Holiday Ball! [December GM Event]

[Ripper]

There was yet another face here tonight also which Ripper had never considered their presence in attending before he saw them. It had been going on close to several years since he had last laid eyes on the silent Mystic, but he was content to presume that it was safe in his assumption so long as her business establishments were still around in presence there would be Zodiac as well right there in the center of it always. Since nothing had happened with her tea shop closing down, her continued presence there in the community was taken as a matter of comfort.

Since his hacked phone was currently useless right now on the premise, Ripper made use of one of the server elves around to fetch him a favor and return back to him with a yellow square of tear off post it notes and a #2 mechanical pencil. He made his way over through the crowd and around her peripheral towards where in the front of her he was most directly in notice. Writing several words etched down on to the stenographic paper, he tears them off from the top one by one to hand over after finishing its inscription.

The first note reads: Alright Zo

And the second one says: Long Time.

[Game Master]

R O L E P L A Y + P R O M P T + ! ! !

Looks like those holiday helpers are at it again. No sooner is that snowman stand up and operational (with one elf left behind to man the gods and make sure people mind), than they disappear again! Only this time, they never seem to properly reappear. You see, they disperse amongst the crowd, carrying little green velvet bags weighed down with coins. As stealthily as they can manage (which isn't very, given the costumes and bells and such), they begin to slip those little bags of money into purses, pockets, hands, generally anywhere they can manage. So long as everyone gets one!

[Everyone who has posted since the last prompt recieves $1000!]

[Game Master]

MORI, ayuka ◦ Hebigumo Foundation Representative ◦ #804080

[for_peace][/for_peace][for_sirens][/for_sirens]

The party itself was a machine, with dozens of moving parts all working at the same time, each with their own function, all of them necessarily working together for things to run smoothly. She had taken note of the slight difficulties one of the elves’d had with the tinsel, and then again when the sound system from before was replaced with a megaphone. Well that was certainly curious wasn’t it? Not at all like Bancroft to overlook a detail as simple as ensuring his gadgets were all working at peak performance. Maybe there was something else going on she wasn’t seeing. Whatever the case, Ayuka was enjoying her conversation with Amalea. And when the quiet man in the nice suit gave her a nod, all she could do was return the gesture. She seemed the sort to have maybe even offered a curtsy, had the introduction been just a little more formal.

“She is giving me far too much credit.” She said with what may very well have been genuine modesty, when Lea called her a brilliant conversationalist. “Discourse, after all, is a two or more person show.” She added on to the end, with something of a smile offered to the woman whose lips she’d just felt against her own. That was when she picked up the surname of the man in the nice suit. Nilson. That name seemed so familiar to her for some reason, and she found herself trying to figure it out while the sing-along carol was going on. She chose not to open her mouth at all during the whole thing for reasons that a few people had probably picked up on. Though it seemed she was in good company, because she wasn’t the only silent one. She did take note of one person who seemed to want to monopolize the entire moment. Young waif of a thing with dark hair. Beautiful voice. However it was the woman who had led the carol that really caught Ayuka’s ear. In contrast to the one some party-goers had clapped for, this one’s voice was more average. But she certainly had some cojones on her. She-cojones. Whatever. Ms. Mori admired courage. Imperfection was something that so few people embraced, but that was reality, and it was more beautiful even than the song of a siren.

Which was right around the time the generous woman and Dr. Nilson needed to be somewhere else, because they turned and slid away. Which was to be expected, honestly. With parties like these, there were so many people, that to meet even a fraction of them, one had to be constantly moving and mingling. Seasonal events were an excellent time to network. Deeper relationships could be built or maintained any other time of the year.

That was when it struck her.

Nilson was the name of one of the potential new councilmembers. Which meant that it was her job to make nice with him. Get to know him a little better. See if he could be trusted to keep the interests of certain groups in mind. Well ****. A perfect opportunity squandered. She would make that ground back at another time though. Perhaps later in the evening. There was plenty of party still left.

