"It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song of old...

Their friends' voices sing out over the sounds of the party and Abby quickly joins in. She has so many favorite Christmas carols!

Molly, not wanting to be left out, decides she's going to sing too. The problem is she doesn't understand what it's all about, and the result is an ear-piercing loud, high screech that would do a Banshee proud.

She's sure got a great pair of lungs, Erik thinks to himself as his ears ache and he stumbles around for something to distract her. She's going through a growth spurt so any food should do the trick.

He spots a large bowl with ladle and plastic cups, just placed there by a new arrival, a young human woman. "Eggnog! That's the ticket."

"Why, of course!" Lady A said, reaching out to take the little gargoyle, being careful not to pinch the tail. "You are so cute!"

She listened as the others began singing again, then joined in herself, then startled as Molly let loose a sound that could cripple a weeping angel.

"Holly and Mackerel, child! That was loud!"

"Yes, please, some punch for me as well!" Varna shouts at Aravanna. She's thirsty after the singing. Oh, she loves the carols ...
"their harps of gold" ... she has never owned a harp of gold, but at home - back in Rivendell - she still has the grand harp that her cousin left her when she went to the West. It's too heavy to take along to Ditto Town, so she's taken her lyre instead. Should she have taken it here today, perhaps? No, it would have been in the way, too cumbersome for partying ...

[OOC: cries able to cripple a weeping angel. I like it! ]

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Abby says as the shrieking stops; Molly has turned her attention to the eggnog. Still, Lady A can see the child smile up at her around the cup.

"Those are the shrieking eels," Erik whispers. "They always get louder just as they're about to - "

"Oh, stop," Abby says, goodnaturedly poking him. "They're starting a new song."

Indeed they are, and Erik is able to enjoy one of his favorite carols as Molly is otherwise occupied.

O holy night,
The stars are brightly shining...

(OOC: Interesting, Gazer, that was the song I was listening to when I read your post)

"No harm done," Lady A smiled at Abby and then started bouncing Molly slightly as she rejoined the singing. "Tis the eve of our dear Savior's birth."

long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.

What sweet words of comfort, words that stretched across multiverses and worlds, spanning from age to age, words that connected the sweet fellowship that had gathered for this Christmas season, together in the Old Mansion, a relic of ages long past in Ditto Town. As Lady A sang and looked around the room, she saw friends whom had been missing from Ditto Town for years, as well as green DTers who had only recently made the little town their abode. She saw Dittos and Originals and so many others from times long gone. She smiled at the flood of memories, nearly having to stop singing to swallow hard. This, indeed, was the best way one could ever possibly spend a Christmas.

"Actually I would say the best way one could ever possibly celebrate a Christmas would be by blowing things up in costly and spectacular explosions, but that's just me," Bookwyrm said. "Oh, wait. You didn't say that out loud. So sorry."

Lady A stopped singing and turned to face Bookwyrm.

"Sweetie, destroy my pretty moments one more time tonight and I swear I will slap you so hard you will land in the Christmas party for next year. Now sing."

[OOC] Booky, is there anything weird in the punch now? I have no idea what you added, but it could be a little fun if there are still a few non-lethal side effects. [/OOC]

I almost drop the two glasses I'm carrying when I hear Molly's screech. I didn't think a sound that loud could come out of something so small.

"Wow, which one of you two does she get that from?" I tease Eric and Abby. "Is one of gargoyles's many talents deafening their foes? Oh offense of course. I bet she'll have an incredible voice when she learns to control it."

I hand a glass to Varna. "Here you go. Thanks for coming tonight Varna. It's been so fun hanging out with you. A toast to friends at Christmas! And to our Savior's appearing," I add to Lady A.

I take a drink and wonder if there's some weird taste underneath the overwhelming sweetness, but it doesn't really taste alcoholic. It's probably just lemon zest or something.

— Lady Z —

I turn my attention to Lady Z as her older sister makes her way over to some of the other partygoers. "Yes, it has really been too long since we've seen each other." I pause for a moment as I snag a bottle of ginger ale. "Mmm, still traveling here, there and everywhere like in the old days. As for a Companion, I'm currently companion-less. In the market for one, as it were."

I playfully act distraught that Lady Z has possession of my sonic pen and quickly retrieve it. "Perhaps, Zee. Perhaps.... Though I can't be making sonics for everyone. What would the galaxies be like if everyone had one of these?" I toss the pen in the air and catch it before answering my own question. "Chaos! Sheer, confounded chaos! Though, it would give me a steady job..."

"It has indeed." I watch Cor grab the ginger ale, then grab some of my own. "Ah, you are? Well... my current duties at the Castle could be suspended, as it were. I'd be more than willing to travel with you."

"Of course it would be chaos, but wouldn't it be fun? And there is the job part. I'd pay good money for one of these." I snatch the sonic pen back, noting that it's become a game.

