Joyeux Noel

[Azure]

OOPS, FORGOT, BUT IT'S NOT TOO LATE. THIS IS OPEN FROM NOW UNTIL I DECIDE TO CLOSE IT BECAUSE IT'S AN NA TRADITION AND DAG NABBIT, WE WILL CELEBRATE.

Continuing the NA tradition The official Cottage of good cheer is open from now until --. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, well you can just mold it to your own liking. Any one of your characters is allowed to come and is invited. A party? Working to fill the ninja world with little toys?
 

Do You Hear What I Hear?

[cntrstrk14]

Alchem Syaoran sat alone in the cabin, looking out the window as the snow fell. He had arrived purposely early, having left his "mark" here last year so that he could easily arrive in the years to come. It was calming to watch the snow gently fall in the night, the sun had set only an hour or so earlier but even now the darkness had overwhelmed the small cottage as the lanterns outside and across the lawn lit up the white ground spectacularly. Getting away, even for a few hours or so, was a blessing in the life that was Alchem Syaoran. He was tired, that was the only word for it, tired from his duty and his responsibility. It was as if the entire world was on his shoulders from sun up to sun up, and allowing himself to loosen his mind while watching the snow was a comforting release. The glass of "April in Konoha" could also have been adding to the relaxation he felt.

Kia had been very adamant about him coming up to the cabin alone while she stayed at home with Lily. It had been nearly six months since he had learned of his daughter, and in that short amount of time he had been trying to learn how to be a father as well as a world leader. Kia had noticed though, and this was her way of letting him relax and clear his mind. She knew he could not do so when they were near, that he needed to not only be alone but needed time without any responsibility. Just an evening at least. Plus Kia had refused to let Syaoran take Lily anywhere via space time jutsu, after the first time where she ended up puking all over the treehouse living room.

The Tsuchikage wore a comfortable set of clothing, his almost pajama like black pants fell down to his feet which were wrapped in soft brown slippers. He wore a jersey for a local rugby team, the Metropolis Colliers, in their Red and Orange with a tall collar. The colors were split diagonally from shoulder to hip, ironically lining up near perfectly with Syaoran's large scar, with the orange on bottom and the red on top. His brown hair was as it normally was, attractively unkempt as it hung unwieldy over his forehead. His emerald green eyes flickered over to the large grandfather clock that stood in the spacious cabin house.

"It's about time."

ooc:

Alchem Syaoran

Reference for Drinks; Feel free to ad or improvise.

[Mr. Kitty]

-knock knock-

After jiggling at the door and failing to get it open, Mistletoe sighed. She only stepped out briefly for a tobacco break for working so hard the entire year. Her first break of the year, and she manages to lock herself out, somehow. Hoping someone would open the door, she shivered. Mistletoe was wearing a thin, red shirt with white stripes across it and was not expecting to be outside so long.

"Come on..."

She turned her head toward the cold and opened her mouth, blowing out steam as if she was still smoking. Her green jinglebelled shoes crunched in the snow as she shuffled them for warmth.

[PandaMattMatt]

"Hurry up Yuugure!!!" Called Yuuki playfully as he bounded through the snow as if it were a light summer rain. His hair was wet and wild, but covered by a thick wool hat of red with a white trim and a puffy ball at the tip of the hat made from the same fabric as the trim. Behind him grudgingly trudged a somewhat small dog of black and white. Normally the dog, named Yuugure, would be ahead of the boy hollering back at him; the only difference this time was the large, brown, single antler tied to his head.

"Why are you making me wear this?" Said Yuugure in his beastial tongue. Despite being able to speak the language of man, Yuugure felt as if it would be more menacing if it were spoken in the canine dialect. "I saw it in a book!" Answered Yuuki with an evil grin. "I hope Ryouki get's here soon. I have a present for him!!" Yuuki said. The young Inuzuka had abandoned his normal attire for a somewhat more comfortable look. He wore a black shirt of a light material, a thick, warm hoodie over that and the new pajama pants his mother had gotten him. This was the first year that Yuuki had been allowed to go to the Annual party. It was mostly because he had a canine partner now and some battle experience under his belt.

