#RedrockAgency – December 22, 2020

Ilyna also follows the doctor's gaze to the forgotten gift, chuckling as Li hurries away to go get it. She is happy about the distraction, though. She shifts a bit closer to her when she retakes the seat, and helps her in lifting it into the couch. "Who is it from?" she asks as she looks the gift over for a label or card.

Li wastes little time in starting to tear the last gift open upon pulling it into her lap, but Ilyna has a (brief) chance to see the label, which reads 'From: Santa' in suspiciously similar writing to the 'A Beautiful Shade of Blue' director's cut. As the wrapping paper is torn away, a large Elkoss Combine construction block set is revealed, labeled 'Earth Ultimate Series: Knights & Wizards: Dragonspire Castle'. True to its name, the

Halisi silently watches the gift-opening with a small smile, chin resting on her knuckles.

Vasquez ' elbow jabs out, stopping just before hitting Jason in the side. She lowers her hand from her face with a grimace, drawing in a deep breath and straightening her posture. She shoots Cynthia one last glare before letting her gaze wander around the Christmas Eve debris. Wrapping paper everywhere, and stacks of opened gifts. "Looks like everything's opened...?" she says in a pretty transparent attempt at changing the

Cynthia just cackles and shifts in the armchair, sinking a bit lower.

Jason jolts to the side a little in an attempt at shifting away from the elbow jab that never quite comes, big dumb grin remaining. As Li tears through her gift like a wild animal, his gaze briefly shifts her way, smile shifting into something a bit more sincere. When Vasquez tries to change the subject he snickers to himself, softly shaking his head. Leaning forward, he reaches for his final gift. Having gotten lost amongst a bit

Ilyna makes a note of the handwriting's similarity, but she keeps watching Li unwrap the present rather than comment on it. When the contents of it is enumarted by the girl, she nods along. "They do look a bit like Fergus," she says, "but I don't remember seeing that dinnosaur before." The Palaven Bestseller sticker does evoke a chuckle from her. She glances Halisi's way with a warm smile, approving of the gift.

Vasquez 's attention shifts to the leftover present as Jason digs it out, leaning a little closer to watch him open it. His comment elicits a brief scowl, but it's quickly forgotten once the contents are revealed, a sudden snort slipping out, his struggles with the coffee machine all too familiar.

Cynthia continues to lounge, relaxed in the armchair, attention shifting to Li's enthusiasm over the last gift, snickering quietly.

Halisi 's eyes shift to the side in feigned innocence, smile widening a little. Li's reaction seems to bolster her mood, but she doesn't say anything. It's from Santa, after all! When she notices Jason opening his last gift she stifles a laugh, schooling her expression into a perfectly inconspicuous smile.

Li smiles, looking back down at the box, studying it excitedly. It's not long before she's showing to Jason, tugging at his shirt to get his attention. "Look what I got!"

Jason's smile pulls into a straight line as his final gift is revealed. It doesn't take much detective work to figure out who the culprit is when Halisi is over there laughing. He sends a knowing look her way, offering a very forced smile. One that says, 'HahaIknowitwasyou'. "Santa's got a sense of humor, huh?" he asks with forced, exaggerated enthusiasm, lifting the bag up. "He's a reeeal funny fucker..." he adds in a mutter

Ilyna has all the evidence she needs, and her smile widens as Jason too falls prey to Santa's mischief. She gives an affirmative hum to his mutter before her attention turns to the creature on the packaging, also curious about the unknown dinnosaur.

Halisi 's totally-not-suspicious smile widens as she nods in agreement with Jason's comment.

Li furrows her eyebrows, looking down at the box art. "A dinnosaur with wings...?"

Vasquez gives Jason's back a patronizing pat, grinning at his grumpy muttering. Li's enthusiastic cutting in makes he expression soften, silently watching Jason talk to her, hand lingering on his back, stroking idly back and forth. Her eyebrows briefly furrow slightly in thought, glancing off towards the kitchen.

Cynthia muffles a burp with a closed hand, content to remain stationary.

Jason's attention shifts from Li to the creature on the box, brow briefly furrowing in turn. To anyone paying attention, it's probably clear that the wheels are turning. He even briefly looks Halisi's way, but pride prevents him from voicing his thoughts. Is a dragon a dinnosaur?! After a moment that seems to stretch on for an eternity, he snorts loudly, silently chastizing himself for such a ridiculous thought. Just a brain

Ilyna raises her brows at Jason's answer, especially the time it took for him to answer, but she leaves it to Li to follow it up. She sighs content and leans back in the couch, casting a brief suspicious glance towards Halisi.

Li looks suitably impressed by the knowledge Jason bestows. "Wow..." she says.

Vasquez ' eyebrows furrow, and for a moment it looks like she's going to speak up, but then she deflates, looking tired, and settles for giving Jason another pat.

Halisi 's expression shifts into a slightly concerned frown. She briefly meets Ilyna's gaze and shakes her head before leaning closer to the group on the couch as she cuts in. "Actually, Li... that's a dragon, not a dinno-..." She pauses, frown deepening. "Dinosaur. Dragons are a mythical creature. They never existed." she explains.

Li 's attention goes over to Halisi and she nods several times, although the contradicting information makes her frown. "It's not a dinnosaur...?"

Vasquez shakes her head a little to herself, an amused look crossing her face before she stands up, gaze wandering the small group. "I'm gonna get the desert ready. If you're still full there's no rush to grab a bowl. And... I was thinking we could put on a vid to watch?" she says with a gesture towards the TV screen, glancing Jason's way as if to check in since they haven't exactly discussed detailed plans for the evening. It

Cynthia offers Vasquez a casual nod of confirmation before her attention turns to the dragon discussion. "It's a big lizard, same thing." she chimes in.

Jason furrows his brow as Halisi begins to clarify. When she says it's a dragon, he chimes in with a, "Well yeah-..." Of course it's a dragon! But a dragon is a type of-... wait. His own thoughts betray him as Halisi finishes explaining. He blinks a couple times, something between an embarrassed and a dismissive look on his face. "...obviously they weren't real." he scoffs in a mutter, trying to make it clear that he at least

Ilyna nods to Halisi's explanation, and a sigh follows when she watches Jason in the corner of her eye. The name of the construction set should have given away that this set was just as much about myth as history. "It's okay to admit that you don't know, Jason," she jabs at his defensiveness. When Vasquez gets up to prepare dessert, she nods. "That sounds lovely," she says before her attention returns to Jason

Halisi 's frown turns on Cynthia when she chimes in. "Wh-... dinosaurs are not lizards!" she protests.

Fergus ' voice soon sounds from the ceiling, the VI ever helpful: "Dragons are mythological creatures found in many Earth cultures. It is believed that these myths were inspired in part by the discovery of fossilized dinosaur remains."

Cynthia raises her eyebrows and points up at the ceiling with a meaningful look to Halisi, as if the VI's statement proves her and Jason right.

Vasquez just listens for a moment with a slightly exasperated smile, but she soon shakes her head again and heads off towards the kitchen. "Anyone need a refill on their drink?" she calls back towards the others.

Li looks confused by all the disagreement, head going back and forth as she listens, Vasquez' question unnoticed by her.

Jason shoots Ilyna an unamused glare. "I know! Oh, believe me, I know!" he says defensively. Halisi's protest causes his attention to snap right back to her but, before he has a chance to speak up, Fergus swoops in to save the day. Lopsided grin crossing his features he furrows of his brow. "That sound like a win to you, Cynthia?" he asks, looking her way with exaggerated confusion, "Cuz-... cuz to me? I mean, I'm no expert!" he

Ilyna sighs at Jason's antics, but she recuses herself from getting further involved. "Yes, please," she says to Vasquez, and leans forward to dig out her empty glass from the wrapping paper strewn on the coffee table. "It's not urgent; you can get the dessert ready first."

