How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

[indigo_league]

'Twas six days before Christmas and all through their base
All the Rockets were working, putting their plans into place...







Just because there has been an absence of huge heists and explosions, doesn't mean Team Rocket has taken some time off from crime for the holidays. Everything but, in fact!

Under the eye of Jennies and gym leaders everywhere, Team Rocket has been putting their new dastardly plans into action by replacing every mall Santa and Elf (and boy, are there a lot of mall Santas and Elves this time of year!) with their own grunts and privates. Their goal? To scope out all the malls, shopping districts, and shopping centers in the two regions in preparation for the Saturday before Christmas, which just so happens to be the biggest shopping day of the year. No other day in the year has stores just so absolutely glutted with cash and valuables, registers and store safes overflowing with money. Plus there is all that yet unsold merchandise. Really, it just begs for someone to come and steal it.

Doing so would be the heist of the year, the talk of the season and who else but Team Rocket would be able to pull it off?

Of course, being that this is Team Rocket, they cannot help but want both the fortune and the fame. (Or is that infamy?) When you go big, you gotta go loud, and that is exactly what Team Rocket plans to do right at the biggest, busiest, most valuable market of them all: The Goldenrod City Christmas Market.

(Plus if everybody's attention is drawn to Goldenrod City where they've stationed their best and brightest, all the other Rocket members across the two regions will certainly be able to get away with their far more silent dastardly deeds with that much more ease)

Even among Christmas Markets, The Goldenrod City Christmas Markets is something special. There is no market more festive or more beautifully decorated. Winding through a part of town (having outgrown its old stadium home), the various stalls and shops sell valuables that cannot be bought anywhere else; valuable TMs, precious held items, even items like fossils and gems, Goldenrod has it all.

And soon. Team Rocket will have it all.

If a series of people in balaclava masks, heavy coats, and warm hats begin to filter into the Christmas Market as the evening wears on… well, it is the biggest shopping day of the year. And with the December chill nipping at everybody's noses and ears, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be warm while you shop… right?

---


Towards the end of the evening, as shoppers slowly start leaving for home, their wallets a lot lighter than when they arrived, the various intercoms that have been playing non-stop Christmas music for the last few weeks suddenly cut out with a strangle crackle. The bright and merry Christmas lights suddenly cut out, leaving the market flooded in darkness.

What's happening? A power outage? Did someone forget to pay the power bill?

But no, it's worse. Much worse.


“Prepare for trouble…
… and make it double...
You better watch out
We’re making you cry
Don’t make us shout
We’re telling you why
Team Rocket is coming to town!”


Dozens upon dozens upon dozens of warmly dressed market-goers suddenly throw off their coats, balaclavas and hats, revealing their Team Rocket uniforms underneath! The lights come back on again, but unlike the cheery twinkling of before, they are all a harsh red now.

Red like the Rocket R that has suddenly appeared everywhere. Even as many of the Rockets are swooping in to steal every TM, battle item, and cashbox that isn’t nailed down, other Rockets are putting Team Rocket’s mark on their surroundings: banners with the Rocket R (which had been hidden very cleverly within other decorations) are suddenly unfurled while the speakers blare something that is definitely not Christmas music. Even the large Christmas Tree at the centre of the market is a target, as a few grunts use their Psychic pokemon to tear the delicate beautiful ornaments of the tree, replacing them with the Rocket symbol.

And while there are always some guards and Jennies at the market, they are quickly surrounded by Rocket privates who deal with them with almost terrifying precision. It's as if they knew exactly what pokemon these Jennies were going to bring and made sure to tailor their teams to that.

With the Jennies dealt with, the chaos is complete. Who can help us now?


Who can save (the Saturday before) Christmas?


---





And as Goldenrod descends into Rocket chaos, all those who remained at home or who are out on the road will be treated to a very unusual visitor.

His arrival is heralded by the sound of sleigh bells, growing ever closer until suddenly you can spot it: a sleigh. And not just any sleigh. It’s the same sleigh you must have seen over and over in the past few weeks, gracing every advertisement, window display and Christmas decoration. It’s pulled by a singular Stantler which dashes through the air, its hooves skimming the clouds as it guides the sleigh lower and lower until it touches down onto the ground in front of your character (or, should you be inside, onto the roof). The single occupant of the sleigh rises, a massive red-clad man with an equally massive beard, and it is him, the OG (Original Gift-maker).

Santa’s jolly face is uncharacteristically serious as he extends a thickly gloved hand, his voice lacking its normal grandfatherly cheer.


“Trainer with your poke-might
Won’t you help me fight tonight?”


---








Event FAQ


What if my character does not want to help Santa?

Santa will understand. He'll look a little sad, but he will understand. He will depart, though he will give characters a candy cane before he goes.


Wait, is Santa giving us a lift to Goldenrod, then?

Yep! He can do that for everyone at the same time, because Santa is magic like that.


My character wants to help Santa, but they are not a fighter!

Not to worry! Even if your character is not a fighter, Santa can really use their help. You see, today Santa isn't just carting around gifts in his sleigh -- a quick reach into his sack will reveal First Aid kits and potion packs.

For anyone who wants to help out, but who aren't good at fighting, Santa would really appreciate it if they would be willing to help support others who are doing the fighting, and help heal any of the pokemon or people who may have gotten hurt by Team Rocket's shenanigans.


My character wants to help Santa and is willing to fight, but they don’t have any high level pokemon!

Worry not! Santa will provide! For everyone who wants to fight, but only has low-level pokemon, Santa will lend out two (2) of his little helpers: a Jynx in a fur-lined red dress and a Shiny Galar Zigzagoon (adorably candy-striped in red and white.) Both Pokemon are Level 60. Sadly, these are just on loan and Santa will need them back when the fight is over, but they will pose for selfies with you on request.


What about the non-Goldenrod locations? Is Santa sending anyone to fight off the Rocket operatives there?

They’re being taken care of by the Pokemon League, Gym Leaders, and all kinds of trainers from this world. Which doesn’t mean Team Rocket won’t steal some of what they’re aiming for anyway. It just means the other locations won’t be completely defenseless.


I have a Rocket character. Where are they supposed to be during this?

At the Christmas Market, of course! They’re one of the ‘best and the brightest.’


Wait, so when Team Rocket says they’re ‘stealing Christmas’ what they actually mean is that they’re robbing a bunch of places at once on the biggest shopping day of the year and taking over the Christmas Market?

Well, yeah. Did you think they were gonna go the Full Grinch? Nah. Raiding the cashboxes is way more profitable.


So, uh, how are we getting home again?

Time to walk-- No, no. Santa wouldn't do that to people. After everything has been dealt with, he'll give people a lift back to where he picked them up. Unless they'd much rather remain in Goldenrod City, in which case, that is fine too.

Comments

[uncutetomboy]

Right. Please block this slow, mostly pulled, highly telegraphed kick to the stomach then.

"Most people don't," she says. "But-- I used to have someone that was forced to work for them. And when she had to report to them in person, she'd go to Goldenrod."

[gautsome]

So... Holiday ribbon it is?

[It's difficult not to feel like he's missing something. And with Dimitri giving himself and Felix space for their moment, he figures he can do the same for the other two. In the meanwhile, Sylvain kneels down, pulling open a few drawers. He's seen nearly every shop offering wrapping services, surely he can find a little ribbon to spare.

As he searches, he pops his head up.]

What color are we thinking? Gold might get lost in your hair, but silver would really pop out. A very nice contrast, I think

[Another few drawers and -- aha! He holds it up.]

[gautsome]

The poison jab isn't a heavy hit, nor is it of a type that is particularly to Jynx, but he can tell she's still flagging all the same. It makes Sylvain grind his teeth together. He won't let her take much more of it. For better or for worse, this will be his last stand.

"Come on, sweetheart, you've got this -- " He takes a step forward, hand extending in order to point directly at the Toxtricity. "Show that overgrown lizard -- and his pokemon what we're made of. Blizzard, now!"

Jynx's movements are still jerky. But he can see the blizzard take shape in her palms, more substantial then before. She thrusts her little hand forward, blast of arctic air and snow aimed at Sturm.

[bestswordmaster]

[The glare he fixes Dimitri with is part incredulous, part exasperated.] You left it on purpose? What's the point of it if you don't use it? How would you lose it if it's in your hair? Ugh.

[He sighs and turns the glare toward Sylvain.] Who cares what color it is? It just has to do its job.

[But he takes the ribbon Sylvain holds up anyway and moves back to stand behind Dimitri's chair.] Keep still. [Reaching out to carefully tame the tangled mop of the prince's hair is easier this time, having done it once recently already, and doing it makes Felix feel calmer, too; helps to drive back the lingering panic.

