RP: Playing Mrs. Claus
Date: December 25, 2004
Characters: Hannah Abbott
Location: House on the Hill
Status: Private
Summary: Hannah gets ready for company.
Completion: Complete
Hannah woke early on Christmas Day, getting out of the warm bed, half-kicking Grendel, who was curled up at the end of the bed. She touched her bare feet to the icy floor and almost jumped back in bed when she saw pitch black outside, but decided to hop from rug to rug on the hardwood floor until she reached her slippers on the other side of the master bedroom. She wanted to get a head start on the Christmas decorations and presents.
Grendel followed Hannah down the stairs. She was still in her nightgown, a warm flannel thing that was worn-in and well-loved. She stole away to the greenhouse and pulled a sack from under one of the tables. It was heavy and Hannah felt the weight on her shoulders as she heaved it onto her back and brought it into the living room.
Out of the top of her bag, she pulled out nine stockings and hangers for the fireplace. She filled each one with things from the bag. She'd had to go to Exeter for most of the things, but it had been a good excursion and she'd gotten everything she'd needed for dinner at Susan's, so she'd really only needed a few gifts.
She stuffed fresh oranges and grapefruits in the toe of each stocking and then set to work for each individual. In the first stocking, she slipped in a few new comic books that had come out the week before. She slipped in a few of Ernie's favourite sweets and a large chocolate-covered marzipan.
She moved onto the next. It was for Lisa. She put in some bubble bath, bath beads, Lindt truffles, and bottle of pop. Even though she didn't necessarily like Lisa, she at least deserved a happy Christmas. Besides, she knew she couldn't leave anyone out and it would mean a lot to Ernie if she filled a sock for Lisa, too.
The next was for Wayne. Hannah filled it with Lindt truffles, a bar of Old Spice soap and some after-shave and cologne to match. She topped it off with a marzipan apple. She hoped Wayne would like the cologne. She didn't know what he usually wore, only that it smelled good and this one was similar when she sniffed it in the bottle.
Wayne was bringing Megan with him, so the next stocking in the row was for her and her son. Hannah figured that if Megan was bringing him, they could share a stocking. She hadn't had too much money and didn't think Megan would take it as an insult. She just hoped that Ben wouldn't mind too much. She added to this one a whole assortment of sweets, hoping that Ben would like one kind or another. She also added a Draught of Peace potion, which Hannah had made herself; a Pepper-Up Potion, which she had also made herself; and an Elixer to Induce Euphoria. She figured with a small son, Megan probably had little time or patience to brew her own and they might be helpful for Megan or her son in the coming months. She topped off Megan's stocking with a Chocolate Orange for Megan, a few Kinder Eggs and some old Chocolate Frogs that she'd saved and never opened. Hannah hoped Ben would enjoy them as much as she had when she was younger.
She had few more stockings to go and the next in line was for Roger. She remembered that Cedric said something about video games and Hannah hadn't the slightest idea which system Roger liked or what kind of games he played, so she decided not to go with that. She really didn't know the bloke too well and hadn't too many ideas of what might be good to put in his sock, so she put in some dried herbs and potions ingredients, a few truffles, and topped it off with a marzipan orange.
Cedric was a little easier. She knew him better and had a few ideas of what to gift him. She snuck in a copy of National Geographic and one of the Economist, as well as baseball cards. They were hard to come by, but Hannah had gone to an imports store in London a few weeks back and found them there. She'd immediately thought of Ced. She put in a small bottle of the Elixer of Euphoria, as she had for Megan. The rest she filled with truffles and a marzipan lemon.
After that was Susan's. She filled it with care, including some rare potions ingredients she'd grown in her garden, a large and particularly milky moonstone, and some Chocolate Frogs so Susan wouldn't forget a little fun in the midst of her daily life.
The next on her list was Hestia. She filled the sock with lavender, dittany, mixed teas of various kinds, a Draught of Peace, a few dried mushrooms, and a chocolate-covered marzipan.
The last was her own and, while it was not quite as fun to stuff one's own stocking, it wasn't fitting to have stockings for everyone else and not for her and she wasn't sure whether Ben would be there and how to explain to Ben that she'd filled everyone's socks and not the famous Father Christmas. She filled her own sock with truffles, a couple comic books, which she herself had not yet read, and a bag of popping corn.
Hannah hung them all in front of the fireplace, which now had a small fire in it, and looked at her handiwork. With the tree Ernie had decorated and the stockings all hung by the fire with care, it truly looked as if Saint Nick had been there.
After staring in wonderment for a minute, the young witch was taken by surprise when her darling dog barked to be let out. Hannah let him out and wandered into the kitchen to start on the preparations for dinner.
