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Lorata blinked again, coming back from unpleasantly blue-tinged thoughts, and realized she hadn't actually asked nicely at all. Well, that was hardly her fault and she supposed it hadn't mattered in the end. The pretty bag she'd wanted was in her hands and the yellowblood didn't seem to be kicking up a fuss about it, either, so it had worked out. As she spoke up again, offering an exchange for a name, the seadweller's own smile returned to match.

"That seems fair enough. My name's Lorata. Lorata Gorgos!" Making sure the gift she'd been holding was securely transferred into Autumn's hands, she spared a glance around to see how everyone else was doing. Looked like things were starting to wrap up, so... "Hey, I think time might be up, do you want to open them together?" That was probably even more fair, right, that she still got to see what had been in the bag?

Too eager to see now that she'd realized it was time, she began fishing around in the pink tissue paper without even waiting for an answer. Soon enough she had her prize in reach. Immediately she gasped and then ever so slowly lifted the treasure out of the bag. The tiara glimmered in the moonlight as it was pulled free and oh it was perfect. With a delighted giggle, she settled it on her head and then looked back up to Autumn. "What's yours?"

Green Minuet

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha grinned back at the redblood upon hearing his reply. As he opened his mouth to respond however, Elidae slipped out from under his arm, returning the package to him and then took her leave, brownblood in tow. Kursha watched her retreating form, perplexed. Had he... done something wrong? Realising that he was beginning to stare he renewed his grin, and returned his attention to the redblood with forced energy.

“Time's up, schmuck!” he said, elbowing the redblood in the ribs. “Let's see what you got!” Moving to hover over the hapless troll's shoulder, Kursha scanned the room, searching for his own present. He could open the package he retrieved from Elidae later. There was no chance, he was missing a particular box being unwrapped.

Worries temporarily forgotten as he located his target, Kursha waited with bated breath for him to open the lid. He could only hope his gift had made it to someone who would make a little noise.

He smiled faintly at the gift in his hands. So this was what he'd end up with?Well, he didn't get the aesthetically pleasing gift that matched his style and colour all too well....but he wouldn't complain. He carefully unwrapped the gift, folding the paper beside him. Well, if nothing else he would commend the colour combonation, someone put thought into at least making it match. He held the box a moment in confusion. Was it making noise? It sounded like there was.....scratching? Was it a pet?

A living creature in a box...someone had a terrible sense of humour. He frowned as he folded back the flaps of the box, freezing as he spotted the 'gift'.

OH ******** NO.

Miache shrieked loud and unrestrained, dropping the box and leaping back as far as he could. In his scramble Miache tripped, dropping to the ground as he scurried back faster. OH GOD IT WAS ADVANCING ON HIM!!! IT KNEW! Who could possibly do such an aweful thing as set up a trap instead of a gift?!

"Food! Oh good, maybe you can serve it at the shop?" Neither greenblood had any idea what Nucleo's new sausage was made of but Amonee nervously tried to boost the barista's spirits over the present. Hey, at least the wrapping looked expensive? Though it couldn't compare to the beauty Amonee had in his hands. He looked at the pretty picture and hoped the present inside had his favorite show which also involved gorgeous girls. How great it would be if it was a few episodes from 'Princess Vampires'!

Please be a DVD! Please oh if there ever was anything good in the world! Amonee eagerly opened his present as Nucleo stared in quiet bewilderment over the uncomfortably unlabeled mystery meat. It took him a little digging to find the gift inside and for a moment, the young troll was scared it had been a prank bag full of nothing but tissue!

It wasn't a DVD.

"M-matchsticks. How useful." The jadeblood smiled awkwardly, not entirely sure he understood why they were paired with the delicate and somewhat crumpled horse toothpicks. Maybe if they had been candles it would've made sense? But it was rude to criticize a gift and he dutifully said it looked cute as he twirled a stick in his fingers. Something sweet wafted around the room and he glanced to find the source. Oh good, it looked like his fellow painter friend was feeling better and no longer scared under a blanket.

"Oh Caiden! That looks delicious~ You're sooo lucky!" Amonee was kind of jealous of the pie but the time for stealing was over. Instead, he opted to pull Nucleo along with him where Caiden and the ever adorable Elidae were to join the pie worship in hopes of getting a slice.

"Here, have some decorations." The pink pony toothpicks were slipped into the pie's topping to prance around and add some more festiveness to the present. "Elidae, what did you get? I hope it's something pretty like you." The yellowblood was such a nice person to hold this event, Amonee really wanted her to have gotten something nicer than the weird animal fiasco happening to Miache over there. He was glad Azrael seemed to get it under control.

Caiden's opened gift elicited a dramatic gasp from Elidae. "Ooh a pie?! That's so... sweet of them!" The yellowblood giggled, crinkling her nose in response to her own pun. The aroma wafting from the beautifully crafted pie was questionably sweet, saccharine such as artificially flavored candy. Nevertheless, she felt confident it would be good, and Caiden seemed to find enjoyment from it, which was all that mattered. He even offered her a slice! So kind of him. Elidae smiled softly in response. "Of course! It smells delightful, I would love a slice." Upon being asked what was her gift, the yellowblood blinked then held up the teal gift bag. "Hm? Should I open now?" Before she could start, two greenbloods bounded up before them.

