worldhop | Community Event 3: Happy Holidays!

Okay, okay, she got volunteers this time. She kind of had to in order to get the lights, tinsel, and various decorations up and around the room. Yes, that massive tree and all the ornaments were not possible to get up by the small dog alone. Not only that, but she asked everyone in Future Foundation, Hope's Army, and other friends to contribute an ornament to this tree.

"It looks great! Now, get that table over there! Oh, make sure the presents are under the tree... not that under! That table goes next to the tree for the Secret Santa gifts. Perfect!"

Bells jingling, she walked over to inspect the food. Looked great with turkey with stuffing, ham, and cinnamon baked apples, but she encouraged people to bring food from home too. For her, she paused at the fruitcake, tail wagging. This was her contribution after learning humans didn't like fruitcake for some reason; she was determined to make one everyone would like. Drinks of coffee, hot chocolate, non-alcoholic cider, and eggnog, she was going to keep this family-friendly... mostly. Again, she tried to accommodate for everyone.

Music? Check. Tables? Check. Laptop to contact Kalos? Check check. Looking up and at several areas in the room, mistletoe was a check. With a smile and nod, she hopped over to the doors and opened them.

"Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy yourselves!"

[OOC: As said, have fun! Gonna post a few optional thread, but feel free to make your own.]

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[SUDDENLY, A BROTHER NOODLE.]

Sis!

[Dave drapes himself obnoxiously all over Kureha's shoulders, because this is what passes for a hug around these parts.]

Where have you been all my life.

[Dave, geez, she's only a little late.]

And Merry Christmas to you too.

[ she's grinning though and turns a bit to toss her arms around him in a big ol' bear hug (which are technically the only kind of hugs she can give get it because she's a bear) ]

I would've gotten here a little sooner, but I had to finish everyone's gifts -- turning up without them kind of seemed like it'd be bad manners.

Well, yeah, I mean otherwise what is even the point of Christmas, obviously.

[He finally straightens.]

What'd you get me. Is it awesome. Is it a dinosaur? I already have a dinosaur.

[POKEWORLD IMMIGRANTS, AM I RIGHT.]

[ she gives a little huff of a laugh and blows upwards to get her bangs out of her face. ]

Well now you've gone and ruined the surprise. I'll just have to go with your backup gift instead.

[ she dips her hand into the bag and pulls out a little pocket book, with Dave's name written across the front in neat calligraphy. It's a book of pressed flowers -- dark pink azaleas, and iris. On the inside pages, there's something written, in Kureha's handwriting.

Azaleas - flowering shrubs from the Rhododendron family. Red azaleas mean "take care of yourself for me" and "take things in moderation".

Iris - part of a genus that is in a family of 260 species of different flowering plants, and flourishes in cold climates. Irises mean "hope", "wisdom & courage", and "your friendship means so much to me".

She's watching him, cheeks a little pink and fidgeting with the strap of her bag, not sure of how this particular gift is going to go down. ]

[Dave takes the book with easy eagerness, flipping it open right away since it's not wrapped or anything. His eyebrows rise above the top of his shades when he sees the flowers, and he lingers over each of the first few pages he's opened to, expression softening with wonder. His fingertips trace around the outlines of petals for a moment, but eventually, he flips to the written notes.

It's been months now since Dave would cry at the drop of a hat, all overwhelmed by the care people had for him, but the smile that takes his face is that half-open, incredulous, lopsided one, genuine and almost fragile.

"Your friendship means so much to me."

He fucking loves her.

Dave doesn't comment on the contents directly, yet, but instead says:]

You know, it's kind of funny. Hang on, let me get yours.

[He starts to turn to the tree, but turns back, holding the book in front of his chest.]

I'mma keep this right next to my bed, right under where my music player goes.

[So it'll always be close by when he settles down to sleep.]

