All 08.4 - Solstace Gifts

"Good morning," Victor said, his tone chipper, as Lucca meandered into the kitchen. He turned from what he was doing to look at the druid, "So, as you probably know, it's the winter solstice today, the holiday of Lyevald. I have no particular love for the gods of Heaven, but the point is apparently to make reprimands for affronts and to recognize favours recieved. Considering the magnitude of the favour you and Caitlyn showed me, it seemed wrong to ignore the holiday." He moved to the side and picked up a small package, only a few inches long on every side, that he had placed on a counter. "If not for the two of you, I could be playing the role of Viscount Erzebet, or wandering homeless, or I could easily still be locked in a cell as Bethany continued her depravity. I owe the both of you a lot."
Looking perhaps a tad self-concious, the druid snorted at this, "Shut up, old man. You talk too much."
Victor went to pass over the box, then hesitated, holding it back as he added, "Before you open this, please, please, I implore you, ignore the form factor. I was told that its particular enchantment only worked on this sort of item, so I apologize, don't think about it too deeply." With that, he held out the small wooden box.
He glanced somewhat suspiciously between Victor and the box he held, "You know, it's never a good sign when you start apologizing before you give someone a thing, genius." A smile quirked the corners of his mouth as he took the proffered box.
"I'm less apologizing, and more trying to ward off the initial line of comments," Victor replied, rolling his eyes. Lucca opened the lid; inside lay a pewter ring, probably large enough for his thumb, with an engraved pattern of a woven band around it.
The younger man stared at the ring for a long moment, slowly pursing his lips in an attempt to stifle his laughter. He shot Victor a look that was equal parts teasing and incredulous, but when he opened his mouth to say something, his words were swept away in a torrent of giggles. Leaning against the counter, he eventually managed to stammer out, between bouts of laughter, "You fuckin' guy! You're ridiculous! Holy shit! First you're askin' me out on every holiday, and then," he made a vauge guesture in his direction, unable to speak in the face of a fresh bout of giggles, "And now a fucking ring? You're spectacular!"
"They refused to put the enchantment on any other object in existance! Trust me, I asked. That's what you get," he said, looking both embarrased and amused, fully aware of the silliness of it. He turned back to the task of trying to figure out how to make scrambled eggs, looking at a book he had gotten from the library.
Having regained a measure of composure, Lucca shook his head, still beseiged by the occasional giggle, "Oh man...ridiculous..." Taking the ring from the box, he slipped it on and held his hand out before himself, inspecting it.
"Apparently it takes a few days, a little less than a week at most, of being worn before it actually starts to work. Can't imagine why, but I also don't know why it had to be on a ring either. Go figure, I suppose. Happy solstice, sorry you had to fight a crazy woman and have me follow you about." 
"Dude, shut your face. Like, actually. What have I said about your bullshit apologizing? Geeze." He looked at the ring for a moment longer before dropping his hand to his side glancing over at Victor, suddenly looking almost hesitant, "...Thank you..." he paused for a moment, "...what's it do anyway?"
"Well, why don't you wait and see? It can be a surprise. You could probably work it out if you wanted, it's not a terribly uncommon enchantment." He changed the subject, "I have something for Caitlyn too; I suppose I should drop by her house later. Do you want toast? I can make toast."
"Ooh, me too," an impish grin spread across his face, "maybe I'll just send the shit I found for her over with you, if you're already going; it'll be funnier that way. I got shit to do today anyhow. And yes toast, always." He leaned over to peer at Victor's book. "Whatcha trying to set on fire this time?"
"Eggs. But I'm trying to reduce the amount of fire overall."
----
Later that morning, there was a knock at the front door. Caitlyn let Bernie answer it, but it was only a few moments before he was knocking at her door in turn. "It's that guy you work with. ...The older one, not the dirty one," he added as clarification. Sighing, Caitlyn put down her book and went to the front hall. Victor was standing at the entrance.
"Good morning," Victor greeted.
"Morning," she replied, her expression demanding further explanation.
"Seeing as how it is the solstice, and holiday tradition states that it is a time to repay favours, I thought it only appropriate that I get you a gift." He held out a box, "Without your help, I might still be trapped in a basement, so I thank you for all that you've done for me."
"Oh...thank you, you shouldn't have," she said, the awkwardness plain in her voice.
"I also was told to bring this," he added, holding out a paper shopping bag. "I have no idea what's in it, but based on the look on Lucca's face when he told me to deliver it for him, I can't imagine it's anything good."
She took the bag as she said, "Great. Thanks," with obvious sarcasm. She stood in the doorway, fidgeting slightly, obviously unsure whether or not to invite him in, or to open the gifts there.
Victor keyed in on her uncertainty, "I should be getting along. Have a pleasant day," he said, inclining his head. 
"Yeah, merry solstice," she said, "to you and Virgil."
