sweetdevil | 52nd ♫ | the first star in the sky is even brighter out tonight

[ She looks more than a little surprised at the suggestion. ]

Oh, no, not at all! I've just been doing what I can to help everyone get through winter! Not everyone can look after themselves as easily as I can, or they don't have the support they need... so it really isn't any bother for me to help them.

[ Bryn hasn't passed through Mond in a while – last time she was here, it was summer and everything was very pastoral and pretty, as you'd expect. The town had a nice atmosphere and the food had been delicious and... well, okay, she mostly remembered the food but she thinks it's entirely fair given that it was sticky honey roast. She's an easy girl to please.

So when she's traipsing her way back across Teyvat in the rear-end of winter, she remembers all the comforting, piping hot food of Mondstadt and thinks... you know what... the best part of being an adventurer is deciding when you get to take ridiculous detours for food purposes.

The festivities are a surprise, though. Bryn's never really had the opportunity to take part in winter celebrations so she takes to all of them like a duck to water. After all, what's the fun of travelling if you don't take part in the customs of the places you pass through? Sure, maybe she's getting a little too into it and maybe she's ice skating a little haphazardly and maybe she just came perilously close to absolutely taking the poor eyepatch guy out but hey. Who's complaining.

With Kaeya having saved her dignity for now, Bryn just gives him a cheery smile. ]

Oh, but wouldn't you say that's all part of the fun? The whole point of playing around in the snow is to get right in there, wouldn't you say?

Edited 2020-11-25 19:59 (UTC)

[Yeah, you might want to be careful aound the poor eyepatch guy. How do you think he got his eyepatch in the first place?

He lets Bryn go once he's certain she's regained her balance, and immediately he's reminded of a certain someone he knows. Someone who is probably in the thick of the festivities herself, avoiding her duties incidentally or not...]

Oh, of course. Though I would wager there is a difference between doing it purposefully and getting trapped.

[The snow around here can be deceptively deep. One wrong step without snowshoes and suddenly you're neck deep in the stuff. Ah well. Kaeya considers himself lucky to not have witnessed any snow based incidences, yet.]

It is good to see you enjoying yourself. It means we knights are doing our job.

Guess you're right about that. You're a good egg, Sophie. Have you run across the others lately?

Mmhmm! I've been travelling with Pierce and I've been making sure to drop in and see Lulu and Celadon whenever I can. I've been trying to check in on Mister Aran now and then too but he's so busy...! But at least Miss Nerine will be keeping an eye on him.

I'd like to say that makes me confident, but I don't think even she can make him go to bed.

[ Single Functional Eyeball Solidarity ]

Even getting stuck could be fun in its own way though, wouldn't you say? Certainly not in the moment, but getting into that sort of trouble is precisely the sort of thing adventures and fond memories are made of!

[ If you're thinking she sounds like a reckless dumbass......... you'd be right. ]

Just who are the knights here in this city, anyway? I'm really just passing through so I wouldn't know anything about this region at all.

I thought that too... but Miss Nerine can be really persuasive when she wants to be!

[ Scary. She means scary. ]

So if anyone could do it, I think it'd be her.

[ Today's party is almost obnoxiously holly jolly. It's cheerful enough and cozy enough that against all odds, even Erina can't find anything to complain about, even in jest. Of course, given that they let her go all out with her extremely subtle sweater for this year, she feels like it's all she can do to keep her trap shut and let the holiday cheer go on unabated.

And honestly? It's nice. It's her first Christmas with just friends as opposed to family and it's kind of weird and fun and she's not really used to it yet. So when she sees Chitoge wallflowering, it's a perfect excuse to detach from the Christmas throng and unceremoniously plop herself down on the floor right next to Chitoge. ]

Hey. I can't believe I'm about to say this but I genuinely think your sweater might be more godawful than mine.

We'll have to see. May I be pleasantly surprised. Can you take those out of the wood stove? The plank to grab them out safely's by the side.

Estival, I'm so touched! Oh, that might just be the best damn compliment I've gotten all night!

[ Chitoge tries to ham up a few sniffles and squeeze out a tear, just to sell herself a bit. An actress she most certainly is not-- ]

But I think, for once, you might have me beat this time. How am I supposed to compete with the world's biggest fruit cake herself? Especially when you're in season...

[ Though, Chitoge does set her drink down to run her fingers down the sleeve of Erina's ridiculous top, as if to check something... ]

Mine's definitely itchier, though. I'm suffering in style here...

I'll get right on it!

[ And so she does, with a businesslike efficiency that does and doesn't suit her, all at the same time. ]

How many batches have you made so far?

[ Erina just shrugs and plucks at the sleeve herself, stretching out the ungodly material a bit before letting it ping back into place. ]

I dunno man, mine might be a finely tuned callout aimed at myself but it's just 2D. Yours is full on three dimensional Christmas nightmare. Its very existence is a convincing argument against the existence of a benevolent god. Even I'm not about to tell you my sweater comes out on top here.

And, get this, it was on clearance! I can't imagine why. I saw it and just knew I had to show it off to the world. Especially tonight.

[ And especially Erina. ]

Oh, speaking of, I'm shocked there's still sugar cookies on that dessert table. I would've thought making that open season was the biggest mistake anyone could ever make, knowing you were on your way.

This is my third for the pepper cookies. [She returns to brushing the fruitcake.] Beat a couple mimics in the ruins and got enough money out of it to stock the pantry for all these. Sure makes up for not having been around for honey season.

[On account of saving the world.]

You're right... we missed out on so many good ingredients and materials this year. It was definitely for a good cause, but it's been such a picture perfect year, weather-wise, I don't even want to imagine how many things are going to waste...

[ But oh, well. There's nothing they can do about it now.

But then she has a bit of a brainwave. ]

Oh– Miss Marie, are you making anything savory? Or just sweet?

Honestly, looking at this thing? I get the feeling they were less than two steps away from paying people to take it away. It's a sin.

[ Which makes it objectively the best sweater here, obviously. ]

The cookies, though? Believe me, if I had my way, those things would be gonezo. But I was issued with a thread to, and I quote, "pull off your hands and stick them so far up your butt your nose will be waving hello". It was a pretty good threat, honestly.

[ Damn, even Chitoge's wincing at that one. ]

It's not a bad one, but you wouldn't catch me dead making a threat like that on Christmas. [ It's the middle of December. ] I'm not risking getting coal in my stocking. You want me to smuggle you some? I can be pretty stealthy, y'know.

[ In this hideous thing? ]

[I MEAN...reckless dumbasses gotta stick together. But also wow she is reminding him more and more of Amber by the second, like are they long lost siblings-]

We are called the Knights of Favonious. You just so happen to be speaking to their cavalry captain.

[He ducks forward in a slight bow, his hand pressed to his chest. STILL...partially exposed, even in this weather. His other hand extends for Brynhilde's, though it's more of an offer than anything. She can choose to just not take his hand and he won't be too chuffed.]

I am Kaeya Alberich. It is truly a pleasure.

I do have some preserves, you think I ought to send those? Or I think I've got enough for bread.

[ With the breezy, effortless confidence of someone who has never cared about good manners and sure as hell isn't going to start now, Bryn takes hold of his hand in her own and... shakes it, maybe a little too energetically. ]

Brynhilde Pendragon! But please call me Bryn, Captain.

[ She's really never gonna stop trying to make her nickname a thing, huh. ]

Did you organize this whole affair?

That'd be a wonderful idea! But I was also thinking – maybe some meat jerky? I've made it before to take with me on long journeys and when you preserve and dry it in the right way then it lasts more or less forever! I have some left from the last batch I made, and it really is delicious. So maybe we could send some of that, too?

[ This is definitely going above and beyond 'winter holiday cookies', but that's par for the course with Sophie. ]

You know what? I'm gonna say yes purely because I want to see how you Metal Gear Santa your way over there without getting caught, wearing that sweater. Of course, if you get your ass whooped, I had no involvement in this.

[ Erina is a good friend (citation needed). ]

[ Her ribbon perks right up at that, like a rabbit on alert-- ]

Now you listen here, if some fat fuck can sneak into everyone's houses and deck out the space under the tree and steal people's cookies all without getting caught, I think I can manage one of the three just fine, thank you very much.

[ What was that about not wanting any coal..? ]

And if you think anyone here's gonna whoop my ass, you must know something I don't. Someone tries to jump me, I'll get 'em with the 3-hit combo. "Ho-ho-ho"!

[ Something about the look of her shadowboxing in her getup is pretty wild, but unfortunately, here we are. ]

Yeah, I've got some of that too. But do they really need so much? [sigh] Then again, can't expect anything else of you. You're always thinking of others, Sophie.

52nd ♫ | the first star in the sky is even brighter out tonight

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u get a surprise grown up bryn cos she has the better icon spread

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