nexus_crossings | Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

There is something different about the Nexus this Christmas season. There is a light snow falling over the entire Nexus plaza. The snow is gentle, with no real coldness to the falling snow flakes. As one approaches the main gathering area, they will notice that there are many Christmas decorations, including garland hanging from the air, and there are twelve towering decorated Christmas trees, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. There are also thousands of floating tiny candles in the Nexus plaza, that gently move at their own discretion.

In one corner, there is an orchestra, directed by a Dwarf. All of the musicians are playing music on instruments made from ice. In the center of the Nexus plaza, is a huge banquet table, loaded with holiday foods and treats that showcases a variety of food from different cultures, and some of the different worlds that gather into the Nexus itself. The main delight of the banquet table is that magic can make the food replenish itself, meaning Christmas dinner never has to end. Most will be able to find something they would enjoy. With the added perk that the food is LOL-free.

There are some added little Christmas adventures, for those who get caught up in the holidays. Here are some of the extra options for the Holiday season.

Secret Santa!
There is an added bonus to the Secret Santa gifts this year. The presents will deliver themselves! There are tons of wrapped gifts floating through the air, destined to only drop when they reach the person to which they are intended. Please note that not all gifts will be given in the spirit of the season. There are a few prank gifts floating around too. Be sure to watch out for them!

Christmas Crackers!
There are Christmas crackers scattered among the tables, and in amongst the branches of the trees. They are decorated with festive paper that is twisted at either end like a sweet wrapper. Inside of the tube are prizes, and some contain Muggle prizes such as a paper hat, a plastic toy, and a slip of paper with a joke printed on it. But the rare person will receive a unique, peculiar magical prize, and will envelop everyone nearby in a cloud of blue smoke.

Weasley Sweaters!
Time to try your luck at the Christmas Sweater bin. There is a large rotating clothing rack that seems to have an endless supply of them. Each one more Festive than the last! Pick one and show your Christmas spirit for the rest of the day.

Enchanted Mistletoe!
Be warned Nexus traveler, the Nargles** have hung enchanted Mistletoe all around the plaza. If an unlucky person steps underneath the Mistletoe, they will find that they are magically stuck to the spot, until they can find someone to kiss them. Of course, the kiss can be platonic, familial, or even romantic. For a few unfortunate people, the kiss may be the last thing they would want to do... but it is that or be stuck in the same spot for the rest of the season.

**Nargle Wiki
[Click Here for information on the HP Holiday Event!]
[Your character is free to give other Christmas gifts to people they care about -- HOWEVER, please do not deliver your Secret Santa gift. That will be handled by the Secret Santa moderator. Please post details on your Secret Santa gift in this post please.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's as he's leaving one conversation to find another that the strangest sensation comes over him. The small tug is hard to place. Although he's never felt anything like it before it seems familiar... He stops in his tracks, eyes darting back and forth as he tries to grab ahold of it, tries to follow it.

Slowly, he turns, his forehead creasing in a frown. What is this? He knows this feeling, but he doesn't know it at all. It's a smell, a sensation, a taste, a sound all at once. Crisp air and decaying leaves crunching underfoot.

That's when he sets eyes on her and he knows.

She's like him.

He doesn't know how he knows, but he's certain of it. She's a spirit. He stares at her with the expression of someone who doesn't understand what he's looking at.

He knows. He knows I know. He knows I know he knows. He-

Well. Okay. Hazel has his attention. Now all she has to do is follow the plan. No sudden movements, no stepping on toes. All she has to do is walk right up there--

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

--walk right up there and say hello to the Season running the joint.

AAAAAAAAAA.

She's gripping her glass tightly when she suddenly looks up and turns to face Reynard. Follow the plan. Hazel makes herself close the distance between them. Just follow the plan and everything is going to be alright.

"Hello, Winter."

He's looking at a Season. He's looking at a Season. Not a Fae, not a changeling, not a dryad, but a spirit like him. They exist. He's not alone. He's never been alone, but he's never known until now. Of course there are other Seasonal spirits, Winter whispers to him. How could he have ever thought otherwise? Hubris, maybe, or stupidity.