Victor smiled, "Why, thank you." With that, he turned and headed back off down the street. Caitlyn went back indoors to open the gifts. Inside the box was a grey hat with black ribbon; a nice hat, all things considered. He doesn't have bad taste, she thought as she inspected it. As she was about to put it down, she noticed something in the lining. Taking a closer look, she realized it was enchanted: a Hat of Disguise. Impressed by the calibur of gift, she turned to the bag. Inside was possibly the single ugliest handbag that had ever been crafted by mortal hands. Tacked to the outside was a note from Lucca. Caitlyn frowned playfully. This warrented a response.
----
The day after the solstice, Victor answered the door to find a delivery man standing there with a number of large boxes. After taking them inside and opening them, Victor discovered a wide array of some of the finest enchanted baby supplies that money could buy. With it was a note from Caitlyn, wishing him a merry solstice.
----
When Lucca passed by the tree he had listed as his mailbox, he was slightly surprised to find a box nestled amongst its branches. Taking it down, he saw that it was addressed to him. Inside was a very nice suit jacket and silk tie, and a note from Caitlyn that read, "It's time you learned something about fashion. Let me help you with that." 
----
It took a little bit of poking about, but Caitlyn never really minded having to hunt down information. I can't believe, after all that, he lives three streets away... Caitlyn was apparently not the only one who hadn't bothered moving out of the student housing of Arlington. She went to the door of the address she had been given, and rang the doorbell. A young man with dark hair, certainly no older than her and looking no less than a little drunk, answered. "Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"
"Does Ryuji Komatsu live here?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'll get him," he said. The man wandered back inside, calling out, "Oy, Ryu! Door!"
A minute or so passed before the familiar Yetoman appeared. He looked a bit surprised to see her. "Oh! Caitlyn. Good afternoon. What can I do for you?" There was some muffled shouting coming from deeper in the house.
"What's going on in there?" she asked, looking inquisitively past him.
Ryuji rolled his eyes, "Class is out for the week, and none of my roommates have family close enough to visit, so they've opted to celebrate with pre-pre-pre drinks. They're playing cards right now. Unfortunately, I have work tomorrow, so I've been leaving them to it." He glanced over his shoulder before adding, "On that note, I'd invite you in, but it's probably not a respectable environment for a lady right now." As if to underscore his point, there was a rough chorus of cheers and curses from the back. He turned back to her, looking inquisitive.
Caitlyn smiled, "Well, seeing as how it's the solstice and all, I figured I owed you one for dragging you into a devil nest and getting you into trouble and everything. I was thinking dinner, my treat."
"Oh," he seemed taken aback by the suddenness of the request. "I...yes, certainly. Dinner sounds lovely, but you don't have to..."
"Great," she cut him off and pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket. "Tomorrow, 7, this address. Wear something nice." He took the paper, still looking a bit befuddled. "That work for you?"
"Um, yes, that should be..."
"See you there then," she cut him off again. With a smile and a wink, she gave him a wave, turned and left.
----
A few days after the solstice had come and gone, Victor was reading the paper when he was interrupted by a shout of "Hey, geezer! Think fast!" Glancing up, he narrowly managed to snag the object pelting towards his face.
"Damn, so close..." Lucca chuckled as the older man took a moment to examine his projectile. It turned out to be a scintillating pendant fashioned from a piece of polished abalone shell and etched with a design in the distinctive style of Tsimsian, on a cord of braided black leather. "Happy late solstice. Betcha thought I'd forgot, eh?"
Victor smiled, "Of course not. Better late than never, and all that." He looked it over again, "It's very nice. Did it come from Tsimsian?"
Offering a soft snort by way of reply, he shrugged, "Ish? I picked up some of the materials there. Puttin' it all together took me a bit longer than I wanted, but hey, it's done now." With a crooked smile, he added, "I figured you could use a bit more protection, what with your insistence on running around without armor and all."
"You made it yourself?" He tied the cord behind his neck and held up the pendant once more to look at it before dropping it behind his shirt. "I'm impressed. It's very fine work. Thank you very much. I didn't know you crafted things."
The druid shrugged, looking almost sheepish, "Heh, thanks... And yeah, kinda always have...its a hobby sorta thing I guess? Not the magic, only learned that recently, but the rest...yeah." with a dismissive guesture he switched gears, "Anyway! I'll leave ya to your reading; I've got stuff to do anyhow.  I'm glad you like it," he turned to leave, adding with a pointed look, "So yeah, happy solstice...and thanks for...you know."
----
It was seven days after receiving the ring that Lucca woke up feeling odd. He couldn't quite place his finger on it at first, and it took him a few minutes before he realized what was different. He wasn't hungry. It wasn't as though he felt full, per say, but the ever-present pangs of hunger, usually particularly sharp in the morning after having gone the entire night without food, weren't there.
Rolling onto his back, he lay for some time relishing the unusual sensation and puzzling over the development. It wasnt long before realization dawned on him and he his hand up in front of himself to look at the ring, shaking his head slightly with a soft snort and crooked smile, "Friggen guy."
Category:Advent of the All