Acheron arrived much as Kai had, with slender legs and sharp hooves crunching through the snow. She spotted the other, and quizzically noted their similarities; they were, though Acheron didn't know it, half Red Deer though from wholly different parents.

Her attention swayed, and soon was purely on Naskital, and on the gifts. We need to give gifts-? she thought, and hummed to herself, a little. She'd have to bring something to her dad, then--but that could come later. She'd been a little ashamedly sticking close to home after waking from her disaster to find him fretting over her chrysalis, struggling very hard not to tell her 'I told you so.' She certainly owed him something to make up for completely disregarding his advice and damn near getting herself killed.

But right now, there weren't a whole lot of Gembound here. Maybe she could just wait, and offer something to someone who turned up? But--what did she even have to give..?

She shook herself, huffing, snowflakes spraying from black coat. Then she began to nose around through the snow, looking for one of those beautiful quartz shards that made Orion what it was.

The problem was the snow itself, which blanketed everything, hiding them from sight--so she thrust her magic at it, trying to just... melt a patch away.

Some melted away, but not much, and... well, there was nothing there. It had, maybe, been a little bit too much to hope for. So Acheron went about digging with her hooves (shiveringly cold--whose idea WAS this cold stuff??) until she found... a rock, at least.

It was interesting. That was about all one could say about it. One side was dark and pebbly, wet with ice; the other was shiny and smooth, striated white and purple. It wasn't a crystal like she'd hoped--it might have one inside, maybe for polishing, but...

"Is a rock okay as a gift?" she asked Naskital, worrying a little, now. She'd been thinking it'd make a nice Orion souvenir, but maybe she was being dumb, and it was... just a rock.

doberman photo credit: pato garza on flicker

Anyone's welcome to claim the rock and/or use Acheron to give a gift to--another rock. a stick. who cares--so they can get a Naskital item!

It's a long way from Fornax and Pisces. Again Lorelei had been lured by a change of energy in the caves, like she had when Dr. Trick made his appearance. In one of her head's jaws she carried a large shell, a scallop, as she flopped through the snow into Naskital's camp.

It takes her a moment to recognize Acheron. It'd been so long since Lorelei had seen her, all those cycles ago, down in Fornax. And of course she's changed - Lorelei has too (a little more drastically though, thanks to a certain someone.)

"Acheron! Acheron!" she calls out with both heads in sync, dropping the shell, momentarily forgotten in her excitement. She charges right up to Acheron, looking up at her. "It's been so long! So good to see you again!"

Hopefully she doesn't give Acheron too much of a scare.

@Acheron

Acheron's head jerked toward the voice, her pale eyes blinking prominently in her black-furred face.

"-Huh?" was her not-very-intelligent first response, and then she blinked a little more. It took her a moment to register Lorelei: to look over the massive, almost monstrous two-headed creature with its enormous jaws, and to then slowly put that together with the picture of the fuzzy, very much one-headed pup she'd met cycles ago.

It was only the gemstone, really, that told her who it was: the spiky cluster in one eye, a familiar cloudy blue. "...Lorelei?" she asked, amazement and disbelief threading through her words. How the hell had the pup gotten so terrifyingly huge?! And--"Where'd you get a second HEAD?" she cried, turning to pace over toward the seal.

Only belatedly did she remember the quartz stone, picking it up and trotting it toward Lorelei. She started to ask her if she wanted it--but the words were muffled by rock and she had to set it down again, a foot or so from the massive jaws. "...Hey! It's great to see you. Um. ...You want a rock? We're meant to be giving presents and, uh, this one's one of Orion's. It's kinda shiny. On one side, anyway--how've you been?"

She wasn't aware that staring might be rude--no one had ever told her this--so, all the while that she spoke, she was gazing at each head in awe.

Two fucking heads! That's SO cool.

doberman photo credit: pato garza on flicker

@Lorelei

THE GIFTENING

Naskital smiled warmly at the approaching Pallas's Cat. He peered down at the gemstone, and then nodded. "Do you know where to find this friend of yours? I can try to deliver it for you-?" Or was this Arquia coming here?

Either way, he turned and picked over the wrapped gifts before finding the perfect one. It was fairly large, but Tourmaline would be able to carry it--he hoped.

Once he'd gently pushed this over to the cat, he turned and eyed Acheron and Lorelei--and then picked out two more boxes, setting them carefully to one side.

"Happy giving day," he murmured to Tourmaline, expression again crinkling into a smile.

---

Tourmaline will find, first of all, that the box she's been given is quite sturdy and perfectly sized for a Pallas's Cat to sleep in. If she's one of those cats who likes boxes, well--jackpot. Inside is a small, bitterly cold crystal orb that appears shot through with ice; once she touches it, she will find the ice effect fading from the crystal and the knowledge of a new spell granted to her. She will learn Rimefrost.

Acheron, once she comes for her gift, will, like Veil, find a hat: white fluff at its base, a fluffy bobble on the top, and bright red felt cloth in a conical shape. This one, sadly, isn't enchanted, but it does look pretty cool.

Lorelei--once she finishes gifting and takes her reward from a smiling Naskital--will be given a huge, bright green-and-gold wrapped box. Inside is an absolutely enormous fruitcake, or at least it appears to be. A closer sniff, however, will reveal a medley of exotic, carnivore-oriented flavors: meats, fish, molluscs, blood and dairy from a dozen different creatures all carefully blended into this gigantic, chunky 'cake.'

The spell for Tourmaline will be added shortly.

sure two of these are a tad premature but hey it's Christmas

@Tourmaline @Acheron @Lorelei

She thinks a little. "Arquia... she lives in Eridanus, I believe." Hopefully she'll get the gift. "Thank you, though," Tourmaline smiles, before grabbing a piece of meat and starting to chew on it as Naskital chooses her gift. Dried isn't her usual preference, but the herbs on it are quite nice.

As she finishes the piece, she wows quietly at the box as big as she is. Quite impressive, she muses, standing back up and pulling on the ribbon to open it.

Tipping over the box to peek inside, she laughs a little at the sight of the small icey trinket. "That's quite the presentation," she jokes to Naskital, before poking a paw at the bitter chill. Her paw is brought back quickly, but as the blue glow fades she feels something stir in her stone.

She pushes the lid of the box back on, smiling back to Naskital. "Thank you for the gift. And happy giving day. I'll remember this."

Three eager eyes look back up at Acheron. Lorelei doesn't mind her staring - no one told her it was rude, either. "I think it was a gift from Doctor Trick! Or was it Doctor Fun? Either way, he told me he was giving out fun, and when I woke up I was like this! Pretty cool, right!"

When Acheron offers her stone, dropping it in the snow between the two of them, Lorelei remembers the shell she'd brought. Turning back to grab it, she places it next to Acheron's rock. "How's this?" she asks, smiling wide with two smiles. "It's not as shiny as your rock, though."

She thinks a little. "Well, I've not met many Gembound. It was kinda lonely. But now I have you again! I missed you, Acheron."

@Acheron

Acheron thought back, but she couldn't remember anyone named Doctor Trick, nor anyone called Doctor Fun. ...She didn't know a Doctor anyone, for that matter. She eyed the heads again. "Yeah!" she agreed, with feeling. "Can you see out of them both?! They're both--you?" It seemed a strange question to ask, but she'd never met anyone with two heads, before, let alone one of them new.

She plodded forward, nosing the shell, and with the same intense enthusiasm, nodded at Lorelei. "That's great! I love it. We can trade? And then uh, he gives us stuff. I think." She nodded her antlers back toward Naskital.

"I missed you too! I woulda come visited--I meant to!--but I got knocked back into my gemstone for awhile. A couple weeks, Dad said. I'm sorry," and here she paused, staring at Lorelei again. A thought was bubbling up, and eventually it burst out of her mouth with a seemingly random blurted, "How did you get so big?!"

doberman photo credit: pato garza on flicker

@Lorelei

While exploring, the tiny cub had heard rumors of a place within The Nest where sometimes beings occasionally go an bring other beings gifts. Curious, he wondered if he could bring something to another in exchange for something if even just a smile. Yes, the one with the giant canines early in life also had a heart to match. Through the winding tunnels this tiny cub carried himself, digging two matching trenches on either side of him. So much for a shadow cat early on, he left his mark literally every step he took.

