GloomyBear

["ARE WE THERE YET, ARE WE THERE YET, THERE YET, THERE YET????"] Rin shouted from the trunk. 

=_ "Sorry, not yet Rin. We'll be there in a few moments okay."_= Carmen said calmly, looking over their shoulder. ". I looked in the rearveiw mirror, grinning at Rin, and she grinned right back, sticking her tounge out and dropping back behind the seats. "Alright, we're here I said parking by the curb. Carmen opens his door, picking his bag of food up from the seat next to him. =_" All right, out you go"_= they said softly, opening the trunk. [" I'M GUNNA BRING MY FOOD IN TOOOOOO!"] Rin screeched, quickly grabbing her bag of sugar before Carmen could pick her up. "You do know that...plain sugar in not considered food, and I have absolutely no idea how Lore let you bring that." She looked away, alowing Carmen to pick her up.

"Oh, I seee, he didn't did he. Put it back." Rin growled at this, rumping from Carmen's arms and running to the door. She didn't even bother knocking, just ran in and out of sight. I heaved a sigh, rolling my eyes.  =_" I hope she's not causing trouble..."_=. I gritted my teeth and grabbed the cake from the front seat, then we headed in.

[Rin]

[I laughed maniacly, running inside. I clutched my sugar while weaving through the people. I set the bag down behind a chair, Gloomy won't find it there. I jumpped up, waving to people I didn't know. "Alright, I gotta find the food. I'ma starrrrrvin." I said, walking through the house. I heard an unfamilier voice, it kinda sounded like a child. I whipped my head around, searching for the voice's owner. I spotted a boy who looked about my age, but smaller than me. "HOLY $&!#" I exclaimed! "ANOTHER KID....IN MY TERRITORY!!!????" I heard a heavy sigh, Gloomy must be inside. I pounced on the boy, shoving my face in his "Who are you, what are you doin here, whataya got with you, what's with your horns, you smell weird, how old are you, ye may not pass" I got yanked off of the boy by Gloomy who was glaring at me. I gulpped "s-sorry" ]

SO SORRY this took way too long and not really good sorry. also thanks :D also i drew a picture of Callum and it's kind of bad but if you want i can post it XD or do another one

~ 

I can’t think. So many thoughts swirl around my head, so fast I can’t even understand them all. Get up. Break something else. Stay here. Run away. If you made this into a big deal - if you keep acting like it is - is anyone even going to care? 

Callum walks over, says something that doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t seem angry. I focus hard on the words, though, to make sure.

In between blurs and things that can’t possibly be the right words, I make out something about a coffee shop. About Callum working at a coffee shop. A coffee shop.

I leap up, not even realizing I might have misunderstood. “You work at a coffee shop? That’s so cool! What is it like? Tell me everything. Everything. And wait, can we make more? I think - well - maybe did you say something about more cookies later? I - don’t know if you said that -” I cut myself short. "Am i annoying? Probably haha. um - but - coffee shop. just ignore the annoying thing. how do you make that many cookies, anyway -  wait is that -" I step over to the glint on the floor, scan for a few seconds, and finally grab a coin. "HA!"

Callum hesitates, then says something. But my brain is running too fast. My head buzzes even more than normal. I pace the room, fiddling with whatever is nearest to my hands. Why is the world so slow?

Callum, Callum. I need to focus on what Callum is saying. Only now he's silent. I fidget with a pin on my jacket, suddenly exhausted. I stare at the floor.. "er. sorry. could you - repeat that?"

"I'll post our POVs by tomorrow," she said. "I'll write them in a reasonable amount of time," they said. "It definitely won't take me four days," she said. *cough* Anyway, here's my POV (finally)~

*Pangolin*

"Come on, guys, we're going to be late!" cried Fir, barrelling ahead of us, and nearly slipping on a patch of ice. Mirage reached out to steady them. 

"And if you keep running like that, you're going to slip and drop the cookies," Mirage told them.

"Well--" Fir opened their mouth, prepared to deliver a definitely logical and thought-through rebuttal, but then they glanced down at the platter of gingerbread cookies, and closed their mouth. Apparently, their timeliness was not worth potentially damaging the cookies they had worked so hard on. (There were, in fact, still bits of flour from their cookie-making endeavors dusted about their hazel curls and smudged on their cheek, but I thought it better not to point it out. They looked so proud of those cookies.)

