It was perfect.
Athene had initially come across the place during one of his patrols and had, over time, been back and forth along the sidewalk running along it for long enough to know that the place had not operated as a shop in some time.
Senshi strength combined with a loose board had been enough to secure an entrance way and whilst it wasn’t exactly festive - well okay it was completely un-festive - it would serve its purpose.
Namely as a spot for a gift exchange.
Normally Athene would have suggested his apartment, or perhaps a coffee shop, or even the park - but the park was too cold and Liryn had been pretty insistent that everyone needed to be powered so that he could hand over his present..
Although he was keeping even the hint of what said present was under wraps...
And Athene had done his best to make the place more cozy - more festive, having spent a couple of days before the actual meeting trying to clear up to the best of his ability and bringing some christmas tinsel and baubles to hang up about the space as well as some candle-lit lanterns.
He’d bought a flashlight too so that Liryn could have a more powerful light in case he needed it and he’d even bought snacks - sandwiches, cookies and some mini cupcakes as well as a couple of thermos flasks with hot chocolate.
Looking over the space, Liryn couldn’t help but think that Athene had done a good job - that they had done a good job - because he had totally helped with the decorations - even if help had consisted of him, picking up a bauble here or a bauble there and tugging out pieces of tinsel by the end.
Because the small tabby bobcat would have loved to have switched to his other form and help, the large energy signature that came with it made it too much of a risk.
And besides whilst it was true that the apartment would have been much cosier, Liryn very much thought that this place looked pretty cosy too...
And he needed an outdoor space due to the nature of his present - because he had finally, finally finished up on his little app of his own for the senshi phones and had decided that Athene, Eleonora and Alcor would be the first to have it.
For now though however, with everything set up as much as it was going to be, all he needed to do - all they needed to do was wait for the twins and then the impromptu gift exchange little mini party could start.
Borrowing their parents car, Fiona parked the vehicle a few blocks away from their destination in a well lit parking lot. At a glance, in the dark, the run down neighborhood felt a bit intimidating if not shady but this was the area Arian had asked to meet so it must be safe.
“I’ll get the sparkling cider, cups and blankets if you could get the gifts please.” Fiona opened the door and set her scarf on the seat before powering up and wrapping it around her neck. There was naught to be done about her legs but sensing the two nearby aura’s made her feel confident enough that her poor sister wouldn’t freeze to death before reaching them.
“Yeah, sure” Eleonora powered up next and sat back down inside the car to swap her sandals for something a bit warmer. More than nippy, it wasn’t long before the Senshi of Heat was shivering uncontrollably. “Just pray I don’t dr-drop it” she added before wrapping one of the fleece blankets around her shoulders and grabbing the two boxes from the back seat.
After locking the doors the two hustled their way across the parking lot and down the street to the boarded up building. “Knock knock!” Ele hollered through one of the broken windows.
Liryn picked up on the twin warm blazes of senshi auras first, the auras followed not long after by the sound of a familiar voice.
Purplish eyes turned towards Athene "It's Ele and Alcor."
It was a little unnecessary perhaps, given that if he was picking up on the twin auras, then Athene was certainly picking up on the auras, but it didn't stop him from doing so even as he trotted over to the door. "Hi Ele, hi Alcor come in and Merry Christmas!"
Although it would have perhaps been more accurate to call it Merry Post Christmas, since it wasn't the 25th.
Liryn didn't care.
It was December-time and Christmas period time and he was with friends with treats around so to him it was Christmas.
Athene had been working on lighting the last of the lanterns but he straightened at the sound of Eleonora's voice before getting to his feet and following after Liryn as the other half bounced his way cheerfully over towards the doorway.
A glint of silver from the top of the mauvian's head drew his attention briefly, the source a piece of tinsel that had somehow ended up atop the small tabby bobtail's head and a part of Athene wondered if he should tell Liryn.
It was followed by a second part of him wondering just how Liryn had managed it given that he had been tugging tinsel rather than rolling in it.
He shook his head, lips curving up into a half smile, because the made the small mauvian look cute - well at least cuter - and then his lips widened into a slightly wider smile as he reached the doorway, standing to the side to allow the twins entry.
"Hi Alcor, hi Eleonora" and whilst Athene's voice was quiet, it was equally as genuine as Liryn’s more enthusiastic greeting "I hope the two of you had an enjoyable Christmas."
