Wonderful time of the Year [Leo and Alicia]

Winter has once again come upon the world, and with it, the holiday spirit of cheers. Leo and Lina were no exception in observing the holidays. Lina was most excited for Christmas, as would be the case for most children her age, and Leo was more than happy to oblige for his daughter had been more than a good girl this year. Despite the cheer, the cold reality of winter that it can kill people who are not prepared for it. Admittedly, Leo’s little shack just beyond the city walls is very much ill-equipped to shelter from the frost, so it wouldn’t be much of a happy holiday. It is one of the many reasons why Leo takes Lina out of the house much like last year. Although this time, Leo has rented out a very nice and huge apartment in the middle of the city. A corner unit with two floors, huge rooms and a balcony. It was like living back at the Kusanagi manssion. However, unlike last year, he didn’t know which activity to take Lina out to. He had been pondering all the fun activities the city had set up for the people down on the streets as a bellboy brought their bags in and Lina was simply just running around enjoying the unit. The little girl finally settled down and took a breather by sitting down on a warm rug in front of the fireplace. Leo went back in and closed the door to the balcony behind him, and handed the bellboy a hefty weighted jewel pouch. The face the man made was as if his Christmas was already made. Of course with such happiness, he did not forget to show his boundless gratitude to Leo before leaving.

Now with the duo alone, Leo asked Lina what she wanted to do this Christmas and almost instantly she answered karaoke. Leo was shocked at how fast the answer was while Lina went on to explain that she wanted to see if she could sing as well as the idols she saw on television. With a giggle, Leo agreed and went on to get changed for outside weather. That was when Lina shouted out “Oh! We can bring your new friend with us! Alicia, right?” She was saying it with such excitement as the little girl understood that it was rare for her father to make friends these days. Leo turned around and looked at his daughter curiously. True, he has told her about Alicia after they first met, and despite trying to look as if he wasn’t all too excited about the prospect of spending another interesting time with her, his face and voice might’ve given some hints away. “Are you sure it’s ok?” Leo asked softly. Which was meant with a very resounding “Go for it dad! It’s gonna be fun!” from a jumping ten year old. With a slight hidden smirk, Leo took out his iLac and proceeded to text Alicia about an invitation to Magnolia to their unit from which they can begin to revel in Christmas activities.

"Hello, Alicia
Do you want to come over to Magnolia to spend Christmas with me and Lina? We rented out this beautiful and warm unit in town for the winter season. Let me know if you're interested."

WC: 551
Leo: 551
Total: 551
@Ryuusei

Alicia sat alone in her apartment, the small home was furnished with the bare necessities for comfort and purpose. Alicia had no intentions to participate in the winter festivities. She was planning to volunteer herself  to make rounds during the festivities in order to make sure everything was in order and enjoying their time. Her mind wandered off as her body went into full auto pilot. In front of her lay a disassembled AK-12 along with it's modified parts and attachments. Alicia effortlessly assembled the fire arm, her body moving automatically placing each part in it's proper place due to sheer experience and muscle memory. In a matter of seconds Alicia's elegant hands had a fully assembled ak-12. She loaded a magazine into the the rifle and pulled the charging handle. The rifle cycled properly, once satisfied with her handiwork she channeled her mana and stored her weapon into her dimensional vault. Her gaze shifted towards the two silver rings that lay on top of the coffee table the rifle parts previously sat on.

"If only you were still here..." Alicia smiled, but it was not a smile of joy or jubilation. It was a smile painted with the hues of melancholy and painful memories. It was unknown to many the reason why Alicia joined the Rune Knight forces. When she was asked by her family and friends she often dismissed it with a a basic prepared response. "I simply wanted to aid the efforts of protecting our beloved citizens." or perhaps "I wanted to follow in my older sisters footsteps." these were the common answers Alicia gave when she was asked why she joined the Rune Knights.

Alicia's reasons were far more selfish and shallow. She wanted... no... she needed to know what happened to him... But before she could be pulled deeper into the abyss of her thoughts, her phone buzzed notifying her of a message she had just received. Alicia was expecting the message to be from her family but to her surprise it was from a compatriot she had made. The message was none other from Leonard Dragonbane. Leonard was a fine gentleman, Alicia and Leonard had become good friends after finding out that they had a common interest in literature and reading.

The message was an invitation for Alicia to join Leonard and Lina. "Lina?....Oh! She must be Leonard's daughter" Alicia said to her self. She read the message once more, she hesitated, unsure if she should go or not. Alicia sighed and looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes.

