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[ Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house... one particular vampire was spening his "day" (night) trying to beat Saltburn's tendency to make it difficult to get where you wanna go, so as to drop off gifts.
Daniel isn't looking to get waylaid in the awkward thanks of a direct handover, especially since he's pretty sure most of these people won't have gotten him anything in return. (Don't feel bad. He's also the kind of boomer to mail out Christmas cards to his nephew and dentist and old friend from college.)
So while he'll slip into the rooms of people he can hear are asleep (or can't hear at all), fellow night owls will get the servant who opens their curtains and announces breakfast also bringing in the gift left on the doorstep.
The gift is neatly wrapped and tagged with a generic Merry Christmas label that says From: DM. It contains a bottle of rosé, some gingerbread, and a plastic bottle of valerian root and chamomile capsules. There is also a second gift in non-Xmas wrapping that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY on it containing a 2005 Hobonichi Techno.
Watch him surreptitiously not mention this at all next time they meet up to swap notes. Santa who? ]
Daniel isn't looking to get waylaid in the awkward thanks of a direct handover, especially since he's pretty sure most of these people won't have gotten him anything in return. (Don't feel bad. He's also the kind of boomer to mail out Christmas cards to his nephew and dentist and old friend from college.)
So while he'll slip into the rooms of people he can hear are asleep (or can't hear at all), fellow night owls will get the servant who opens their curtains and announces breakfast also bringing in the gift left on the doorstep.
The gift is neatly wrapped and tagged with a generic Merry Christmas label that says From: DM. It contains a bottle of rosé, some gingerbread, and a plastic bottle of valerian root and chamomile capsules. There is also a second gift in non-Xmas wrapping that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY on it containing a 2005 Hobonichi Techno.
Watch him surreptitiously not mention this at all next time they meet up to swap notes. Santa who? ]
Edited 2024-12-08 10:13 (UTC)
[ The preparations for Kobymas are something of a blessing, having allowed Astarion, without having to ask for it, the opportunity to get Koby's measurements. So, waiting for Koby on Christmas morning, wrapped in black paper and silver ribbon, are:
— A baby blue shirt with pearls set around the collar, tailored to Koby's exact fit.The note that comes with it all reads: ]
— A silk ribbon in the same blue color, upon which has been embroidered in cream thread: Abraham Lincoln. That is, a matching accessory fo the mermaid duck.
Koby,
From one bird to another.
Happy Christmas,
Astarion
[ On Christmas Eve, the manor staff kindly deliver the gifts Alicent prepared for family and friends. For Koby,
— Wrapped finely, a small velvet box, containing a bracelet.
— A second, slightly larger gift, holding a viewmaster and slides.
— Attached, he’ll find an envelope sealed with emerald wax, fine paper stock addressed in Alicent’s elegant hand. Upon opening, a vibrant watercolour flutters to the floor. ]
— Wrapped finely, a small velvet box, containing a bracelet.
— A second, slightly larger gift, holding a viewmaster and slides.
— Attached, he’ll find an envelope sealed with emerald wax, fine paper stock addressed in Alicent’s elegant hand. Upon opening, a vibrant watercolour flutters to the floor. ]
Koby,
I know you wish you were not so far from the sea, yet I am glad the waves have allowed us to host you on land, even for a short while.
I once told you I was not a Targaryen in true, but a Hightower, so named for the beacon in the harbour city where I was born. There, the water swirls cerulean blue and clear as glass, so you can see the sandy floor below. If I could show you one place in Westeros, it would be this, where we might feel the warmth of the southron sun, peruse the great library, and observe the beacon's changing colours.
You are dearer to me than I can say, sweet boy.
Happy Christmas,
Alicent
[ Come Christmas Eve, Gale delivers two fully-filled notebooks, tied with a sparkling bow. Cumulatively, they contain everything he knows of ki and can recall from memory (which is rather a lot, actually).
He also attaches a note in cramped-yet-tidy scrawl: ]
He also attaches a note in cramped-yet-tidy scrawl: ]
Koby,
I'm certain you have received many gifts — and deserve them — in honour of the festive season and your birthday both, so I thought it better to offer my services in lieu of something tangible.