Cynthia is all too happy to oblige, much to Halisi's chagrin. She shoots the doctor a smug look and a nod as she does. "Sure did."

Halisi lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes please, I'm in dire need of another glass of wine." she replies to Vasquez, not deigning to respond to to Jason and Cynthia.

Li perks up when Ilyna and Halisi respond to Vasquez, chiming in with "Me too!"

Vasquez offers Halisi and Ilyna a nod as she reaches the fridge, taking out the big bowl of rice pudding before moving onto the cabinets. She's just opened them when Fergus' voice cuts in on the speakers closer to the kitchen end of the room.

Fergus ' announcement can probably be overheard from the couch. "Milady, there's a 'Mr. Tazo' at the door. He says he's a courier with Startrack who has a delivery for you."

Vasquez frowns, pausing what she was doing. She stands in silence for a moment, casting a glance over towards the group by the couch. "I'll... be right down." she says, unable to shake the tension brought on by an unscheduled delivery. But it is Christmas, she tells herself. It's not the strangest thing. She starts to head for the door right away, offering an explanation of "There's someone at the door. I'll be right back."

Jason flashes that smile in Ilyna's direction as well as he bumps fists with Cynthia. It's only when Li calls out to Vasquez that her question even registers, far too caught up in his victory before. He shoots a glance her way, then back to his bottle on the coffee table. It barely lasted him long enough for them to finish handing out presents. He reaches out and slugs back the sip that remains at the bottom before standing from

Ilyna tilts her head at the unexpected delivery being announced, but she doesn't think much more of it when Vasquez slips away to receive it. She stands up with a faint, tired grunt and goes to gather the empty glasses for herself, Halisi and Li. "I'll get the refills then," she says, and walks off to the kitchen. She pours a glass of the Thessian wine, and two glasses of the same soda they had earlier.

Cynthia nods as Jason addresses her yeah. "Mhm." she agrees, but when Vasquez heads off she frowns slightly, glancing after her as she disappears through the door.

Halisi looks a little puzzled by the delivery, and glances briefly Jason's way, but she offers Vasquez a brief nod before she's gone. When Ilyna speaks up she flashes a smile. "Thank you."

Fergus responds over the corridor speakers: "I'm afraid not, milady. The sender is anonymous."

Vasquez lets out a displeased grunt. "But the courier ID checks out?" she asks as she disappears into the bedroom, grabbing her winter coat from a hook and slipping it as she heads for the bedside table to take her machine pistol, checking the holographic readouts quickly before shoving it into the pocket of her coat.

Li pays no mind to Vasquez' departure, closely studying the small images on the back of the construction block box.

Jason shoots a distracted look Cynthia's way, forcing a smile back into place. "I gotcha covered." His attention shifts to the door. Seems that he, too, isn't the most trusting of unscheduled deliveries. Given what they do and what they've been through, it's probably no surprise that he's garnered a healthy amount of paranoia over the years. For a moment he seems to weigh whether or not he's going to let her go on her own before

Ilyna carries three glasses back to the table. She raises a brow as Jason heads for the door, which causes her some concern, but she doesn't say anything. She passes an innocent, appologetic shrug towards Cynthia as her hands are too full to bring the victory beer. She shows no intentions of making another trip to the kitchen as she retakes her seat on the couch after placing the glasses on the table.

Cynthia offers an understanding nod, no doubt having picked up on Vasquez' unease. As Ilyna fetches drinks for everyone but her she puts on a playful frown, clutching a hand over her chest before snickering and heading over towards the kitchen.

Halisi nods as Jason departs, attention soon diverted to the returning Ilyna with a smile as she grabs the glass, taking a small sip. Her gaze travels to Li, still studying the box, surrounded by the rest of her presents. "Are you happy with your gifts, Li?"

Li looks up and nods firmly. "Yes! I like Christmas."

Vasquez almost collides with Jason on her way out of their bedroom, the brief tensing of her body giving away the misgivings she's unable to banish. She rolls her shoulders and looks up at him questioningly. "Coming with?"