Welcome to the Winter Wonderworld!

[dray]

⫸ WORLD: A crystalline pocket dimension
⫸ AGENCY: Shared
⫸ LOCATION: See above
⫸ EVENT: The Winter Gather Exchange!
⫸ NOTES: This is a general info post and a place to RP with one another and with the host, the enigmatic Noya Fosse


Part I: Arrival
You find yourself drifting off to sleep, or perhaps merely daydreaming, with the faintest sensation of a cold breeze tickling the back of your neck. Then, as darkness subsumes you, you feel the brush of hundreds of heavy flakes of the most beautiful, crystalline snow. This snow glints in all the colours of a frozen rainbow, prisms of sourceless light that blind you until you push your way forward into... into what, exactly?

The place you arrive is nothing like home: a frozen den of sharp pillars of ice support a mirror-smooth roof. Like the court of a powerful ruler, this place is fit to impress. Treasures of every kind and shape are frozen below the floor and along the walls: look but don't touch, please! The main hall is artfully littered with places to sit for creatures both large and small, and to one side is a never-ending buffet of cold and hot food (and drinks, and of course you know there are marshmallows) attended by little icy creatures not completely unlike flitters.

But what takes your first impressions and blows them away is the owner of this odd little place. A sinuous dragon of crystalline grace rests upon a raised dais on a throne molded of snow. Her scales seem to reflect the globes of light gently shining down on the room, and she is currently in deep conversation with a very furry creature made, it seems, to exist only in the deepest cold.

A chubby little flitter wings over to you (or perhaps it's a small fleet) with a pelt of heavy fur.

::Welcome to the Winter Gather! Noya chose you to partake in her riches and get to know one another. The Nexus is back! The Nexus is back!::

That thought fades from your mind as the flitter scoots off to its next duty, though it sounds like a triumphal cheer.

Welcome to the Winter Gather, it seems. What do you do next?


Part II: The Revelation
(To be posted on December 19th! For now, feel free to post a mingle starter and tag others, get to know them, etc!)

Comments

[kinrrataiyath]

Baneo did not often look impressed. The scar dividing his face diagonally from jaw to eye ridge gave him a permanent scowl. Yet as the ice melted away to reveal a toasty fire, the red wore an expression of pleasant surprise.

:: That'll suit me fine indeed, :: he said as he stalked away from his companions. Baneo crouched down, wings flaring wide, then launched himself up with two solid flaps until his claws curled around the lip of the opening. He hauled himself in, shooing flits away like insects before his feet.

:: Move aside, little one. Let me take care of that. :: Baneo sucked in a deep breath, the air hissing down his throat, then belched a short, crimson ball of flame onto to the fire. As the flames leapt high, greedily taking in all the kindling offered, Baneo sat himself down with a satisfied sigh and stretched his forelimbs towards the blaze.
:: Now that is pleasant. ::

On the ground below, Stacurik dipped his head in a respectful bow to Noya Fosse.

:: Thank you for your kindness, queen. His temper may be sour, but he is a dear friend and brother to me. None of us are accustomed to the cold. We come from a place of tropical heat. ::

:: You know... :: Baaki closed off her mental threads so that they reached only the blue beside her as she sidled closer. :: It's not often we have some time alone. We could go for a walk. Take in the sights. ::

The reaction from Stacurik was a blast of giddy delight, panic, and guilt that washed out like a wave from his normally controlled mental bands. He clamped down on his emotions quickly, casting a glance beyond the violet eyeing him coyly to the two humans mingling with the other party goers.

:: Ah... Our bonds. They're right... I mean they're so close. ::

:: I was only suggesting a stroll, :: Baaki retorted, her tones still light and playful. She gave Stacurik a light nudge with the tip of her muzzle, then stood and slunk forward with feline grace to bow before Noya. :: Thank you again for your hospitality. I believe I will take some time to admire the beauty of your realm. ::

As Baaki moved off deeper into the crystalline cavern, Stacurik hung his head and released the sigh of a doomed man.

[dray]

The crystalline queen raised her head, giving a kind of regal permission. ::Be well and prosper. Your world and ours is opening to new possibilities. Don't you think it's time to be open to others presented before you?::

[kinrrataiyath]

Stacurik inclined his head toward the queen on her throne.

:: Were it that simple, :: he said. :: The bond we share with our riders is at once a beloved tie and a manacle. We cannot indulge in our interests for fear of what harm it would cause them. It is better if she... and I... allow this opportunity to pass. She will have many other suitors. She is beautiful. ::

The words trailed off as Stacurik stared after the violet dragoness now meandering the back corners of the halls, her neck stretched up to give her a better vantage from which to see the sparkling, multi-facetted crystals all around. The light they cast off dripped across her scales and gave her an ethereal light all her own. And Stacurik drooped once more.