What seemed like eons, he finally managed his way past a place with tiny baubles ripe for the pickening. Thankfully he hadnt need to go swimming. Their seemed to be shiny colorful glass and seashells strewn about the waterline here, at wherever this place was called. He didnt want to take all day, it was hard enough to move as it was already so he found himself a nice shell that was rounded and on one side not the prettiest of white an grey but on the other it was like a mini rainbow had been caught in it. Abalone. That shell, he used to scoop up a few small pieces of red an green glass that had been smoothed into soft edged pebbles over time. Scooping them into the abalone shell, he then began walking his way to the area still further down yet.

Finally. He had arrived. In the distance he could hear voices, many of them along with their shadows bouncing off the walls. He strut himself right on into the party, not a care in the world after all what did he have to be scared of that he already hadnt overcome with his birth? Tiny black shadow, giant ass canines digging trenches beside him as he cross-eyed himself walking with a mouth full of gifts right up to the group. Would anyone notice him?

"Yep! Both me, through and through!" she answers, grinning wildly. "It took some getting used to when I woke up, but I'm great now!" Lorelei neglects to mention the bumpy first few hours where she ran into every tree in Cetus. That was... embarrassing. Maybe another time she'll tell Acheron.

She takes the stone in one of her head's jaws, and nudges the shell closer to Acheron with the other. "I'll keep this gift safe. Don't worry."

Lorelei turns to see what Naskital has in store - two pretty large boxes - but stops when Acheron speaks. Turning both heads back around, she speaks, "Your stone? That... sucks. At least you're okay. Maybe I should meet your dad sometime too!"

Another few flops to the presents, then Acheron's blurted question gives Lorelei pause a second time. "Uh... It's... Magic, I guess? I'm not sure."

@Acheron

Sprig had journeyed to Orion with the intent to find some new materials, stones perhaps, to use for crafting. It was also possible that he could find new plants in this area to add to his garden. That made him wonder what happened to the other gembound he had met long ago who he helped with a plant that looked like crystal grass. Although he didn't have quite the chaotic energy that Scorch did, he still shared the same passion for plants. He hoped to one day have the biggest and most exotic garden ever in Eridanus! That meant he would never run out of plant combinations for his dishes. But, deep down, he knew there was another reason for his travels. He was still holding out hope that he would find Adonia, or any of his family in this cave.
The moment he entered the cave, he realized that something was very different. "Wow," the lion breathed out, the snow was just. He couldn't describe it. He had never seen anything this beautiful before. Sprig felt a pang of sadness. Oh how he wished he had his family here to see this sight. As he gazed around the area, he noticed that there were actually quite a few gembound of all sorts of shapes and sizes chatting with each other. And exchanging gifts? He stayed at the edge of the excitement, eyes flitting across the scene, scouting for a familiar face. Upon seeing no one he knew, Sprig walked up to the table, curious to see what food was there. It was strange, a brown liquid, and some red and white rocks. Were those even edible? It really seemed much more like hot mud and stones. But they did smell tasty at least, so he lapped up a bit of the hot chocolate, surprised at how good it was. Hm... he wondered what plants were used in the recipe. He took a bite of one of the red and white rocks too, wincing a bit, but noting the sharp and cool taste. It was something that would be nice to eat in the morning to wake himself up. But he did not take anymore of either item, as he knew that other gembounds would be wanting to eat some too.
As he looked up, he noticed there was someone, presumably the host, who stood behind the table. A blue... he was not quite sure what. Deer? Frog? Deer-frog? Either way, Sprig thought it would be a rather nice idea to give him a gift. After all, he had provided such delicious snacks! But what to give? He hadn't brought much with him, only... yes! Fruit rolls! You could never go wrong with fruit rolls. He hadn't quite perfected them yet, but they were tasty enough. The reason he had them with him was to give to his family if he found them. But he figured it wouldn't hurt to give what he had now. He could always make more! With that thought, Sprig walked up to Naskital, hesitating for a few moments before placing the fruit rolls, wrapped up in a giant leaf, in front of the deer-frog. "Hello, I don't think we've met before, but I brought some snacks for you." The lion paused for a few moments, before letting curiosity get the better of him, "Did you make these snacks yourself? I was wondering how it was done. They're rather delicious." It was alright if they weren't willing to provide a recipe, he understood that some liked to keep such things a secret. But it was worth a try to ask!