“It really was! We went to Arizona to visit with family for the three day weekend. It’s amazing how quickly some of our cousins have grown up.” Alcor stepped aside so her sister could go in first, poor things kneecaps were probably about ready to fall off at this point.
“Best part was that there was no snow!” Not that Ele was not happy to see her mother's side of the family but this weather they were experiencing in Destiny City was a bit ridiculous. “Oh wow…” She paused a few steps into the building in awe. “You two have been busy!” Looking down at liryn she couldn’t help but smile “It looks amazing.”
“Had I’d known you two were going to go all out I would have offered to help out.” Glancing around Alcor assumed it took maybe an hour or two to get everything cleaned up and decorated. Even so, it made the place feel more homey and warm especially with the candles lit. “We brought drinks-”
“And -” Eleonora snapped her mouth shut when her sister lifted a brown in her direction. A moment longer and she would have given one of the gifts away. “...presents” she added hesitantly. “The bigger one is kind of for both of you but Liryn gets to open it. The smaller one is for you, just don’t shake it.”
"It was Athene's idea" Liryn admitted cheerfully as he brushed up against Eleonora's legs in greeting, the movement causing the piece of tinsel on his head to shift "He baked the cookies and the cupcakes fresh this morning - but I helped with the decorations." At the mention of cupcakes both twins looked at each other. A silent conversation undoubtedly passed between them but neither spoke up about it.
He padded over to brush up against Alcor's legs too, his ears pricking up at the mention of presents.
"Thank you - we bought presents with us too" he paused purplish eyes gleaming, "Well Athene bought presents with him."
He winked "I actually need your senshi phones before I can give you yours."
"I can't claim full credit for the cookies" Athene said as Liryn took the opportunity to pad over towards Alcor, "Just the sugar ones - the molasses spice ones are actually my cousin's - I was over at hers over Christmas and she gave me a batch to take home with me."
He added "And I thought that it would be fun to have the place a little more festive."
Another smile "And thank you for the presents and the drinks, as Liryn mentioned I've brought something for you too although he’s been keeping mum on what his present actually is."
He gestured towards the two thermos flasks "And we must have thought alike on the drinks - I bought some hot chocolate." At least he was hoping that the two thermos would do their jobs so that it was actually hot chocolate and not lukewarm chocolate.
A quick glance was enough for Athene to realise that he’d forgotten to dig out the mugs "Well at least I can once I take out the mugs."
“Hey” Eleonora laughed at the irony of it all. “At least we won’t have to worry about the drinks getting cold or warm.” She shifted the packages to one hand to wiggle the fingers of her other. “Alcor can make the cider cold and I can heat the coco up” She winked at them before laughing. What a random yet practical use of their magic.
The bluenette couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her sister in a playful yet amused manner noting the truth of her words before she leaned down to give Liryn a few scritches and to remove the string of tinsel from atop his head. “Would you like the phones now or later?”
"True" Athene admitted with a laugh as he dug out the mugs that he had brought along with him.
A part of him was curious about what he'd said to prompt the earlier glance between the two sisters, the curiosity reflected in his eyes although he didn't say ask about it, opting to instead carefully set the mugs down next to the two thermos flasks.
Liryn purred at the scritches, as he thought over Alcor’s question "Now please" he said after considering it for a few moments before tilting his head to glance in Athene’s direction as he added "And I'll need yours as well - I can work on them whilst we're talking and then we can open presents." Because he was very much looking forward to opening the twins’ present…
However he also wanted to download the latest app - his finally, finally finished app - onto the phones too.
Downloading the app won, albeit barely, because Liryn wanted to see what the three senshi would think of his new app.
At Liryn’s request Athene summoned his senshi phone before setting down near the flashlight "Here" he said.
After finding a place to set the gifts down on, Eleonora summoned her senshi phone and placed her phone beside Athene’s; her sister, Alcor, followed suit a moment after. “What have you been up to?” She asked curiously since it had been a little over a year since he last asked to see it.
"I've been working on a new app for the phones" Liryn said cheerfully as he reached for the closest phone - Eleonora's phone. "It's been a long term mini project."
He continued as he switched on the phone "Ash came up with the distress signal app and I wanted to come up with an app too and so I created a flashlight app..."
A cat grin "Which is finally finished - and you get to be the first to get it."