“It seems that daring suits you. I’m sure Amalea will agree with me in saying you should be daring as often as possible.” Her reply to Every was delayed by the carol - her desire not to be rude, or speak over the singers. She could also see, from the corner of her eye, that there were people making their way closer. There appeared to be two men and a woman. She knew two of them to be vampires. The third was human. But the way he walked with the vampires (especially one of them) was so...familiar. It seemed they certainly did live in interesting times. “I’ve been here for a few years. Came here for work, and have found that I absolutely love this town. I won’t lie and say I don’t miss having a Starbucks every few feet, but Harper Rock has a certain charm to it that other places don’t capture.” She commented. “But I’m taking over this conversation again. You mentioned that you love it here as well, Ms. Amalea. Why is that exactly? And you’ll have to tell me how you see this place we call home.” She offered to Every, holding eye contact for a moment.

Said eye contact broke for a split second when she felt a gaze on her. She half turned, and peered across the room. There was a pale woman taking a lot of pictures. Looking right at her. A carefully plucked brow slowly lifted in question. As if to ask. ‘Well. Are you going to get your hands dirty or not?’ Another one of those who was doing a lot of networking she supposed. Her attention turned back just in time for the trio who had been making their way over to them to arrive. From there, she picked up the names. Flynn, Mortll, and Azraeth. The last two had some eyes on them alright. And their names weren’t at all mainstream. Perhaps they were related in some way.

“A pleasure to meet you three.” He said. “I was just getting familiar with your beautiful friend here.” And then two more ladies swarmed into the ‘frame’. There was a tall, Nordic blonde. The other had auburn hair and lips that Ayuka frankly would have killed for. “Oh my. I’d offer everyone a handshake, but I don’t think I have that many hands.” Spider joke? Spider joke. She just sort of thrust her palm out there, to see who would take it first. “Ayuka Mori.” She said, for those who hadn’t heard. “You must introduce me to your friends.” She said of Every.

Catching up from the weekend. Pretty sure I got everything! If not,
just poke me about it and I'll adjust accordingly. <3 <3!

[Azraeth]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Tagged: telepathic message - Noelle + Meara, referenced - Elizabeth +
Doc, spoken to - Flynn, Amalea, Mortll, Every, Caligrace, Freyja

So they totally got there just in time to see some people making out. Like there was some chick who looked like she was trying to play puppets with Amalea. Only Amalea’s mouth was the puppet and this lady’s tongue was the hand. WHAAAAAT? Az paused right in his tracks and watched. He saw the mistletoe, but people didn’t kiss like that just because of some holiday plantlife. It brought to mind that famous line from the Batman movie. The one with the hot catwoman in the stitched together black latex. Was the Sis dating someone?! Why had she not told him? “Baby. Hey baby. Baby. People are kissing. Do you see that? Kissing. That means…” He eyed Flynn expectantly. Yeah. That was right. There was no way the Paladin was getting out of it. They had to pause, just for a moment, so that Az could plaster himself to that attractive blue suit (his color as he liked to say). The kiss was a brief one, because the Mystic knew that once the train started rolling down the track, there was little to nothing that could be done about it. And he was there to be social, god damnit. Really. It just gave him a hint of the taste of the man he loved, and left him with a grin the size of Quebec.

And there were so many faces! He recognized several of them, but naturally there were any number of them he didn’t - which wasn’t surprising. His circles tended to be the mystical and the academic, the Dragons. He wasn’t high society. He didn’t pretend to be. There were people from all over Harper Rock there, but it was obvious that the Ball itself had originally been designed for, and catered to those who had wealth or power. Neither of which Az had, nor wanted. “Those are Elizabeth and Doc.” He explained quietly to his partner as they were making their way through the crowd. “I think you’d like them quite a lot. Doc is an absolute wolf in...wolf’s clothing, but he’s brilliant. Elizabeth I know less about, because I’ve only met her a few times. They seem surprisingly suited to each other though. Both quiet. Both with a hell of a lot more than meets the eye going on.” He didn’t have time to expound upon that, because he caught sight of Noelle. He lifted up on his tip toes as if he might get above the crowd, and waved towards her. It was the sort of wave that jostled his entire body from side to side against Flynn’s.

You look like the most alluring Christmas present! I bet Ripper can’t wait to unwrap you! The thought was sent to her, and the vampire actually found himself glancing around trying to see if he could spot the Killer. Perhaps it was all of the bodies, but he couldn’t pick him up at all.

Then he spotted Meara, who was working with the string quartet. The vampire practically bounced in his spot as he and his mate were walking. He wanted to run over to where she was playing so he could watch the way her hands moved and how the music played out across her features. He could hear it from where he was.

Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. Whenever you get a chance, just let me know so Flynn and I can come drown you in a little bit of love! Or you can come and claim a hug in person. Whatever works best for you. Whatever the case, Meara certainly seemed to be in her element, and that made the Mystic happy. She was one of those genuinely sweet people who just deserved good things.

It was at that moment Flynn mentioned that Mortll looked beautiful, and Az had to come back to himself, because he’d been so busy looking around that he had totally missed what was going on right in front of him. “You look like the most delicate of ivory and silver ornaments.” He said to her as his free arm (the one not caught by Flynn’s), wound itself around her shoulders to give her a tug right against his side. It was a brief, loving affection. He knew for a fact that any ‘delicate’ part of the woman was an illusion. She was less silver and more steel. His gaze was cast back for a moment to the tree, where he saw what seemed to be a sizable cheque. WOAH. Talk about a merry Christmas for the little ones.

And then they were finally arrived. There was Amalea, the lady who had been kissing her. Doc and Elizabeth seemed to have meandered away. There were two new women who seemed to be close to Every. Jeeze. When had he seen Every last? Well. There had been Humanity Week, but the two hadn’t had a chance to really talk then. He’d been intending to go and track her down, but the event had gotten away from him as far as time went, and she’d seemed preoccupied anyway. Before that had been...the Daughters of Destiny? Back when Az had been Superbia. That had been a while back. Quite a while. And he hadn’t really gotten a chance to catch up with her since then. Unlike Prudence, who Az saw periodically due to shared interests, such as the Voodoo Dragons.

He really needed to have a sit down chat with her. See how she was. What she had been up to.

But a ball was not the place for that. “Ladies!” He greeted. “I seem to have stumbled onto a garden of beautiful winter flowers. How are you all?” he asked, glancing briefly to Ayuka as she was introduced to him, only for the vampire to press more tightly into Flynn’s side so as to avoid pulling all of the women into a group hug which...probably would have gotten at least a few strange looks. “I don’t believe I know either of you two.” He said to Caligrace and Freyja. “We should totally change that. Hey, I’m Azraeth. This is my hu--my Flynn.” There. No more complaints about people thinking Flynn was a thrall. Problem. Solved.

[Zodiac]

Suddenly she was in shadows, which was interesting because she had not chosen to be. The gypsy looked up (and up) and smiled as she saw Joe standing in front of her. An eyebrow raised as he began to use sign language. Sometimes it was the best way to ‘speak’ without being overheard by those around you.

Why do I always feel like I have fallen into a hole when I see you? She replied as she kept her motions slow and steady– leaving out all the shortcuts and abbreviations she would normally use when in conversation in this manner. Zodiac ‘listened’ to Joe’s breakdown of what Tia was considering doing here and nodded her understanding. One thing she liked about that woman– she always had some idea working along. When Joe had finished, she smiled and gave him a hug. I will let her know if I think of anything. Try and have some fun.

As Joe moved away, she went back to ‘spider watching’. Now she was on the move with Amelia in tow. Or was it the other way around? ”Who has caught who here? she wondered with a smirk. A dangerous game to be playing, but then again who was playing who?

She made eye contact with the dryder once. Oh yes, she had been made. Something in the look held a hint of a challenge. She simply stared back as if saying. ”Don’t be greedy. One snack at a time.” It did not faze her or the dryder. If she had been made, contact was inevitable. If not now, then somewhere in time. Part of her was dying to have this woman across from her in the ‘Purple Parlor’. What she could learn from doing a reading for her. In reflex she checked her clutch to make sure she had packed a couple of ‘free reading’ bonus passes.

She caught the attention of a few more guests passing by her and she played the smile/appearing business cards game for them. She listened to questions and answered either by signing or notes. She might as well salvage something from all of this. Whatever they learn about the dryder they certainly would not share it with her unless they felt she could provide a missing clue to it all and even then– would it be the entire truth.

Unless she found a chance to slip the dryder a free reading invite.

And if she would actually show.

And if she didn't rip her head off in the process.

A lot of damn if's involved there.

Another, smaller, shadow enveloped her and Zodiac turned her attention to see…

Santa Claus?

