New Year's Party [Closed]

[Kala Leukos]

.

Not long after Finn had left with promises to Destyn for a musical exchange, the Leukos twins arrived without pomp or fanfare. Their own modest celebration had been with their servants, who were now left to their own devices, free to celebrate however they might wish to. The Silver Wings had joined them as well, the orphan warriors feeling finally as though they had a family beyond each other.

Having been given carte blanche to let themselves in, Torin's friends and patrons did just that. They were well-dressed, but had leavened their festiveness with some sobriety. They would have to make appearances at other gatherings, and the nation-state was still reeling from the events of Prince Talon's reception. Both of them had been busy in the aftermath as well, protecting Ser Baudric from the prejudices of Kalzasi, as well as fomenting plans of their own. But they came bearing modest gifts all the same.

"Happy New Year," Kala said with a quiet smile as she preceded Kaus into the room.

"Happy New Year!" Kaus repeated with more gusto. He was the taller and the louder twin, but he always deferred to his sister.

"Oh, Timon," she said, eyes surveying the laden table. "What a spread!"

"Mm." Kaus looked over all the foods as though strategizing how best to sample all of it. He did want to try everything, but knew there were other feasts in the near future as well. Thankfully, Avialae men could burn through their food quite quickly and be left famished once more.

While Kaus pulled Timon into a rough bear hug, Kala offered Torin a less aggressive embrace.

.

[Torin Kilvin]

The youngest member of the three who lived in the house had responded with characteristic enthusiasm to the idea of presents. Once he had received the modestly wrapped package that Torin retrieved from the pile he attempted to open it with something closer to the dignity he was learning watching the circle of friends his part-master, part-older-brother had exposed him to. Once it was open, however, all pretense of decorum fell away in his surprise and amazement.

The lad had been around runeforging long enough to recognize the work; though he could not yet tell just by looking what something was capable of, he could tell it was magic. The gift was not something a boy in his position could ever have expected, and, for a moment, it looked as though Timon had been rendered speechless in his awe. The phenomenon was short lasting, however, and Torin was soon being peppered with questions too quickly to answer most of them. He did his best to answer but the torrent was only halted when a new set of guests entered the scene.

Timon went to Kaus immediately, showing him the bright blue dagger and switching between talking about it and explaining the food options. The smith, relieved to be released from the torrent, greeted the smaller twin. The hug was nice, and, probably for the first time, Torin was able to accept and return the embrace of a women without any trepidation.

Over the next hour the group ate, chatted about happy things and exchanged gifts. Torin's for the twins were a pair of gloves each, of fine, delicately thin tooled leather lined with fur. There was nothing magical about the gifts, but they were made by his own hands to fit the twins specifically and the scroll work and stamping was done with their tastes in mind. He laughed at himself a little, because 'mittens' were the only gift traditional new year's gift he'd been able to think of, and while the gloves were not traditional mittens, they were close enough for his mind to make fun of him for it.

The noble-folk had many places to go before their festive day came to and end, and while Torin deeply appreciated them spending some of their sought after time with him and his household, he did not try and keep them when they made their excuses and departed with more embraces and well wishes on all sides.

Others stepped in through the day; the women that Torin paid to wash and do light house cleaning brought her cousin and they shared the meal with surprise and delight, magnified when Torin gave them more simple but exquisitely made gifts that would be of use to them. The young outcast mage who had began helping Torin on a semi-regular basis poked his head in and though he didn't seem altogether comfortable with the easy family feel of the event he had a few glasses of mead and accepted a parcel of food to take with him into the gloaming.

Aurin's arrival was less an event, for he was at the house nearly every day, but for Torin, it was as special as any of the others. The gift the smith had painstakingly worked on for two seasons had already been given, and was often worn, to the creator's relief and comfort. Huntress, who was in a bit of a tizzy over the strange events and guests of the day was quite relieved to see the redhead and, after an initial leap up at him when he entered, followed him around where he went or curled around his feet if he stopped. This did not seem to deter the intentions of either the master of the house or his chosen master in finding a quiet corner to greet each other with a level of intensity that might make an observer (though there were none) imagine it had been months, rather than only a day or two, since they had last been together. It was several hours before the firefox man had to leave as well, during which he sampled the offerings, and was given a break down, by the new owner, of the runeforged dagger, in great detail.

