World Tree MUSH

 Location: 
 Lylat/Solar Binary Star System 
 Orbit around Planet Fichina 
 Perriol Station -- Resupply & Trade Hub 

     The Perriol Space Station orbits Planet Fichina, the Frozen Planet, and offers a great view of the large world covered in white with constant cloud cover. The station provides transport to the various scientific outposts or other independent settlements (a few residential settlements are present on the frigid surface due to the weather control outpost creating more habitable blizzard-free zones) while offering a place to stop, resupply, shop and trade, or just socialize. 

     It's not uncommon to see people of many colors and flavors aboard these types of stations and orbiting outposts; many are not very well-policed, often independently owned or operated by parent investor companies, and so there can be a criminal element present, but it is usually not very apparent. 

     The main center of the commercial zone is located on a different deck than docking, hangars, and cargo. Various shops and kiosks are around, as are places to eat and drink, all while continuously falling around the stunningly beautiful snowball below.

"Operator, are you absolutely Sure we need to come here?" Ordis fretted. It totally wasn't because he had bad memories involving a space station that got too close to the 'dwarf' star. Totally not horrible flashbacks. Cephelons are just a sort of quirky AI Right?

Ashpatted one of the ship's consoles as Ordis docked at the station that orbited at a nice safe reasonable point. Today's trip was a simple cargo hauling run. 

Grante His was not a cargo hauler but given his world-hopping tendencies his ship had acceess to a wider more varied cargo that, thanks to the nature of laws, taxes, andthe like, often were cheaper to get from a diffrent universe than simply getting from a 'local' world.^t^tAs Ash disembarked he mentally sighed at the paperwork. The customs, paperwork, and having to let customs agents on board for inspection was the most grating.

However he was quite thin on fundsand this was an easy job, so beggers couldn't be choosers. 

Once all the paperwork was filed and he was cleared, he made his way to a bar. Wait wasn't he a bit young to drink? He wasbarely into his teenage years wasn't he? Ash would dismissany concerns. Just after tea while waiting on word from work. Nothing alcholic nothing t osee here folks.

He wore leggings and a silver studded tunic. he wasn't doing anything in particular to hide who or even what he was assuming anyone was around that knew about Tenno 'culture' or dress.

He was just here for a drink while cargo was getting unloaded.

Raven was getting... Better, at this. It had taken a bit of hard work, and a few questions... Maybe a toad person had been frightened by her dark powers. But she'd FINALLY found the station housing wolf. 

She even managed to not draw too many looks. She looked like some edgy tween, running around in her dark emo goth outfit. She didn't look nearly as timid or fearful as she once had, in fact there was an almost... Hint of confidence. Or at least indifference, as she moved. But why wouldn't there be? She had nothing to fear her.

And as long as she focused, neither did any of them.

So Raven walked through the station and... While she didn't get a drink, she did end up picking up a packet of cigars. why? A gift for wolf. After all, she needed his help... And then, finally, her searching was rewarded. They fell on the anthro wolf and she allowed just a hint of a smile to form. "Hey! Wolf!" She called out.

     Wolf O'Donnell's presence on the station isn't that much of a secret, at least through the right channels; when his Wolfen pulls into a hangar, people tend to take notice. Well, many people take notice, anyway. With the help of the more low-key employees in Star Wolf, it's easier to pull strings and have some things kept off the books or have certain security logs be changed. That's the nature of the game. 

     Wolf might be slightly less recognizable out of his typical 'uniform'; today he wears a long brown trench-styled coat over a black tee. The lack of spiked pauldrons and chains presents a more casual image. Still, the same pendant as always rests around his neck. He has a blaster, as well, although this one is smaller than his signature gun and is strapped to his side just within the folds of the coat. 

     He sits at a table in the commons are of the commerce section, leaning back in one chair with his feet propped up and crossed at the ankles on another chair, with a cigarette in the fingers of one hand. He's seemingly alone. An ear perks at hearing his name and, turning to look in that direction, the cyclopean space pirate exhales a breath of smoke that the cylindrical scrubber on the table works to suck in to keep the air (mostly) clean. 

     "Hey, kiddo," Wolf voices in return over the nearby conversations being had, rude or not. "What brings you to Fichina? Looking to go build some snowdemons on the surface or something?"

