We'll Deck Your Halls (PARTY! Open)

[Elizabeth]

The sudden urge to whip out her tome and disappear in plain sight had flooded Elizabeth’s thoughts as soon as she saw the full damage of her drinking binge with Doc. It was a good thing she had worn her hair up tonight, was the second thought that came to mind as a towel was thrust in her direction from the other side of the bar. She didn’t take it, as Elizabeth waited for Doc to say, or do something. A noise came from him, followed by laughter and only then did Elizabeth reach for the towel and bring it to her lips.

Finally, he spoke and Elizabeth laughed into the towel, then shook her head. No, she absolutely had never done that before, not even when she were alive. A few people around them chuckled at Doc, some even whooped and others went back to whatever it was they were doing, after sliding their chairs away from the two of them, as to avoid the smell and any other projectile vomit from the duo. Doc stood and more of the Scotch slid off Doc as he excused himself.

While he might not have his full mental capabilities about him, Elizabeth wondered just what would going to the bathroom solve in this case. Even if Doc managed to dry his sweater, the smell alone…After one more quick wipe of her lips, Elizabeth slowly stood, the towel still in her right hand and interjected on Doc’s thought process. “Perhaps...a new sweater may be needed.” She said as she stood before him, attempting to get his attention, and then that was when the woman saw both Alexandrea and Mister King approaching from different avenues. Elizabeth moved to the side as Doc moved past her, allowing him room, and salvaging her own dress from anything she had vomited upon him.

Mister King had made it to her first, offering Elizabeth a towel. Kind words were offered before the woman slowly nodded her head. "I do not drink often, I must confess." She said quietly, her throat slightly scratchy as Alexandrea came around. "I could perhaps make a dress with all the towels in which has been offered to me." She said with a small laugh, before Elizabeth reached out for each towel. "I deeply apologize, Mister King. I assure thee, it shall not happen again." Elizabeth said as she wiped at the bar stool Doc had been sitting upon, just in case. "Thank you both, but I can assure the pair of you, that I believe I am fine. And shall not be doing that again." Her eyes looked around the club, before falling on the dance floor, where people's arms and legs gyrated in a foreign pattern. "I think a bit of fresh air would do me well." She said to the both of them before dipping her head, and moving away from the bar, the horrendous stench and the outright embarrassment for the evening.

[Kira]

Kira was still in search of her friend when the sea of people parted and she saw her. She grinned, 'Well, I was at his last party so I guess I do.' she replied to her friend's mind. When Lexy's attention was drawn away, Kira followed where she was looking.

She wondered if they were having a drinking contest, and being not that big of a drinker herself, she felt bad. She wouldn't wish vomit on anyone, it was gross. Blood and guts she could deal with.

She followed Lexy over to the pair but Doc had headed off. "I can donate this sweater for the cause. It was Dave's so it should fit him." she said with a shrug, holding up the sweater she had been carrying around. No amount of water from a bathroom was going to get vomit smell out.

[Doc]

Doc: Once in the men’s room, Doc endured the snickers and jokes at his expense. Nodding he went with it, it was funny. If it hadnt been him it happened to, he would be ribbing that unfortunate someone. So fair was fair. He stood in front of the trashcan, and contemplated how he was going to get this off without dragging his head through it. A completely disagreeable idea. There was nothing for it, it would simply have to be cut off. Reaching into his jeans pocket, he pulled out a pocket knife and sawed through the neckline and cut down through the center of the snowman, then severing between the jingle bells. One dead inappropriate snowman sweater with severed testicles. He shrugged it off and tossed it in the trash.

“Hey man.. Here..” Some unknown guy tossed him a Chrononaut tee shirt. “Saw what happened.. Hell .. I was lucky enough to video it..” He held up one of the newer smart phones, “I Gif’d it and it’s already uploaded on Imgur. Any luck it will be viral by morning. With the number of ‘likes’ it is bound to get.. I will be ‘glorious’ soon. Least I could do is get you a new shirt.”

Doc caught the shirt, and nodded his thanks, as he moved over the sink to wash his chest off. Washing up as best he could in the men’s bathroom sink, he was reminded of his university years and the somewhat less than appropriate antics he fell prey to. He smiled ruefully, and pulled on the borrowed tee shirt. So the scene had been captured, and it was already on the internet. Should he warn Elizabeth? What are the chances it would go viral*? Pfft. Who would want to see woman spew at a Christmas party? No it would most likely die unseen.

