The rest of the group followed Aeluri’s lead and headed up the street towards the center of the festivities. Iris had become a fleshy cloak over her shoulders, a familiar sensation. She could feel him ogling the front of her low-cut dress. He did have a good angle from where he was. The dark mage couldn’t help but roll her eyes, but she enjoyed the attention. Ego fuel was always welcomed.
The two made a pit stop at the bar to get a drink before the festivities began. After grabbing a mug of hot cocoa mixed with cinnamon whiskey, a holiday favorite of hers since last year, Aeluri trailed after Iris. They returned to where Ahote and Icarus had stopped. A large christmas tree loomed nearby, underneath which many fancily-wrapped present boxes were stacked on a table. The whole area was decorated with a dazzling array of lights and color. Ahote appeared to just have opened one of the gifts, and was disgusted by the contents. She overheard one of the employees dressed like an elf mention
‘droppings’ and let out a huff of amusement. Of course he would be the one to open a box of shit.
Another elf attendant had handed Icarus a gift, and all at once he turned into a woman. Curves, breasts, the whole shebang. Aeluri was nearly as intrigued as Iris, but she observed from a distance instead of up close. The blonde made a charming man and he was quite an enticing woman too. She wouldn’t mind if he took this form again sometime, though Ahote might not feel the same way.
Iris took his turn with the gift opening, guessing the contents correctly. His box didn’t seem to have any weird magic like Icarus’ did. Aeluri watched as he sauntered off, then approached the large tree and table herself. Maybe she could guess the contents of a box correctly and get some sort of cheap prize. If it was a plushie, she would hand it off to Ahote like she had a few times in the past.
The overly cheerful elf handed her a box wrapped in shiny red paper with a glittery maroon ribbon wrapped around it. For a moment she stared at the sparkling decorations, appreciating the aesthetic. Reds were her favorite. Placing her mug on the table nearby, she then held the box up to her ear and shook it lightly. Whatever was inside rattled around slightly, but the sound of rustling paper muffled it. The weight of the present wasn’t much, but the item seemed dense by the way it hit against the sides of the box. Was that the clinking of metal? Shaking it once more with narrowed eyes, Aeluri placed the gift on the table.
“It’s a compass surrounded by tissue paper,” she said in a bored tone, disappointed at how easy it was to guess. There weren’t even any fun side effects! Aeluri glanced over to see if Icarus was still lady-fied.
“Corrrrrrect!” the elf employee trilled enthusiastically, gesturing his hands grandly.
“Congratulations, ma’am! You’ve won the fantastic, wonderful, awesome prize of…. three whole peppermints and the compass!”“Whatever,” Aeluri snapped, grabbing up the present, the mints, and her mug. Turning on her heel dramatically, she left the gift guessing booth. Of course she would win something so useless as a compass. Her sense of direction was great already without the help of some stupid tool.
Taking a long sip of her drink, the dark woman saw Iris in the distance decorating a christmas tree. Knowing Iris and his appreciation for beautiful things, she had no doubt he would make it look beautiful. The tree decorating seemed to be some sort of competition which had ended by the time she meandered over. Stepping into the area with the trees, Aeluri was approached by another elf and handed a large box filled to the brim. Inside were all brand new ornaments in perfect shape, ribbon, tinsel, popcorn strings, and long strands of rainbow lights.
“Pick a tree and get to work!” the elf chirped, gesturing behind her to the many undecorated trees. With a sigh, Aeluri made her way over to an empty spot. Chugging the rest of her spiked hot cocoa, she tossed the mug and the gift box into the snow and got to work. Starting with the lights, she wound her way around the tree over and over. Rainbow began to fill up the tree, giving it a cheerful glow that rivaled Aeluri’s typical irritated gloom.
Next came the silver tinsel, wrapped in the same fashion, then the popcorn strings. The strung up snack never made sense to Aeluri. Why would anyone put food on their tree? Wasn’t that just calling for a mouse problem? She wrinkled her nose at the stuff. It was never her favorite food anyway.
After the long strands of decorations had been placed on the tree, Aeluri moved on to the ornaments. She’d been given an array of blue ornaments in various shades and sizes. The one thing they all had in common was how perfectly they shined and sparkled. There was not one scuff or crack on any of them. Enthralled, Aeluri began placing them on the tree. She spaced them as evenly as she could, filling in the tree until it looked like it was neatly bursting with decoration. Everything was exactly how she wanted it.
As she stepped back to observe her work, Aeluri knew her tree was the best one out of this batch. However, the process hadn’t been too exciting. It was exactly like the gift-guessing. The same elf from when she entered approached, congratulating her on her decoration and handing her two more of the same peppermints as before. She pocketed them, picking up her gift box and strolling out of the tree decoration area.
Well, that was utterly boring. Where was the challenge? These contests
had to be made for kids, they were way too easy. Turned grumpy by the lack of fun, Aeluri searched for her friends with a scowl on her face. They would make this festival more bearable. That, and alcohol. She found another bar booth and made a long stop there, taking several shots in a row to build a low buzz.
Traipsing around the festival again, she still found nothing interesting. Tipsy and annoyed, she stopped by an archway near the gift-guessing area and leaned against it, looking around.
“Ooh, you’re under the mistletoe!” crooned an elf employee that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Better find someone to smooch!” He made kissy noises and blocked her escape with the aid of another elf. It seemed she wouldn’t be free until she found someone to kiss.
“For fuck’s sake.” Aeluri wanted to punch both of the elves. Anything to let out a little of her pent up annoyance. Maybe she could find Iris and find some bushes in which to pull him to get some release. Another option presented itself as she spotted Baird nearby. Her green-haired friend would be enough to satisfy her right now and help her escape this mistletoe mistake.
“Baiiiiird,” Aeluri purred, calling out to him.
“Come here.” She beckoned with a red-nailed finger. Like a panther lying in wait, she would pounce on him the moment he came close enough.