Ash gave Wolf an easy smile and laughed at the question. "Just dropping a few thigns off andfigured while waiting on that go for a bit of a walk." He idily wondered what the customs agents would make of the solstice decorations, complete with 'snow' in the habitable areas of his ship. "You know how these thigns are. Nothing glamarous, but people need things I'm able to get from A to B."

Granted this amounted to a personal party wanting things for themselves as opposed to resupplying a space station or colony due to hold capacity, but his craft was more a car as opposed to moving van.

"So what brings you here boss, just trying to get away from things?" He had noted Wolf's more casual look.

And then he spotted Raven, "HUH..." A slow smile crpet across his face before he started walking towards the sorceress, "So how'd you get here Raven, catch a lift or find your own way?" He was rather curious on just what Raven's teleportation could do.It felt exceedingly useful. Not to mention dangerous.

Raven would slide into a chair besides him and then... Slide over the cigars. "Here. I thought you might appreciate these. I... Don't know if they're good," she said honestly. "I only smoke, smoked, cigarettes. And even that is rare." It wasn't that she quit. It was that she never did to begin with. It was... Strange. Those small echoes of a life that never was. Would never be.

She cringed at his mention of 'snow demons'. "No. I... Came to find you. I have a job. Or rather... I need supplies," she mumbled. "And.. I need confidentiality." She slid over a list. "I need... The best you can find..." She mumbled, her cheeks burning.

The list had... Cooking... Supplies. She needed cooking supplies. What in the world was... What did she think he did?

The business dealt with, she cocked her head to the side and nodded to Ash. "I flew." Which... Was vague. On a ship, or with her magic? She could never make anything simple... Could she? Then... "Here, Ash," she said firmly, holding out a card, and then sliding one to wolf. "To... Both of you." 

They were... Very.... Badly made. Hand made, it seemed. And poorly, at that. Had she ever even USED scissors? Eother way... It was to a thanksgiving party in... The future. Hosted by Raven. Ah. So that's why she needed all the spices and things.

     The cigarette in Wolf's fingers is placed to his muzzle and the end of it glows brighter momentarily. For as fit and strong as the guy is, he certainly has some unhealthy vices. Granted, medical care is a bit better in Lylat compared to some other places, but Wolf is hardly seen without smokes or drinks off-the-clock. As such, a gift of cigars is likely very well-appreciated either way. 

     "Hm? I was here for some business talks with a client. Nothing terribly exciting, but I'm hoping to get some of the underground shelters down there-" Wolf gestures to the viewport showing the grand image of the planet below. "-recommissioned and back into use for some off-the-grid storage and smuggling. You keep calling me 'boss' and I'll expect you to hire on fully one of these..." There's no harm in saying that much. It's not like he's saying which ones or where they are located on the large icy planet. 

     A hand reaches out to touch fingers against the cigars, but he doesn't pick them up yet. Rather, he picks up the list first to look over while that cigarette sticks from the front of his snout burning away. "What's this?" Wolf narrows his right eye as he reads it over. "This is a grocery list." It's a simplification, sure, but likely very accurate. As he speaks, that burning stick of dried leaf bobs a bit, but doesn't fall. This list is held out to Ash, in turn, so that he can pick up the card next and give it a looking-over. 

     "Aww, did you make this for me, Pumpkin?" O'Donnell pulls the cigarette from his mouth and exhales toward the table's center once more. "That's awfully kind of you to do." For a moment -- just for a moment -- Wolf can visualize the memories of a young Fox McCloud making similar types of things for his father. "A party, huh? -ah. I get it now."

Ash looked at the badly made card and was genuinely happy at seeingthe little token. After all he understood this was something she made with her own hands as opposed to buying, magicing, or using a foundery to print an object out. Outwardly though he merely tucked the card away even though emotionally Raven would have gotten a very clear bundle of warm happy off of him.

At mention of reconditioning underground Shelters Ash's face grew thoughtful, "Any need for clearing any of them or is it all grutn work to get debris cleared, climate control, and so forth?" He could appreciate having a few off the books storage spots. The planet itself? It reminded him of Europa without the ship wreckage everywhere. 

