"Oh lovely. Being warm and inside sounds lovely right about now. I did not dress warmly enough." Elsa shivered under her thin cape. Then she bounded after the rest into the mansion. After grabbing a hot cup of cider she settled herself by the roaring fire. Soon she lost herself in contemplation of the unusual flames. They were far too large to be sustained by the amount of wood present.

She heard Ben say, "Doctor Who fan, I see..."

"Doctor Who? Who is that?" she asked Ben. Her eyes fell on the man sitting in the next armchair over fingering an oddly shaped tool. "Ah ha! That's what did it!" She almost spilled her cider from excitement. "You used that metal wand thingy to enchant the fire! What is it?" She crept forward on her knees trying to get a better view.

"I'm Elsa the fairy, by the way."

"It's a TV show and a fictional character... though he may actually be real, knowing how Ditto Town works. Anyway, he is a Timelord and British. He..." Ben suddenly realized that Elsa had turned her attention form him to Zack.

"That, my dear girl, is a sonic screwdriver..." the young man said with a smile before sitting back in his chair, watching the childlike Elsa and wondering how the other man would react to her.

Zack held out the screwdriver to let Elsa get a better look at it (and from a more comfortable distance). He was about to explain, but Ben beat him to it, so he just nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, the Doctor's probably in one of these realities. I actually know a guy who met a Time Lord. They ended up saving the multiverse with a bunch of other people." He trailed off, thinking back. It had only been a couple years since he had... chronicled that story. (Oh my, had it really been a couple years already?) But he had no idea at what point in Ditto Town's history he was, or even if it was the same Ditto Town that he had known. He didn't recognize any of the people there, which wasn't entirely surprising, but he was unsure if they were just newcomers, or if he was in a parallel Ditto Town. Let's find out, he thought.

"Tell me, have any of you heard of the Fountain Fellowship?"

By this time, Zace had followed the rest of the group in and had caught this part of the conversation. His interest was piqued now, and he was very curious to see where things would go from here.

Lady Z grabbed a cup of cider, then drifted over to where the others were conversing by the fireplace. She lurked on the outside edges of the group, waiting to see where the conversation would lead. At the mention of a sonic screwdriver, her eyes lit up. "Aha! That makes the second one I've seen this week. I really should look into a way to acquire one for my personal collection." She leaned over Elsa's shoulder, trying to inconspicuously examine the screwdriver.

After she'd been satisfied with a good long look, she remained standing as she sipped her cider. Her purple eyes reflected the glow of the fire, giving her a strange if not fearsome look. "The Fountain Fellowship? Hmm. Maybe. It sounds quite familiar, actually, though I don't think I was involved in anything like that. Would you care to elaborate?"

Actually, though, I just didn't want to try to recreate my post all over again, which is probably more laziness than it is dedication. Oh well. ))

[That's dedication, Mountie!
Argh. Just lost a post here]

"I would love to meet your wife...Would you mind telling me more about more about your world's theories, and the wormhole? I've heard of wormholes, but they have remained quite elusive."

Erik grinned at Lady A. "Well, Abby is inside the Mansion, and I bet there are plenty of new people to meet there, and some refreshments too. So if you wish, we could make our way there.

"Wormholes are elusive for us too, though they are popular in our fiction. The only known one is the one which comes here. I could show it to you later if you like. I'm not as conversant with the theory as I could be - astronomy is my forte - but it starts with something called an Einstein-Rosenbery bridge..."
----

Meanwhile Abby and the Baxters had taken a break from interior decorating and were enjoying some cider near the fire. They were astounded when a young man made the fire grow just by pointing something at it. "Pardon me," Abby said. "I couldn't help overhearing. I've not heard of the Fountain Fellowship - but then I'm not from around here - but I do know a sonic screwdriver when I hear one. But where I come from it's just a television show. I can't believe you have a real one!"

"Oh, my name? Nathanael. Want to go inside? It looks like everyone else is heading inside and given the festive nature of the occasion, there's sure to be food."

Inside the Mansion, Moira from the local bakery Death by Pastry was arranging platters full of exquisite pastries on a large buffet table. There were culinary representatives of a few dozen worlds, planets, alternate universes, and higher planes of existence. As Nathanael stepped through the door she turned to speak to him.

"Any chance you can cast that wonderful no calorie spell again? Oh, and don't go down the alleyway behind Dressed to Kill next Thursday. You'll die."

"Sorry, Moira. It's a one-shot spell. Though I could probably make them 1 calorie deserts. And I make a habit of never going near Dressed to Kill. A graduate of the Assassins Guild and a Charter Mage in one place? A little too much creepy for my tastes."

Elsa examined the proffered sonic screwdriver with interest. She attempted to examine its magic-like abilities but was unable to unravel all the complexities and gave up.

"Fellowship what?" She asked, scooting back to her spot on the floor. "I haven't heard of this or of those Time Lords you referred to. Oh I do love a good story. Please elaborate!"

