did the whole stocking thing at home - the first dog we had like to chew them up and then hide them around the house. After that, my mom decided either the dog had to go or we had to find a new tradition."

He shook his head in amusement. "Sleeping in on Christmas. What are they thinking?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"That's slightly more adorable than the dog who clawed through window screens just to reach me," she commented wryly.

"Well, let's see, I can think of excuses for Mabry and Amy. Gutter-minded or perfectly innocent, whichever you prefer. As for the rest... up late trying to catch Santa?"

Someone was awake. The dog who'd been sleeping under Song's bed - in fact, the window screen dog - had woken at their entrance and was now following them placidly, tailing Song like a four-legged shadow.

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"Lets go with perfectly innocent. Amy might kill you once Eli comes along, and Mabry... she'll just encourage you. Which is just..." He shook his head. "Not needed."

He reached down slightly to scratch behind the dog's ears. "Well, at least someone is awake."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"No... I don't need any encouragement whatsoever. You better watch out for Yasha there," she added, eyeing her German Shepherd follower. "He gets jealous when he catches me petting anyone else."

This time when she came to the doorway of the main living room, Song's gaze went straight to the long row of stockings, and she noticed what she hadn't seen before.

"Is that a... feather?"

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"I think he'll be alright." When they came into the main living room, he knelt down next to the dog, ruffling his fur cheerfully. "I guess you're a good guard dog then."

He glanced over his shoulder when Song mentioned a feather. "What about a feather?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

In Yasha's mind, Josiah was quickly earning points to becoming his new Favorite Person. Under his mistress, of course, who was God.

"I think someone decided that you needed a parrot for Christmas," Song said as she slunk over to investigate the stockings. Hers was, conveniently, hung next to Josiah's. She suspected this was Amy's or Mabry's doing, and once she stole a peak into his while taking her own down, that suspicion was reinforced.

"Nope, not a parrot. Looks like just... feathers."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

"A talking parrot?" That'd be an... interesting present and at least he frowned at the newest member of the crew, a tiny man who was just as loud and irritating as that bloody parrot that sat on his shoulder, but damn, he was a good shot it could lead to some interesting conversations.

"So someone put a bunch of feathers in there... okay, I've heard of putting coal in stockings, but feathers?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song carried her own stocking back to her spot on the couch, somehow managing to resemble a leopard with a fresh kill. Or perhaps - as Yasha left Josiah to sit at Song's feet - a dog with a bone.

Though she seemed mostly intent on digging through her little prizes, she kept glancing up at the feather still poking over the edge of Josiah's stocking. "There might be more to it. I couldn't really tell..."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He rose to his feet and crossed over the fireplace, glancing at the stocking and peering inside. Feathers. A hell of a lot of feathers. He poked it experimentally, and then shrugged.

"As long as a parakeet or a hamster doesn't come flying out, I think I'm good."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Now she was just watching him, with half the contents of her stocking set out neatly on the coffee table and the rest momentarily ignored.

"Perhaps you should bring it over here. Then Yasha can catch anything that jumps out."

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He shrugged, picking up the stocking and bringing it over to Song. He sat next to her, petting Yasha on the head as he did so. "So when everyone wakes up, they'll see a German shepherd chasing a hamster around the room. Sounds like an amazing way to start a Christmas."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Uh huh." The response was unusually vague, and Song's attention seemed to be on the stocking, not Josiah. She was staring with great interest at the variety of fluffy and wispy feathers visible now that he'd brought it close.

Tentatively, she reached over and pulled a long feather from the stocking, holding it up to look at and twirling it between her fingers. "Did you know..." she said in a somewhat dreamy voice, "I absolutely love feathers?"

[epauranonavere.livejournal.com]

He watched her quietly as she twirled one of the feathers in her finger, as if trying to figure something out. He glanced back down at the feathers, picking one up and examining it carefully.

"But you didn't put these feathers in there?"