"Now does seem to be the season a lot of people are willing to pay entirely too much for package delivery." A helpless shrug, "I mean it works out fine for me," Having a cloaked ship makes getting through war zones a fair bit SIMPLER than many other options, enoug so that he could afford to charge less than someone caravanning a huge fleet of gunboats. Nevermind the fact his ship was essentially restricted to in-system travel wheenver visiting a given 'verse. Much like in a fight Ash has learnedbeing abe to go invisible, or at least the next best thing to it, is pretty busted.

Raven nodded. "Yes, it is. Sorta. The... Primary ingredients i am getting by..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "Suffice to say, i need the best. And if anyone knows where i could find them. It's you. That and--" 

And her cheeks went scarlet. "Don't call mr pumpkin!" Oof. That one got a reaction at least. "Dog..." She grumbled, glancing off to the side. Well... Both invites had their names on them, so it was obvious she had at least tried.

"it's... A. Bit late, i know. But there were issues and... Either way. If you are unable to find what I'm looking for, then that's fine. But... I figure you're one of the few people i trust with something like this."

Then she glanced to Ash. "I mean, I suppose plan b would just be grab everything and toss it into a pot and hope. I'll call that the tenno approach," she said flatly. "If... You're unable to attend, or... anything just... Let me know bi know it's a bit... Short notice." 

.... Seriously, this holiday party is so late it already had twins.

     A wave of a clawed hand dismisses the worry over the Fichinan bunkers. "Nah, most of the tech is a decade old, so we just need to retrofit a few locations. The hardest part is maintaining heated locations without letting any venting give away their use." Such heating probably shows up pretty easily amidst all of that cold. "A few were built into the terrain, so I just need to make sure the outtake exhaust is funneled into some of the underground caverns." 

     Wolf clears his throat and faintly smiles at the various reactions brought on, but it's the smallest little curl of the corners of his mouth. "I'm sure we can manage something," he gestures with a hand, although it leaves a trail of smoke in the process. On the plus side, Lylatian tobacco isn't laced with dangerous chems. The smoke is much more pure and less irritating. 

     "It's fine to be a little late. Like they say: Better late than pregnant." Crude humor from a crude individual; one shouldn't expect much less. If it's not understood, Wolf's not going to bother explaining it. "I take it this is a culmination of thought from that little talk we had before? You know, that's good to see. Glad you've put some serious effort into it. I'm sure Ash is proud of you, too." 

     "So, Ash, you want to help Raven go shopping for the best?"

"The Tenno approach," That caused Ash to laugh. "You're probably a better cook than I'll ever be." He knew IN THEORY how to cook. In practice? He preferred to just go buy something already made, or at least have someone else cook. 

As for if he could attend or not, "I do have a little outstanding situation, but i want to say it's stable enough I won't have to constantly babysit now that the initial insanity has been taken care of, but... well..." A shrug. "I'll try bringing something nice."

"See," Ash looked to Wolf, "I don't personally know good from bad with spices or foods," He gave a sort of helpless shrug. "However,"

P O W D E R S A N D D Y E S Fresh from the Eurasian Zone!

He shuddered at the memory of That One Guy that hung right around the main gate from Cetus to the Plains, "I've been around enough husslers to have a decent idea on when they're overselling." Then again he also had Ordis to act as a second set of eyesand an on the spot analysis of suspect goods. "I'd be happy to help with your shopping Raven. I do have... One... small thing i'd like in return." Why was he amused? What sort of joke was he going to pull?

Raven flushed again and gave a nod. "Yes. Despite my... Inexperience, thanksgiving appears tk be simple. It gathers... Friends together. It merely requires food and thankfulness. I can acquire the former and have... A high amount of the latter. It is a bit late, but that should be fine. The spirit is the same," she said firmly. Then her eyes widened. "Actually... Ash, can you give miwa hers as well? I... Would like to believe she... Considers me a friend as well."

Then she glanced to wolf again. " What does better late than--" and he could see as she choked on the words, her eyes widened and her cheeks once again turned scarlet. "N-nevermind."

Then glanced back to Ash. Cooking? Well... She'd done a little with peach. Well. More watched and... Yeah. It'd be fine. She could do it. How hard could it be? She was smart. It couldn't be any mkre complex than a full magical ritual.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. " A fee? Very well. I figure I'll be buying the puppy's help, i can buy yours as well. What do you want from me?"

