Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Official event: Winter Masquerade 2022

Getting a whiff of treats, Ollie skips to a stop, does an about-face, and romps back to Light Raygun, planting his butt firmly on the ground as he stares up pleadingly. Whatever hit the igloo could absolutely wait as far as he was concerned. He had PRIORITIES.

The crashing noise finally broke the CUTE PUPPER SPELL that had claimed Cris, and only then she realized she had blanked out from the rest of the world. "Oh - uh - sorry, I got a little carried away--" she hastily apologized to the Duchess, before also turning toward the source of the noise and going to check on the sleigh.

... Wait, is that Santa Claws?

Pushing past the tail-wagging dog, the Duchess makes her way out of the igloo, gasping at the sight of the crash and the fact that it almost took out a new guest. "My dear! Are you alright yourself?" she asks the Masked Fae, keeping an eye on the bearded man who was now looking at his broken sleigh in dismay.

"I'm alright, oh, but I... I don't know what came over me, I couldn't stop myself from steering to this clearing..." says the man, looking around in bewilderment.

Identifying which of the wreaths were simple wreaths and which were not, the gentleman removed all but one wreath from the poor dog's neck. "There. That should do you som-- What in the heavens' name is that?" He said, looking to the unfolding chaos. Quickly, he ran to the old man, seeing that the younger girl had already been attended to. "Sir! Injuries, any of the sort?"

Pounces on the tail of the talking dog just for the fun of pouncing on something bigger then him

Cris stood on tiptoes to better see the bearded man. "You think it's _the_ Santa Claws after all, Ollie?" she asked the Golden Retriever, handing him the gingerbread man treat and ruffling his fur. "Who knows if he'll let me take a photo with him to show my kids at home..."

Her eyes darted to the voice that spoke to her. She gave a small wave to dismiss her concern before smiling. "I am fine but I am afraid he may not be." The man did appear terribly concerned about his sleigh. "I believe it was magic that led you here."

"Wow, so many new people!" Tabetha cried out dramatically. "And we have an injured one too, oh no!"

Tabetha's voice did not sound genuine with its concern.

The older man looks around, seeming to notice for the first time that he's been in a crash and that he might have injuries himself rather than only his sleigh when Gem speaks to him. He pats himself down, frowning, and then shakes his head, "No, no, I think I'm just banged up and sore, but I'll be right as rain with a good night's sleep.. I'm just afraid that my sleigh... If I don't get it fixed in time..." he trailed off, glancing around at the assembled, looking quite embarrassed. "Oh, you can call me, hmmn, ah, Nick."

Ollie makes a large production of cronching the treat that Light gives him, swinging his head around in excitement now that he only has one wreath on. But then, attack! His tail is pounced! He begins to bound in circles, chasing his own tail. Or, more accurately, Mini on his tail. Bork bork bork!

"A pleasure to meet you, Nick!" Tabetha bowed graciously at the newcomer. "I am Tabetha Morrowgrain."

Tabetha blanked out, upon realizing that was not her last name.

"MARROWHEART! I meant to saw Marrowheart."

...Why was she even trying anymore?

Smirks a lopsided grin and runs away as if saying -haha cant catch me-

"I am Fae." She looked at Tabetha and giggled, finding the error a little funny. "I will try to help you fix your sleigh. I am sure others will try to help you too. I wouldn't worry too much, Nick."

Cris chuckled as Ollie began chasing the little dragon on his tail. "Don't be afraid, he just wants to play with you", she told Mini. "My dog at home does the same too, but she's smaller than Ollie, still has enough energy that sometimes people get overwhelmed or scared..." It wasn't the first time she considered bringing Joy along but for _overall sanity_ she knew it was best to keep her hyper active robot pup away from large gatherings! Smiling with her eyes at Tabetha. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to introduce myself before, I got distracted by Ollie here - we met at last year's Masquerade."Glancing back at the bearded man, she overheard him say his name and realized this was not in fact the mythological Santa Claws but another traveller. "Come over, get some rest", she called out to him, gesturing.

"We'll find something, I'm sure of it." The gentleman smiled behind his mask. "At any rate, I'm glad you aren't injured. Shame, it does look like a nice sleigh..."

Nick and the Duchess meet eyes for a moment, and a look of recognition seems to pass between them. They are both Winter spirits of hospitality, in their own ways, after all. After this moment, the Duchess nods and steps back, allowing the party guests to assist. Nick smiles around at the group as they offer to help. "Oh, thank you, thank you. You don't know what this will mean to so many people. But the whole front has been crumpled!"

Ollie runs faster trying to get at Mini, until he slips in the snow and collapses quite goofily, still making biting motions in Mini's direction even as he flails around on the ground.

Tabetha grinned at Cris, suddenly. "Ohh, no need for introductions, darling! I know exactly who you are! I've heard of your escapades, and they are incredible!"

Tabetha leans closer, placing a hand on the vigilante's shoulder. "But I wasn't expecting such a powerful vigilante to show up tonight..."

Tabetha looks Light Raygun directly in the eyes, with a smirk that she was no doubt familiar.

"You're... not here to be a killjoy, are you, dear?"

Runs to hide behind Light while the dog is distracted from the fall.