2017-12-29: The Yaro That Stole Christmas
- Log: The Yaro That Stole Christmas
- Cast: Riesenlied, Shalune Amira, Yarobeleedt, Claude C. Kenny, Jacqueline Barber, Asteroid the Kid, White Knight Leo
- Where: November City - Downtown
- Date: December 29th, 2017
- Summary: While 'Santa' hands out gifts to good little children, a shadowy figure watches, planning to take it all away... Will a Christmas miracle occur this day, or will it be ruined forever...?
========================<* November City - Downtown *>======================== Downtown November City is the wealthiest part. Here, some of the largest corporations in the Seed City make their headquarters. Buildings can reach as high as six stories, with immense stone facades and modern construction that remind onlookers of the technological prowess of the Seed Cities. City Hall dominates the sight, with a beautiful stone facade capped by a large dome. Outsiders are less common here. The police presence is strong and actually capable; while November welcomes Drifters, it doesn't welcome them here, where the wealthy and priviledged live and work. One can find expensive restaurants, fancy hotels, and top-tier apartment living for the rich merchants and government officials. These well-to-do people would rather not be reminded of the dusty, dangerous Drifters that make their livelihoods popular. At the heart of the city is a curious building that hasn't finished construction. Massive beams of steel have begun to reach into the sky, at ten stories high and growing. The Bernadelli Insurance Company purchased the land and is constructing the building, which they call a skyscraper.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
November City bustles with a warmness and energy as is fitting for the season of celebration it heralds uniquely in Filgaia: Christmas, of an origins not widely known to the average citizen. A season of giving, and appreciation for one's fellows and family, it is also a period of the end of the year filled with the warm spirit of generosity...
ONE HOUR AGO
Riesenlied shifts forward with a wince and a gasp, trying to squeeze through the crowd as she tries to wheel her wheelchair forward. Behind her, Trouble squeaks cutely as it tries to push her along, but it finds itself squished between warm bodies as well with a 'mrrrp' and a whine. "E-excuse me, oh goodness... wah!"
The throng of passerbys and excited citizens just seems to thicken further and further, much to the Hyadean's confusion; it isn't until she's shoved towards a part of the square that a bell rings--
Ding ding ding!
"Wonderful! Miss! Yes, you, the one with the horns!"
Poit poit. An errant lock of Riesenlied's hair sproings upwards in puzzlement. "M-me?"
"Yes, you! You are our 10,000th visitor! How would you like to be Santa for a day?!"
"M-me?? Santa? I couldn't..." Riesenlied stammers, but she's already grabbed and rolled forward as the excited announcer exclaims, "Don't worry, it'll be easy! And you'll get to make so many children happy!!"
"Children... happy..." Riesenlied's tone begins to shift, eyes glittering.
Trouble bobbles and whines, as if anticipating its namesake around the corner...
NOW
The Generosity of Christmas is embodied upon the massive tree stationed at the centre of the square, with a pile of decorative treasures and seasonal tinsel and dressings adorned about it.
Right at the foot of the tree, Riesenlied is dressed in a fancy red dress with white fur trimmings, seated on a large throne chair that's replaced her wheelchair as she holds onto a present to stammer, "H-hello there..."
The director grunts and coughs, "Get more into the spirit! You're Santa!"
"E-err-- M-Merry Christmas...! I will be-- I will be your Santa for the day--"
"Santa isn't a temporary vocation!"
"M-Merry Christmas! I am Santa, and-- and I am here to bestow gifts to the kind!"
"That's more like it!"
Riesenlied is out of breath, sagging gently. "Being Santa is a hard task..."
Who will step up first to claim their Christmas present?! And what evil shadows lurk in the distance...?!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
It's not immediately clear how Shalune ended up working a part time job here - probably pressganged much like Riesenlied, but with much less in the way of complaints. It's impossible to mistake the mass of pink hair for anyone else, despite the way her beloved bobble hat has been replaced by one that manages to be more sedate even while being a bright combination of red and white.
Stood near the front of the booth as an usher, she's acting out the part of one of Santa's Little Helpers, wearing a festive dress to match her hat and greeting people with a wink and a wave; the mechanic looks rather small without the multiple layers on, and a little more 'wiry' than 'slender' - but she does clean up well, and when it comes down to it the job isn't really all that different to those times she's helped out as a waitress.
"Hehe. You've just gotta act like you normally do, I think. That's work, if you ask me," she comments to Riesenlied with a wink - and then stoops down a little as a young girl timidly appoaches, greeting her with a smile and her hands together in front of her lap. "Hey~!" she chimes, and leans in to stage whisper: "D'you know what you wanna ask Santa for?"
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
Every child of November Liked Christmas a lot...
But Yaro, who lived far off from this place, Did NOT!
Yaro feared the ^Creased Mousse^! The whole ^Creased Mousse^ season!
Now, please don't asky why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head was soldered like that.
It could be, perhaps, that his tail was too flat.
But I think that the most likely reason, I call,
May have been that his heart did not exist at all.
Whatever the reason, His heart or his tail,
He stood there on Christmas Eve, there without fail,
Staring down from his perch with a sour, Yaro frown,
At the warm lighted windows below in their town.
For he knew every child of November beneath,
Was ready now, hanging a conquered plant wreath.
"And of hanging their ^Feet Shields^!" he snarled with a sneer,
"Next day is the ^Creased Mousse^! I hear it here!"
Then he whined, with his Yaro fingers nervously scratching,
"I MUST find some way to stop ^Creased Mousse^ on catching!"
For Tomorrow, he knew, all the daughters and sons,
Would wake bright and early. They'd rush for weapons!
And then! Oh, the rhymes! Oh, the rhymes!
Rhymes! Rhymes! Rhymes!
That's one that confused! The RHYMES!
RHYMES! RHYMES! RHYMES!
So with a swift flash of a blade, he cut the rest of the passage to itty bitty pieces, and that was the end of that. This was necessary, lest the lawyers began their aggression in earnest, and also that any sort of pose would be complete and ready in a timely manner. Now, where were we?
Ahem.
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
Out in the darkness, in the shade of a bitter cold snap, lies a slithering, stinking, simpering creature whom has wrapped themselves around a tree that probably has no logistical reason to exist where it does with concerns regarding local climate and biome that is also home to a number of pretty baubles and bits that he also now probably has poking his soft, half-melted metallic flesh in the process of assuming this otherwise excellent bit of nearly believable camouflage.
