Winter Veil
(( ooc note; It's super long I know, Alaia's a spaz when it comes to presents/holidays. Feel free to skip everything but your toon's name. And yes, it's a weird format: story-present list-story. But here it is, sorry for the length and the delay! ))
She scurried through the snow, kicking up trails of white powder in her wake. There was a veritable mountain of presents in her arms, piled so high she couldn't see around them. And they kept falling, delaying her trek to the mailbox by longer than she cared to think on.
Admittedly, she had too many presents for too many people but she always did like giving gifts, even if it made no sense.
But she did finally reach her destination, rosy cheeked from the cold, and paused to check and re check each package before sending it on it's way.
Alinor & Lohendrin,
I have an idea that even though I'm sending two separate baskets, they're really both going to be for both you but I separated them anyway! I hope you like them and I hope you're both having a wonderful holiday! -Alaia
For Alinor; A basket full of socks, thigh high and no two pairs alike. They come in every color imaginable, in vertical stripes and horizontal, some with squiggly stripes, some straight. Some have polka dots, others gears. One has smiley faces, another equations. One pair is metallic, two are fuzzy, five are silk. There is an appropriate pair for every holiday. Some are pretty, some are silly. On top there is a handful of scarves, of the-not-for-keeping-warm variety, that match some of the socks along with one pair of arm warmers and one set of fingerless gloves. And laid on top of all of this is a book, handmade and full of sketches of clothes, mostly wedding related, though not entirely; some are seemingly designed for showing off those socks, others are more fanciful, making use of gears, bits of chain, feathers or an inordinate amount of thin belts. But mostly it's wedding stuff.
For Lohendrin (and Alinor); The biggest basket of all full to bursting with cookies and muffins, a small chocolate cake decorated with red, sugared flowers; a loaf of applesauce bread and all kinds of candy; chocolates of all sorts and rock candy among others. There is a cherry pie for good measure, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and bars of white fudge. Of course there's tea, several kinds, pretty mugs, hand made and decorated, to drink it in, a jar of honey and one of fresh mint. There are three blocks of chocolate, each a different kind, tied together with a ribbon and a piece of parchment; a recipe "The best hot chocolate recipe ever." In the middle of the basket is a candle the color of pale, red wood; it looks frosted and smells of spices and coniferous trees and moss. And around the rim of the basket hang crystaline stars, detachable so they might be removed and hung anywhere.
For Kal; A box, since she's never sure how far things have to go to get to Kal. Within are cookies and fudge, another small chocolate cake decorated with red sugared flowers. There's a small fruit cake as well and two bottles of snowplum brandy, along with a small silver flask. A fuzzy, blue scarf curls on top of it all and tucked into the corners and the loops of the scarf are snowplums and grapes. - I hope you wanted food and I hope you're staying safe! Happy Winter Veil! -Alaia
For Laerchel; A large box full of candy, every kind Alaia knows how to make and a few that she could only buy and another of those small chocolate, crystaline flowered cakes. -I know it's not much of a present. It's not really a present at all I guess, but I hope you like it and I hope you're staying safe.
For Aellais; A large cage from which peers a large, wary white tickbird. Taped to the back of the cage are two boxes. Within the first is a long, dark pair of gloves, a scarf to match and a hood with an attached mask; though they are all soft and very warm they are anything but fuzzy. Atop these soft things is a dark blue (not shiny!) metal beetle, with it is a chain so that it might be worn as a necklace, though it is made with a clip so it can be attached to the edge of anything with a thin enough edge, there is also a small silver hoop from which it can hang, almost like a key chain. The press of a tiny button opens its wings to reveal the cogs and wheels spinning within. Beneath the softness of the scarf and gloves at the bottom of the box there is more: a wooden flute, carved with vines, a book, battered and worn full of short stories and poems, each meant to invoke a certain emotion. And carefully sheathed against the side of the box is a long knife of dark metal that seems to glow.
The other box contains a sweater, perfectly bulky and long and oh-so-soft in midnight blue with a creamy colored scarf.
I hope the bird arrives safely and not unwanted. There's another letter about her though. And I think some of the other things I've sent might require a little explanation. There's a small diagram below about the beetle. Someone made a handful of them for me a long, long time ago and I thought it high time that I put them to use. It is a communication device, I'm sure you've seen things similar before, mine are just a little more cleverly disguised than others. There is only one person, save yourself, I have been comfortable enough to give one to, so no worries about someone listening in or butting in when we're talking. And please don't think that it is only for emergencies. You can just pop on to say hi if you like, I promise I won't mind! The knife is enchanted, which I think is obvious, but I think I'll let you figure out what it does for yourself! As for the second box, there is a sweater and a scarf. I was wondering if you could get them to Calida for me? I thought it might be weird coming from me.
