[SEMI-OPEN] What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere!

[destiny_key]

WHO: Sora and YOU!!!
WHERE: In the city!!!
WHEN: The entirety of December!!! 
WHAT: December catchall!!!
WARNINGS: n/a


I. And in my bones, I feel the warmth that's coming from inside

This time of year, the city of Recolle is full to the brim of color and lights, everything decorated to a tee to bring holiday spirit to the max. Even the storefronts are decorated, and walking around, you can swear you smell peppermint coming from one of the eighty billion coffee shops that populate the city.

Sora's pretty easy to find in this mess, doing everything from Christmas shopping with his newfound money (thanks, Jirou), to walking the dogs from the animal shelter, to helping out with the various chores that have been assigned through the ReVA charity drive. And the entire time, he's got a wide grin on his face, and he'll happily stop to chat with any familiar faces. Or perhaps you wish to join him on whatever adventure he's on today? It's a big city, and there's plenty to do.

Either way, if you happen to literally bump into him, he won't take offence.

II. They're hanging mistletoe, they kiss! Why, that looks so unique! (Closed to CR)

Sora's had exactly one mistletoe bat, hanging over him the entire day without fail. If he enters a building, it'll wait around outside for him to come out again, and it always finds him. At first it was cute, but after several hours of hearing it squeak, it's starting to get really annoying.

Chasing it off doesn't work, and hurting it isn't an option to him. But he's kind of a little desperate at this point.

Which is why, at some point during the day, he'll rush up to the first person he sees, and ask them a question so quickly they might not have time to process it.

"CanIkissyourhandplease?"

III. There's frost on every window, oh, I can't believe my eyes

The earthquakes and ice make it difficult to stay on your feet, and Sora is no exception. It feels like every day he's somehow ended up on the floor, whether that be at school, on the sidewalk, or in his kitchen, and every single time it takes him by surprise. He should really start seeing it coming by this point, or else he'll end up with his entire back black and blue in bruises by the end of the month.

Just his luck, an earthquake hits while he's walking home from school, and his flailing arms grab the first person he comes in contact with to steady himself. After it's over, he releases the person in question, and jumps back in embarrassment.

"Ah, sorry about that..." he says sheepishly, rubbing at his arm.

IV. What is this place that I have found?

[Wildcard! Hit me up with your own prompt, or come talk to me via PM or plurk!]

Comments

[Closed to Dante] Early in December

[destiny_key]

[As much as he'd been knocked over by the earthquakes this month, Sora had been lucky enough to avoid slipping on the ice yet. It's honestly kind of a miracle that he had, actually, because his finesse on ice equaled basically zero.

So of course, as luck would have it, the one time he does go flying on the ice, he slams right into someone. He'd been walking home from school, minding his own business, when it suddenly appeared under his boots, sending him toppling forward into the figure as they came around the corner.

Well, it seemed history was doomed to repeat itself, because Sora is pretty sure this is how he first met Dante, too, all those months ago.]

SLAMS IN

[darkinferno]

[In general, Dante's got pretty good reactions. He's had ice appear under his feet a few times now, and outside of an embarrassing (by his standards!) slide where he'd had to grab at a wall for balance, he's done pretty well at keeping his balance when the ground beneath him abruptly changes.

It's too bad that sense of balance doesn't extend to other people bowling right into him.]

Whoa!

[Of course, right as he steps onto the ice is when a figure crashes into him, and they're both on the ground. Dante grunts with the impact, pain shooting through his body, and after a moment he's reaching out to try and maneuver himself out of the pile... at which point he catches sight of Sora.

Of course it's Sora.]

You still don't watch where you're going, do you?

[destiny_key]

[Of course it's Dante, Sora can only think. Who else does he keep literally running into all over the place? It seems like fate wants them to end up like this.

Sora rubs at his shoulder where it slammed into the pavement painfully, and yup, that's probably going to be a bruise tomorrow. He hisses in pain, then opens one eye to stutter his apology.]

S-sorry, Dante. The ice... well, you know.

[He gestures vaguely at the patch of crystal clear ice coating the sidewalk, shining innocently in the afternoon sunlight.]

[darkinferno]

[There's a disdainful snort from Dante's direction--after all, he's done all right with the ice so far! But it's a facade he can only hold for so long, especially with everything that's been going on lately...

He turns his attention to extricating himself again, so that he doesn't have to look at Sora.]

Yeah, yeah. I got it.

...are you all right? After everything that happened in the fog, I mean.

