Fourth Floor Common Room, Tuesday Night

[angelo_wings]

Sadly, the book about Mr. Fitzwilliam's sister had taken a turn for the melodramatic, and not in a good way. Miss Austen's excellent novel had been about a social faux pas here, or a miscommunication there, and not dramatic kidnappings set in the middle of London.

And so the book had been tossed aside -- perhaps not permanently, but certainly for now -- and Rinoa was instead in the common room, flipping through television stations and trying to find something to watch.

Everything seemed geared towards the upcoming winter holiday, whether it was a friendly snow monster coming to life, or a reindeer with a glowing nose. Rinoa didn't mind. The winter holiday specials were cheery.

She made some hot cocoa and settled down to watch.

Comments

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh, I love this one!" Karla said, ducking her head into the common room. "The elf that wants to be a dentist is my favorite! Have they gone to the Isle of Misfit Toys yet?"

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Toys don't need dentists," Squall pointed out flatly.

[glacial_queen]

"No, but other elves do," Karla returned smugly. "They just happen to go to the toy island. They're on an adventure."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"To an island of toys?" Squall asked. "That's a pointless sort of adventure."

[glacial_queen]

"That's not where they intend to go," Karla said, rolling her eyes a bit. "They end up there as they're traveling. A lot of times people get sidetracked on their adventures, where they're trying to do one thing, but end up waylaid or sent on what seems to be a pointless endeavor to fetch something or do something for someone. Come on, you have to know what I'm talking about."

[angelo_wings]

"I don't think so?" Rinoa said, tilting her head at Karla. "I thought they were trying to get Freezy the snowmonster somewhere before he melted. So they go to an island with the elves?"

Rinoa was changing channels during the commercials. And failing to remember what bits went to which show. This holiday stuff was all a little confusing.

[glacial_queen]

"Ooh, this is going to be your first Christmas, isn't it?" Karla said with a grin that be described as 'manic.' Someone had been hitting the Christmas candy already. "Has anyone explained it to you yet? Or is it something you have in your world, too?"

The Blood had Winsol, Christmas's superior first cousin.

[angelo_wings]

"I don't think so?" Rinoa said again, screwing her face up and thinking about it. "I'd know if we had it in our world, right? I mean, none of this sounds familiar at all."

As if the commercial juggernaut could be missed.

[glacial_queen]

"Well, I can explain it to you if you'd like," Karla offered. "I've been here a year already, so I'm pretty well-versed in what Christmas is like. There's a whole story and everything. It's kind of epic and spans two holidays."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I see you're familiar with the traditions already," Elphaba remarked. She held out her plate. "Gingerbread person?"

[glacial_queen]

"I was here last year for Christmas," Karla explained, happily reaching for a gingerbread. "It's also a lot like my holiday of Winsol."

Though Winsol was better. Because it celebrated Jaenelle and not some baby.

"Do you celebrate any midwinter holidays, Elphaba?"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Lurlinemas," Elphaba said, easily. "A celebration of midwinter and Lurline, the queen of the fairies. It's easily the most celebrated thing in all of Oz."

[glacial_queen]

"And Winsol is the thirteen day celebration of Witch," Karla said with a fond smile. "There's a lot more dancing than goes on here for Christmas. Maybe I'll throw a Winsol gathering this year."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Maybe some people would call it stalking. Or, at least, lurking.

As far as Squall was concerned, the reason he was standing behind the couch was because he had decided to watch television, and NOT because he was hovering over Rinoa. At all.


...Whatever.

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa waited until she had taken another sip of her cocoa before saying anything.

"I know you're back there," she said. "And you know I know you're back there, and I know you know I know you're back there. Why not just say hi?"

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Because I know that you know that I know that whatever," Squall told her.

"Hi."

[angelo_wings]

"Hi," she said, rolling her eyes. But affectionately. "Wouldn't you rather sit down than just ... stand there glaring at things?"

[mathletenomore.livejournal.com]

Lindsay wasn't especially in the mood to socialize, but she also didn't want to spend so much time moping in her room alone either. Besides, her roommate was out here.

"This is a good one," she said, referring to the special on the television. She always liked that misfit reindeer. "My brother and I used to watch it every year."

[angelo_wings]

"They show it every year?" Rinoa asked, waving brightly to her roommate. "Do shows usually repeat like that? I always thought they came up with new things."

All broadcast transmissions had been wiped out after Adel's capture, seventeen years ago. So Rinoa was new to the whole ... television thing.

[mathletenomore.livejournal.com]

"They don't seem to come up many new things for the holidays," Lindsay replied, taking a seat on a couch. "At least nothing very original. So they air the same specials every Christmas season. This one was made in the sixties, I think."

[angelo_wings]

"I thought this Christmas wasn't for another month," Rinoa said. "I wasn't expecting all the channels to air specials tonight. Is it going to be early this year?"

... Rinoa: also new to Christmas. Sorry, Lindsay.

She turned her attention back to the show. "I guess if it's a classic, there's really no need to come up with a new one," she said. "There are books that are hundreds of years old, but they don't stop being works of literature just because they aren't new."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba entered the common room with a plate with what was left of her vegan gingerbread people.

"Is this a Christmas program?" she asked, curious.

[angelo_wings]

"I think so?" Rinoa said, waving to Elphaba and motioning to the open chairs. "Come in, sit down, join us! Everyone's trying to tell me what's going on, but I don't think I'm following very well."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba sat in one of the chairs, for once eager to watch the television. "I don't suppose it will bother to explain things, will it? I 'm trying to learn more about the holiday myself."

[angelo_wings]

"Karla was helping me," Rinoa said brightly. "You should ask her. She really knows a lot about it. There's a snowmonster that ends up on the island of broken toys, and then the reindeer and Frankenstein go visit a baby, and then everybody gets presents. It's really touching."

... Elphaba should not ask Rinoa these things.