[Uncouth T-Rex]

The Winter Festival Has Begun!

Just like every other year Old Vale has once again ceased to be her usual sleepy self and in the colder months of the year become a hub of joy, warmth, and bustling activity! As the chill of Winter sets in the streets of this well-to-do, elegant neighborhood are lined with all manner of vendors, selling everything from baked goods and hot cocoa to holiday gifts for your friends and loved ones. The cobbled or gravel streets may be icy and slick with snow, and the wind may sting the toes and bite the nose, but here everything is merry and bright! Take a walk through buildings from a simpler time, now decorated with bells, lights, tinsel, garland, and everywhere you look, beautiful red bows. Lend an ear to the carolers strolling the streets, or even join in the songs of peace, mercy, and love yourself. Some of the district's more wealthy residents, not least among them the Rosenrots and Vandals, have taken to hosting regular Holiday Balls for the pleasure of all who can attend, either in their own mansions or in attractive public venues. Whatever your business is in Vale this year, take some time to stop by and bask in the welcoming spirit of the Holidays.

[Timeworker]

The streets were bustling with activity much like they always do; however, something was a little different in the air. It was a bit fluffier, a bit more kind and welcoming.
People were hanging lights off the rooftops of the many stores that lined the commercial district. Reefs were abundant and carols were being sung upon a snow dusted street. The clouded sky that would normally bring a cold winter bite,was instead, a soft reminder to the people of Vale that the festival was coming.

Dorothy looked upon everything with great joy. She had heard many things about the festival but this would be the first time she would be able to experience it for herself.
Looking from one of the best point in Vale:Beacon tower. Dorothy was in awe at the abundance of art and spirits in front of her. Nothing could compare to what he felt right now. Of course Dorothy wasn't about to just spectate. O no that wasn't the case at all.

Her ivory cloak had turned into a red one with white fluffy outline, complete with a red cone hat Dorothy was ready to -"Show these guys how to really celebrate a holiday!"Hopping off the tower into a free fall, Dorothy ran down the side of the building at full speed. In a matter of mere minuets she was dashing throug the streets of Vale, kicking up plumes of snow wherever she went. To everyone else she was just a red and white blur that dashed by and left behind a trail of assorted flavours of candy canes with "Happy Winter festival" written on the tags.

Dorothy came to rest on one o the rooftops to see the children scramble for the candy she left behind. It was quite a specticle. She had covered a lot of ground but there was still a lot more to get to. Of course what else are time semblances for anyways?
Yes this was certainly going to be an interesting festival

[The Fox Without]

Warning

Spoiler: ShowHide

While nothing is explicitly described, dark subjects are prevalent in this post

Pale blue eyes with thin slits danced with joy as the faunus walked away from the caroling group, nodding in agreement as promises to sing with them again were made, blowing a kiss from dark red lips to them as she left, smile staying on her face as she walked into the crowd, though the quality changed now as she left them behind, pulling the stole around her as she continued along, the pale blue eyes now losing the warm mirth they had held before, seeming almost like a dolls as she continued through the crowd.

That had gone even better than she had hoped.

The caroling group as a whole had held little interest for the fox, despite knowing she had quite the singing voice. However one of the carolers had held her interest, a girl a year younger than her from the school. The poor dear had been so painfully shy at beacon, somewhat hampering the faunus's attempts to befriend the thing. She was one of the few children of the Lillywalt family, old money who had deep contacts in a large scale hunter management company. Having talked to the girl in the more relaxed setting between carols, she'd learned the horrible news that the families prized dog had gone and run away , leading Rima to assure her that she would keep an eye out for the creature. Though that had been 2 weeks ago and the family had almost given up hope by now.

 As Rima headed to her destination, she checked over the bill that had just been sent to her. 2 weeks of care and feeding certainly added up quickly, sighing as she saw the bill continue to grow, but if she could get an in it was certianly worth it. Perhaps a few more days, wouldn't it simply be divine if the poor thing arrived on the big holiday. She was brought out of her thoughts as she saw her package had arrived about half an hour ago. At the news, the fox faunus's eyes widened in excitement, people walking around her pulling their coats and scarves tighter as the already chilly air took a drastic drop, the chill following her as she walked among the crowd, tail moving back and forth in happiness as her eyes went from tight ovals to a straight line, almost disappearing in reaction to her excitement. Running through her contacts she paused at the M's, savoring the moment and anticipation as bolts of lightning seemed to race across her body. It had been months since she had felt an emotion this strongly, but then family always brought out the best in people...right?

Pressing send, she waited in bliss as the phone rang once.

Twice.

Thre-

Sounds of distress could be heard on the other side of the call, a woman perhaps crying so pitifully to be nearly incomprehensible, the occasional sorry and please making its ways through the blubbering.

Oh yes

This is what Rima had been waiting for since she had sent the package. It was the time for presents, so she had made something especially for the most important person in her life. She'd heard the best gifts were usually hand made, so she had spent days stitching this together. "I see you got my present mommy, I'm so happy to hear it made it safely to you," she told her mother sweetly, only to hear more broken sobs from the receiver, "I know, I know. It's is quite the work of art, I made it myself..." she paused, thinking to herself before shaking her head, even if her mother couldn't see her, "Well I suppose that's not true, a few of the people from the village helped, I actually found Auntie Fross, remember we hadn't been sure if she'd made it out," she paused as she adjusted the scroll, holding it with her shoulder as she brought her tail to her hands, brushing stray snow and debris off the limb as she talked, "Well anyway, I was to track her down, and she was so happy to help me with it, you should have seen her eyes light up when she saw me, the picturesque family reunion, and my was she suprised with my present for you. It took some talking and...negotiating."

"Anyways, you could say there's a little bit of Fross in there, along with a few of our old friends i managed to find, I had to use most of it to make my own stole, but now we have a matching pair, and fox fur is simply the best I think," she said, pausing as another wail passed, before continuing on, "It always reminds me of family, it's almost like their all with me still you know."

The woman on the other side had finally somewhat calmed down, her crying now silent blubbering and the occasional sniffling, a single word coming from her "Why?"

Rima shook her head, they'd had this conversation before, but she answered nonetheless, "Well its the time for gifts, and I couldn't help but give my mommy a gift, to remind you that I am the woman I am today all because of you mommy, see you for the break," she said, silence now on the other side as she ended the call.

Family was important.

Now with that taken care of, the arctic fox looked around, searching to see if there might be anything else that grabbed her attention.

[Timeworker]

Dorothy lost herself in thought as she looked at the scene before her. The boys and girls eating their candy with satisfied smile filled her with determination. She was about to get up and leave to face the elements once more when she saw a caroler finish her song. After a brief phone call she girl looked around, seemingly for something to do. "Well maybe she needs something to make her day a little cooler"not noticing the pun she just said, Dorothy hopped off the building and sped towards the girl. Within seconds she was at the girl's side and was shivering in excitement...or...she thought it was excitement. Did it just get a lot chiller in here? Well of course that wasn't possible unless...the girl was a student!
Taking out her scroll, Dorothy checked her emails and quickly found the picture that matched the girl before her. Mumbling in excitement, the Vacuoian girl rummaged through her giant sack in which she kept all her candy canes for something before producing a blue box.

"Hello! My name is Santa Dorothy but knowing you, a beacon student, you probably know that's a lie. My real name is Dorothy Burgundy and I'm acting as a messenger of HOLIDAY CHEER!"

The words came tumbling out of her mouth like a bursting dam as she failed to control her excitement.

"It seems that a person who knows you has sent you a Secret Santa gift, a service by the way, I only offer to hunter students. Of course it would be dangerous if I just went around giving people unlabeled packages with unknown gifts! Like do you know IRRESPONSIBLE I would be as a SANTA, it could be a bomb!...Anyways, the package is never melt ice cream: Ice cream that has been perfectly mixed with some ice dust to never melt in any temperature! Honestly whoever sent you this has a nice heart, it is quite a commodity in the desert."