His face hidden inside the tree, his eyes snap about as well as they're ever going to to the very sight of 'Santa.'
"Is what?! ^Tainted^ now give to larval warrior caste?!" He shrieks silently, somehow. "Even bring lowly ^Tainted^ low? Low in time of no supply? Of no good." As a warrior, even he must admit the idea that a season that tends to be full of scarcity pushing the idea of humans cooperating with one another rather than fight into a bloody pulp over who is strong enough to control the temporary low supply of resources to be weird, alien, and kind of frightening.
What is the method? What is the madness? There must be something he can take, something he can remove, to stop this latest stage of the ever-complicated human coming-of-warriorhood rituals from coming to pass, but how? He disengages from his lofty tree disguise with nary more than an errant rustle that can be blamed on the wind, slinking further into the darkness to find a place and time to strike.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
In the not-quite a year that he has spent on the world of Filgaia, a.k.a. Kepler-186 Prime, a.k.a. Cow Patty Planet, Claude C. Kenny has seen some weird stuff. He's been subjected to bizarre and nearly unexplainable situations that have strained the limits of his (in fairness, pretty limited) understanding. And yet nothing has weirded him out more than learning that the genetically-identical humans wielding weird magic and living on a weird wild west world on a forbidden planet hundreds of lightyears from their ancestral home... still practice Christmas.
For one thing, most people don't even have chimneys! It's mega-dumb.
Claude has spent the past several days scoping out the situation and making sure there was no nonsense going on. But for the most part it was parents standing in line for an hour so they can s place their children on the laps of some creepy old dude in disguise, subjecting said children to pants-wetting terror from beginning to end. So, y'know. Totally normal.
Claude is leaning against a (n artificial) Christmas tree, his arms folded over his chest as he thinks invisible thoughts. Owing to the pecularities of the season, his usual wardrobe has been supplemented with a pair of antlers on a headband, and his nose has been painted red.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
This was a wonderful time of year. Adlehyde didn't celebrate it as such, this being more of a November City tradition, but once Jacqueline had done some learning, she found she could appreciate it. A time of giving and companionship...it was something she could get behind.
And so, she had donated some gifts on behalf of the Caravan Kinship. She had also agreed to help keep an eye on the proceedings and ensure everything went smoothly...partially just from a desire to help out, and partially because she had heard that Shalune had been roped into it too, and that was something she had to see.
And then it turned out that Riesenlied was going to be this year's Santa... Well, that was even better.
And so, there she sits, somewhat off to the side and out of the way. She's dressed festively for the occasion, as well, and her usual shawl has been replaced with one that is red and white.
All in all, she's having a great time...it would be a shame if anything happened to it.
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.
Asteroid the Kid, earlier, got nearly run over by a bunch of reindeer so she's pretty cautious overall as it comes to this Christmas thing. She has at some point gotten ahold of milk and cookies and--are those HER milk and cookies or are they supposed to be Santa's? Regardless, she's snacking and, periodically, snickering as Riesenlied has to handle all the kidlets without murdering them--something that's hard for human santas to do, let alone metal demon santas! It's a fact.
Her face has been painted so that she looks like a giant red christmas ornament.
"Hey, hey Claude." She says to him. "Did you know that Riese has a mom? And that mom is a robot dog?" Pause. "Dog shaped robot?"
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo was visitor number 9995. He doesn't realize how close he came to an extremely awkward situation, and may never know. Perhaps it's for the best.
The White Knight stands at the edge of the crowd, drinking a mug of hot apple cider (non-alcoholic of course) and watching the strange goings-on. He's made some effort to be less noticeable, but he is still a recognizable and distinctive Beastman even when wearing (relatively new, mended) Drifter clothes. This whole event has the feel of some sort of strange ritual, and it strikes him as odd that none of the adults are participating. Is there some manner of taboo involved, or is 'Santa' reserved for the little ones? The whole thing is quaint and adorable, if uncomfortably heresy-adjacent.
A new Santa comes out. This one does not resemble the fat, bearded, jolly fellow Leo has seen in the window displays, and his brow furrows.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is not aware of the dangerous, bladed creature emitting the very power of confusion and frustration behind her in the tree! She's warmly smiling as the girl comes up, nodding as she expresses, "It'll be all right..."
The girl nods slowly and stammers, "I--I want to get-- I want-- a Nightburn Acklund action figure...!" A pause. "The limited figure one with stretchy putty arms!"
Riesenlied pauses, looking really confused for a moment at the concept of Stretch Nightstrong figurines, but... peers towards her pile of presents as she stammers, "L-let's see if we have something like that here, okay...?"
Trouble is adorably helping out, with two dangling bulbs to either side of it as it scans presents. What a diligent little floating ARM! Mrrp mrrp, scanning for presents...
She does look over and wave as she spots Asteroid, speaking to Claude, who she's less familiar with... she also catches Leo, looking nervous for a moment, but she can't let these children down!
DC: Claude C. Kenny switches forms to Red Shirt Claude!
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
Trouble is a diligent little searching machine. Why, there's so many toys here! So many wonderful things that the people of November have managed to put together for this very day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could be so open and sharing the whole year round? Why, there's a disappearing bulb right there, which was there a second ago! Oh, and look at the length of garland that slithers itself into the giant decorated tree like it were a living thing! Christmas magic!
The lights that go dark and escape sight! The popcorn that pops out of very existence! The tree rapidly inverts itself in color, shape, and form, its adornments disappearing within in which to unleash its natural beauty under the soft glow of candles and lanterns from far off.
...
Actually, no, come to think of it, this is probably less 'Christmas magic' and more like 'someone is being a turd and stealing Christmas decorations.' But it's Christmas, a time of year where we're all nice to one another and share, so maybe that can be left off the hook. Maybe someone needs the shiny baubles themselves this year, to ward off intense loneliness and...
...there is a somewhat familiar flash of metal in the corner of someone's eye, as the things at ground level are rapidly receding out of view underneath the tree. Boxes and packages, candies and constructs, all of them start to disappear, one by one.
Then the pile of presents by this year's Santa. The sound of fabric dragging and scraping against the ground and the needles of the tree are eye-grabbing. With all the kids running around having themselves a time, two and two might not be put together until it is too late.