When you next miss the sea, seek me out, and I shall bring it to you. It won't be real, but it will feel that way, from the crisp salt air to the crashing waves.
Thank you again for the warm welcome.
Your friend,
Gale
Edited 2024-12-19 19:40 (UTC)
It's not that couple gifts are inherently weird, but putting our initials on them is.
[ Erik, not being a Christmas man, struggles a little with this, but he is doing his best! Left for Koby is a handful of gifts:
🧲 A fine glass for drinking out of, with a metal rim decorated in the shapes of waves.There's no note. ]
🧲 One set of handcuffs, with the same wave design across them.
🧲 Some notebooks and pens of various colours.
🧲 One very fancy looking scarf, in a nice blue colour.
[ Tim shows up, unannounced, in the middle of the day, with a bottle of wine in each hand. A sign of good things to come, surely. ]
Promised you'd be the first to know.
[ Tears stinging the corners of his eyes, wet, unwiped streaks on his cheeks. As clear as it is he's been crying, he looks more angry, teeth clenched and features scrunched up on his face. ]
Aemond dismissed me. Like I was nothing to him but a servant. You need to talk me down before I do something crazy.
[ He could tear that entire family apart with just a question, that Aemond never thought him strong enough, smart enough, or capable enough to ask. 'I release you of your promises.' He doesn't even know the meaning of what comes out of his mouth. ]
Promised you'd be the first to know.
[ Tears stinging the corners of his eyes, wet, unwiped streaks on his cheeks. As clear as it is he's been crying, he looks more angry, teeth clenched and features scrunched up on his face. ]
Aemond dismissed me. Like I was nothing to him but a servant. You need to talk me down before I do something crazy.
[ He could tear that entire family apart with just a question, that Aemond never thought him strong enough, smart enough, or capable enough to ask. 'I release you of your promises.' He doesn't even know the meaning of what comes out of his mouth. ]
[Koby feels him coming, feels the simmering fury, the hurt, thinks all sorts of terrible things -- Hawk, first, but Aemond is close behind, of course. And while he'd had his reservations from the beginning, had been not-to-subtle about them, it doesn't make him happy to see it happen.
There's a sigh, soft, reaching out to take both bottles, holding the door open for Tim to come inside. Things have been -- strange with the crew, with Usopp's departure, with the ripple effect from the party. The interpersonal complexities -- Louis and the other vampires, Nami and Sanji and Zoro, Koby's own entanglements during and after the party -- are also oddly tense, complicated by the regular arrival of new guests. He's preparing a new stack of welcome brochures, taking his notes, reading the network as usual.
Tim's appearance immediately rockets to the top of priorities, though, whether Koby had anticipated such an outcome or not.] Come on, come inside, you don't need to do anything right now, crazy or otherwise. Tell me what happened.
There's a sigh, soft, reaching out to take both bottles, holding the door open for Tim to come inside. Things have been -- strange with the crew, with Usopp's departure, with the ripple effect from the party. The interpersonal complexities -- Louis and the other vampires, Nami and Sanji and Zoro, Koby's own entanglements during and after the party -- are also oddly tense, complicated by the regular arrival of new guests. He's preparing a new stack of welcome brochures, taking his notes, reading the network as usual.
Tim's appearance immediately rockets to the top of priorities, though, whether Koby had anticipated such an outcome or not.] Come on, come inside, you don't need to do anything right now, crazy or otherwise. Tell me what happened.
]
[ there's something to the calm that comes after the holiday party that's worth noting. the house settling after months of chaos, but waiting with teeth set on edge. koby might feel a disturbance one day in the early morning. a pulse of something intense - the gale force winds of a storm, a hurricane swallowing the sea, a foundation splitting - then nothing. a torrent of squall and destruction to nothing but absolute, pin drop silence with nothing but the hint of earthy green left in its wake.
it's a few days later when whatever door had been locked opens again, releases the pressure just a little to sit ajar. ]
If you need me, I'm staying with Lestat for a little while.
Armand and I
We've separated for the time being.
it's a few days later when whatever door had been locked opens again, releases the pressure just a little to sit ajar. ]
If you need me, I'm staying with Lestat for a little while.
Armand and I
We've separated for the time being.
[It's like a rumble of an approaching storm, right when it's about to hit, when it smells like ozone and rain, when the crackle of lightning builds and builds and -- vanishes, without culminating. Koby's left uneasy, unsure what's just happened, what he'd very nearly averted having hit him like a tidal wave. He chalks it up to the house, the party, the odd emotions afterwards.
And then: Louis. The warm forest green of his presence (which had been there, but muted, carefully controlled, and in the wake of Luffy and Usopp's disappearances, of course Koby hadn't pushed beyond a tertiary check-in), laced with something, something aching.
The message is -- alarming, yes, but less so than it would've been if Koby hadn't sought Lestat out. Still, he's worried, uneasy, reaching out mentally as well as in the reply text:]
Thank you for telling me. Are you
Okay?
And then: Louis. The warm forest green of his presence (which had been there, but muted, carefully controlled, and in the wake of Luffy and Usopp's disappearances, of course Koby hadn't pushed beyond a tertiary check-in), laced with something, something aching.
The message is -- alarming, yes, but less so than it would've been if Koby hadn't sought Lestat out. Still, he's worried, uneasy, reaching out mentally as well as in the reply text:]
Thank you for telling me. Are you
Okay?
[The reflex is there -- are you sure? -- even though of course Louis is sure, he'd know better than nearly anyone, he'd know the instant it happened. Soon after it is the stumbling, trembling rush of Koby's consciousness, pressing up against the forest-green of Louis's, an act he repeats breathlessly with everyone he cares for here, an act he repeats multiple times daily, like a compulsion. Daniel's presence is gone, absent as if it were never there, and Koby's chest aches with it, thinking of that summer day, out on the grounds, of Daniel smiling and tossing him a bag of chips, of sharing his knowledge, his time, his care when Koby was drowning and scrambling.
And then an exhale, an ache of grief that lies like a fresh coat of paint over the still-tender pain of Luffy, Usopp. Who else. Who next.]
Is he safe? At home? Is it
Good there, for him?
And then an exhale, an ache of grief that lies like a fresh coat of paint over the still-tender pain of Luffy, Usopp. Who else. Who next.]
Is he safe? At home? Is it
Good there, for him?
We're in the library. Are you guys coming? I've moved all my supplies there, it's the most well-defended and best place to ensure everyone gets enough.
Including you and Lestat. You're not
I mean, you're human again, aren't you?
[The abilities turned off like water from a tap, Koby lost and floundering without his haki, unable to reach out and check in on people, waking up every fifteen minutes to make sure Quentin’s still sleeping next to him. It must be worse for the vampires, though, after decades (centuries) in their enhanced forms.]
Including you and Lestat. You're not
I mean, you're human again, aren't you?
[The abilities turned off like water from a tap, Koby lost and floundering without his haki, unable to reach out and check in on people, waking up every fifteen minutes to make sure Quentin’s still sleeping next to him. It must be worse for the vampires, though, after decades (centuries) in their enhanced forms.]
I'm struggling, I need a task to keep me busy. Do you have anything?
Your stockpile — does it still exist after the events of the previous month?
[He does like the library.
It's quiet and smells of old paper and leather. Goodsir spends quite some time just wandering the stacks, looking at the available titles.
Eventually he spots Koby and walks over. He's dressed to his own standards: trousers, shirt, tie, waistcoat, frock coat. He's no longer fully bearded, sporting muttonchops instead. He looks absolutely out of place in modern settings, but he fits into the library pretty well.
His voice is soft, accented, and slightly nervous.]
Ah. Hello. I trust I'm not interrupting?
It's quiet and smells of old paper and leather. Goodsir spends quite some time just wandering the stacks, looking at the available titles.
Eventually he spots Koby and walks over. He's dressed to his own standards: trousers, shirt, tie, waistcoat, frock coat. He's no longer fully bearded, sporting muttonchops instead. He looks absolutely out of place in modern settings, but he fits into the library pretty well.
His voice is soft, accented, and slightly nervous.]
Ah. Hello. I trust I'm not interrupting?
[there's something immensely reassuring about all the familiar layers -- even in the warming spring, koby's still wearing his usual overalls, long-sleeved shirts, like a cross between a preschool teacher and a kid's tv show host. but the way goodsir is dressed is reassuring, almost, as koby looks upwards and blinks a couple times, before smiling and pushing his glasses up on top of his head.]
Not at all! I've been expecting you. [ears pink:] I mean -- you wanted a tour, right?
Not at all! I've been expecting you. [ears pink:] I mean -- you wanted a tour, right?
hi
( that's it, that's the text.
surprise? )
( that's it, that's the text.
surprise? )
[ there's a photo that comes in on its own with no caption at first (please ignore the beard), but then - ]
One of the house staff took this photo for me.
Do they take pictures of us often? I'd much rather it be you ogling me at every turn.
Though if you were here I would pale in comparison.
[ is this meant for glinda? yes this was meant for glinda. ]
One of the house staff took this photo for me.
Do they take pictures of us often? I'd much rather it be you ogling me at every turn.
Though if you were here I would pale in comparison.
[ is this meant for glinda? yes this was meant for glinda. ]
[oh.
oh, that certainly is -- a photo, isn't it. it takes a moment for koby to register, blinking (no glasses, there's a slight difference in the shape of the face, different colored eyes), realizing it's not tim. and then, of course, the one person it could be, remembering the library and the mirth in those bright eyes and the flutter of curiosity and attraction and giddiness. then:]
Fiyero, right? It's
I don't think you meant to send this to me.
oh, that certainly is -- a photo, isn't it. it takes a moment for koby to register, blinking (no glasses, there's a slight difference in the shape of the face, different colored eyes), realizing it's not tim. and then, of course, the one person it could be, remembering the library and the mirth in those bright eyes and the flutter of curiosity and attraction and giddiness. then:]
Fiyero, right? It's
I don't think you meant to send this to me.
[koby keeps weird hours, disjointed and sporadic, and while it's a coin toss whether he's awake in the library or his and quentin's suite, today it's the former. the message gets a long, thoughtful stare, before koby sighs and --
there. an unseen push, careful fingers sinking into the shifting, swirling, near-liquid shape of danny's mind, his thoughts, like submerging a hand in smoke or oil or tar. koby lingers there for a moment, his own presence blush-pink and flaring like the sun on a still sea, unseen fingers curling, uncurling. then:]
It doesn't work that way.
I can tell where you are, what you're feeling, but not actual thoughts.
there. an unseen push, careful fingers sinking into the shifting, swirling, near-liquid shape of danny's mind, his thoughts, like submerging a hand in smoke or oil or tar. koby lingers there for a moment, his own presence blush-pink and flaring like the sun on a still sea, unseen fingers curling, uncurling. then:]
It doesn't work that way.
I can tell where you are, what you're feeling, but not actual thoughts.
[ Sent along with a picture of a diagram: ]
From my perusal of the library, per our previous discussion. Not sustainable long-term for a population this large unless everyone pitches in (and I believe best combined with boiling, afterward), but better than nothing.
From my perusal of the library, per our previous discussion. Not sustainable long-term for a population this large unless everyone pitches in (and I believe best combined with boiling, afterward), but better than nothing.
[it's a pleasant, if mildly bewildering surprise, one that koby takes with an actual audible little oh!, sitting up a bit straighter where he sits on the dock. quickly:]
Thank you! This is brilliant, and should be easy enough to make. I wonder if distilling lake water is the best route, or if we should be gathering rainwater? I've read a bit about the pollution in both, but the risk of standing-water parasites in the lake seems higher.
You didn't need to do that. Thank you, really. :)
Thank you! This is brilliant, and should be easy enough to make. I wonder if distilling lake water is the best route, or if we should be gathering rainwater? I've read a bit about the pollution in both, but the risk of standing-water parasites in the lake seems higher.
You didn't need to do that. Thank you, really. :)
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