❆ 1st Present ❆ [public video post] [BACKDATED to September 2]

[saltysanta]

[Have a young man in a monocle and top hat, complete with a sprig of mistletoe decorating the band, (which seems to be nothing but a belt wrapped around it) squinting dubiously into the mirror.]

She said this is some kind of..... magical intelligent telegraph, right.....? You just talk to it?

[It's a little hard to use, even after Fumiko had showed him the basics, but he's working on it--and his uncertainty is quickly covered with an irritated, impatient look.]

Right, then. Anyone who can see this, listen up! I'm looking for a reindeer with a red nose or a tall guy with long silver hair! They--he answers to Rudolph. You can probably get the idiot's attention with candy or cakes, okay? He belongs with me, and he's going to be in big trouble if he's here but hasn't tried to find me yet. You hear me, Rudolph? You'd better have a good explanation, or I'm cutting you off from sweets for a whole week!

.....Now, how do I make it go.....?

[There's a long beat of silence between his message and his realization that he's not sure how to send it. Noël's scowl softens a little in confusion as he starts poking at the mirror with a gloved hand; a few seconds later, the message ends.]

Comments

[saltysanta]

[There's a long, long moment of silence as he looks at her, blankly uncomprehending. Finally, he just spreads his hands.]

I can only give you something like that once you tell me what "sushi" and "wasabi" actually are.

[heartguard]

Sushi is only one of the best dishes ever!

[ Unhelpful? Absolutely, and she knows it. It's why she's considering how best to describe it properly, if spiritedly. ]

It's a Japanese dish made of specially prepared vinegared rice and various other ingredients, like seafood and vegetables. Sometimes, even tropical fruits! The presentation varies depending on where you are in the world and the seafood is usually raw. I prefer mine with white rice. Wasabi is a little harder to explain! I think I read somewhere that it's in the same family as horseradishes, cabbage, and mustard? It's usually made into a sauce or paste that adds spice to things. I could probably draw a picture real quick if you need it!

[saltysanta]

.....Yeah, that would probably help.

[heartguard]

You're going to have to try a piece, too! No one should live without the first-hand experience of sushi. I... oh!

[ Give her a minute. She scrambles from the screen only to reappear a moment later and plop down in front of it with a sketchbook in hand. Flipping through the pages, she pauses at a particular one and turns the book to show him a detailed, professional grade pencil drawing of what appears to be all the types of sushi she named earlier complete with dipping cups of the previously mentioned assorted sauces. It's a detailed close up that captures the entirety of the plate, the sauces around it, and even a fair portion of the backdrop, which looks to be a private room inside of a traditional Japanese restaurant perhaps. Someone's had sushi on her mind for a while now. ]

How's that?

[saltysanta]

That's probably good enough.

[Noël studies the drawing for a minute, then ducks out of the frame, straightening again holding a messenger bag decorated with a snowflake. He takes a moment to open it up, turn it inside out, and give it a good shake in front of the camera, mostly for the benefit of Dinah's skepticism, to prove it's completely empty. That done, he sets it back to rights, slips the strap over his head, and reaches inside.

Moments later, he's carefully easing a fair-sized present out, one that's plainly too big to have comfortably fit inside the bag, wrapped in paper with a pretty, snowy pastoral scene on it. He holds it with one hand, tearing the paper back from the top to start revealing a platter of sushi.]

You do realize you're going to get horribly sick if you try to eat all of this by yourself, right?

[heartguard]

[ Closing the book and dropping it neatly into her lap, Dinah leans entirely too close entirely too quickly into the camera in taking in that sizable platter of delights. That smile of hers only seems to widen with those words of his as she considers this, all of this, and the implications. ]

That's what refrigerators are for! [ But more importantly -- ] Where are you? I'm definitely coming to pick that up!

[ In fact, she is already pushing herself up and picking her mirror up. Speak quickly, Noel. This is Urgent. ]

[saltysanta]

You'd probably accuse me of breaking and entering if I tried to deliver it, anyway..... I'm at 1007 Main Street.

[Noël plucks a piece out of the tray and pops it into his mouth, munching thoughtfully as she jumps up to rush over. She may find it an urgent matter, but he doesn't mind nibbling on her gift a little while he waits for her.]

1/2

[heartguard]

[ Good if only because he needs enlightenment about this important matter, the holiday heathen. ]

I'll be there in a minute! Don't eat it all! [ And she cuts the feed from her end. ]

2/2 - ACTION

[heartguard]

[ Kicking off from the ground at breakneck speed, Dinah neatly closes the distance between the street and the yard in a single bound and straightens quickly. With her 'parasol' secured at her back, the only thing that needs adjusting is her school uniform and the backpack hanging off her shoulder. Lifting a hand, she raps on the door with all the enthusiasm one might expect of a child at Christmas and waits, humming all the while. ]

[foeyay]

[the first person at the door isn't Noel. Instead, Kamui greets her with a gentle smile.]

Why the hell are you here?

[heartguard]

[ And wouldn't you know Dinah brightens at the sight of him and then, as though it's the simplest thing in the world -- ]

For my Christmas present! Noel said he was Santa Claus, so I told him I'd believe him if he gifted me a whole tray of really particular sushi and he pulled the whole thing out of his bag like it was nothing!

[ Why, yes, she did just excitedly admit to extorting sushi out of Santa Claus with a smile. ]

He's in, right?

[saltysanta]

It's still months until Christmas.

[Cue Noël walking out with a half-opened, gift wrapped tray of sushi, with a few pieces missing.]

Are you going to stand on the porch all night, or what?

[foeyay]

[Kamui's gaze sweeps from Dinah's impeccable smile to Noel's sushi tray. It stays locked on the sushi tray.]