[ when his eyebrows raise, so do Kureha's shoulders -- a familiar tell of tension, and she starts picking at the bag strap on her shoulder (she's decided to play it safe and come all girl today, save for the cream ears right where they usually are). But once she sees his smile, her shoulders sag with relief just as the corners of her mouth turns up and she lets out a little breath she hadn't been consciously holding.

She's pleased, she's so pleased, and even though she tries to be flippant, it's hard to miss the ill-concealed delight in her voice at getting such a positive reaction ]

Oh, don't tell me we matched -- is one of us going to have to go and change?

[He laughs and trots off, still talking to her as he retrieves her present.]

I could, you know. [PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER.] But I'm not gonna, because unintentional parallelism's too good a narrative setup to waste. Okay, here.

[He wrapped his gift, but underneath the obviously ironic cutesy cartoon teddy bear paper is a handmade book not unlike the one he gave Allie literal lifetimes ago. The materials are finer than what he had access to back in the Hotel Monofornia, but the basic layout is still similar: A colorful cover, all lilac and warm pinks, with a cut-out paw-print shape on the front and a bear on the back. There are cute bear face watermarks on the bottom corners of the pages, and a pocket on the inside cover where she can hold paper slips or pens.

And of course, there's a cute little doodle of her in her magical bear girl getup on the first page.]

It's big enough to tape pictures in, if you want. But it's good for writing, too. If you like that sort of thing.

[Since she's already lived out her mother's wishful story for her, it only seems fair she gets to write her own future now.]

[ she lets out a hard breath that's a half-laugh at the sight of all those teddy bears and carefully picks at the tape to unwrap it -- she would hate herself forever if she fucked up this gift by not being gentle enough and when she finally shells the paper, she doesn't get what she's seeing for a moment.

she turns it over in her hands, then opens it and lets some of the pages slowly flip by -- and it's then that she realizes what it is and something softens in her eyes and her smile grows even brighter than before.

she's unbelievably touched. she can't imagine how much time this must've taken but it's the thought that was put into it that gets her more. for a moment, her throat gets a little tight because it's still so strange being on the receiving end of such unabashed affection without the Invisible Storm nipping at her heels.

She doesn't say anything -- can't, really -- but she throws her arms around him and hugs as tightly as she can, face pressed against his shoulder.

god she loves this stupid noodle boy so much ]

[It's good. He gets it. Because for all the tender, loving rehab he's had since the end of the Mutual Killing Game, for the half a year he's now spent outside that loop of loneliness and death in space, Dave still struggles with the language of affection.

He gathers her right up and returns that hug, warm and alive, both of them.]

Merry Christmas, 'Neechan.

[He says the last in careful, deliberate Japanese. Like he's been practicing.]

[ she gives a shaky, soggy little laugh that sounds halfway to being a sob because she's pretty sure all these happy, tender feelings are going to start leaking out of her eyes if she's not too careful. but she just keeps holding onto him and nods, struggling to speak through her clogged up throat. ]

I-- yeah. Yeah. Merry Christmas, Dave.

... and. Thanks. Thank you so much.

[He starts to shake his head, but 'nah girl it's nothing' isn't really in the spirit of Christmas, is it? He's trying to be better. Dave just shrugs a little in their hug, helplessly falling back on human-to-human basics he never quite got down.]

'Course. [Wait, that's not quite it.] You're welcome. [Yeah, better.

And, if his dumb roundabout ways of saying so aren't quite clear enough:]

Your friendship means a lot to me, too. Like. [...Nope, he just clears his throat.] Yeah.

[ she gives a laugh that comes out mostly in another hard breath and just shakes her head, unable to help it. she's better at all this now, much better than she had been before -- but she's also self aware enough to know she's got a bit to go. ]

We're really bad at this, aren't we?

Excuse. I am good at actually everything, it says so on my blog.

[And as if it in any way proves his point, since they still haven't disengaged the sibling Christmas hug, he just turns his head and BLOWS THE HUGEST RASPBERRY AGAINST THE SIDE OF HER HEAD.]

Community Event 3: Happy Holidays!

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