It does take longer than it did the other day, though, as the other man's hair is more tangled than usual, and he's quiet as he works just as hard as he did then not to pull on the knots hard enough that it might hurt. Eventually, he deems it done well enough that he can pull it back just the same way as before, gathering the front and sides up into the ribbon and tying it firmly, then stepping back. ...he grudgingly admits that the silver does look nice. But hell if he's going to say that out loud.]

Next time, do this before you get into a fight.

[nastyboy]

The tie could come undone in all my activity...

[After all, they should all know that Dimitri doesn't trust himself to tie something like that, without being able to see it, and not break it. He feels absolutely certain that it would have fallen out because of that... assuming he didn't break it first.]

[But then Sylvain is choosing a ribbon, and Felix is behind him, and, well... Dimitri lets out another breath.]

[They're here. They're here. They're here. He hasn't lost either of them.]

...Thank you. Both of you.

[vrdantwind]

Okay, no more banter. As fun as it is, it's obviously not doing Claude any good here, and he needs that processing power elsewhere.

As he sees Dirk winding up for that swing, his mind flips through a couple possibilities. Sweeping the man's legs might work...but there's a chance the guy will dodge it completely, and it leaves Claude in a compromised position with fewer options. No, not the answer.

But, unlike a lot of opponents Claude's fought over the past five years or so...Dirk's not armored. Furthermore, the weapon he's got is basically just a big, heavy stick - it's for bludgeoning. It needs weight and momentum and room to wind up to do real damage. And it, very conspicuously, doesn't have a whole lot in the way of sharp edges. Claude...may actually be in less danger if he moves in closer, despite normally wanting all the distance he can get from an opponent in a fight.

It's not like he has a bow or anything here, so he supposes he's exactly as useful up close as he is from afar here.

The calculations are made and his course of action decided on as the candy cane starts whipping around, and Claude doesn't waste another fraction of a second. He lunges in towards Dirk, turning his body to the side to drive the hardest part of his shoulder into Dirk's chest, on the same side he's swinging the candy cane from.

For someone who's shorter than Claude...this doesn't throw him off nearly as much as one might expect, which only partially surprises Claude. He's known smaller guys with dense musculature(Caspar comes to mind), and seeing Dirk casually swinging around a candy cane probably as tall as they are (and, judging by the speed of its swings and just the sound of it slicing through the air, has some weight to it) suggests the guy's got some upper body mass to throw around. That's fine; Claude didn't necessarily base this plan on sending him sprawling. He's hoping to have knocked the wind out of him, maybe throw him off-balance...and in a way, his not moving much is a benefit.

It means Claude, having braced himself for impact and now right in front of him, can kick at the back of one of the man's legs, trying to help along that whole 'off-balance' initiative.

The Obstagoon, left to his own devices, snarls and shakes its head at that terrible screech, angrily clashing its claws together. The AI on auto-battles apparently isn't too good. But then a grunt from Claude - who hasn't entirely escaped being winded himself after that impact - catches its attention.

"Counter."

Obstagoon takes that slash from Talus...but, at Claude's instructions, promptly launches itself forwarde to pay the Type:Null back with interest.

Honestly, Counter is a gamble on Claude's part; it's pretty conditional. Claude's not able to watch the pokémon battle right now, engaged in a fight of his own, so he can't even gauge if physical moves are being used, and he's got no idea what type this mystery pokémon is either. (It at least doesn't look like a ghost, so it's probably not immune...) But Claude's been afraid that his team may be facing pokémon way over their own levels ever since arriving, and he's been considering all the possible ways to stack the odds for himself and his team. If Obstagoon manages to tank the hits it's taking, Claude hopes, then Counter will be a way to potentially score a knock-out that no other move could make on a higher level pokémon. And if Obstagoon can't tank the hits, then it's all a moot point. It was a gamble play he'd been considering making with Obstagoon ever since he'd learned of the possibility, long before encountering Dirk, so thankfully he doesn't need to think up the idea while he's so distracted - he just needs to fall back on a plan he'd already had.

[bestswordmaster]

[So, the others told Felix what Claude was doing. They even told him about the skirt. He didn't think he'd give a single damn about what Claude was wearing.

He was, unfortunately, wrong.

When first he spots the guy in the ostentatious Santa disguise confronting Claude, he's just focused on getting closer. Wooden sword in hand and Honedge by his side, he dashes through the chaos with the same ease that he dashes through battlefields. By the time he gets close enough to see that Claude is for some reason getting into a physical fight with this Rocket--up close without a weapon, which is definitely not where an archer ought to be--he's also close enough to see the way the skirt clings to a pair of powerful thighs and--Goddess above, no.