"I hate the snow." Said Yuugure maliciously. The small dog wasn't necessarily cold considering that he was a ninja canine, but he still hated the temperature. "We better get there soon."

"I can see the lights!!! LET"S GET MOVING!" Called out Yuuki with more gusto than Yuugure thought possible. As the two ran toward the lights of the cabin another figure came into sight. A young woman in thin clothing stood outside shivering and shuffling her feet.

"Hey miss. Here! Are we locked out?" Said Yuuki taking off his hoodie and tossing it to the woman without so much as a warning. Most boys Yuuki's age would have stared at the woman, but Yuuki was different.

After knocking loudly on the door, the young Inuzuka turned to the woman and introduced himself. "I'm Yuuki!" With one of the brightest smiles he could muster, Yuuki couldn't help but laugh. Despite his lack of warm clothing, Yuuki was warm enough, it was normal for Inuzuka to be a bit more resistant to the cold than others. Looking down at Yuugure, Yuuki glared an introduction out of the dog.

"I'm Yuugure. Can we just bust the door down?" said the dog angrily in the human language.

OOC:

Inuzuka Yuuki

Yuuki's pants (I got these for real! )

[Mr. Kitty]

"'fraid so, kid."

She stood, short and childish with her back against the cabin. She kicked the snow beneath her; still fresh, the snow fell gently back onto the ground. She knocked on the door again, seeing as the kid wasn't wearing as much as he should.

"The name's Mistletoe, and you have a talking dog."

She wasn't surprised. She worked in a factory where a fat man in a red suit threw presents down the western world's chimneys on a vehicle pulled by flying grazing animals. She was usually cheerful around the holidays, but for some reason, she was not amused at her, the kid's, and the dog's situation.

"Do whatever you want."

[PandaMattMatt]

It took Yuuki a moment to realize the stature of the woman was somewhat off, but he didn't mind. He just simply smiled once more and faced the door. Without even really trying Yuuki punched the door, directly below the nob. It quickly swung open and warmth came flooding in. Taking his first steps into the cabin, Yuuki was distracted with the damage to the door. So quickly turning around, he laid his hand on the busted wooden frame and allowed his Wood element jutsu to pour through. In no time the door would work like it normally would. With that Yuuki strode deeper into the cabin. Looking around he saw a man sitting by himself. It took Yuuki only a moment to realize who the person was. It was none other than the tsuchikage.

"Wow! You're the Tsuchikage! I'm Inuzuka Yuuki! It's a huge honor to meet you sir!" Said Yuuki a repsectful distance from the man, while bowing. Yuugure sullenly walked up behind Yuuki muttering to himself. Looking up at the Alchem and said nothing.

[Azure]

“Up on the housetop, reeeeindeer paaaaaawwwwsahhhhhweeeeeee!”

A light carol murmured through the air, progressively getting louder and louder until a cheery squeal lofted into the cabin within less than a second. The smell of soot and pine followed the next ‘whooshing’ vacuum deriving from the quaint fireplace. As he had made his entrance every year, he continued the tradition by arriving via the chimney, a celebrant of the yuletide symbolism. Since the door was also precariously stuck, which really made this unconvential entrance innovative. As the sac of red and white splashed the hearth, it alit with warm and happy embers- blazing gallantly like it had been fueled for hours. Of course, that was only after the clump of clothing was on the other side of the grate.

The figure twisted around, his long obsidian hair accentuated the burley suit of red cloth and white puffs tied together with a black leather coat. He hadn’t the luxury of bending dimensions to get here soon, but he rather liked taking the longer- flying route. It allowed him to gaze in awe at the snow dusted hills and silent reverence of northern nature. It had been some time since the Hokage had seen the Tsuchikage, but it was abnormal for nearly anyone save an Akimichi to gain the belly Yatako appeared to have acquired. His lean figure now how a bump, like he succulently enjoyed every delectable morsel in all the land, now that he was the highest political power in the region of fire.