Characters: Hannah Abbott
Location: House on the Hill
Status: Private
Summary: Hannah gets ready for company.
Completion: Complete
Hannah woke early on Christmas Day, getting out of the warm bed, half-kicking Grendel, who was curled up at the end of the bed. She touched her bare feet to the icy floor and almost jumped back in bed when she saw pitch black outside, but decided to hop from rug to rug on the hardwood floor until she reached her slippers on the other side of the master bedroom. She wanted to get a head start on the Christmas decorations and presents.
Grendel followed Hannah down the stairs. She was still in her nightgown, a warm flannel thing that was worn-in and well-loved. She stole away to the greenhouse and pulled a sack from under one of the tables. It was heavy and Hannah felt the weight on her shoulders as she heaved it onto her back and brought it into the living room.
Out of the top of her bag, she pulled out nine stockings and hangers for the fireplace. She filled each one with things from the bag. She'd had to go to Exeter for most of the things, but it had been a good excursion and she'd gotten everything she'd needed for dinner at Susan's, so she'd really only needed a few gifts.
She stuffed fresh oranges and grapefruits in the toe of each stocking and then set to work for each individual. In the first stocking, she slipped in a few new comic books that had come out the week before. She slipped in a few of Ernie's favourite sweets and a large chocolate-covered marzipan.
She moved onto the next. It was for Lisa. She put in some bubble bath, bath beads, Lindt truffles, and bottle of pop. Even though she didn't necessarily like Lisa, she at least deserved a happy Christmas. Besides, she knew she couldn't leave anyone out and it would mean a lot to Ernie if she filled a sock for Lisa, too.
The next was for Wayne. Hannah filled it with Lindt truffles, a bar of Old Spice soap and some after-shave and cologne to match. She topped it off with a marzipan apple. She hoped Wayne would like the cologne. She didn't know what he usually wore, only that it smelled good and this one was similar when she sniffed it in the bottle.
Wayne was bringing Megan with him, so the next stocking in the row was for her and her son. Hannah figured that if Megan was bringing him, they could share a stocking. She hadn't had too much money and didn't think Megan would take it as an insult. She just hoped that Ben wouldn't mind too much. She added to this one a whole assortment of sweets, hoping that Ben would like one kind or another. She also added a Draught of Peace potion, which Hannah had made herself; a Pepper-Up Potion, which she had also made herself; and an Elixer to Induce Euphoria. She figured with a small son, Megan probably had little time or patience to brew her own and they might be helpful for Megan or her son in the coming months. She topped off Megan's stocking with a Chocolate Orange for Megan, a few Kinder Eggs and some old Chocolate Frogs that she'd saved and never opened. Hannah hoped Ben would enjoy them as much as she had when she was younger.
She had few more stockings to go and the next in line was for Roger. She remembered that Cedric said something about video games and Hannah hadn't the slightest idea which system Roger liked or what kind of games he played, so she decided not to go with that. She really didn't know the bloke too well and hadn't too many ideas of what might be good to put in his sock, so she put in some dried herbs and potions ingredients, a few truffles, and topped it off with a marzipan orange.
Cedric was a little easier. She knew him better and had a few ideas of what to gift him. She snuck in a copy of National Geographic and one of the Economist, as well as baseball cards. They were hard to come by, but Hannah had gone to an imports store in London a few weeks back and found them there. She'd immediately thought of Ced. She put in a small bottle of the Elixer of Euphoria, as she had for Megan. The rest she filled with truffles and a marzipan lemon.
After that was Susan's. She filled it with care, including some rare potions ingredients she'd grown in her garden, a large and particularly milky moonstone, and some Chocolate Frogs so Susan wouldn't forget a little fun in the midst of her daily life.
The next on her list was Hestia. She filled the sock with lavender, dittany, mixed teas of various kinds, a Draught of Peace, a few dried mushrooms, and a chocolate-covered marzipan.
The last was her own and, while it was not quite as fun to stuff one's own stocking, it wasn't fitting to have stockings for everyone else and not for her and she wasn't sure whether Ben would be there and how to explain to Ben that she'd filled everyone's socks and not the famous Father Christmas. She filled her own sock with truffles, a couple comic books, which she herself had not yet read, and a bag of popping corn.
Hannah hung them all in front of the fireplace, which now had a small fire in it, and looked at her handiwork. With the tree Ernie had decorated and the stockings all hung by the fire with care, it truly looked as if Saint Nick had been there.
After staring in wonderment for a minute, the young witch was taken by surprise when her darling dog barked to be let out. Hannah let him out and wandered into the kitchen to start on the preparations for dinner.