January catchall with some oak barrel aged December

[impostorsyndrome]

🧙 WHO: Kadoc and others, including perhaps you(r character)?! CR should definitely poke in for holiday gift fun!
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-all for January and even some backdated into late December, because That's Life Babey! Event, holidays, TDM!
🕒 WHEN: Late December through mid-January
🗺️ WHERE: Nicnevin to begin with, then the Forest Camp and Camelot after the event
⚠️ WARNINGS: oops I forgot to do this part. None right now, will add as needed!


1. December 22nd: I Say Thee Neigh; for Klaudia

[Remember last month in Nicnevin, on the 21st-22nd, when that wacky dead horse rap battle thing happened? Boy, Kadoc will. For a long time to come. Let's flash back to that day and set the scene:

What's the only thing sadder than losing a rap battle? Not even putting up a fight. Kadoc, despite knowing what Mari Lwyd is and knowing damn well he's staying in Magical Trickster Country where everything should probably be treated as potentially real and dangerous, had just shut the door in the horse's face when it had come knocking, totally unwilling to bend and play along—and now he's paying the price. He should have realized! He'd had a comparable wealth of safe food just yesterday afternoon, and now he's lost everything, and it kinda serves him right for being a killjoy. Kill not your cringe, but the part of you that cringes!

It's been a day. He's getting hungry. So finally, he's subjecting himself to a different kind of cringe: here he is sitting on a bench in the residential area holding a sign that says]

LOST ALL MY FOOD TO A SKELETON HORSE BECAUSE I CAN'T RAP

can't believe this is my life now

[just in case some kind soul with extra to spare happens to take pity on him.

At least he can't possibly be the only one this happened to, can he?!]


2. January 1st: New Year, New Awww You Shouldn't Have; for all CR

[Kadoc hadn't managed to get anything out for anyone for Christmas; he'd had grand plans, and then run into a stupid snag, procrastinated on them, and half given up on the idea entirely when it had become too late to do anything in time. But on the holiday itself, when he'd been showered in thoughtful gifts, way beyond what he'd expected . . . there's nothing like other people's kindness and care to shame him, I mean inspire him, to get over himself and go hire an alchemist already at his personal expense to do the thing he'd wanted to do in the first place.

So people are getting New Year's gifts instead. On New Year's Day, people who know Kadoc well (and definitely anyone who gave him a gift themselves) will be receiving packages in the mail; each one contains a rectangle of fabric, the size of a postcard, framed under glass. Each piece of fabric is enchanted via the spell from this event with an intricate moving pattern. The patterns are all different, individually tailored to the person receiving them.

They come with a note:]

New Year's gifts aren't a thing, so you can probably tell this is a week late. Sorry about that. I won't waste this letter explaining or apologizing, except for the one I just did. And honestly, I'm not great at being sentimental, so I'm not sure what else to say. Happy new year. We're both here ringing it in together. I just wanted you to know I appreciate that.

Kadoc

[You're free to choose what pattern your character got, ask me for details via PM or Discord @ Hen#6953, or comment to this post if you want your character to respond somehow to the gift and I'll make sure to describe it in my reply. I'm easy!]


3. Early January: It's Another Farming Quest!; for Ritsuka

[Kadoc doesn't bake, generally speaking; he cooks, and decently at that, but he leaves the baking to Gareth, and even if this were a cooking competition he wouldn't join it or anything. No competitive confidence in those skills.

So he doesn't really need to go out fetching ingredients. And neither, as far as he can tell, does Fujimaru . . . does she bake? She doesn't bake, does she? So why is she even out here going out of her way to head into the forest to gather things? Why did she insist he come along as her friendly(?) Wilderness Expert?

Why the hell did he say yes?

All this and more on today's Chaldea Farming Mission!

Here he is shaking snow off a small bush to confirm that it is, in fact, rosemary, when he has to pause and squint up at her—the snow is bright, and he wishes he had a spell to dim his vision for this—]

. . . Give it to me straight. Are you just obsessed with resource management stuff or something?

[Like he can talk.]