It was growing late by the time the last of these guests left, but Torin still had some hope that there might be at least one more. Timon had fallen into an exhausted sleep curled up with and equally exhausted Huntress on the thick fur rug before the braziers in the main room and Torin was beginning to wrap and cover the food that should be wrapped or covered when he heard the door latch open. His new senses reached out and found the tangled tapestry of who was entering before he turned to greet them. His face lit up with a quiet smile that had, for reasons he had yet to fully work through, been his reaction to his elven friend since the incident of his receiving a rune.

"Sivan." Was all he said at first, and quietly, not wanting to wake the two sleepers, but his voice wrapped a lot around the name, joy not least among the multitude.

[Sivan]

Sivan came bearing gifts. 'Twas the season, after all. There was tea, honey, a few little things he thought Torin and Timon and Destyn would appreciate. But it seemed the fae and everyone else had fallen asleep waiting for him, except—

"Torin."

He lit up when he said the name. The elf couldn't help it.

Though he felt turmoil inside, for a moment, there was a golden peace that suffused him.

"I won't stay long," he said, coming in for a hug, voice kept low. "I don't want to wake everyone. I just wanted to be sure I dropped off my presents before the stroke of midnight, but I could drop by tomorrow if you don't mind..." There were things he wanted to talk about: future employment; how to court someone; stuff. They were big things, and Torin seemed the obvious person to ask about them given he had been seeing the same person about as long as Sivan had known him. Destyn didn't seem interested in such things and he didn't feel quite comfortable enough with Laurevere to bare his soul like that. The difference in their stations still loomed in the back of his mind, even as far from Sol'Valen as they were and having no real plans to ever return to his fatherland.

"We could talk more then."

It felt strange somehow to have been kissing Urs and now hugging Torin, though they were certainly quite different relationships. Sivan was hardly an expert on relationships, whether friendships or romances, but it was already late and they would probably have a better discussion on the morrow anyway, or so he told himself. A part of him wanted to go upstairs and talk through the night in Torin's room, but that was silly. His friend had things to do.

He held out the package for Torin; he could put the others on top of Destyn and Timon so they would wake up with them.

[Torin Kilvin]

The smith wrapped his friend in his arms, close, but not tight, holding without crushing. The words made sense, it was late, and whatever had kept the elf away until then had likely been tiring.

Still, he took the package offered him and collected one of the few remaining in what had been a little pile and beckoned Sivan to follow him into the kitchen. Sitting by the hearth was warm and also far enough from those sleeping that they could have a conversation without fear of waking anyone.

Torin nodded to the many covered and uncovered dishes and said,

"If you're hungry you'd be doing me a favor to take what you'd like." Whether the offering was eaten there in the kitchen or taken to be eaten later, Torin wasn't lying. If the food got to the point of being in danger of spoiling he would give it away to street children and probably send some to Timon's aunt for her family, but it had been made for people both he and Timon cared about and he would rather it go to them.

Opening the offered gift he found a plethora of small things that would make his life more pleasant, all of which he was grateful for, though none so much as the elf's presence. He wasn't sure what he wanted, or if it was anything specific at all, but it felt closer as they sat close in the semi-darkness speaking in hushed tones together.

When his own offering was opened it did not look particularly exceptional, sort of like a small metal hand lamp but without any openings to shed light. There was something of the mechanical about it as well, gears and buttons that might be pushed showing on one side.

As it was examined its maker explained in the same quiet, intimate voice that he had designed it after the break in at Sivan's cottage. It was meant to safe-keep whoever and whatever was within it's field. The field, once activated would extend to cover a middle-sized room, about the size of one floor of Sivan's home. Nothing solid could pass through, nor any gas or liquid save air and trace amounts of water. Any form of magic would also be blocked from passing through, be it an item or a casting. The field could be set to turn on or off at specific times and could last up to a full day before it would need to shut off and reset itself. It could be set to sound an alarm if something it warded against attempted to break through, though there was a threshold to it. Torin hadn't wanted a leaf brushing it or an insect trying to fly through to set it off. The default setting could not be seen, but one of the little gears could be turned to make it more or less opaque.