I hope you're well and keeping busy. Be safe! -Alaia
For Abbey; Another large cage, this with a large owl sleeping inside. The box taped to this contains candy and fudge, brownies and chocolate chip cookies and one small, chocolate cake with sugared flowers in varying colors. There is tea within, a mask such a dark red it's nearly black and a handful of carefully sealed vials along with two knives, the handles have serpents with ruby eyes curled around them.
I hope you're having a nice holiday and I hope the owl got to you safely. Invisibility potions are probably a strange present, but I know you end up in places where they'll come in handy so I hope they're ok! And the daggers... well, they were just too nice to pass up! Be careful out there! -Alaia
For Isandare; This box contains another small chocolate cake with sugared flowers. Next to that is another of her mugs, sturdy and un-glazed; this one filled with peppermint sticks. There is also a small box, a pretty little wooden thing, carved all over with water lilies and so full of pearls that some will spill out when it's opened. A little note taped to the inside of the lid reads: "Do pearls count as jewels?" A smiley face is drawn next to it. Beneath it all there is a drawing, the bust of a blood elven woman with a sweetness to her face that seems to override whatever beauty may or may not be there. There is only the subtlest of color, a touch of red to the hair, the faintest green at the eyes, copper and the pale colors of sea glass to the necklace she wears, the one that Isandare made. - I have been collecting these pearls for the longest time, convinced that someday I would do something with them. It doesn't seem that I'm meant to use them though and I thought that maybe someday was now and I was just holding these for you. I have no doubt you'll do something amazing with them. And the drawing is... well, it's strange, I know. But I thought, if you were anything like me, that might like to see what your work looks like on someone. I'm afraid a drawing was the best I could do, and you don't have to keep it, but... at least it's an idea? Anyway, I hope you're having a nice holiday. Sincerely, Alaia.
Satisfied she sent her packages on their way. Only when she was done and all her presents sent did she realize that she had mail herself. It was not ordinary mail, there were packages waiting for her and for the longest moment she just held them in stunned silence. She looked so very uncomfortable standing there with her arms full once again. She decided that they must be things coming to her to be sent on their way to somewhere else, she'd done that with Aellais after all. But as she stumbled through the snow and fumbled to find messages she knew what they were. And by the time she'd reached her tent, without even opening one to see what was inside, she'd burst into tears.
Cris was up in an instant, such concern on his face. "What happened?!"
She lifted her package laden arms toward him, trying to sniff back her tears as she smiled, which only seemed to have her crying a little harder for a moment as she pushed herself and those packages into his arms. "Presents."
She'd never gotten a present before.
She scurried through the snow, kicking up trails of white powder in her wake. There was a veritable mountain of presents in her arms, piled so high she couldn't see around them. And they kept falling, delaying her trek to the mailbox by longer than she cared to think on.
Admittedly, she had too many presents for too many people but she always did like giving gifts, even if it made no sense.
But she did finally reach her destination, rosy cheeked from the cold, and paused to check and re check each package before sending it on it's way.
Alinor & Lohendrin,
I have an idea that even though I'm sending two separate baskets, they're really both going to be for both you but I separated them anyway! I hope you like them and I hope you're both having a wonderful holiday! -Alaia
For Alinor; A basket full of socks, thigh high and no two pairs alike. They come in every color imaginable, in vertical stripes and horizontal, some with squiggly stripes, some straight. Some have polka dots, others gears. One has smiley faces, another equations. One pair is metallic, two are fuzzy, five are silk. There is an appropriate pair for every holiday. Some are pretty, some are silly. On top there is a handful of scarves, of the-not-for-keeping-warm variety, that match some of the socks along with one pair of arm warmers and one set of fingerless gloves. And laid on top of all of this is a book, handmade and full of sketches of clothes, mostly wedding related, though not entirely; some are seemingly designed for showing off those socks, others are more fanciful, making use of gears, bits of chain, feathers or an inordinate amount of thin belts. But mostly it's wedding stuff.
For Lohendrin (and Alinor); The biggest basket of all full to bursting with cookies and muffins, a small chocolate cake decorated with red, sugared flowers; a loaf of applesauce bread and all kinds of candy; chocolates of all sorts and rock candy among others. There is a cherry pie for good measure, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and bars of white fudge. Of course there's tea, several kinds, pretty mugs, hand made and decorated, to drink it in, a jar of honey and one of fresh mint. There are three blocks of chocolate, each a different kind, tied together with a ribbon and a piece of parchment; a recipe "The best hot chocolate recipe ever." In the middle of the basket is a candle the color of pale, red wood; it looks frosted and smells of spices and coniferous trees and moss. And around the rim of the basket hang crystaline stars, detachable so they might be removed and hung anywhere.