4. Early January: Sprung a Little Leek; OTA

[Though Kadoc's spending most of his ingredient hunting time being bullied into helping out Ritsuka, once he gets a good idea of what's out there, some of it is worth going back for on his own, for his own purposes. Herbs! Juniper berries! He wants those for stew once he gets back to Camelot!

Of course it's when he's by himself that he makes a stupid rookie mistake and tries one of the leeks, even after engaging its little stupid frowny face in a staring contest for a good few minutes. How bad can it possibly be, he thinks! He should know better by now! How many times do we need to teach you this lesson, old man?!

And that's why just anyone might come across him five minutes later, curled up in the snow some distance from the camp, sobbing his eyes out. He tries to keep his tears wiped off on his sleeve, but to no avail; there are too many of them, crystallizing in his eyelashes in the cold. These . . . are the sad boy hours.

Of course, if he senses anyone approaching, his hiccuping, watery response is,]

'm fine! It's . . . just . . . fine . . .

[Uh-huh.]


5. It's The Wildcard

[I've had a rough go of it this month and last so I don't have a plotting comment up for the month, but please, by all means! Surprise me, or PM me, or hit me up on Discord or Plurk (benthic)! I would definitely be interested in egg babies if anyone's into that, just hmu. Or poke me about a quest or another prompt. Let's 2022!]

Comments

farm time farm time farm time

[fujimaru]

Ehhhh... kind of?

[ She doesn't even bother to deny it; she just laughs instead, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. Caught! Except she doesn't feel the least bit guilty about it. She's got a picture of one of those tiny leeks on her phone, comparing it to the thin little sprouts of greenery she's unearthed from the snow. ]

We got into the habit of doing it pretty regularly, the first year. It wasn't not like you could just, I dunno, go to magic Amazon or something and order what you needed.

[ Even during the gap year, that short period where humanity had been restored and all there was left to do was wait for the Mage's Association to finally get around to doing their inspection... well. None of the staff had wanted to make any requests for supplies, so the need for farming had never gone away. And now--well, here in this Camelot, it's just a new verse, same as the first. ]

[impostorsyndrome]

[Kadoc glances shamelessly at her phone screen, but doesn't pay the display much mind, a thing he's going to regret later. Like, right around Prompt 4. He should've paid attention to the leeks!

As it is, he crouches near the rosemary bush and digs out his pocket knife to begin harvesting. Rosemary is useful for both sweet and savory applications, and hardy in the winter, so he wants to make sure he gets a good stash of this if nothing else.

And with that in mind, he slowly nods over at her, crouched there several feet away from him, because yeah. He gets that.

(There probably actually is a Magic Amazon, or was, in different times.)]

It's not like I can cast stones. I'm a survivalist. I do exactly the same thing. I guess the part that gets me is that I only go out of my way like that for my own preparation, not anyone else's, unless that's something we worked out. You're not joining that competition, are you? So who's all this for?

[fujimaru]

There's no way I could get away with that in Chaldea.

[ There are so many mouths to feed, even if you count out the alternate Spirit Origins and summons that tend to pop up around seasonal holidays. Ritsuka looks between her phone and the shoots again, deems them accurately the leeks she's looking for, and tucks the phone away to start harvesting them. ]

I'm not, nah. The only things I know how to make are curry and Valentine chocolate. I just wanted to help. You know, so people who are participating can actually focus on that part.

[ She knows how narrow her own focus gets, in the dreaded crunch period before Valentine's Day--but even before that, when she'd been just an ordinary student trying to get through exams. Ritsuka might not have been the best student in her day to day classes, but she's always been excellent at taking tests. ]

I figured I'd just leave them at the competition site, and people can take what they need, if and when they need it.

4

[beefaroni]

[ ... Boy this is awkward. Asterios already isn't great socially, but comforting someone crying??? Yikes. He even looks around, wishing another Servant or Master was around to handle this.

... At the same time, he can't exactly leave Kadoc like this. So, what can he do? ]

... Want to... go home?

[impostorsyndrome]

[Mood, Asterios. Kadoc could deeply appreciate and relate to that awkwardness in a situation where he wasn't being beyond awkward himself right now.

He looks up at the sound of Asterios's voice, making eye contact with him . . .

