#wogvmas

In the past years, this season made Vanya more sad than happy; but it got better increasingly. He met Ruza during this time of the year, even if he barely saw anything of her nowadays, it was a thing he was fond of. He had the same group of friends for several years now, which was a miracle in the Durast's eyes. They still haven't gotten sick of him! And despite still missing his parents and sisters, it had turned into a good time again, slow and steady. His favourite thing about it was that he could bestow gifts on people and nobody could complain, because it was quite literally gift season. Another thing he loved was the singing; he wasn't particularly good at it, but it was fun. So when he walked through Os Alta after his workday and he heard people singing, he joined. As he did now - they just started to sing a carol about Sankt Nikolai and Vanya sneaked into the rows of singers, giving in his two cents as well. It made him giddy and the person next to him gave him a confused look, but didn't tell him off. When the song was finished, the Durast gave the group a beaming smile and disappeared from the crowd. He would have loved to bring Jurian with him. On his list of things he wanted to do together, visiting one of the celebrations across the empire with him was on it; but knowing his boyfriend (was it normal to still get a rush of serotonin out of this word?) didn't do well in crowds, he didn't want to put him through it either. Even if the full celebrations didn't start yet. Candles were twinkling in some windows and a big tree was chosen to be decorated. A few pieces of decorations had been added yet. Vanya wanted to add too, but they didn't carry typical decoration with him. After a moment of thinking, they took off their necklace and slipped the charm of it into the pocket of his coat, taking off one of the several rings they were wearing and checking four times that he didn't accidentally pick the ring Juri had the opposite of. He slid the ring onto the band and hung it on the branch a little higher close to him. Not traditional decoration, but decoration nonetheless. Satisfied with his choice, the soldier moved on, humming to himself the carol that was now stuck on loop in his mind. A child dropped their toy, luckily the parent noticed right away and picked it up, before the kid could even start crying about it. Someone was pulling a sleigh with what looked like a bag of coal through the street. That was definitely smarter than carrying it, like Vanya would've done. He considered offering his help to get it to whereever it needed to be, but that would be weird, right? "That can't taste good", a voice next to him sounded. Vanya needed a moment to understand they were talking to him. "Huh?" "The fabric", the person pointed out. Vanya looked down and heat quickly shot into their cheeks; without their notice they had started to chew on one of the tassels of their scarf. He dropped it immediately with an embarrassed laugh: "Yeah. I guess." "If you're hungry, that bearded man hands out biscuits!", they pointed towards the man. Vanya gave them a short smile: "Thank you." Days without embarrassing himself: Back to zero.

Enough was enough, Vano told himself as he closed the door behind him. Since AJ left to return to Ketterdam, he had done nothing but work and locking himself into his room, because what use had it to be anywhere else with nobody left he enjoyed talking to? He couldn't just walk up to Estella's home and ask to see her, as much as he would love to. Sure he could take the carriage up to Os Alta, pay Leonard a visit, but the man was so stressed that he didn't want to put more of it on him. And that…was it. Mi made it more than clear that they didn't want to see him anymore, aside from the fact that Shu Han was a bit too far anyway. Visiting his Suli community was absolutely out of reach if he wanted to keep protecting them from his guardians. It was ironic, in a way. Being someone who had so many contacts all over the Empire and even in Kerch, but not really anyone he could spend meaningful time with. Had he just never learned the feeling of that, it would be easier to bear. But it couldn't be helped - he needed to get out of here just for a day or he'd lose his mind (if he hadn't already). They wrapped the colourful scarf Aishe made for him around his neck and shrugged on the coat; before making their way out, they walked into the living room to feed the oven with more coal, so it wouldn't be freezing cold when he returned. Fortunately he didn't need to worry about possible fires - there was always at least one person around; either the new housekeeper or a guard (who was really more a spy for Arseny and Lubov than a guard). He passed the shelf with the carved toy Floure gave to him and ran his fingers over the smooth wood. It was a bird, but also a flute. The kid had massive skills when it came to making things like that. It took another long moment until he could convince himself to actually leave. Just take a walk. Nothing crazy. And Sven's steps right behind him, because Saints forbid Vano went anywhere alone. The freshly fallen snow twinkled in the sunlight and made his eyes tear up on an instant. Too bright. They should invent daylight that didn't feel like lasers. Pulling his yellow hat further down didn't help; it was a truly ugly piece of clothing, fluffly and bright, but it was warm and it had been a gift from Irina and he once read that bright colours boosted someone's mood. So far, he could not agree, but that it was another piece of memory from someone that mattered was comforting at least. The path was a busy one. Children had dragged out their sleighs and rode down the small hills, snow figures were built in front yards. Adults stood in groups and discussed festivity traditions from what he caught; and it made him acutely aware of the season. Of evaluation week and a new year coming closer in huge steps. Vano didn't want to think about it. He had just gotten used to this year. A bearded man with a young boy on his shoulders ran past him, the kid squealed and laughed and told him to make bigger steps. The man let out what was an attempt of a grumpy grunt, but the grin was visible on his face. Getting out had been a bad idea. The loneliness just dug its claws deeper. But there was also this small glimmer in his chest; the joy he felt for the other people who enjoyed their time.

Sophia wasn't really in the most festive mood when she thought of all the smiling and being social they'd have to do over the next couple days. In truth she'd rather hide in her room with a book and her cat or somewhere else with her siblings - who, for once, were all at home. That alone was a highlight and she decided for that she could be social. She carefully sat down the white plush rabbit with the pink scarf - the scarf had little gemstones on it and twinkled in the light - and turned to give her cat a questioning look: "Now, Vanity. Did you make a decision?" The white cat looked at her, clearly unimpressed by the choices hanging on the coat hangers in front of her. A soft pink dress with ruffles or a babyblue dress with ribbons. She knew, red or green were more the colours of the season, but even now she didn't like strong colours and she doubted it would change. "You're no help", she accused the cat, but leaned down to press a gentle kiss on top of her head, before looking back at her choices. She should've been ready ten minutes ago, but was still in her nightgown instead as it was more important to pick the scarf for the toy. But once again she was kept from getting dressed; unusual noise sounded from downstairs and curiosity got the better of her. On quiet feet she walked to the railing on top of the stairs, although she spotted what the fuss was about much earlier; the tip of a tree was proudly taking up space. A mix of voices hovered in the air - her sister, her brother and Anya discussing the tree's presence. Phia only paid attention with half an ear. The tree was gorgeous. She could easily imagine a family of squirrels sitting in it or maybe a bird's nest - or both. It was big enough to be home to plenty of families. And it brought the scent of forest into their home. Her gaze wandered from the tree to the railing. Could she climb it from here? The thought was ridiculous; she would fall and break all her bones, but the imagination was fun. She looked down at the people gathered; noticed the sack of coal on the ground; some of them spilled and dirtied the floor. She had to resist the urge to go down and clean it off immediately. It was a funny picture. Fyedor standing there self-assured and smug. Anya and Ludmilla being embodiments of disbelief. It made her heart all the lighter; everything seemed so dull just a moment ago, but this - this was fantastic. A smile formed on her lips as she walked down the stairs, taking out the ribbon that held her hair together: "Fyedor, you're saving the day from being the most mind-numbing experience. The sublime beauty of this tree is beyond comparison. I hope you made sure you're not taking away some poor animal family's home before you chose to disroot the plant?" A hint of amusement sparkled in her dark eyes as she gave her sister a little wave. She then turned to the tree and tied the ribbon around one of the branches. There. Much prettier already.