insert appropriate christmas lyrics here.

[notsaintly]

WHO: the occupants of the troll burrow and you!
WHEN: today!
WHERE: fred and george's rooms at the MAC, magically expanded to accomadate all your holiday needs.
WHAT: holiday partying!
WARNINGS: i don't anticipate any, but will update as needed.
FORMAT: whatever you guys want.

[ food is courtesy of ginny and kanaya, and there's plenty of holiday

Comments

OPEN and super-late

[tastesrainbows]

[ kanaya reluctantly pulled herself away from tank's party to make it back here. she made a promise, and she wasn't going to back away from it. so she was working fervently in the kitchen, working up a storm and trying to get everything cooked and ready.

at short times she'd feel confident enough to test her abilities at moving things, snatching the threads of various ingredients and reeling them in carefully so they don't make a mess. she'd dropped a knife in the wall while doing this earlier, but contented herself with the fact that no one saw her do it, and resolved to cover the mark until she was given opportunity to respackle it.

she really only ventured out of the kitchen to drop off finished dishes, but made sure she was always free to be interrupted when she did so ]

[girlyboywonder]

[ It's just trolls and gingers. Trolls, people she's pretty sure used to be trolls, and gingers (nevermind that she fits right in with those parameters), as far as the eye can see. She'd told Tavros she'd come to his Christmas party (as Redbird, of course), but oh man is she ever regretting it. Parties have never exactly been her thing.

But lo, a familiar face, bearing a dish of something tasty-looking! ...A face that... probably doesn't constitute as friendly. But, hell, Carrie will take what she can get. She sidles over to catch one of Kanaya's trips out from the kitchen, making sure to put herself in the other's line of sight, and trying to manage a cool little smile and a nod.

Really it just ends up looking like an awkward little smile and a nod, though. ]

[tastesrainbows]

[ kanaya's eyes widen as she notices redbird, doubletaking and letting her glance linger as she made her way to the table. she started glowing brighter and she hated herself for it, but tried to play the whole thing off (yeah right) as she finished delivering the platter

[girlyboywonder]

[ If she'd thought time would decrease the awkwardness, well, she'd been terribly mistaken. This is just... worse. But she makes every attempt not to let it show, keeping her face studiously neutral and relaxed. She leans against her chosen doorframe, flapping a hand dismissively. ]

Not so far as I'm concerned. It was a City-thing.

[tastesrainbows]

[ what the hell was that hand-flap? god, fuck that hand-flap. she hates that hand-flap. (ugh, she is so doomed)

she purses her lips, trying to disguise the disdain from creeping onto her face, but instead just ends up pouting a little ]

It is perhaps more complicated than that may lead you to believe. Maybe... [ she squeezes her eyes shut, trying to force the words out. she shouldn't be here, this is a bad idea, abort abort abort. but nope, instead she ends up blurting the words out in a rapid string, perhaps hoping redbird wouldn't catch them all (but she was still enunciating clearly enough, so little chance of that) ] ...An amplification of sorts with regards to unexamined feelings perhaps already present previous to that encounter.

[girlyboywonder]

[ Don't mind if Carrie just stares for a second or two. The cool act has gained a few worrisome cracks in it, but that mask does a decent job of hiding the fact.

This sounds like one of those things. Those Troll Things. She just barely manages not to shift nervously in place or glance around. ]

Sorry, uh. English, please?

[tastesrainbows]

[ oh god oh god oh god. her eyes widen as her lips tighten with further frustration, and her faces pales a little from the embarrassment. she couldn't exactly come out and say "i think i might hate you," that would be completely inane sounding, even if there weren't considerable cultural differences to be considered. by all accounts, kanaya considered her feelings toward redbird right now entirely unfair to the other girl.

but that did little to lessen them. if anything, she was deeply frustrated with being in this situation, and while she knew intellectually was by no means redbird's fault except that the she was rather physically appealing and easy for kanaya to hate, emotionally she felt led to disregard all that and direct this frustration at her, increasing the hate further. ]

I. Don't. Know.

[ that is so entirely inadequate, hurry up and find a deflection ] As previously stated, said feelings remain unexamined.

[ wow good job, you are so good at this ]

[girlyboywonder]

[ Feelings. Why does she have to mention feelings. The only feelings involved in all this that Carrie wants to think about are confusion as to just how she'd managed to provoke such a violent response, and regret that it'd turned out so badly.

But maybe she's misreading this. It's entirely possible! It's a whole other species, after all, with who-knows-what-kind of social cues to miss. So, taking the optimistic route, she frowns and leans in a little. ]

You okay? You're looking kinda... pale.

[tastesrainbows]

[ well, not so much anymore, as all the blood starts collecting in her cheeks and she brightens as she leans away ]

I'm not sure what you mean.

[girlyboywonder]

Uh.

[ ...Had that been the wrong move? She'd wanted to show that she didn't dislike Kanaya (much), and harbored no hard feelings for the other night. But this is sort of... the opposite of the reaction she'd hoped for. She leans back again herself, one hand fiddling unconsciously at one of her pouches for nervousness. ]

...Nevermind. You fixed it.

[tastesrainbows]

[ oh god she's blushing, isn't she? oh god oh god oh god just kill her where she stands it would be so much easier than trying to handle this what does she even do she is so bad at this

because it isn't like she dislikes her exactly. were she considering the matter more objectively, she might even consider redbird a good enough person who she might find some common ground with on some matters. she certainly wouldn't think her deserving of death, she just...really hates her. for reasons. weird troll things reasons

but there was something she still wanted to ask her, the closest she might get to any sort of proposition at this time, and she couldn't let her complete failure to deal with her feelings get in the way of that ]

You were, um, all things considered with the situation, a rather skilled fighter, I...uh, couldn't help but notice.

[girlyboywonder]

[ Awkward and halting as it is, that's the kind of conversation Carrie can manage. She brightens obviously, straightening out of her discomfited slouch and managing an actual smile. ]

Thanks. You work the portal-deal pretty good, too.

[ No feelings, no troll-stuff, just talk of fighting. Awesome. ]

[tastesrainbows]

Yes, well, they've been teaching me. At the Institute, I mean.

[ and she responds to redbird's brightening by doing the exact opposite, though in her case it's actually a good sign when she isn't glowing so much ]

But I haven't been given as much opportunity to practice unarmed combat, actually. I usually feel as though I'm...clumsy with it, lacking in poise and the proper knowledge of an appropriate response, instead hazarding my way through until by fortune or persistence my opponent finally yields.

I was, um... [ oh nevermind, there's that glow again ] ...I hoped to inquire whether you might be willing to better instruct me on such matters.

[girlyboywonder]

[ There's a quick little scale of internal reaction to that, beginning outwardly with a startled blink and coming to rest in a half a smirk. It's still weird to hear people ask her for training, when she's spent most of her time in the City asking it from other people. But after that comes a little glow of pleasure, because she really is happy to spread the knowledge she's picked up-- and finally, there's a twinge of smugness. Her deal with Tavros apparently doesn't look so bad to Kanaya anymore. ]

Full-on willing, actually. [ She pauses, brows cocking a little pointedly. ] Still think all that's a bad idea for Tavros?

[tastesrainbows]

[ ...yes. maybe. stop asking hard questions! ]

Let's not drag him into this right now.

[girlyboywonder]

[ There's an incredibly skeptical arch of her brow, but she lets it drop. For not. If this is going to become A Thing, there'll be time later to clear that up. ]

Well, anyway. It'd be my pleasure. Got a day you're free?