"Fufufu." Or if someone feels so confident about their heist that they just give themselves away with their stupid laugh, let's go with that. Right under the tree, Yarobeleedt, who seems to apparently be cramming everything in a large burlap sack that stretches suspension of belief beyond any reasonable boundary as he gingerly and carefully stuffs in a plush owlbear with the rare bit of delicate care and concern something of its make kind of deserves.
"Silly silly. ^Creased Mousse^ no more! All less..."
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny offers Asteroid a faint look astsmile
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a struggle, and a tug from Riesenlied's chair corner as a part of the tinsel and baubles start to disappear -- and then the pile of presents starts to vanish as well! Riesenlied cups her mouth as she tucks the young girl she was talking to into her arms, gasping, "W-who is..."
Her eyes widen further, as Yaro starts grabbing presents and stuffing it into an astonishingly large burlap sack! "Yaro?! W-wait, please stop this--"
The owlbear he lifts up happens to snag across a piece of wiring for the stage show and topples her throne over, causing it to fall to her side as she tumbles to one side, still protectively holding onto the squealing girl. "W-wah...!"
It doesn't look like she'll be of much use with her legs wounded...
"W-waah, the presents!" wails one child. "Help us, Drifters!"
The pleading look of children must be enough to inspire any would-be heroes in the crowd, right?!
GS: Riesenlied has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Rising Heart - 'Empathic Burst'! GS: Riesenlied has attacked Asteroid the Kid with Rising Heart - 'Empathic Burst'! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Riesenlied's Rising Heart - 'Empathic Burst' for 0 hit points! GS: Reload! Claude C. Kenny gains 15 extra FP from Riesenlied! GS: Riesenlied has canceled their attack on Asteroid the Kid. GS: Riesenlied has attacked Asteroid the Kid with Rising Heart - 'Empathic Burst'! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action. GS: Asteroid the Kid takes a solid hit from Riesenlied's Rising Heart - 'Empathic Burst' for 0 hit points! GS: Reload! Asteroid the Kid gains 15 extra FP from Riesenlied!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny offers Asteroid a faint 'you seem nice enough but our encounters have ranged from clingy to murdery and i'm trying to process this' sort of smile. "I didn't," he says evenly, turning his gaze toward... huh, that is Ida's friend. Or... former friend. Or... Metal Demon bad person. Or... former Metal Demon bad person? or...
Claude rubs his eyes with his free hand. This is too much thinking. Can't someone just show up and tell him who to punch?
AND THEN SOMEONE DOES
The young man from Earth looks up as the monstrous monster that is Yarobeleedt begins his assault on the great tradition of Christmas. He hears the voice of a small child calling out for help. His mind wanders back.
'TEN YEARS AGO, CHRISTMAS MORNING'
Claude: huh where are mom and dad? hey what is this note?
Ronyx: dealin with stuf moar importan than u heres a gift card kthxbye
Claude: aw well, dads job is importan. hey what is this big present box?
*rustling noises*
Ilia, bursting from wrapping paper: SURPRISE
Claude: AAAAAAAAAAAAA
'NOW'
"Oh hell no," Claude snarls, taking two quick steps and vaulting over the startled kidlets. He lands and rushes toward Yaro, his free hand reaching down to his side. He can't use his sword or his gun now until the kids are free - he'll have to make do with improvised weaponry. Which means Claude scoops up the heaviest-looking present box he can find, hauls back, and hurls it in the direction of the monster's head.
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Yarobeleedt with Christmas Spirit no Justu! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune doesn't notice the burgeoning theft of Christmas behind her, not at first; she's front-facing, after all, kneeling again to greet a couple of children with a bright sort of smile, and asking them with a playful wink whether they've been naughty or nice. (The boy falters - and needs a little bit of prodding to get out the white lie that of course he's been nice. Shalune seems to let it go at that, with a light giggle.)
She's only just done explaining to one overly inquisitive girl that Santa can look however he or she likes, horns and all - when another boy points up at the tree, just as it pitches over sideways. "--w-wah?!" blurts Shalune as she instinctively dives to one side, rolling out of the way; she picks herself up in astonishment and not a little relief. "W-what happened? Eh? Eh?!"
The cackle makes the hair on the back of her neck go up, though, and she's sprung to her feet in no time at all. "I-it's you?! Don't you have anythin' better to do than menace people? If you wanted a gift--" she adds with an irritated huff, a hand dipping into a pocket on her dress; from it she withdraws a small sphere, haphazardly wrapped in green and red paper with trees printed on it.
It would look cute and innocent were it not for the part where several of the trees overlap to make a significant X-- and also the pin and hinge on the top, as Shalune pulls the former and flips the latter. "--then take this!" she finishes, hurling the bauble forwards.
Thankfully for all involved, it doesn't explode - not in the conventional sense. But the burst of light is disorienting, and the sudden rush of confetti and shower of glitter blinding. Worst of all, from behind her, the chime of 'ooooh...' from the kids sounds...
... happy! What a cunning plot!
GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Yarobeleedt with Christmas Cheer! GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline continues to watch quietly. She sees a few familiar faces in the crowd, but doesn't call out to them. She doesn't want to interrupt the proceedings, after all. She keeps an eye on things...but, as children come up to tell 'Santa' what they want, Jacqueline notices something.
The tree, which was beautifully decorated, is slowly being stripped of all of its adornments...
Jacqueline glances toward the event director, trying to figure out if this is part of the ceremony, but...that doesn't seem to be the case, especially once the gifts and such start to disappear. The culprit soon becomes immediately obvious.
"You...!" Jacqueline says, shocked. The one who hurt Lunata in Adlehyde. The one who trashed the Wynnes' store.
And now it was stealing Christmas!? How much lower could it get!? But...she couldn't raise a fuss here. There were still a bunch of children in the area, and if there was a fight, some of them might get hurt.
But...
"Oh no! L-Look, it's the...um..." Jacqueline says, standing and pointing dramatically at Yarobeleedt. "V-Vicious Christmas Fiend...? Santa! We must join forces and stop it before it, ah, gets away with Christmas!"
...She feels incredibly embarrassed, and it shows on her red, red face.
"Don't worry, children, we'll help! ...But for the time being, why don't you head over to the side here, where we have some hot chocolate for you...?" She suggests, gesturing to said stand.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Riesenlied with Awkward Cheering! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Jacqueline Barber heals Riesenlied! She gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Yarobeleedt guards a hit from Claude C. Kenny's Christmas Spirit no Justu for 60 hit points! GS: Yarobeleedt takes a solid hit from Shalune Amira's Christmas Cheer for 102 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo narrows his eyes as the festive decorations start vanishing for no apparent reason. His lips twist into a frown as Santa's throne topples over, and by the time the children start shouting, he's already leaping into action. "One side!" Leo says, thrusting an arm out to try and part the (confused, kind of worried) crowd of adults. Most of the bystanders have the common sense to get out of his way, and he gets through the rest with a minimal amount of jostling.