     "Well," adds Wolf. "I'm not exactly a gourmet, either. There've been times where I was stuck eating what I could scrape off the bottom of my boots." And that is probably a lovely mental image. If so, mission accomplished and point made. Doesn't mean that he enjoys it and doesn't mean he can't appreciate some of the more nicely prepared things, but O'Donnell specializes more in survival than luxury. "What could possibly go wrong?" 

     Yes, the question was asked entirely for the purpose of asking it and the fun taboo that comes along with asking such rhetorical questions. He's not superstitious, but he knows plenty of people are. Rather, Wolf goes quiet and allows Ash and Raven the chance to discuss whatever deal they want to broker. Whilst smoking, the grizzled lupine takes the moment to pick up the cigar gift and give them an examination. This includes not just a look-over, but also a good sniffing. Afterwards, he tucks them away into one of the coat's inner pockets and watches the two 'kids' with casual interest. Wolf is so chill right now that things side-business-wise must be going rather well.

Ash's amusement grew, almost like he had a joke in mind, My fee is simple. I get to pick Where this gathering gets to be." Thenhe looked to Wolf with a grin. He had the look of someone who had... Ideas in mind. "This is of course contingent on if i can get the place cleared out and ready. Youll love it, honest."

He was positively vibrating with the sort of mischivious glee bubbling around inside of him.

"Assuming all goeswell I wouldn't mind You or Panther swinging by. I figure the work you guys've put in lately." He was being perhaps annoyingly nonspecific on details, but how often does one get to pull the wool over a wizard's eyes? 

Then he looked back to raven and he forced himself to calm down, "In all seriousness it relates to some stuff I've put a lot of time and resources into so assuming all goes well I do sorta kinda want to show off a little? Though it's less 'me'and more the place itself. Worst case I actually can get holdof a few folk that could help you do prep on the food I mean you're a smart girl used to horrifyingly complex things that require absolute to the moment proper timing. Think of cooking infamiliar terms and it shouldgo alright. I mean fair I'm not the world's BEST cook, but I can do a decent fish fry or barbeque." Ordis had been insistent on Ash learning at least the basics of survival if he intended on going out as himself as opposed to just using his warframe, and the cheerfully psychotic cephelon was rather to the point on the matter.

Raven gave a knowing nod. "Yeah. I know how that was. When i first came to this realm, these... Worlds, i try not to think about the things i ate when i was hungry. Fortunately, I've gotten far better and very litle of it was poisonous." 

The cigars were... Nice. But not as nice as they cpuld be. They were one kf those fancier brands that were high quality, but more expensive than they were worth, a trap for the wealthy. Still, they WERE good quality.

She almost objected but... Then... She nodded. "Of course. That sounds fair. I will happily relent to your desire and we will have the place where you choose. You've got the first invitations, so give me the locale so i can chabge the others," she said with a nod. How bad could it be?

     Notable that there's no mention of Leon, but Wolf isn't surprised. He also doesn't say anything about it. Leaning toward the table to his side, he reaches in over himself to tap the ashes from his cigarette into the scrubber. He's nearly smoked it completely. 

     It's also not the guy's place to say much regarding what is had in mind. Procurement of supplies; that's something O'Donnell can manage. Planning a party and helping to cook food? That's a lot less promising. He's glad to listen to the planning, but he'll just take it one step at a time for now. Boots slipping from the chair they are propped upon, the lounging wolf sits up while pressing the butt of the smoke to his thin black lips before reaching over to rub at a shoulder. The roaming aches of age love to migrate and pop up for no good reason.

Ash would have helepd Raven even if she put her foot down on venue, but maybe it was just how she accepted, her deadpan voice made him feel a bit bad for even asking. Having friends was hard, maybe he was doing this wrong?

Leon's... prefrences were not why Ash didn't extend an open invite. It was more the fact Leon was a rather openly sadistic person that gave Ash the feeling like he was just another corpse to carve rather tha na potential coworker. That put a bit of a damper on any attempt at being friendly.

Ash looked at his teacup and smiled to himself. "Disagreementsare bound to pop up Wolf, they always do whenever people are involved, but given how many knowledge gaps i've had to fill? I'm glad you've been willing to haveme on."

Raven relaxed a little. All she had to do was make one of the ebst meals ever. Find the greatest ingredients. Prepare a meal when the most she'd done correctly was cook ramen. Eh. It'd be fine.