"Well, let's keep walking," I said, adjusting my grip on the peppermint-bark-laden baking pan. I think this might be the best batch I've made yet. Arum wasn't coming to the party, but she had delighted in smashing the sheet of peppermint bark into bite-sized chunks with the back of a large spoon. 

We arrived at Periwinkle's house. The front door's open, so we let ourselves in, and I was instantly flooded with warmth--not just because a fire was roaring in the hearth, but because of the welcoming, amiable atmosphere. 

"Hey, Fir, I think the snacks are supposed to go in the kitchen," I told them, leading them through a family room and into the kitchen, Mirage following along behind us. Every sort of holiday treat imaginable was laid out on the kitchen island, but despite the piles of snacks, I somehow managed to find a place to set out the peppermint bark and gingerbread cookies. I snagged a cinnamon roll that looks homemade--yeah, maybe I wouldn't normally be able to eat this sort of stuff, but this is the CB. Anything goes. Even if "anything" has copious amounts of sugar. And gluten. And dairy. It was good, though. I'd have to find who made it and tell them. 

Fir grabbed one of their gingerbread cookies and attempted to bite into it, but it appeared to be rock-solid. They tried again, slightly more aggressively, and managed to break off a bite with a loud crunch. "They're--" They swallowed, with some difficulty. "--they're only slightly overbaked."

"Only slightly," I agreed, but did not take one. We wandered into the living room, and Fir immediately ran off to go introduce themselves to another AE. Mirage clung by my side, looking hesitant. "Do you want to introduce yourself to someone?" I asked Mirage. "How about that AE over there? With the sweater that says 'Winter Joy'? She looks nice." I nodded to a blonde AE with the tips of her hair dyed green.

