(december catch-all) LEGGY KRAMPUS IS COMING TO TOWN

[vestigemods]

DECEMBER CATCH-ALL

► YOU WANT SNOW? WE GOT SNOW

To all who've endured the last couple of dismal months, congratulations - you've broken through the windy rains of October and damp, depressing ones of November to an inexplicable peace falling over the containment zone. Untouched snow covers the ground, a veritable winter wonderland. It's almost idyllic, even if not quite in the same way that the early weeks of summer may have been. The air is brisk and chilly, but at least you can see the sun again. In fact, the heat of it on your skin is almost enough to make up for the chill, at least when the sun is at its peak.

Make snowmen! Have a snowball fight! Perhaps even skate on the frozen lake - Foodland seems to be stocking brand new sets of ice skates in various sizes, their colors obtuse enough to make sure you'll be spotted even if it starts to snow. And... consider showing a little pity on the local wildlife if they come a-scritching at your door? If you're cold, they're cold, et cetera.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

But December has a little bit more misfortune in store than just a little bit of nippy weather. On the 16th + 17th, you might start to feel... a little strange. Maybe you've come inside from a rousing snowball war to park by the fire, but instead of warming up, you just... keep getting colder. In fact, your temperature keeps on dropping no matter what you try - blankets, a hot bath, none of it seems to do more than slow down the speed at which you're cooling.

Or maybe you're not cold at all... but oh, you're starting to wish you were. Because your temperature only keeps rising, like a hot flash from hell no matter what you do to cool down, with sweat beading on your forehead and dripping down your neck. You may even find yourself desperate enough to strip down to your underclothes and lie in the snow, if only for some sort of relief. Don't worry, though - whether you're too hot or too cold, it'll go away on its own eventually. Let's hope it's before the hypothermia gets too bad or you go delirious with fever.


Then, throughout the couple of days before Christmas, the snow kicks up to a flurry. According to the children's books in Foodland, this is a telltale sign that a magical gift-bearing man called Santa Claus is on his way. But kids' books never do tell the full story, do they?

True to form, there's a pitter-patter up on the rooftop. Is it reindeer paws? Since when do reindeer have paws, anyway? Then the fire in your fireplace, if lit, goes out with a magical puff of air... but what comes down your chimney is quite a bit worse than the stories. His Naughty List is filled with those who have yet to satisfy the elder gods with their horrible death, and rather than bringing gifts and cheer, this particular Santa has come to collect.

Two clawed hands wrap around each side of the fireplace, eyes pale as the snow, the beard around his gaping mouth tinged with the red of blood. But there are more hands now, so many hands, so many too-long arms, peeling himself from your fireplace to attack. He moves quickly, almost uncannily so, with an agility one might not expect from one with such gangly arm-legs. His hands are sharply clawed, perfect for swiping and drawing blood - but that's not what he's trying to do. No, his goal is to drag those who've been Naughty back up the chimney from whence he came, hauling them off through the flurry of snow and disappearing from sight if you try to pursue. But it's fine. Being choked to death by Leggy Krampus's obscenely long prehensile tongue isn't... the worst death, at least?

► MOD NOTES

• This is the December Catch-All Log, for any action top-levels throughout the month. Large gatherings (parties, meetings, etc) are still encouraged to post their own logs for organizational purposes!
  
• Refer to the bottom half of the November + December Bulletin for any December-specific info to potentially include in your prompt, as well as more specifics regarding the events.
  
• Because this is a catch-all for everywhere + all month, try to remember to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location of each prompt (whether in the subject or in the prompt title within the comment). Also consider mentioning if any of your prompts are event prompts!
  
• December's specific resources can be found in the Not-Bulletin.
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[lethechained]

[ Fortunately Naminé at least has the sense to keep the flame away from the rest of her clothing now that she knows it's there. Once she's got enough give on the scarf, she uses one hand to hold the burning end out - which makes untying it with only the opposite even more challenging, but at least mitigates the risk to her person.

By the time he gets close, she's finally made some headway. The remaining end of the fabric finally slides free as he draws near and she lets the whole thing fall into the snow to join her other hapless possessions. The icy ground isn't enough to put it out immediately now that the fire's had more opportunity to spread, which isn't exactly a welcome development, but-- he might be just in time to help her stomp on it.

Somebody's got to, anyway, because it's not showing any sign of stopping. ]

[theprezident]

[ He will definitely help her stomp on it. Luckily, there's plenty of snow to aid in suffocating the flames when the fabric is stomped into it. The fire is out pretty quickly, and Rhys breathes a sigh of relief. ]

Are you okay? You didn't get burned?

