Lorelei looks at her new gifts. A nice stone, a pretty gem sculpture, and her (mostly finished) tasty treat from Naskital. "I could use some help carrying this. Thank you," she answers, picking up the rock in one of her mouths, and nudging her cake towards Acheron. "If this is too hard for you to carry, we can figure something else out."

She then picks up the gem sculpture with her other head, and falls in line next to Acheron and Pride. Her expression reads as 'ready when you are.'

(i'm up for a new thread, and if so exit lorelei!)
@Pride

The box was--unexpected, and Pride offered a heartfelt "Thank you," to Naskital. Acheron had said it was a 'gift-giving' but she hadn't mentioned him--it was good to see, however, that he was well, and Pride took a moment to wander over and tell him as much. The wrapping he undid with clumsy paws of his hooves and pulls of his teeth.

The gingerbread house, though, was another issue, and one he left to Acheron with a nod. It smelled good, and he was fascinated--he nibbled it, a little--but he couldn't carry it, not really. Not if he were going to help Lorelei along and--ahh.

He gave it another try--a breath of focus, a nod to Lorelei with distracted gaze.

This time it seemed to work; he attempted to use his magic to--whenever Lorelei moved forward--lift her a little, so it wouldn't be such a damn slog for her. It'd take patience on his part, and focus; he'd need to keep a close eye on her progress.

He focused on that, however, with a mild "This way, then," offered in polite invitation. Before he left he offered Spark another nod--invitation, too, or a farewell; it was up to them entirely. His expression, though--despite his focus--was kind.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

exit Pride

All right, well--balancing the cake and the gingerbread house would be hard, but Acheron was pretty sure that she could manage.

It took her a moment to get the house wedged between her antler tines; the cake she carried in her jaws, intending to prance along contentedly. She wanted to chat the whole way, but cake-in-face meant she'd be unable.

Oh, well.

Probably that was for the best--it'd spare them her chatter, at the very least!

It was a hard balance, but she managed, trotting out with the house atop her hat and the cake dangled between her teeth. It didn't stop her prancing, though--or firing a grateful nod at Naskital as she went.

doberman photo credit: pato garza on flicker

exit Acheron

The Sentinel took the dagger from their talons, and Spark was thankful to not be the centre of his attention for once. Guilt dragged at them for feeling that way, and so soon, but…

Their own focus shifted away, as they too, were handed a present. They had to hold it between talons and chin, one limb still preoccupied with the scales. Setting the box down, they gently tugged at the white ribbon, wanting to preserve the pretty container as much as possible. White and gold- all gifts given to them seemed to echo their appearance. Curious!

Cutting gently at the edges of paper with one cautious claw, they unwrapped the present, revealing the smaller, less extravagantly decorated brown box inside. With on arm they plucked it from its container, and took the opportunity to place the scales there instead. They winced as the oil began to pool, hoping it wouldn’t soak through.

Before they could examine the contents properly, their head turned as Pride addressed them again. ”Thank you, I think I will.” The crowd was interesting, but they much preferred familiarity. And, more peculiarly, they felt as though this event would be better enjoyed amidst family and friends.

They finally got to the packets, letting Naskital do the explaining. Though the peppermint treats had caught their attention first, the rich smell of the steaming mugs were no less intriguing. If Pride had some appropriate containers, maybe they could all enjoy a warming drink.

They reconstructed their present as best they could, hoping to be able to hold it in their mouth by the ribbon, while also preserving the charm of the original. Their attempt was honourable, but not quite what they had wanted. Oh well. They turned to leave, but guilt tugged at them again, and held their place for a moment more.

”Uh, friend!” An enthusiastic label, but he hadn’t given a name to the face. ”Here- you can have one.” They held out a packet for The Sentinel to take (If he did not do so, Spark would leave at his feet, but not without an awkward pause between). ”You mix it with hot water, and it makes a drink-“ Their tail flicked towards the able, ”Like those.” They found that the creature had adorned themselves with a curious glowing tinsel, very much out of place on his shoulders. If Spark had been comfortable enough, they might’ve laughed- but they weren’t, so they kept quiet. “I’m going to leave with them. Safe journeys!” The weren’t sure how to excuse themself, but it’d have to be enough; They left with both presents held delicately in their teeth, hoping to catch up to the other group.

Exit Spark

Qflugr watched, as their new friend Reverend received a gift. Quickly unwrapping it, watching the paper fall to the ground like colorful snow. A hat, made of soft cloth to keep ones head warm. He smiled an tried to nod, but fangs kept that from happening again. He inwardly sighed, but parted those kissers to speak.

"Looks very nice! I hope it keeps you warm. I wonder if they made it themselves!"

Q mused, his little bob-tail wagging like mad behind him. Purrs softly emitted from deep within his chest as he pondered what to do after the party. Where would he go, more importantly HOW would he get their. Dear god, it was going to be a struggle and a half. The inward sigh from earlier, slipped into a secondary outward sigh at the sheer thought of having to drag himself everywhere. Though, he still had one piece of glass to give out. The green one.

His gaze looked about, very slowly as those sabers were per usual a struggle. It was like carrying around two bratty children, who did what they want no matter how hard you tried. All the different fur colors an patterns, different heights on those around him. Some folks were leaving while others stood, ate and continued to speak to those around them. It was then he noticed the very very tall figure with a really big set of teeth and, seemingly opposite yet similar to him with tiny arms.

Qflugr excused him self for just a moment, told Reverend he would be right back. Picking up the piece of smooth glass in his mouth, he then dragged his tiny self over to something that seemed familiar even though it would not be. What seemed like eons, he finally made it to the feet of the large one called Rex.

(fun fact that smilodons were a Pleistocene creature, while T-rex as late Cretaceous )

@Reverend @Dark

"Hm... different fruits." Sprig repeated after him. He had not considered switching out the peaches for something else. Now that he thought about it, it was true that the core of the recipe lay not in the fruit, but in the method. Although he supposed if you used a fruit that couldn't be squeezed into juice it wouldn't quite work. Perhaps he could experiment a bit with that later.
The lion listened intently as Naskital explained how the strange candy was made, noting that it did have some similarities to fruit rolls. The description of peppermint matched up with some of the plants he encountered on the way here. It would be a good idea to investigate them further as it was rather important to the recipe. Sugar would be easy to get. There were several berries and fruits that could be used, and oh! That meant it would be possible to achieve several different flavors. So many possibilities! Sprig recalled that he also knew how to start a fire using rocks, and rolling and coloring was simple. Twisting it could be tricky however, as his paws didn't allow him to do that very easily.
Sprig mumbled the instructions under his breath as he ingrained the recipe into his memory. Once he was sure he memorized it, he nodded, and looked up. "Thank you!" Wow, he hadn't felt this excited in a while. He couldn't wait to get started on trying to make these things called 'candy canes' and perhaps put his own spin on things! "Got it, I'll go collect some of this 'peppermint'. Hope to see you around!" And next time, he would be back with both fruit rolls AND peppermint. And maybe other foods so they could trade recipes again!

Exit Sprig

It didn't matter that the quartz was a bit small. It was the gesture that mattered. Arquia treasured the jewel, and couldn't help but admire it. Something that was hers. Something that someone had given to her. For her. Her yellow swirls glowed brightly at the feeling.
"Polaris. I have not been there yet." A thoughtful look spread across her face as she considered the idea of a home in Polaris. Was it safe there? She knew nothing about the cave except the name. "I can accompany you to find a good spot for home." A little part of her was also curious about this cave, and how it might look like. Although she had originally planned to do more exploration, she had gotten too preoccupied in Eridanus to explore much. Either way though, it would be way too much work for Tourmaline to carry the statue alone so she felt it was her responsibility to help. After all, she was the one who had given the gift.
It was unfortunate that nothing seemed to happen, but magic was fickle like that. It was why Arquia preferred to train her physical skills. You could always rely on your body. But Tourmaline had given her an idea on how to improve upon the statue. But no matter her focus, it simply did not work. "Ah, I have also failed." She was disappointed, but her magic simply wasn't that strong.

@Tourmaline

Reverend smiles back at Qflugr, laughing a little. "I don't know where he would have gotten it if he hadn't made it himself," it muses back. He'd have to find some large crystal look at his reflection in, to see how the hat looks.

Until then, he should probably head back to Eridanus. Oliver was likely wondering where it was. And since Qflugr seemed to have found something else interesting, Reverend had no issues slipping away (but not before giving Naskital one last thank you).

Exit Reverend

Tourmaline turns back to Arquia. "Polaris is where I hatched. It's a good place to go when you're tired, because of the magic in the air," she explains. And she definitely wouldn't mind the company for longer.

Seems whatever Arquia tried to do failed in the same way as Tourmaline's magic. Oh well. "We can always try it again later. Maybe after we find a spot to put it?"

@Arquia

Rex peered down at the small cub dragging itself to his feet.

Its teeth seemed oversized, and it had somehow lost its tail; he moved to meet it, concerned. Poor kid. He didn't want to force the cub to drag himself all the way over!

"Hey, little guy!" he greeted, cheerfully friendly. "You want a skull?" He pushed it forward with one foot. Wait--how's he gonna carry it? "Oh! I can carry it somewhere for ya, if you want? Or--I could carry you, too!" He could probably lie down, right, and the kid could clamber on--or maybe he could carry him carefully in his jaws?

That'd be a boring trip, though. He wouldn't be able to talk. He-

...blinked. "Oh! I'm Rex!"

Introductions, and all that.

@Qflugr