*Fade in on a particularly lovely December day, which is cold enough for a winter coat but not cold enough for snow. It is lunchtime, and for once everyone is sitting together, minus TJV, who have taken a day to eat with other friends. Alison is unusually cheerful, but no one's quite sure why...* Shiko: *eating cheerfully and quite a lot* Shalohim: *not eating much, but happy anyway* San: *is also cheerful for once, chatting with Kal* Kallahandra: *all too happy to talk about swords* Shunpei: *teases Shal, but gently* Shalohim: *teased, blushes* Shiko: *notices how cheerful Alison's being* Ne, Ali, why so glum? You're hardly yourself! *doing some teasing of her own* Alison: *blushes, but continues smiling* Oh, no reason... Just the usual, you know, deforestation, the ozone layer... Shiko: ^.^ Oh-ho. *leans forward and whispers conspiratorially* You can tell me! Shalohim: Shiko-san, don't pester Miss Alison... Alison: *shakes her head, still smiling* It's okay. Alison: *shrugs* It's not any particular thing... I just like this time of year, I guess. Shiko: *thinks for a minute, then gets the obvious* WAI! You're right! It's nearly Christmas! Shiko: *almost does a happy chibi dance on the spot* Shalohim: Oh... Kallahandra: *nudges San and whispers something in his ear* San: *goes red* !.! Kallahandra: *giggles* Shalohim: ?.? San: *buries his face in his salad* o!.!o Shalohim: ?.? Shiko: *looks fascinated* Kallahandra: *ignores him and eats chicken* Alison: ?.? Shunpei: Hey, I have an idea! Shalohim: Nan desu ka? Kallahandra: Hmm? Shunpei: How about we do a "secret Santa" kind of thing? You know, you pick someone's name out of a hat and give them a present, then they have to try and guess who gave it to them? Shiko: Wai! That sounds like fun! Kallahandra: That's a great idea! Shalohim: *nods* San: *has partially recovered, but doesn't look at Shal* I agree. Alison: ^______^ Shiko: Are we gonna draw names now? Huh? Can we? Huh? *Christmas having turned her into an obnoxious five-year-old...* Shunpei: Sure! *pulls out a piece of paper and starts writing everyone's names on it* And if you get your own you have to draw again. Alison: ^______^ Shiko: Okay! Shunpei: Uh... anyone have a hat? Shunpei: *rips paper into strips with the names on them, then folds the strips in half* Shiko: *conjures a beret out of nowhere* This do? ^-^ Shunpei: Sure! Shunpei: *puts strips into the beret, then shakes it up a little* Shiko-san, you first! Kallahandra: *eats chicken and occasionally giggles* San: *each time Kal giggles, turns a little redder* Shiko: *pulls out a strip of paper, reads it* Ooh, this'll be fun! Shunpei: Shal-san, your turn. Shalohim: *pulls out a name and smiles* Shunpei: San! Shunpei: *can never bring himself to say "San-san," would burst out laughing* San: *reaches into the hat and pulls out a name (Shiko!), looks relieved and disappointed all at once* Shunpei: Kallahandra-san! Kallahandra: *pulls Shunpei's name out* Rock! Shiko: Then who got Paper? And Scissors? *falls over laughing at her own wit* Shunpei: Alison-san! Shalohim: *pulls out Shal's name* ^_____^ I got paper. Shiko: ^-^ Alison: No pun intended. Shunpei: *pulls out the last one, which is, of course, San* Shunpei: Okay! Shiko: Hee hee, I know just the thing! *wishes she could run away and buy it right now* Lunch Bell: *rings!* Shunpei: We'll decide when we'll give our presents tomorrow, okay? Shiko: Okay!!! *bounces off to class* Shalohim: Un! Shalohim: *also heads for class* Alison: *heads for class too, is still happy* *Fade to the next day, at lunch, where once again everyone is gathered.* Shunpei: I vote we should do it... in a week. Shiko: Okay! Kallahandra: That's Christmas Eve, isn't it? Alison: Yeah! Shalohim: Oh - but we won't be in school then... Shunpei: *looks crafty* Then where...? Shiko: *thinkthinkthink* Alison: *doesn't volunteer her house* San: *can sense where Shunpei is going with this* Why not my apartment? Shiko: *relieved* That'd be great! Shiko: *didn't want to suggest her house, which still contains Josh and therefore way too much angst for Christmas* Shunpei: That's a good idea. Shalohim: *blushes* Un... Alison: Yay! Kallahandra: *raises her eyebrow at Shunpei* Shunpei: *sprouts a little halo and looks innocent* Shiko: ?.? Shalohim: ?.? Kallahandra: ~.