Lorelei shrugs back (but it's more of a flapping of her front flippers). "It was a suggestion. Don't have to do it," she says, but adds, "I wouldn't mind waiting for you to do it though."

She takes a bite (well, two) of the cake herself, and finds it absolutely delicious. "Mmmmhhhmm, thif if goof," she grins, only swallowing after she finishes talking.

Lorelei gives another look over the cake. "I dunno, maybe it's like. Something like the candies the blue guy has laying around?

@Acheron

Sprig was very impressed at how talented Naskital was at making food. If only he could make such tasty treats! He was glad that the deer-frog thought the fruit rolls tasted rather good. It meant he was improving! Making food for others to enjoy always put a smile on his face. His ears perked up at the offer of trading recipes and he waited for Naskital to finish passing out the gifts before responding. "I can explain how to make these fruit rolls." The lion gathered his thoughts for a moment, trying to convey the idea in a concise manner. He did not possess the skill of writing, so it was not possible to give a written copy.
"First you need a bowl, preferably a rock. Then you crush peaches to make peach juice in the bowl and pick out the chunks. Start a fire to heat up the bowl and stir the juice until it's very thick. Then pour it out onto a rock and once it hardens roll it up."
He hoped that was a good explanation, and lapped up a bit more hot chocolate. "May I have the recipe... for the red and white stones?" he wasn't sure of the name of it, and that was the best description he could come up with. "They're chilly, but tasty." Although the brown liquid also tasted rather nice, he didn't have many containers that could hold liquids as opposed to solids.
"Thank you for the gift!" Sprig almost didn't want to unwrap his gift, the wrapping paper and ribbon were just too pretty. He carefully untied the ribbon by pulling on it with his teeth, but couldn't find a neat manner to take off the paper without ruining it, and so just tore it open. The sled that greeted him nearly took his breath away. "It's... magnificent." His mind was already running wild with ideas. It could be used to transport plants and ingredients much more easily, and could even serve as a home on the go if he were traveling somewhere far! "Thank you." he repeated, still amazed that he had received something this wonderous.

Acheron blinked; candies? Yeah, that--sounded... right?

Maybe.

She shrugged.

"I'll go get Dad. Enjoy your, um. Candies-food," she told Lorelei, with a brief grin. Then she turned, taking off at a bounding trot; it wouldn't take her long, though the Santa hat atop her head flopped unsteadily as she went.

Her first leap made it clear that she'd used magic: she hit the ground and then simply soared away, legs neatly tucking up as her jump somehow cleared a dozen yards of sailing air. Within moments she was out of sight in Orion, snow drifting down from her hoof-flung passage as though she herself had become one of Naskital's magic reindeer.

doberman photo credit: pato garza on flicker

Acheron will come back with Pride next round!

@Lorelei

"Alright! Get your dad, I look forward to meeting him!" Lorelei chimes, turning at watching Acheron bound away. Wow, she's fast. I wish I could fly like that, is her internal musing.

Well, guess that means more "cake" for herself. Should someone ask, she'd be happy to share, but for now she sets herself happily gnawing at it.

There was a lot happening right now. The poor cub was overwhelmed with all the sights, sounds, smells and well just everything happening in the room. Everyone was chattering, or snacking or well both at once all while exchanging gifts to one another. It was really a sight to behold, no matter your age.

"Mew."

Q nodded at Reverend an gave a toothy grin at the patting of ones head. He was glad that the gift was well received, though he had to figure out how to carry that shiny bauble of his around now too. Ah well, that would have to wait for it seems that the main gift giver had noticed them. They turned themself down to Q an handed him a nice bag of treats, which only made his tummy rumble more.

"Mew MEW!"

The loud reply came in thanks to Naki for their generous gift. He was not sure exactly how he was going to carry his bag of goodies, and the precious bauble that Reverend had gifted him. He did not want to break it or lose it, but perhaps his bubbles could help him out. He hadnt figured it out quite well just yet, but if he concentrated well enough perhaps each item could be held an floated beside him. But.. what if it fails, an the bubble pops? All these worries for such a small being. Taking one of the snacks from the lovely gift bag, Qflugr sat an pondered his problem. The delicious snack seemed very good at its job of satiating the hunger in his belly.

Before too long though, it was time to share another gift! Carefully setting his gifts together on the ground, he gently took that abalone shell once again in his mouth leaving behind the last piece of glass with his other gifts. It seemed to take ages, but eventually he made his way to those froggy toes of Naki and gently mewed with his mouth full of the lovely rainbow shell.

@Reverend

Rex had been wandering ever since he'd finally found his way from Lacerta. He wasn't sure where Andy had gone (which was... sad; he really missed her, even if it hadn't been all that long) and he was sort of half on the lookout for her.

When he arrived here today it was part by chance, and part because he'd been hoping to run into her, or the way back home. Orion was very much the wrong direction, though, and Rex was shivering a little as he made his way in. The only thing he had with him was a skull: the round-ish, reptilian skull of a benjamin, one he'd killed about a week ago. It had a couple tooth-holes through the top and jaw, holes the size of daggers, and all told the skull was much larger than an average Earth animal would've been.

For Origin? Not so much.

He'd only kept it because he'd felt bad for the thing. Just leaving it, after he'd killed it for food, felt... bad; so he'd taken the head, and talked to it, chatting now and then either to apologize or tell it how his day had gone. It wasn't that he was super attached to a skull, exactly, he'd just... felt bad leaving it alone.

Still, though Rex hadn't meant it as a gift, he could offer it as one. The sudden gathering of Gembound here was... pleasant, and he found he liked all the company, even if he'd only just arrived and not actually spoken to anyone as yet.

"Does anyone want--uhh. A skull?" he offered, hesitating.

The Sentinel's gift was... unusual, and probably not all that safe to touch. He'd brought it clenched in one hand when he'd heard of Naskital here, and of the gifts that must be given.

His arrival found nobody here: just an empty, dark cave, the dust drifting down, its motes sparking in dim light-... the motes became snow.

The cave's darkness bloomed with voices, with people. Ahh. The Void had claimed him, for a time, as it so often did.

Swathed in shadows and whispers, the hound clicked his way through the gathering, the all-seeing halberd in one hand and a scattered collection of gleaming Oilstone scales held out in his palm. He did not speak, he only waited, the scales clearly offered out.

A gift.

A few sparkling pieces of hide of the creature the Creator himself had sent to test them, sent into the caves. Scales of The Black Serpent itself.

Surely that was a gift worth a thousand others..?

Even if it would come with just a touch of chaotic Corruption.

Reverend stayed with his arm around Qflugr until the kitten walked up to Naskital. He lets him leave, but ends up coming forward when a second gift is set next to the other. "Oh, for me?"

He hesitates a moment, but begins tearing into the package, scattering paper and ribbons. It pulls out the hat, soft and plush in his claws. This is nice, it thinks, before pulling them on over his horns.

Reverend looks back down to Qflugr. "What do you think?" he asks, pointing to the new hat.

@Qflugr

Arquia decided to try the hot chocolate, but found it was too sweet for her. Not her thing. She dipped her head in thanks at Naskital as he gave her a gift, holding off on opening it for now. It didn't help that she was still a bit suspicious of this entire event. Who just gives out things for free? Surely they were planning something. But everyone's gifts seemed fine... so far.
"Oh... thank you." she couldn't quite express how much it meant to her. A friend, giving her something? It made her feel a very weird way inside. "Thank you very much." Arquia smiled at Tourmaline, picking up the crystal with her talons and admiring the way it reflected the light. Pretty. She wondered what she could use it for. For a brief moment the dragon considered integrating it in one of her statues, but it was much too precious to use up like that. And she wandered around far too much to store it in one place. It wasn't very safe. Hmm... she could decide later.
She felt happy that Tourmaline liked the gift. It was a worry of hers that perhaps it was a bit too rough, but it seemed to be fine. But Arquia did not consider that it would be rather hard for the Pallas's cat to carry it home by herself. That was a slight oversight. "Do not worry, I can help you carry it back if needed." Plus, she did wonder where Tourmaline lived. It wasn't something she had stopped to consider.
"You may do whatever you would like. It is your present." She laid down, tilting her head slightly to indicate that she was interested in what she would come up with. "Art can only be improved."

@Tourmaline

Tourmaline smiles gently, looking up to Arquia. It's good to see here doing so well. Seems her advice had helped. "You're welcome. I know it's small, but I wanted to do something."

One more look to the statue. "Guess it means I'm finally deciding where I want to make my home. Polaris, maybe?" It was one of the caves Tourmaline was the most familiar with, and she'd seen plenty of nooks and crannies she could set up shop in.

Arquia's permission given, Tourmaline steps up even closer to the statue. She focuses on her magic and the stone protrusion on the statue in place of her stone. Not much happens though, unfortunately.