Fortunately, Felix is very good at tuning out distractions in a fight. So he's fully focused when he runs up behind the Santa in an attempt to jab him in the side with this pathetic excuse for a weapon he's got, then immediately ducks to weave back to a safer distance.]

What the hell are you doing? [To Claude, as he scowls and brings the sword up into a well-practiced defensive position.]

[gautsome]

Color means everything, Felix. [There's a notable amount of amusement in his voice, contrasting directly with the chaotic atmosphere outside. That's always been his way. If he laughs in the face of danger, no one will see how deeply he's panicking.

Not that he's panicking too bad right now. Especially not now that Dimitri has gained control over himself once more.

He pretends not to pay them too much mind while Felix works. His eyes still shoot over from time to time all the same. It's been far too long since he's seen them like this together. Felix's gentle moments are few and far between, never mind rarely reserved for Dimitri nowadays. He feels like he's intruding, yet at the same time...

Surely there's something in the way they look at one another. Maybe it should bother him? Maybe it would bother him, if it wasn't his two best friends. If it wasn't the way it was meant to be.]

No need to thank us, Dima. Part of the whole best friend job, right, Felix? [He shuffles over and slings an arm over Felix's shoulder. It's a mostly friendly gesture, rather than romantic -- save for the kiss he carefully presses to Felix's shoulderblade. Out of sight, but still obvious.]

And you're welcome for being right about the color.

[bestswordmaster]

Hmph. [This appears to be agreement of a sort to this 'best friend job' business, and Sylvain can feel Felix's shoulders relax a little at the kiss.]

The color is...fine. But still irrelevant.

[He peers through the glass storefront out into the mall, gauging how bad things might still be out there.] Are we ready to move?

[vrdantwind]

"Definitely," Claude agrees. "Although with them having had plenty of time to prepare and organize for this, we're definitely operating at a disadvantage..."

Claude idly wonders at this little moment they're sharing. It feels like...two leaders coordinating strategy before a battle. And yet ironically, despite Claude and Dimitri having been leaders of some form or another ever since they first met, this is the first time they've ever actually done this. They've really only ever fought on the same side of a battle twice - against the bandits outside of Remire Village alongside Jeralt and Byleth, when they'd met Byleth for the first time over six years ago, and against the Imperial army at Derdriu quite recently. In both cases, they hadn't had the chance to discuss thoughts or tactics beforehand. It's strange getting to do so now, especially under the outlandish circumstances...but not unpleasant. And in a way, it feels long overdue.

And then Dimitri's arm wraps around Claude's shoulders, pulling him even closer, and for a moment Claude's brain simply shorts out. He takes the brochure without comment, and if his dark skin has a redder tint to it than usual then that's really no one else's business.

[vrdantwind]

Claude's no martial artist, or even a close combat fighter in general, but Akane's making this as easy as possible so he doesn't have any real difficulty in deflecting that kick. He's having more difficulty figuring out how to make this look believable, when the girl's furious fists and feet now look like she's been heavily drugged compared to a minute or two ago...but this may be the best compromise there is, under the circumstances, since he doesn't think he could fake a fight with someone of her skill any better. He just hopes no one's watching too closely.

"I see," he says thoughtfully. "That makes more sense than a lot of people knowing and just no one having found it, I guess..." He offers a very weak and telegraphed attempt at a backhand, which he judges as sufficiently dismissive and villainous for the Rocket character he's playing. "I'm Claude. What's your name?"

[nastyboy]

[Dimitri's ability to run around is apparently decided not by him, but by the Obstagoon, and he glances up at the creature. It thinks carefully, a claw at its bright face, before nodding. Yes, Dimitri seems as though he could interact with other humans again.]

...I am ready. I still need to find Claude...

[vrdantwind]

Claude has been gambling here, obviously. He'd been looking for anything to give him an edge - status effects, the extra strength of moves that a pokémon is suited to using, type effectiveness(not that he had anything useful in that area here), move accuracy, whatever he could find. Sturm had paralyzed the Jynx, meaning she might not be able to move; Sylvain's using Blizzard, which Claude knows - through looking through his own loaner Jynx's utility - isn't the most accurate move. He'd hoped to play those odds and win.

But gambles aren't gambles if the possibility of losing them doesn't exist.

The Blizzard hits Sturm dead on, and Claude flinches like he was the one who took the blow. He takes half a step forward as the Toxtricity lets out a weak cry and sags to the ground, but then the red light flashes as Sturm returns to his Pokéball, and there's nothing for him to even move towards anymore.

