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Clarice choked out a laugh, "That too. I hope someone gets him extensions for Christmas again." She refrained from laughing at the near collision though, and instead maintained a careful non-expression that was almost as bad.

"I'm helping plan it," she began, raising her eyebrows at him. "So you think you're too good for my party, huh?" Despite her words, she was smiling, "Honestly, I'd rather skip Christmas altogether and just stay in my room feeling bad for myself." The blonde sighed and adjusted her hat, "So I guess I better thank Julie for roping me into all this, when all is said and done."

"Aww..." she bumped his arm with his elbow. "I don't think you'd have any problems finding one, and you don't strike me as the shy type, Gale. But you don't really have to bring a date. That's just part of Julie's nefarious plot for The Most Romantic Christmas Ever."

Clarice rolled her eyes, which the widened happily at the tree Gale pointed out. "That's perfect!"

TREE!!

In a flash, the giant massive sword Hraegar was in her hand. "I uh...never actually cut down a tree before...so it might be a good idea to move out of the way."

"Hmm, I guess age can be an issue, but at least it's a pretty temporary one by definition?" Although most people wouldn't consider years to be temporary. "A um, longish kind of temporary.But try not to let it hold you back too much, time is ah..." she trailed of for a moment, becoming slightly more serious and a little sad. "Time is short, Gale."

Shaking her head a bit she brought herself back to the matter at hand, "Don't worry, I almost never miss." She swung Raeg back and pointedly ignored the fact that the sword had just cut though a sapling behind her. "Right then!"

It took three massive swings to bring down the colossal tree, and they weren't what would be called clean cuts either, with splinters of wood flying out in every which direction. Having never actually chopped down a tree this large before, it also nearly crushed Clarice and Gale as it came down.

This too, she ignored, choosing to instead smile brightly, desummoned a fairly perky Raeg, and brought out a number or runic daggers. The hunter held two out to Gale, "We're going to make a temporary portal to transport it, it needs two people to make." She pointed toward a rock a little distance away, "You start there, just plant one in the ground and say borealis, and then cross directly over to....that bush is about right, and say australis, I'll be doing the other two points. Okay?"

Taking her own two daggers, she watched Gale and timed her own to sync with his, "Occidentalis."

A beat and several steps, "Orientalis."

As the last two daggers struck, the air around them shimmered with a bright, almost painful blue, and then suddenly their was a dramatic change of pressure. As vision returned, the courtyard of Deus Ex greeted them. "Good work, and much better than hauling it..." Clarice's voice trailed off as she took in the area around them. The daggers' range was only supposed to be a square twenty meters, at most. The way they spaced them should have teleported them, the tree, and maybe some snow and rocks along with them, anything that wasn't rooted down in the earth. Which was pretty impressive all things considered. But this...this was...

The pure, thick white snow of the mountains blanketed the grounds far into the distance. "Ah...um, they may still be in the testing phase." She turned to Gale, and smiled brightly, "But I think we may get some extra points with Julie for this!"

Giving the tree a dismissive wave, Clarice answered, "Our job is done, we found the best tree ever. Julie can handle the set up and decorating." Because having a giant tree sitting in the courtyard wouldn't be awkward or inconvenient at all. "You were a really big help, Gale, especially since I ah...kinda sprung it on you. So thanks." She coughed a bit and cleared her throat, "Anyway, it looks like we took some of the cold with us, I don't know about you but I could go for some hot chocolate right now." She smiled cheerfully at him, "The kind with the little marshmallows."

Fortunately, the JOY was only just begging to take hold, and those who had noticed the snow were just...staring at it. So Clarice and Gale were in luck, and the premium hot chocolate was not only available but waiting for them as they stepped into the cafeteria, complete with tiny marshmallows and a candy cane. The assistant locked around a bit suspiciously, "That creepy old woman...seriously, I think she must be part ninja or something."

This didn't keep her from eagerly grabbing a mug, and carrying it to a nearby table. Just the warmth from holding it was an amazing comfort, and when she bent in to inhale...ohhhhh, this was definitely not the standard powdered mix. She took a sip and closed her eyes with a soft sigh, "Gotta say, I'm now completely willing to overlook any creepiness since this is amazing."

"Mmmm..." she hummed in agreement, "...knowing when and how to relax, it's more of challenge than people assume. Especially when you take the job seriously," she gave Gale a nod, both in approval and understanding, "You should look into figuring out more ways to take out the tension."

Stirring the drink with her candy cane, Clarice continued, "I find warm drinks to be definitely nice, wonderfully so, warm baths too. Julie spends time ah...baking, crafting, and seeking romance, for herself or anyone nearby. Ben grew flowers..." the corner of her mouth quirked up a little, "...it never really matched the image, but they were...nice. Was there anything you liked to do prior to coming to Deus?"