"Hey, Amonee! Nucleo! " Elidae greeted gaily, then asked, "Have you opened your gifts yet?" Though the question was a bit redundant considering they held theirs in their hands. What was that in Nucleo's hands? Sausage...? Curious. When Amonee placed the fancy toothpicks in the pie, Elidae chimed a laugh, yet it stopped briefly. 'Something pretty like you.' "Huh?" Cheeks flushed yellow, Elidae's lashes fluttered for a moment, perplexed. She then produced a sheepish smile, brushing a few strands of bangs out of her face as she looked away and attempted to suppress her giggles.

"Yeah! I was just getting to it!" Gingerly, she started talking out the paper from the bag, a delicate, flowery fragrance drifting from inside. When she lifted a final piece of tissue, she got a full view and smell of what was in the bag. "Oooohh!" The yellowblood squealed in delight. It was gorgeous moon lilies, set in an adorable mason jar. Accompanied with it was a small care pamphlet. Recalling when Kursha had swung the gift around, she noted of the bits of soil that covered the bottom of the bag and frowned. Luckily, most of it was intact, the flowers still bloomed and beautiful. It was right up her alley of interests, as she had a small garden on her apartment's balcony. Elidae was enamored, however truthfully, she felt she didn't deserve such a thoughtful gift. She reached for the tag, reading it aloud quietly to herself. "The flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today." She paused, putting a hand on her chest and appearing astonished. "Oh my gosh! This is... so lovely!!"


Micillia


Doutei


Yamashii

The tiny blueblood just smiled and let out an ever so gentle laugh. "You did make quite a scene, but it's fine... it was probably quite a start seeing this so suddenly," He was almost envious of Miache, it was such a beautiful creature! Ahh, if only he could add it to his collection back home. He would buy a special aquarium for it and study the thing, it was too cute to dissect.

Azrael could feel a twist in his chest, it wasn't sickening but enough to feel obviously there. He could feel his envy that he hadn't ended up with the package, but soon put it out of thought as he brought his hand back and shoved it in his jacket pocket. "Aha, I personally love things like this, I collect and study them in my lab back in busthind," minus that most of them were dead and in the fridge for consumption later. He didn't want to boast, but he thought he was pretty good at the care and scientific procedure that went with it! He had been thinking of moving on to trolls lately, he'd seen what a lack of medical knowledge had left many and decided that he would pursue that.

He had no way of knowing Miache's thoughts, but there was the chance that this creature was going to end up squished or worse in the wrong place. "it would probably be a good idea to find where it comes from before setting it loose, it might wreak havoc on other ecosystems or it could die if it's let out in the wrong place," the young troll explained as a look of contemplation crossed his face. "if... you want, I could take it off your hands?" Azrael smiled at his fellow blueblood with assurance,

"I mean, I have some experience with these things and it would have a good home in my hive, I doubt it will cause any more trouble from there," though there is the question of scarfettle and his recent growth spurt, but Azrael felt sure if he explained to the dragon that this was not food but a pet, there wouldn't be too much of a problem. He'd buy a tough home, perhaps a terrariam if his fellow blueblood would allow him to keep his gift. "Ah, I'm Azrael," the young blueblood said keeping his gentle smile, as though he were talking to an old friend. "I don't believe I introduced myself before,"

LordPocky

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Accepting the seadweller's invitation, Autumn lowered herself to the ground, carefully tucking her boa in her lap, where it would not get dirty. With a wave of her hand, she called Caterpal over to help. Curious despite himself, he fluttered over to work (unsuccessfully) on the wrapping while she undid the bow. After watching him a moment, Autumn scooped up the childish lusus, tied the ribbon around him, and slid open the box. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Tipping over the box, she allowed the pieces to scatter over the floor. A simple, plain, unadorned puzzle? Her gaze danced between the pieces. It seemed pretty simple too. What a disappointment. With a sigh, she turned to see what Lorata had gotten...

And immediately felt a sharp pang of jealousy.

A glittering tiara perched upon the seadweller's head. It was absolutely stunning, the way it shimmered in the moonlight. No matter that the gemstones were not real or that it was just a costume piece. She had never seen anything so lovely in her life. And it had come so close to belonging to her. That was all Autumn seemed to be able to think about as she stared.

Finally, collecting herself, she glanced back down to her own gift where Caterpal busied himself trying (again, unsuccessfully) to solve it. It had seemed lacklustre before, but now she was almost too embarrassed to even look at it. Compared to the tiara, it was clear who had received the better gift.

Or was it?

Plucking a corner piece from off the floor, Autumn admired it. “Oh, how lovely!” she exclaimed. “I adore puzzles~!” Admittedly, that was a lie. She had never put together a puzzle before, much less owned one. She was not about to let her finned companion know that though. Her thinking was this: she could continue to sulk and be bitter about the turn of events, or she could enjoy what she had. While it was so much easier to brood, Autumn knew it would not get her anywhere. She was better than that. Without giving the tiara so much as a second glance, she joined her lusus in trying to put it together.

“Cat, you're doing it wrong,” she chided, as Caterpal tried to stomp two pieces into place. Removing him before the toy was damaged, she set about solving it. Finding the corners was easy enough, but the rest of the puzzle proved... difficult. More so than she would have thought.

A larger piece than the rest caught her eye, and she picked it up for examination. “What's this?” It looked as though it could be opened. Despite her gentle pryings however, the lid refused to budge. Interesting. She held it up so Lorata could see and grinned sincerely. “There's more here than meets the lookstub. Thanks for trading, Lorata~!”