"Halt, thieving villain!" Leo says, pointing at the fleeing Yarobeleedt's back. He glances around--like Claude, he knows he can't use his blade or magic with so many innocents nearby. Improvisation is in order. Leo snatches a wreath off some sort of very fake fireplace display next to Santa's giant throne, and dashes after Yarobeleedt. Recognition dawns in his eyes as he remembers what happened elsewhere in November--and he leaps the last yard or so, bringing the wreath down. With any luck, it should restrain the alien slug-thing for a moment or two.
GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Yarobeleedt with SAMPLE MY GARLAND! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: Yarobeleedt critically Guards a hit from White Knight Leo's SAMPLE MY GARLAND for 5 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.
Asteroid the Kid smiles a 'sure I tried to murder you a little but it was just a misunderstanding so it's not really a big deal right?' smile at Claude. It's a little too large and shows too many teeth.
Asteroid understands the problem of thinking too much. Science is easy. Life is what's confusing. One of these things follows rrrrrules after all and the other follows polite suggestions you're expected to ignore at randomly chosen intervals based on what someone wants out of you.
But it's thankfully interrupted by Yarobeleedt who granted Claude's Christmas Wish of making life simple and also giving him something to punch.
"...It's that guy again!!" Asteroid points, patting a baseball bat into her hand. It's slightly bent from repeated use. And metallic.
She tosses a spare ornament colored rock into the air and swings the bat into it, sending it flying for Yarobeleedt.
"Wait, is there a statue here?" Asteroid asks. "Is that why he's here?? Maybe that's why he's stealing Christmas and the Rigdobrite statue is on the top of the tree like a bright shining okay now that I said that I know it doesn't really make much sense."
GS: Asteroid the Kid has attacked Yarobeleedt with Asteroid Ball! GS: Asteroid the Kid has completed her action. GS: Yarobeleedt takes a glancing hit from Asteroid the Kid's Asteroid Ball for 53 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
The Metal Demons have gone on record for picking some awful times to commit atrocities. During a huge populated festival, in the middle of an excavation of a mysterious DEATH GEAR, while there's an operation to extract an errant head of government, and... come to think of it, there's almost never a time where their aggressions happen at a convenient time. Time and time again, some of their deadliest, most monstrous warriors to leave nothing behind but death, ruin, flame, rubble, and tears.
Their very cause, with only scant few exceptions among them, seems to be to just ruin all that is good and wholesome and habitable about Filgaia, so... maybe it's more of a surprise that Siegfried himself hasn't brought the entire Quarter Knight quartet down to come and throw down with Santa, but this is digressing from the immediate urgency of the situaton at hand!
Christmas is at stake! So Claude opens up and puts his arm-steaks to the task as Yarobeleedt's beady kinda-googly eyes turn upon the toppled 'Santa.'
"Give tribute?! Then I try give boot!!" There was a clever insult completely lost in translation, and also because Claude beans him with a hefty present box that sees him flailing a misshapen arm to try and catch it. Shalune tosses her little festive grenade, which finds itself caught inside the box which seems to be full of a litter of pet rocks (which are also now a thing on Filgaia). Stabilizing himself as he dangles the box precariously at the tip of a saber-arm, Yarobeleedt takes a scout's peek at what's inside--
He gets confetti'd in the face to bright festive lights. Confetti everywhere. In his eyes, in his mouth, in his... everywhere else. The box of pet rocks leaves his grasp as a baseball batted colorful rock bounces off the box, gets head-bonked by a pet rock that gets flung up high in the shock, and bounces comically off his head and then rolls along for some children to excitedly chase.
"State you?!" Yaro screeches as he reels. "Is all of ^Creased Mousse^ state you, you state?!" It's really not. But the idea is stuck in his head and now everything just got a little more terrible, only held back at bay tenuously as the mighty White Knight Le-- Passing-By Drifter Leo Who Probably Looks Really Dashing in White leaps down on him before he can do anything with that idea, wrapping him in a heavy wreath that seems to be JUST the right size to wrap around him--
"No cape plurals! No single cape!!" Whatever that means, it is punctuated by the timely cut of one of his arms to turn it into kind of a bad-ass looking mantle around the red fabric and miscellaneous Christmas-y decorations he got himself wrapped in, like some kind of Terrible Santa. It's a nice look on him. He should think about keeping it.
His eyes narrow as he watches the crowd of children that seem to vary wildly between 'confused, scared' and 'obliviously entertained,' some of them especially unaware of how close they are to certain death.
He is frightened of those types. Those are the mightiest of human warriors. One of them tugs at his bad-ass garland mantle, cheerily holding him ransom at kid-point with desires for presents as things all go to pot.
"No no no! Back off! Front off! Top and bottom off!!!" He screams, in fear, as both his arms reform into flat surfaces that could be charitably confused for shields, trying to protect himself from further kid mobbing as he moves to shove himself past Leo and Claude in short order. Following him is the curiously-sized burlap sack that seems large and unwieldy enough that he shouldn't be able to move as swiftly as he does with it.
"Do not give to the ^Larval Warrior Caste^!!" He screams, demanding, almost like he might be kind of worried for their sake in a twisted way, reforming the shield-like arms into somewhat more battle-ready, hammer-headed extensions of himself with poor balance but just enough momentum behind his swinging arms to try and bat the young women aside as he tries to flee at the first opening available to him.
GS: Yarobeleedt has attacked White Knight Leo with Push a Bar! GS: Yarobeleedt has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Push a Bar! GS: Yarobeleedt has attacked Shalune Amira with Mass Sure! GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Yarobeleedt's Push a Bar for 92 hit points! GS: Disrupt! Statuses applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Yarobeleedt has attacked Asteroid the Kid with Mass Sure! GS: Yarobeleedt has completed its action. GS: White Knight Leo critically Guards a hit from Yarobeleedt's Push a Bar for 19 hit points! GS: Asteroid the Kid guards a hit from Yarobeleedt's Mass Sure for 58 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a winced gasp from Riesenlied as Yarobeleedt starts to move again, as she tucks her arms a little closer under the crying girl to hush her into something approximating calmness. She looks up towards Jacqueline with a soft smile as she nods, saying, "Y-yes, we should do just that... it's all just part of a show, mmhmm? Don't be frightened, sweetie..."