- Shiko: *knows very well that no one with a halo is innocent* San: *gets up* If you will excuse me, I have to go prepare my lesson plans. Shiko: Okay... San: *smiles* I'll see you all at various times today and tomorrow. San: *leaves* Shiko: Hmmmm... *thinks* Alison: *chokes on her food, since it is the nasty cafeteria junk* Shalohim: !.! *wonders if she needs the Heimlich maneuver* Kallahandra: *smacks her on the back* Cough it up! Alison: *coughs, then swallows* @.@ I'm okay... Shalohim: *concerned* Sure? Alison: *recovers* ^____^ Yup! Shiko: ^-^ Yokatta. *Fade to Latin class that afternoon.* Alison: *goes in and sits at her desk, gets homework out, the usual* Shiko: *same as Alison* Shalohim: *same as Shiko and Alison* San: *is napping at his desk* Misc. Student 1: *leans over and whispers to her girlfriend directly behind Alison* Hey, you know what happened at lunch time? Shalohim: *has good ears, is listening* Shiko: *same* Other Girl: No, what? Student 1: Well, Nancy said she went by near the end of lunch to see about some late homework, because of her strep throat and all... Student 1: Went by here, I mean. Other Girl: And? Student 1: And she knocked on the door, but it was all dark inside, so she was gonna leave, when she heard these weird noises... Other Girl: !.! Really? Student 1: Like, squelching noises or something. Shalohim: *listening VERY hard* Other Girl: Oooh, weird! Student 1: She said she couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, but she wasn't sure it was legal, so she just left. Other Girl: *fascinated* Dude, that's so weird! Student 1: Then Wendy said when she came for her Latin 2 class right after lunch, they had to wait like ten minutes before he opened the door! Other Girl: *shakes her head* Wow... that's so creepy! Whaddya think was going on? Student 1: *shrugs* I dunno. Bell: *rings* Shalohim: *confused and highly interested* San: *wakes up* Shalohim: *gives him look* Alison: *has noticed there's no classwork at the top of the board* Shiko: *also notices, wonders what they're supposed to do all class...* San: *ignores look* Well, class, it looks like we only have another three days until Winter Break... Most of Class: *muted cheering* San: *shrugs* So I decided what the heck. We're gonna watch a Christmas movie, and if you don't want to watch, move to the back of the room and talk or whatever, just keep it down, okay? Shiko: 0.0! Most of Class: *big cheers* Shalohim: O.o *very confused* Shiko: *confused right along with Shalohim* Alison: *happy, but confused* Other Girl: *to her friend* Heck, who cares what he gets up to at lunch... we get to watch a movie! Student 1: Yeah! Student 1: Come on, let's talk! Other Girl: *nods, goes to the back of the room with her* Shalohim: *frustrated, can't ask them anything now* San: *turns movie on, then works on other things* Alison: *watches movie for the rest of the period* Shiko: *having no shame, sidles up to San and whispers to him in her gutter Latin* "Tell me what goes 'squelch' during lunch and I'll consider getting you a present..." San: ?.? "Squelch?" Shiko: "According to a couple of girls in your other classes..." San: *loftily* "I was working on a present for someone. It's none of your business." Shiko: "But 'squelch'? I gotta know!" San: "No." San: *looks a little embarrassed* "I just stepped in something, okay?" San: *doesn't like sharing his few embarrassing moments* Shiko: *snickers, decides not to enquire further; goes back to her seat to enjoy the movie* *Fade to Christmas Eve at San's apartment, which Shiko has lavishly decorated "just because!". There are presents under the small and overburdened live pine tree, wreaths and garlands everywhere, and the movie It's a Wonderful Life on the TV.* San: *has also hung a few sprigs of mistletoe* Alison: *is practically glowing with happiness, wearing the same red sweater and skirt she wore star-gazing, with a green ribbon in her hair* Shiko: *wearing her usual grungy black clothes, but has a sprig of pine behind one ear and is bouncing all over the place like a ferret* Kallahandra: *Is dressed up for once, in a soft, off-the-shoulder deep green velvet dress, which reaches to her ankles. Also has a pair of small emeralds set into silver for earrings, and a similar pendant.