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Who: Everyone!
What: November open log
When: November
Where: The Merchant Dome/The Pools
Warnings: NA
Notes: NA

Holiday mingle log

It’s the most wonderful (welcome) time of the year

Christmas is coming earlier and earlier every year, which isn't a surprise but hey they're starting the Christmas/Winter stuff the week before thanksgiving. Because why not. this month’s party takes place in the Merchant dome. But it’s not the everyday appearance of the merchant dome. No, for the next five days the Merchant dome’s appearance has been altered to look like a sort of Bavarian Christmas Market. There are small clusters of tables every so often, so people can just sit and chat and eat and drink.

Some enterprising person has even managed to make it snow through some unknown means. It’s not cold, but the snow is soft and steady and slowly building up.

The entire dome, all of the streets and all of the merchant stalls are practically glowing with white fairy lights that are strung everywhere. Vendors in their stalls gleefully cry out to paterons passing by, offering them free food or drinks. The food consists of the sort of things that one might expect to find in a place like this: sausages on buns and on sticks, pretzels, pizza, loads of cookies of every variety that one could think of, including elaborately decorated gingerbread, chocolates, fruits, french fries. Think winter fair food, and be as absurd and as complicated and extra as you want. It is a fair, after all. Go nuts. Drinks are also along the same line: hot cider, mulled wine, hot buttered rum, hot chocolate both with booze and without, as well as all the normal things: water, coffee, tea, milk, soda, and a variety of fruit juices that you’ve both heard of and not.

But food isn’t the only free thing that people are giving away! They’re also offering characters hats and gloves and scarves, small toys, books, delicate ornaments, perfumes, wine… it’s a giant welcome party after all, and these people are cheerful and happy. Even offering to pay just gets met with laughter and being told not to worry about it.

Fun and frivolity.

There are even carnival rides set up! A medium sized ferris wheel, a carousel, a giant slide and ice skating ring are all along the outside of the stalls.

At the far end of the dome, the snow has fallen deeper and held to several inches. Wouldn’t you know it just happens to be perfect snowball snow! So, there of course needs to be a snowball fight! What did you think those free mittens and gloves and scarves are for after all? The snowball fight can be organized into teams, or one on one depending on the player’s choice. This is a friendly fight, of course, so no rocks or slush balls or anything. Well, probably not. No one in the Sphere is your mother.

So you want some summer?.

While the welcome party rages on in the merchant dome, people have made a smaller party in one of the recreation domes. Around the pools, as a matter of fact. There’s almost like a small barbecue clustered around the largest of the three pools, and the light is constant and sunny here. The large pool is olympic sized, and is a sparkling blue. It’s fresh water, and probably clean enough to drink. I still wouldn’t drink it. The second pool is slightly smaller and more kidney shaped with a gradual sand mound at one end of it. This pool is salt water and looks a bit more like a beach than a pool. The third pool is a kiddie pool, complete with a splash pad, that’s running. Buckets drop, it’s got one of those mushroom things, and sprinkler jets. There aren’t any kids though, so people are welcome to go nuts.

Bathing suits and towels are provided in the changing rooms. There’s frozen and fruity drinks flowing freely, along with finger food and snacks. Loud music is playing from a local band that’s just generally of a pop sort. There’s people dancing rather in a rather haphazard fashion, but the dance floor is there and present!

Oh yeah, and there's definitely the baths and everything too!

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His balance on solid ground can be questionable on an average day, but he focused on the instructions as best he could and tried to move a leg. “You do make it sound simple in theory...”

At first Llewellyn thinks that he might actually have it, when his foot slides in a way he hadn’t expected and the wobbling and slipping returns.

Yes.

[Her is soft but audible, drifting wistfully through the buzz of the crowds and carnival-like games. Her accent is unique and unlike those of the sphere or those who had grown up in Westerous. Her words are rounded, granting an elegance to her speech.]

I never got to ride one. [You don't go to fairs when you're in the middle of a war and Wanda's life has been separated by war with only minuet slivers of peace.] It's simple. It doesn't go fast or try to be thrilling. It just offers another point of view.

[Wanda looks over at Ned with a soft expression.] I can understand why people would describe it as magical. [Misty green eyes met his while the soft brush of the wind tugged at a few strands of loose red hair.]

Do you have them in your world?

“Will you? Mm... how generous of you.” He responded with a little shake of his head on the subject of pointers.

Llewellyn certainly would like to point out that she should put on a pair of skates herself and join him, but now she had the excuse of having a hot chocolate to hold on to instead of skating.

Drat.

He laced up the skates and frowned at the ice, as though that might make it somehow behave better. “What sort of pointers would you suggest? Other than ‘don’t fall down,’ of course. That’s obvious, and one thing I have yet to figure out.”