The sniffling girl pauses. "R-really? Woow... it's so-- real...!" the girl looks baffled, but smiles up as she takes up Jacqueline's offer to head towards the stand. "Hot chocolate here!"
"Yaaay!"
"Choco!"
The Larval Warrior Caste march with astonishing efficiency that's probably terrifying to Yarobeleedt as they move to imbibe their pre-battle ale in order to grow into even more powerful warriors in the future!!
There's even marshmallows in there.
With her legs still not particularly up to thet ask, Riesenlied kind of just scoots on her rear using her arms as leverage, trying to get out of the way of the battle. "Yaro... please!" she requests again. "This isn't what you think it is -- it is just a harmless celebration! There's no gain for you to be had here!"
She winces gently, but raises her Dragon's Tear as she concentrates energy over Claude -- and Riese really missed the memo on the 'Demon' aesthetic, because shimmering photons of energy begin to energise him in their wake.
GS: Riesenlied has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Rising Heart - 'Consecration'! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action. GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Riesenlied's Rising Heart - 'Consecration' for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Riesenlied clears debuffs from Claude C. Kenny! GS: Reload! Claude C. Kenny gains 15 extra FP from Riesenlied! GS: Shalune Amira guards a hit from Yarobeleedt's Mass Sure for 70 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline offers the child that Riesensanta is sheltering a kind smile. It looks like a lot of the children are taking her up on her offer... Good. That should give the fighters a lot more room to maneuver. Jacqueline doesn't move into the fray herself just yet. She keeps close to Riesenlied and the largest mass of children, ready to move in to defend one or the other should Yarobeleedt turn to attack them.
However, she won't simply let him get away with those gifts and decorations. The children were counting on them. They could be replaced, certainly, but she didn't want to see their little hearts broken...!
"Shalune, can you catch up to him and cut him off?" Jacqueline asks, glancing toward Santa's pink-haired helper. With that said, Jacqueline draws out a Crest and invokes it, causing a pillar of earth to shoot up right in the middle of Yarobeleedt's path. If he's not careful, he might just run right into it...
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Yarobeleedt with Ho-ho-hold It!! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Yarobeleedt takes a glancing hit from Jacqueline Barber's Ho-ho-hold It! for 47 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny is hurriedly unwrapping another present box in search of something he can use to fight off this monster when Yaro charges forward, flailing around itself with proboscii of varying length, breadth, and effectiveness. The young man from Earth experiences a vague sense of nostalgia for his old roommate* glorp before he's smacked into Santa's sleigh.
By the time he hauls himself up to a seating position, he has lost one of his antlers and the present in his hand is making glassy tinkling shattery sounds. Claude shrugs and tosses what's left into the back - which is when he spots an entirely different toy, which he takes up with glee. Claude kicks his way out of the cheap diorama, only to discover that his body is... glowing! With some sort of crazy magical energy! And so Claude C. Kenny, whose father is an accomplished Symbologists, and who has three friendgirls (not girlfriends) who are Symbologists or Crest Sorceresses, reaches the only logical conclusion.
"It's the power of Christmas Spirit!" Claude laughs as he leaps high up into the air, holding a pair of long spears in each hand. Claude concentrates for an instant, then hurls the spears toward Yaro's bag, trying to pin it to the ground. These seem like ridiculously unsafe children's toys, until you remember that Filgaia has no Consumer Protection Agency.
* - Claude's roommate for most of his Academy days was *glorp*, a student from the 'qlun', a race of sentient ectoplasmic creatures who joined the Federation in roughly 4,750 SD. Claude had gotten along great with his roommate up until their third year, when *glorp* began dating a Lemurian student in their class. The resulting breakup** was equal parts epic and stupid.
** - Their first six dates were great, but on the seventh things got a little heavy, at which point it was discovered that 'qlun' ectoplasmic pH is roughly 4.5, and Lemurian skin pH is roughly 9.2.***
*** - Suffice to say there just wasn't the right chemistry between them.
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Yarobeleedt with Lawn Javelins! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
DC: MISS! Yarobeleedt completely evades Lawn Javelins from Claude C. Kenny!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
By now, Leo is very familiar with those horrible little blobby scythe-limbs. One of them comes rushing at him in a vaguely shield-like configuration, and his blade is--somewhat distressingly--nowhere near his hand. Even if it were, there are still children to take into account, as they are now swarming the hot chocolate stand...
Leo reaches out and grabs something without even thinking. There's a telltale *ping* as Yaro's shield hits something of roughly the same size and shape, which stops it cold. White Knight Leo is holding an empty metal tray by one of its handles, and the cookies that were on it are now flying through the air, towards the cluster of kids. Claude, meanwhile, charges in, earning a puzzled look. "Christmas Spirit?" Is he possessed? That's not how Claude glowed during the tournament!
Problems for another time. Right now, Leo just sort of scowls at Yarobeleedt, switches his grip up on the tray, and tries to whack the Metal Demon upside the head with it. Several times. Leo can't apply much finesse while wielding a catering implement, but he's trying.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
The pink-haired mechanic isn't the best when it comes to reading people, you could say. She's not too bad at it and is always ready with an hug, but at the same time it doesn't come as instinctively to her as it would to others, and she does tend to wander through life in a very carefree fashion.
So maybe the way a lightbulb goes up over her head is more a matter of intuition than anything else, as she spins on the spot to turn to the audience of children, pumping her fists for a moment. "--uwah!" she notes rather theatrically. "The brave Drifters are challenging the nasty--" what's an unpleasant sounding word uhh "--Grunch, to save all the presents! Make sure you cheer for them, okay? With your help, it'll all be fine!" she adds as she brings her hand up in a salute of sorts, winking at the same time.
Jacqueline catches her eye... and Shalune grins a second time, this expression a little more cocksure. It's almost as if she knows--
--that Yaro's flight will be suddenly impeded by the swinging of a giant arm, as a shape lumbers forwards and onto the scene. Twelve feet tall, partially covered in brown fur (old rugs and tape) and with an impressive set of antlers (papier mache), the red nose (repurposed mining lamp) can mean only one thing: the cavalry has arrived. Just, you know, without a sleigh in sight.