* Shunpei: *wearing slacks and a sports coat and looking damn good in them too* Shalohim: *also wearing his usual suit, has a little branch of holly pinned on the front, though* San: *is also wearing slacks and a sports coat, but his are the same shade of green as Kal's dress, whereas Shunpei's are shades of brown* San: *has his hair in a ponytail, too* Shiko: *manages to stop poinging long enough to glue herself to the front of the TV for a scene where Jimmy Stewart is being particularly self- sacrificing* *.* Shiko: *LOVES Jimmy Stewart* Alison: *Sits on couch and sips ginger ale, hasn't had such a good Christmas since before her father died. That is, most of her life.* Shalohim: *pokes Shiko* Shiko-san, you're going to get drool on the carpets... Shiko: =p Kallahandra: *Drinks plenty of wine, but is only slightly drunk. Has a high tolerance for alcohol.* Shunpei: *makes jokes and teases Shal a little* Shiko: *once scene is over, starts poinging around again* San: *Has been mostly silent, but a good host. Just hasn't said much.* Shalohim: *blushes at Shunpei's teasing quite a lot, has had some of the wine and isn't filtering the effects* Shunpei: ^_____^ Shalohim: o^-^o San: *Goes over to the stereo and turns some Christmas music on, then goes over to Shiko. Fake charm.* My lady, would you like to dance? Shiko: Sure!! San: ^_____^ Shiko: *waltzes around with him, being goofy* San: *pretends seriousness* Alison: *giggles* ^_______^ Shalohim: *just drunk enough to be jealous* -.-!!! Kallahandra: *grabs Shunpei* Hey, don't just stand there, I wanna dance too! Shunpei: Eep! *is dragged onto the dance floor* Alison: *laughs* Shiko: *laughs at Kallahandra and Shunpei* Shalohim: *has some more wine* ;.;!!!!!! *feels abandoned and unloved* Alison: *sees Shal being jealous, abandoned and unloved, goes over and taps him on the shoulder* Hey, cutie, if you're not busy, wanna dance? Shalohim: *blushblush* A- all right... Alison: ^___^ Alison: *is having a wonderful time, and wants everyone else to have one too* Shalohim: *dances with her, filtering the alcohol some so he doesn't trip over his own feet or get weepy on her shoulder* Alison: ^_____^ San: *stops when the song stops, and bows to Shiko* I thank you, my lady, for giving me the pleasure of your company. San: *still pretending seriousness* Shiko: ^_____^ Thank YOU for inviting me to dance... Shiko: *had a FABulous time, dahlings, don't you know* San: My pleasure. *genuine smile* Shiko: *also genuine smile* Shalohim: *sees them, is still tipsy enough to get jealous again* -.- Alison: *pats Shal on the shoulder* Shalohim: *blushes, embarrassed that Alison can see he's jealous* Kallahandra: *also stops dancing* Hey, can we open our presents now? Shiko: *being obnoxious five-year-old again* Yeah! Is it time for presents yet? Is it? Shunpei: Yeah! San: Sure, why not? Alison: ^____^ Shiko: WAI WAI WAAAAAAAAI! *dives for the tree* Shalohim: *sweatdrops at Shiko's behavior, sits down a respectable distance from the tree* Shiko: Secret Santa presents first! Alison: *sits next to Shal and leans on him* ^_____^ Shalohim: *leans back happily* San: You can be Santa and pass them out, Shiko. Shiko: WAI! *grins till her face nearly splits, starts gathering up the Secret Santa presents* San: *waits* Shunpei: *sits down next to Shal* Shiko: Okay - this one's for you, Alison... *hands her a small square package wrapped in silver foil* Kallahandra: *sits down next to Shunpei* Alison: ?.? Shiko: And Kal, this one's for you! *gives her a suspiciously long and thin package* Alison: *slowly opens her package, careful not to rip the foil* Alison's Package: *is a small, plain brown box* Alison: *opens it* ?.? Kallahandra: *rips her present open* Yay! Kal's Package: *is - a reverse-blade sword!