And immediately begins crying harder. Dammit! No! He doesn't want this! Kadoc knows why he's feeling this way; of course it's the leeks. He should have known better than to try the frowny one. He hasn't had a bout of sobbing depression like this in a few years now! But the feeling is familiar all the same. All those old negative thought spirals he used to be worse at pulling himself out of—seeing something innocent that sets off a chain he can't break.

You know, something like the proper human history version of a Servant he totally used for his own purposes in his Lostbelt! He doesn't deserve this kindness!]

Y, yooouu, nngh. Shit. Y-you don't have to . . . don't worry about me . . . I don't deserve . . .

[beefaroni]

[ Well, people used to cry in fear of him, so it's not like this is 100% foreign to him. Buuut he's pretty sure this is not that. He ignores the words, mostly because he's learned whenever he says them, people here excuse him anyway, so why should this be any different?

He sighs, making a decision. ]

I will take you home.

[ Not a question or up for debate. He moves to lift and carry Kadoc... ]

2 / 4 because I'm greedy

[colchismagecraft]

[The gift was very pretty- and she took some time to appreciate it before texting him- she wasn't the sentimental type either, especially not in her texts, but the message deserved a response.]

its beautiful thank you
happy new year
im glad we can see it in together whatever this strange world brings us

medea

[It would be a few days before she saw him in person next, though. And well, that wasn't a sight she expected to see. For all her sadism and teasing, it was heart-wrenching seeing him actually hurting. Kadoc would hate anyone to see him in such a way- and before that thought had even finished, she'd moved her arms in a wide arc, summoning shadows to conceal their location from view as best she could.

And then, she rushed over to crouch down by him, a hand reaching to rest on his shoulder, should he accept it. Was he injured, or...?]

...Kadoc?

[impostorsyndrome]

[Medea would have gotten a fabric pattern of plumes of smoke that appear to twist and curl across the canvas—with a faint lovely shimmer, not just pitch black but something with a hint of warmth and life in it, too. Kadoc hadn't responded to the text out of sheer embarrassment, but the kind directed at himself, not her message. The message had been read more than once, and held close.

When she finds him there in the snow, the curtain of shadows gets his attention immediately. Even crying and hiding his eyes, he can see the shift in the light around him, and for a moment he's afraid—but no, now he sees, and the gratitude he feels for that consideration . . . only makes him cry harder. Whoops. He hates this! He doesn't want to be sobbing! Kadoc is entirely aware of why he's so fucked up right now, and it feels like that should make it stop instantly, but for some stupid reason it doesn't.

But he doesn't lean away from the touch when she offers it. He just does his best to look up at her, trying to catch his breath well enough to answer.]

I—I'm fine—I know that sounds stupid, but—

[colchismagecraft]

[She hadn't particularly expected a reply- but she'd kept the dark fabric close. Deep down, she wondered if that was how he saw her. Dark, but with something softer behind that veil...Medea would not confirm or deny that, either way.

...What she wasn't expecting was for her actions to bring him even more tears, though! Concern twisted into her expression- had she made the wrong assumption after all?]

You look terrible. Who- who did this to you?

[Harsh though her words were- along with the implication of 'who do I need to stab'- the point stood. She didn't believe he was "fine" for a moment, and didn't know how to help.]

4 ...and so it begins

[luciing]

....Youth.

[ The sound of hooves, softened by snow, precedes the call of a deep voice. The stranger riding the horse wears a dark wool cloak, and a sword hovers kinetically behind him. ]

You are in the Forest of the Felled alone. [ No dangers are present now. But. His head inclines, and he asks: ] Wherefore?

[impostorsyndrome]

I . . .

[He . . . whoa. This is enough to briefly (briefly) snap him out of his leek-induced depression; he knew the odds he'd be caught were good, but hadn't been able to bring himself to care, and now he's being caught by a dude on horseback with a hovering sword besides?! Kadoc lifts his tear-streaked face and stares for a moment. But those tears don't stop streaming out just because he's surprised. He really cannot control that part whatsoever.

Shit, he's being addressed, too. This is so embarrassing! Thinking about how embarrassing it is is getting the depression sinking in again!]

I—don't have a good answer for you. It was stupid.