Mirage hesitated, and then wandered off, though if she was actually going to talk to the AE or just sit by herself beside the fire was anyone's guess. 

~~~

@Moon Wolf, I was thinking maybe Mirage and Astra could talk to each other? (or another one of your AEs, maybe?) Ofc, it's up to you and it's totally fine if not :D

And would anyone like to talk to Fir?  

(also I hope this wasn't too long :P)  

@pangolin, of course! I think they'd be good friends.

*Astra*

*I make myself a cup of hot cocoa from the hot cocoa bar we set up on the counter. I add on marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, a candy cane...basically everything available! On top of that, I also get a cookie.*

*I decide that I need to find someone to talk to, so I go up to a random AE (pangolin's, maybe?) and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Astra," I say. "What's your name?"*

-Lyra-

-I stand by the kitchen table, drinking a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows and eating a brownie. I'm not really sure I want to talk to anyone at the moment. I smile contently, listening to the lively chatter of the guests mingling. Maybe I should try talking to someone, though I'm not really sure.-

---

Anyone want to talk to Lyra? 

Wowo okay sorry I'm late guys! @Blackfooted Bobcat, I'd love to see the picture of Callum! @Bushy Tail, I can walk you through roleplaying. Try your best to copy the format everyone else is using to begin, and don't be afraid to mess up! 

Periwinkle 

"The living room's just that way," I say. "Go into the kicthen, then make a left and walk through the dining room. Let me know if you need any more help!" I smile. "Have fun!" I greet the next few guests excitedly. 

Callum 

Toad jumps up and stumbles over a repsonse to half of what I've said. He seems disoriented and eventually asks me to repeat myself. 

"I asked if you needed some water," I say, a little slower this time. I've already gotten a glass, and push it over the counter him. I straighten my tie and lean against the counter. "Yes, I work at a coffee shop. And yes, we can make more cookies." I allow some silence for him to process what I've said. "I only got to taste a bit of your gingerbread cookie, but in my humble opinion, it was one of the best sweets I've had tonight. If you want to, I'm sure everyone would be pleased if you made some more of them here. We've plenty of supplies if you decide to make more. But it's up to you." I shrug to communicate I am neutral about the matter - I hate putting pressure on people to do things, especially in a "hint-hint" way, and don't want to seem like I'm doing that - and tilt my head a bit.

I'm quiet again. There's some other people in the kitchen, now, but it's still not too loud. I chew on another cookie absentmindedly and wait for Toad's response. 

*Quinn*

*I approach an AE I know is named Lyra because I read the forms. "*Hello, Lyra.*" I struggle to remember if we've met before and chew on a cookie. "*Having fun?*"*

/Chai\

/Hooray! Party! New friends! This is the best day of my week! I run over to an AE I'm like 95% sure is pangolin's AE, Fir. "/Hi! I'm Chai! Are you Fir?? I LOVE your outfit. And your hair. Do you want a cookie???\

@Moon Wolf and @pangolin, hope this is okay! Just got excited and wanted to rp with Quinn and Chai a bit :D

oh, awesome! I think they'd be good friends too :D

~Mirage~

~It's no secret that I've never really liked parties. They're always too loud and too filled with people. This one wasn't even that loud--people chattered quietly amongst themselves, and I thought I heard Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker playing softly in the background, but I still felt overwhelmed. I guess I just found the mere concept of people to be draining. Even if those people were the kind, friendly CBers and AEs of the Chatterbox, I'd still have to socialize and introduce myself. That's never been a very easy thing for me to do.~

~The AE Pangolin told me to go talk to was over by the counter, fixing herself a mug of hot cocoa. I decided to occupy myself with pouring myself a cup of hot cocoa as I worked up the courage to talk to her. There were all sorts of add-ons for the hot cocoa spread out along the counter, and I just added in some sprinkles with a small spoon. Perfect.~

~Then the AE turned to me and said, "Hi, I'm Astra. What's your name?"~

~Well, that was the opportunity I'd been hoping for, all right. "Oh, uh, hi! My name's Mirage," I replied, internally congratulating myself for not stumbling over my words. At least, not too much. "You're Moon Wolf's AE, right? Are you enjoying the party so far? And I really like your hair--did you dye it yourself?" I blurted out, because of course; if I'm not stumbling over my words, I'm bombarding people with them. I bit my lip and hoped Astra wouldn't think  I was weird, or terribly awkward, or anything. She seemed really cool.~

-Lyra-

-An AE of Periwinkle's, who I believe is Quinn, approaches me. "*Hello, Lyra. Having fun?*" they ask.-

-I nod and say, "Yeah, it's pretty fun so far. How about you? Are you having fun?"-

*Astra*

*"~Oh, uh, hi! My name's Mirage,~", she replies. "~You're Moon Wolf's AE, right? Are you enjoying the party so far? And I really like your hair--did you dye it yourself?~"*

*"Thanks!" I say. "I did dye it myself. I'm glad it didn't turn out too badly." I smile and pause, before saying, "I love your outfit. The colors match you really well. And I really am enjoying the party so far. Are you?"* 

I'd love for Chai and Fir to talk :D I think they'd get along really well. Or possibly cause mass destruction :D

(also on Fir's form it says "if I'm going to have brown glasses" but it should be "broken" not "brown" :/ so uh yeah) 

Fir

A green-dress-wearing AE with curly red hair runs over to me and immediately starts introducing herself and complimenting my outfit. "Hi!" I respond. "Yep, I'm Fir! Hey, thanks! I love your outfit, too! It's very green! Very festive! Oh, yeah, cookies! I love cookies! Hey, how long do you think it would take us to try every single dessert here??" 

~Mirage~

~Astra compliments my outfit, and my face heats up. "Thanks," I respond, averting my gaze. Compliments always make me so flustered. Then she asks if I'm enjoying the party. "Y-yeah, I guess so. Parties always make me so nervous, but nothing bad's happened at this one yet." I smile, somewhat shyly. "Are you a fan of parties in general?" 

I'm so sorry i still haven't posted the next thing *sobs* i'm also ADHD so it's a miracle i'm even posting this. but anyway it's Callum :P Only the framing premise looks really weird in the photo. also there are a lot of things i could have done better (if i don't mention them maybe you won't notice??? XD) but ah well. i don't hate it as much as i used to but it's still meh at best.

oh also what do you want Toad and Callum to do?

Toad :P probably like this one less, especially because when i was mixing the colors for the hair the layer of red was way too much so I was trying to save it and then i colored too dark and can't really do much more shading. (also the colors look better irl in general but the hair looks way better in the picture. but the green is WAY more annoying irl XD) but anyway it exists and idk why i'm posting it but i am so

*Quinn*

*I grin. "*Sure am! I just love the holidays, don't you? Have you tried these snacks yet? They are so. Good.*" I pick out a brownie to eat next. "*My sisters made some of them.*"*

/Chai\

/"/Thank you! I love green AND festive!! I don't know how long it'd take to try all the desserts…\" I give a big smile. "/I guess there's only one way to find out! Race ya to the kicthen?\"