[party post] And to all a good night

[beyondriftmods]

[OOC: Annual winter post. :3 Both Decembers, the comments have been up in the thousands. The post is open all of December until January for all/any winter/holiday shenanigans. Quick reminder, you are encouraged to tag around, tag to other threads as well as making your own. Feel free to spam! :D]This December in Chicago is as filled with

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[thelightofgrace]

Charlie Wellman is sitting on the top of Kashtta tower, just looking down at snow covered Chicago and the people milling beneath them. He goes up to the roof sometimes to get a small bit of privacy, and the chance to stretch his wings, and tonight is no exception. He's stripped down to tank top, wings stretched out behind him.

Arguably, it's a little cold for this kind of behavior, but sometimes, a little cold can be a bit sobering. It silences the voices in your head for a little while and lets you rest.

Sometimes, Charlie just needs that small moment to rest.

But that doesn't mean someone can't pester him.

[thelightofgrace]

He turns at the sound of the voice, his wings stretching and resettling as he does, and he smiles. "Hi, there." It's not the most elaborate greeting, but it's all he's got right now. "What brings you up here?"

[magicandpudding]

Luna tilts her head to the side, "I know people come up here sometimes," she tells him with a small smile. "It's nice up here, gets you away from things, even if it's perhaps just for a little while,"

She blinks owlishly and pauses before searching in her bag. She pulls out a small navy blue box, tied up with a white ribbon. "Here, Merry Christmas," she says, stepping forward and holding it out to him.

"I'm making them for everyone," she says, "I'm not quite sure what you've gotten, but I do hope you like it,"

[thelightofgrace]

"Thanks, darlin'," he says as he takes it from her. "That's very sweet of you."

There's a pause as he looks the box over, before pushing his finger along the edge of the wrapping paper to see what is inside.

[magicandpudding]

"That's quite alright," she says with a faint smile, "I just thought it would be a nice idea to spread some Christmas cheer,"

She tilts her head to the side as he tries to peer inside, "I'm afraid you won't be able to see. I put them all in little boxes too," she tells him, "But you can open it if you like, it's your present,"

It's not like there's a law that says one has to only open gifts on Christmas day.

[thelightofgrace]

He shrugs at that, before starting to tear off the paper, and open the box. "Is there something different for everyone?"

[magicandpudding]

Luna nods, "More or less," she says, "I made so many, but I did try to make them all a little different. I made brooches or rings or just simply little charms or ornaments. I'm rather good at making insects and little animals, like rabbits, cats and owls,"

So, that'll be what's inside, Charlie. It's a big lucky dip of handmade love.

[thelightofgrace]

His smile widens as he opens the box, and he nods. "I think this is a rather fantastic gift, darlin'. Thank you."

[allthesigns]

Sarah's eventually moving into the Tower. Being disowned by your father means you have to find somewhere else to go, and it's such a recent development she hasn't thought to tell anyone. Besides, how do you bring that up in a conversation? You kind of don't, and she's okay with that.

She likes the roof, for similar reasons, so at first, she'll take a step back. She doesn't want to intrude on anyone's privacy, but it's a familiar face. A familiar face she hasn't seen in a while and she really wants to.

"Hey," she says, a quiet smile on her face. "I really like your wings."

[thelightofgrace]

Charlie hasn't seen Sarah in a while either, and he's been meaning to get around to it. It's hard to be an angel of death in a city like this, and he has been meaning to talk to her.

When he hears her voice behind him, he turns with a small smile. "Thanks, darlin'," he nods. "I'm rather fond of them myself."

[allthesigns]

The smile remains on her face, and it brightens a fraction when he turns back to look at her. It's very hard to be an angel of death in general, but knowing that Charlie is here, Charlie is older and he's been there for her--it's a comfort.

"They're beautiful," she says of his wings, and she moves to sit next to him. "How long have you been out here?"

[thelightofgrace]

He shrugs as he turns to face the skyline again, just letting the cold wind rustle his feathers a bit. "About an hour, give or take. Just wanted to give them a little room to breathe."

Them being his wings. Not that he was used to having them out, but keeping them in too long always tended to make things complicated.

[allthesigns]

Sarah takes a deep breath and looks up at the skyline herself, allowing a moment of silence to descend upon the both of them after he replies. Chicago can look beautiful under a certain lighting. It's so easy to forget sometimes.

"If you were looking to be alone, I can still..." her voice trails off as she juts her thumb toward the door. "I just wanted to say hi since I hadn't seen you in a while."

But breathing room and a moment to one's self is always important.

[thelightofgrace]

He glances over at her, and shakes his head. "I never mind your company, darlin'. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

[allthesigns]

"In that case..." Sarah flashes him another small smile and shifts comfortably next to him, taking in a deep breath as she looks out over Chicago. Snow makes it all look like such a winter wonderland, almost cruel in its deceit.

"You celebrate Christmas, Charlie?"

[thelightofgrace]

Chicago may be ugly, but it wasn't ugly all the time. As far as Charlie is concerned, stands to reason that sometimes, Chicago gets to show how beautiful it can be, given the proper prompting.

But he'd never be able to actually articulate it that way, so for right now, he just nods. "I do. We used to have big family dinners back in Iowa."