I hear the sound of Christmas carols being sung, and the general cheer of Christmas hangs in the air. I smile, then notice the huge bowl of dark cherry-red punch. "Ooh!" I hand my unused bottle of ginger ale to Cor to drink himself, and then head over to the punch. I pour some for myself, then return to stand next to Cor. I take a sip. Then another.

A few minutes later, I start to hiccup.

[OOC] I meant to write that I was adding something to my punch, but I didn't phrase it very well. [/OOC]

"But destroying pretty moments is practically in my job description and I already added Random Potion to the punch. Everyone who drinks it is going to get a different, random effect. Mine was telepathy."

"Anne!" I hug my favourite ginger back. "I've been great! Super busy, but great! Hey, the eggnog looks fantastic. I'll definitely get some later on tonight."

Anne disappears to catch up with some other friends, and the lady behind me takes the opportunity to introduce herself.

"Nice to meet you, Ara. Can I just stick with Ara? I mean, that was another Anne just back there."

There are a lot of Anne's and Anna's, come to think of it. "You can call me Hummy," I say, ladling some punch into a crystal glass. It looks expensive. I'll try extra hard not to drop this one.

The punch itself is delicious - there's definitely some white grape and raspberries in there. And something else - some weird metallic flavour swirling around, evading my tongue whenever I try to figure it out. Shrugging, I continue drinking; I didn't realise how thirsty I was until now.

Five minutes later, and I'm starting to get a headache. I desperately want to avoid leaving early - there are still so many people I have yet to catch up with. I just need a quick nap. Yeah. A nap would be good.

I wander around the large room, looking for a suitable couch. And something to cuddle with. I need to cuddle something while I nap, and then I'll be content.

+ + +

"Er, Hum, you are keeping a lookout, right?" I ask. He hasn't spoken for the past five minutes.

"Hum?" I flick my eyes to the left. He's spilled his tea all over himself and the floor. I'm about to scold him when I realise that his eyes are closed, and he's trembling uncontrollably. He's either seizing, or going through some sort of withdrawal. Great. Just what I needed.

I stop at the nearest convenience store and jump out. "You stay in here and...uh, be good," I say. He doesn't respond. No surprise there.

Right before I enter the building, I see a dark figure in my peripheral vision. It's fairly large, like a camel or something. Well, if it's not one of my many alter egos, then it's not my problem.

I head straight towards the sole employee. "Right, hello, hi, I would like to buy some nicotine products."

He looks at me with a goofy expression. Or maybe his face is just naturally goofy. "Go for it," he says, grinning at me, and not moving.

"Perhaps you could point me towards a recommended one?" I suggest.

"I suppose I could." He grins, his eyes crinkling into impossibly tiny little crescents.

I seriously do not have time for this. "Please do so, then."

"Do what?"

My eyelid is starting to twitch. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and count to ten, then twenty, then thirty. I look up again and try to smile in a way that suggests fading patience and potential violence. "Choose a good nicotine product for me, so that I can buy it, so that I can help my...friend, who is seizing and possibly dying in the car park. Please."

He dips his head downwards and looks at me through his eyelashes. Impotent fool. "Well, I'll need proof of age," he finally says, which is ridiculous, because I'm pretty sure he's younger than me.

I pull out my wallet and flip it open to show him my fancily forged ID Card. I'm rather proud of it.

"Oh. Well. Sorry, but we don't carry ciggies." He shrugs. I leap over the counter and tackle him. He's fairly weak and pretty unintelligent, so it's easy to overpower him and drag him out the door and back to the truck.

I throw him at Hum's feet. "Hey. Meet one more: Dummy."

Varna smiles and accepts the glass, and sips its contents. Hmmm - a strange herb or something that she hasn't tasted before. Pity that all the healers of Rivendell have left, or they might have known it - well, she wouldn't be able to ask them here anyway.

The others are still singing.
O, Holy Night - another favorite. She joins in the singing again.

"Och hoppets stråle går igenom världen,
och ljuset skimrar över land och hav.
Folk, fall nu neder, och hälsa glatt din frihet.
O helga natt, du frälsning åt oss gav!"

Now - why is she singing it in Swedish?
And how does she know that this is Swedish?

OOC:
Jussi Björling singing the Swedish version (lyrics included)

"It has indeed." I watch Cor grab the ginger ale, then grab some of my own. "Ah, you are? Well... my current duties at the Castle could be suspended, as it were. I'd be more than willing to travel with you."

"Of course it would be chaos, but wouldn't it be fun? And there is the job part. I'd pay good money for one of these." I snatch the sonic pen back, noting that it's become a game.