* Kallahandra: !.! Kallahandra: SHIKO!!!!! Shiko: *can't help it, grins wider* Shiko: It'll complete your collection! Kallahandra: *hugs her, ruffling her hair* Stupid. ^_______^ Shiko: ^-^ Shiko's Present: *is a teeny little box, wrapped in gold and green paper* Shiko: *puts it carefully at her place to open once all the other presents are handed out* Alison’s Package: *Inside the plain box is a strange little weblike construction of gold wire surrounding a perfectly smooth, round sphere of pale turquoise, the color of the edges of the sky. Parts of the construct are shaped like half-spread wings made out of lines. It’s a sculpture of San in his true angel form.* Alison: Oh, wow... Alison: Shal, this is amazing... Shalohim: *can't help it, beams* Shalohim: *blushes and beams at the same time* Alison: *gives him a big hug* It's wonderful! Shalohim: *hugs back* You're welcome! San: *can't help but notice it, looks away with pain in his eyes* Shunpei's Present: *is a very tall box, about the size around of a pie tin* San's Present: *is a smallish box, about the size of a small bowl* Shal's Present: *is a flat board, about the size of a Christmas wreath* Shiko: *having handed out those presents, sits down and starts tearing into hers* Shalohim: *starts opening his, neatly* San: *opens present* San: *Picks up a miniature rosary with multi-colored prayer beads. Looks closer and notices the beads all have something in Japanese written on them.* O.O Cool... Shiko: *looks over* Wow! Shiko: What do they say? San: *lies* Oh, stuff like meditation, peace, harmony, you know. Shiko: Okay! *goes back to her present* San: *puts it back in the box* Thanks, Shunpei. Shunpei: *gives San a secret look, then goes back to his present* ?.? Shal's Present: *Is an enormous collage, pictures Alison has taken of Shal, San, Shiko, Kal, and Shunpei when they weren't looking, plus pictures other people have taken of Alison. In every picture, someone is laughing, crying, sleeping, or contemplating things.* Shalohim: *gets teary and weepy* It's... it's beautiful... Alison: *blushes* Well... Shalohim: *hugs Alison* I really really love it! Shalohim: *has definitely had too much to drink* Alison: Thanks... Alison: ^______^ Shalohim: ;______; Shunpei: *unwraps an enormous Venus’s Fly-Trap* O.O Kallahandra: ^__________^ Shiko's Present: *A small box with a very old locket in it. The locket has a Celtic knot on the front, and when opened, shows a sketch of someone who looks a lot like Shiko, and a man (Llan). Teeny, tiny sketches, so as to fit in the locket.* Shiko: *looks at it, bringing it up close to her face* Shiko: *honestly looks near to crying* San... this is wonderful... Shiko: *glomps him* Thank you so much! San: *is glomped, blushes* You're welcome... Shiko: ^-^ *puts on the locket to join her large collection of other jewelry* Shiko: Right! Time for the rest of the presents! Kallahandra: *shoves a present into Alison's lap* Here! Alison: ?.? Shiko: *grabs some other presents* Here's another one for you, Shal, and one for San - and another one for San... *hands them all out* Presents: *Show a notable absence of a present for Shal from San...* Alison: *opens other presents* Shalohim: *opens his first other present, which is a combined one from Josh and Shiko* Present: *is a full-color picture of San posing from the field trip, which Josh drew and Shiko framed* Shalohim: 0.0 Alison: *San got her a opal necklace, Shunpei got her a carved lotus flower, Kal got her a small, elaborately decorated stiletto, and Shiko got her two books she’s always wanted.* Shalohim: Shiko-san, it's beautiful... Tell Josh thank you! San: *is too busy opening other presents to notice* Kallahandra: *Got a small throwing knife from Shunpei, carved with Japanese characters, a book on the history of sword-smithing from Alison, another throwing knife from San, and from Shal a piece of layered sandstone that looks like the desert.* Shunpei: *Alison gave him a mini Zen garden, as a joke, San gave him river rocks carved into animal shapes, Shal gave him a book of his favorite haiku, and from Shiko he got another pic by Josh, this one of Shalohim.* San: *Got an antique hairbrush that used to be Alison's great-grandmother's, a small Victorian cameo from Kal, an interesting fish fossil from Shal, a beautiful landscape from the late 1700’s from Shiko, and from Josh a certificate for a large amount of rainforest and glow-in-the-dark comet/star/moon stickers.