Stepping out of the men’s room several minutes later, Doc frowned. He had left Elizabeth at the bar, but looking toward the bar he didn’t see her. Alexandrea and another couple of people had taken their spot. Wandering over toward the bar, clad in his clean new tee shirt, he looked pointedly at Alexandrea, “Tell me she headed to the ladies? And she didn’t desert me?” He then grinned, “Happy Holidays Alexandrea..” He looked from her to the other two that he didn’t really know.

*Fantastic. Looks like Lady Luck is on your side. It went Viral

[Alexandrea]

Despite her head start for the race of the towels, others had been closer to Liz’s side. Others besides the unlucky recipient of Elizabeth’s technicolor yawn. What had happened seemed to still be registering for Doc even as the bartender won the race, with Mr. King a close runner up.

Adding yet another towel to the growing pile seemed like a joke by the time Alexandrea had gotten there but the always gracious Elder made light of it and somehow managed to accept all the towels presented to her with aplomb. No one else in the world could make projectile vomit seem so… trivial.

Alex smiled warmly to Liz while the woman insisted that she was alright, a heightened sense of empathy told the Allurist otherwise. Besides Elizabeth was no Allurist and for all Alexandrea knew, the Elder had ever tried to drink anything besides blood before. And Liz’s voice was another clue that things hadn’t come back up quite as smoothly as they had gone down.

But Elizabeth seemed anxious to get away, mentioning a need for some fresh air, which was understandable. Alex sent a lighthearted message to her friend’s thoughts when Liz walked away; *If you would like company let me know. And next time you want to try that? You talk to me first, woman. When you come back in (and you better), gargle with some aspirin. Trust me.*

She looked away from the Queen’s retreating form to Kira as the other blonde held up the Ugly Sweater she had brought with, Alex got a real look it for the first time. “Aw. That is actually sorta cute. It looks like one somebody’s little old grandma really made.”

Returning quickly (for a guy) from the washroom clad in a new ad for the club, Doc asked rather abruptly after Elizabeth before remembering to wish Alex a good holiday. She grinned at him, wishing him well in return before shrugging her shoulders.

“I hope she will be back. I’m prepared to hunt her down if need be though. She seemed kind of embarrassed but then who could blame her, right? All she really said as she was she wanted some fresh air. And it was just a minute ago so I think giving her a few minutes more alone would be a good idea. If she isn’t back before you’re buying me round number three? I’ll track her down. Deal?”

“Hey Kira, have you ever met Doc? Doc this is my sister Kira.” Alex nodded towards each as she introduced them both, taking over the barstool on the other side of Liz’s and away from Doc’s. Lincoln Alexandrea didn’t really know but she had the impression Doc hadn’t been introduced at all yet so she went ahead and pointed out the man.

“And Doc, have you met our host for the evening before? Lincoln King. Mr King, this is Dr. Charles Nilson."

[Vexen]

When she had first heard of the event, she hadn’t thought of it as being anything entertaining. In fact, if she were honest with herself, she had hoped that it wouldn’t be. Nothing could compare to the wonderland that England offered her, and a part of her felt as if enjoying an evening out in the chilled embrace of Harper Rock would be scandalous. England was her one true home, and while nothing could come close to comparing, there was something about this evening that entranced her. Perhaps it was the mischief sparkling in the stranger’s eyes, or the energy of the room as the others moved about, their laughter like an untold melody. Whatever the case may be, she found herself loosening her hold on her book, an act that was magic in itself.

There you go again, Vexen. Turning something as simple as a christmas party into a fairytale.

Resting the novel on the table at her side, she traced her fingers along the faded lettering as the warmth of his hand enveloped hers. It was an act pulled straight from Cinderella, and while she had read the classic tale - and the various variations - she found herself unsure of how to act. Social etiquette was far from something she was well versed in. When faced in a situation that left her uncomfortable or shy, she usually blurted out something in regards to a story she had just read or a useless fact that no one really cared about. After all, who really needed to know that bees had a total of five eyes? Thankfully, before she could blurt out this absurd fact, he straightened, his voice as smooth as honey as he introduced himself. Claude. He even has a regal name.

“Charming, aren’t you?”

The words slipped free before she could think them through, but there was no shame in her sparkling eyes. Instead, she laughed softly and slid her fingers beneath the cover of her book as she followed his gaze. In doing so, she caught the fall of Robin’s hand, and with a warm smile, she returned it just as he lead his unfitting companion to the bar. Too amused by the sweater that the elder gentleman wore, she covered her mouth as a childish laugh escaped her throat. “I wonder if it’s a lot like the truck theory. The bigger the truck, the smaller the…” Trailing off, she once more giggled at her own pathetic joke and shook her head before she gave a stray curl a tug. Her nervous tics were far from missed on her, and she quickly tried to still her hands as his attention turned back towards her.