"If... It's your venue, do i decorate, or do you?" She asked. Legitimately asked. She didn't know all the holiday customs... "That shouldn't... Be too difficult, right?" There wss jist a hint of doubt. What if she wasn't up to it? What if she failed? What if she was a failure st-- She shook her ehad, and a bunch of levitating condiments around the room dropped to the ground as she stifled her worries. "It'll be a fantastic event. I will pull out all the stops," shw said firmly. "And if you'd like to bring other friends, let me know."

     "Eh, I'm sure Panther might have somebody in mind, but both she and her parallel universe counterpart have been difficult vixens to find of late. As for me, well, I can see if Nichols wants to take a break from work. That boy hardly ever takes a break." 

     Finishing off the last of his cigarette, Wolf leans over to drop the remains into the table-bound device, gives a long deep exhalation toward it to kick most of the smoke from his lungs, and then turns it off. He picks up the card and reaches over to tap it against Raven's head in an almost playful gesture. "This is good stuff, kiddo," he remarks. "I can't wait to see what else you come up with. If you want to make some of your own decorations, but Ash wants to set it up as a surprise, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you making some and handing them over. Teamwork. As for location; that's a bit trickier. Ash is going to need to do some math and find a good meeting spot in what I imagine is going to be a safe estimate. I'm sure he can get that to you in a timely manner so you can make more of these." 

     Wolf...approves.

"Maybee I'm wrong," Ash only half-knew how these things went and then that was mostly because clan traditionas and dojo decorating conests tended to get really active aroundthe holidays, "but it's usually whoever's playing host to the event rather than the cook unless the person cooking is also playing host." His tone was serious as he addressed Raven's question, "With that said, I will run a majority of decorations by you for final say, since the whole idea is friendly gathering rather than fighting over who's in charge of this and that and all that fighting just kinda kills the mood."

At mention of tagalongs, "Fionn?" That got Ash to smile, "I figured him for the sort to activly dodge anything keeping him from a workbench. I'm going to see if miwa wants to drop in, or Anna." Both people Raven knew. "Venue's going to be tricky. IF the spot i want can't be fixed up in time I have a few other options , so it mostly comes down to how many and the tone you want to set."

A pause as he looked the station over, letting his eyes slide over the crush of people, "I wasn't the clan architect but ours was pretty collaborative on events and decorating, so this isn't entirley new territory." It was just /mostly/ new. Big diffrence. No he wasn't panicking.That would come later when he wasn't around Raven.

Raven visibly relaxed when Wolf gave his approval. It shocked her a little, even. She hadn't realized just... How much she wanted him to approve. Of all of this. Of all her hard work and research and... It shook her a little. Why did she care? It felt... She sighed. Feelings were weird. 

She nodded and glsnced to ash. "I'll trust you, them. Just... Make it... Festive. And... Happy. Warm. Inviting. I'll trust you to know what you're doing. It'll be admittedly easier if all i have to do is cook." 'All'. This would be horrifying.... But don't worry. she could panic enough for both of them.

     Well, on the plus side, at least one of the three is far far far from anywhere even remotely close to panic. He oversees the operations of a space station already, to say nothing of the type of people that his type of work attracts. Then again, Wolf's job is a bit easier. He merely needs to hunt down ingredients and groceries. Thankfully, he runs a business that is built on trade. "Yeah, Fionn is married to his work, no doubt. I'll need a bit of time to hunt down stuff on that list. We can divide the load, too, if you want." 

     Pulling out a datapad, O'Donnell makes a request of Ash. "Hold up that list for me, let me get a recording," he says while holding up the pad to scan the list, pending compliance. To Raven, however, "All this talk of food, have you eaten yet today?"

Ash asists Wolf in the list digitization. Then a look to Raven when Wolf asked on if she's eaten. His eyes narrowed but he said nothing. If Wolf wanted to play the part of papa here? His call. 

When that finished he went back to peoplewatching. Here is where small talk would happen, but his mind has mostly been on a job that wiped out msot of his savings. "So, holiday question. Lot of worlds I've visited have a solstice tradition of decorating a tree, typically an evergreen because 'heart of winter this thing still lives' thing along with still being pretty. Forget why we use trees back ome since any connection to the roots of the traditions have bee nlong gone." A dismissive shrug, "How is the solstice celebrated here abouts Wolf, or is there even a holiday that hits at roughly this time frame?" Interplanetary made seasonal holidays a bit headach-y to deal with or justify after all.