"Uwah, it's Big Rudolph!" Shalune cheers brightly, pumping her fist in the air to carry the show as the rather clunky and benign golem acts more like a deterrent than anything, its forward momentum difficult to stop. It isn't so much stopping Yaro as it's just heading towards Riese, lumbering down to offer her a hand to clamber up onto.
GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Yarobeleedt with Tray Magnifique! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Yarobeleedt with Who Needs Gear Forms Anyway! GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action. GS: Yarobeleedt guards a hit from White Knight Leo's Tray Magnifique for 55 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Yarobeleedt guards a hit from Shalune Amira's Who Needs Gear Forms Anyway for 93 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.
Asteroid the Kid swings the bat a few more times in the air. "Yeeeaah! That's what you geeeet!" She actually enlongates the 'eeee'. Naturally, despite being fairly convinced that Claude is an alien space worm, the idea of him also celebrating Christmas doesn't bother her. She just figures he picked it up because it won't ever go away and is too powerful to kill.
A lot of drama could have been avoided if *glorp* had a proper understanding of science, Asteroid doesn't say but would probably be her reaction to that story.
Instead she gets whalloped by Yaro and goes flying. She shrieks and grabs at her medium. "Rigdobrite! Irradiate him until he melts into a pile of Christmas Cheer!" She then feels bad about saying that because maybe that's not a good thing to say and maybe she should try to be a better person so she adds, "I..I mean irradiate him until he uh learns a valuable lesson. A valuable Christmas Lesson.
FLASHBACK
Asteroid the Kid lifts up part of Santa's naughty list and sees her name right there near the top of it.
NOW
"If you want a hug to be good I will give you a hug to be good! Because I am a good person...! If anybody's listening! Santa!"
GS: Asteroid the Kid has attacked Yarobeleedt with Rad Riser! GS: Asteroid the Kid has completed her action. GS: Yarobeleedt takes a solid hit from Asteroid the Kid's Rad Riser for 108 hit points! GS: Disease! Statuses applied to Yarobeleedt!
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
What purpose does any of this serve for furthering the Metal Demon cause of Mother's revival and the extinction of the human race? Arguably, it's not completely unrelated, but in the great scheme of things this given incident does appear equal parts petty and unnecessary, as the long-lived Riesenlied cries out.
"What?! ^Tainted^! Is fill up of harm to give ^Larval Warrior Caste^ tribute! Harm full. Harm overflow! What rock of miles, so many!" Yarobeleedt sputters, flustered by the concept of so many holidays and little things that just seem to be geared towards children. Metal Demons have never had anything like this. He could never view anything outside of the umbrella of it being part of some greater set of military movements or training exercises. It is not how he was raised. No - it is not how he was trained. Even the concept of 'raising' might be lost on the vast majority of those at the Photosphere.
Claude glows with... sure, let's go with the Spirit of Christmas... and starts flinging sharp javelins to pin him or his loot down. Turning his head behind him (how he even SEES behind him is probably a low-tier plot hole), he screeches as the empowered(?) projectiles come, sticking into the cold hard festive ground as he snakes and slithers and slides, bumped to the side by a freshly-raised earth pillar from Jay as Leo starts to batter at him with a tray like a frustrated grandmother trying to keep the latest vagrant from yanking a fresh pie off the windowsill. After a series of solid blows, it seems to devolve very quickly into something reminiscient of the classic human child pastime 'patty cake' to parry the rest.
This proves to be his undoing as Asteroid calls upon space radiation to fall upon his gross, wiggly, melty, droopy form as part of his lower bulk starts to bubble and burble and constrict into something dessicated, allowing Leo the last laugh with one last bonk to the face that sees him dazedly slide off...
Until he finds himself accidentally clinging to Big Sha-- Rudolph's other arm, splattering himself against them as the reach down to help poor Riesenlied up - but this inadvertedly keeps both Yarobeleedt and Riesenlied in reasonably close quarters.
"Why give to human?" Yarobeleedt screams as he tries to unstick himself from the body of Big Rudolph. "Why not human fight for resource? For presource? For postsource! Then give all, become exsource?! Unless point! Then not manufacture a sense????" ...Um, what he said, something about leaving only resources for the strong? Something like that.
The huge sack he shouldn't be able to carry or heft around swings its weight, tauntingly, as several intrepid children reach out with grabby hands as he faces down the crowd of festively cheerful warriors. He recoils in horror.
"No! Nono. Nononono. ^Larval Warrior Caste^ need no ^Creased Mousse^! No tribute. No thing. No problem. No need kill today. No need kill one day... if no more ^Creased Mousse^. Fufufu..."
He's not going to stand and fight - he's going to freakin' run for it. Among the Metal Demons, a proud warrior race, someone like Yarobeleedt - craven and desiring to capitalize upon every unfair advantage that undermines others' worth as fellow warriors - is something of an anomaly itself.
Injured as he is from Arctica, he is still an advance scout, with all the agility and spatial navigation abilities one would expect as he frees himself of Big Rudolph, undulating just past the crowd of hot chocolate seekers as he helps himself through a series of difficult-to-navigate terrain. Overturned decorations, a wall - anything and everything to get away. Even the most gifted acrobats of the human race would be hard pressed to keep him in sight.
The most (in)famous advance scout of the Metal Demons flees, like the coward he is, slithering back towards whatever festering infected crack of Filgaia those like him call home. With it, he believes he has taken Christmas with him - all parts, parcels, particulars, parameters, and pressingly, presents...
...
...
...But has he taken Christmas?
GS: Yarobeleedt has completed its action.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has a desperate and somewhat fumbling way up Big S-- Big Rudolph's hand, smiling gently as Trouble helps nudge her up now that the little bot has been dispensed with. She cups her mouth at Yarobeleedt as he shouts at her, wincing a little. "Indeed, Yaro... why? Why they do it?"
She cups her hands to her chest to express, "Years ago, I wouldn't have understood it either. Why they give, why they hold charity, compassion and kindness to their hearts."
She looks down towards the children, who pointedly appear to have forgotten about their presents... but the Yaro who Stole Christmas would see, confusingly, that they don't seem to be crying or whimpering from their lack of gifts!
For indeed, perhaps he has misunderstood the tradition of the Larval Warrior Caste! Perhaps the tribute is naught but an empty shell, designed to test their mettle in the face of temptation! That is, perhaps, something he can associate with -- for it is the want of material needs that can weaken the soul from achieving martial excellence, even within the Photosphere! Blame not one's tools, but the willingness of the spirit!