While he works through centuries of fears and beliefs, she starts to walk towards him, and he continues to stand still and stare. There is a part of him that feels weak, that feels scared, that wants to leave until he can process what's happening. But that part is mortal, and frail. Winter has him standing strong, immovable, impervious to the storm of emotion happening deep within. Setting aside his emotion, he turns his thoughts to more important questions.

Her hair is fire, like Summer, but she can't be Summer. He's sure she can't be. If she's Summer, surely he'd have a visceral reaction. If she's Spring… No. He knows Spring. Knows that smell, that burning. Which means…

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, tilts his head and peers at her. "Autumn…?"

He recognizes her. Hazel hadn't been certain he would and for a moment she feels a rush of pride. The breeze picks up ever so slightly. Hazel would be embarrassed to know just how wide she's smiling out of sheer shocked relief.

"In the flesh, as it were." She glances to her left and right, taking in the frozen symphony and the decor around them. The chill in the air. The dustings of a first snow still clinging to the rails and unwalked paths.

"I like what you've done with the place."

Reynard does some more staring. She's so.. casual about all of this. Is he missing something? Is this normal? Should this not be as surprising as it is to him? He tries to formulate words, but he just ends up making shapes with his mouth, frowning, and tilting his head in the other direction.

Only after she's spoken and he's stared some more does he actually manage to speak. He holds a hand out to pause the pleasantries for a moment. "Wait a minute. You're... You're Autumn? You're... You're actually an Autumn spirit? A spirit of Autumn? You're not Fae, you're a spirit... And you know who I am? You... There are other spirits?"

He looks so shocked.

The rumors must be true then. She's the very first one to interact with him. Hazel nods along with his train of thought. To think himself alone for so long, Hazel cannot imagine the loneliness he must have felt. Yet her kind have had reason to be wary of him, every reason to avoid interaction. Hazel stands her ground as the earth itself looms over her and studies her. Measures her worth. She has the winds on her side and she bears no ill will toward him.

"I am. Drawn here by the extraordinary events that coincided with my Season. It wasn't until I arrived here that I felt your presence. I...I thought it best to introduce myself right away." Hazel's smile has turned small and nervous.

"My name is Hazel."

She nods through his questions, confirming every one. This is impossible, yet here she is. Neither his senses nor his Season can deny it. Unable to question that this is happening, he is left to confront the reality.

It's when she introduces herself with her name that he snaps out of his thoughts. This is his Season, and he is being a poor host.

Slowly, he steps back to give a low, sweeping bow. It has been a long time since he has been so precise, so carefully respectful in his motions. "Reynard North, at your service." His head is still dipped as he tells her, "It is an honour to meet you, miss Hazel."

"You...you're not upset to see me?" From all the rumors she'd been rather worried once she'd realized just who was calling this place part of their territory. But she was more worried to leave without introducing herself lest he think she was skulking around his place.

"It's a pleasure, Sir Reynard. I'm Hazel Tasker or Autumn is fine if you'd prefer not to get familiar. I..I honestly hadn't expected to find you here."

"Upset?" If he sounds genuinely confused by this, it's because he is. "No, Surprised, yes, but not upset."

He holds up a hand to bid her to slow down. It's bizarre and baffling to see her stumbling through her words. Whatever he expected Autumn to be, it certainly wasn't this. "Just Reynard, please. I'm not a human lord, and any title I have is equal to yours..." He exhales, frowning again. "You... don't seem surprised to see another spirit."

"Well it is Your Time and all. I didn't want to seem intrusive."

She's gone ahead and overworried for nothing. Fine job, Hazel. If only she could hold onto the confidence she carries during the weeks she's in Control. It's rather difficult to when she's so much weaker and there's so many unknowns about Reynard in particular. Hazel returns the bow with a curtsy of her own, slightly out of practice but still proper.

"I'm not. Not really. Once I knew you were here it seemed only right to make myself known to you. I've always wanted to meet a Winter in person and make sure I was doing a proper job preparing for them."

