Abby smiled back at Zack when she heard his explanation. "My apologies for leaving you behind; thanks for answering my question."

Erik was thrilled to be in the Mansion with his family, surrounded by friends new and old. He raised a glass of cider and said, "Merry Christmas to all!"

Then Molly whispered in her little voice, "And God bless us, every one!"

(Well, maybe not that last part. Molly can't talk just yet).

Zace (who had picked up a cup of cider by now) raised his glass in response and smiled.

Zack (who had been given a cup of cider as well) echoed Erik's "Merry Christmas!" and took a sip... and grimaced, not finding it particularly to his liking.

Enna gladly took the little bundle into her arms and cooed over it as she took care to avoid said pinching of said tail. She'd gotten into a terrible habit lately of calling small children by ridiculously misconstrued names. Now was by no means an exception. She whispered into the baby's ear "What a sweet ickle wittle badykins!" Adding on a few croonings here and there. The phrase may have translated something like "What a sweet little bitty babykin", but, of course, nobody could possible tell for sure. In this particular case she managed to keep from babbling on too long. Instead she asked "how old the wee deary is" of the said darling's parents (and also if either one of them "knows where to find the cider, please").

~Elaina

Lady A could barely resist squeaking and cooing over Molly. The tiny Tim of the gargoyles, and she was so CUTE! She smiled at Erik and Abby.

"You definitely have a little sweetheart there," she said, smiling at the cooing baby. Erik raised his glass to Christmas, and Lady A looked around quickly for a glass to raise, too. Lady Z had just taken a sip out of her mug, so Lady A snatched it.

"and to all a good night!" she added, lifting the mug, then bringing it to her lips for a slurp. "And may we party all the way through it."

Erik and Abby couldn't help beaming. Once again their child - like countless infants before her - had brought joy to complete strangers just by being herself.

Yet there was more to it than just their baby's innocent sweetness. It was clear that Elaina had a gift with children. Molly just loved all the attention she was receiving. They couldn't help grinning at Elaina's babytalk.

As soon as their new friend asked about the cider, Erik quickly excused himself to retrieve a cup of the sweet beverage for her. "You have your hands full, after all," he said upon returning.

While he was gone, Abby answered the young woman's other question. "She's about a year old." She added, "I was wrong before. She doesn't just like you - I think she loves you."

Then Abby leaned in close to Elaina and stage-whispered, "You know, she's really ticklish at the tip of her tail. Go ahead and give it a try if you like."

The parents also blushed at Lady A's praise of their daughter. "Thanks. We're thrilled to have her."

Moments later Lady A raised her glass. "And may we party all the way through it."

"Sounds like a plan!" Erik agreed. "We'll be here all night." Then the commedian in him prompted him to add, "So be sure to tip your waitress."

Abby issued a very unlady-like snort and gently poked him in the ribs. "Wise guy."

"Party all night long, eh? I think one needs music for that..." With that, Ben put down his mug of cider and bounded over to the huge sound system nestled in one of the corners of the mansion, below and to the side of the Grand Staircase.

"I hope everyone loves film scores and earth music from the 1960's-1980's as much as I do." the young man said with a grin as he opened a cabinet with plenty of CD's and vinyl records. Quickly finding a collection of Bee Gee and ABBA hits, Ben put on the records and slipped into DJ mode.

"Everybody CELEBRATE!"

Zack winced as the Bee Gees screeched over the sound system. Zace clasped his hands over his ears and grimaced.

"That's the music where you come from?" he asked Zack.

"That's what some people call music," Zack replied as he walked over to the DJ.

"Excuse me," he said to Ben, and quickly pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the record player. Hitting the button, the emitter diode flashed green (it couldn't be heard over the falsetto wailing), and sparks burst from the wires, mercifully killing the sound.

"Sorry," Zack apologized to Ben with a pleasant smile, "But how about we have some actual music?"

He put his screwdriver back into his pocket, and from the same pocket withdrew a brass penny whistle. Putting it to his lips, he began to play one of the few jigs he knew, hoping there were other musicians at the party to play along.

Erik and Abby cringed a bit when the Bee Gees music started. This wasn't because they didn't like disco music as such - Erik himself owned a copy of the ABBA Gold CD, and Molly had shown an unexpected preference for "Dancing Queen" - but for another reason.

"Seems rather odd music for a Christmas party," Erik whispered to those around him, not wanting to be too impolite.

"That's different," Abby responded once the disco stopped and the jig began. "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to, my lady," Erik replied with a bow. "That's if Elaina is comfortable with Molly in the meantime..."