Raven was relieved, now. She had friends. Real friends. Not only were they helping her... She didn't feel any anger. Any annoyance at her requests. Granted, wolf never gave anything off. Still... She didn't see any signs, either. And she normally thought she was good at reading people. It... Filled her with a warm glow. She... Had friends. Real friends.

And then his words hit herz and she blinked. "Huh? Of course. I ate..." Then paused. "What... Time is... How long was i... I..." She hummed. "What day is it? I... Know i had lunch, yesterday. Now that you mention it, i am quite famished."

".... I was reading a book," she added, to defend her poor eating habits. No wonder she was so skinny. "What would ypu recommend?" Now that she'd had her attention drawn to it, she found herself quite ravenous and it was hard to not just go get something to eat from the nearest stand.

"I've read a lot on that one. It... Is very difficult. I tried to summon santa, but it was unsuccessful. I did find some other help, though. But as holidays go, it seems tk be one of the more difficult ones."

     "Every planet has their own histories and customs, although there is plenty of cultural bleedover between the planets and from outside the system -- I suppose that also means extra-dimensionally as much as interstellar, these days." Wolf thumbs over at the viewport to the grand view of Fichina for reference. "Most planets don't have a tilt and, thus, no seasons. Daylight length stays the same every rotation. That reliability is what makes most planets predictable, which is good for themed commerce, like back before Zoness was ruined." 

     "Besides, we have two stars, even though almost all light comes from just Lylat, so technically the days vary on their mutual orbits." Perhaps it can be an even larger headache when you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of such technicalities amongst numerous planets...and that's just one World's star system! "That said, there's probably a market for setting up a 'permanent' Winter Holiday resort down there. You could borrow from different sources, but I'm not sure how defensive some aliens get with cultural appropriation, especially for the sake of commerce. But that's the kind of business you could advertise here on Perriol." 

     It's probably not quite the answer desired. Somebody far more socially-aligned with the majority of habits on, say, Planet Corneria (where the grand majority of the system population lives) would have a less technical and more heartfelt answer. Wolf...probably doesn't celebrate holidays much aside from a few drinks. Then again, he already had a similar conversation with Raven once before. Holy Days are what are the most hallowed to the person that wants to celebrate them, religious overtones in name unrelated. 

     Wolf lightly slaps the tabletop. "You two stay here and chat. I'll go get something for us all to munch on." Slipping the card into his coat, he then presses his hands into his pants pockets and starts to wander off.

Ash slow blinks. She... tried to summon. SANTA. OK not quite as insane as it sounds. IF this Santa were a magical creature then in theory summonable right? Then again it's like 'in theory I could walk into Nef Anyo's throne room and punch him in the face. In practice that isn't happening.'

A blink at that astronomical factoid. "No Axial tilt, like... NONE, on any of..." That had to be artificial. The oddsof a single system having planets with no tilt especially in the chaos of it being a binary plus all the interactions that would imply pointed at the current setup being artificial. 

Then mention of food, "That would actually be pretty nice," He fished a few bills out and put them on the table for Wolf to take or ignore as he saw fit. Seems he wasn't quite as broke as he claimed after all.

Raven nodded and smiled softly to wolf. "Thank you." He was kind. She then blinked. "Just... Unmm. Take my amount out of my pay." She honestly hadn't been the best at.. Collecting... Her pay. She still wasn't fully aware of how important jt was. Of course she wasn't. She lived with a literal princess now. And with powers like hers... Well. She hardly had to worry about such things.

She was lucky. She could spend all her time in scholarly approachs. Which begfed the question, why did she still work for wolf? Because he was nice to her and she liked him and he made her feel useful... Wasn't a hard answer.

She glanced to ash and nodded. "There are a lot of very strange worlds out there. Amazing ones. Somewhat horrifying ones, as well. The universe is i credible. And astronomy is not as cut and dry as we would wish," she said witg a small smile.