Yes, you’re going to see him make an absolute fool of himself, Enis.

Even standing up on solid ground in skates proved to be amusing, as his ankles wobbled a bit and he reached out to catch a hold of a railing to keep himself from falling over before he even made it to the ice.

[Inesa can't help but be proud of her gallant little knight.]

Yes. He is very brave and he likes making friends. I worry that he feels lonely when I work so much. [Which is why she goes out of her way to carry Lancelot with her, even if she can't give him her full attention.

She turns back to Llewellyn and starts to think about clothes, letting the two fuzzy friends get better acquainted without an audience. There are a lot of styles that she thinks would suit Pretzel but it was important to balance design with comfort when designing clothing for animals.]

I will design a few ideas and you can stop by and see them. [Her smile widens.] And I'm sure we can find ways to keep him still. [If bribing doesn't work, Inesa can always try and sing a calming song for the cute pup.

She nods her head in a soft incline.] Yes. I use then in my design at times. You are welcome to purchase them on their own. What kind of ribbons are you looking for?

Well, if they continue to get along, perhaps we’ll have to arrange for them to spend time together? Pretzel is pretty well behaved when I’m busy, but I do think he gets a little bored around the office some days.

[He had read (had been reading a lot of late about animals) that it was good for animals to socialize, just like people. So he wouldn’t mind letting them run around the office once in a while. As it was, Rhy had once offered to take Pretzel when he was busy, but they had been worried the two animals might not get along around Inesa’s shop.

That worry seemed delightfully unnecessary now.]

I’ll definitely try to think of a few things that might help distract him, I have trained him to sit with treats.

[Stay was a work in progress, but he’s getting there!

The confirmation gets a little relieved smile, he’s so glad Inesa didn’t mind him purchasing some ribbon. The idea simply wouldn’t work properly otherwise, at least not to his mind as tradition went in his own world.]

I um... I need one length of a red silk ribbon? I also need several lengths of teal chiffon ribbon. There are others, but those are the important ones for the moment? They don’t need to be too long, just enough to uh— secure flowers?

Oh, that sounds quite lovely, Rhy looks very excited.

"I have had gingerbread, it is lovely. But those," he points, because he doesn't have a name for the things Watts said were his favorite. "Hot chocolate is a delight I shall happily indulge in."

Llewellyn blinked, having realized he forgot to say what they were. Though with the way the sphere’s translator worked, he wasn’t sure if it would translate it directly to ‘snowball’ or not. “Oh— yes, they’re called schneeballen. We’ll definitely get some of them if you like, and the hot chocolate.” And perhaps he’d grab some gingerbread for later, a treat for after their fun.

He gestured lightly to the vendor, ordering them a couple of the pastries and then some hot chocolate to go with it. It definitely looked delicious, decadent with whip cream and cinnamon sticks sticking out of the to-go cups. Carefully, he handed them over to Rhy.

Though he did raise a brow, “You may want to put our little friend down so you can eat though, otherwise he’ll probably stick his nose in your cup.”

They had, and it had been a lot of fun. Really, Tommy missed this place being peaceful enough for them to hang out.

But he grins when she's laughing, because yeah, that's what it's like.

"I'm guessing you never got to do this shit as a kid either."

The second he starts to slip Tommy's dropped an arm and put a stabilizing hand on Watt's hip. Yeah, he's got the man.

"Stop, take a breath. Focus on me, not the wobbles."

Honestly, Llewellyn was pretty sure he could focus on both Tommy and the wobbles, but he does get the idea. Focus on something or someone instead of the thing that was hindering his progress. “I’ll try, but the wobbles are rather insistent that they get attention... Like my dog at mealtime.”

Deep breath, Detective. And focus on anything but the wobbling. “Some people make this look very easy.” He mumbled a little, before focusing more on his helper than on his feet.

Surely there was no greater joy than this. Holding his child, safe and well, after all that had passed. He thinks of how many times he had laid in the darkness and thought of this moment. Wanting just one more chance to hold his girls. To get them to safety, if his own life must be forfeit in his duty. Emotion overwhelms him, and he tightens his arms around Arya, thinking of what could have happened. And without this path into The Sphere, he never would have held her again.

Tears mist his eyes into a grey fog. He puts his hand on the side of her face, trying to blink away the mist so that he can see Arya clearly. Unashamed, Ned lets the drops roll down his cheeks. She is weeping too. He tries to remember the last time he'd seen her cry, for Arya wept nearly as little as he did. He half-laughs, half-sobs as he strokes her hair.