[luciing]

[ Snow crunches beneath his boots as he dismounts, and with a gloved hand, he corrects the fox pelt around his neck. ]

Let us see your injuries.

[ It seems he’s assuming the boy is hurt, hence the crying. ]

2 cause why not / text

[resistetmords]

[Well now this was nice and adorable! If a bit unexpected. She was still hungover from New Year's Eve, and tired from Christmas. To top it off there was something going on with a knight mission or whatever? Anyway! Yes she gives the flashy, warm pattern a look over before deciding to text Kadoc because...

...well holiday hangover. She don't look cute.]

Just wanted to let you know I got your gift, and thank you. It was really cute and sweet of you. Xoxo :3

[impostorsyndrome]

[Hers has a pattern of red poinsettia interspersed with red poppies; the shifting animation effect makes the melting snow on them seem to glisten and sparkle. Awwww.

XOXO . . . he blushes a little even though it doesn't mean anything! He's just a boy who can't help it when he gets that kind of signoff from a woman!]

Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad you liked it. I just wanted it to be something that'd make you happy to look at.

[resistetmords]

[She can practically see that blush over the text! Plu the following message, along with the sight of the cloth got a giggle just a little blush from her.

That or her cheeks were flushed from the fever.]

It's certainly helped make my day happier and brighter. That, and the fact it's from you and that you thought about me~.

[This was way too cute! She honestly loves it!]

1 spuds spuds spuds

[sulit]

[Klaudia was fortunately not present for the rampage of sick equestrian rhymes. She was having a peaceful night of star-gazing out in the wilderness, oblivious to the horror that was occurring in Nicnevin. Which is probably a good thing... because there would have been screaming.]

[But she arrives back in town the next morning looking a little tired, but mostly in good spirits. Good enough spirits that when she sees the poor guy with a sign, a grin splits across her lips. Oh, that's just sad.]

You let a horse beat you at rapping? How can you even lose at that? Horses can't talk, let alone rap.

[impostorsyndrome]

[Oh dammit. Even though he'd resigned himself to this kind of reaction—he'd have to have been an idiot to not see it coming—it's not like he wants to field it. He cringes at first, but then shores up his vast reserves of disaffected self-deprecation to Cope, as per usual.]

Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not proud. I've at least gotta point out that this was obviously a magical talking skeleton horse that could and did rap, but even if it'd been a normal horse, I'm not gonna pretend I would've won.

[sulit]

[At least this person knows how to roll with life's punches. She wouldn't feel for someone who couldn't handle getting beat by a horse, but she would make fun of them more. As it is, she gives her best solemn expression that she can muster and a nod of commiseration instead.]

It's okay, I wouldn't win against a horse either. They're mean. [Only true horse facts here. Actually, now that she's thinks about it... Her grin fades a little, and she looks over her shoulder, just... Checking...]

It's not still around, right?

2 & wildcard-y ✨

[silvergarden]

[Kadoc's gift to Rinea was very, very sweet; it went up on her wall immediately, where she can see it as she works on her own spellcraft embroidery. (How lucky they are to have alchemy and light magic, aren't they!) She considered sending her gift to him in the mail as well, but... well, it might work better in person. That, and... they have something to talk about, don't they?

She sent Kadoc a message in advance of her visit-- it's only polite! -- but is still a little nervous when she knocks at his door. She's never been here before, after all!]

Kadoc? Are you home?

[impostorsyndrome]

[Nervous doesn't even begin to cover it. Kadoc's been warned, and he's prepared, but he's not really prepared for this conversation, is he? Will he ever get to the point where he is? He's not sure about that. But what he does know is that now is the time, so it'll have to do. Putting it off any longer will just make it harder to deal with in the future.

So he can't just sit on the couch and pretend not to be home when she knocks, but he is tempted for like five seconds.

Then the door swings open, and he lets her in. Gareth isn't home at the moment, which is a blessing. But the place, by now, looks homey, and he can honestly say he considers it His Place; there's a combination of their things around, though Gareth is tidy and Kadoc is maybe not tidy but private enough to keep a lot of his own stuff in his room, so it's lived-in rather than messy or cluttered. A cozy place. There's a sofa with a coffee table, and that where he leads Rinea after he's let her in, taking a deep breath to steady himself for this.