I hear the sound of Christmas carols being sung, and the general cheer of Christmas hangs in the air. I smile, then notice the huge bowl of dark cherry-red punch. "Ooh!" I hand my unused bottle of ginger ale to Cor to drink himself, and then head over to the punch. I pour some for myself, then return to stand next to Cor. I take a sip. Then another.

A few minutes later, I start to hiccup.

"Ah! That would be simply grand!" I take a sip of ginger ale. "And I can assure you that no serious harm would befall you. I try to refrain from permanently losing Companions, since it can be so rough on both parties, you know."

I laugh... which may or may not have been the best thing to do at a comment about causing mass chaos. "Ha! That it would indeed." Having the sonic pen snatched from me again, I grab it back from Lady Z and stick it behind my right ear, like one would a regular pen. I give a triumphant smirk as the young lady goes to hear the Christmas carols.

While Lady Z is gone, I notice Hummy (or one of her variations) are in our company along with Anne. Just missing the latter, I wave at Hummy in a "Hello!" sort of way.

My attention is returned to Lady Z as she begins hiccuping after drinking some punch. "Hmm..." I pull out my sonic and quickly scan what's left of the punch in the glass. "It's been spiked with... Ultracorlean carbons and... hello there! We have extract of palm root. Good heavens, Booky! You have been a naughty boy."

Molly has finished her eggnog but seems content to be held by Lady A. The little one turns her head, though, upon hearing a new voice, for she's never heard an elf sing before.

Erik and Abby are similarly entranced by the beauty of the song; they recognize the language as a Scandinavian one but can't specifically identify it. This doesn't hinder their enjoyment of their friend's singing.

As Varna's voice fades into memory Erik turns to Aravanna. "No offense taken. I imagine she gets her volume from my father or grandfather - or maybe even my grandmother." He winks at Abby, sharing an inside joke about his grandmother's legendary temper. "But once she really begins singing, I imagine it'll be Abby she takes after."

Just then the Mansion door opens and a little girl, perhaps 9 years old, bursts into the room. Her eyes lock on the gargoyles and she immediately runs to them. "Uncle Erik! Aunt Abby!" she cries, eagerly hugging each in turn.

"Hi Grace," Abby says; she can see the child's parents entering now, bearing a bag full of treats.

Erik introduces this family, Dan and Angela Baxter and their daughter Grace, to Lady A and their other friends.

Grace digs in the bag and unwraps a chocolate bar to offer to Molly. The name AERO is clearly visible on the green-and-white wrapper. "You know how hard these are to find?" Angie says with a grin. "Grace, I don't think Molly's quite ready for - "

Too late. "At least this time she ate most of it," Erik says as he wipes excess chocolate off his giggling daughter's face.

[OOC: Random Potion? Well then, I shall oblige!![OOC]

"Oh, Ara is just fine! I'll answer to that, and pleased to meet you Hummy!" I respond before rejoining Varna and the Silvermoons.

I really don't know what language my elf friend is singing in. I don't think it's Elven, but it's very pretty, and such a wonderful song too! "Thanks so much Varna! That was lovely!" I say, and take another sip of punch. This time the metallic aftertaste is more pronounced. I frown at the drink and decide I've had enough. I walk over to the refreshment table to return the lovely glass.

Just as I set it down on a tray of dirty dishes, my throat feels hot, then it feels like it's on fire. I grab at my scarf to pull it off, but the sensation has already dulled, and there's no pain. Instead, I feel heat sinking down towards my stomach. "What was in that punch?" I mutter aloud and start heading back towards my group.

The Baxters enter and I wave and smile as Grace feeds Molly an Aero Bar. "Well if she has to eat chocolate this young, at least it's GOOD chocolate! Oh, and everybody, don't drink the punch," I add lightly. Except the heat sensation is moving rapidly through my stomach and down into my leg, and that makes me drop the smile. It feels like it's probing around my foot and moving back up my leg again. I reach down and jerk my pants up with shaking hands just in time to see a greenish glow before it's past where I can pull my pants any higher.

I just hold my cuff there without moving for a second, a scream trapped by my mind's unbelief that this could possibly be happening. No need to scream if I’m just seeing things, but I can feel the heat moving up my spine, and I really don't think I could have imagined the veins under my skin backlit by that unearthly green glow that’s sometimes colored pink by my own flesh.

"Umm... umm can someone... uhhhh...." I don't have time to finish my sentence... the heat is behind my eyes now, and for a moment I have tunnel vision. Then I can't seem to see anything at all. Jumbles of unrelated memories bombard me. I'd panic, but I have no clear sense of my present self, of being in danger... my brain has become a cacophony of synapses, all firing at random.

Suddenly it clears. I'm myself again. I'm at a Christmas party, crouched down and still pulling my pant leg up because I had bad punch. Then the words come in my mind. Oh, that's unexpected. I didn't know you were intelligent.

I finally manage that scream.