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(Ignore that I am posting on the mule. I may or may not have forgotten my own password since it is not auto-saved on this shitty library computer.)

It was with a great deal of plastic-wrap crinkling and unnecessary moaning that Stae consumed the ho-ho’s, shoving the entire length of the chocolate cake with all of the deep throating prowess of a Vietnamese prostitute. She hopped off of the counter and after a moment of fiddling with her keys, unlocked the padlock that protected her private cabinet.

She caressed the bottle of vodka within it as though it were her own precious child, just before cracking open the joints of the lid’s plastic ring and washing down mushy bits of chocolate cake.

Nothing like ho-ho’s and vodka. Now if only she had a smooth chested pool boy…

Stae eyed Asra curiously, and shook her head. Pool boys didn’t have hair like that. It would clog up the filter.

“Not recently, pinkbutt,” Stae said, screwing the lid back onto the vodka bottle and sliding back into the cabinet, “She ran out one day, haven’t seen her since. If I had to guess by the pregnancy test I found while rummaging through the trash for a half-finished Snickers bar that I threw out last week, I’d say she was freaked out by the fact that she’d gotten herself knocked up.”

Stae simply nodded, though her attention was obviously focused on the open lock in her palm. If you knew her well enough, you’d know that she was caught up in debating whether to snap the lock shut or get so drunk that she demanded to be called Senor Guadalupe, Master of Cranes.

It was with a long, sad sigh that she snapped the lock shut, mumbling a soft, “Farewell, Senor. Until the morrow.”

She spun on her heels to face Asra, tightening the drawstring of her flamboyant green pajama pants. “Yep. Couldn’t tell by looking at her back then, but the little blue strip on the piece of pee-paper said she was preggo.”

Even Stae knew that Lillian was not the type to be a parent. Hell, when Stae had bought her a goldfish in her teenage years the damn thing had ended up dying in a tank because Lillian had once heard someone say that, "Her mother drinks like a fish," and had decided that that meant pouring a bottle of Everclear into the fish tank.

Everything the girl touched died, from house plants to her guardian's will to live after coming home to wasted bottle of Everclear.

"I didn't know she was seeing someone, either." Stae shrugged, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "She wasn't the type for dating. Lil was never the most affectionate girl. I'm guessing whatever man stuck his weenis in there probably pulled it out with a good bit of frostbite."

Reaver

The Abyss reeked of death and decay, the kind of scent that a mortician gets off on. There were no screams, not like what the stories said. No lakes of fire and brimstone, no writhing and tortured souls. Only a vast, cold nothingness, in which a thousand deceased souls floated hopelessly, ensnared in their own personal hells. In the abyss, there was only the fabric of creation, the building blocks of illusion and magic.

Somewhere in that vast nothingness, in the small bubble of existence created by one particular demon, Lillian stood with stoic resolution. She had come here with a purpose, a mission; she would not be swayed.

“You know what we call people like you?” The demon hissed, his breath tainted with the scent of sulfur and ash. His hunched, disfigured body moved in slow circles around her, dimly lit by the illusionary light of torches bracketed to a cavern wall. He was humanoid, but grotesque. Where eyes should have been, there were only bloody sockets, and his skin hung in folds of pale gray from his bony frame. He clicked his tongue loudly, and a grim smile revealed several rows of sharp, rotting teeth.

“Reavers.” He continued, pausing to push dark, tangled hair away from her gaunt features. The feel of his clammy skin upon her face was nearly as revolting as the scent of his breath, but Lillian stood firmly. “You break the highest laws of existence with what you do… even our kind dares not-“

“Do not preach to me,” Lillian murmured, her tone thick with annoyance. “I find it hard to take criticism from a demon who specializes in the trading of souls.”

“Whole souls, Reaver,” the demon responded, chuckling. His laughter sounded like stifled screaming, “Even we do not possess the ability… or the stomach.. to rip them apart.”

“I did not come here for a lesson in morality, Ruel.” The Shattered said sharply, twisting her long, bony fingers around the handle of her scythe. “You are able to imbue a weapon with an affinity for a particular soul, are you not?”

“Only a particular soul,” he murmured, eyeing the long, curved blade in her hand, “I don’t make reaver weapons, girl. I am not in the business of mindless slavery… unless it’s my own. But maybe for a pretty girl like you..” He trailed one finger down the side of Lillian’s cheek, but quickly withdrew it when one long, dark tendril emerged from her skin and wrapped lightly around it. He hissed lowly, and Lillian’s lips curved into a smile.

“I’m not interested in such.. vulgarity.” One hand lifted, and the small, shining fragment of Halexei’s soul flickered into existence, “Only one soul, Ruel.”

The demon shied away from the angelic presence, grumbling blow his breath, “Bringing such filth into my home, Reaver. Why would you want to capture such a thing.. such a dirty thing..”

"Isn't that obvious...?" Lillian closed her fingers like a cage around the fragment, “To destroy it.”

