Do You Wanna Build A Snowman? [Winter Solstice 2019 EVENT]

   

Despite her familiar voice, Theo still flinched a little when she tapped him. By the time she arrived, he'd convinced himself she wasn't coming and was merely running on the fumes of hope that if he stayed just a second longer that she'd show up. When she finally did, he was shocked and thought at first it was wishful thinking. But sure enough, when he turned, his new friend was standing right there. Apparently Jiggles had made it to her and delivered his message. There'd been a slight fear that she'd be in the blacksmith area near the open flames and Jiggles would melt before he could complete his mission (he wasn't too smart), but that fear had been unfounded this time. "I'm glad you made it," he grinned, just as expressive as she was repressed.

As she inquired into his plans, he flung his arms out to dramatically indicate the festivities. "Today is Festival Do-over Day!" he declared in a grandiose voice, even doing a little spin as if he was some sort of presenter at an amusement park or circus. Following this he sobered a little, shooting her a sheepish look while idly scratching his cheek. "Since I ruined the last one, I thought I'd try to make it up to you. You will be glad to know I've never been here, so I don't have any repressed memories to freak out over! So...yeah..that's a thing..." Theo was still very much upset by how he'd acted back in Shirotsume, though there had been little way to avoid it since he didn't remember the darkness of the place until it was too late. "Anyway!" he continued, perking back up, "There's all sorts of fun shenanigans to get into here! There's ice skating, sled racing, ice sculpting, hot chocolate tasting, snowman building contests...snowball wars...something about a frozen shirt... It's your pick this time! I will follow your lead, madam," the goofball finished with a deep bow, unable to be normal for more than a few minutes at a time.

[339 || 696/1500]

Unreadable to him as ever, Theo could only hope since she was going along with his plans for the day that she actually wanted to be here. He'd take it for what it was, even if she was averting her eyes and turning her face in ways where he couldn't see it. He was sure that even if he could see it, he wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of her expression. Perceptiveness wasn't his constant companion. It only reared its head when it wanted to, and with people far more open than Aspen was. He would wait and see what she chose in hopes that it might give him a clue inside her head.

Ah, her decision was made! Much to his glee, she was pointing at a hot chocolate stand. Being quite the connoisseur of sweet treats, she couldn't have chosen a better first destination. He would never turn down a dessert or anything containing sugar, as long as it wasn't spicy. Sharing such a delight with someone he hazarded to call a new friend warmed a part of his struggling emotional-heart. Once, not too long ago, he'd had two very close people to him to share treats with. They'd even named their squad after sugar. As they approached and she ordered, Theo's own expression would run the gamut behind her back. Fondness, joy, pain, grief, wistfulness; this was a bittersweet moment. The idea that he might once more form bonds with people like the ones he'd lost was hopeful and soothing, but also wrought with fearful agony. To protect himself, Theo wanted to shut himself to the things he'd had and lost. After all the trauma, it was his instincts trying to save him from more potential damage. Did he allow himself to have friends again? To revel in silly moments of chocolatey desserts in the snow? Perhaps he should keep it at an arm's length, just in case something happened and Aspen disappeared. Then maybe he could survive it. Maybe his distance would save her and anyone else who tried to draw near. It was just so very hard for someone who longed for acceptance from others, craved being worth something to someone else. It was a dichotomy he had no idea how to deal with.

Once hers was ordered, his face promptly regained its levity, though it was a bit tight and forced now. No matter. He stepped forward and ordered quite the monstrosity of diabetes. Hot cocoa with the works: peppermint melted into the rich blend of whole milk and chocolate, extra chocolate on top of the normal amount, a thick layer of jumbo marshmallows on top, fresh whipped cream swirled on top of the topping, and finally drizzled with caramel and chocolate syrup. The poor vendor gave him quite the look, wondering how he stayed so thin with an order like that. It'd send most into sugar shock! After making sure Theo was sure he wanted what only an unsupervised 6 year old would demand, the man began throwing it together.

While he waited, and despite the inner turmoil from moments before, Theo would pause to steal a glance at her, watching in amusement as she tasted the drink and lit up like a string of Christmas lights. As much as he wanted to gush, get the details on whether it was her first experience with it and somehow share in such a momentous occasion with her, the sometimes dense man had at least started to learn her behaviors. Out of kindness, he didn't want to take a chance on ruining the experience by being, well, himself. If he went overboard, as usual, the excitement he was getting to observe would retreat. No, he'd rather stay quiet and enjoy the expression on her face without her knowing smiling softly and wondering if this was a new way he could survive. Stealing moments like this for his memories without directly being involved. Watching others be happy without interrupting.