"I'm curious too" Athene admitted as he reached for two small wrapped boxes and handed one to Alcor and the other to Eleonora. "These are from me - I hope you like them."
On opening the neatly wrapped boxes the twins would find necklaces.
Alcor's was a necklace crafted in black white and silver, whilst in Eleonora's case he had gone for warmer colours and had shaped the pendant in the shape of a flame.
“I’m excited to test your app out!” Eleonora added as she knelt beside Liryn and gave him a brief scritch atop his head while he worked away on the phones.
Her twin was the first to open her gift, “Oh my goodness…” her jaw dropped in a speechless manner which prompted the Senshi of Heat to open her present next.
“WOW! You made these???” The surprise on her face said what words could not as she stood up to give Athene a hug.
“They are beautiful,” Still in a bit of shock Alcor removed the necklace from the box and undid the clasp to put it on.
“Look at you getting fancy with the wire wrapping,” Ele jested with a wide grin and a teasing wink. “I tease I tease...You really are very talented, thank you.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Ok it’s your turn!” Quick to go grab the two boxes she had carried in the pale haired Senshi gave each to their respective owners then rocked back on her heels in a child like anticipation.
"I'm really glad that the two of you like them" Athene said, as he returned Eleonora's hug with a somewhat awkwardly affectionate one of his own, because he had really wanted to make something handmade for his friends this year.
He took the present that Eleonora handed him with a smile and carefully opened up the wrapping paper..
...And then it was his turn to look surprised, his eyes widening as the contents were revealed.
"Oh wow" he breathed in quiet appreciation as he stared at the glass bead making kit before looking up at the twins "Thank you - thank you both of you."
Liryn had just finished downloading his new app to Alcor's phone and carefully nudged it next to Eleonora's phone before padding, well okay it was more like bounded, closer to the box.
And whilst he carefully used his claws to open up the box, he wasn't nearly as restrained as Athene.
"Ooh these are lovely" he said as he stared at the newly revealed contents of the box "Thank you."
He winked "And I can see great minds think alike."
He turned his gaze on Athene, his cheerful voice excited "Athene come and have a look at these."
Athene had been reading the cover of the bead making kit box, but he walked closer to the small tabby mauvian at the sound of Liryn's voice and peered down at the cupcakes.
"Liryn's right they are lovely and perfect for the occasion" he said smiling. "In fact they almost look too lovely to eat."
Although he wasn't going to let that stop him - because he loved cake.
“Haha don’t say that.” Their mom said that once when she made ones that looked like sunflowers with an Oreo center. Yeah, it ended up basically mummified on the shelf before finally being thrown away much to their mothers pouting face.
“Trust me they’re worth eating! Fi made them yesterday and I may have stolen a few.” Eleonora winked at her sister, not that she didn’t know that some went missing from the baking tin. “Anywho, we weren’t quite sure if you’d be interested in learning how to make your own glass beads since you already make the ones out of clay. Which are beautiful mind you. But it seemed to be another fun medium for you to try!”
“So, Liryn. Tell us about this app you’ve been working on.”
Athene laughed "They might look almost too lovely to eat but my willpower isn't that strong" he admitted. Because it wasn’t any real secret that he had a sweet tooth "But I’ll let Liryn have the first pick."
He continued "And yes I’m always interested in trying out new mediums for beads so I’m looking forward to trying it out - although I should probably warn you that you that you may end up with some of my experiments with it."
…And by 'may' Athene meant almost certainly.
“I don’t think either of us will object” Eleonora interjected, giving her sister a teasing nudge with her elbow.
Liryn laughed before using a paw to carefully pick a cupcake decorated as a red and yellow bauble "I’ve been working on a flashlight app" he admitted "I thought it would come in handy for exploring and stuff - particularly on home worlds."
And he had really meant to finish it up earlier, much earlier, however at least it was done now…
Which reminded him - he still needed to do Athene’s phone.
Reaching for the phone in question he selected settings and started the download of his new app before continuing "The app causes a beam of light to be emitted through the camera and it should have a decent range" because he’d been aiming for around 30 feet or so.
“Hey! I’m totally game for trying it out.” The topic of homeworlds had come up about a week or so ago when she had rescued Scholomance, or Ice, from being locked out of his apartment building. Her wistful musings of wanting to go seemed to have been answered however, Alcor had thus far been unwilling to go on an adventure but with the four of them then maybe she could be convinced!