“Syaoran!” Yatako called merrily, sewing a fine smile to his mug. He began to rustle over to the man, one of the closest men he ever knew. He always enjoyed these winter parties, being promoted kept the two men away from each other from a while- but time nor space or any arms race shall keep away guy love! “Hello Yuuki, glad to see you could join us.” He greeted while ruffling the boy’s hair a bit before going in for a handshake with Syaoran, but he could happily turn it into a brief hug, no homo. “Bring the ‘nogg?”

[Rhap Sodos]

One word could easily surmise Sayuri's current outfit word:

Layered.

Skin-tight synthetic body armor was hidden by her more normal indigo hakama and t-shirt, concealed beneath her knee-high boots and sweatshirt concealed beneath a heavy, brown, woolen jacket that fell to her knees. Two sets of gloves, a scarf long enough to be wrapped several times around her neck, a brightly colored hat complete with ear flaps, tassles, and even a little poofy ball on top. The effect was to leave the Sunagakure kunoichi looking at least twice her normal size, barely able to move inside the heavy layers with only her purple-blue eyes visible above [beneath?] the swarth of clothing. It was a desperate attempt to kept the Kaze no Kuni born warm, and put as much distance between that horrid, falsely innocent, wet, cold, slippery, hazardous, physically impeding cold mess that was snow.

Well, Sayuri did rather like the hat.

And so she trudged towards the cabin, knowing that trudging was the only accurate way to describe the stomping, rugged movement she was making in her attempts to move forward. It was no graceful, it was not cheerful, it was not welcome, but at least it was progress. Thanks to the efforts of the others before her, she was able to enter the cabin quite easily, relishing in the light, warmth, and most of all dryness that greeted her, before she garnered a look at who else had already arrived.

Her eyes darted to who she could've sworn were the Kages of two of Wind Country's neighbors, and she suddenly found herself glad that she was all but completely concealed, because it served quite nicely to cover the furious blush and the look of pure panic that must've flashed across her face. Well, at least there was one other ninja roughly her age, and judging by the the respectful distance he was keeping from the Tsuchikage, he was probably like her, a bit of nobody invited here to enjoy the festivities. Well, that was some relief.

And so, it would be with painful slowness the Sayuri began to peel the various layers off her body, taking her sweet, sweet time about it, knowing she would gladly accept every second in hopes that it would: a. allow her to get a better composure and b. allow for less well-known, world-shattinger shinobi to show up.

If only she knew where the hell to begin.

[Draiko]

A young girl from the mist bounded in large hops across the snow covered ground, her excitement for the holidays not contained. It didn't help she was already a little loaded on sugar, having eaten varies holiday cookies and candy canes to boot. What could be seen of her face was tinted a light shade of red from the outside cold, as her skin was pale and more so preferred the warmth. She wore with gratitude the now cherished hooded sweater that she received from her parents. It was blue with pockets in the front and made for an excellent zip up, but what she enjoyed almost more than its warmth was the elongated hood. The hood resembled the tail of a dragon, a little triangle at the end and felt spikes lined up to the top, meeting the two gray horns. As she neared the door to the cabin, she kicked the snow off her fitted black winter boots and stepped it, removing her boots as courtesy and shaking out the bottom of her comfortable denim pants. Her green scarf still covered the bottom half of her face, but she was a little too shy to remove it, seeing some important faces in the cabin.

Stepping away from the door in her sock feet, Doragon Tenma sneaked over to a spot in the room not inhabited by someone and looked around nervously. Her blue eyes glimmered like a dragon's gem as her pupils slivered from the jitters, hands fumbling around in her gray dragon claw mittens. She hoped there were cookies, as it was to be a party and parties should always have cookies, especially gingerbread and shortbread at this time of year. The thought of cookies and sweets calmed her a bit, so the little dragon girl lowered the scarf from her face, the warmth adding some color to her pale face. Her long, brown bangs swayed from side to side as she looked around curiously, her right eye still covered by hair. Maybe she didn't have to be nervous after all, it seemed to be pretty safe. In her observations, Tenma noticed the woman bundled up. 'She must not like the cold all that much, huh?' She had thought to herself.

Edited December 26, 2010 by Draiko

[cntrstrk14]

Syaoran moved to answer the knock at the door, thinking it odd as the door was certainly not locked from his memory. Before he could even stand though the door would fly open, a cold breeze blowing through the room with it before the two would push the door back. Syaoran started to speak when he has to stop and look at the mixed drink he was holding. Had he allowed himself to become drunk on accident or was he really seeing a small elf in front of him? Either way he had little time to react when the chimney would flush with soot, revealing a very jolly, and robust, Yakato. The Hokage made warm greetings to everyone, confirming Syaoran's assumption that the boy with the red markings and dog was an Inuzuka. Standing, Syaoran would grab Yatako's hand and bring him in for a hug, it was far too little that the two got to see each other, especially outside of official business.

"It has been too long Yatako, busy world we live in.", Syaoran said with a small smile.

As the fourth guest would arrive, thankfully through the door, Syaoran would look twice at the amount of protection that the person had. Blue and purple eyes darted towards him and then quickly away, a reaction he had grown use too unfortunately. Hopefully he would be able to talk with some of the younger ninja here, it was always refreshing to see new faces no matter what country they came from. The fifth would appear now, hopefully they would continue to come as the appointed time came.

"Welcome! I fear all four of you are faces I am not familiar with. Let's have an introduction! No need to be shy.", Syaoran said as the person who had come in slowly shed a few layers, a girl now that he could see more than a mass of clothing. The fourth seemed to be lingering near the door as well, and the Inuzuka and the.. elf? They were rather quiet as well.

"I am Alchem Syaoran, Juusandaime Tsuchikage of the Country of Earth and one of the eight Hachinin, at your service.", he said, making a show of a bow towards the four. The alcohol had gotten to him a bit, it had been awhile since he had simply not allowed alcohol to affect him.

[Mr. Kitty]

She stepped into the cabin, the warmth laid on her skin as she continued to shiver, adjusting to the warmer, cozier temperature. Inside was a man she did not recognize. Soon after she realized it, she heard many voices trail in behind her, all unrecognizable. The man who was already in the cabin seemed to be a man of high status, but she cared not. She did not know him and he did not know her.

"My name is Mistletoe and I'm an alc- ... I work around here. What are you all doing way up North?"

She brushed the snow off her shoes. She wanted to avoid giving the snow a chance to melt on her shoes. Then, she brushed off her shirt for the same reason.

((OOC: Jeez, I'm rusty at this. It's been years.))

[wolfnin]

"We wish you a merry christmas. We wish you a merry christmas. We wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year!"

A voice sang through the air, slightly off tune as the figure strolled in the snow. He was accustomed to this snowy weather, since the mountains normally had this weather all year round. Though, it was somewhat colder up here for some reason. He smiled as he marched on through the snow; why he had walked all the way here was a mystery. Of course, he didn't have any quick transportation method to get to a place.

"Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. We wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year!"

He continued to sing the remainder of the song as he reached the door. With a grin on his face he kicked the door open, causing it to announce his presence to the room. As his foot stepped into the house, the Senuskai smiled as he held up a small container while shaking the snow off his shoes. His lupine blue eyes scanned the room as he identified two familiar faces, the others unknown.

"Yatako! Syoaran! I brought Raikage punch! Specially made for this occassion and some figgy pudding."

He called out towards the two as he made a slight stumbled inwards and placed the container on a nearby table. The glass of punch he had on the way here had begun to course through his system as he let out a hi-cup. He smiled as he poured himself a glass of punch and made his way towards the two Hachinin. Although he wasn't as close as the two were to each other, he knew them fairly well. After all, he was a guest in Syaoran's house for a year or so, and made a few official business trips to both countries. As he approached Yatako, he held his hand out for the usual handshake greeting.

"It's been a long time since I've seen any of you. The Raikage sends his regards, I'm not sure if he'll be able to make it. As usual, great party."

Sato said in a louder voice than usual before he finished his second glass of punch. It was the one time of year were the Senuskai jounin from Kumogakure, the captain of B.O.L.T.S, could relax and drink alcohol. Of course, this normally ended with a nasty hangover, but c'est la vie.

[Azure]

The Hyuuga welcomed the embrace and it felt good, the times had been far too troubling now that the world relied on these men as big players in its arena. It had been such a long time since the world fell back on its compliance with political boundaries and borders to govern one’s way of life, but every time Yatako saw this man; his instincts reverted back to the resistance and the utter freedom of brotherly loyalty. Their nation hadn’t mattered, only that they had each other’s backs. And for surely, the case was true with these two.

“Duurrrrgh!!”

Yatako’s belly roared, but it wasn’t a normal hunger pang alerting him that he really needed food to become the robust Santa impersonator he aimed for. Nay, his brain wasn’t trying to make that bump a reality when the two men hugged, it was like something was getting squished. A flash of horror streaked across Yatako’s face, like he believed something was inside of him, romping around in his intestines and being quite the nuisance that only invasive surgery performed on the fly here and now could amend.

His alabaster eyes instantly dashed down to the source of the sound and his hand shot up to the zipper fastened all the way to the top of this custom jacket. With a quick tug, the jacket flung open like doors to produce the source of the squeal. A ball of green adorned with a spectrum of other colors plopped out of the Hokage and erected itself to a strong three feet and one inch tree. Ninja may be little miracle workers who, can sometimes, bend the fabric of space, time, reality and always change the impossible to the possible- but when people give birth to trees, that could turn some heads. “Aiiiiiiiiir!” It spoke! It huffed! It breathed air, when trees are supposed to produce oxygen? With gilt plastered all over his face, Yatako’s arm swooped down and uprooted the tree and planted it over his shoulders.

Apparently it wasn’t a tree in the truest form, but a Hyuuga child who donned a tree outfit decked with pinned ornaments and clip on candy cane earrings. “Daddy, I’m taller than you now that means no bed time!” It was his child, his tree, his daughter. In the excitement, he had a lapse of the synapse and forgot he tucked his daughter into his jacket so she wouldn’t get hurt on the trip down the chimney, nor get burned. It was now that Yatako was aware at the amount of guests that had drizzled into the holiday cabin. Syaoran had already taken the initiative to begin the introductions and show them that even Kage can get drunk and be loose. Considering his bloodline, becoming truly drunk for an Alchem would probably mean consuming an entire hop farm, or just have an IV drip of grain alcohol, whatever floated his boat.

Yatako was glad to see many new faces here as well. Even one with the strange name of Mistletoe, of which he;d watch closely to see if any boy would try and snag a cheesy pick up line using her name for a kiss. “I’m Hyuuga Yatako, Hokage and Hachinin, enough ‘h’s for you? And this—“ “I’m Zelfie!” Her little hands (or branches) shot up in a victory pose atop the Hyuuga’s head. “…daughter. Every year we decide to elope for our duties and come up here for some time. Don’t tell the bad guys though; they’d make us…have to work.” This was a different tone for Yatako to take. Outside of his Hokage shoes he was being a lot less formal and now that he had apparently settled down, so too had his overly mature speech. He was a lot more fatherly now, obviously encroaching from several sources.

The tree hopped down once her little milky eyes caught sight of the single antlered dog. “Puppy looks sad, he needs happy!” In her world, happiness could become a physical attribute, apparently as she hooked a candy cane she hid somewhere in her dress on the little antler.

He’d still be keeping a perceptive eye on his daughter as he turned now to face Sato, who he’d sorrowfully had to ignore for a moment while following in suite to the rest of the flow. But he planted a smile back on his mug and grasped Sato’s fad firmly, but friendly. “Sato! Glad you could make it, although a drunk Jishin would be something I’d like to see, we understand. I’ll take some of that figgy pudding once I find the ‘nogg…” Maybe not all of Yatako’s former speech was eradicated, but he seemed rather adamant to get some eggnog by the time he left the cabin. Luckily, he snuck some grapefruit juice for Zelfie, which gave off an alcoholic rang in its waft. She wouldn’t suspect a thing.

[Yatako]

[Zelfie]

[Draiko]

As more people appeared, some in unusual ways, the little dragon girl didn't want to be last in introductions. Her mitten hands very lightly held on to the long hood of her sweater over the front of her shoulder, playing with the little felt spikes for her hands to fidget with. She wasn't scared or anything, little dragons were never scared but nervous and excited was a different matter. It couldn't be that bad once you got talking, right? Tenma cleared her throat a little, wanting to make herself heard. "M-My name is Doragon Tenma and I'm a gennin from the Hidden Mist. I'm not well known or anything, but I try my best to help out where I can." The girl's voice started out with a stutter, but as she spoke more she became more confident and soon a large, childish grin was plastered on her face. She couldn't stay nervous with the jitters forever.

She stopped fidgeting with her hood as it slipped back over her shoulder to rest on her back, definitely relaxed compared to when she first stepped in. Her hands were getting a little toasty from her mittens so she slipped them off and stuffed them in her pockets in case she spotted cookies in need of devouring. It would be a terrible thing to let sugary cookies go to waste, not giving them the proper attention they deserved. The little dragon girl watched the jounin from Kumogakure stumble in and the little girl, Zelfie, place a candy cane on the single antler upon the Inazuka dog's head. There was for sure going to be an interesting crowd among them, and she hadn't even fully processed small girl who possibly resembled an elf by the name of Mistletoe. It made her wonder if she was an actually elf, like one of those short ones that made toys for Santa Claus to deliver. She kept that thought in mind as she continued to smile, glad she had came to the cabin with people she had never met before. Certainly, it would be a holiday to remember and to tell stories to her fraternal twin about.

[Doragon Tenma]

Edited December 26, 2010 by Draiko

[Rilon]

The roar of a powerful engine would cascade across the cabin as a Machinist sky skimmer arrived in true style. The skimmer set down roughly twenty feet away from the cozy scene, disrupting the snow that lay in a thick blanket over the rich earth. With a lively hop, the figure who straddled the machine's beautifully crafted chassis dismounted his mechanical steed. The man had a large red bag slung over his shoulder that was bursting at the seems with mysterious contents.

The man closed the distance to the cabin with a pronounced limp. He was swaddled in a heavy poncho that covered his upper body, face and nose. His eyes were protected by thick flight goggles, held to the sandy-blonde mess of the man's hair with a leather strap. His legs were covered by dark-grey weathered pants, and his feet were protected by pale blue sneakers. The pants and shoes did little to keep the cold from sinking into the man's lower body, but it wouldn't matter, he was only a few paces from the door.

With a flourish, the man opened the door to the cabin and announced in a booming voice.

"Hello everyone! Happy Holidays!"

The man's head turned right and left, taking in all the faces of the party guests. He quickly spotted his target, the Suna girl standing awkwardly off to the side, removing her warm clothes layer by layer. The blonde man hobbled over to her side before reaching out at her nose, his index finger rested behind his thumb while his middle, ring, and pinky fingers stuck off to the side as though he was making an "ok" sign. The man's index finger flicked out, on a collision course with the tip of the Suna nin's nose. Without pausing to the see if his preemptive strike had connected, the man dropped the fit to bursting bag and removed his poncho and goggles, revealing a smiling twenty-something face and a pair of sparkling hazel eyes. Kizai Seiji was very pleased with his ambush of Sayuri.

"Happy Holidays, why do you look like you're going to throw up?"