After the avalanche of words had finally stopped coming out of the hyperactive time travelers mouth she held out the gift in front of her with two outstretched arms. Blushing slightly now realising how much she probably  just embarrassed herself and over spoke...again
Whatever, this was the first gift she was giving out for a student today! It should be a celebration, not an embarrassment session.
Of course this probably looked weirder to the person she stood in front of now, panting, slightly flushed, and holding a present.
O well lets see how this goes.

[arcus_gray]

Bloody hell It's cold. Was the main thought traveling through Sandy's mind as he swung about the city at ludicrously high velocities in some attempt to warm up. As much as the physical activity was helping get his blood pumping and warming him up a little his cold weather gear was nowhere near enough for fucking snow. I should see if i can get some warmer clothes. Darker colours are a bit warmer right? Maybe a deep Red fur coat instead of this khaki one. It would look seasonal too.[/b] Sandy's thoughts were interrupted when he fired a grappling hook and instead of grabbing a solid surface wound up catching loose snow on a windowsill and found himself heading downwards. "OH SHIT!" Spiralling and falling through the air made it pretty difficult to figure much out with normal senses but fortunately Sandy had something far better. Activating his semblance Sandy was suddenly aware of everything around him and found a ledge he could latch on to and swing down to safety. Right into the crowd. That's a problem for future me. Flipping over once more Sandy arced his body and fired a grappling hook onto the ledge he had located and swung downwards with his feet out in what appeared to be a sitting position mid air. As he swung his feet connected straight into the face of a young woman with white hair. As the connection slowed him down Sandy slowed enough to the point where he could stop himself. coiling up he flipped and retracted his grappling hook and landed on his feet behind the unfortunate girl he has just kicked in the face. "Oh crap. I am so sorry about that. Are you alright?"

[ArosFarron]

Blair arrived in Old Vale and took a deep breath, the cold air feeling great in her lungs. The cold reminded her of home and the festival that happened this time every year. She walked along the streets, her armor now the warmest object she had, and watched as the festival began. A year roles down her eye. She removed her helmet and placed it down on a table. Walking up one of the vendors, she cleared her throat and. Began to speak, her thick Scandinavian accent more pronounced then ever. "This reminds me of home. You, by chance, would not have any Gravlax? It would be such a treat for me this wonderful time of year." While she waited for the vendor to make her dish, she noticed the other happenings around the streets. She wanted to join in but did not know the local customs. The vendor presented her dish and smiled. After paying the amount for the dish, Blair walked over to the table her helmet was on and began to eat, blessing the meal for her parents. She cluched a letter the received the other day close to her.

[The Fox Without]

Rima gave a gracious smile to the rather...festively dressed girl, awkwardly taking the gift the dark skinned girl offered, grimacing inwardly as she got the present. She hadn't heard anything about secret Santa's or the sort, whilst the girl in front of her prattled on at ad nauseum, the faux Santa seeming to continue speaking far past the point of necessity. As...Dorothy told her what the present held, Rima hid her disgust with practiced ease, having never developed a sweet tooth, a happy smile filling her face as she reminded herself to make her tail wag slightly. After all it was the little things that people seemed to catch onto.

"Well I must say, you certainly seem diligent," the girl certainly seemed...energetic. At the information that the girl had somehow singled her out as a huntress, or at least one in training, a small spark forming in her mind, "I'm surprised it was so easy for you spot me in the cro-," her words were cut off as she felt a stinging pain lance through her face, her aura coming up to blunt the majority of the blow as she fell over. As she landed, a sharp snap could be heard in the air as frost spread quickly from where Rima had landed, the legs of pedestrians nearby were now covered in a sheet of ice, thick enough to stop many of them from moving. Pushing herself up on her shoulders, the Arctic Fox swept her eyes quickly through the crowd, looking for the source of her current state, thin slits of a pupil locking as she found her attacker.

Short. Slender. Blonde. Some sort of Dog faunus judging by the ears. She commited this all to memory as she stared at the dog, and for a second all the glamour fell away. All that was left was cold dead eyed faunus staring at her attacker from within a circle of ice. As the second passed though the facade quickly came back as though it had never left, tears welling on the fox's face as she stared up at her assailant. Tears weren't easy, but the pain helped, and years of practice letting them come all the quicker. Saying nothing as the boy tried to check on her, she simply flinched back from him, deciding to see how things played out before taking action.

(i'll let yall decide wether or not your characters get caught in the ice)

[Timeworker]

Dorothy sensitive ears twitched in the freezing wind. The girl in front of her seemed to be taking her energy quite well! Which was a well welcomed relief. The present that she brought filled her clients face with a smile that brought warmth to Dorothy's heart. This was the reason she was doing this after all. OH! and her tail was wagging too, the whole ensemble was just adorable! The girl was just about to speak when Dorothy heard it, a slight shift in the air was all she needed to leap back with great speed shield raised. She wasn't a third year for nothing after all. The flames licked at the edges in a soft orange and red glow as she saw a person violently connect with the nice fox Faunus she was talking to.
How rude!
Of course it was always more surprising to see a sheet of ice spread out from where the girl touched the ground.
Crouching down low behind the fire shield, the ice melted into a small river as it got near her. Dorothy saw some pedestrians got caught too in the wild display of semblance use. As the dog Faunus approached the fallen fox, Dorothy got up and ran over.

"Hey, hey what's the big idea? You should watch where your going bud you could've seriously hurt somebody!!" the tone of voice took like a mother scolding a young child as she helped the fallen girl back on her feat.
"You should apologize to this young lady here! Unless of course....you did that on purpose..." as Dorothy finished her sentence, the happiness and excitement bled away into a cold drone. For all she was concerned this dog faunus could be anyone, and attacking a student would be a serious offense. It wasn't the fact that she didn't think the fox could defend herself (if the sheet of ice below her feat was anything to go by) but it was about the principle of the thing.
Raising her flaming shield towards the potential assailant and one of her hands disappearing into her cloak, Dorothy prepared for a fight, ears flattened against her head.
Bad children got coal for the holidays...in this case coal would be presenting itself in the form of many sharp blades.

[arcus_gray]

The ice appeared as Sandy was turning to face the girl he had just kicked in the face and he paused for a moment before using his aura to shatter it and continue turning. When someone else stepped between them and raised a burning shield between them Sandy couldn't help but get some pleasure out of the warmth it created but he was still able to react to the aggression. He raised his hands in a defensive posture "I was apologizing! I swear this was an accident. I screwed up and started to fall. Swinging in like that was the only way i wouldn't go splat. I was hoping i wouldn't hit anyone but i got unlucky and couldn't steer clear in time. I'm really sorry about this." Sandy was talking at speeds that matched Dorothy's rambling from earlier as he tried to explain why he had accidentally kicked the snow Fox in the face. Was she crying? With that becoming noticeable Sandy felt even worse about his screw up.

[Siuwa]

Catalina just walked past as the scene happened in the corner of his eyes. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt much...

[Uncouth T-Rex]

Marlon Murk tramped happily through the streets of Old Vale, a song on his lips. He made for quite a sight as he went, his deep voice booming out the carol from his dearest childhood memories, his hearty and fulsome frame wrapped in a red velvet and white fur greatcoat, and his head topped in a wreath of holly. Over his shoulder was thrown a bulging sack almost as large as himself, but he bore it well and with great merriment. Wintertide in Vale was so much nicer than on Yrrch, here even the coldest of Winters was safe and warm and full of time for all the tender things that could be had when survival was not the only aim of the season.

Truly, in his heart of hearts, he was happy in a way he had not been in some time.

As he went, whenever he passed a child or someone in need of cheer, in went his black-gloved hand to one of his coat pockets or sack, and out came chocolate coins, candied fruits, candy canes, or a festive trinket. Many blessings and good tidings passed through his lips, and strangers, if they cast a glance upon his rough and weatherworn face, could not help but notice the ruddy glow of merriment blazing like a hearthfire from within.