The look on the blunettes faces basically said it all; wary but not completely opposed to the idea. Still, she looked to Athene for his opinion “It definitely sounds like a useful tool at least; one less thing to pack.”
"It really does sound useful" Athene agreed. He and Thraen had had to bring a flashlight of his own along during the time when they had spent the weekend exploring his own home world and having it integrated into the phone would have meant one less thing to take along...
Well two if you counted batteries.
His quiet voice turned amused "Is that a hint that you want to visit Athene more?" Because it wasn't really a secret that Liryn enjoyed what he called space travel - even if a lot of said travel seemed to have come in the form of being yanked to places.
He looked over at the twins, his eyes thoughtful as he continued "I know we haven’t really talked about it but do you want to see Athene some time?"
Because whilst Athene hadn’t really explored as much as he perhaps could or as some of the other senshi he knew, he was happy to take the twins if it was something that they were interested in.
"Well if you’re offering then yes" Liryn said. "I like space travel."
Unfortunately it wasn’t something that he got to do as much as he would have liked. "But it doesn’t just have to be used for home worlds, although if you do decide to go then I’m always happy to come along" he turned a cheerful look on the twins "And the same goes for you as well - there are some really interesting places out there."
“I’d like to go!” Eleonora thrusted her hand into the air with an enthusiasm that rivaled a know-it-all kid that wanted to get picked by the teacher and for the first time this evening Alcor knew that her sisters bouncing had nothing to do with the cold.
“It depends on when. I have work the next six days but then I have the following three days off.” Grace had covered one of her shifts while they were on vacation visiting family, this week it was her turn while her co-workers in laws were in town.
Athene couldn't help but be a little amused at Eleonora's response, because the enthusiasm in her voice made him think of Liryn and the small mauvian's general reaction to any opportunity to space travel.
At Alcor's comment he nodded "That works for me if it works for the two of you."
And then because he felt he should be honest about it "I've never tried to take more than one person with me to Athene before - but I have ferried people to and from the Moon and so I'm pretty certain that I can take both of you with me" he glanced towards Liryn as he added "As well as you Liryn."
And whilst there was the chance that he wouldn’t be able to take more than one person with him - that taking people to his homeworld wasn’t like taking people to the Moon - Athene was willing to take the chance and try anyway.
Liryn grinned "You'll like Athene" he said cheerfully to Eleonora "It's a bit dusty but it's also a lot warmer than Destiny City right now." He looked at Alcor thoughtfully as he added "Although your jacket might be a little too warm."
Athene nodded at Liryn, "True," he admitted "Although that really isn't that hard because Athene generally tends to be a lot warmer than Destiny City."
He looked at Alcor "Although it does cool down a fair deal in the evenings."
“That is the one fortunate thing about my uniform. It is quite adaptable.” To emphasize her point Alcor took ahold of her broach and undid the clasp and shrugged her coat off. With it out of the way it became rather apparent what her fuku actually was “It's an ice skaters outfit.”
“Or a bathing suit with a skirt!” Eleonora beamed an amused grin in her twins direction. To which the Senshi of Cold deeply friend in reply.
“Thanks…” she replied with an embarrassed pink tinge to her cheeks. “I appreciate that one”
“Not a problem!” sisters… even as adults Ele liked to push her twins buttons.
Athene nodded "Well either way it works" he said with a smile that was slightly on the bemused side.
"And it's more adaptable than mine" because his outfit wasn't made for the cold any more than Eleonora's was - although Athene was well aware that the senshi of heat had it worse...
Because at least the powers that be - or whichever cosmic power it was in charge of outfits had seen fit to give him boots.
Snagging a cupcake for himself, a white ornament decorated in green and red, Athene took an appreciative bite before reaching down for his senshi phone.. And then immediately took another because the first bite had been so tasty.
He waited until he had finished chewing before saying "The cupcake is delicious thank you" before asking "Can I get either of you a hot chocolate or a sandwich or something sweet?" He turned to included Liryn in the question, waiting for responses before adding "By the way how does the new app work - is it a tap to activate?"
Liryn nodded "It’s my first app so I kept it simple - tapping the app will activate it and tapping the app a second time will turn it off. "And I think I’d like to have some of the cider first, but I’d love one of the fish sandwiches" because he knew that Athene had put a few salmon ones in.