"Honestly... you really ought to work less... take a break!" a familiar warm voice echoed in Alicia's memories. She opened her eyes again and replied.

"Sure. What time?"

Upon pressing send. Alicia got up form her couch and went to her room. She opened her closet and began to decide on an outfit to wear. Her fingers hovered over some of her clothes before stopping over a jacket she liked. She then decided to coordinate her outfit around said jacket. Once she had decided what to wear she headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the night of festivities with Leonard and his daughter.

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533 WC for this Post

Soon after receiving Alicia's reply which Leo has been eagerly waiting for, the old man's face lit up in happiness, filling with joy and excitement akin to his youth when he had blonde spiky hair and was known as Master. Leo immediately replied that she should come over [color:20c3=6666FF]"At your earliest convenience." and placed his iLac back in his pocket before heading out with Lina, thinking it would be better if the two of them did something before Alicia got there, seeing as it may take a while before she got there. Strolling around the snow-blanketed streets of Magnolia was a wonder to behold to the little girl. It was indeed a Winter Wonderland as a song Leo had heard of before would say. Numerous activities lined the streets that held prizes for those who would come out on top. The dormant competitive nature within Lina sparked a flame that would keep her warm in the winter season and Leo was all too happy to let it shine. The two held hands and one-by-one, Lina would point at the various activities, wanting to try them all. Of course, Leo would like to nurture this attitude of exploration and gaining experience but they simply cannot do all at one. "One at a time, dear." he would say gently and with a chuckle afterwards along with a very gentle head pat in an attempt to tone her energy down a bit to more reasonable levels.

Fortunately, Lina in all her understanding and surprising maturity, understood the need to rein in her fire. So calmly, and maturely, she simply picked one out of all the activities that had the shortest line. The activity that held such was the line for a booth to sing in a studio set up for Christmas Karaoke. Leo looked in worry as he had hoped for a less attention-grabbing activity whilst they wait. But this being a reasonable gesture in his daughter's part, he cannot refuse. Reluctantly, the old man went in the booth with her daughter, but Leo has had his hood down so as not a lot of people can tell who he was.

However, the organizers for the event would call that everyone in the booth should sing and participate. Knowing this, Leo convinced Lina to opt for a more serene and slow song that would keep them behaved and encourage minimal movement. Thankfully, Lina obliged with a slight nod and skimmed through the thousands upon thousands of Christmas songs on the list, until she finally settled on one that was considered a classic. Christmas In Our Hearts.

Leo thought it was perfect and rubbed Lina's head in pride and happiness. And in an effort to get his minimal contribution done, he sang the first two verses.

Whenever I see girls and boys
Selling lanterns on the streets
I remember the Child
In the manger as He sleeps
Wherever there are people
Giving gifts, exchanging cards
I believe that Christmas
Is truly in their hearts

Afterwards, Lina took the helm and sang the rest of the song as earnestly and as best she could. Mostly in an attempt to live up to Leo's intro to the song which was done elegantly well. Eventually, Leo too would feel the spirit of Christmas in their hearts and would sing along with Lina, but only during the chorus. And though a crowd, or what could pass as a crowd, formed and gave their applauses, it was solemn for the most part, and the organizer would warmly thank the duo for sharing their voices before stepped out, at which point Lina was ready to try out the other activities right away but Leo suggested they take break and get some warm coco by the nearby stall.

WC: 628
Leo: 1,179
Total: 1,712

Did the Christmas Karaoke activity
@Ryuusei

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WC: 1,225 Words
GWC: 2,937 Words
Group peppermint Count - 1 Peppermints
@Sir Leonard

[Link is in the post if you want to listen to it uwu]

Almost instantly did Alicia show up to greet the two after their performance. In fact, he had been worried all throughout the performance that his reply might have been too vague. Though some might even consider that a good thing since it would encourage further communication. But he thought it to be irresponsible, and that it was his mistake borne out of excitement that may as well have had an impact to his performance overall, but the shittier it was, the sooner people would forget. That at least was the silver lining. However, this would not stop a great calm and gentleness coming over Leo as he looked upon the elegant woman. "Hhhmm. Yes, well children are very better at most stuff." he replied softly. Lina on the other hand was more than happy to meet her father's new friend. The little girl in awe of the white haired grace that was the woman before her, even how she went down to be on Lina’s eye level was done with such sophisticated grace. And though she was addressed directly, Lina wasn’t able to answer with the overflowing energy she had been known for when meeting someone for the first time. Instead, she merely stared in shock, taking a minute to come back to reality. During that time, Leo looked at her with worry. Was she ok? Did the cold get to her? Of course any parent would be worried if their child exhibited any unusual behavior when they were otherwise doing pretty well just literally a minute ago. ”Lina?” Leo called out worriedly to her, which was the moment the little girl would come back and simply utter “Gosh you’re so pretty.” out loud, though only her mouth moved. In fact, after they moved, Lina’s mouth returned to its position before speaking which was jaw dropped in awe. Shocked, Leo looked at her with wide eyes. He couldn’t help but be embarrassed about the whole ordeal and simply nervously laughed. However, when Lina said this, Leo couldn’t help but look at Alicia. Indeed her words carried such heavy truth and Leo was a little captivated by it. Perhaps, primarily the reason why he was is because he was able to know her even for just a bit.

“Sorry about that. Hehe. But you do look nice tonight.” Leo said, trying to get things back on track, but before any more can be said, Alicia was just asked to sing as well. Leo looked over to the DJ in surprise, but since Alicia was happy to oblige, he just simply let it be and they would watch. While they were setting up, Leo went for some hot coco he had mentioned to Lina earlier to bring back to her, just in time for Alicia’s song.

Though it wasn’t about Christmas or that of the merry nature for that matter. It still captured one of the essences of Christmas: love. Though Leo has not heard of the song before, he still felt it with how solemn and slow it was. It had brought a warmth about the audience that has grown considerably larger compared to when Leo and Lina were singing. Her manner of singing was perfect. Captivating. Elegant. Soulful. Very Professional. One would be forgiven if anyone thought that this wasn’t her first time doing it or that this is her way of making a living. The words and the essence would resonate with every couple the more Leo looked around. Even those that were alone with either find a tear or a smile on their face as they would reminisce, much like Leo would. Lina on the other hand was just enjoying it. Feeling the intimacy of the words Alicia breathed to life. Sipping her hot coco as she held it snuggly and tightly, and cuddling deep towards her father after every sip. It was majestic. And when Alicia locked eyes with Leo, he cannot help but feel as if they were the only ones there. Just her, him, and Lina. It felt as if she was tugging on his heart strings. He would be enchanted however briefly. As he would remember that thing that Alicia guards ever so vigilantly, and that of his own personal love. He would blink his eyes numerous times and shook his head, smacking himself back to reality, just in time for the song to end. “Are you jesting? You were perfect…” he said in reply to what Alicia said.

Now it came that a new activity must be done and before Leo could think of anything next to do, Lina, seemingly to the rescue, shouted out right after “SWEATERS!” And excitedly walked over to the sweater making area. Laughing at the kid’s excitement, Leo gestured to Alicia to go ahead, as if saying Ladies first, or after you.

Leo would actually enjoy making sweaters. He had very crafty hands and they weren’t just for weapons and armor. He also had to train himself for more intricate and meticulous crafts for the finer designs in his arsenal. It would also be because of this knowledge that Leo was able to teach Lina as she tries to make one herself. There would be constant pointing and whispering between the father and daughter pair, courtesy of Leo, while Lina’s contribution to the entire image was her heartfelt and earnest listening. Eventually, Leo came up with a red sweater that had green lines coming across with a face of him showing a rare smile and a thumbs up of approval while written below that was the phrase “Merry Christmas”. While Lina’s had a mean face of her sewn on a green with red striped sweater that had the caption of “I want you to give me presents.” They had quite the few laughs when Lina presented hers and was excited to see what Alica came up with in her ugly sweater making entry.

WC: 988
Leo: 2,167
Total: 3,925

Participated in Sweater Making - 2 Peppermints
Total Peppermints - 4
@Ryuusei

Rolling for Tree Decoration

The member 'Ryuusei' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Alicia was happy that Lina was enjoying herself. Alicia was worried that she was interfering with quality time between the father and daughter before her. Seeing the smile upon Lina's face was a relief to her. Alicia was flattered by the young little ladies comment, Alicia was not trying to look beautiful or captivating, in fact she had chosen the least eye catching clothes from her wardrobe. Even so, Alicia appreciated the sentiment. After discussing what they would do next, the trio went to the next activity, the sweater making. The father and daughter wove their holiday sweaters, Alicia was impressed on the speed and craftsmanship of the two. The sweaters were indeed festive, but Alicia laughed in her mind thinking how silly it would be to wear said sweaters other than the holiday season.

Alicia eventually gave the activity a try, however she unlike the fire arms she was so used to handling, she found that knitting was not in her skill set. After a few minutes of trying Alicia gave up and held up her abomination of a sweater. The colors were indeed matching but the shape of the sweater .... well it didn't even look like a sweater. Whatever atrocity Alicia had made looked like some sort of eldritch entity had swallowed the yarn and regurgitated it all over the table. Alicia looked at the terrible "sweater" she had made and cringed to herself. She sighed and resigned herself to defeat.

"You know... I think I'll just stick to guns..." Alicia murmured to herself as she scowled to the chaotic pile of yarn that lay before her. Alicia apologized to the event hosts for wasting yarn and then went back to Leonard's and Lina's side. "Picking clothes, fashion is something I can do.... but... making something... this uh... festive.... it is unfortunately beyond my abilities... your sweaters look wonderful though" Alicia beamed, giving Lina a sign of approval. "So What's next?" Alicia asked, but through some miraculous chain of events the next activity was announced on the inter com.

"THE NEXT EVEN IS TREE DECORATING COMPETITION, COME DOWN AND DECORATE YOUR OWN TREE" The announcer yelled with jubilation over the loud speakers. Alicia glanced over to Lina and saw the child's eyes light up. Soon enough the trio made their way to the tree decorating section. Alicia lined up it Lina and the two soon received their box filled with decorations. With lady luck on their side the pair opened the box to find the best set of decorations. The two quickly got to work, and soon enough the tree was decorated with with beautiful ornaments. Their tree shone brightly amongst the other decorated holiday trees. This wall thanks to Lina's brilliance and Alicia's keen eyes, the two worked wonderfully together to decorate the tree. The final ornament was a beautiful shining star.

"Lina would you like to do the honors?" Alicia asked as she presented Lina with the crystal clear star. Lina nodded excitedly, Alicia smiled and handed the star. She then took one of the provided ladders and set it near the tree so Lina could climb up and place the star. Lina then placed the star on the tree, the child looked down at Alicia and Alicia gave her a nod of approval.

"Be careful on you way dow-" Alicia said when she suddenly was cut off, one of the near by children was rushing to place the last remaining decorations on their tree stumbled into the ladder. The ladder shook causing Lina to lose her balance. Alicia's heart nearly stopped. Her instinct instantly kicked in. In less than a second, Alicia channeled mana throughout her body drastically increasing her speed. In a blink of an eye, Alicia dashed just in time to catch Lina, however the snow on the ground caused Alicia to slip. She instantly cast a defensive barrier around Lina as she held her close. Alicia then pivoted her body so that she would be the one to take the full force of the fall. Alicia with Lina safely wrapped in her arms took the brunt of the fall, causing the back of her head to hit the ground. A sharp pain immediately pierced through Alicia's skull. For a few seconds Alicia lay there, she quickly glanced at Lina. To her relief Lina was unharmed. Alicia then looked around too see if any of the trees were damaged, thankfully none were.

"You can open your eye's now... you're okay..." Alicia hugged Lina and took her to her father. "sorry about the scare Leonard... she's fine... I was able to catch her.... I also placed a protective barrier on her just in case... the barrier should linger for a few seconds..." Alicia gave Lina pat on the head and returned her to her father. Alicia paused for a moment, as she felt something wet trickle down her neck. She reached over to see what it was, she then checked her hand and to her surprise her finger tips were stained with blood. Alicia was so worried about keeping Lina safe she had forgotten about casting a barrier on herself. She quickly stuffed her hand in her pocket away from Lina and Leonard's sight. She swiftly cast a healing spell on herself. The pain and the wound quickly dispersed. Alicia knew that the injury was nothing, after all she suffered far worse wounds on the battle field before. Even so she didn't want the father and daughter to worry. Alicia then cast another spell, a simple cloaking spell to cover the blood on her coat and white hair. As long as Alicia kept concentration on the spell, she could maintain the illusion that her white hair and clothes were unsullied by her own blood.

With out even missing a beat, using her other unbloodied hand, Alicia quickly picked the light switch for their decorated tree and handed it to Lina. She did all of this in a swift and natural manner as if nothing had happened. "Here Lina, turn on the lights for our tree, they'll be judging our tree soon." Alicia smiled warmly to the father and daughter.

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WC: 1,025 words
TWC: 4,950 words
Peppermints gained: 3 for Tree Decoration Competition
Total Peppermints: 6