For Kal; A box, since she's never sure how far things have to go to get to Kal. Within are cookies and fudge, another small chocolate cake decorated with red sugared flowers. There's a small fruit cake as well and two bottles of snowplum brandy, along with a small silver flask. A fuzzy, blue scarf curls on top of it all and tucked into the corners and the loops of the scarf are snowplums and grapes. - I hope you wanted food and I hope you're staying safe! Happy Winter Veil! -Alaia
For Laerchel; A large box full of candy, every kind Alaia knows how to make and a few that she could only buy and another of those small chocolate, crystaline flowered cakes. -I know it's not much of a present. It's not really a present at all I guess, but I hope you like it and I hope you're staying safe.
For Aellais; A large cage from which peers a large, wary white tickbird. Taped to the back of the cage are two boxes. Within the first is a long, dark pair of gloves, a scarf to match and a hood with an attached mask; though they are all soft and very warm they are anything but fuzzy. Atop these soft things is a dark blue (not shiny!) metal beetle, with it is a chain so that it might be worn as a necklace, though it is made with a clip so it can be attached to the edge of anything with a thin enough edge, there is also a small silver hoop from which it can hang, almost like a key chain. The press of a tiny button opens its wings to reveal the cogs and wheels spinning within. Beneath the softness of the scarf and gloves at the bottom of the box there is more: a wooden flute, carved with vines, a book, battered and worn full of short stories and poems, each meant to invoke a certain emotion. And carefully sheathed against the side of the box is a long knife of dark metal that seems to glow.
The other box contains a sweater, perfectly bulky and long and oh-so-soft in midnight blue with a creamy colored scarf.
I hope the bird arrives safely and not unwanted. There's another letter about her though. And I think some of the other things I've sent might require a little explanation. There's a small diagram below about the beetle. Someone made a handful of them for me a long, long time ago and I thought it high time that I put them to use. It is a communication device, I'm sure you've seen things similar before, mine are just a little more cleverly disguised than others. There is only one person, save yourself, I have been comfortable enough to give one to, so no worries about someone listening in or butting in when we're talking. And please don't think that it is only for emergencies. You can just pop on to say hi if you like, I promise I won't mind! The knife is enchanted, which I think is obvious, but I think I'll let you figure out what it does for yourself! As for the second box, there is a sweater and a scarf. I was wondering if you could get them to Calida for me? I thought it might be weird coming from me.
I hope you're well and keeping busy. Be safe! -Alaia
For Abbey; Another large cage, this with a large owl sleeping inside. The box taped to this contains candy and fudge, brownies and chocolate chip cookies and one small, chocolate cake with sugared flowers in varying colors. There is tea within, a mask such a dark red it's nearly black and a handful of carefully sealed vials along with two knives, the handles have serpents with ruby eyes curled around them.
I hope you're having a nice holiday and I hope the owl got to you safely. Invisibility potions are probably a strange present, but I know you end up in places where they'll come in handy so I hope they're ok! And the daggers... well, they were just too nice to pass up! Be careful out there! -Alaia
For Isandare; This box contains another small chocolate cake with sugared flowers. Next to that is another of her mugs, sturdy and un-glazed; this one filled with peppermint sticks. There is also a small box, a pretty little wooden thing, carved all over with water lilies and so full of pearls that some will spill out when it's opened. A little note taped to the inside of the lid reads: "Do pearls count as jewels?" A smiley face is drawn next to it. Beneath it all there is a drawing, the bust of a blood elven woman with a sweetness to her face that seems to override whatever beauty may or may not be there. There is only the subtlest of color, a touch of red to the hair, the faintest green at the eyes, copper and the pale colors of sea glass to the necklace she wears, the one that Isandare made. - I have been collecting these pearls for the longest time, convinced that someday I would do something with them. It doesn't seem that I'm meant to use them though and I thought that maybe someday was now and I was just holding these for you. I have no doubt you'll do something amazing with them. And the drawing is... well, it's strange, I know. But I thought, if you were anything like me, that might like to see what your work looks like on someone. I'm afraid a drawing was the best I could do, and you don't have to keep it, but... at least it's an idea? Anyway, I hope you're having a nice holiday. Sincerely, Alaia.
Satisfied she sent her packages on their way. Only when she was done and all her presents sent did she realize that she had mail herself. It was not ordinary mail, there were packages waiting for her and for the longest moment she just held them in stunned silence. She looked so very uncomfortable standing there with her arms full once again. She decided that they must be things coming to her to be sent on their way to somewhere else, she'd done that with Aellais after all. But as she stumbled through the snow and fumbled to find messages she knew what they were. And by the time she'd reached her tent, without even opening one to see what was inside, she'd burst into tears.
Cris was up in an instant, such concern on his face. "What happened?!"
She lifted her package laden arms toward him, trying to sniff back her tears as she smiled, which only seemed to have her crying a little harder for a moment as she pushed herself and those packages into his arms. "Presents."
She'd never gotten a present before.