Eleonora leaned over to pick up both her and her sisters phone then handed the frost encrusted looking one to her twin. “May I have a cocoa and sandwich please?” She asked Athene before taking a seat and messing with her phone a bit.
“Hmm a sandwich actually sounds good but I think I’ll have some cider instead.” Digging through one of the bags she brought in, Alcor produced the said bottle and used the side of a counter to remove the cap since one of them had forgot to grab the opener. “Would you like some too Athene?” She asked while pouring the bubbly apple juice into two cups.
“Woah that’s bright!” Eleonora blinked several times to clear the cyan dots from her vision. She had made the mistake of pointing her phone at an object with quite the reflective surface when she tapped the new app Liryn had installed which bounced the light back at her. “30 foot range? I believe it.”
"I think I'll go for some hot chocolate first" Athene said in answer to Alcor's question as he picked out a couple of the salmon sandwiches for Liryn and placed them on a paper plate, "But I'd love to have a bit of the cider later.
He glanced over at Eleonora as he asked "Did you have a particular preference for sandwich? We've got salmon, BLT and roast beef." Although he had more of the BLT and roast beef than salmon.
Reaching out to pick up the closest mug to hand - a red mug decorated with a moustache - Athene turned briefly in order to pour out some of the chocolate from the thermos before turning back to offer Eleonora the filled mug.
He was in time to see the screen of her phone light up with a brilliant light.
"I like how you've managed to get the screen to light up like that" he said quietly as he placed the plate in front of Liryn before taking another bite of cupcake.
Liryn had been studying Eleonora's phone too - or more accurately he had been studying the light - with a thoughtful frown.
"Actually the light should have projected from the camera" he admitted "I was aiming for more of a beam."
And whilst the phone was working like a flashlight, it looked like he had gone a little off somewhere. "I'll have another look at it at some point and see if I can tweak it."
Although that would probably wait until he was next at cat HQ.
Eleonora hit the back button on her phone to exit the app before setting it down and accepting the festive mug. “I'll take a BLT please.” She smiled up at him, or at least she hoped she was as her eyes readjusted to the candle lit room.
“You know, I haven't messed with my phone lately,” Alcor commented as she set the cider beside Liryn’s plate. “But I almost wonder if it is a phone setting that needs to be fixed. I know when I've downloaded apps on my normal phone it made changes to the presets. Could the app have been coded with the screen as an optional default by chance?” It was a possibility worth noting but she had faith the Mauvian knew more about the phones and how to fix them than any of them.
Liryn gave the salmon sandwiches a thoughtful look "Maybe" he admitted. "And whilst Ash taught what to do, I wasn't actually involved in developing the smart phone upgrade."
He padded over the short distance between them to brush against Alcor's leg before padding back and taking a bite of one of the salmon sandwiches.
"And it's my first app to boot, I'm sure that I'll be able to figure it out though" and if not then he could always try and get hold of Ash and see if the grey-furred mauvian would mind taking a look at it.
"I'm sure that you'll be able to figure it out too" Athene said quietly as he set a couple of BLT sandwiches on a plate for Eleonora before adding one of the cupcakes that he had baked onto the plate - the particular cupcake one that he had decorated to look like a Christmas tree.
“Ooh yum! Thank you.” Ele beamed a smile up at the Eternal as her sister took a seat beside Liryn. “You should definitely have a bake-a-thon with Fi oneof these days.” To which her sister nodded her head at that the idea.
“Man, I feel so spoiled right now.” She commented before taking a bite of the sandwich. “Great food, amazing friends. Don’t get me wrong it’s been one heck of a crazy year but we made it!.” By the skin of their teeth at some points.
“Here’s to a better 2017?” Alcor raised her cup of cider.
“To 2017!” The Senshi of Heat chymed in.
Athene laughed as he picked up a couple of roast beef sandwiches and a mug of hot chocolate for himself before adding a couple more of the ornament cupcakes to his plate.
"I'd like that" he admitted as he paused to pick up a cupcake topped with a snowflake before heading over to take a seat of his own.
He slipped one of the ornament cupcakes onto Liryn's plate and offered the snowflake-topped cupcake to Alcor before raising his mug - a black mug decorated with polka dots - as he said quietly with a smile "To 2017 and to friends".
"To 2017!" Liryn echoed cheerfully "And to space trips that you take me along on." He drank some of his cider before adding with a wink "But mostly to friends."
Litian