Elsa cupped both her hands around the steaming cup of cider to warm them and settled back to listen.

(Sweetie, Moira's color is evil.)

Lady A listened intently to the gargoyle, mentally making some notes about the various aspects of the wormholes.

"It seems that there is not much time travel technology in your world, then. It is mainly a part of your sci-fi, then. I imagine there has been a good amount of research and study over the matter, if it appears so frequently in your literature?"

Lady A smiled at Nathanael.

"Pleased to make your acquaintanceship."

She nodded as both men suggested going inside.

"Twould not be a bad idea in the least," she smiled, following them in. She paused and cocked her head a bit when she heard Nathanael conversing with the bakery lady.

"So, is he a mage or something?" she asked Erik quietly.

A young woman - short of stature - slid down the the long flank of her none-to-small Reine (A creature similar to an extremely large horse with great lion's paws instead of hoofs *O.O.C. I invented it myself *). then patting it on it's side, she walked to the gigantic doors of the Ditto Masion. She was unsure of what she would find inside. This was, after all, her first appearance in the town called Ditto (though she had peeked in at the square earlier that day she hadn't been quite able to summon up the courage to say anything). She pushed open one of the doors and gasped as the Christmas-y brilliance of the mansion's contents invaded all of her senses. Quite involuntarily she exclaimed in excitement "How lovely!"

~Elaina

Lady A twirled gracefully too look at this young lady.

"Isn't it?" she exclaimed. "I've only just popped in myself. Welcome."

The young lady was a little bit embarrassed by the fact that anyone had heard her. But, since this particular person looked quite nice, she did a little curtsy and said: "Thank you! I'm very pleased to be here." she stopped for a moment trying to decide if she aught to say something else but settled on twitching up the right corner of her mouth. She wasn't quite ready to smile all the way due to the fact that she didn't know if smiling would be the appropriate response to the welcome of such a regal looking Lady.

~Elaina

"You're right," Erik replied to Lady A's first inquiry. "Lots of theory, little practical application to wormholes."

He led her into the Mansion, pausing when she asked, "So, is he a mage or something?"

The gargoyle glanced in Nathanael's direction. "To tell the truth, I have no idea. But knowing Ditto Town, it wouldn't surprise me."

Erik made a beeline for the fireplace where Abby and Molly were. They were almost there when the young lady marveled at the Christmas decorations and curtseyed to Lady A.

He offered his own introductions to this newcomer. "Hello! Welcome to the Mansion Christmas celebration!"

By now Abby had made her way to his side. "Lady A, may I present my lovely ma--uh, wife, Abby? And this little lady - " He took the little one into his arms so Abby could shake hands with their new friend. "- This is Molly, our daughter."

His face was filled with pride and love as he bounced the girl in his arms and adjusted one of her pigtails. And just like that Lady A saw him change from a theoretical physicist to a doting father.

He turned to the young lady, still holding Molly in his arms. "I don't believe I caught your name," he prompted.

The young lady watched as the man and his wife adored their baby and was surprised when his attention turned back to her. "I'm Enna," She paused "Well, Elaina, actually... But Enna for short." She curtsied again and inquired after the health of person in the rapidly growing circle. She'd never been very good with small talk but didn't know what else to do; seeing as she knew of no common ground on which to stable her nervous feet. So she stuck with health and small talk, but her large, light eyes (the precise colour was difficult to tell due to its constant shifting and the chaotic glowing of the Christmas light) wandered over each person's face in awe of these cheery, friendly people. Her eyes finally settled on the baby (had the man said that her name was Molly?) and the corners of her eyes wrinkled up in a little smile that she reserved for use only on especially good things. "Your daughter is lovely..." she almost didn't ask, but it was a Christmas party after all and these people did seem very friendly "Might I hold her?"

~Elaina

"Thank you, Elaina; you're too kind," Abby said upon hearing the young woman compliment her daughter. "Of course you can hold her."

Erik juggled the precious bundle a little as he prepared to hand Molly off to Elaina. "I'm called Erik, by the way. Pleased to meet you.

"One thing to watch for, though," he grinned, "is not to pinch her little tail." (Molly's description is here).

He moved the pink blanket which was wrapped around his daughter just a bit to show the tail in question, then lovingly offered her over to Elaina. The girl's cooing sounds continued as she looked up at this new friend.

"She likes you," Abby winked.

Erik glanced back at Lady A. "You're welcome to hold her too, if you like, after Elaina."

(edited)

((OOC: Sorry, I was traveling all day yesterday.))

Zack smiled at Abby (before she moved away).

"It's a TV show where I come from, too," he said. "That's one of the glories of Ditto Town."

With all the requests for elaboration on the Fountain Fellowship, Zack decided he had better comply. Pocketing his sonic screwdriver, he pulled up a chair.

"Well, I'm not much of a storyteller, at least not verbally, but since you insist..."

((OOC: Sorry, that's all I got right now. Just a quick drive-by post whilst at relatives.))