     "Listen to the girl. You've been to dimensions like mine with my kind of people and our tech, ones with floating blocks and mushroom people, places with magical finger-wiggling powers, and I've even seen worlds made completely out of digital data...and your voice gives away disbelief about domestic planetary axial tilting?" Wolf slowly wanders yet speaks without looking back. This gets a few looks from some of the other nearby 'animal people'. "The multiverse is a huge place, kiddo. At least you're encountering things that still surprise you, which is great, but... Boy oh boy, aren't you going to have fun when you hit the really strange stuff." How about a trip through a Lylatian wormhole? Wolf laughs, amused. 

     He simply laughs and wanders off to go buy food at a nearby food kiosk that looks like it sells edibles that are not all that healthy but probably taste great. Holidays? It's going to be Eat Like a Space Pirate Day.

"Well when you put it that way.." Ash shook hishead. He knew Venus 'naturally' would have been a hothouse hell if itwasn't for the Orokin leavign the proverbial fridge on. He kenw Sedna was essentially re-orbited. Heck. He's even talked to a pile of trees that somehow had a long dead archamedian's mind shoved into them.

Beside all that what was a little re-tilting of a few planets?

"So anything in mind other than festive gatherings? One of the oldtraditions from home i'm happy to see alive across worlds is the art ofa good snowball fight." He paused as he looked raven over before explaining. "Take snow, pack loosely into a ball before throwing. Not too tightly else it turns into an iceball." Granted ever ytime he's played has been in a warframe so they could have literally thrown Rocks at eachother and it not matter. "Make forts out of snow or ice or whatever's on hand, and just have fun being silly for awhile. Even Teshin got in on the act and he's... Well I personally think he's older than Dirt but the old guy's seen a lot and still manages to find a few things to smile aout." He actually missed Teshin... even if you'd have trouble convincing Ash Conclave was anything other than a mistake.

Raven chuckled softly, glancing to wolf as he left. She didn't kniw whst he'd get for them, but... She trusted him that it would be good. Delicious, even. And it would be fun to try off world cuisine again.

She glanced to ash and blinked. Snowball? Her eyes lit up, just a little. "Ah. I... Remember those. When i--" ans stopped. "Rachel Roth used to play and have fights with them during the winter. It seems like a silly thing, i don't much see the point." 

And yet, her eyes had glimmered for a second before she buried it down. And she managed to pluck a memory like that out od the 'fog' in her mind rachel roth had been... But no. Jist a 'waste'.

     Wolf is away for a while. He stands there, leaning in against the kiosk counter, clearly having a conversation with the cat working behind the counter. Although he seems relaxed and uses plenty gestures with his arms and hands, it might be a bit difficult to guess what they're talking about. Probably just small talk. 

     The cat behind the counter works to fry up some kind of meat, dropping herbs and spices into the ground-up stuff as he does, before turning away to pull out a tray and a bowl, then ducks down to pull out a scoop of something else and scatters the hardened contents liberally over the stuff frying up so they get some frying time, too. 

     The feline chucks the scoop to the side and picks up a flat squared-off utensil instead with one hand, grabs the tray and bowl with the other, and skillfully scrapes the fried goodness off the flat grill into the container lined with some kind of papery stuff. What looks like a scoop is next used to add splotches of something white and something green -- what the heck could it be? -- and then drizzles something red over the whole mess. And he does this all while holding that unheard conversation.

Ash squints as he watches Wolf get their food, "That... Huh. Looks kinda like fajita mix." He then looked to Raven, "Hey, I've got yours and Temulin's gifts wrapped. just figure you'd like to know."

Raven blinked a few times, eying whatever it was. "Fajita?" She asked. "I don't think I've ever tried those. Are they good?" She asked... Then... 

"Wait gift? Oh no..." Shw whispered, her eyes widening slightly. That's true, it was nearly that holiday. And, traditionally, you gave people gifts. She couldn't even begin to guess WHAT to get people. How could she possibly? "How... Importsnt are the gifts?" She asked softly.

     Oh, here he comes finally. Wolf O'Donnell walks back up to the table, tray in hand, and then unceremoniously slides it onto the table's surface. Sure enough, it's a whole mess of Lylat's take on nachos using domestic products. Lightly double-fried crisps and well-spiced ground meat with some kind of kickin' hot sauce, dairy sauce, and fruit sauce. No cheese on it, though, although there is a small container with some melted in it to the side. "There you go," he says, clearly reaching in to grab some first. Finger food. 

