'Tis the Season

Mythal rolled his eyes as she gave her response back to him saying she would have to spend more time with him. The truly funny part was that it actually made him feel a lot better to hear her basically confirm that it wouldn’t bother her to be around him more. He fought back the smile as best he could, managing to keep an almost look of ambivalence. “Guess I’ll just need to find new ways to drive you crazy,” he pondered aloud, even taking a moment to tap his finger against his chin in thought.

The newly named Gren looked up at the two humans curiously, his head weaving back and forth to take them in evenly. He let out a tiny, puppy like wuff before he walked in a small circle, sniffing at the ground eagerly. This new room had such new smells! He had to take them all in. “Not wrong,” he said with a small laugh, looking at the hound investigating the floor. “After all, you’ll need somewhere to sit,” he gave the smirk right back to her in the form of a grin, his joke meaning that she’d be riding in the side car and the hounds would be riding on the bike.

It was time to head back inside, the holiday festivities were probably pretty close to starting. As they prepared to leave, the Voidwalker called out to her hound and around came Xiuhco after a moment or so. She came up laid down in front of Gren, her nose working to smell the new hound. The smaller pup, as eager and excited as ever, hustled his way over to her nose and smelled it eagerly, his curiosity far outweighing any fear he may have. Once he had taken in his much older sister’s scent, he gave out a small excited wuff and bounced around in front of her, indicating his excitement. A new friend and a new world? This was all so invigorating. And it seemed he would be at least half-way relaxed around the older Star Wolf.

When they were back inside, all of the siblings showed their appreciation over his newly acquired pet. Smiles, handshakes, words of encouragement rained down on the God Slayer and he took it all in turn, his anxieties squashed under several layers of confidence at the moment. Serilda’s other sister had arrived, Scarlet, along with her husband and Mythal was finally introduced to the entire Sinclair clan. After that, there was a lot of socializing and taking it easy in the entertainment area. Alcohol was picked up by the Sinclair siblings and Serilda offered him some from the fully equipped bar. He chose a simple bourbon for the time; anything heavier would have encouraged his body to binge. After that, he remained close to Serilda, finding himself a lot more confident if he was near her.

After some time, one of the servants came to indicate that it was finally dinner time. The group filtered out to the dining hall, where the table had been set with some of the most expensive looking kitchenware that Mythal had ever seen. The silverware was made of actual silver and the glasses filled with toasting wine and water was made of a thin but strong crystal. The God Slayer did his best to follow the proper seating, watching as each Sinclair took a pre-planned spot. It seemed like the open seat next to Serilda was his and so he slid into it carefully, making sure to follow whatever the Voidwalker did. Once they were all seated, the servants came out with the first round of food and drink refills, making sure everyone was properly topped off before they were released by Byron to go attend their own Christmas feast.

Mythal would never claim that food for a rich family tasted better than a poor one’s meal; that just wasn’t true. But there was something to be said for fresh pork in comparison to pork that had been salted and stored for several days. While the food that came from being on the lower scale of wealth was still satisfying, the God Slayer had to admit – there certainly was a benefit to being able to get everything made fresh. Mythal ate with all the mannerisms that he usually didn’t embody, doing his best to appear like a normal socialite at such events. He made sure to eat just enough to feel full but not without overstuffing – he didn’t want to give away that eating like this wasn’t his regular diet. He glanced over at Gren, happily chewing and tugging at the meat in his bowl, trying to eat like a much bigger hound than he was. It was the literal representation of adorable.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they all embarked to the sitting room that held the Christmas tree. Once there, they began the process of opening gifts. The kids went ham on their presents, compiling their gifts in corners and tearing open the wrapping paper like the little devils they were. The adults took their gifts in turn and opened them with a bit more control, taking the time to properly look over and enjoy what they had been given. Mythal was honestly surprised he had received any gifts at all and yet there they were, sitting under the tree for him. They were supplies he would need for taking care of Gren but they were still meaningful all the same. He thanked each one of them, an overwhelming sensation filling his body that he didn’t quite understand.

The night winded down with more relaxing and socializing in the entertainment room. Now that the niceties were done, it seemed a few of the Sinclairs were more than happy to down far more alcohol than he expected. They weren’t quite the boozers that one might find in a bar but they drank their fill and then some. It made them looser and a lot sillier, which was amusing to see among the more polite and disciplined echelon of families. It was… an all-around good time. He wasn’t sure how late it was when he started to feel the fogginess of exhaustion, his guest bed calling to him. He excused himself to the last members of the family, saying that it seemed he had finally run out of energy.

Serilda came with him upstairs as he entered the room, finding a few of the puppy products already set up. Gren was tired too; he was moving far slower than he had been. There were a few times he had found his hound curled up near his feet, dozing off to try and get some energy back. But now in here, he was more than welcome to sleep the night away. He summoned one last bout of energy to leap onto the bed and examine it, sniffing away at the blankets. And then he curled up on the end of it and returned to sleep, finally happy to have some alone time. “It was kind of funny to see you havin’ more than one drink as it was,” he admitted with a wicked smirk, teasing her. But as she turned to him, asking him if he had a good time, his smile softened into something more genuine. “Yeah, I did,” he said quietly, nodding. “You know, I’m… not used to being around people all that much. Especially people of the richer variety. And yeah, it was a bit odd here and there but… they’re good people. I’m glad I came today. It was… Thank you for invitin’ me, Seri. I know, looking back, I would have regretted not going if I had turned it down.” He chuckled a little. “Not like I’d turn anythin’ down you ask of me,” he added, the words coming out before he could even properly process them.

Clover Town	Fairy Tail
7151/7000