[destiny_key]

[How they ended up so tangled with each other from that fall, Sora will never know. But he does his part to try and maneuver himself out of the pile before the other boy gets mad and punches him or something. He's still not quite sure of their standing with each other.

He's also not quite sure of how to answer that question. Sora freezes at Dante's voice, caught up in a moment where he's not sure if he wants to tell him the truth (after all, who would understand it better?), or tell him he's fine. It wouldn't be the first time he defaulted to that.]

I... um...

[Closed to Dylan] Mid-December

[destiny_key]

[They have really got to stop meeting like this, Sora can't help but think as he rounds the corner and slams into Dante for what's probably the third time. It's really kind of getting ridiculous.

But, upon a second look, it seems it's not Dante at all. Just some guy who kinda looks like him. He's not sure if that's better or worse.]

Ah, sorry, man. My bad. Are you okay?

Re: [Closed to Dylan] Mid-December

[naught_again]

[Dylan meanwhile was definitely looking everywhere except the direction he got run into, so his prissy butt lands on the concrete.]

Onya bike, I'll be lucky if m' hands didn't get cut open!

[He doesn't even get up - yet - he's inspecting his hands as first priority. Very, very important to him considering his aspirations for composing. That's why Sora gets a dismissive Aussie phrase to start with.]

[destiny_key]

Um...

[He only got like half of that. He recognizes the accent as Aussi, but the slang is completely lost on him. Definitely not Dante, then.

Oh well. Sora extends his hand out to help the other guy up.]

Um, yeah. Sorry, again.

[naught_again]

[He sighs like this is a major concession just to take Sora's hand, also assessing whether or not he's going to just get dropped on his butt again. He can't be sure if Sora's genuine or not.]

Yeah, yeah...

[And he takes his hand to stand up, then wipes them together in front of him - not going anywhere near his clothes - while continuing to appraise Sora.]

What's that look on yer face for, anyway?

[Closed to Minato] 12/10

[destiny_key]

[Sora stares down at the card with the list of chores he and Minato had been given, and this one is definitely the easiest of the bunch that he's seen. Actually, he's kind of giddy about it. He's pretty sure he hasn't built a snowman since he was in middle school.

So the first chance he gets, he grabs his cousin and practically drags him to the park to start it. He's brought a hat and scarf for the finished product, and Sora is determined to make the biggest, best snowman ever.]

Okay, where should we start?

[compendiem]

[ It might be easy for Sora, but Minato hasn't built a snowman since... literally never. It was snow bunnies when he was very very little, and soon after starting school, he couldn't stay out in the snow for very long to play with the other children and learn how to make one.

So, where should they start? He has no idea. ]

Uh. We start by piling snow into as high a mountain as we can...? And chisel away at it after.

[ Like sculpting from ice or rock... ]

[destiny_key]

Um, I don't think that's right...

[Sora was thinking more along the lines of 'where should we start rolling the snowballs', but that's an... interesting idea.

Sora picks a spot at random, and makes a snowball to start rolling it around. Luckily, the snow is in perfect condition for snowmen.]

You have to make a snowball, and then roll it around to make it bigger, see?

[compendiem]

Hmm...

[ If there's one thing Minato is good at, it's watching and copying, so he keeps an eye on what Sora is doing and emulates it as best he can, rolling the snow into a ball at a somewhat slower pace than his cousin, but his can be the head and Sora's the body. ]

Do you make these a lot? [ With Minako. Or with... Shiori. He wants to ask, but he mentions neither of these names, wanting to keep today to just Sora and himself. ] I'm more used to sandcastles than to snowmen.

[Closed to Marina] 12/16

[destiny_key]

[In the month and a half he'd known her, Sora had become close friends with Marina faster than any other friend he'd had. Maybe their memories of being friends was influencing each other, but in all honesty, Sora enjoyed her company. He enjoyed having a close friend at all.

So when Marina texted him and told him to meet her at the ice rink, he'd instantly agreed, only remembering when he'd arrived that his skill on ice skates was rather abysmal.

For now, he's just sitting on the sidelines and waiting for his companion, watching the skaters out on the ice and hoping he won't fall. Again.]

[princessofheart]

Hey, Sora!

[Marina comes up behind him and waves when he looks, ice skates she'd rented slung over her shoulder. She'd already stowed her shoes away, but she hadn't wanted to waddle over to him on the skates and inevitably fallen over and looked like an absolute fool.]

I've never gotten to ice skate before. Do you think roller skating counts?