She looked at the notes she was handed, then focused on the eyes of the man for a moment. Oh yes, she knew who this was. A clever idea to show up like this, otherwise every single thing that went wrong this night would be his fault if they were aware he was here. The vampire population of the Rock had a sad view of the Ripper. Some of it was due to his own actions, but he had also become a scapegoat for things that may or may not be his doing. The gypsy had two ways she ‘judged’ people. One was by the overall view of things (which was basically sorting through all the rumors and finding the truths and tossing the crap) and the second was her personal one. The one on one interactions between herself and another. It drove some of her friends crazy. “How can you even talk to that person?” and other colorful expressions would follow when her opinion differed from the majority. Was ‘Santa’ a friend? She could not say, but he was surely not a foe. In the few dealings she had had with him in the past, he was true to his word, and being such a person was gold as far as she was concerned.

She took a timid step closer, then wrapped ‘Santa’ in a hug.

”Yes, it has been awhile, ‘Santa’ and I’ve been a bad girl all year.” she kept her telepathic message soft and light. When they had interacted in the past she had not mastered the skill, so she imagined he’d find her thoughts a bit of a surprise in his head. She let go and stepped back and began to sign. Keeping what she said in his mind matching what she said with her hands.

So, do I get to sit on your lap and tell you what I want for Christmas? she smirked, then spoke just with her thoughts to Ripper.

”Been way too long. You should stop by the shop one evening so we can talk freely. I don’t trust mind speaking too much in this crowd.”

Did the dryder have the ability to pick up stray thoughts or perhaps something no has seen could while hiding somewhere in the room? A bit far fetched, but she was being careful. She explained quickly to Ripper just before those annoying ‘elves’ returned to swarm about the crowd. She took the offered bag with a smile then peeked inside. Oh nice!

Been here less than an hour and made a thousand bucks. Not too shabby!

[Tiamat]

Tiamat’s eyes briefly caught the form of Kaelyn’s ‘Papi’. Before she could offer any response, her hand was grabbed, and she nearly became a kite for her blonde friend. Once the pair had stopped moving, Tia gently took her hand back and smoothed down her dress. “Kaelyn dear, despite my reputation of being the Wicked Witch of the Southwest, I don’t actually possess the ability to fly. Especially not in these heels. I’ll also let you on a little secret.” She leaned close to the girl’s ear, and in a whisper said, “I’m not exactly in my comfort zone right now either. Being the village pariah tends to make one uncomfortable in crowds.”

She straightened and smiled slightly. “To answer your other questions, Yes, I do perform frequently at Dragons Lair. I found it helps on the very busy nights to keep people from getting upset. Tonight, it was more for myself, and a few of the regulars I had noticed milling around. Though, I’m certain there are plenty who’ll assume I did it entirely to be the center of attention.” She took a quick survey of the room and made note of Flynn and his date. She would make it a point to speak to him later.

“As to your other question,” she ran the hand not holding her clutch through her hair, then continued, “I want to make sure your end is highly profitable. So, in addition to your regular payments, I’ll also be giving you some of The Nameless. The products that just aren’t up to my standards for private sales. They’re the ones who go to the shops for the public. At minimum, I’ll ensure you have at least ten thousand worth of products to sell to the shops.”

As one of the bar elves passed, Tia delicately collected two glasses. One, she kept. The other she held out to Kaelyn. Almost immediately after, another elf held out small bag of money. Tiamat raised her eyebrow and indicated that her hands were currently occupied, one with a drink, the other her clutch. The elf set the bag at her feet, handed off the one for Kaelyn, then moved off. Polishing off her drink, Tia set her drink on a passing empty tray, before leaning down and picking up the bag.

“Kaelyn, do you see that rather large man over near the pillars,” she asked as she motioned to Joe. “If you work your way over to him, I’ll meet you back there. This Wicked Witch, is going to play Christmas Elf for a brief second.”

She began to snake her way through the crowd, and with about as much notice as most paid her no mind. She reached her destination shortly after Flynn and his date, a man Tia met only briefly, finished their lip lock. She passed her bag over to Flynn, with an additional amount from herself. A brief tilt of her head was followed up with, “For the parts you brought me, I had been too busy to thank you before.”

She quickly set about blending back into the crowd as she worked her way back across. She did make a detour and slid up to Zodiac, who was speaking with the man she met earlier. “How is the Gypsy Queen doing tonight?”