Noel is Noel. I've never met anyone named Santa Claus.

[He steps back to let Dinah in.]

You can come in if you make him pull out more snacks.

[heartguard]

You've never met Santa Claus? Not even once?

[ Her smile breaks as she blinks rapidly at Kamui. A sadder story has not been told under this roof and she steps in wholly resolved to change the tune of it. That smile of hers is turned on Noel as she steps forward and across the threshold to pluck a piece up and properly inspect that tray. Don't mind her popping said piece into her mouth. That's the best test, after all, and he passes if that expression on her face is any indication. She might just be motioning for Kamui to try it, too. ]

It is kind of early, but maybe we can come to some sort of agreement. It'd be pretty rude to keep pushing the envelope when Christmas is so far away. If you can manage something like this...

[ She's plucking another piece up and popping it into her mouth, curious about what else he can 'manage'. Santa Claus isn't exactly what she'd call a lightweight across the various mythos. ]

[saltysanta]

I can hear you, you know.

[Honestly, he could have just asked, instead of talking like he wasn't standing right there..... Noël gives them both an unamused look, still holding the tray with one hand, and reaches past Dinah to close the door behind her with the other.]

Besides, people aren't supposed to meet us while we're on the job; we show up when people are asleep unless they're in trouble. What do you mean, an agreement?

[Yup, we. He claims to be a Santa Claus, not the Santa Claus.]

[foeyay]

[These two keep using that "Christmas" word. It's weird. They're weird.

That doesn't stop him from darting between them to snatch up at least three pieces of sushi at once.]

What, is this Claus guy strong? [He asks, through a mouthful of fish. Once he swallows, he manages to take his eyes off the tray long enough to meet Noel's stare with an unrepentant glance.] Are you? If you are, can't you just knock them out while you work?

[heartguard]

That's a good question, Kamui! I've never heard of Santa needing to knock anyone out, though. He's all about gifts and holiday spirit, so what do you mean by "we" and "in trouble," Noel?

[ Hadn't Noel mentioned something about being Santa Claus Number Twenty-Nine or something? Intrigued, she reaches to pluck up another piece of sushi, looking at Noel with open curiosity. ]

[saltysanta]

I'm not your damn butler! Sit down if you're planning on eating here!

[Ugh, you two were clearly raised in a barn, if he has to scold you about such simple things, or even do them for you. He half-raised himself, and he still knows that eating should take place seated in a dining room, or at least a parlor. Huffing, Noël turns on his heel and walks back towards the living room so he can set the tray on the coffee table. They'll follow, no doubt; it's the food they're after, after all.

Why is Dinah suddenly so interested, anyway? How they run their business has nothing to do with prying more presents out of him. He'll just..... leave questions of strength aside to address the more important points. (Even if Kamui might find them comparatively trivial.)]

I don't attack people, of course I wouldn't knock them out just to deliver presents. People being awake when I show up usually just threaten to call the police to report a burglar, and I'm too busy to deal with that sort of thing.

At any rate, that job is just one day out of the whole year. The rest of the time, we're out there protecting kids from monsters. There are only nine of us at a time, so we can't be everywhere at once, but it's a lot better than only having one Santa.

[foeyay]

[NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN STRENGTH.

The fact that Noel doesn't understand this just goes to show that both he and Santa Claus are losers.

Still, Kamui does, in fact, follow the sushi tray. The entire tray wouldn't be enough to fill him up, not even close, but the little morsels do make for a flavorful pre-meal snack. As long as he downs four or five of them at a time, which he continues to do.]

Too bad all nine of you aren't here. Then maybe you'd have enough help that you wouldn't complain about holding up one little tray.

[This probably won't help him in his goal to get more food out of Noel. Oh well.]

[heartguard]

I didn't hear anything about that.

[ But she isn't calling him a liar even as she follows the tray and claims a seat on the couch in front of the coffee table. Protecting children from "monsters"... she plucks two pieces up from the tray this time and pops one into her mouth. ]

How? I'd assume you'd fight, but the image of a fighting Santa Claus isn't one I would've conjured up. [ In fact, it's kind of... ] Just what kind of "monsters" are we talking about here? And can we have another tray of sushi, please?

[saltysanta]

Fine.

[The only response Noël dignifies Kamui with is an utterly unimpressed lineface, before sitting down himself; there's nothing wrong with not wanting to act like people's servant, as far as he's concerned. Still, he's willing to reach into the bag at his side, easing out another present that's identical to the first, right down to the wrapping paper and arrangement of sushi inside. That tray goes on the table too, still wrapped.]

I fight with magic. The monsters..... they're generally the twisted, corrupted remains of human souls that have done terrible things or suffered extensively in their lifetimes.

[foeyay]

[Kamui dives for the second present. He tears at the wrapping like a hyena claiming someone else's kill. Dinah has officially kept her word, and he is now a happy camper.

Bonus: With this fun, new distraction, he doesn't bother interrupting the conversation to insult poor Noel again.]

[heartguard]

[ Dinah pauses to turn her eyes and observe Kamui's enthusiasm, which draws a smile. She turns her gaze back to Noel as she pops another piece of sushi in her mouth, wondering over his words. ]

So it's like that.

[ Again, she swallows. ]

'Magic' is a pretty broad term where I come from. What kind of magic? You haven't encountered any familiar monsters here, have you?

[saltysanta]

[Even a sourpuss like Noël can't help but smile a little at Kamui's enthusiasm, reaching for the already opened tray himself; if he made it, he may as well help eat it.]

Ice magic. But no, not yet.

[foeyay]

[The temporarily fond smiles he receive completely escape Kamui's notice. He's chowing down, content to listen between bites.

Ice magic. Huh. He files that away for future use. Maybe the next time he's in the mood for shaved ice.]