Onward he went, the chill as kind as an old friend to him, until he spied a fellow Beacon student, Miss Tempest, speaking with another young lass who appeared to be out for the same reasons he was. She was, as always, pretty as a picture, although not so pretty as some...His heart grew even merrier as he thought on what he meant to give Fortuna when they next met, and he gave silent thanks for Melinda's skilled needlework and willingness to pitch in. He was a smith, not a tailor.

A faunus, clearly out of control after falling from his...grappling hooks maybe...careened into her and managed to knock her to the ground. Things escalated quickly from that point, the other girl producing a burning shield as Marlon hoofed it up to them and dropped his sack between them as a deterrent. "Hold on, ya'll need to bring it down a few notches! It's Wintertide, can't ya all just be peaceable and be forgivin'?" he cried, brushing off Miss Tempest as best he could, taking special care with that magnificent white tail. "I happened to be watchin' a ways off and saw this here boy," he jerked a thumb at the dog faunus, "just went flibbertigibbets in midair and had to think fast. Guess it wasn't fast enough." He kept most of his attention on Miss Tempest though, and deftly brushed away her budding tears with a surprisingly gentle hand. Without smearing any makeup to boot, Cheri had showed him how to avoid that after he made her look like a raccoon by accident once.

"See, no real harm done, Miss, and he sure looks awful sorry. Cheer up, there's a good lass." he said, his voice dropping back to a bass rumble as he produced a bouquet of poinsettias from his sack and presented them to the upset young woman, patting her kindly on the shoulder with his free hand.

[ArosFarron]

Blair watched as the events unfolded around her. She finished her meal and managed to get up just as the ice reached the table. She walked over to the group of people and smiled, waving her hand. "Hello. What a mighty fine festival this is. It reminds me soich of Felwinter. I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce my self. I am Lady Blair Velka of Felwinter. It is a pleasure to me all of you." She bowed as she pulled her axe out, igniting the fire dust within it and placing it in the ground, forming a small bubble of warmth around them.

[Janus Rogo]

Bundled in all the warming layers he'd picked up over the past few weeks, the Mercenary shuffled patiently through the city. He enjoyed this time of year. The cold was refreshing, like being at high altitudes, just with less effort. The decorations across the city were beautiful. More... soul than he'd have seen in his old home. Atlesians were a bit more... Well, a bit more Atlesian. He chuckled at the thought, looking at the ribboned archway into one of the more populated districts. There was a slight pause, almost a hitch in his step, as he walked into the area. His good mood fled, rapidly. That'd been happening regularly these past couple weeks. No amount of booze, sleep, or distractions had kept his spirits up so far.

Pretty easy to feel down after being responsible for not just one, but two of the biggest atrocities in years.

Janus Rogo shook his head. The ushanka on it had a slightly musty smell to it, when he'd picked it out of a thrift shops bargain bin. Nothing a bit of dish soap hadn't been able to fix, however, and he found it keeping his head warm quite effectively. The flaps helped to hide his face, as well. Under the thick winter coat, he had partial armor, as well as the Tyrant, split down for concealment. Sure, he was likely being overly paranoid, since the news had failed to make any mention of him, but still... Better safe tha-

His attention snapped over as he saw the boy drop from the roof. Maybe don't run around like an idiot and this won't happen he thought to himself. He was momentarily surprised by the boys recovery, though. Something semblance related, going by the reflexes. It wasn't the most graceful of landings, though, when he collided with the Fox Faunus. Nor was the reaction of everyone around them. He heard the startled reactions of the crowd as the Fox panicked, sending a radial blast of cold out, freezing numerous bystanders in place. The older student she'd been talking to had managed to get a shield in the way, while the rest of the students seemed unfazed, and used their Aura to resume moving.