"You're not intruding," he says immediately. The swiftness of his response has him swallowing down his awkwardness. He feels like he's appeared in a diplomatic affair with no notion of how to proceed, no context for what he should be feeling or thinking or doing. All he can do is focus on staying calm and figuring out answers to some of the hundreds of questions piling up.

A Winter? Does that mean there are more Winter spirits? If he were more mortal Reynard would be looking for a seat about now.

Instead he clears his throat. "You... You've met other spirits? Other Seasons?"

"No, not personally. It's not terribly common I don't think? There are so few and the world so large, after all."

Hazel tucks a strand of hair behind her ear with hear free hand. This is all still rather new territory for her as well, especially considering who she's addressing here. She tries to look as reassuring as possible.

"This is rather strange for me too, I can assure you. Please don't consider me an expert in our kind, by any means. I've heard of other spirits before, and could have probably tracked them down, but I'm always so busy during Autumn and once it's gone I'm just so tired. It's been easier to travel at my own pace and tell myself if I ran into anyone I'd pay my respects. And, well. Here we are."

Finally, something that makes sense. So they are few, which explains why they aren't bumping into each other and holding parties, vying for their Seasons' attention.

He rubs his beard and nods slowly, eyes glazed over with thought. It's on the tip of his tongue to ask yet again, to be certain that there are other spirits, but they're both proof of that. His hand brushes his bottom lip and then drops as he turns to her again.

"How do you know everything you know if you haven't met other spirits? Who told you all of this?" Maybe he can talk to them. Maybe… Maybe they can tell him everything he's ever wondered. Finally, he could get answers to questions that have followed him for centuries, for millennia.

"You have the Earth beneath our feet. I have the Winds. I listen and I take notes. Of course, it has the downside of all being heresay, but I do learn quite a bit this way."

Hazel's free hand twists and twirls a finger around the smallest gusts of breeze. So soon after her season and yet so close to powerlessness. For Hazel this is normal. This is just the nature of the season. She gave all her magics back when her time was over.

"There are rumors. Whispers. And besides, we've all heard of you." She's certain of that much, at least.

Reynard is back to staring, a frown on his brow. So many questions. They seem to mount endlessly. Once she's given her answer, he shifts his weight to one leg and tilts his head at her. "You know, for someone so open about answering my questions, you're very mysterious. What do you mean 'you've all heard of me'?"

"I..I am trying to answer them."

Hazel frowns slightly. She's not doing a proper job at explaining herself, clearly. Of course he'd be confused. He's been all alone for so long. She takes a large sip of her drink before pressing her free hand to her chest, gesturing to herself.

"You're older than I am. Than we are. We've heard of you because every one of us is only here because of you. That's all. You were the first, and the rest of us followed. Of course you're rather well known."

Hazel is trying her best to explain and Reynard is trying his best to understand. He watches her carefully, brow weighed down with a frown, as if taking note of her gestures will help him decipher her words.

"I don't understand," he admits. He rubs his beard again before using both hands to try and help him ask his questions. "I'm the first… spirit?" He squints, brow shooting up again. That seems… impossible. Surely they were all born at the same time, made simultaneously by some whim of Nature. "Or the first to come to the Nexus?" His expression drops. "Are there more spirits in the Nexus?"

"No."

She shakes her head. Reaches forward and presses the pad of her index finger against his fancy coat right over his heart. The breeze picks up again. The sound of leaves tumbling in the wind, tinted by winter's chill fills the air.

"You're the first to become human. The first one to try and gain a body. We would not exist such as we are without you." Hazel's words carry on the wind and through it, each word falling into Reynard's mind like another tumbling leaf.

It is one thing to be a spirit, intangible and yet present. Acting through nature and for it. But it is another altogether to become human. Or close to it. To inhabit a body of the living and walk among them. They who gave shape and form to the creation myths. The dreamers. The sky watchers.

It is easy to see something else in those amber eyes that stare up at Reynard now. Something primal and ethereal, nothing more than a spirit of the air. But she blinks and it's gone. Because Hazel Tasker is also human, and it's a choice she made because of Reynard's decision to do so first.

"We owe you a great debt." Her voice is normal once more. Quiet and serious.

Yet again, Reynard is left staring, speechless. After a while he flinches as his thoughts creep up on him. He gained a body... Became human... Chose to become human..? A part of him instantly recoils. But he remembers everything... why doesn't he remember this? Why doesn't he know this?

His eyes flick back and forth, and this time he really does look like he could use a seat. He stumbles back a step and half turns away from her, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't... understand," he mumbles. "I don't... remember..."

Maybe he doesn't want to remember. Maybe Winter doesn't want him to. Maybe he just never thought to try, even after all this time... What is he? What is he? Winter, right now, but the rest of the year...

"I'm sorry. Don't try to take it all in at once, perhaps. We've only just met after all..."

Hazel's touch is gentle, like a light on in the window beckoning in the workers from the field as the nights grow longer. She nudges him toward a chair, pressing a glass of cider into his chilled hands.

"All you need to know right now is that I'm like you, and I"m very grateful toward you for being who you are Reynard."

While she talks he lets her guide him over to a chair, but before he can sit, he turns his troubled brow to her, searching her eyes. "I have so many questions." He looks away. "So many questions and so little time."

In this place time snaps and twists strangely, but he can feel it move nevertheless, future becoming past in a breath (and then sometimes resetting or reversing, but such is the way of the Nexus).

He looks back to Hazel and grabs ahold of her arm. "Are you staying? Will you be here even when my Season has ended?"

"Reynard you and I have nothing but time."

Her reminder is soft, gentle as she can make it. They're not mortal like the others here. Not entirely. His touch on her arm is cold but not unkind. It is leaning against a frosted window and watching the snow from the comfort and safety of one's home.

It's taking the first step into a freshly fallen snow and breathing in the crisp cool air. He's asking her to stay. The first spirit Hazel has ever come into contact with at the height of his power....and he doesn't want her to leave. She's flushing slightly and it has nothing to do with the drink she's had.

"O-of course. If that's what you'd like. I've never had the chance to work together with another spirit in person before, and you can see firsthand the work I do to prepare for you. Yes. Yes I think I'd like that."

She's right, of course. They have time, and he has patience. It's the memory of mortal life that reminds him of fear, of selfishness, the knowledge that things can change in the blink of an eye. That she accepts with a blush allows him to relax and relinquish his grip on her.

"That's what I would like," he says with certainty. Though his renown, or infamy, is still strange to see affect a spirit like himself, he's not going to question it any further. Not yet. That it seems to be working in his favour doesn't give him much incentive to either.

He rests his hands on his hips and tries to look close to casual. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" He looks her up and down and hesitates. "Are there... traditions... or duties for this kind of thing?"

There's anxiety slightly that comes with his request. A worry that he'll not be satisfied with her work. That he'll change his mind once Winter's over. She's never met another spirit face to face before either. Her only leg up on Reynard is knowing they exist at all. Hazel manages to quit her embarrassed blushing and stifle her worries for the moment.

She knows all too well the importance of balance. It can become easy for her to get swept away in the details. The numbers, the what ifs. Planning (and worrying) for every possible scenario. It's equally as important to know when to step back and let what will happen, happen.

"I do not. I've been drifting since arriving here, taking in this place and trying to understand it." Hazel spares another look around them at the scenery and the Nexus proper.

"And I really don't know. Probably not? I really truly haven't met any other spirit before you in person, I promise. I'm just stumbling through this as best I can trying to mind my manners."

Edited 2018-01-03 03:39 (UTC)

Generous hospitality is not necessarily a Winter trait, but keeping people he cares about is. And while she doesn't know of any established courtesies between spirits Reynard can't help but feel that it's his duty to make sure a fellow Seasonal spirit is looked after. Besides, it gives him an opportunity to make sure he knows where she is.

Thinking of easy solutions, however, is difficult. "I know of all the bed and breakfast establishments worth knowing," he tells her after a moment. Then he hesitates, shifting his weight from one leg to the other before settling his hands on his hips. "Or... My own cabin, on my world- our world, is... Well." He half laughs. "I won't be using it for a few months."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject