Of Mimes and Merriment[closed]

[Beaver Dude]

The first attempt at kidnapping Santa Claus had sadly enough backfired.

Xaldin hadn't learned about the particulars (details were sketchy), but if the reports were to be believed, a hoard of children, mice and some ragtag denizens of Halloween Town had successfully bested the elite members of the Organization.

That or a great big glowing thing named Plought Hoal.

As mentioned, details were sketchy.

In the post-Christmas craze, Xaldin had decided to visit. Take in the sights and sounds.

Maybe finish the job if security revealed itself to be... lacking.

[Homac]

Gogo fit in well in the very colorful atmosphere of this town. It was a surprisingly entertaining experience for him, not being stared at for her robes.

And, when he looked at the entrance to the town, there was another man wearing a robe, or cloak as it may be. This man's though, was entirely black.

The mime approached the man slowly, and said in her loud, but whispery voice, "Ah. Hello there."

[Beaver Dude]

Xaldin spun - only slightly faster than an untrained human - and came face to face with a rather bizarre example of the indigenous wildlife.

He considered killing it for only a moment. He wasn't supposed to be making too much of a fuss.

"Ah." The Organization member said, this time making sure to carefully consult the winds for any other unexpected appearances. "Hello."

[Homac]

Gogo arched a single eyebrow at the man's actions. He'd spun quite fast, as though he was worried about being seen, or some such thing.

"You seem to be new to this place as well. Would you care for some company."

In his experience, seeing new places was better in a group. Or at least, she felt it was.

[Beaver Dude]

Oh. So, maybe not indigenous.

Another world-traveller? Xaldin narrowed his eyes - other than the corridors, there were 'Gummi' ships, certain Gateways (some were round, some were summoned through alchemy, some were carved into trees), and certain advanced civilizations that had managed it through technology. What category did this one fall under...?

"I'm-" he was about to say 'fine' and try to lose the unfortunate looking creature when he realized that it probably *would* be beneficial to have as explanation his odd-looking companion. "Quite fine with that notion. I'm afraid I've gotten quite lost," his voice would have been full of syruppy sweet falseness as a Somebody, as a Nobody it was an imitation of an imitation and quite a pale one at that. "Do you know where we are?"

[Homac]

"Ah, so you're a traveler, the same as I." Gogo's eyes closed into what could be taken as a smile, although when one could only see the eyes, it could be taken as something else as well.

"This place is called Christmas Town, from what I've heard."

Gogo turned back to the town, motioning his new companion to follow her.

"Supposedly, the man who is in charge here delivers presents to small children. All of them in one night, or some such thing. If I wasn't aware of magic, I'd be skeptical."

As he said this, she laughed slightly.

"Perhaps if we're lucky, he'll even allow us to meet him."

[Beaver Dude]

"So, you're here to meet him?" Xaldin said, trying to smile. It came out forced and unnatural but such was the fate of a Nobody whose Somebody smiled about as often as there were worlds devoid of magic.

"He does sound like an interesting person. I'd like to meet him, if I may."

[Homac]

"Ah, I'm not here to meet him per say, but it would be a treat."

There was a hint of laughter in Gogo's voice. He was obviously enjoying herself.

"Actually, I'm simply a traveler. I go by the name Gogo. And I'm sure that the workers would be more than happy to let us enter and meet their boss."

The mime continued on towards the largest house in the small town, obviously Santa's.

[Beaver Dude]

Xaldin followed closely, trying to derive more from the words than had been said. It was... surprisingly, not easy at all. If Xaldin hadn't known better he would have sworn that the person in front of him was a Nobody - the cadence to its voice was weird and choppy and... almost his own. If he'd had a heart, it'd probably be slightly perturbed.

Christmas Town was all 'multicolored nonsense' as Vexen liked to say. Xaldin blinked as they got closer to the largest hut - luminescent baubles had been strung onto the rooftop and try as he might Xaldin couldn't detect the faintest whiff of malice or danger from any of them.

There were, surprisingly, no guards.

[Homac]

As the two approached the front door to the house, Gogo took a couple of quick steps forward, and knocked on the door.

From there, a small slit opened on it, and a voice said, "Whaddaya want?"

The mime blinked slightly at the voice, he was surprised at the gruffness of it. 'And here I thought elves had to be high-pitched and cheery...' The thought crossed her mind, before he said, "We'd like to meet Santa, if that's alright."

the elf behind the slit seemed to think about it before saying, "Yeah, alright. Youse twose just come in and sit in the waiting room."

[Beaver Dude]

Xaldin had to bend down to enter the building - while Santa was by all reports human, he was apparently not all that tall. Xaldin found himself wondering if the Pumpkin King had actually kidnapped Santa - the skeleton from Halloween Town was nearly a head taller than Xaldin himself and he was already finding the shrinking of the edifices somewhat... startling.

It was... very cheery. A roaring fireplace. What smelled like hot chocolate. Two very comfortable sofas that they were apparently supposed to sit on. He had to growl away the elf that wanted to take his jacket, but he supposed that if he were a gullible, unsuspecting sap that happened to be polite he'd also offer to take the guests' coats.

[Homac]

While Xaldin had growled at the elf trying to take his coat, Gogo politely waved the elf trying to take hers away.

As he sat down in the rather comfy chair, Gogo said to her companion, "Well, this place is very cheerful if nothing else, hm?"

Sinking down into the seat slightly, the mime wondered if Santa would be long.

[Beaver Dude]

"It is..." Xaldin said pensively as he finally managed to get the elf to go away. (Growling, apparently, was not a universally understood facial expression. He had been forced to beg recourse of the 'frown' which - apparently - was somewhat better understood.) "...very festive."

At that point there was a comfortable silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the merry whistles of elves busy at work doing whatever it was that the elves here did. Toy-making. Reindeer-caring. Santa-feeding. Tending to the guests.

Yes, exactly like the elf at the doorway. It was the same that Xaldin had frowned off and despite the somewhat tremulous smile, it didn't seem all that discouraged at all. Strange.

The elf approached them with a platter of steaming dark beverages. Xaldin examined the cups dubiously (any cup that required a face to be plastered on its side was, in his opinion, a rather suspicious one) but suddenly realized that he was somewhat cold and a hot drink wouldn't exactly be unwelcome. Reaching out with tentative fingers he grabbed a mug and mumbled a wordless thanks.

He took a sip and had to resist the impulse to do a spit take. It was cloyingly sweet. How much sugar had they added to this travesty-? Still, he was cold and on the whole, it was better than something alcoholic which would disturb his careful concentration and render his abilities... not entirely satisfactory.

[Homac]

Gogo also took the offered drink, although his mouth was still covered by the hood that she wore. How he'd drink the cocoa was a mystery to everyone but her.

As the mime held the cup to his lips, she seemed to hesitate. Waiting until no one was looking, or at least, he assumed no one was looking, she quickly pulled the mouth cover down to take a drink, before sliding it back up.

Letting out a refreshed sigh, he said, "This is rather good. I wonder if it's a special recipe?"

The two continued to wait for the Big Man to arrive.

[Beaver Dude]

"Love and care is the special ingredient," the elf who served the drinks said happily. If you looked carefully, you’d be able to tell that it was in fact a he-elf. They had apparently heard of gender equality here despite the fact they were all ruled by a powerful patriarchal figure.

That or there were certain cultural norms that hadn’t translated particularly well.

“Our cook is finest in the North Pole! She puts her dedication and love into everything she makes.”

Xaldin added, under his breath: "And three tons of sugar," before the elf skipped happily away, apparently not having heard him.

Xaldin put the mug down. He was sufficiently warmed and the sugar was making him feel antsy - he wanted to burn it all off. In productive, Santa-kidnapping ways. Only the fat man had yet to show. Sighing, the lancer forced himself to relax.

"So. How did you get here?" He asked the clown-person. Gogo, was it? "It's not often that off-worlders meet in a place like..." he gestured around himself, "this."