[destiny_key]

Um, maybe? I can't say I've ever been roller skating before.

[He's pretty good at skateboarding, but that's not really the same. Wheels or skates, he'll probably still fall on his but anyway.

He moves over on bench he'd been chilling on, his own rented skates sitting beside him, to give Marina some room to sit down.]

I haven't been ice skating since we moved here, I don't think.

[princessofheart]

[She sits down and starts to lace up her skates, obviously excited.]

Well, we can just hold onto each other then. It'll be fun! I'm sure we'll get it by the time we feel ready to stop and do something else.

[Marina laughs and shoots him a thumbs up.]

III

[imaginex]

[Sakura is hardly a tall person to latch onto, and between the sudden earthquake on top of Sora clinging to her arm, it's a miracle Sakura doesn't topple.

At least she's laughing when it's all over -- at both his apology, and the fact she almost got a face-full of snow. He's greeted with a shake of her head, alongside a wide smile]

It's okay, Sora-san. I probably would've fallen over if you hadn't grabbed me.

[destiny_key]

[Oh, it's Sakura. Well, at least it wasn't some random stranger, but he still feels terrible about nearly knocking her over.]

Well, still, sorry. Are you okay? That quake was pretty strong.

[imaginex]

Mmm, it was, wasn't it?

[Really though, she seems fine for the most part, nodding an affirmative and tucking her scarf back into place while rubbing her hands together for warmth]

I think I'm getting used to them, though! I just wish I knew when they were coming so I could brace for it.

[destiny_key]

Yeah. I think that's just earthquakes, though.

[He remembers a few of them from when he still lived in Hawaii, but those were usually more volcanic. You could sometimes tell from the traces of ash in the air. But he's never felt them in Recolle before, and these are totally unpredictable.]

Twas the night before Christmas...

[standalonehuman]

With all of the plotting and planning that Sora has been doing for other people, Togusa wanted to do something incredibly special in return for Sora. It is far easier to get excited about Christmas when someone else has enthusiasm for it. So, anything he can do to encourage Sora's Christmas Spirit? He has a duty to. Togusa has in mind a very Santa-themed surprise, so long as Minako can do her part and sneak the presents into the house after Sora makes it to sleep.

Because Togusa's half of the surprise involves a borrowed chocobo with a sled (okay not a full sleigh but it's the thought that counts) to leave fresh tracks outside. He waits just out of sight, holding on to the chocobo's reins until he can hear from Minako. "Easy, there, buddy." He pets the chocobo's beak to try to keep it from letting out a 'kweh' that might give up the whole game.

[complementing]

Minako comes down the other way on the street a few minutes later, bundled up against the cold, but more importantly with an overstuffed bag of presents on her arm. She waves to Togusa when she spots him and jogs over.

"Hello, Officer. Auntie told me he should be in bed by now, so whenever we're ready, we can do this." She hefts her bag up a bit. "Do you have a present for him too? I can take it in with me."

[standalonehuman]

Togusa's expression breaks into a childish grin when he sees Minako, and he waves in return. "Hey. Merry Christmas, hunh?" He has to keep himself from giggling, because he can scarcely believe they're doing this. "Uh- yeah." He takes a package from off the sled and hands it over. Just books, but he hopes they're ones Sora would like. The bigger present is the presentation.

Togusa looks back at the bird, "Okay, buddy. Come on..." The chocobo fluffs its feathers and shakes itself off before trotting a few steps along behind Togusa. "Because apparently Santa has chocobos now," Togusa laughs. "Which makes me wonder again why they can't fly."

[complementing]

"Only special chocobos can, obviously."

She carefully sets Togusa's gift into her bag. Aside from her own gifts, she's included a set of Nerf guns, an ocarina, and a night sky projector lamp to be gifts from "Santa". There's gifts for Shiori too: the latest Kindle, a 1000 piece puzzle, and a new wallet. Which makes the whole bag super heavy, and right about now she's thinking that she might have gone a little overboard...but the twins deserve this.

"Okay. Here's the plan." She starts ticking off a finger for each of her points. "I'm gonna go in through the back door with my own shoes and drop off the presents. Auntie will have a huge pair of boots ready for me at the fireplace, I'll use those to scatter some soot and make footprints everywhere, and then swipe some cookies and drink the milk. Then I'll take off the boots but take them with me when I go back out the back door, getting rid of the tracks along the way, and then you can make some noise with the chocobos and let them leave their tracks." She grins. "Sounds good?"