It takes a minute or two for everyone to relocate to the couch and its surroundings, but Li's dismay eases as soon as the others concede. Cynthia flops into one of the armchairs, which is probably a good thing, since she's apparently decided to take up as much space as she can, sitting diagonally with one leg over the armrest. Vasquez lays claim to the couch seat closest to her, while Halisi takes a seat in the other armchair in order to
#RedrockAgency – November 17, 2020
leave room for the others on the couch. As soon as everyone is seated Cynthia seems to realize something, hopping out of her seat and putting down her half-empty beer on the coffee table. "I'll handle santa duties...?" she suggests with a glance towards Vasquez and a slight flourish that ends in flicking the pom of her Christmas hat.
Ilyna slips into the couch next to Halisi after mustering enough strength to leave the table. She turns on her omni-tool for a moment to check a few messages, one of which being Va'ynna saying they are on their way. Cynthia's question makes her tilt her head, though a chuckle escapes her once she connects the name 'Santa' to Jason's uninentionally dystoptian explanation a few days prior.
Jason turns the TV back on, volume low, just for a little background noise before collecting a fresh beer for himself. Cynthia's question prompts him to glance her way. "Go for it." he offers through a grin, not willing to fight for the honor of crawling around on the floor and fishing all of the presents out from beneath the crowded tree. If she wants to jump in front of a bullet for him, who is he to talk her down? He drops into
Va'ynna pilots the Respite sky-car as it goes in for landing a short way from the main entrance to Redrock HQ. She is wearing her jacket and a Christmas hat. A small cloth bag with her presents is stowed into the back seats. Once the sky-car sets down, she pulls out a mess of cotton from her pocket, which turns out to be a loose Santa's beard. "This mission calls for disguises," she says and awkwardly straps it
Victoria is wearing her typical winter clothing, as well a Christmas hat. She looks over to Va'ynna as she puts on the Santa beard, and has a look of confusion on her face. She grabs the fake beard. "You really want me to wear this?"
Va'ynna tilts her head. "I... won't force you if you don't want to," she says as she climbs out of the car. "The seller at a Christmas stall told me and Uvena that this fake beard is an intrinsic part of gift delivery. Is that... not true?"
Victoria puts the fake beard on. "Depends on the family I guess. My dad or mum never wore these." She gives a quick scratch of the beard. "Maybe the seller just wanted to see the first ever bearded asari." She says in a joking tone.
Va'ynna giggles at the joke. "I suppose you're right," she says. "Well, I paid for them, so... we might as well wear it this once." They then enter the building and announces themselves to Fergus. The Redrock security system will easily see through their disguise.
Fergus materializes behind the desk, a Christmas hat added to his fur-lined winter armor ensemble. He lights up with recognition and bows politely. "Ah, Captain Steels, Ms. Atana, Merry Christmas! What can I do for you?"
Victoria follows Va'ynna into building, after telling Fergus who they are. Vicky has a thought come to her. 'Fergus is here, he can use the security system to see through the disguise.' It takes a quick moment then another thought strikes her. 'Oh no, video evidence of us wearing this beards.' She snaps back to earth. "Gift giving Fergus." She answers to the VI.
Va'ynna smiles to the VI's festive appearance, not concerned about the security system at all. "Merry Christmas," she replies before adding, "Let Lord Wolfe and the others know that we're here."
Fergus ' eyebrows furrow in apparent confusion at Victoria's reply, and for a brief moment the hologram seems to freeze. "My apologies, I do not understand. Could you clarify your request?" the VI says to her, before directing his attention to Va'ynna as the asari speaks up. "Of course, madam." he replies with a quick bow of his head. "If you are here to see them they can be found in the recreational chambers, I trust you know the way?"
Victoria huffs a little, mostly being stopped by the fake beard. "Yep, we know the way." She begins making her way to the rec-room, walking slowly at first to make sure Va'ynna was following or going to to take the lead instead.
Va'ynna nods to the VI before heading into the hallway, taking the lead on their way upstairs. She casts a glance into the bag of gifts while climbs the stairs, double checking that they're all in there. Once upstairs, she comes to a stop in the doorway to the rec room, looking inside.
Li squeezes in between Ilyna and Jason, doing her best to hide her impatience as she waits - all of Jason's hyping has clearly done its job.
Vasquez snickers quietly and nods for Cynthia to go ahead, shifting a bit as Jason joins her, leaning just a little against him.
