THE GIFTENING

It was snowing in Orion: sparkling flakes accumulating into heavy drifts. It was beautiful, the white seeming to catch the crystalline light and refract it in all directions, so that the cave seemed filled with tiny diamonds.

Naskital was back.

Like clockwork, he was back. He'd visited Peppermince, already; the big lug was insistent that there should be more "breath magic" and he was... working on that, somehow. Naskital didn't really understand it but that was all right. He'd invited him, anyway, for gifts, and then hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream on top.

It'd occurred to him to make more available for the Gembound, when the time came, so--now he was here, table set out before him, mugs of hot chocolate (in wildly varying sizes, none too hot) set neatly out in rows.

There were candy canes, too, which were very sweet and bright; and, borrowed from another culture he'd met, dried fish and meat twined in ribbons.

"So... this is how it'll work," he told Peppermince (before the monster lumbered off)--"Gembound can come and give one another gifts! It's to... promote generosity! And exchange! And those that give gifts, I'll give them gifts, too." He beamed, proud, but Peppermince was already leaving with an armful of candycanes and a fist of dried fish.

Ahh, well.

Naskital sat back on his chair (where had he gotten all this stuff? Or how had he gotten it here?) and waited for the first to arrive.

Oh...

...Where had those reindeer gone?

---

Welcome to The Giftening, the holiday event of 2022! Gembound are welcome to mingle and drink hot chocolate, eat candy canes or dried fish and meat--there's plenty for all.

Gembound who give one another gifts--either leaving it for another, specific Gembound anonymously or exchanging the gift in person--will be given a gift, too, by Naskital! This could be anything from a small treat, to knowledge of a spell, to an enchanted item!

In addition, Earthen-styled Lesser Gembounds are wandering the caves for a few days, available for Familiar Forging: Reindeer, white doves, and arctic hare. A number of unfamiliar plants have also cropped up, though without intervention they won't last long: a strong peppermint-type plant, something red and suspiciously like a poinsettia, and vines with ice-cold, light blue-white frosty berries.

This event will run IC until the end of December, but characters will be allowed to enter the thread until January 15th.

Veil click-clacked his way across the floors of orion, a hidden smile behind his mask as he listened to the soft twinkles and clings of the gemstones that hung like stars off of his veiled crown.

it felt like it was truly a prince now, and it reveled in it. The Darkness, The Veil, The Void, that's what he was. he was prince of all those things, because he said that he was. Who was to tell him he wasn't?

he loved his home, or atleast, what he thought must be his home. the stars of orion's ceiling brought them comfort, and joy, and the moment the was able to tear his eyes from those stars, and saw the table of treats and such before him, he bounded over, forgetting how large he was, to it and the creature behind it, for new things in his home always brought new things to enjoy.

he placed his front paws on it and hoisted himself upward to take a crane-necked look at the creature sitting behind the table, tail wagging.

"Doess... Doess this one have a name...? it is ssso happy to ssee new facess..!" he said, voice rasped and eerie, though with a tone of glee.

he wondered, idly, if kai would like to see this too! where was she anyway???

"When I speak"
When I think

Kai wasn't all that far behind. She'd seen Veil (or thought she had, at least--a distant glimpse) heading into this cave, just after she herself had wandered through.

"Something about a gift-giving time," she told him, content, as she crunched up behind him. It wasn't like she was trying to be sneaky; her hooves were loud enough as she plodded through the snow.

Should Veil glance back, he would find that Kai was... decorated, in a way. She had a thickly-woven necklace--a rope, almost, a wreath--of vibrantly glowing moss hanging around her... face. It was dangling just in front of her antler nubs, behind her eyes, and though a light gray-green, the moss was glowing pale blue. It sort of matched Veil, which was her intent; she was only carrying it this way because, well, Kai had no hands.

She stepped forward, trying to go nose-to-nose with the far larger creature, and tilt the wreath up onto his head. "It goes around your neck," she explained. And then, in case that wasn't clear: "...It's a gift."

A suitable present, she thought, for the Prince of Void.

ooc note: the moss necklace was plantcharmed into rope-shape and Preserved here.

THE GIFTENING

Naskital sat forward, excited at having his very first visitors of the season. He didn't seem to mind the giant paws atop his table; instead, he explained cheerfully--repeating for anyone else who might arrive--just how this all worked.