And the children gather around Big Rudolph, holding their hands together...
Deck the halls with Heal Berries,
'Tis the season to be jolly!
Don we now in cool apparel,
Troll the ancient Filgaian carol!
See the blazing PLANT before us,
Drop your ARM and join the chorus!
Follow us in merry measure,
While we tell of November's leisure!
It's a song, that the children sing together. Riesenlied looks perplexed for a moment, but the organisers of the event wave at her as if to indicate this is just business as normal... and she nods as she expresses, holding the Tear out as she spreads cheer and sparkles in red and green:
"This Christmas... is more than a ritual of tribute, Yaro. It's something that is lacking from our cold, harsh halls... and it is something I desire for us to be able to learn. This compassion. This camaraderie..."
She holds her hand out, warmly smiling.
"Won't you join us this Christmas?"
GS: Riesenlied has attacked Yarobeleedt with It's Christmas in Filgaia! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny lands, and watches Yarobeleedt rush away with all of the presents, and the decorations, and all of the things that make Christmas... Christmas. He looks around at the devastation, looks around at the faces of the kids. It reminds him of the disappointment he felt when, all those years ago, he walked downstairs to find his dad gone, and his only present was his mom, in a box, punching him in the face. It reminds him of...
"Oh my god it's like that mega-old documentary with the green dude," Claude suddenly says, eyes wide open. He looks around. He thinks about it. He wavers. And at the end of the day, he figures that even if they're disappointed, it's not like he can't beat them up.
And so he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his harmonica. It's not a particularly good one - a mass-produced mouth organ you can pick up at any co-op in the hinterlands, which is where Claude picked it up. It's a far cry from the trumpet he played in the Academy band, which was one of the few Academy activities he can remember with any sort of fondness - because no one there cared who his father was, only if he could play. The day he made second trumpet was as happy as he can remember being. Almost like... a kid on Christmas, really.
He lifts the harmonica to his mouth, warms it up with a few puffs, and then begins to play along with the singing.
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.
Asteroid the Kid knows what to do.
"RIGDOBRITE! SQUASH HIM FL--"
She looks around as instead this becomes some kind of after school christmas special and she lowers her medium. "That wasn't it?"
She looks to Claude for some kind of guidance and he pulls out a harmonica and stares at it for a few moments. "Oh I see now. Christmas comes ribbons. Christmas comes without tags. Christmas comes without packages, boxes or bags. Christmas isn't something that we find in a store."
She looks towards a nearby storefront, eyes lifting to the sky. "Maybe Christmas, in fact, means a little bit more..."
And then she smashes the window with the bat. "Christmas is about how capitalism is an inherently flawed system that can't be relied on to provide a decent future for the poor and needy! I get it now! Thank you, Yaro! You saved Christmas!"
And then she starts beatboxing along with the harmonica music.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
One of the children nearest to Asteroid stops singing and asks, as she sniffles from her runny nose: "What's capitalism?"
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.
Asteroid rests a hand on the poor child's shoulder. "The great greed of our times, my dear, but Christmas time is about sharing our joys and our miseries as one great society. Societyism."
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The tray has a noticeable divot in it when Leo drops it--several, in fact. It clatters to the cobblestones as the White Knight gives chase once more, untying the peacebond he tied around his blade. (There were kids here, after all, and it seemed proper to make a gesture like that to put their parents at ease.) The weapon all but leaps into his hand. "I said--!"
Leo skids to a halt. He turns to stare at the bizarre horned Santa, his mouth falling open. He stays like that through the first few verses of the song, then glances back at Yaro. Then, he looks back at Riesenlied. This all feels like some arcane ritual, and he doesn't know what the hell it's supposed to accomplish, and honestly this Christmas thing is just kind of making him feel put-out.
It's not a bad sentiment, though.
"A lovely thought, Santa," Leo says, to Riesenlied. "But may I arrest the Demon now?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline and Shalune's eyes meet...and Shalune offers her that grin. Jacqueline smiles back. She has an idea of what's coming. She looks back toward Yaro, and indeed, there she is - Big Shal.
...Er, Big Rudolph.
But it isn't enough. It looks like Yarobeleedt might be able to escape. And yet...Jacqueline can't help but smile. No one got hurt, and the children seemed alright...and in fact, were launching into song. Jacqueline smiles warmly.
...In a way, maybe she had underestimated them. She wouldn't make that mistake again.
She moves over to Shalune, with a pat on the shoulder and a smile.
"...Well. We tried." She says. "Merry Christmas, Shalune."
...And then she hears the sound of a window breaking that kind of breaks the moment, and glances over toward it.
"A-Asteroid...don't be a bad example..." Jacqueline murmurs with a defeated sigh.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Big Shal knows what a situation like this means, and slowly spreads her arms; Riesenlied in one, Yarobeleedt in the other, and the golem between them like an impassive, but very festive, collaborator and enabler. Fortunately, this isn't a chapel roof, so the angelic pose doesn't suddenly pop a halo into existence. Instead, the lit-up lamp currently tied to the golem's spherical head just sparks a couple of times. Close enough.
Shalune doesn't know the song exactly, but she knows it well enough to hum along with the kids, bobbling from left to right in concert with the beat to coax the others into doing the same. She does falter a bit when the children reach 'merry measure', not quite sure what it would even rhyme with - but she bulls through it with something like aplomb. She does-- kind of glance towards Riesenlied's offer uncertainly, it's true, but she can cover that motion well enough as they go into the final chorus.
"Hehe," she winks afterwards, her spirits obviously high as she kneels down again to pat one of the girls on the head. "Singing together's the best, right? Don't worry. Whatever happens, Big Rudolph will make sure to protect Santa. Then they'll go fly~ing off to deliver presents to everyone in November City and all the other places too. That's the spirit of Christmas, right?"
... that's not the spirit of Christmas, but she's having to adlib a little more than she can really cope with, and trying to do it over the sound of breaking glass and the budding societal warfare in the corner, and she looks ever so slightly strained.
GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Shalune Amira with A Very Spurious Moral! GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action. GS: Shalune Amira takes a solid hit from Shalune Amira's A Very Spurious Moral for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!
Yet not so far away! Far below him he'd leave dismay!
He crawled with his haul to bray his play!
"A waste for the caste!" he was demonically humming.
