Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a strange feeling, not having this holiday party or that family get-together to block out Beth's time during the winter months. It was a shame, really; her wardrobe was a marvel, a spectacle, if she did say so herself. But such things mattered little without an audience to appreciate them. So occasionally she dressed up as if to go out, even if she was just going to lounge in the room or run to the Cafeteria. An audience of one would suffice.

And so it was that Beth had finished dressing and was admiring herself in the mirror. Though she never went full Christmas, she felt that bringing at least some holiday coloring to her usually dark wardrobe helped. Then she heard the knock on her door. She paused, a bit confused; she wasn't expecting anyone.

Still, she had dressed up for the occasion, unexpected though it might be. So she flounced over, grin spreading across her face as she heard who was on the other side of the door, even before she opened it. "Misha?" She chirped as she pulled on the knob. She faltered a bit, taking in the absolutely unironically terrible Mrs. Claus sweater dress her friend wore. She worked very hard to keep her lips from letting out the giggles that threatened to free themselves. Finally, she choked out, "Are you going to start singing?"

Beth's cheeks warmed at the comparison to Snow White. Instinctively, she pulled her hair over her shoulder to better fiddle with it, and laugh appreciatively at Misha's antics. As her friend stepped into her room, Beth stepped to the side to better allow her access. "Aw, thanks, Misha! I know that Mr. Claus, where ever he is, is a lucky man indeed!" She closed the door, thinking, then continued, "Or, you know, other Mrs. Claus is a lucky woman too!" She couldn't remember if they had pinned down preferences between them, but it was easy to assume.

Her bed was still a sea of stuffed animals, Mally given a place of honor among the pillows. The purple scarves over the lamps had been replaced with red and white ones, glitter snow flakes pasted on many surfaces and even hanging from the ceiling. There was a swivel chair behind the desk that was currently supporting her laptop. In the corner was a pair of vaguely mismatched but comfy-looking chairs, which had been added since the last time Misha had been hosted.

Beth blinked at Misha's enthusiastic gift bag, a vague panic settling in her eyes as she remembered the gifts she had gotten Misha, sitting in their shipping boxes on the other side of her bed, blatantly not wrapped but hidden from view by the height of the mattress. Well, this was about to be awkward at best and messy at worst. "Oh, Misha! Thank you!" She sat on the edge of her bed, looking for a card--if there was one--and pulling the wrapping and ribbon off as delicately and conscientiously as she had the shower curtain in the Alps.

All the while she was frantically thinking of how best and most naturally to give Misha her presents.

Beth lifted her eyes to Misha's briefly to smile at her comment on Mrs. vs Mr. Claus, but her attention was focused on the contents of the wrapping tissue: a cute comb, made to be tucked into voluminous folds of hair, adorned with peacock feathers. Beth couldn't recognize any one designer's signature on it, but that was perfectly fine. That Misha thought of her at all was a lovely gesture. "Oh, Misha, it's perfect!" She beamed and set to putting the comb into her hair. At least she had styled her hair in an updo which allowed using her new gift.

"Does it look great?" She turned her head to the side so Misha could see it in her hair. Regardless of the answer, she continued, "I love it!"

And suddenly she was pulling Misha into an embrace. "Thank you so, SO much!"

Beth instinctively ducked her head under the weight of inspection, but smiled in relief at Misha's kind words. "I don't think it was a bad call to get something in honor of Hera. In fact...." She trailed off as she pulled from Misha's embrace. "I had the same idea! Kind of." She looked over at her pile of gifts and sighed.

She stood and bent over the end of her bed to fish the two boxes which contained the gifts she'd ordered for Misha. She hesitated and then held them out to her friend. "Sorry, I didn't have time to wrap them."

Beth managed to radiate and blush at the same time. "I really like her style. Some of her work I don't understand--kinda geeky stuff, you know? But every piece is just lavish and lovely. I thought the red suited you. You look so stylish!" She grinned, just a bit impish. "Now that you look like you're just wearing the scarf!" She had meant the comment in terms of covering the adorably hideous dress and hadn't thought of the possibly flirtatious way it could be construed.

Beth giggled, one arm automatically going around Misha's back, and the other around Misha's embracing arm. She flushed under Misha's approval. "I hope it matches things in your wardrobe!"

She let her arms fall away and watched with interest to see how she reacted to her second gift. "Pretty and functional, I hope! Both jewelry and devotion, was the idea." She smiled nervously, wondering if Misha understood the significance of the sigils and stones.

Beth's grin widened and she could not contain her glee. "Yes! They're prayer beads! To keep Her with you wherever you go. Though if you just wanted to use them as a necklace, I'm sure She wouldn't mind." It was gratifying to see wonder and surprise appear on Misha's lovely face.