"Oh! I am Naskital, and this is the season of generosity, kindness, and gifts. Please, take any of the food or drink you want! Those who give gifts to one another will also get a gift from me!" He beamed, pleased, and patted the large sack sitting beside his chair, atop a large sledge.

A sledge that had, once upon a time, crashed through the cave roof, but that was neither here nor there.

@Veil

he seemed surprised, both as kai clacked from behind him in her arrival, and that she knew what this was before he did! maybe he needed to leave his usual hiding spots more often.

he seemed distracted by the snacks on the table for a moment more, before glancing upward, to tell kai about how tasty they looked, no doubt, before it paused. they tilted their head at the glowing wreath around kai's neck, and made a curious noise.

he made an almost cat-like "mrrp?" sound as kai bonked her (nose? beak?) to veil's snout, prompting him to lower his neck at her explanation, to crane himself downward to let it fall onto his face.

he paused, briefly, as it got stuck at it antlers, pulling it off again to reposition it, looping it past his crown and horns and finally, down his neck, as he looked at it, and shook his head around briefly like a small cockatiel to marvel at how it felt as it spun around his neck in kind, kai would hear the faintest, squealing sound emanating from veil's direction.

it got louder, and soon veil was smiling a bright, open mouthed smile as a fox-like shriek-squeal freed itself from his mouth. his tail wagged and he did a joyous tapping dance in place.

"kaiiii!!!! thisss... thiss is so nice!!!! it-, i- they have no words!!!! veil hass not been given such a gift before!!" he says, his voice a few octaves higher than usually, the occompanying hiss not as present.

he paused, briefly, looking downtrodden. "it has not brought a gift to give!! w-w-wait, stay still, i will think!!"

he looked around. it was very hard, he found, to give gifts on the fly. kai had gone through so much effort, he could feel the faint aura of kai's magic thrumming from the wreath, and he hadn't even thought to make her one in return??? truth be told he didn't know of this gift giving season before just now, but still!! he needs to give kai gift's more often to make up for this dire misdoing.

suddenly, his crown twinkled as he swiveled his head, and he had an idea.

he carefully sifted through the dangling, starlike gemstones hanging from the horns in his crown, and when he seemed satisfied with one, he untied it, and motioned for kai to lean forward.

should she do so, veil would gently tie it around her neck, loosely hanging against her chest. it glowed, sparkling softly, and the gems on it made the softest of humming sounds as they brushed against her fur.

"there!" he said, with glee. "now, kai friend hasss symbol of our friendship!! You are the void prince's firsst friend, and now you have symbol of ssuch!!"

he seemed to pause, looking suddenly quite timid, atleast as timid as a moose-sized beast of his appearance can look. "is... is it good?? did i do a good job?" he said, softly.

@Kai


"When I speak"
When I think

Kai held very still, allowing Veil to do... whatever Veil was doing. The little chain was detached from the ivory crown, its sparkling bead dangling, and--ahh.

Veil was giving it to her.

She took a step back, craning her head and tilting it this way and that to try and see it. The angle was wrong, but--she could catch a glimpse. She was, to her surprise... happy. Proud. Her chest swelled up a little, and she looked at Veil.

"The Void Prince's first friend, and first knight. It's a symbol," she agreed. "It's very good." Veil sometimes needed such reassurances--like he wasn't quite sure he was living up to his title--and Kai had learned to offer them freely. "It's, uh, very royalty." She paused. Shouldn't that be very 'royal?' Oh, well, she'd said it, now.

She hastened to move on.

"It's part of the crown," she mused. "That means I'm a part of your," and she paused, not knowing the words for royal cabinet or governing body or any of that. "...Inner circle." Sure. That sounded... okay.

"And we match." That seemed important. They both had signs of friendship around their necks, now. Even if Kai had sort of chucked a necklace down around Veil's, well, veil. Cape. ...Thing.

Kai glanced back toward Naskital, then to Veil again. Truth be told she'd... sort of missed the details about whatever this all was; she wasn't that far ahead of Veil herself. But she made an effort, nonetheless: "Uh--happy Gift Day?" she tried.

@Veil

THE GIFTENING

Naskital beamed, gently clapping his hands together. "Well done! That's the spirit of giving!" He was very pleased; he only wished Peppermince had hung around to see this.

