Winter Wonderland - 12th Night Party!

[herr_bookman]

Father Christmas returns from the mountains this 12th night, leading the chained Krampus and his former captives. Some of them are triumphant, some hurt and limping, some are huddled with their friends who have been searching for them.

Those entering the bar today will find one corner of it decked out in a minimalist theme of white, silver, and blue snowflakes. Warm, enchanted snow drifts down from the ceiling, disappearing before it alights on the floor, but piling up on the window sills and mantle of the fire.

Snowmen dance outside on a glassy floor, circling and swaying in lines. Should one want a fancier change of clothes after an ordeal in the labyrinth, it'll magically be provided at the door.

[OOC: Welcome to the Winter Wonderland party! It's officially open through the weekend--hope you enjoy!]

Comments

[sunbaked_baker]

She can't help but shudder as he says the dress suits her.

"You're not a dumbass guy. You just..." Rae shakes her head, not looking at him, leaning on the hand she has on the wall for balance. She's still trying not to freak out about the dress - she doesn't have the head-space to deal with him freaking out, too. "You walked into something I wasn't expecting. 'm sorry. Just give me a minute."

[runningred]

Oh yeah, he is a dumbass guy. "Do you wanna hand getting up the stairs to get changed into something you'd prefer?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Just give me a minute, Jay," she holds a hand up at him, shaking in frustration. She's asking for his help - by letting her work through this without distraction - and he can't even listen. "I didn't say 'help me up the stairs because I apparently seem to lose my ability to manage them when I'm upset' - I said, give me a minute. No stairs involved. I'm trying not to - I have something I have to get through - and you are not helping right now."

Her breath is ragged, her cheeks splotchy. "So give. Me. A minute. To get my shit together. Okay?"

Rae sinks into the nearest chair and puts her head in her hands, trying to stop shaking and slow her heart-rate, and not freak out.

Like she just did.

[runningred]

Jay starts to say something and stops himself, his face red. Fuck he hates himself for upsetting her again. He nods, grabs himself a coffee and moves to the furthest, darkest corner of the room.

[sunbaked_baker]

It takes more than a minute, time she spends focusing on breathing and not thinking, for Sunshine to gather herself.

Soon, she appears at his table with a peace offering - a couple of mugs of cider.

"C'mon. There's a party," she says, quietly.

[runningred]

He manages a small, forced smile and shakes his head. "Just came to make sure you were okay. I'm glad you're back." He finishes his coffee and leaves the mug with a passing rat. "Go and enjoy the party. I'll see you around."

[sunbaked_baker]

"You hit a nerve you didn't know was there, Jay," Rae replies, blinking as her peace offering is not so much rejected as not acknowledged. "And you deserve an explanation. You think I could enjoy the party knowing there's things left unsaid?"

[runningred]

"I seem to have a knack for that." He mutters quietly. "You don't own me anything, Rae. But if you wanna talk, I'm here." He accepts the cider, holding it without drinking to warm his cold hands. "If not, I'll get out of your hair."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae lets out a breath. If either of them were up for more than damage control right now, she'd say 'I came over - so obviously I want to talk, none of this 'I'll get out of your hair' business - and immediately had to stop you from leaving, so cut the 'if you want to talk, I'm here' bullshit.'

But though some significant portion of her mind is feeling it, she doesn't say it.

Instead, she says, "Sure. Let's talk."

[runningred]

Jay takes a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm sorry for what happened. I wish there had been more I could have done to help."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I imagine there must have been some upheaval here, when people realized that some of the patrons had been taken," Rae nods slightly, her hands wrapped around her mug.

"Abductions aren't easy on anybody. Those taken, or those left behind to worry." They're all coming down from a high-stress week. Tensions (and tempers) are still a bit elevated.

[runningred]

"It's been a weird time." He nods, feeling the weight of his gun still hidden under his jacket. "How are you holding up?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"As well as can be expected, I guess. The... the, uh..." she pauses, and starts again on a different tack. "I had thought it was over when I saw the bar again. But then, it caught me up in this get-up."

Very few outfits as fine as the dress she is wearing, complete with golden sandals and delicate circlet adorning her hair, have ever been referred to as a 'get-up.'

"The dress kind of... hit something. And brought it all back at once - I wasn't expecting it, and after everything else this week..." She exploded at the person unknowingly poking her about it.

[runningred]

"So Bar choose the dress, not you? Sorry, I didn't realise." He keeps his eyes in the table. He can't bring himself to look at her, still so angry with himself.

[sunbaked_baker]

"It doesn't exactly look like something I could afford, does it?" she says, trying for wry.

"Don't... don't worry about it. It's past."

[runningred]

Jay manages a little grin and gestures down at his own worn tee-shirt and grease-stained motorcycle jeans. "Do I look like someone who knows the price of high fashion."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Hey, looks can be deceiving!" she claims, smiling slightly. "Not that I'd know any more about high fashion than you. I just know what I like - and, well, this isn't really it."

"This was the second time I've... been abducted and then made to wear a red dress against my will. When this dress appeared, it kind of brought back everything about the previous time with it. Thus the, uh, freak out."

[runningred]

"Hey, you wear clothes that don't have integrated armour." Jay chuckles.

"Oh." Jay ducks his head. "I'm sorry about that."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I might could use some," Rae remarks. He's seen her when she's come in after one of her bad nights.

[runningred]

"Hey, at least that's something I can do right." Jay shrugs. "I can make you an armoured jacket if you want one."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae tilts her head - though not too much; she's still not sure how secure that circlet is.

"How is it armored? And does it affect one's mobility?"

[runningred]

He shakes off his jacket and hands it to her. It feels like a perfectly normal leather motorcycle jacket. "The spine, kidneys and chest have dense, hard armour. High grade motorcycle protection designed for a falls at high speed but the rest is Nomex and Kevlar blended with an alien fibre from a dead planet. It moves like leather and can be made lighter than that too. It'll turn back knife blades, bites, bullets at a distance. Nothing high velocity or Teflon coated but it'll slow it down and reduce the damage."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae accepts the jacket, looking it over and feeling its weight and flexibility before trying it on - just to get an idea.

"How'd it affect movement in a fight, do you know? I don't often ride motorcycles unless I'm with my boyfriend, and his bike is warded against crashes." Even aside from Mel being an excellent rider.

[runningred]

"Depends on your style. I find the jacket suits me but if you're more fluid, I can have it made into a thinner, stretchy fabric like a jumpsuit. Thinner helps with movement but it scarifies armour integrity. My brother's an aerialist and gymnast. His suit will just about turn back a blade but isn't much chop against firearms."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Does 'try not to get hit' count as a style?" she asks, wryly, turning this way and that and testing the jacket's mobility before shrugging it off and offering it back. "It's all close-quarters for me, and there's no real danger of firearms, so... plenty of mobility and just something that would maybe soften any falls would be best. You'll let me know how much I owe you, right?"

Custom-made protective jackets are not something to accept for free. It would be too much.