"They know soon so close that no ^Creased Mousse^ coming!"
"Soon they wake up! Yaro know what they do!"
"Jaw will stay open up, minute or two,
Then all November so sure will all scream BooHoo!"
"That is call," grinned Yaro, "That Yaro MUST see!"
So they paused. And Yaro peeked right there, where he'll be.
And they did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow.
But the call wasn't sad! Why, this sounded merry!
It couldn't be so! But it WAS merry! VERY!
He stared at November! Yaro doubted his eyes!
Then they shook! What they saw was a shocking surprise!
Every child in November, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped ^Creased Mousse^ from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or another, it came just the same!
And Yaro, with his slug-butt ice-cold in the sand,
Stood puzzling and puzzling, "How not go as planned?"
"It come with no wires! It come with no ARMs!"
"It came without polearm, or mean of harm?!"
And he puzzled three minutes, till his puzzler was melted.
Then Yaro thought of something he just belted!
"Maybe ^Creased Mousse^," he spoke, "not be for pelted?"
"Maybe ^Creased Mousse^... oh no... not fell dead?!"
And what happened then? Well, November will say,
That Yarobeleedt's fear grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his breath didn't feel quite so right,
He whizzed with his load through the bright city light,
And he brought back the toys! And all back he'd give!
For he, HE HIMSELF! Feared the alternative.
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
...He looks down to Riesenlied's extended hand, with that gentle smile as she is surrounded by singing, joyful children in the middle of some rhythmic blood-curdling call to arms. He can see how they all gather, the adults coming to see the commotion. That weird blonde-haired kid with the strange armor playing some noise off of some noise-making thing he hasn't seen before. The way Jay exchanges well-wishes with the young girl and the giant mass of red-nosed reindeer golem, sharing a moment together as if at in complete ease in the center of what can only be a ritual promise of retribution and a challenge to muster ever superior forces against them.
He looks to how Leo vaguely references to his eventual capture - is this Beastman about to become the strongarm of their call for revenge and vengeance across a song that carries so beautifully that even the many, many differences in pitch, rhythm, tone, and volume among the children fail to come out as anything but a unified front of mission and purpose?!
Yarobeleedt's eyes diminish into the very tiniest of pin pricks, while Asteroid shouts at him about how he's saved 'Creased Mousse.' He shakes his head, twitching nervously and violently like he might be at the cusp of a psychotic breakdown - he doesn't get it! He doesn't understand! He doesn't overstand! He doesn't stand anywhere in proximity of the concept! It's like he is forced to sit down!! Mentally!! And not have any idea about what a metaphor is any more!!!
"TAX!! Tax tax tax!! It is TAX." Fine. It's fine. Yarobeleedt nudges the giant sack back over the edge. It's just a short drop for it to come rolling down a small hill, but it doesn't gain enough momentum to become a dangerous wrecking-boulder of Christmas gifts.
The opening faces towards the gathered crowd as its contents slowly spill out - the Christmas gifts, returned, as Yarobeleedt's silhouette shrinks and slinks into the shadows anew - never quite finding the understanding, courage, or desire to come face-to-face with Riesenlied's extended hand.
The hand she has shown she will probably keep extended for as long as she can to anyone who is willing to take it, as she comes to welcome the ways of humans into her heart.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a soft and disappointed -- not unexpected, but a shame nonetheless -- sigh from Riesenlied, as she watches Yarobeleedt cringe in that way he does; she can't get to him this way, and in that way she knows it. She can't just show him of strange and foreign customs to him and expect him to understand. But... she won't give up. One day, perhaps, she'll be able to get her point across.
A pause, as she tilts her head to go, "O-oh, um-- well... um-- he's very good at running, I'm afraid..." to Leo...
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo watches Yaro carefully as he makes his grand reentrance. For a moment, his heart wavers, uncertain--has this peculiar spell done something, after all? Is this villain about to break down and repent? He's honestly not sure what repentance would sound like, other than 'garbled', but he listens nevertheless. He sheathes his blade, even.
The sack returns. Leo lets out a soft sigh as Yaro vanishes in a vaguely Yaro-shaped dust cloud and departs. It's better than nothing. "At least the stolen goods were returned," Leo says. "And the children seem happy."
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
The celebrations continue, as the true spirit of Christmas falls upon November City's populace and passers-by. A good time is had by all, on this merry evening.
But not Yarobeleedt, whom continues to slither along like the lowly, awful serpent-bug-worm thing that he is, equal parts shivering from an unexpected cold draft out here in the dunes, and convulsing every so often to excise all the sand particles that get in his Everything (being partially a blob SUCKS in the desert, which cannot be stated enough, so be glad you are not a quasi-blob).
He has enough of it all. In a fit of frustration, he pulls out the metallic sheet of fabric about himself in a makeshift sleeping bag, deciding maybe it is better to let himself just wait and be half-buried in the sands for it to get warmer and continue the offense against Filgaia when he is not in the middle of fearing for his life that he may have rallied the next generation of human warriors into something unfathomably frightening.
A cold night passes. Those who spend it among the warmth of others allow the nippy cold snap to pass under a mirthful haze of hot chocolate and other festive drink.
...The next morning...
Yarobeleedt peeks out of his security blank-- advanced piece of defensive Metal Demon equipment. The scalding, blinding desert sun peers down upon him, tagging his eyes. He lowers his gaze to see...
There's something in the sand! Something with a tiny bit of writing attached to it?!
TO: YAROBELEEDT
FROM: SANTA
Yarobeleedt drops the small something - a bag - in the sand. He pokes at it a few times. When satisfied, he starts to poke at it from increasingly greater ranges until satisfied. When he can no longer extend his arm long enough to reach out and poke it, he approaches with equal parts worry, confusion, and fear.
The little string that keeps it closed seems to slip off, gently, like magic even when it is subject to a sharp edge that can and will cut just about anything it touches in twain.
Inside is a miniscule recreation of a Guardian Statue. It sure looks a lot like that of Dinoginos.
A voice escapes from Yarobeleedt's throat that may be considered something akin to glee, as he rears back an arm that reforms into a scythe and ferociously stabs at it!
It makes an adorable squeaking noise as it slips out of the sharp edge unharmed, bounding and rolling down a dune. Yarobeleedt gives chase, heedless of how much sand his lower body takes in in the process.
Even horrid, disgusting, mean-spirited, incomprehensible, biologically aberrant creatures can enjoy Christmas morning too.