[lethechained]

[ Between the two of them it really doesn't take long at all before the flame is dealt with, and without intending to she adds to his relieved sigh with a simultaneous one of her own. Glancing up with the beginnings of a surprised smile, she's quick to shake her head at his question. ]

No, I don't think so. It doesn't feel like--

[ When she looks down in an automatic attempt to check, though, she can see a growing hint of redness on the hand that was initially holding the stick. Startled, she blinks at it. ]

... Oh. That's strange...!

[ Except for the part where, you know, she set her glove on fire just now. ]

[theprezident]

Uhhh.

[ Are you okay??? ]

You don't feel it?

[ That's more than a little disturbing. ]

[lethechained]

[ That's a decidedly valid question to ask, going by the perplexed look on her face. ]

No, not exactly. I just feel-- cold.

[ Which might explain why she couldn't recognize the heat from the less visibly obvious flame before. She's shivering slightly when she lifts the opposite hand to press a finger against the burn - which makes her hiss quietly, arm drawing back from it immediately. ]

But it still hurts.

[ When she touches it, anyway. Is that a good sign or a bad one...? ]

[theprezident]

Oh, well, that's good. I think.

[ He pauses for a moment, and makes a face. ]

You're feeling it too, huh?

[lethechained]

[ Although her mouth purses uncertainly, she decides after a beat that she probably agrees, and offers a small nod. Pain in general might not be pleasant, but becoming completely numb wouldn't exactly be a positive sign. ]

... Mm.

[ Her eyelids flutter in a blink at his expression, only for his words to lift her brows with that 'too'. It takes her a second to grasp what he means, but when she does it prompts a subtle tilt of her head and more obvious concern. ]

Can... you not get warm either?

[theprezident]

No. My coffee's doing nothing. Pretty sure I burned my tongue on it but I didn't, like ... feel it inside, you know?

[ Wait, does that sound weird? Whatever, it's out now. ]

[lethechained]

[ Huffing out a bemused breath, Naminé frowns in earnest. ]

I know exactly what you mean. I had the same problem with the soup I ate for breakfast. I thought maybe I just hadn't heated it long enough.

[ But apparently not. Well, this is an unpleasant development. Face still scrunched, she turns her eyes toward the ground in thought only to realize her articles of clothing are waiting in the snow. She bends to pick up the glove, inspecting it; it's singed black over a considerable portion of the surface. Maybe wearable in a pinch, but-- she glances up, as if remembering something. ]

Does it hurt? Your tongue, that is.

[theprezident]

When I eat or drink, yeah. Mostly it just feels kind of like sand paper.

[ So it's just pretty irritating, really. ]

I guess you need to get a new pair of gloves.

[ Even if they feel constantly cold, he assumes that being covered properly means you won't get frostbite that easily. Hopefully. ]

[lethechained]

[ Scrunching up her face just a little, she gives a momentary, sympathetic grimace. ]

I'm sorry.

[ Tucking the damaged gloves into her pocket, she reaches for the scarf next; one end is charred and ugly. Exhaling a rueful sigh, she stands with the knit object in hand, then glances up to offer him the shadow of a wry smile at his comment. ]

Yeah. 'Guess I do. [ A little more quietly, ] I was just at Foodland the other day, too.

[ She takes her time about stuffing the scarf into her other pocket, looking as though she's quietly considering something. Presently, ]

Hey... Rhys? Does-- your world have magic in it?

[theprezident]

[ He pauses for a moment at the unexpected question, and gives her a long look. ]

Err ... That depends how you define magic.

[ Because they don't really call it that, but Sirens can do some really freaky stuff. ]

[lethechained]

[ The girl has the decency to wither slightly under his look, quickly growing aware of how that might have seemed like a peculiar question from his point of view. Her self-consciousness expands gradually, although she manages (with an effort) not to avoid eye contact too obviously during the pause. ]

Um-- [ She says, because it takes her a second to remind herself that she was asking for a good cause (and that it'll seem weirder if she doesn't finish the thought). Shifting in place slightly, uncertainly, ] Well... how do you define it?

[ Because being cagey about it definitely won't make him think she's even stranger, right? Still, it's probably(?) a valid question. ]

[theprezident]

I--

[ Somehow he didn't expect to have to give an answer to his own question. ]

I guess ... abilities and things that we can't really explain yet?

[lethechained]

[ Naminé blinks up at him, mouth pursing as she considers that response. It certainly sounds more on the scientific side of things. ]

So it's the stuff you don't understand...?