Speaking of interruption, the sound of a cup on a counter in front of him drew his attention. The hot chocolate behemoth had been concocted and slid toward the treasure hunter once jewel was exchanged. As soon as it was in his possession, Theo waited not a second to bury his face into the drizzled white sweetness on top. It got on his nose and around his mouth and even on his chin, making him look like mid-life crisis Santa who lost a bunch of weight, died his hair black, and shaved his white beard into a goatee. His lips were licked clean. The sugar addict was quite pleased with himself. "This is delicious!" he squirmed, squinting his eyes shut as the sugar did indeed shock his system. Giving Theo more energy. Always a good thing. "Do you like yours?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

True to a child on a sugar high, his already short attention span abruptly jumped to a nearby scene. There were wooden pedestals set up with big blocks of ice on them. Three were still free, while two others had people chiseling at them. "Oh, oh, oh! Aspen, look!" the goofball hooted, pointing at it. "Let's go do that! Yes!"

And with that, he was already on his way over where the attendant would explain the tools and the process, and assign them a hunk of ice to begin their premier foray into ice sculpting.

[910 || 1606/1500 Event WC met. 106 extra words. 1/5 tokens (hot cocoa)]

The member 'Theo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Grabbing up his own chisel and hammer, he gave her a rather cheeky grin. "Oh, I have am capable of more than I seem," Theo simpered, and while it was probably true, there wasn't really anything he could think of to back up that statement. Really, all he was good at was finding nearly unfindable things, directions, and sword fighting, and the last one was something he tried to avoid at all costs if he could help it. Still, sometimes Theo overestimated himself, which nearly always set up for some sort of amusing situation.

Keeping up his normal penchant for buoyant antics, he started pecking and filing away at the hunk of rough ice. At first, things seemed to be going well. He wasn't terribly skillful in art, but he wasn't the worst. He was sort of in the middle of the road, but he did love doodling and making things. He decided he'd make an ice sculpture of his jello kitty sitting back on its round haunches at the base, its narrow body coming up straight with small from legs coiled close to its chest, and a nice big head at the top with giant ears. It was gonna be so cute!

Or it was supposed to be. Much like Aspen, Theo soon encountered problems. Her ice-breaking had rattled him since he knew she would be better at this than he was. Between seeing her have issues and also seeing how good she was, the pressure was on. Also, just like Aspen, pieces were breaking off that weren't supposed to, no matter how gentle he was. The kitten's ears were the first to go, then the arms. All that was left was two round parts at the bottom, a girthy stem, and a mushroom bell top. Theo was just staring at it dumbly, trying to figure out if he should try to make it into something else or leave it as a mushroom. A mushroom seemed awfully odd to leave as an ice sculpture... but it was what it was. He'd turn it in to the judge, though it paled in comparison to Aspen's skillfully carved key...

Unfortunately, what he turned in would probably have been censored on the lacrimavision, even though it was completely unintentional. The judge approached and looked over the other contestants' projects with a "hmmmm" face, but as she reached the last one, her eyes widened. Theo thought it was a good sign, that maybe he'd be the underdog winner. Maybe the lady just really liked mushrooms. However, as her brows drew down and she started to sputter, it was clear that the opposite was happening. Not only did he lose, he was apparently disqualified for carving a...

A WHAT?!

Shooting his eyes to the block they shared hues with, he now saw what she was so upset about. But he hadn't meant to! It was supposed to be a cat!!! "L-Listen! It wasn't on purpose! I promise!!!" squawked Theo, frantically waving his hands as his flushed face broke into a nervous sweat. "It's not s-supposed to look like a...a.... I-It j-j-just b-broke-- GAH!" the vendor was throwing stuff at him now, as was a parent nearby. He could hear the giggles of some other passersby, but the hostility was what he was more concerned with. "It was supposed to be my jello cat!" the jello mage tried to defend himself, but no one was listening. Finally accepting that there was no way he could remedy this without being escorted out by security, he flung out a fist to destroy his sculpture and bolted to safety near the sled racing. He couched to hide behind one of the larger sleds, face still furiously red. What a goof! Could he not just show Aspen a nice, normal time?

He'd just catch his breath here and wait for her. Sledding did sound fun. Besides, if people were still following him, he could take a sled down the big hill and get away!