"Almost all of our family is here, Arya. They have given us another chance to be together. When I return back home, I will never see you again." He's still holding onto her, only far enough away that he can see her easily. Still having to look down, although not as far as before. "I would call it a gift from the gods, to see you grown, daughter." His eyes gleam with tears and pride and love.

[ Suddenly there is a bun in his lap, nearly falling. Ned laughs and reaches to hold the brave little knight in hands both strong and gentled. He's held five babes of his own; he knows how to hold precious wee things. Lancelot is secure in his lap and settled between a pair of big warm hands that smell like Ghost, after petting the direwolf on his most recent visit to Jon.]

How could you have known? I am glad to finally meet you, Lady Inesa. [ His gaze returns to the young woman, now that Lancelot has found his new resting place. ]

Have they indeed? I tried to raise my children to be kind and good people. I think I succeeded. Tell me what you know of them, make a fond father proud.

Smack! Something cold, dense, and wet hits Ned in the face, catching him completely by surprise. He gasps. And then...laughs. His hands move to wipe the rivulets of slush from his face and neck, staring at what remains as it melts from the warmth of his skin.

"Snow. Real snow." He glances up at who has thrown it, only to find the young woman who has taken both of his children under her wing. She's been playing as joyously as all the Sphere children, seemingly unconscious of her rumpled state or hiked skirts. And it seemed that she - or fate - wants Ned to join in that childlike game.

Grinning, he's already reaching down to gather a snowball of his own, wondering what has caused this miraculous transformation in the previously lukewarm manufactured flakes. It is freezing to the touch now. Ned feels as giddy as a boy as he wheels back his arm and pitches it at Inesa.

Her gaze was so pointed, Ned had to return it. He considered the young woman near him, grey eyes taking her in. Just like her, he scrutinized, for she seemed to size him up the way an opponent would, but unlike her, his attention did not tend toward anything untoward. It was not his way. He could notice a pretty girl and her figure without drooling. Unlike Robert.

Satisfied that she did not seem to mean him harm - for why else could she be weighing his own strength? - Ned finished the last bite and threw away the stick. He carried himself like a warrior, and his cloak had always been a part of that, with the fur ruff as ceremonial as it was practical. He would have to see if Sansa could make him a real cloak here. Once he had the money, for he could not rely on her and Inesa's kindness forever.

Her blue eyes danced at him, her voice almost sultry, daring. Ned wondered if that was simply her way or if there was any actual intent behind those looks and teases.

"Hm." They both spoke grunts, at least. "I will give it a try only if you do. And I will count myself a victor if I don't break anything falling."

It was still strange, having his leg whole again after its shattering in King's Landing and the terrible pain for weeks. Coming here, they had not only healed it as if it had never even happened, but restored him to his previous state of fitness before the starvation of the black cells. Though no longer a young man, Ned is vigorous plenty, striding to the booth where they lent out skates, a glance tossed over his shoulder. "Are you coming? And do you have name?"

Edited (spacing :P) 2020-11-12 18:20 (UTC)

Awww, but he's got the puppy. Rhy whispers an apology to Pretzel before putting the dog down, carefully shifting the leash to hold the dog better while still holding his treats. And yes, he feels guilty.

"This time with you and the pup makes me feel so... domestic."

[ There is something arresting about her face, her aura. Ned can't explain it. She's beautiful, of course. And she speaks openly, telling some of what shines in her misty eyes with a voice that hints at other worlds.

But it's more than that. She seems wise beyond her years. A woman used to being alone, but who does not wish to be alone. He can understand that. As he can understand the wistfulness in her, the mingled sorrow and hope that goes unspoken. ]

No, my lady. I have not seen anything like it. Mills, of course, wind and water mills with wheels like that one. But I never thought of riding one.

[ His grey eyes linger on her face, thoughtful. His features soften, nearly mirroring her own. ]

I would sooner describe you as magical.

[ Suddenly flustered, Ned glances at the ferris wheel and gestures. ]

You speak of another point of view. I am seeing this city for the first time, since coming here just a few days ago. I would welcome the chance to see it as you say, from another perspective. If you would share it with me.

"You're better than the wobbles. Do not concede to them."

Of course they make it look easy. They practice.

Now, Rhy, that’s the problem. He’s using his cute wrinkly face to make you dote upon him, and he’s going to keep demanding uppies from you instead of walking on his own. Not that Llewellyn was much better...

He broke off a piece of his treat and popped it in his mouth thoughtfully at the comment. Llewellyn honestly hadn’t thought of it that way before, or perhaps he hadn’t dared allow himself to think it... It’s not a feeling he ever figured he’d get to feel himself. To hear it from Rhy was lovely though, and brought a curious, perhaps hopeful smile to his face. “Mm... It does, doesn’t it?”