He knows it's temporary, and that pokémon get knocked out all the time. He knows he'll be able to heal Sturm up as good as new at a Pokécenter, once he gets back to one. He doubts Sturm will be overly upset or blame him for this; Sturm might even feel bad for letting Claude down.

But Claude also knows that Sturm hates the cold. He knows the feel of the Toxel Sturm used to be snuggled up in his coat against the chill. He knows he asked too much of him when he didn't really have to. He knows he's the one who made the calls, who his pokémon trust to look after them and make the best decisions for them, and that he's never gotten any of them knocked out before, and that Sturm likely trusted him to not let that happen here either.

He knows he made a gamble, and that it's not him who's paying for it.

And for a very long, anguished moment, Claude feels a positively painful spike of guilt. This wasn't a gamble he should have taken. He shouldn't have let this happen.

He pushes it back, because he's had to function through worse mistakes and greater losses than this, but it's hard. It feels different from the troops he'd commanded in combat - many of whom hadn't even come back alive from the battles he'd led them in. Those had been men and women with more autonomy and less direct reliance on him, who hadn't even necessarily believed in him so much as their group cause. But his pokémon are in his direct, personal care, and trust him as implicitly as his horse or his wyvern back home do. Letting harm befall them is so much more of a personal failing, somehow.

There's no resentment for Sylvain or Jynx. Claude had known the stakes they were playing for, and how the odds lay, and it had been his decision to make an ill-advised and ill-fated attempt despite everything. They'd simply fought their best battle, against every obstacle Claude could throw in their path, and won. Claude shouldn't have agreed to the battle at all if he wasn't ready to accept this outcome. So...it's not fair to make them feel bad over their victory, which means he can't wear a face like his pet just died.

So he does his best to school his expression...although perhaps even Claude is having difficulty with that, because he reaches up to his Rocket hat and pulls it down a bit lower over his face. "We didn't stand a chance after all, I guess," he says, with a ghost of a smile. "That was a bad call on my part."

[nastyboy]

Dimitri doesn't notice Claude's redness, not for a moment. He simply swaps out the appropriate Pokemon for what he tentatively has planned, with the hopes that it will work. Frankly, he's not entirely sure it will... In combat where he participates, he's often used to just using his strength to bulldoze the enemies... although he plans on changing that, while he's here. Byleth and teachers of his past would be annoyed, after all. He needs more technique.

And, well... Hopefully this technique will work out.

There's only one way to find out, and he looks to Claude. "We will be victorious regardless," Dimitri says stubbornly. "Cur like this cannot be allowed to run rampant." But... Then he pauses, and his brow furrows. "Although, should you be out at all, Claude...? Your face looks off..."

Gently, and quite hesitantly, he leans forward to try and press their foreheads together. He's wearing gauntlets, after all, and those don't really allow him to take temperature well... "If you feel unwell, you can stay somewhere safe, like here, and direct me through the Gear..."

[gautsome]

[Sylvain takes a quick moment, pressing potions to the balls on his belt. He isn't suer if they're needed at this point ,or if they've rested enough, but he figures it best to try all the same. Once he's relatively certain that the creatures are in good shape, though, he nods to his companions.]

I'm assuming none of us are allowed to go our separate ways at this point, huh?

[While Felix would be fine on his own, Sylvain certainly wouldn't allow Dimitri out of his sight. He had to assume the other two were thinking the same of him.]

Let's go track down our little lost deer, then.

[vrdantwind]

So this is it, Claude thinks numbly. This is how he dies. It's not quite how he'd imagined it.

For a moment, the urge to just...kiss Dimitri rises up. He could probably play it off as a joke or some equally lighthearted thing, it'd be fine. He mostly holds back because of his experience with Grant. He owes it to the people in his life to do better than that in the future, especially after he learned his lesson once.

"I feel fine," he says, a touch weakly. "It's just..." Quick, plausible lie! "Been awhile since anyone hugged me, I guess?"

Okay, Claude had specifically said 'lie'. This mental malfunction he's having at Dimitri's earnest solicitousness is running deeper than he thought.

[gautsome]

Sylvain is still. He watches Sturm fall, and even he feels a pang of guilt. It's a vicious hit, one that he doesn't yet comprehend the depth of, and he can see the pain of it. While the Jynx seems unfazed -- this is battle and what she's here for -- Sylvain is slackjawed.

"Claude -- " He catches himself. He doesn't know if anyone's watching, but this whole affair had been a cover up. If he shows mercy now, anything more than smug satisfaction over what looked like low blow to a weak area, the whole thing falls apart.

He hates it. And worse, he hates that he can see just how upset Claude is over it. There's enough distance to provide Claude something of a mask for his feelings, but Sylvain can read between the lines. He wouldn't pull down his hat for no reason, of that Sylvain is certain.

He makes a note to ask after Claude later. To check on Sturm once they've made it back to safety. For now, they both have work to do, and Sylvain begins racing forward, past the man and his fallen Pokemon. All the same, he veers dangerously close to Claude as he moves.

To a bystander, it might look like a ruthless shoulder check, injury to an insulting win. For Sylvain, it's a front. It's easier to press his hand against Claude's, squeeze it tight, and make sure the spare potion he had on hand is given over to him. He doesn't know if it'll do nearly enough to bring Sturm back from his dazed state. He doesn't know if the hand squeeze -- unnecessary for the action itself -- will give Claude any comfort.

And he doesn't have time to think about either option, anyway. He's already moving past Claude, racing down the street.

[bestswordmaster]

I'm not letting either one of you out of my sight. [Yep, Sylvain called it.] That goes for Claude too, once we find him.

[Felix retrieves the sword from the corner and checks over his Pokemon; the borrowed Jynx is in most need of aid, so he spares a few potions and then puts all of them back in their balls except Varley and Zoltan before he moves out into the mall, glancing back to make sure Dimitri in particular is following.]

[epitaffio]

This is kind of a long shot. Of course even Grunts are assigned a few bare necessities on assignments like this; it's not like the weekly wage lets you hoard Revives. Consequently, of course you'd be able to go back to HQ - which isn't that far, actually, although he'll admit it's just far enough to disrupt the flow of the operation - to restock and heal up.

But if he wants to figure out whether this is an impostor or just a newbie...

"You steal them."

[nastyboy]

[Then... They are sticking together. Dimitri considers this as he makes sure that his Rattata are in most decent condition - their use of swarming has helped them either outnumber their opponents, or put a risk of friendly fire into the equation. This has worked out for them quite well... Especially with the Obstagoon being more of a clean up tank.]

[With them checked out, Dimitri looks at the other two tentatively.]

...Is it truly all right for me to be with you both?

[gautsome]

[Sylvain, always casual, always refusing to take things serious, nearly stumbles at Dimitri's words. He chalks it up to all of the tender affection, with an extra helping of still trying to understand the feelings from his childhood.

As it is, it takes everything in his power to not comment. He bites down on his lip, hard enough for it to color white, then releases.]

Nowhere else I would rather have you, Dima.

[bestswordmaster]

{Felix blinks, startled yet again by Dimitri saying...things...like that. But he knows now what the prince means by it, so he manages not to embarrass himself this time.]

That's a ridiculous question. Why are you even asking?

[nastyboy]

I...

[It's hard to get the words right, honestly. Hard to explain himself, even holding all of his rats together as a reassuring and warm weight.]

...I frightened you both. Did I not?

[He's not so oblivious to miss that. He never was. It's just... He couldn't bring himself to care, not fully, not really, before.]

[nastyboy]

Oh. Dimitri's gaze softens immediately, and he pulls back - not enough to let go of Claude, but not invading his personal space quite so much. He can understand that. He can understand how much he'd cried at Sylvain and Grant holding him, at Claude's own soft touch. This is a different reaction, but Claude is a different person. It's not surprising. What is surprising...

"More people should hug you, for the things you do," Dimitri murmurs, before he shakes his head and looks outside, past the many rushing people. "But for right now, there are other matters that require our attention, and that we should take care of." He looks back to Claude. "But, afterward... If you would like... I could hold you."

It's an innocent offer, honestly, even if Dimitri... thinks he would like that himself. But he can understand how good it feels to be held, how comforting that is.

Claude... has done so much for him. He should do something in turn.

[demonpuppy]

Did someone say climbing?

Funnily enough it's a massive Furret that makes it up first, practically slithering over the railing and coming to a hissing crouch of furry coils. Her trainer follows soon after...if a bit more clumsily. Chip flops over and onto the ground in a heap, wheezing from their rapid climb up various decorations that have almost certainly fallen to the ground in their wake. After a moment (and the Furret turning to anxiously nuzzle the poor kid), however, they pop up to their feet and point dramatically at the Mysterious Comet Boss.

"Stop--!" ...wheeeeeze... "You--stop ruining Christmas!"