Lady A nearly died from sound poisoning as the evul earth music screeched over the ancient sound system. She slowly stood from her assumed crash position as Zack debilitated the system, and then began playing a merry piece. She felt her toes begin tapping...she didn't mind playing a bit of music herself, but since one wind instrument was already being played, and she didn't have a stringed instrument with her. Hmmm....

"I have other, better music I could put o... oh." Ben stopped mid sentence as billows of white and grey smoke issued forth from the antique sound system around him. "Eh, should have gone with Goldsmith..."

After evacuating his DJ persona, the young earth-man ventured back to his seat and started to enjoy the Celtic flavored music. "You need a guitar,I believe." Ben said as he produced a foldout guitar from his cloak and put the instrument together. Soon, Ben was accompanying Zack's jig on rhythm guitar.

Enna, embarrassed by the compliment that Abby gave her, flushed a deep red. "Thank you! I've always loved children, and it's always such a pleasure when they're as sweet as yours." Abby then mentioned the state of ticklishness on the end of Molly's tail and Enna was set to comply with the suggestion when Erik returned with the cider which he had been so kind as to get for her. "Thank you! I have a terrible soft spot for cider... If it was possible to obtain a drunken stupor off of cider, trust me, I would be in loads of trouble". She smiled to indicate the joke. It was at this moment that the cacophonous music reached her ears and, though in general she liked this sort of music, the sound did not effect her in any good way. The problem was solved swiftly, however, as the music was substituted with a sweet Celtic air. And, as with the cider, she had a terrible weakness for Celtic music. Eric then asked Enna if she would be comfortable taking care of the baby while he and his wife danced to the lovely music, to which she responded with an emphatic "Of course!". So far this Christmas party had been worth every second of her long ride on the back of her Reine.

~Elaina

"Thank you, Enna," Erik said with a smile, and the joy in Abby's eyes reflected her own gratitude.

Erik took his beloved's hand and led her out to the dance floor. Then, with an elegant bow and delicate curtsey, the pair began to dance - Celtic music had long been among Abby's favorites.

The couple was careful to keep their wings caped about their shoulders and their tails out of the way of the other dancers.

"Merry Christmas, my love," Erik whispered in Abby's ear as the first dance came to an end.

"And to you, my dear," she replied.

Lady Z was slightly annoyed that her sister had taken a drink out of her cup without asking, but as the music started, she forgot about it and discarded the cup of cider. Producing a violin case from seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled out her violin, raised the bow, and started playing, even though she'd never heard the tune before in her life. She grinned at the other musicians, her lavender eyes lighting up. "This is fun, don't you think?" she called above the noise.

Elsa looked around a bit befuddled at the sudden surge of music. This is unexpected, she thought. However, soon her foot was tapping along to the beat. Just when she was about to join the dancers, she heard another sound enter the mix. This sound, however, was off key to the main music and emanated from her cape's pocket. Elsa dug around in the pocket until she located her portable magic mirror. It read, "Incoming Call."

"Oh bother, I suppose I'll have to take this. I wonder who in Ditto Town or out of it would pick this inconvenient time to call?"

Since the music was so loud, Elsa exited the room. She found a nice quiet one a few floors up and entered. She shut the door behind her, settled down into a comfy armchair and said, "Hello?"

(OCC: Relatives are arriving today and staying till Sunday so I won't be able to post. Elsa will come out of seclusion once I can start posting again.)

With a double bump, two beings dropped more-or-less gently to the ground on the other side of the fountain. Cheery music by a penny whistle, a fiddle and a guitar filled the air of the Town Square.

"Ooooh!" softly squealed the female of the duo. "It's so dance-able!"

"Well, go ahead and dance then," replied the male, fastening the bottom two buttons on his denim jacket.

"But... But this isn't right for dancing in..."

The teenaged boy glanced at the girl; "Looks fine to me. Those loose pants should really work well."

The girl peered down at her bright orange and hugely flared pants. "No, it's not for dancing in."

"Whatever." The boy went back to buttoning his jacket and watching the festivities.

"It sounds Irish..."

"Sorta. But since when have you known about Irish music?"

"So it should be Irish dancing!"

"Sure. ... I guess."

"I love Irish dancing! Let's go!"

"But wait a minute; I thought-" he turned to look at her and stopped.

She beamed at him. "You like it?"

"Well..." The green dress with the gold trimmings was indeed attractive. "Yes, but it doesn't look very... Christmas-y or New Year's-y."

"How 'bout this?" In a twinkling of an eye, the dress morphed into this.

"Um..." He hesitated, "Yeah, that's pretty Christmas-y..."

She grinned and grabbed his arm, "Well then, brother dear! Shall we dance?"

"Sure Jane; we can dance."

Together, they twirled into the cleared area and began to dance; though admittedly, it looked anything but Irish.