He hoped the intention was obvious; that he wanted Sivan to be able to sleep soundly. It could be taken with him should the elf ever wish to spend more time out in the wilds alone, but it's main intention was to protect both the his friend's physical form and his mind from worry.

When he through with the over all explanation he moved to stand behind the elf and show him how to operate the magical device. His large hands closed over slimmer ones, noting in an absent way how strong they were for their size as he showed what each gear and button was meant for. The closeness of their bodies was, once again, as reassuring as it was confusingly pleasant but recognition of either was background to his teaching.

[Sivan]

His augmented senses told him the gift was magical even before Torin began to explain it. Blue eyes opened wide and turned to the man, wondering more at him than at the gift. With it, he could protect himself, or he could protect IX, or some other project he might invest time and resources into. It was the perfect gift, and Torin was a perfect friend.

"Thank you," he said with utter sincerity and gratitude, though Torin quickly brushed past that to show him how it worked. When the lesson was done, he slipped in and wrapped his arms around Torin's middle. Things had been a little strained of late, both of them embarrassed by things outside their control. He hoped that when they met the next day, they could work through some things, and he hoped Urs wouldn't put a damper on that. Of course, Torin had Aurin, but Sivan didn't really know how those things worked except in theory.

"I wish I could give you as perfect a present," he lamented, but he smiled. "I suppose bringing your yard into bloom will have to do."

Those things took time, and Torin would see how devoted to their friendship he was when the yard bloomed year after year, each one more lush than the last. If they couldn't be neighbors, at least their gardens could be reminiscent of each other's. But if things went well when they spoke the next day, perhaps they would be seeing more of each other and they could make seeing each other so usual that whatever awkwardness there was just melted away.

"I wonder if the bees will want to colonize..." He considered this, whether he could coax them to rear another queen to be transplanted into Torin's yard so he could have his own source of honey and—Sivan had found—security guards. They had warned him of Rivin's incursions, after all, as much as the spirits had.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin didn't know how to explain that the friendship Sivan offered him, the first adult friendship he'd had, was exactly the gift he'd spent his life wanting. When the elf turned in his arms and hugged him again he said quietly,

"You do." Though it didn't really make sense, and then nodded to the idea of the half-tamed yard of surrounding the smithy being brought to bloom. Sivan didn't need to give anything but each time he offered his help or support it solidified the growing sense of loyalty and affection between them.

"I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about, about the yard. It's a business thing, so it'll wait, but I think it might be useful to both of us if we can get it to work."

The smith made an interested humming sound at the thought of having his own bees. Sivan's were very well behaved, but he wasn't sure if having a hive of his own would be suitable for a place where strangers came and went as often as the shop and forges. They could probably be persuaded not to attack Huntress, since they seemed to leave the squealmouse alone. It was something to consider, assuming Destyn wouldn't view them as a snack.

When they broke apart he went and poured the last of the spiced wine, still warm, if no longer hot, into two mugs. A drink to share as midnight approached and the first day of the season wound to its close. The hearth crackled quietly, eating through the remains of the huge logs that had been used to bake the festive bounty and keep the guests and denizens alike warm through the chill that held on for the first weeks of Glade. They spoke of simple, pleasant things, nothing of business, work or strife. When the drinks were gone Torin put together a little pack of food, since Sivan would be returning the next day for a more serious chat and could be further laden with leftovers then, and bid his friend a safe walk home. He was tempted to walk with him, but the day had been long, as had the season before it, and Sivan knew the way very well.

[Rune]

R E V I E W

Lore:

Torin:
12

Finn:
8

Destyn:
8

Kala:
8

Sivan:
8

Points: 10 each
Torin may use for Semblance
Sivan may use for Semblance

Injuries/Ailments: Overly stuffed bellies?

Loot:

Finn: + 1 Set Spellweaver Lute Strings and Pegs

Sivan: +1 Safety Net

Torin: - 1 Set Spellweaver Lute Strings, Pegs, and 1 Safety Net

Notes: