Ilyna narrows her eyes. "You know what you did," she says, a bit of laughter still in her voice. She casts a glance over to the others as Li and Jason opens her gift, and her smile grows wider. These gifts holds a lot of promise of time spent together with her, and Ilyna hopes that they'll keep it that way.
#RedrockAgency – December 10, 2020
((holds many promises of future time spent together, and Ilyna hopes she and the others will be able to keep them.*))
Vasquez lets out a quiet scoff. "I'll... think about it." she concedes with a faint nod and a big smile, attention soon returning to the items in the box, just watching silently for a while, gaze lingering on the unnamed sock.
Li sets the game aside, still smiling, and goes for another Jason present. Clearly, there's no time to waste while there's still gifts to be opened!
Halisi shoots Ilyna a puzzled look, blinking innocently. Clearly she has no idea what she's talking about. It's a struggle to keep from laughing until the asari looks away, and she doesn't quite manage, a half-muffled chuckle slipping out, hand rubbing across her mouth as she watches the group on the couch with a warm smile.
Jason gives another playful roll of his eyes- this one aimed at Vasquez- and an unconvinced, "Uh huh..." to go along with it. He leans forward to set the game atop his book on the coffee table, already reaching for his next gift. He moves on to the 'Santa' gifts, opting to leave Vasquez' for last. Can never go wrong with a bottle-shaped gift, so that's the one he pulls onto his lap, lopsided grin turning Vasquez' way. His smile
tempers a bit as his gaze shifts to the object occupying her attention. "Ya know, we're gonna have to talk about getting a name on that thing sooner or later..." he says softly, blue eyes turning from the stocking to Vasquez.
Li's gift is another flat box, not unlike the two boxes that were taped together. It seems like this one fought with him a bit more. It looks like a pair of patchwork pants with the way small lengths of tape are slapped on here and there where the paper ripped while wrapping. Finding a seam is tough work with so much tape and it seems like the only way Li is getting into this one is by tearing the paper.
Ilyna casts another glance Halisi's way when she's looking away, but decides against continuing to press her for a confession. For now. Instead, she picks up the gift from jason and Linda that's about the size of a large book and begins tearing the paper.
Vasquez lets out a quiet breath, nodding a few times. She seems almost... overwhelmed, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she runs her hand across the sock. Her other hand gives Jason's leg a squeeze, and she nods again. "We are, aren't we?" she agrees, a small smile crossing her lips before she gathers the items up in the box again, setting it aside.
Cynthia 's smile softens a bit as she watches Jason and Vasquez. Her gaze soon falls away and she digs out her omni-tool, checking something.
Li is unafraid to get destructive with her opening, eyebrows furrowing in concentration and teeth baring as she digs in and tears. Wrapping paper is no match for a Li-Rex! Rawr!
Jason watches her for a moment, lopsided grin spreading back across his features. Rather than making a big deal out of it in front of everyone, he merely lays his hand over hers, giving it a squeeze in turn as he turns his focus back to his present, struggling to keep that big, dumb smile of his in check. Discussions for when they're alone. "Well, hopefully Santa has good taste." he playfully muses aloud, as if he has standards
Once Li powers through the layers of heavy duty tape and crinkled wrapping paper, her treasure is revealed! The colorful box is larger than the previous box, a fact that is reflected by the armament within. Depicted on the front of the box is a large, red and black machine gun (And bright orange barrel tip, of course!). It looks suspiciously like a Revenant with a few noticeable changes of the 'Don't sue us!' variety. Amongst the plethora
of play features listed on the box, one that's likely to make Ilyna ecstatic is the words 'REALISTIC SOUND EFFECTS!' in big, bold letters. Real folding action! Link it up to your omni-tool and track your shots! Compatible with all of our other products! All the bells and whistles.
As the paper gives way to Ilyna's tearing, she's met with the dreamy chocolate brown eyes of Devin Tanner looking up at her, his big mug plastered across the packaging. Hair perfectly maintained. Smile practically sparkling. It's a collection of his pre-'Beautiful Shade' films very obviously repurposed and remarketed to take advantage of his post-'Beautiful Shade' success to make a few extra credits. The box set boasts exclusive
behind-the-scenes interviews and talks with the man himself. But the thing that stands out the most is the small note at the bottom right corner of the box. It's handwritten in what appears to be a silver marker. "To my #1 fan, from your #1 fan. <3 Devin. (We'll always have Adrasteia)"
Ilyna narrows her eyes as soon as she gets the first hint at what hides beneath the wrapping paper. That Jason was her first suspect earlier was for good reason, it appears, and she looks over the paper. Before she's about to put it aside before anyone were to notice, the note catches her eyes and she studies it. She looks up at Jason and Linda with a puzzled look on her face, but refrains from asking about it.
It's flattering to still be thought about after who knows how many more glamorous people he must have been in contact with in the meantime, but it is equal parts worrying. Her cheeks are burning despite her best effort to hide it, and she carefully puts the present down at her side. It has occupied her mind enough that she has yet to look at what Li has got.
The suspiciously bottle shaped present is - shocker - a bottle! Of Noverian Rum to be specific! Nice.
Li 's eyes scan the large box containing the totally-not-a-Revenant, hand brushing across the plastic. "It's the same as yours!" she exclaims, looking up at Jason. It doesn't really fit in her lap, stealing space from him and Ilyna.
Vasquez raises an eyebrow at the bottle, shooting a brief glance Cynthia's way as if she's under suspicion, but she says nothing, instead reaching for the last present in her own pile. From Cynthia, a tiny box.
Halisi lets out a sharp snort at Ilyna's present, hastily covering her mouth with her hand as muffled laughter follows.
Vasquez ' attention is drawn by Halisi's snort before she can get to opening, and as she spots Ilyna's present she covers her face with her palm, rubbing her forehead. "You actually went through with that..?" she mumbles to Jason.
Jason studies the bottle for a moment, looking genuinely pleased. At the very least, whoever it was got his preferred drink right. Whether or not it's any better than the bottom shelf stuff he's used to drinking? Well, that's something he's more than willing to put to the test. He gives a small look about at the others, lifting the bottle a little higher in appreciation without outright calling anyone out. "Thank you-... Santa."
he settles on through his smirk, giving the bottle one more look before setting it down with the other gifts on the coffee table. Li's exclamation causes his gaze to turn to the box, smirk widening. The holy grail of plastic weapons. The Facemelter 4800. The latest in a long line of feature-rich toy weaponry. It's almost embarrassing how close he came to ordering a second one for himself. But he resisted the temptation by
reminding himself that he has the real deal and, after sneaking away to cuddle his Revenant, settled on only ordering the one. "This thing-..." he begins, giving the box a tap with his fingertip before Halisi's snort distracts him, pulling his attention towards the reason. His smirk briefly turns into a full-on smile that he quickly tries to restrain. Vasquez' addition causes him to give a defensive shrug. "He was happy to
do it!" he says, as if that absolves him of any guilt and legitimizes it as a gift rather than being yet another way to torment Ilyna. "Besides, 'Winter In Noveria' is worth a watch." he adds with a shrug, gaze already turning back towards the Facemelter 4800 before he realizes the implication of his statement, eyes widening in horror. "I've-... uhh-... heard!" he corrects, shooting another look Ilyna's way. Then Halisi's.
Then Cynthia's. And finally Vasquez'. "It-... umm-... I've never seen it." he snickers awkwardly before giving a furrow of his brow, "Obviously. Think-... uhh-..." he devolves into a mutter, gaze turning back towards the toy gun as if he's suddenly distracted by it, "...Tarkus must've... said something about it..."
Winter in Noveria. A young man is forced to leave his life behind when his parents move the family to Noveria for work. That's where he meets the daughter of a scientist and, together, they uncover a conspiracy! And learn a little about themselves along the way. A story about growing up and the dissolving of the illusion of parental perfection. It was an indie darling that critics praised but, ultimately, it flew under the radar for most.
Ilyna frowns as this gift earns her further attention from the others, and she looks at Halisi suspiciously at the snort. This eliminates Jason as the suspected santa for the previous gift. It's only when Jason starts talking about Winter In Noveria that she turns her attention towards him, tilting her head as he starts to walk back on his review. She strikes at the opportunity to shift embarrassment, however.
"Oh, I was going to take your word for it and watch it at my first opportunity to do so," she says, "but if it's just a second hand review...." When Li starts claiming her lap space, she helpfully puts aside her gift so that it's out of sight, but she still keeps her eyes on Jason.
Vasquez shoots Ilyna an apologetic look, before being distracted by Jason's questionable denial. The look her way garners a 'Are you really doing this?'-face. "Jason... if you don't want me to know, you probably shouldn't used our shared account." she suggests in a stage whisper, punctuating her words with an unconvincingly regretful shrug and a small smirk.
Cynthia 's attention is drawn up from her omni-tool by sounds of laughter and embarrassment, and she lets out a snort of her own, raising an eyebrow at Jason. "Really, Jace...?"
Li is still assessing her new firepower upgrade when Jason and Ilyna's interaction draws her attention, looking between them in confusion.
Jason sniffs at the air, nodding a few times at Ilyna's observation. But when Vasquez speaks up, he shoots her a look of absolute betrayal. Mouth agape, he blinks a few times, shooting a look Cynthia's way. "I mean, I wasn't really-..." he starts and stops with an awkward scoff. He's caught and he knows it. "I didn't-..." he stammers before his gaze veers back towards Ilyna, frown briefly slipping out. A few moments pass as he
suddenly feels all eyes on him, passing a few grumpy glances back. "It was late and there was nothing else on! Alright?!" he admits, throwing his arms up in defeat.
Ilyna chuckles at the grumpy glances, happy to have the attention on the room on him for the moment. She returns her attention to Li's gift rather than pushing her luck, giving a slight shrug at her confusion. "Just some well-deserved teasing," she explains herself before assessing the weapon before her. The mention of realistic sounds makes her raise an eyebrow, though. "That really does look like Jason's gun,"
Halisi 's laughter grows with Jason's reaction, hand muffling it once more. The big smile lingers as she regains control with a few leftover chuckles.
Vasquez ' smirk widens into a full-on grin at Jason's flustered reaction, a snicker slipping out as she gives his back a couple of pats. She soon leans in for a kiss to soften the blow of her betrayal, struggling to keep her smile away for more than a moment. Her eyebrows furrow slightly in consideration after she pulls back, and then she reaches for the envelope from her among Jason's presents, holding it out for him. The grin
Li nods a little at the explanation, before her attention too is brought back to the gun. "Yeah!" she agrees enthusiastically, already reaching for another package to open, but with the box in her lap her reach is limited, and her eyebrows furrow. "Mom, help..." she instructs, scowling at the pile as if she might summon one of the presents with sheer force of will.
Jason gives Ilyna a none-too-serious brow-beating when she describes his teasing as 'well-deserved'. The rest of the laughter at his expense is met with more lighthearted grump and he gives Vasquez a side-eye when she tries to sweep her betrayal under a kiss. But as she passes the envelope his way- jumping the present line- that lopsided smirk begins to resurface and he reaches to accept it. He examines the envelope curiously
before shooting her a suspicious look. "Is this an apology letter for throwing me under the bus like that?" he asks sarcastically, gaze on her as he slips a thumb under the edge of the envelope and begins to tear it open.
Ilyna just returns a smile at Jason's brow-beating before following Li's eyes to the pile of gifts. It may not be sheer force of will on Li's part causing it, but the smallest of the remaining gifts gently rises from the pile and hovers over until it is set down on top of the box containing the toy weapon. It is a completely unnecessary use of biotics born out of laziness, but this way she doesn't have to shift
Li 's eyes widen briefly, before her gaze goes to Ilyna and she realizes what happened, giggling as she snatches the gift out of the air and starts to open it. It's Halisi's gifts, and the reason for the doctor's reaction to the drawing pad earlier becomes obvious immediately - the contents are a nice paper sketch pad and a large set of pencils in a wide spectrum of colors.
Vasquez considers the question for a moment. "Could call it that." she says, watching as he opens it.
In the envelope is a code for a 1 year premium pass to the ExplosiVid Vault, one of the extranet’s best (legal) selections of popular vids, ranging from old classics to recent blockbusters. Action, horror, comedy, romance, it’s got you covered. The focus is on human vids from the 22nd century, but the premium pass also comes with access to the ‘Wrong Century’ and ‘Alien Classics’ vault addons.
Vasquez flashes Jason a small smile as he pulls out the card with the code. "Thought our options could use some expansion. This way you don't have to resort to... old Tanner vids." she says, another snicker slipping out. She leaves it unspoken that there’s a certain selfish component to her choice of gift as well. On looking back, she had realized that watching silly, brainless old vids with Jason by her side made up some of her
favorite everyday memories of the past couple of years. It had been a common thing during their time on Earth - with her bedridden and Jason exhausted from his job it had been a way to spend time together and relax. A way to let the tensions that plagued them in those days fade away for a while. As she got better and they moved to Aite to revive Redrock, those vid nights had fallen by the wayside, like so much else.
Vasquez had isolated herself, frustrated by her disability and falling into old patterns as she put everything into getting the company off the ground. But now they were closer than ever, and nights like that had started to make a comeback. Sporadically, sure, but maybe it could come to be a common occurrence once more.
Jason looks the card over, holding it between his thumb and index finger. His smile tempers into something a bit more sincere and his attention eventually shifts her way, studying her fondly. It might be a ridiculous notion, but the small card brings a certain finality with it. A notion that they're finally free of this shadow... this Collector-shaped weight that has pinned them down while life passed them by. While they
planned, prepared, and waited for it all to come tumbling down. They can finally start to heal. They can start to move on. They can live again. "I-... uhh-..." he nods, looking back to the card briefly before returning it back to its envelope, "...I think we're gonna be getting a lot of use out of this." he says. When everything has been life or death for so long, it's been easy to forget just how important the little
things in life are. Time with friends for the holidays. A late night of movies with the one you love. Leaning over he gives her a quick kiss, his smile felt on her lips. "And? For the record?" he begins as he pulls back, speaking in a low whisper. "Winter in Noveria was a damn good movie..." he defends matter-of-factly, shooting her a 'Deal with it' look as he settles back into his seat.
Ilyna meets Halisi's glance, returning the shrug with a smile. It's a thoughtful gift, regardless of the overlap. She then looks down at the sketch pad and pencils. "We can split the drawing supplies between home and our office," she suggests, "so we don't need to worry about bringing it with us every day."
Li doesn't seem to mind the competing drawing supplies in the slightest, nodding distractedly in agreement with Ilyna's suggestion as she studies the wide assortment of pencils curiously.
Vasquez ' smile widens a little. "I hope so." she agrees quietly, no shortage of weight behind the simple sentiment as she studies Jason. Her eyes close briefly for the kiss, an exasperated snicker following as he talks again. She nods a little, still smiling as she sits back, returning her attention to the little box from Cynthia. She eyes it curiously for a moment before opening it, raising an eyebrow at the contents. She
pulls out a thin, studded leather bracelet, holding it up in front of herself and shooting her old friend a questioning look.
Cynthia 's attention is drawn as Vasquez pulls out the bracelet. "Check your messages." she suggests with a wink and a smug smirk.
Vasquez looks surprised - and a bit puzzled, tugging back the sleeve of her sweater to bring up her omni-tool interface, her attention alternating between it and Cynthia, as if she doesn't dare let her out of her sight. As she opens her inbox her eyebrows shoot up and she taps on a recent message from Cynthia, eyes scanning across the text. "You-..." A chuckle, eyebrows furrowing. "I-... I didn't even know-... really?" she says,
Cynthia shrugs. "We always talked about it back in the day... I know it's short notice. And I know you're busy. If you can't, it's no big deal. I'll drag one of my brothers along." she assures with a dismissive gesture, looking like she's already bracing for a no.
Jason would probably be able to catch a glimpse of the contents of the message - a ticket to the 'Eezo Credits Reunion Tour' for a concert on Elysium in early January.