Of course, his question gave her another pause, and she wondered if she resembled a deer in the midst of a runaway car as she tried to think of a decent excuse.

Is anyone supposed to know the truth?
Would Prudence care?

Realizing that a few seconds had passed, she quickly cleared her throat and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m not all that thirsty. I’d rather not get sick on my first outing,” she admitted - and as if on cue, the woman in the elegant dress lost her contents. "Like that." Watching as the woman vanished into the night, she sighed as she felt a twinge of pity at her situation. The dress had truly been beautiful, and it was a shame that she wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the evening. Knowing, however, that there wasn't anything she could do to improve it, she turned her attentions back to her companion with a smile.

[Robin Little]

The night had only just started but Robin’s spirits were high. Maddison had made a joke about not spilling the wine and Robin just laughed; at least he had done nothing this time to warrant her doing it on purpose – if that’s what she had done last time, he’d never bothered to ask. The bartender busied himself with their order and Robin had opened his mouth to make some quirky remark in response, only to have Lincoln do so on his behalf.

The gears shifted, Robin ready to fire a quirky response at Lincoln instead, only for all three of them to be interrupted by the sound of violent retching. Robin winced. He was waiting for something warm and acrid-smelling to land on him, to saturated his pants or his jumper or his shoes, to have chunks stuck in his hair. To his absolute surprise – and there was some mirth there, too – he was not the one with the bad luck tonight. Somewhere to their right was another couple, including the woman with the dress that looked like a decorated tree. She was the unfortunate who belonged to vomit, which was now adorning the man at her side.

Lincoln rushed off to resume his duties as host while another blonde attended the scene. The strangers were well looked after, and Robin thought it best to sit back and stay well away from the mess.

”You know, I feel like my bad luck has taken a night off,” he said to Maddison, his fingers curling around the wide bulb of the wine glass. The fingers of his other hand dug into the hard wood of the bar. Robin hadn’t been the superstitious type, but lately he’d begun to count his blessings as actual blessings. He avoided breaking mirrors, steered clear of black cats, and never walked under ladders. And now, he had to touch wood in order to keep his statement true. The last thing he wanted to do was jinx what was turning out to be a good night.

”Do you want to mingle?” Robin asked Maddison then, peering out into the crowd. He wanted to go find that girl who worked in the bookshop, just to say hello.

[Elizabeth]

Fresh air for Elizabeth entailed leaving the scene of the unfortunate event. The smell was perhaps stronger than Elizabeth ever recalled vomit being, but then again...when was the last time she had vomited? Definitely when she was human. Elizabeth had no reason to tempt the old code back in her early ears, or test the waters, either. She was told their kind needed only blood to survive and blood was all she ever drank. Not that the woman minded, either. Food, to her, had been far more bland than that of someone with a delicious and rare blood type.

A thought entered her mind when the woman made her way from the scene. Had she planned on leaving? The jury was still out. How could she face Doc again? Or face anyone, really? Such as Alexandrea, or even Mister King himself? She had made quite the scene, after all. The woman heeded Alexandrea's warning about coming back, and so the tome to the tower remained tucked away for now. Would she drink again? If she did, she certainly would not have Alexandrea endure the after affects twice.

The thought of gargling aspirin water had the woman's brows arching up high. The suggestion to gargle was a brilliant and needed one, but what would the aspirin do? Not that the blonde telepath had any on her, either. Instead, Elizabeth ducked into the bathroom and headed for the sink. Once there, she pulled up the tap and collected some water in a semi-enclosed palm and brought a handful to her lips. She spit it out, then repeated the process one more time, before Elizabeth turned the faucet off, and grabbed some paper towel. The towel was pressed to her lips, the remainder of her red painted lips vanishing to their natural skin tone color, due to the woman wiping her lips dry. Once the paper towel was disposed of, Elizabeth slowly left the bathroom in a cautious manner, still seeing a small group near the bar.

[Doc]

Doc ran his hands through his hair and then clasped his hands together behind his head. He gave Alexander a sheepish albeit unapologetic look. “If the truth be told.. I pretty much dared her to it.” He shrugged, “You know how I can be.” He glanced at the others briefly, before adding quietly for Alexandrea only, “Asshole ******** and drinking.. Never ends well.”