Oh, well--maybe next year. Meanwhile-!

He turned, picking two beautifully wrapped packages from his sled. The one he offered to Kai was small, square, and surprisingly heavy, wrapped in shiny red with candy canes on the packaging. A big white ribbon with a bow topped it. Veil was given a smaller, flatter box wrapped in green, red and white, with little dogs frolicking across the paper.

"Enjoy," Naskital said, and smiled.

---

Kai will find, in the gift, a small glass orb pulsing with light. Touching it will cause the light to fade, imbuing her with the knowledge of a new spell: Animated Bauble.

Veil will open his box to find... a hat? It's warm red wool with a fluffy white rim and a fluffy white ball at the end. It is, however, enchanted with the spell Heat Up: it will always provide warmth, no matter how cold or wet the environment may be.

The spell and enchanted inventory icon will be added shortly.

@Veil @Kai

Veil would let out the happiest of squeaks as kai confirmed that, yes, his gift was good, and VERY royalty.

he watched her for a moment more, and instead of wishing her a happy gifting day in return, veil would, if kai did nothing to indicate this was an unwelcome gesture, unceremoniously scooped his friend up into a hug. it was a bit clumsy, and felt a bit like a snake coiling around a rat with how his neck moved into it, but a hug nonetheless, a happy close-mouthed and loving chuckle rumbling from his chest.

he let go after a few seconds, setting her back down gently. and would only be distracted by the pretty wrapped boxes being shoved their directions. he would take his and, after a moment of consideration, would tear into the paper with abandon.

opening the box, he grabbed the hat, and, given he's never exactly SEEN a hat like this before, it's not like naskital was wearing one, he'd stick his face in it like a weird sock mask. he made an intrigued, happy sound at how warm it was.

"Ooooooh!! The veil likess this! very warm!!.."

@Kai

"When I speak"
When I think

Much as Veil had never seen a hat before, Kai had never been hugged before. She stiffened, baffled; her first instinct was that this must be some kind of attack but she knew the Prince of Void would never harm a soul. Let alone his Knight of Flowers.

So she blinked her owlish eyes, and spoke slowly. "...Are you... okay?" A glance at Naskital told her nothing; this wasn't some sort of weird holiday thing, then. But Veil was making a happy noise--a laugh, or something similar--and she relaxed a little. It must be affection, she guessed.

When he put her down, she reciprocated as best she could: by lifting one hoofed leg and pawing him in an approximation to a weird and gentle pat. It just looked odd, maybe, coming from a deer's body.

"It's--a nice gift?" she suggested, tilting her head at the face-hat. She glanced to Naskital, then Veil, quizzical, but curiosity hit and she leaned down to open her own. Her beak and hooves pulled pretty, shiny wrapping from the box. (Honestly, she'd thought the pretty box was the gift, at first; she only knew to open it because Veil had done so.)

Inside, she found a little glass ball, glowing with light. It was pretty, even entrancing; but the moment she tapped her beak lightly to its surface, the light... faded. Her eyes widened, distress shooting through her. "I broke it?" she whispered. But--she felt like she knew... a new magic? Was that right? Maybe she could just.

Put the light back...

She concentrated a little, and the next thing she knew, a flare of magic had engulfed the little ball. It glowed again: but weakly, now, and in a pulsing, off-and-on fashion. It's like it's glowing in a circle, she thought, and somehow, that made sense to her.

Ehh, she'd figure it out later. For now, she looked up at Veil. "I think I got new magic," she told him.

Then she turned, and made for the table, dipping her beak into a hot chocolate.

@Veil

The past... while, Tourmaline has spent in Orion. She's been playing with the quartz crystal she knocked loose earlier in the cycle, wondering where she'd stash it for safe keeping. Maybe back in Eridanus?

Trudging through the snow (that was new), Tourmaline basically wandered straight into Naskital's camp. The scents and vibrant lights were loud, but she takes a moment to recenter herself before walking up to the one who had set it all up.

She glances back down at the crystal in her mouth as he explains, and her mind wanders. Back to Eridanus, and the lively dragon who had promised to live for herself.

Her mind made up, Tourmaline sets the quartz on the table, among mugs of hot chocolate and other treats, and declares, "I'd like to give this to Arquia. It's... not much, but it's something."