* Shiko: *pokes San* By the way, those stickers are for your bedroom... since you spend so much time in there... ^.^ San: *sticks his tongue out at Shiko* San: *thanks everyone for their presents, then goes into kitchen for a little while* Shiko: ^_____^ *goes and glomps everyone who gave her stuff* Shiko: *Received a teeny set of glass animals, about five of them, from Alison; Kal got her a year's subscription to "Fruit-of-the-Month" Club, and Shunpei gave her a pair of tiger's eye earrings.* Shalohim: *Got a very large hand-made book of gift certificates, ones like "This certificate is good for one day of no teasing," from Kal, and Shunpei got him a naturally-shaped stone shaped like a bird opening its wings.* Shalohim: *loves his presents, has drunk even more and makes like Shiko with glomping everyone who got him something* San: *comes back from the kitchen and turns on the music again* Shiko: *poings!* Kallahandra: *grabs Shunpei and begins dancing again* Alison: *sits on the couch, laughing and generally having a good time* San: *sneaks up behind Shal and taps him on the shoulder* Uhm... Can I talk to you? Shalohim: *wide-eyed* Un! San: *leads the way into the kitchen, where it's a little quieter* Shalohim: *follows* Shalohim: *sobers up, not wanting to be drunk around San (after all, drinking has traditionally been San’s forte)* San: *is hiding something behind his back* Well... I just wanted to give you this without everyone else around. *Takes one hand out from behind his back and hands it to Shal. It's a large board wrapped in plain brown paper.* Shalohim: o?.?o Shalohim: *takes it, takes off the paper* Present: *Is a large, hand-drawn and full-color portrait of everyone, Alison, Shalohim, San, Kallahandra, Shiko, Shunpei and Tim. Most noticeable is the fact that San and Shal are in the middle, sitting next to each other, holding hands.* San: *before Shal can say anything, takes other hand out from behind his back to reveal a little white kitten with very blue eyes* This is for you, too. So you... won't be lonely. Kitten: *blinks and mews* Shalohim: *struck absolutely speechless* San: *looking at his feet, not trusting his eyes or voice* Shalohim: *puts the picture down very carefully, takes the kitten and holds her* Thank you... Thank you so much... *eyes filling with real, happy tears* Shiko: *out in the living room, catches Kallahandra under the mistletoe, gives her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek, and runs away laughing* Kallahandra: WHY YOU LITTLE...! *runs after Shiko with the reverse-blade sword, but doesn't know how to use it* Shalohim: I'm sorry I didn't get you more... *snuggles the kitten, hardly daring to look directly at San* San: *shakes his head* It's not important... San: I'm just glad you came. Shalohim: *puts down the kitten, who curls up beside the picture, and moves very close to San so he can whisper in his ear* You missed something, though... Shiko: *laughs at Kal's inability to use the new sword, not in a mean way, of course* San: *looks up from his feet and into Shal's eyes* ?.? Kallahandra: *gives up on sword and just pounces on Shiko* Ha! Gotcha! Shunpei: *is telling Alison a funny story* Shiko: Aiie! *wrestles* Alison: *giggling like mad* Shalohim: *points upwards* We're standing under some mistletoe... San: *Looks upwards, then back at Shal. A faint blush spreads across his cheeks, but his voice gets husky.* I wonder how I could have missed it... Shalohim: *blushing also, since they are standing rather close to each other* Kallahandra: *pins Shiko* Aha! Shiko: Alas! Alack! Woe is me! *fake dramatic tears and voice* San: *before the moment can become awkward, puts his arms around Shal and pulls him into a deep and dramatic kiss, holding him close* Shalohim: *relaxes into it, kissing back with all his heart and mind and soul; is very single-minded at times, not for the worse* San: *at this moment in time, is being just as single-minded as Shal* Kallahandra: I will pay you back! *instead of a big sloppy kiss, blows a raspberry on Shiko's cheek, then gets up and hides behind the tree* Shiko: *at Kal* XP Shiko: *goes and pulls Shunpei up for a dance* Shunpei: *is pulled, resigns himself to the fact that none of the females around here ask first* Kallahandra: *plays with ornaments* Kitten: *stretches, meows, and tries to walk straight off the counter...