Alexandrea recaptured the conversation with her usual self assured aplomb, introducing him to first her sister and then the host of the evening. Letting his hands drop to his side, he nodded to Kira “How do you do?”

Doc gave Kira his best polite look. Though he wasn’t sure how it really came across, since he imbibed several shots of alcohol mere minutes before, and was feeling rather.. Relaxed. It was a situation he rarely found himself in. Normally he was reserved, very reserved; or as one of his spawn often liked to say, he was so uptight, if you stuck a lump of coal up his ***, in two weeks, you'd have a diamond. Apparently it was phrase of significance that was lost on him.

Doc gave Mr. King a look, “My apologies for the recent unpleasantness. I am more than willing pay for any cleaning that needs to happen.” He made move to reach for a business card, to belatedly realize he wasn’t wearing his usual suit. “Hmm” Patting his chest, then jeans pockets, front and back, his brow furrowed and he added somewhat absently, “I don’t seem to have my information on me.. I could.. Um.. give you an I.O.U. If that would suffice?” He frowned more. “I am good for it.”

Doc looked at Alexandrea, “You will vouch for me, right?” He looked at Mr. King and gestured to Alexandrea, “Ask her.. I always pay my bills.” He nudges Alexandrea to speak up for him. “Go on tell him.” He waited for a mere second before interjecting again. “And no more drinking..” He shrugs.. “Not for ever.. **** no.. I mean.. No more tonight.” Another mere second pause, before he added, “Here.. No more drinking, tonight.. HERE.” He grinned at Alexandrea as if to silently say, ‘dodged that bullet’.

[Kira]

Kira raised an eyebrow when Lexy talked about the ugly sweater she was carrying around. "Well damn it, maybe Dave's grandma made it. He didn't say anything.." she said, "I know nothing about this whole ugly sweater thing so I asked him to get me one." she added, well so much for burning the thing. Maybe she was just in the mood to burn anything, she would find something to replace the sweater.

She turned her attention to Lexy when she asked if she ever met Doc. For the life of her, Kira couldn't remember if she had or not. Obviously not something she met on a regular bases to imprint any sort of memory or recognition. She smiled when Lexy referred to her as her sister, it was more than just the daughters of the Triple Moon. Kira wished she was really part of Lexy's family. Everyone above her was...gone.

"I'm doing well..." she replied to Doc. She looked to the host of the party as Doc said he would pay for cleaning. The host should know her name now if he was listening to their conversation. Doc seemed to not have what he was looking for on him. The way he was speaking now, she wondered exactly how much they had to drink. She knew very well that drugs worked on her so she never tried to test the limits of drinking. She never drank before she was turned, she had to keep a clear head on the streets of New York.

Kira was glad Lexy was here for this party, it should be even more fun.

[Alexandrea]

Most people wouldn't take Alex for a card shark. But as a businesswoman, she had perfected her poker face and now she was learning to use it in social situations as well.

When Doc had quickly admitted to having pushed Elizabeth into the drinking, Alexandrea had clenched her teeth in an effort to keep her mouth shut. This was not the time or the place to beat the **** out of Doc. Besides, the man was her best customer. Clearly she had better carefully consider her reactions here... it was not so very long ago that the former anarchist would have just stabbed Doc first and thought about it later.

Times had changed. Alex and Doc had both changed. And it was not just about business. Doc was extremely likeable. Especially for a complete asshole. Alexandrea had always liked him, even back in the days when he had helped to kill her. The blonde chuckled. She really HAD had it coming, once or twice. Maybe three or four. But no more than that. Really.

And... he was drunk. She knew what that was like and had done some pretty crappy things herself back in the day. Or nights. Whatever.

Slowly the Allurist unclenched her teeth and her fists. Liz had returned looking none the worse for wear and if she wasn't angry at Doc... it was probably best if Alexandrea let it go. After all, Doc HAD always been honest about about being an asshole. And Alex had nothing against assholes. In fact she happened to be in love with one. That asshole couldn't blame booze for his bad behavior however.

The silent debate inside the blonde went on without any outward sign except if one happened to be looking at her cheeks right as she began to relax, her smile once again coming naturally and unforced. And so it was that by the time Doc had turned to Alex asking for confirmation that he was as good for his debts as a Lannister, her mood had shifted back from wanting to kill Doc, to wanting to just give him ****. With a few laughs as well if possible.

"I have no idea who this man is. In fact, I have never seen him before in my life."

It was an absurd to say, given that Alex had just introduced Doc to two people but she kept up the straight face without a twitch, staring at the much taller killer dead in the eyes.