Cynthia grins widely and meanders over towards the tree, bending down to grab one of the smaller packages. She squints at it, confusion on her face. "The fu-..." a glance towards Li and her eyes widen a little. "...ahem." She brings it closer to her face, staring the label down. After a moment she lets out a snort of laughter. "Damn, doc, think your writing has enough loops...?" she mutters with a quick look towards Halisi,
before clearing her throat and raising her voice. "Merry Christmas from Halisi... to... Li!" she says, flashing a grin and handing the first present to Li with a bit more dramatics than necessary.
Li accepts the present with a smile, cradling it in her lap and studying the small, fairly flat box curiously.
Just as Cynthia is turning back towards the tree Fergus' voice interjects over the speakers. "Milord, milady, guests have arrived to offer season's greetings. I have directed them to your location."
Ilyna winds an arm over Li's shoulders after she sits down, and lets out a sigh. She's still weary after the big dinner, but Li's excitement does keep the smile on her face from fading. She eyes the small gift Li got with some curiosity before Fergus' announcement draws her attention. "That could be Va'ynna," she says. "She said they were on their way."
Jason gets a little antsy as Cynthia goes through the presents, a slight frown of distaste slipping out as his presents are passed over in favor of Halisi's, but he's quick to tuck away his disappointment. Just saving the best for last! A lopsided grin re-emerges at Cynthia's theatrics, snicker accompanying it. His hand that's across the back of the couch curling over Vasquez' shoulder and giving her a playful little side-squeeze.
When Fergus' voice is heard over the intercom, he casts a glance upwards instinctively, smile widening. Ilyna's comment garners a few nods and he gives Li a nudge with his elbow. "Sounds like we need to hit 'pause' on this for a few minutes. Are you gonna be able to last that long without tearing that thing open?" he teases with a nod towards the present in her lap.
Vasquez looks up at the announcement, smirking a little as Jason speaks to Li. She nods in confirmation to Cynthia and waves her back.
Li frowns at Jason's words, but she is quick to reign it in and nod firmly. She glances up at Ilyna. "Vynna is coming?"
Cynthia heads on back to her armchair, taking a seat on one of the armrest and having a sip of beer while she has the chance, eyes on the door as she awaits their guests.
Va'ynna ascends the staircase, and approaches the rec room until she comes to a stop in the doorway. She's holding her bag of gifts ahead of her. "Hey," she says with a small wave as she looks at the people gathered in the couch. "Merry Christmas." The smell of food is causing her stomach to rumble, but she ignores it for now.
Victoria follows directly behind Va'ynna. When she stops in the doorway, Vicky pokes her head over her shoulder. "Merry Christmas. Bet you never saw a bearded asari before." The smell of the food hits her, and makes her eager to get back home and have dinner.
Ilyna nods to Li a few seconds ahead of their arrival, then she looks over at the duo at the doorway, and lifts her hand in a wave. The costume does make her raise an eyebrow, and a few snorts of muffled laughter escapes her. "Merry Christmas!" she says, betraying the muffled laughter. She looks back at Li. "I can hold onto your gift if you want to go give her a hug," she offers in a low voice.
Jason cranes his neck around, already shifting to stand from the couch with a hearty "Merry Christmas!" of his own. As he rises to his feet, his eyes meet the bearded visitors. His eyes widen in sheer horror, nostrils flaring as a stuttered, "O-... oh..." slips out. Blue eyes paralyzed wide in shock, he does his best to keep his smile propped up as he stares into the endless white abyss of the pair of beards.
Li seems, for the briefest of moments, to wonder whether this is a ploy to steal her present, but apparently Ilyna is deemed trustworthy, and she hands over the present with a couple of rapid nods, slipping out of the couch, running over towards their guests only to stop dead in her tracks, head jerking back as she stares at Va'ynna, eyes wide and brow furrowed deeply. "There's hair on your face."
Vasquez shifts a little to let Jason up more easily, and then seems to realize that maybe she should join him. She gets out of her seat, to stand next to him, turning her attention to their guests. She raises an eyebrow at their accessorizing but doesn't mention it. "Va'ynna, Steels. Merry Christmas." she greets with a nod each as Jason sputters.
Halisi remains seated, a small smile on her face as she watches the new arrivals. She rests her chin against the knuckles of one hand, elbow propped against her armrest.
Cynthia snorts at the fake beards and raises her bottle in greeting. "Shhhharp (...?), should've gotten one of those." she comments.
Va'ynna looks a bit unsure of herself at the mixed reaction the beards have garnered, especially Jason's. Cynthia's approval does cause her to lower her shoulders a bit. Li draws her attention, though, and she gives it a gentle pull to prove that it's fake. "It's... a fake santa beard," she says, "it's part of the gift giving tradition to wear one."
Jason stares at the pair of beards for a few more moments before seeming to slowly recover from the horrors his eyes have witnessed and starting towards Va'ynna and Victoria. Li's exclamation garners a loud snort. "You look-..." he trails off with a furrow of his brow as he studies the fluff of white hanging from Va'ynna's chin, wincing and giving a few shakes of his head before he decides there's no better medicine than honesty.
"...ridiculous." he offers, shoulders bouncing as a bout of laughter slips out. He shoots an accusatory glance Victoria's way, "Did you put her up to this?"
Victoria shakes her head and makes a shocked face. "No, the person she brought these from did. You think I would seek out fake beards to wear?" She pulls the fake beard down to be around her neck. "But they are alright for a face warmer."
Ilyna puts the gift on her lap as she watcher Li run off to greet Va'ynna and Victoria, the reaction to the beards causing her stifled laughter to flare up again. "Goddess, you two really do look ridiculous," she says in agreement to Jason, "but... in a good way." She narrows her eyes at Victoria's answer, doubting her explanation.
Li seems fully prepared to accept Va'ynna's explanation at face value, understanding on her face as she nods, only for Jason to immediately undermine the poor asari, causing Li to look up at him questioningly.
Vasquez ' serious expression gives way to mild amusement as the others talk. She crosses her arms, remaining silent next to Jason. Va'ynna is his friend, and she doesn't exactly have a whole lot to say to Victoria.
Halisi lets out a quiet snort, glancing Ilyna's way as if questioning her rudeness, but the finally addition prompts a smile and a snicker, turning her attention to the guests across the room.
Va'ynna sighs as Jason creates more doubt, and pulls the beard down below her neck like Victoria did. She ignores the discomfort of the strap pulling on her crests. "It was... my idea," she admits, fidgeting a bit with the bag in her hand as she talks, "and I know how... weird it looks, but... tradition is tradition."
Jason is quick to put his hands up, palms outwards as Ilyna's addition settles in. "Yeah! Right! In a good way!" he tags onto the end of her words as an afterthought. Va'ynna's explanation causes him to meet Li's confusion with a small shrug, barely-restrained ear-to-ear grin manifesting. "Tradition is tradition." he agrees with the asari rather than further undermining her intentions.
Victoria nods, with a goofy grin on her face "See, her idea but I was going along for the ride." She was willing to support Va'ynna on the fake beard idea as long as she could. "Might as well look like the big guy in red for a little bit."
Ilyna nods in understanding at their defense of the beard-wearing, still trying to contain some residual laughter. She offers a reassuring smile at the asari stumbling over her words, but doesn't say anything as she keeps an eye on Li.
Li seems satisfied with this explanation, resuming what she was doing - hugging Va'ynna! "Hi Vynna!" she exclaims, pinning the tall asari in a brief hug.
Halisi 's smile widens a bit as she watches Li hug Va'ynna, running a thumb idly along the side of her own jaw.
Cynthia raises an eyebrow at Jason's 'save', snickering quietly and shifting her haphazard sitting position.
Va'ynna smiles once Li hugs her, not having enough time to react and crouch down. She reaches down to pat her back, however. "Hey Li!" she says back enthusiastically. "Are you enjoying the celebrations?" Once let go, she crouches down to meet her at eye level, and picks out a gift from her bag. "For you," she says. It's a soft gift wrapped in red/green striped wrapping paper, with red ribbons going around it. A
Jason watches the exchange, his smile softening. It takes another moment before something occurs to him and he offers Vicky and Va'ynna an apologetic glance and a raise of his index finger in the universal gesture for 'just one second', not wanting to speak up and interrupt her moment with Li. He steps back and quickly slinks over towards the tree, crouching down to search through the mound of gifts.
Victoria smiles at the exchange happening with Li and Va'ynna. She turns her head towards Jason and watches for a slight moment, before turning her head back to Li and Va'ynna. Opting to remain silent for now and wait for Li to open her gift.
Ilyna lets out a small sigh as the face fluff hangup has come to an end, and she is content to observe their exchange in silence.
Vasquez watches as Jason heads off towards the tree, opting to take a seat on the armrest of the couch rather than standing around as they await his return. Her attention turns back to Va'ynna and Victoria, the corner of her mouth tugging upward a bit as she studies their fake beards, now pulled down. For a moment, she looks like she's going to say something, but then she reconsiders, shifting her weight a little awkwardly
Li nods in response to Va'ynna's question, eyes widening when the asari produces a gift. She accepts it with a smile, giving it a curious look over before turning to head back to Ilyna, only to suddenly remember something and spin back around again. "Thank you!" she exclaims before hurrying back to her place in the couch, suddenly seeming a little shy.
Va'ynna raises a brow when the girl runs off with the gift, but the excitement is enough to keep her smile up. The smile widens when Li turns around to give her belated thanks. "You're welcome, Li," she says, and stands back up. She produces another as she walks over to the couch, and hands it to Ilyna. "I got something for you too," she says. It's a slightly bigger, albeit lighter, soft gift than the one she
Jason manages to find what he's looking for pretty quickly and stands back up, leaving his beer on the nearby coffee table for now. As he turns back towards the pair, he gives a lift of the items in his hands. One is a rectangular box, wrapped in red and green striped paper with an occasional Santa. This seems to have been his choice of wrapping paper for all of the non-Li gifts he wrapped, making the gifts from him easily
identifiable. Though what makes them more identifiable as his are the... less-than-perfect wrapping jobs. This gift, much like plenty of others under the tree with his name on them, doesn't seem to have gone according to plan. But, as every good soldier knows, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy. So you adapt. What does adaptation look like when it comes to gift wrapping? Apparently, a whole lot of heavy-duty
tape. Nearly every corner of the gift has a length of tape over it to conceal where the box ripped through the paper. There's no label on it. Instead, he has opted to simply write 'To: V' 'From: Jason n Linda' on the wrapping paper in a black marker. In his other hand is a red envelope. Thankfully it seems that even he can't fuck up an envelope. It has 'Vicky' written on it in that same marker. "Alright, you're not the only
one handing out gifts." he says, as if unwilling to allow himself to be overshadowed in the gift giving competition. He passes the envelope to Vicky before stepping over beside Va'ynna and handing off the box. "Merry Christmas." he repeats, a bit more sincerity in his words this time.
Ilyna looks expectantly at Li as she returns, and smiles warmly when the girl realizes what she forgot her own. She puts her arm back over her shoulder when she hurries back and gives it a gentle squeeze. She blinks as she receives the gift from Va'ynna, guilt shwing up in her expression. "I didn't expect that," she says, "and I... didn't get you anything."
Va'ynna 's smile turns a bit tight-lipped. "It's... okay," she says. "I already got a gift from you a few months ago, don't you... remember? And you didn't listen to my... objections back then."
Ilyna sighs, and offers a small smile. "You're right, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-...," she trails off. "Thank you, Va'ynna. I appreciate it." She smiles as Jason returns with a gift for her and Victoria, happy that they don't return empty-handed from this exchange.
Victoria reaches out and takes the envelope from Jason. "Thanks Jason." She waits to see Li open her gift before opening the envelop.
Vasquez covers her face with her palm, perhaps ashamed over her name being associated with Jason's questionably wrapped presents - she'd managed to put them out of her mind until now. As her hand drops she looks resigned, and maybe, just maybe, a little amused, nodding in agreement with him as he offers season's greetings to the pair.
Li stacks both her presents in her lap once she's back in her seat on the couch, arms resting over them as if they might run away otherwise.
Halisi just observes as Ilyna too receives a gift, her exchange with Va'ynna garnering a curious, amused look.
Va'ynna takes the gift with a smile, turning it over in her hands curiously. There's amused look on her face as she regards the wrapping job, but she's too polite to comment on it. A smile shows after reading the text on it. "Thank you, both of you," she says, casting a glance at Vasquez. "I also got one for you, Jason." She awkwardly picks it out with her free hand hand, letting the empty bag fall to the floor
under it. It's not a big gift, with slightly tapered box-shape on one side and a less defined shape on the side. It's wrapped in dark blue paper with repeating cartoonish pictures of santa claus, who is also depicted on the folded card; the ribbons are the same red as the other gifts, though.
Jason cocks an eyebrow as Va'ynna produces a gift for him, sheepish smile crossing his lips. "...You didn't have to do that, V." he says as he accepts it. "But-... uhh-..." he offers a few small nods before raising the gift a little higher for emphasis, "...Thank you." He studies the gift for a moment, turning it over in his hands. He doesn't particularly notice the fact that Va'ynna's wrapping seems to require far less tape. "So,
whaddya think, small fry?" he asks through a smile, shooting a glance to Li on the couch. "Think we should open 'em?"
Victoria continues to wait in silence, wanting Li to open her present first before even thinking about opening the envelop.
Ilyna catches Halisi's looks in the corner of her eyes, which causes some embarrassment to show in her expression. She keeps her present in her lap, not in any hurry to open it.
Li blinks in confusion, the surprise obvious on her face as she looks over towards Jason - she had already resigned herself to waiting for the rest of the presents to be handed out before opening anything. Of course, she's not going to turn down the chance when asked... her reply comes in a series of quick nods and a hopeful look to Ilyna for confirmation that she's allowed to open it.
Vasquez nods again at Va'ynna's thanks - the present is all Jason, of course, but her name is on it, so...