A pause before he added, “In a good way, I think?” Because he knew some people didn’t really like the idea. He did though… It was a newer feeling, but a good one. Absentmindedly, he broke another piece of the pastry off and dipped it in the hot chocolate’s whipped cream while he listened to Rhy.

He grinned nervously, trying once more to move a foot and see about making progress. “I suppose that to do so would go against my apparently too stubborn nature.” He responded with a little glance at his feet before back at Tommy and the surrounding rink. “Can’t uh— can’t allow that.”

Yes, talking instead of focusing on slipping was definitely an improvement. Not much of an improvement, but one just the same.

The reality of his words is ignored, at least for the time being. It's hard enough to grasp the realness of this moment simply because it shouldn't be happening, though that will most definitely change in the coming days when she can finally accept that this isn't some cruel joke that is being played on her. He's the first of her family she has seen and the idea of any of the others feels surreal.

"Then let's not talk about going back," Arya says, shaking her head. "We have only reunited and I don't know how it happened or why but I won't question it."

As long as they don't take him away. She won't let them take him away from her again.

"How long have you been here? Who else is here?"

She's right, of course, they shouldn't question what was a blessing. Passing a hand over his face to wipe the fallen tears, he nods. "I hardly know myself how any of this came to be. Perhaps we will know in time. Oh Arya, it is good, good to have you here."

Ned lets go of her enough to get a better look at his daughter all grown up. She is dressed like a Northern warlord, not at all like a Lady of either North or South. Through his tears, he chuckles. "You were right, you know. That lady I thought you might turn out to be. That's not you."

He slips an arm around her shoulder, bringing her to his side, wordlessly gathering her, awkward armor bits and all. And weapons. Why does that not surprise him?

Glancing around, Ned draws her off the main street and towards a park bench beneath some small trees. Everything here was quite new. "I will tell you what I know, at least. I arrived just ten days ago. I found Sansa at her shop, she sells needlework here, if you can believe that." He flashes a little grin at Arya. "She showed me how to use the messages here, their magical version of ravens." With his free hand, he taps the button behind his right ear. "And from there, I spoke with Jon and Robb and Jeyne. And Theon is here too. They have all been here longer than I have, some of them for many months."

He has them sit on the bench, arm still looped about Arya's shoulders. "And you, Arya? Have you just come? What news from home?"

A childlike smile curves into her lips as she looks down at herself and her clothes from home. It seems telling her father that day that she wasn't ever going to be a Lady, would never marry a High Lord and would never have sons that would be knight's or princes would be a good foretelling. But it wasn't the whole picture.

She listens closely and the news of Jon and Sansa don't get much of a reaction. Immediately before arriving there, she was with them both. But her eyes well up a little again. It only occurs to her then that if this place had the power to bring people in from the dead. So, at the news of Robb and Jeyne and Theon, Arya looks ahead, reigning in a new round of emotions that come with their names. That night should have never happened.

She wipes away a tear that got halfway down her cheek before looking back up at Ned with a nod. "Earlier this morning. It was a day or so after the Battle of Winterfell. I was with Jon, Bran and Sansa."

Arya stops, brows pinching together. The question brings it all back and suddenly she feels exhausted.

"So much has happened, Father. I don't know where to begin." She pulls the dagger out and holds it in front of them, looking down at it before looking at him. "They're calling me the Hero of Winterfell."

Edited 2020-11-12 22:26 (UTC)

It was a chance for all of them to have time as a family that they never would again, not all of them like this. He can see it in Arya's eyes when he speaks of the others who have fallen by now in her time in Westeros. And that pinched look. Oh, how well he knows the feeling. Ned gives her shoulders a squeeze.

"That is a good place to start." Curious, he examines the dagger she pulls out. "Hm. Valyrian steel. Jon said it was one of the only ways to kill the army of the dead. May I?" Ned holds out his hand to take the dagger from her and judge its weight and make for himself. It's that closer inspection that sparks recognition. "Bran's would-be assassin," and Ned is more curious than ever. "How did you come to be in possession of this, love?"

The Hero of Winterfell. He raises his brows at Arya. "Do they? That is a fine title. It must have just as fine a story behind it." And her father settles in beside her, thoughtful and listening, just as he always has for her no matter how small she was or how minute her joys or woes. Around them, the imitation snow gently falls but without Winter's chill; an appropriate setting for this tale, perhaps.

Edited 2020-11-13 19:39 (UTC)

"Good. Be better than the slips and slides," Tommy chuckles, still moving carefully, pulling Watts along with him now.

"Just try and move with me, okay?"

Shhhh, it is a good puppy that has done nothing wrong, so Rhy will keep spoiling him.

"I've never been in a position to feel that before. A touch of what normal people might have. It pleases me."

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