[Doc]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Taking the offered drink, Doc gave Lizzie an appreciative leer. “You are too good to me..” She hadn’t been doing anything more than trying to get him to relax. He had a very bad habit of always being ‘on’. Had he not just warned Lizzie and Amalea about the woman’s true form? Someone out on a strictly social evening wouldn't do that. And yet he had. Lizzie was, in her own way, telling him to relax. She was right. What were the chances that Spider Woman would do anything even remotely dangerous? Not very likely at all.

A frown briefly crossed his face, as he got the thought from Zodiac. He didn’t understand her question. But instead of asking for clarification, he turned his attention back to Lizzie.

“You are right.. We are supposed to have a fun evening.. Not working.” He nodded sheepishly, after her kiss, “My apologies. And yes.. Again, you are correct, she can handle herself. She kicked Az’ ***. No, Amalea more than kicked it, she stomped it into next year.” He grinned openly, before quickly closing his lips. He had been more proud of her. He wanted to boast all over the city. He didn’t. But he wanted to. “She is quite capable on her own.” Even as he uttered the words, he subconsciously turned his gaze to find Amalea in the crowd. As he did, received a telepathic thought from her. He lifted an eyebrow and looked back at Lizzie.

“We are out in force tonight..” Doc said in a conversational tone, “I saw Zodiac, who I haven't seen out in a social setting in ages. And by ages, I mean years. And your little buddy is here.. Apparently dressed as Santa, along with his Mrs.” He cast a glance around the room, “I would say a good third of those here are .. our kind.”

Taking a drink, and ultimately draining the drink in a pull, he sat the empty on a passing tray, while answering Lizzie. “In this city? No. I think he is planning a strategic entrance. Or.. has been here the whole time as one of the elves, and will do the big reveal at some point in the evening. THink about it.. As soon as he shows up, he is going to be in the spotlight. He will not have a minutes peace to himself. Everything he does and says will be fodder for the tabloids if he fucks up. Even if he doesn't .. the press can take a simple act of kindness to a child and turned it into a pedophile stalking his next victim.” His words were said in an off hand manner, that could give the listener the feeling he wasn’t sure, but then again, not really concerned about it either.

Having finished his drink, he had been scanning the room for a -drinks-bearing- elf when he saw Kaelyn. “There’s Chub.” He looked to see if Stag was in the area, but didn’t see him. He glanced at Lizzie, “Have you met Chub?”

[Alaric von der Marck]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Alaric might have caught the nod from Elizabeth but whether he responded or not, he would not have been able to recall. There was a lot going on, this event being rather more boisterous than ones he’d attended in the past. At the mention of a ‘ball’ he’d expected soft music and, while the music was to be commended (and he was certain he recognised the violinist) the pace matched the pace of the elder’s social anxiety. It was silly, he scolded himself, to become so anxious in large crowds when he’d faced down centuries of life. What hardships had he faced? And yet, this lavish display of modernity was enough to make him want to run for the hills.

Though he’d turned his eyes from the kiss Elizabeth shared with whom he could only assume was her beau, Alaric was witness to many other pairs of lips locking, too. And, though it’d been explained to him how open everyone was in this modern time, it was still confronting for the elder to see so many couples kissing so openly in public -- and not chaste kisses, either. Some were passionate and, what he thought belonged in a private place of a bedroom. And he was also still getting used to the fact that homosexual relationships were not only accepted in this day and age (he applauded humanity for that step) but to see them flaunted in a public space was still a shock to the system.

On top of which, there was laughter and loud conversation, there were little people running around -- one of whom tried to shove something in Alaric’s pocket though, unused to strangers getting into his personal space he reacted by slapping the hand away. Money spilled from the pouch the elf had been holding, clattering to the ground. It earned Alaric a frown, though the elf just meandered on his way.

When he was joined by Aurelia, Alaric was somewhat relieved. At her question, he shook his head.

”Nein,” he replied gruffly. There were other reasons why he was not enjoying himself, though they were not reasons he understood, or acknowledged. There was a sadness at his core that he couldn’t quite shake, no matter how hard he tried; it had settled in like frost, and no warmth could ever melt it.

”You look handsome,” he said to Aurelia, finding it helped to focus on one person or thing rather than to be overwhelmed by everything else. Alaric was still figuring out synonyms, it seemed.