[ That'd certainly apply to her own type of magic. Even she doesn't know why she can do what she can do. ]

In that case - what do you think about it? [ People do tend to fear that which they can't comprehend, after all. Hypothetically speaking, ] If someone wanted to cast a spell on you, would it make you nervous?

[theprezident]

Yeah, kinda, but that's not really about the magic. I wouldn't be sure if I could trust the person to not cast a bad one?

[ And he's really unsure about having it himself, since he never had magic his whole life. He thinks he still has his magic from Asgard, because the others did, but he hasn't actually tried. Makes him uneasy. ]

[lethechained]

Oh, [ she says, as if she's considering it very seriously. Her head tilts, lips worked into a thoughtful little frown. ]

I guess that could be pretty dangerous. But... what if they were someone you knew was your friend?

[ It hardly even matters whether or not that applies in this case; now she's just curious about the root of this issue itself. ]

Or-- if it was to help you with something really important?

[theprezident]

Let's just say that I'm really careful about trusting my friends too.

[ Yvette's betrayal still hurts, and while Jack was never really his friend, that one really sucked too. It seems now like the people he keeps closest are fully on his side, but how can he know that for certain?

The answer is he can't. ]

But I'm not anti-magic or anything like that.

[lethechained]

[ Her expression makes it pretty clear that the gears are turning in her head after his statement, and what she comes up with at the end appears to bring down her mood slightly. ]

There are a lot of cruel people out there, [ she has to agree, because she's met several of them. One of her hands tucks under her opposite elbow, then is mirrored by the other. (It doesn't really help with either of the types of chill she's feeling.) ] I can see why that would be hard for you, especially considering where we are.

[ Would she have known his feelings already if she hadn't forgotten so much? Naminé isn't certain of that either, but it isn't worth fretting over when there's nothing to be done about it. Now she can't help but wonder, though, if he's suspicious of her as well. She wouldn't blame him, truthfully. Perking a little bit at his last statement, Naminé seems to find that part at least a fraction more comforting. ]

No? [ Mentally, she chalks him up on a 'maybe' list somewhere, with a little, 'talk about it first' next to his name. ] That's probably for the best. Around here, I think everyone needs all the advantages they can get. [ A beat, then, ] Have you never thought about learning magic for yourself?

[theprezident]

[ He does look visibly uncertain, almost uncomfortable, about that suggestion, and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. ]

I supposedly had magic in Asgard but ... I never actually learned how to use it. I don't know, it felt ... weird?

[lethechained]

[ She recognizes the body language before his answer actually reaches her ears, her brows jumping slightly with a surprise that becomes open concern. ]

Not even a little bit?

[ As much as that sounds like a waste, she's more than a small amount familiar with how terrifying it can feel to know you're of harming others with magic, even when you don't mean to. But-- you know, that was just her experience with it, and she's not about to assume it was the same for him. Still, she hasn't got the presence of mind to hide her sympathy or her curiosity as she inquires with tilted head, ]

Weird... how?

[theprezident]

I don't know, like ... Like it's just not me.

[ A shrug. It's hard to explain. Just a sort of feeling of unease. Not to mention the idea that someone had given him that power without asking if he wanted them, whether that's actually how that worked or not, made him incredibly uncomfortable. ]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé's head angles just a tiny bit further to the side; her own magic has always been such an integral part of her that she can't claim to feel the same way. But she's got enough extra memories to draw from and a sufficiently clear perspective of others to say, ]

Oh. Like it isn't natural?

[ Which one so inclined might describe all magic as. Curling a hand against her mouth - then flinching slightly when the sting helps her remember she's got a burn on that part of her finger - she reconsiders. ]

Or... like it's not a part of you?

[ Funny, how he's been able to accept a metal arm; her eyes drift toward it a moment, thoughtful. ]

I think I can understand that. If it wasn't something that belonged to you before, I suppose it could be pretty hard to get used to.

[theprezident]

Yeah, something like that.

[ A shiver courses through him, and he wraps his arms around himself with a displeased noise. ]

Anyway, even if we can't seem to get warm, standing outside is probably still not a good idea. We should probably get inside.

[lethechained]

[ The girl gives a soft, sympathetic hum, which becomes a little breath of surprise as he shivers. She's been trembling this whole time, but the cold has become such a constant experience today that she wasn't paying it much mind; it's his discomfort that prompts her to agree, ]

Right - that'd be best. But... where should we go? My cabin is a bit of a walk.

[ Not that they can't make it, of course. ]