     "Bone apple tea, kiddos," he says with a following crunch.

Ash shrugged, "I personally consider gifts 'nice but ultimately not needed' especially since you're still getting in the swing of being around people who either aren't blatantly trying to chase you away." Then he saw Wolf with nacho plates which caused him to smile. "Ah now here is an any time anywhere food." He loaded one of the chips down and crunched, ludly on it.

Raven stared at the food with tge same look you might give a two headed dog. How in the world would they even... She couldn't guess whwre to start. Like... Small pizzas? Was it a--

As the other two dug in, realization dawned on her and... Timidly, she reaxhed out. It wasn't the most graceful of chips, she had to use one hsnd under the chip holding one to ensure she didn't drop it... But.... Within a few moments sge had her first and her eyes widened. Once she swallowed, she stared in awe. "This is spectacular! What is it?" She asked, before happily having a second. Granted, part of her want for more might be because she hadn't eaten in a while. But still.

She then glanced to Ash and... "So... If i don't. I won't be... Hated?" She askef softly. Then... "And they didn't... Want me to gi away. They just didn't want me to exist, that's all," she said with a shrug. "It's not like they hated me. Just... What i am." Not that it did anything to help her feel less miserable, judging bt the look on her face.

     Clunk. Wolf reaches over to put something down on the table before Raven. It was something that he had in his other hand, but what? It's about the size of a fist, fairly heavy for its size, and is spherical atop a short base. The sphere itself is clear allowing one to see what's inside: it's a snowy landscape with little bits of white free-floating. The impact against the table has sent a bit of it swirling about in mimicry of a snowstorm. The base of the thing says: Fichina: Lylat's Snowglobe. 

     It's a return gift for the cigars. "Celebrating gift-giving is nice, but the best gifts are unexpected, Kitten." Saying nothing more about it, Wolf turns back to the huge platter of nachos. He's not afraid to get his fingers messy with one hand, although his other reaches out to collect some of the money that Ash put out. He doesn't need it, as he prefers digital currency, but he does this add a point: "And this one is from both of us. He chipped in, too." Crunch.

Raven blinked and stared at tge globe. She slowly, gingerly, picked it up. Holding it as if it was made of glass(which she supposed it was) and would shatter if she wasn't incredibly gentle with it. "I haven't seen anything like this since Azarath..." She idly considered she had seen them in stores and the like. But... This was different. This was her's. "Thank you..." She whispered.

she stared at it for the longest time. It was... Well. a simple gift. But... There were no strings. No fears she didn't deserve it. The notion started her as a few tears threatened to fall. She quickly wiped them away.

She had changed. A lot. And... Ahe was beginning to feel that, maybe... Just maybe... She'd be okay after all. Damian. Merlin. Rydia. Wolf. Peach. Ash. The list of allies she was gaining... It was growing. Piece. By. Piece...

Maybe... There was hope. She had one last chip, before getting to her feet. "I... Need to go. T-thank you, for your help. I'll be back in a few days while you gqther the locations of the ingredients. I can g-get them as needed, so long as you tell me where." She quickly turned and it was obvious, especially by the way she held the snow globe, that she had a new precious possession...

     "You're welcome," comes a firm voice in reponse to the whisper. 

     Wolf O'Donnell watches Raven, but not intrusively so; he doesn't stare. For the most part what he sees is from the edge of his vision while snacking on the food while it's hot. He doesn't comment on the emotional showing, but it's not a matter of lacking empathy or being cold about things. It's a simpler thing: the moment is Raven's to have. 

     In reply to what is said during the farewell, the one-eyed wolf nods and licks some hot sauce off of his fingertip before pointing a fingergun in turn. "No problem. You do you, kiddo. If anything falls into my lap, I'll go ahead and grab it. Otherwise, I'll let you know what my sources find. Next time you come this way, bring some some friends and some warm clothes and you can take a shuttle to the surface. There are some climate-controlled areas where you all can have some fun, build a fort in the snow, have snowball fights. That kind of thing." Fun; that kind of thing. 

     Raven doesn't need Wolf to tell her to take care. Ultimately, that's patronizing. Instead, the mercenary settles for a simple, "See you then."