None of them paid much mind to the bystanders, however, and with a fair amount of them lodged in place, this seemed impermissible to Janus. He moved into the crowd, boots going to work. He kicked apart bits of the ice, trying to placate the crowd.

"Hey folks! Sorry for the trouble, everyone! Urban cold weather training! Not an actual fight! We'll get you guys cleared up and on your way!", he shouted. There was a smile on his face as he stamped a foot into the ground, approaching the students, but it seemed one of irritation, more than anything else. He stamped again, channeling his Aura into the blow, and watched the ice sheet fracture, then break apart, letting the rest of the crowd start moving. "So sorry, everyone! Happy Wintertide!"

With that, the crowd slowly, warily started moving again. The voice of the older Huntsman was clearly somewhat effective. That same older Huntsman turned towards the others with a sharp glare.

"Are you students out of your goddamned minds?"

[Uncouth T-Rex]

Spoiler: ShowHide

While you're free to react to this, I just wanted my characters to do holiday stuff so consider this a sort of musical you can read and unless you have a really good idea that you want to PM me for, keep interaction with everyone except Marlon to a minimum. Eventually my entire "cast" will make an appearance, so just be patient if there's someone you're wanting to see.

Siegfried Rosenrot and his darling wife were out and about on the snowy streets of Old Vale, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of their favorite time of year. The children were off somewhere playing in the frost, making snowmen, waging wintry war upon white-walled palisades. The cheer and goodwill of the season abounded wherever they went, as arm in arm the pair went along, dispensing warm greetings and blessings to all who came near. He was decked out in crimson finery, the usual ruffles in his regency suit replaced by a puff of elegant white ermine scarf round his neck and his garments accented by a spring of holly upon his lapel. Winnifred wore a dazzling blue dress patterned in snowflurries of sparkling glass beads with a flowing ermine overcoat, letting her blonde hair down to catch the flakes as they fell.

As they came around a corner to an open area with a frozen fountain, they looked one another fondly and smiled. Siegfried, recalling something he'd told her years ago, began to softly sing, his eyes never leaving the woman that held his heart. Slowly, they began to dance, moving apart and together in time to the pace of his song. Swirling around the crowd and moving between onlookers who had stopped in their travels to take a gander, they stepped perfectly in tune with one another. As his words rose in intensity and speed, the power of them carried the dance along with it, until they were mounting benches or spinning past lampposts, and finally dashing up some nearby steps to then slide down a wide stone banister. As he ended the song, they were elegantly circling the fountain on its rim, and after the closing word, he held her close and kissed her beneath the angel at the fountain's center.

[The Fox Without]

Rima watched in earnest as the display seemed to gather all sorts to her, giving a wining smile as the massive human helped to brush her off, even going so far as to wipe her tears away. How sweet.

It took all her discipline not to shudder in disgust each time his hands passed over her, a small shaking in her body that could easily be attributed to the after effects of her crying the only outward sign she gave to her distaste at anyone touching her tail. Taking the bouquet, any further interaction was interrupted as a man showing signs of aging came in, playing the whole thing off as a simple drill and freeing the remaining people trapped. She had to admit, she was pretty impressed with his ability to spin the whole situation and work the crowd so easily. As he rounded back on them, it was obvious that he was rather irate with them, Rima standing up clutching the bouquet of poisonous flowers to her chest. "My apologies sir," she said, a slight quiver in her voice as she spoke demurely to him, avoiding his gaze as she stared slightly to the side of him while her tail wrapped defensively around her legs, the very picture of vulnerability, "I'm afraid I may have acted on reflex, I should have been more careful," she said. There was really nothing in the event that warranted an apology from her aside from a few cold legs, and Rima knew it. However, these three had already shown they were a bunch of fucking bleeding hearts. Either he continued on their case, with Rima currently placing herself center of whatever he had to say and at least one of them would rush to her defense based on her assessment of them so far, or this would defuse the situation to some extent. Either way she wagered she had at the very least found some interesting prospects, hopefully she'd find someway to make use of them.

Except the dog, she had other plans for him.