* Shalohim: !.! *trying to keep one arm around San, reaches out to pull the kitten back* San: *laughs at kitten* ^_______________^ San: *doesn't let go of Shal, though* Kitten: *meows in complaint, but settles down again* Shalohim: *relaxes and snuggles into San* Merry Christmas... San: *snuggles back, incredibly happy* Merry Christmas, Shalohim. *Reluctantly, the scene fades.* *It's a lovely winter's day, not long after New Year's, and Shiko is treating everyone but Kal to an afternoon of ice skating. So far things have progressed about as normal as they get; Shiko darts around like a ferret on ice but with twice the energy, Alison is still learning and sticks to the edges, going slowly, and of course the other three can skate like fish can swim.* Alison: *takes a tentative step out, then goes back* San: *looks damn hot as an ice skater* Shalohim: *skates around San and Shunpei, laughing; is smaller than they are, can skate faster* Shunpei: *tries to catch him* ^_________^ Shalohim: *skates off and hides behind San* =p Shalohim: *has been in a VERY good mood of late* San: *also makes face at Shunpei* =P Shiko: *blissfully ignorant, poing-skates around the edge and through the middle* Shunpei: *looks all sad, skates away* Shalohim: *skates out from behind San, circles around Shunpei three times and then makes a dash for the protection of Alison* Shunpei: *chases after him at lightning speed* Alison: *sees them both coming toward her* !.! Shalohim: *veers away from Alison at the last picosecond and ends up spinning around in the very middle of the ice, laughing* Shunpei: *As he's spinning, reaches out and grabs him around the waist, then turns so that they knock into the side of the rink, Shunpei's back first, then they slide down onto the ice. Is laughing breathlessly.* Shalohim: Shunpei-saaaaaan! *is still laughing a little* San: *is showing off for anyone who happens to be watching* Alison: *appreciates this little show* San: *but is acutely aware of Shunpei and Shal* Shunpei: *tweaks his nose* ^_________^ What? Shiko: *bouncing around happily in her own little world; is of course still wearing her locket* Shalohim: *blushes* N- nothing... *tries to get up so he can keep skating, mysteriously "forgetting" that he needs to disentangle himself from Shunpei first* Shalohim: *ends up falling down again* Shunpei: *is all too happy to not help* ^___________^ Shalohim: *blushblush* Shalohim: A- a- anou... Shunpei: Ha~i? Shalohim: o^-^o San: *be's not happy at all* San: *skates over to Alison* Want some help? Alison: Sure! ^______^ Shalohim: *gets up again, this time hauling Shunpei up along with him; of course has no trouble whatsoever in doing so* Shunpei: *is hauled* Shiko: *skateskateskate, ignoringignoringignoring* Shalohim: *finds that even after he's hauled Shunpei up, Shunpei still has an arm around his waist; blushes like mad* Shalohim: Anou... anou... San: *puts Alison’s arm around his waist and slowly starts skating further out* Alison: *is all too happy to let San support her* ^______^ Alison: *when San's not looking, makes faces at all the other girls on the rink who are glaring at her* ^__________^VV Shunpei: *doesn't bother to remove his arm* ^________^ Shalohim: *tries skating away, but of course just drags Shunpei with him* Shunpei: *is not planning to let go any time soon, skates with him* Random Guy: *yells* Hey, look at those coupla fags over there!!! Alison: !.! Shalohim: *turns completely red* San: *eyes turn red* Shunpei: *wraps his arm tighter around Shal, is not about to let anyone bother him* Shalohim: *now kind of glad someone's holding him, doesn't try to skate away* Guy: Aww, what's wrong, fag, scared without your big friend? Guy: *skates around them in slow circles* Shiko: *heard that, prepares to Shiko-bomb the guy and knock