[Wc: 665 || New Thread Total: 1606
1500/1500 Event WC Done. 4/5 tokens (hot cocoa and ice sculpting)]

The member 'Theo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

At least she laughed, Theo told himself as he hid, ruminating on his latest fiasco, I've never heard her laugh like that. His still-blushing cheek rested on his knees as one finger drew awkward spirals in the snow. The fact remained that what had brought her laughter had been something exceptionally unfortunate and lewd, but he'd already accepted that it was just his luck. Even though he had many struggles, it seemed he was still capable of trying to find the bright side of the smaller, sillier stuff. Before long, his attention was drawn to the sound of crunching snow coming closer. He tensed, hoping it wasn't an angry mom, and thankfully he got his wish! Peering up at Aspen's smiling face he offered his own slightly pouty, wholly sheepish one in return. Next thing he knew he was getting whacked on the shoulder and hauled up to his feet. "Master sculptors and other artists aren't known for their love of crowds...maybe this is why?" the derpy mage wondered as, of course, his clumsy steps stumbled with her. Since he was already off-balance, he more than easily toppled down onto the sled she'd join him on.

As they went careening down the snowy hill, Theo found himself laughing, letting the worries of his art-gone-wrong meltaway. He was sorry to see her smile go, but he understood why it did. "Woooohoooooo!" he hollered happily. Luckily their ride would be short, but it'd actually be even shorter than he anticipated. At first he didn't particularly care about the snowman in their way. Aspen was in charge of steering, and even if they didn't miss it, they'd just poof through the frozen fluff, no biggie...right? The laughter stopped abruptly, though, when he also noticed it was moving and...roaring? That wasn't normal snowman behavior. Too late he tried to help her steer around it. "Oh, crap-" The blow landed and the sled went flying, sending the two mages in haphazard directions. With a heavy 'oof!', the treasure hunter landed in the snow a distance away. Theo wallowed for a few moments like a turtle stuck on its shelled back, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of him. In the meantime, he heard the familiar rat-a-tat-tat of Aspen's trusty guns.

Were they really under attack? Give me a break... he thought irritably, squirming around in the snow so he could see what was happening. All hell was breaking loose, more or less. Three icy human thingies shattered to pieces, but there was still that giant snowman that wanted to bash their brains out. The ground beneath his prone form subtly jarred under him, denoting the heavy footsteps of an enemy not yet seen. If there'd been a cup of water nearby, it'd have been rippling ominously. Angling his head a little differently, he saw a large shadow moving through the forest just beyond the snow brute. Snow shook loose from the trees around it as it walked, and soon enough a white, furry monster appeared. "None of these things seem friendly," he corrected her with a frown, finally starting to get to his feet.

And then he was suddenly crawling in his skin. Slinging his body around as if he was suffering a horrible case of the heeby-jeebies and frantically flapping his tracksuit around his lean form knocked out a few blue creepy crawlies. "EW, BUGS!" he screamed. No, they weren't truly bugs, but he treated them as such by Mexican Hat dancing on them until they were making a blue paste in the snow. Right, the little things were done, now for the more pressing matter--

The Brute had approached him while he was distracted by the horde of ice scorpions and clubbed him really hard. This time he was a little more prepared, turning his body into jello before he hit the tree and the ground. He bounced around for a few seconds before landing back on his feet. "Hey, ugly Frosty!" he called to the icy golem, running past him and curiously toward the Yeti that was rushing to meet them. Once he was about equidistant from each, he stopped to wait. Once they were within range, he used his jiggly jello legs to bounce high into the air with his hands angled down. A large jello mold appeared in blue this time, you know, to match the wintery aesthetic. It incased the brute and the yeti entirely. Theo fell back on top of the mold, bouncing a couple times before sliding off.

Since these two were too dangerous to the other festival-goers to be left alive, Theo made the difficult decision to finish the job. And by finish the job, that meant not give them airhole to breathe so they'd both suffocate. The icy-eyed man couldn't watch such a cruel fate, though, having to turn away and only checking back a few moments later to note that apparently the snow beast didn't need to breathe. Once he was sure the Yeti was dead, he then turned the large mold into molten jello and watched the living snowman melt along with his sugary gelatine. Clearly, Theo didn't like it, judging by the firm line his lips had pursed into. The tracksuit enthusiast approached his friend, giving her a glance over. "Are you ok?" he asked, though he was reasonably sure she was. Aspen was one of the tougher girls he'd ever met.

[Wc: 902 || New Thread Total: 3434/3000 C rank freeform additional wc complete
1500/1500 Event WC Done. 6/5 tokens (hot cocoa, ice sculpting, sled racing)
Defeated: 10/10 ice scorpions, 3/3 ice elementals, 1/1 snow brute, 1/1 yeti][/i][/i]