[Every]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

"I've been well enough, and yourself?" She asked Doc, swaying on her feet momentarily before she straightened up properly. The Christmas Carols had the woman crinkling her nose briefly, she'd never been one to sing in public. Around friends was a completely different story, but it wasn't something she was comfortable doing in a crowd. Her head inclined as she heard Amalea's words, a soft hum escaping her as she took notice of the woman flinching. A brief frown played across her lips before she replied, her hazel eyes moving around the room afterwards. There was an upward roll of her eyes, an external sigh heard afterwards as she gave a brief shake of her head.

There was the sight of Zodiac, to whom Every gave a nod in greeting towards.

As she looked back to Ayuka once she was done, a warm smile graced her lips once more, as soon as the carol was over. "I'll have to keep it in mind. I'm trying to get a little out of my comfort zone as time goes on." She had a lot of time, too. It helped, in some ways. Listening to the woman speak, she considered how she felt herself about Harper Rock. There were ins and outs of it. "Starbucks was always nice. I certainly miss it this time of year. The holiday drinks were always fantastic." It was going on almost six years without them, or was it seven? All in all, Every had lost track of it. She maintained the eye contact and then gave a soft shrug of her shoulder, pausing as she waited for Amalea to answer before she would eventually answer herself. "It's got it's own charm, really. I came here for school, actually. A friend of mine convinced me to transfer from where I was studying Criminology, she told me there was a better gymnastic program."

Of course, Every had never gotten the chance to find out. Within hours of stepping off the bus, she'd ran straight into her sire when taking a short cut and her life was ended as she knew it. Although, she'd eventually finished her schooling. "It's a good place to start all over." A smile played across her lips as she once more as she recognized the aura that came at her side, her arm curling around Caligrace before she turned her head to brush a kiss in return to the woman's cheek. "Thank you, I am. You look stunning." Every gave her an affectionate squeeze. It was good to see her out and about, the thought being echoed as she noticed Freyja coming down the staircase. She blew her a kiss, her attention shifting afterwards to take in the appearance of them around her.

There were a lot of people gathering around, something that made the shadow shift her weight just slightly as she found it minorly uncomfortable. Mentally, she reminded herself that it would all be fine. She knew, at least, the majority of them by first name basis. Her attention returned to Ayuka as she heard the woman speak once more. Her friends. Her mind blanked momentarily before she realized what was being asked. "Certainly. This is lovely little pistol is Caligrace, and the blonde beauty over there is Freyja." As soon as she was done with her introductions, she was relieved to see another familar face. Even if it was one that she didn't know very well, any more.

"Az, this is Caligrace and the bombshell is Freyja. He's an old friend of mine." She explained to Cali, letting go of the woman to smile and offer her hand to Flynn, "I'm Every, it's a pleasure to meet you" It was a nice thing, she thought, to see that Azraeth had found someone whom seemed to make him happy. She'd been close to Superbia, finding the woman to be more of a sister than anything - even if she had dated the woman's brother, too. The memory brought a twitch of amusement to her lips as she recalled the doodling on her ex. Every missed those days, sometimes. And she missed the girls, their sisterhood. The familial aspect, even if she wanted to punt the majority.

[Ainsley (DELETED 8973)]

Once another dark haired woman seemed to take center stage during the song, Ainsley was more than happy to let the woman have all eyes on her, and ears. Her singing softened slightly, before it stopped altogether, allowing Ainsley to move around without being paid much attention to. There had been a mention of snowmen, with items carried out towards the outside, and after a quick debate, Ainsley decided...why not?

Her dress was hardly expensive-it had been on sale. It wasn't designer-it was something that anyone could get if it came in their size, right from the hanging racks. It paled in comparison to what most the women at the ball were wearing. And it was unlikely she would wear the garment again, so with her head held high, Ainsley picked up her dress and moved around various individuals she had never seen or did not know.

Oblivious to the elves running amok, gifting bags of money, Ainsley set her drink down on a tray that came wandering by. She grabbed two scarves, one for herself and one for a snowman that seemed to be in the middle of being built by unknown people in the courtyard. She wrapped the one scarf around her neck, appreciated the fact that she wore closed toe shoes instead of open toed shoes and moved outside with a laugh and an offering of a scarf for the singular snowman that was being put together by a group effort of five.