him over "accidentally"* Shunpei: *would love to just haul off and punch the guy, doesn't even acknowledge his existence* Alison: Jackass! *is of course clinging to San for dear life and isn't a threat to anyone* Shiko: *builds up her speed, then smashes into the guy* Guy: *goes flying* AGH!!!! Guy: *breaks his nose on the ice* OWWWW!!!!! Alison: *cheers* Shiko: *completely unhurt* Oh, sorry!! I didn't see you! Shiko: *very insincere* Guy: You little bitch! Guy: You broke my fucking nose! Shiko: I didn't touch your nose. Shiko: *absolutely, technically correct on that one* Shalohim: *skates very slowly and carefully away from the guy and to Shiko's side; has broken free of Shunpei without even noticing* Shunpei: *all too ready to back them up if necessary* Guy: I'll kill you! *swings at Shiko* Shalohim: *grabs the man's wrist and twists, breaking it without a hint of effort* Shalohim: Don't touch her. Ever. Or I'll kill you. Guy: *screams* San: *makes up quick diversionary tactic, picks Alison up and does a quintuple spin and two flips, effectively getting people's attention away from Shal and Shiko and the jackass* Alison: *be's dizzy* @.@ Shiko: *worried that people might notice anyway, grabs Shal by the back of his jacket and skates off until they're both lost in the middle of all the other people on the rink* Shunpei: *reluctantly calls ambulance for guy, who's passed out from the pain* Shiko: *once they're both away, turns around to face him* Daemon... Shalohim: ?.? Alison: *is still dizzy* San: *to Alison* Sorry. Shiko: Thank you for stepping in. But you really have to learn not to be so showy about it... ^-^;;; Shalohim: 6.6 I'll try... Alison: Eh... @.@ I'll be okay as soon as everyone stops spinning... San: *sweatdrops* Other Skaters: *lose interest and continue doing whatever they were doing* Shiko: Now go on, we probably ought to split up. *pushes him off in one direction, skates away in another* Shalohim: *skates rather slowly, good mood mostly ruined* San: *guides Alison over to the side again, makes sure she has a good grip on it, then goes off in search of Shalohim* Alison: *be's dizzy* @.@ Shalohim: *skate... skate... skate...* Shalohim: *pays little attention to where he's going, except to make sure he doesn't run into people* Shiko: *skates around at normal speed* San: *skates faster than normal, trying to get to Shal* Shalohim: *looks up and sees San, skates a little slower so San can catch up* San: *catches up* Are you okay? Shalohim: *nods* I - guess... Shalohim: Is Miss Alison all right? *even while being angsty, found time to notice how dizzy Alison was* San: *sweatdrops* She's fine... A little confused, but fine. Shalohim: *nearly smiles* Yokatta... San: *feels need to go and yell at Shunpei, since this is all his fault (in San's mind, anyway)* Shalohim: *a bit pointedly* Shiko-san is all right, too... San: Yeah. Shalohim: *decides to go find Shunpei and make sure HE'S all right, starts skating away from San* San: *is left* San: *unhappy with being left, skates after Shal* Shalohim: *finds Shunpei* Shunpei-san - daijoubu? Shunpei: Hai! ^_________^ Shalohim: *really smiles* Yokatta. Shalohim: I - was just checking, because of... Just checking. *blushblush* Shunpei: ^_________^ Shalohim: ^-^ San: *catches up, glares daggers at Shunpei over Shal's head* Shalohim: *happily oblivious* Ne, let's go skate with Shiko-san! Shunpei: Okay! San: Shal, can I talk to you a little first? Shalohim: *turns* Sure! *is in much better mood now, usually is after talking with Shunpei (Shunpei's just that kind of guy)* Shalohim: Nan desu ka? San: *pulls Shal over to a bench outside the rink* Shalohim: *goes along* Shiko: *skates over to Alison and stands next to her* You okay, Ali? Alison: *has regained her composure* Alison: Yeah, just fine. Shiko: ^-^ Phew. San can get a bit flashy sometimes, ne? Alison: You're telling me... Shunpei: *has also skated over to join them* Shiko: *looks over towards San and Shal's - "discussion"* Alison: *to Shunpei* Hey, are you okay? Shunpei: Hai! Daijoubu desu! Alison: Whatever you say. Shiko: *pokes him* English, goofy. Shunpei: ^_________^ I mean, "yes, I'm fine." Alison: *follows Shiko's gaze* Shiko: *watches San and Shal; doesn't need to use any powers to figure out that their talk is not going well* Alison: *can also tell something's not right* ?.? Shiko: *sighs to herself; didn't notice all of the shenanigans earlier, but can guess* San: *can tell he's not getting through very well, gets up and skates away, without saying anything more* Shunpei: *watches silently as San goes past, ignoring them* Alison: ?.? Shiko: *sighs again* And just when I was beginning to think the city'd make it through unscathed... Alison: ?.? Shalohim: *sits on the bench for a minute, looking half dejected and half frustrated* Shalohim: *then gets up and skates away, avoiding everyone else* Alison: Why are you always saying things like that, Shiko? Shiko: Because... well... *sweatdrops* Shiko: You know Somalia, right? Alison: Uh... *has heard that word somewhere* Shiko: Little African country, had a TON of trouble a few years ago, still isn't a great vacation destination? Shiko: Well... Shiko: Um - it wasn't actually technically supposed to have all that trouble. Alison: What do you mean? Shiko: ^-^;;; Kallahandra was there, supposed to be helping the move towards a working independent government and all that... and then San and Daemon both got posted there for observation at the same time... Shiko: And - yeah. Open warfare. Alison: But... why? Shiko: You've noticed how they kind of don't always get along very well, right? Sometimes it gets a little out of hand... especially when Kal's around, because she feels guilty and mostly lets them do whatever they want... Alison: Oh... Alison: Why don't they get along? Shiko: ^-^;;; Oh boy. LONG one. Shiko: You see... um... before Daemon Fell, he and San were kind of - together. Together together. 99.9999999999999% of the time... Alison: Really? Shiko: Really. Alison: *thinks for a moment* That explains so much... Shiko: I bet it does. *feels kind of glad that she's explained* I can't believe I didn't say something about it before... Shiko: Anyway, after the whole thing in the desert, things got just a TEENY bit awkward. I mean - you might not believe it, but San is REALLY strict about the rules in some ways. And though the rules don't specifically say "No fraternizing with the enemy," sleeping with the other side is pretty much a no-no. Alison: *blush* Ah... Shunpei: *has been silent this entire time* Shiko: And Daemon - well - he's not good at rules when it comes to the people he cares about. Especially not when it comes to San. *sigh* If their positions were reversed, I bet we wouldn't have this trouble... Shiko: Daemon would have gone along if San Fell... and he doesn't quite get why San didn't come with him, and he REALLY doesn't understand why they have to be apart just because they're on opposite sides. Alison: That's so sad... Shunpei: *nods* Shiko: *falling into another voice, quite casually and without even thinking about it or noticing* Shiko: *shakes head and goes back to normal* Anyway - what was I saying? Alison: *is mesmerized by imagery* Shunpei: How Shal doesn't understand why things are the way they are. Shiko: Yeah. So sometimes the two of them end up fighting, and if no one keeps them in check, you get Somalia. Shiko: I've been lucky - they actually LISTEN to me sometimes... ^-^;;; Shunpei: Which Kallahandra still feels awful about... Shiko: I know. I try not to rag her about it TOO often... Shunpei: *gently, to Shiko* But sometimes that's too often anyway. Shiko: *to Shunpei* All right, all right... I can get a hint... ^-^ Alison: *absorbs everything* Shiko: So, things a bit clearer now? *smiles at Alison* Alison: Much, thanks. Shiko: ^-^ Good. Shalohim: *skates up, still looking a bit dejected/ frustrated* Ne, are any of you going to skate any more? Shiko: No - I think I'm through... ^-^; Alison: I have to get home soon... Shiko: Well, then. *stands up* Shall we be off? Shalohim: *nods, wants to go home and snuggle his kitten and look at his pictures and stuff* Shunpei: *be's by Shal, a silent, comforting presence* Shalohim: *is glad that Shunpei is there...* Alison: Sure! Shiko: Ikuzo! *skates for the exit* *And fade out.*