Shauna was extremely careful with the cake, mainly because she wanted the chance to eat it as soon as possible. God! It looked so good! The fox squealed delightedly when she was hugged, throwing her arms around Elle in a big hug. Aw! She was still Redtail! "And it's good to see you, Elle!" She was about to turn to the cake and have some but she found her hand suddenly being grabbed and her body being forced to move against her will. Huh? What? Where were they going?

"What? Stala? Where're we going?" Shauna blinked and stumbled after her cousin, then watched as some of the other children began following Stala's train. Where the heck were they going? The fox waved to the cute little plushie girl she wasn't being given the chance to give a proper greeting, the wave getting bigger as she called out a greeting to her aunt Enoh. Not like her parents were married or anything but she could still call Enoh her aunt, couldn't she? She was married to daddy's uncle after all!

And then Asra returned. Was he okay? He looked distant or something. "Hey Asraaaa~! Come and join us~!" The fox called right before she lost her footing and tripped over her own tail. Ah, crap! She let go of Stala's hand so she didn't drag the girl down with her. Owwie! That'd kind of hurt! Shauna sighed and started to stand back up again, but a loud booming crack made her eyes widen, her fur stand on end and sent her straight back down on her bottom again. What was that?!

Asrafel's eyes drifted to Shauna, who was first to call his name. She called him over, and she gave her a small smile. His hand lifted in a tiny wave, but the wave and smile simultaneously died as he winced when Shauna fell. One eye remained open to survey the damage, but the fall, and it's clumsy innocence, served to lighten his mood. It almost made him want to laugh, though he held back for Shauna's sake. He would have joined her if not for the sound of another voice. His eyes lifted up to her, and widened, before a genuine smile kissed his lips. He gravitated to her immediately, wasting no time in wrapping his arms around her and giving her a great hug.

"Elle." He replied, smiling even as he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. She brought him much more comfort than she could ever imagine. Yet still, his fears niggled at the back of his mind.

He pulled away from her, and gave her a sad smile. Perhaps if there was anyone he could talk to about his worries, it was her. Would it seem odd?

He never had a chance to find out. His eyebrows shot up as he heard the crash of glass in a nearby room. He turned, and located the closed door. There, he knew, there was a mirror so big that it alone could have made that sound.

Oh no. What if one of the little ones..

He gripped Elle's hand tightly and tugged her forward with determination. Grabbing the door handle with the other hand, he flung open the room and looked around. Thankfully, there were no little children in the mess, but the mess itself was horrendous. Glass was everywhere; big, heavy pieces sticking out of the carpet, most of them facing the door he had just opened in all different positions. He was almost blinded by the glitter of them, as they reflected the sunlight coming out of the window. As he had predicted, the mirror frame was now empty, which meant the frame had mysteriously fallen.

He sighed dejectedly and slumped his shoulders.

"Looks like I'll be spending this party cleaning up."

Owwie, now her butt hurt. Shauna made a displeased face and rubbed at the base of her tail with one hand while using the other to push herself back up to her feet. What had that crash been? It'd come from somewhere really close.

Asra and Elle hurrying out of the room to another room was a good enough hint for her curious mind to make her follow, letting Stala and the others know she'd be right back and hurrying after the pair herself. The fox peeked over Elle and Asra's shoulders for a moment to see why Asra was complaining about cleaning up during the party. What she saw almost made her laugh in pity for whoever had to clean up the mess...almost. It was Asra so she wasn't going to laugh. That'd be mean. "Aww! But you don't have to clean alone!" Shauna assured her psuedo-brother as she stepped aside for Elle to look for a broom and bucket and shoes, hugging Asra again to cheer him up. "And it's just a mirror! You can replace that!" Now if a child had been in the room when it happened that'd be trouble. She'd learned from experience that glass travelled!

"We wish you a Merry Christmas, weeeee WISH you a Merry Christmas, WEEE WISH YOU A M..."

Brownie approached the Benedict Center, swinging her right foot into nearby obstacles - a rock, a can, some grass - with each off-key, progressively louder utterance of the word 'wish.' She barely remembered last Christmas, but she knew the holiday was about presents, and any holiday that involved gifts or chocolate deserved to be sang about. Too bad it was over a month away, despite the piles of decorations everywhere. Way to go, greeting card companies.

As she pushed the Center's door open, Brownie pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, preparing to announce her presence to whomever was gathered nearby. The problem was, there was no one nearby. She stood there dumbly for a moment, but the mirror's crash jumpstarted her feet and she hurried toward it, not bothering to kick off her shoes like she normally would indoors.

"What's going on here, Ear Head?" Brownie asked as she approached. She recognized the fox girl, but didn't remember her name and also couldn't bring herself to care that she had never actually addressed Shauna that way out loud. She threw a wave around to the other ridiculously old people standing nearby, then glanced in the room they all seemed so preoccupied by. The broken glass reminded her of the last time she had grown, although she couldn't have said why. "Oh. Bummer."