. . . It's not so bad.]

Hey. Thanks for coming over. . . . I can make us some tea.

[silvergarden]

[Rinea smiles at Kadoc's appearance in the doorframe, and smiles brighter at his offer as he leads her inside. What a relief: she had fretted a bit as she prepared her present to him, not knowing his beverage preferences; she's glad to see serendipity (and a little guesswork) worked out.]

Oh! If you are going to do so, please-- accept this gift first. [From her basket Rinea retrieves a small package, tied neatly with twine, which she offers with both hands. She tries not to look too anxious as he opens it, clasping her fingers together out of lack of anything else to hold.

Inside is a small tin of loose tea leaves, wrapped in a handkerchief adorned with a neatly stitched, glittering ice pattern.]

I managed to recreate a favorite Rigelian winter tea blend. And I thought, because we have that much in common, perhaps you would enjoy it as well... [She seeks his gaze, hopeful.]

1

[peninhand]

[ Most unfortunately, Monika saw this sad spectacle and looked sadly at him in return. Sad, so sad. She had faced that weird horse too and had failed too, in spite of Drake having tried to warn and prepare her. So she wasn't about to judge. If anything, she shared in the pain. ]

You too, huh?

[ Yes, the President of the Literature Club and local poetry enthusiast had failed. In all fairness, her rhyming skills were seriously dependent on her being awake and not sleepy as heck. Maybe if the horse hadn't woken her up at midnight.

That and much as she loved rap, she had never actually written any before. ]

But um, why are you... You know. [She looked down at the sign he was holding.] I'm trying to have as few people as possible know on my end, ahaha!

[impostorsyndrome]

Trust me, I'd rather keep this one hundred percent to myself.

[Sigh. It's Monika, too! There's always a mixed blessing in someone he knows and likes well being exposed to his embarrassment: on one hand, he trusts her more not to judge him or write him off, but on the other hand, he cares more what she thinks. High risk, high reward. That's the world of relationships for the anxious . . .

Still, she'd lost too? That makes him feel, not better, but more at ease. Rap is hard! They shouldn't be expected to suddenly throw down and be able to do it!]

But now I haven't eaten in a while, and considering where we are, I can't just go hit up a cafe for lunch. I've gotta swallow my pride and throw myself at someone's mercy.

Tumbles in here carrying a belated, clunky wildcard, trips and spills it all over the floor

[unfalteringwall]

[Feel free to use brackets if you prefer, it just sort of fell out of my brain in prose lol. I’ll match you!]

Mash had only relatively recently learned that she had light magic. It had been sort of accidental, really, a spur of the moment reflexive cast. It was a strange and fascinating feeling, unique from her abilities as a Servant. She wanted to know more.

Having remembered that Kadoc displayed an aptitude for the stuff when they had first run into one another here, she reached out to him to see if he had any tips. She hadn’t expected much, since he still seemed to regard her rather standoffishly, but was pleasantly surprised when he had agreed to help her train.

She arrives at the animal shelter with her personal entourage (Fou and her fairy familiar) about five minutes before they had agreed to meet, deciding to use that time inspecting the area, as it was her first time really visiting. Catch her milling about, fondly regarding the animals. Where u at, Kadoc?

[impostorsyndrome]

The stables are a little ways out from the main entrance, and that's where he turns up from, bustling in because he knows he's a little late. Damn. Not that the shelter is the worst place to kill a few minutes; there's plenty to see, and a lot of it is cute. There's a pool area right now with a baby Alpacapie that needs fin rehab! It's very friendly!

But he still feels a little bad to see her already there as he comes out, brushing some lingering hay off his coat. . . . It's probably just because their relationship is still awkward anyway. He'd been surprised she even asked him, but really, why was he? He should have accepted by now that Kyrielight, along with the rest of Chaldea, is willing to work with him, but it still feels a certain way. Like the second he takes it for granted, he's going to lose it.

She looks at home among the animals, though. But she always has, huh? With Fou . . .

"Hey."

That's all he has at first in greeting, along with one of those awkward half-lift waves of his hand.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting."