[Nicolay]

Just outside the Alexi Arts Theater was a stone path that was lined with carts and the previous audience. The fire show of Spinifere's Tale had just ended and now, everyone wanted something to take home with them -- a booklet, a fan for the summer heat, a picture among others. Others were simply there for the people -- and they sold fancy accessories, toys for the children...and ultimately, food.

Summer delicacies mostly -- sweet yogurts, fruity treats and crepes for two xanthai a piece.

Wrapped in paper, Nicolay took both his orders by his hands and he smiled to the seller with a glow on his cheeks before he turned to walk away. The evening was warm; beads of sweat glittered where his hair began and he worried that he might be showing them in areas where he wished them hidden but summer outings were not a rare thing for him. Through the years, he'd managed to find a way to maintain his cool and keep his appearance intact and he even dressed to the occasion -- an open checkered top over a plain white tee, faded pair of jeans and his favorite sneakers. He put on his favorite scent, too.

He hoped dearly that Lazuli appreciated the effort and result.

“Found anything you like?” he asked his...date for the night, all smiles as he offered her a crepe.

[Lazuli]

For their friendly outing, Lazuli had kept it quite simple too in terms of apparel - a rose-colored top with long, poofy sleeves; white capris jeans; and ribboned sandals speckled with gold. Although her bangs were sticking to her forehead from sweat caused by the summer heat, appearance was really the last thing on her mind.

She had found an elegant little carving of Spinifere and showed it to Nic with light enthusiasm. “Look at how detailed this is!” she said happily, holding the figure carefully in her hands as though it were made of only thin glass. Part of the texture on the miniature statue had been created from the plastering of a reflective, highly designed origami paper. When held under the light, Spinifere seemed to glow.

Lazuli gently set the carving back on its display shelf so she may free her hands to take Nicolay's crepe. When she bit into the delicacy, she realized that a juicy lemon-chocolate coated the inside. “Mmm! It's delicious! Thank you, Nic! Have you found anything interesting yourself?”

[Nicolay]

Nicolay had to step back a little lest Spinifere and the crepe meet and he smiled happily at Lazuli's discovery and herself as he nodded and then leaned towards the handy figurine, check out how the light interacts with it. “That's pretty neat,” he said to agree. His next move had been to ask her if she wanted one for herself but she'd set it back on its shelf and then he hesitated, lips moving only a little, stilling when Lazuli had reflected the question to him.

“Have you found anything interesting yourself?”

“Aside from the foods?” Nicolay blurted before he realized that it was out. Oops. He did look around him, just to show her that he wasn't just all stomach, no interest, and eventually he shook his head. “I see these things often in the Underground. Did you want that one, though?” he asked with an indication to the sculpture to his side before he bit into his own crepe, cream peeking out from the torn pancake bread, decorated by the ooze of chocolate and babana. They left evidence of their goodness on Nicolay's lips as he chewed contentedly.

[Lazuli]

Nicolay's reaction to the question made Lazuli draw her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. He was so pleasantly cute when he was truthful like that. More importantly, no words could express how much she appreciated the effort he was giving to make the night so wonderful for her.

“It would be a neat souvenir,” Lazuli remarked, gazing one last time at the little doll while she ate her crepe. “But no, I don't really want my hands full tonight. Let's keep looking around!”

She didn't explain that it was more fun for her to simply enjoy the time with him, and enjoy the festive atmosphere as it was so close to Xanthmas. It all made her smile, and her grin grew wider when she noticed the coating of babana-chocolate on Nicolay's lips. “Oh, you got something there,” she chuckled. Before she knew what she was doing, Lazuli had used a piece of the napkin that had come with her crepe to help wipe it off for him. Then she blushed as she realized he could have just done that himself.

“Sorry--” she began to say, smiling in amusement, but found herself turning with her head shyly ducked a little, peeking past Nic's arm for something interesting they could talk about.

[Nicolay]

Nicolay had made a small, startled noise and taken a step back when Lazuli dabbed the napkin on his lips, his right hand with the crepe moving but he smiled and laughed a little shyly when the deed was done. How embarrassing, he'd shown her what a mess he could be.

“I should be the one apologizing,” Nicolay responded with a laugh as he tugged his right sleeve down (not that that was going to make it longer) then glanced over his shoulder to see if there was anything there at all. Most of the people had disappeared although there was still a considerable amount of them surrounding the sellers hoping to make a little more xanthai for the night but there wasn't anything special with the scene...save for the crepe but hey.

He turned back to Lazuli, his face looking quite contented and open. “By the way, how's your “Christmas” shopping going?” he took a step forward, starting the way out of the theater's front. “I mean...Xanthmas.” That was still something he needed to get used to.

[Lazuli]

As they began moving again, Lazuli finished her crepe and casually adjusted her beaded shoulder bag. She looked up at the velvety night sky with its twinkling stars, not outshone by the warm glow of the theatre's festive lights--green, red, blue, yellow... With every breath she took, it was as though she was breathing in happiness. Happiness and freedom.

“It's going well,” she replied merrily to Nic's question. “I think I've gotten everything I needed--”

She slowed her pace a little as they came to a large Xanthmas tree that the theatre had taken the expenses to put up. Ornaments of all fun sizes and shapes hung on its branches laden with faux snow, including colorful stars, ribbon-clad butterflies, and character trinkets made as tributes to the theatre's seasonal shows. And under the tree, of course, were piles of wrapped presents.

“Say, Nic,” Lazuli piped, “This is your first Christmas here, isn't it? How do you feel about it so far? I'm sure you've seen the Grotto, with the ice palace! Would you like to go there together sometime?”

[Nicolay]

“Yeah, that'd be great!” Nicolay's response was instant and matched with a smile and an eager nod of his head. He had been intending to take her to it since it...appeared but his time and hers never did match so much this late that he decided that maybe she had better spend more time with her craft and maybe making money than him because...well, joyous as it may seem, the season was also a rather stressful one and customers were crazy even in this realm!

“I'd been intending to invite you, actually, but I wasn't sure you'd appreciate it at this time,” he confessed later with a little scratch on the back of his damp head before he finished his crepe, dabbed his lips with napkin just to be sure, then crumpled everything and...stuffed them in his pocket. “You're so busy I thought you might want to focus on work more than anything.”

That was actually what he had been doing this past few days of Xanthmas month. There was no one waiting home for him, his training had become a little more relaxed and save for his visits to Lazuli, his sister, Kiel and other friends, he was mostly inside the shop, taking note of orders and deliveries and pick-ups and customer anger. It was a good arrangement, he thought. No party to go to, no family to be with...

“I never expected Xanthmas to be crazy, though,” he shared with a small laugh, hands in his pockets, “But everyone's more...religious here, I guess. It's a nice change from the usual...from Christmas, I mean,” he said glancing at her.

And then after a while: “I guess it's going well. It's...a change, yeah. but...I guess it's all right.” He turned to look at Lazuli, again. “I kind of miss family and gatherings, that's for sure. During this time of the year, I'd normally be so drunk, I'd have to get someone to drive me home and deposit me in my bed,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes, we fly to my grandmother and spend Christmas there, then fly back home a few days after. It's...well...” he looked at Lazuli, “I guess I'm kinda sad that won't happen this time...” Not anymore, it might not.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli was glad when Nicolay agreed to go, and her face showed it, as it often openly did when she was happy. “We could decide a time -- it can even be tonight! I've never been to the Grotto at dark. I'm sure the lights are beautiful...”

She nodded her head when he mentioned her work; it was true that commissions had overloaded her this holiday season, and the majority of her recent days had been spent either painting profusely or taking an all-too-necessary break among some well-needed pillows. She felt appreciative of Nicolay, and even a little guilty now that she hadn't set aside more time to spend with friends. “Thanks, Nic, you're always thinking about me,” she said warmly, a bit apologetically, and hoped to learn from it. Whether or not Nic had been busy as well, she did not know clearly. It seemed that he was always there when she turned to look for him, whether it was through a text message, a phone call, or a meeting in person. Truly, it was...

The nyad's bright smile turned to a peaceful, attentive look when Nicolay began speaking of his holiday experience. A sympathetic pain prickling her chest when he mentioned his family, Lazuli placed a hand gently on his arm. “Oh.”

She looked away for a moment, as though pondering something, then turned back to him with a renewed expression and pointed out towards the street, tugging excitedly on his arm. “Hey, there's a place closeby called Mery's Alehouse. Let's go grab a holiday drink before we head to the Grotto! What do you think?”

[Nicolay]

Her touch was warm -- as was expected from a summer's outing -- but it was so tender and delicate that Nicolay hadn't really noticed it was there until he saw the arch of her elbow and connected it to the hand on his left arm. He watched it for a little while longer, and then he wore a smile on his face that told of his appreciation of the gesture. Lazuli always seemed to know how to make things lighter. With the shortest of words, the simplest of gesture, an accidental change of tone, she just seemed to have that inborn skill to make life brighter for him.

When she started tugging at him, he snapped out a little from his reverie, an unconscious right hand hovering to place itself on top of her slender digits lest the tugging tear it away from him and he turned to the direction that the nyad pointed to and smiled wider. Mery's Alehouse was a popular place in the shop but this was going to be the first time he'd ever even try it and that excited him. He had a hidden agenda of trying out every restaurant, pub, snack house, kiosk in this city and then listing them down and then rating them and he did honestly feel like he would feel accomplished if he ever did manage to do that. Lazuli just aided him in his venture, and it made things more fun.

“Yeah, that'd be great! I hear a lot about them and I've been so curious.” Then he turned and squinted his eyes to Lazuli although he already started to that direction. “Are you sure you're allowed to drink ale, though?”

'cause she looked 17 right? Hahaha.

[Lazuli]

Suggesting the alehouse was really Lazuli's way of bringing what she hoped would be a piece of holiday spirit from "home"... since Nicolay had spoken about getting drunk. She smiled when she saw that her words seemed to have taken effect.

His question (regarding the implications of her apparent age) made her laugh. “Well, I tried a bit of beer once with Kiel and Lucas at a pub,” she said, as though it was an activity akin to sitting at the Quadrangle and painting flowers. She smiled at the memory of the bubbles. “No worries! Let's go!”

Lazuli held on to Nicolay's arm through the several-minute walk to Mery's Alehouse, which was really just about a block or so away from the theatre. As she had said, the Alehouse was indeed presenting holiday specials. A menu of such drinks had been printed on a board on its wooden wall, including such things as "Cherry Frost" and "Xmas Blast". From within the lighted windows, silhouettes of visitors moved about and the perky music coming from a stereo clashed with the equally perky caroling certain groups had decided to launch into. A pair of anyeli moved out of the way as Lazuli pulled Nic past the open doors.

Once inside, the building wasn't quite as crowded as it had seemed from the outside window, but the volume certainly increased. Mery, the owner and namesake of the alehouse, waved toward the pair when he noticed them. He was a muscular 'vari with shoulder-length reddish brown hair pulled back from his forehead and tied back in a stumpy ponytail. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his bulky arms, and a silvery necklace with an odd symbol hung over his black shirt. His red eyes looked intense but very friendly. “Happy Xanthmas, folks; what can I get for you?”

A board behind him showed the full menu, including all sorts of beer and liquor and cocktails and ale.

[Nicolay]

“Well, I tried a bit of beer once with Kiel and Lucas at a pub.”

The tone she used almost made Nicolay laugh but he let this out by a simple smile. And? he wanted to ask her.

“No worries! Let's go!”

"What?" he almost blurted out, paired with a wide look and a gasp as he half-stumbled after the eager nyad, his hand flat and securely on hers. The smile she wore was highly suspicious, too! What under Hel did she mean by No-worries-let's-go?! Did she get drunk? Did she get wasted? Was she too embarrassed to say it to him?

He didn't find much chance to ask her about it since he wasn't sure how to let it out (because he didn't want to make it seem like he didn't think her capable of such Big Girl-slash-Boy Things) and even more so when they'd already reached the pub and he stopped solidly in his steps and pressed his hand harder against hers if that was going to keep her away from the rowdiness that was inside. The noise, though, was both overwhelming and familiar, and Nicolay thought he might have taken too long to contemplate on this matter for Lazuli to have to pull him along.

Why anyeli were kinder to him whenever Lazuli was around, he couldn't really comprehend.

The visible space was a relieving thing to see when they stepped in and it and the friendly 'varian only set Nicolay in a better mood, his hand letting go if Lazuli in favor waving back to the man named Mery, an amicable look on his face. “Hi,” he greeted back after and hovered his hand back to Lazuli's until he realized what this was going to look like so he placed it instead at the side of his waist, eyes on the generous menu overhead. “Any items out of stock?” Now was the time to prove his "worth" to this lovely lady beside him, he thought.

“We restock every evening to cater to the season so don't you worry your young head over it,” Mery said with a smirk...a friendly one really. “You want it, we got it.”

“That's the way it has to be,” Nicolay agreed to the arrangement with a soft laugh and a vague nod of his head while his eyes swam left and right of the menu. “I'm thinking your specialty Dardanian Hero's Drink, is that a good start for a first timer?” Finally his eyes descended upon the mighty 'varian as the good host began to explain.

“If you ask me, I'd recommend the Hero's Drink to anyone who drops by, young or old. It's what this house is all about, after all,” Mery said as he glanced over his shoulder and gestured to the collection of glasses and bottles paraded behind him. “But if you want other choices, I'd recommend our House Ale, Gurell and Rakeri Beer -- that's another house specialty. We've also got seasonal specials like Cherry Frost and Xmas Blast, the ones you've read out there,” he gestured to the outside, the Therian's gaze following this direction, “They're all fermented from seasonal roots and grains. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“Maybe something light and cool for the evening?” Nicolay said to suggest as he glanced to Lazuli for her ideas. “We've still got a few activities in mind.”

[Lazuli]

Whereas Nicolay may have deemed the whole situation slight questionable, Lazuli's own inexperience made their outing to get a drink a simple casual thing for friends to do. Well, of course she knew that having too much alcohol was never any good, but a couple of glasses of those nice fermented seasonal ales wouldn't cause any harm, would they?

She tapped her feet playfully while they surveyed the menu, somehow keeping in beat with the overly cheerful musical ruckus going on in the background. Or perhaps Lazuli didn't have any sense of tune, who knew.

With her mind on spirited Xanthmas celebration, Lazuli nodded eagerly when Nicolay suggested something light and cool. “How about a Ginger Berry Snowshock?” she said, looking at the names printed on the "Seasonal Special" category of the menu board. “And we can't miss the Hero's Drink, since it's a specialty!” While Mery vaguely moved his head to that in approval, Lazuli turned her shining gaze to Nic and asked, “What do you think?”

[Nicolay]

“Ginger Berry's actually a pretty good choice for a light drink, if you ask me,” Mery said as a form of recommendation.

But now, Nicolay was distracted by Lazuli's eagerness, his brows lifted high as he watched her eyes twinkle at him and as though she was an enchantress, he was left to do nothing but say, “W, well yeah, sure, that's a good idea...” Anyway, Mery did say that Ginger Berry was on the light side, right? “We'll go with that, then,” Nicolay said with a surer nod to their host. “And maybe toss in something for us to snack on.”

“We have a fritter day every Sunday -- my sister's specialty,” Mery said to them as he gestured towards the space to his right and led the pair towards a table in the middle of the house, a small round one with two chairs and nothing else. “Best try them out, if I were you.”

“We'd hate to earn your wrath by choosing something else,” Nicolay said to jest and he laughed with Mery as the 'varian walked away and hollered their orders to his assistants. As for him, he took the liberty to pull Lazuli's seat back for her. He was a gentleman, after all.

[Lazuli]

Happy with their choices and smiling at Nic's exchange with their friendly host, Lazuli sat down at their little table after thanking Nicolay for his kind gesture. A few moments later, Mery returned with the Ginger Berry Snowshocks and an aluminum plate of what looked like thin crackers, various nuts, and small cheeses cut like stars. “Complements of my sister,” the 'vari said with a grin as he wished them happy drinking and left to serve other arrivals.

“Ooh, it looks delightful,” Lazuli murmured before taking a sip from her mug. The liquid was a rich reddish-gold like a vivid sunset, but the taste was just as shocking (albeit in a tingling, light way) as the drink's name suggested. The nyad immediately felt a warm sensation flood through her that was at the same time also pleasantly cool for a summer evening.

She closed her eyes to savor the feeling, and then opened it a moment afterwards to check on how Nic was doing. “Are you enjoying the ale?” she asked hopefully. Then she got the idea to show Nicolay her special "trick".

Stifling a giggle, the nyad took a few seconds when Nicolay wasn't looking directly at her to call forth the water from her mug. She gave the liquid a light poke of energy, a friendly invitation to have fun. The first bubble to respond rose out of its container, drifting in the air and floating gently toward Nic. A troup more of bubbles followed after it, and Lazuli was careful of where they went so that Nic's face would not be assaulted with them. The little things flitted gently around the edge of the table and around the pair like dancing fireflies. A few passerby momentarily turned to look, but most of the alehouse goers were too busy with their own activities to notice anything unusual happening meters away. This was a show for Nic.

“I learned this when I was with Kiel and Lucas,” she remarked. “It's quite easy to do with fizzly drinks, because the water's excited already! You know?” She laughed.

[Nicolay]

The mug was shaped in such a way that the liquid went straight to the back of their throats, and it heightened up the zest and the tinge of spiciness that the drink was actually known for. It exploded softly and Nicolay wrinkled his brows lightly at the reaction as he placed his mug back on the table and breathed softly through his nostrils. He let the flavor linger within his mouth for a little longer -- earthy, a little fruity -- before he finally gave Lazuli a nod for her question. “It's pretty good. Not a common taste, not an easily likable one...but I like it.” he said with another nod and a smile.

He took another sip after, and while the taste was there, he picked out one of the crisps from the plate and bit into the golden goodness with a thoughtful look on its pile. It was simple, easy to understand, just the way he liked his fritters done. “Hey, I think you'd like this!” he said to Lazuli with a tinge of excitement.

And that was where the first bubble crossed his vision and obscured Lazuli.

“Wh--” he moved his head back, the way the bubble evaded him knowingly. It was then that he noticed its brothers floating as if in a wall and he gasped again as he looked around them, dropping his fritter.

One look at Lazuli was enough to tell him that this was her doing, though, and he laughed, melting away from his moment of shock as he shook his head and touched it lightly by his finger, a smile on his face. “Should've known,” he said with a chuckle.

“I learned this when I was with Kiel and Lucas,” Lazuli remarked. “It's quite easy to do with fizzly drinks, because the water's excited already! You know?”

“Really?” Nicolay looked up to her with round eyes. “Wait, who's Lucas?”

The question, of course, escaped him before he even caught it by its leash and he'd meant to follow it up with an odd explanation but Mery had returned to save the bell.

“Sorry to burst your bubble,” he said and laughed healthily, quite proud of his own joke as he placed the mugs of the Hero's Drink on the table, Nicolay quick to pick up his fritter and consume it before the host noticed. “That's pretty neat, though!” he said knowingly to Lazuli, turning to her direction. “I'm glad you're having fun.”

“She's having the time of her life,” Nicolay said to agree and smiled at his date from behind his mug of Ginger Berry.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli never got the chance to try those fritters, with all due apology to Mery's sister, because she was too busy with her little entertainment show. She was glad that her companion seemed to be joying it, though.

Nicolay's question didn't quite register because Mery suddenly returned with the Hero's Drinks. “Thank you!” Lazuli responded to the 'varian's compliment. “I hope Nic is having fun, too. I really do!”

“Well, you kids enjoy,” Mery said, before flexing around to address a group of anyeli who had gotten a bit too rowdy in their fiery Xanthmas spirit. Enough to drown out the carolling at least. “Hey you -- calm it down before I throw you out of here!”

Meanwhile, Lazuli had released her influence on the bubbles and allowed them to drift their own ways, making a sport out of popping the ones within her reach. “Feel free to join in!” she said, as she caught one of the larger bubbles so that she may mold it carefully into the shape of a heart. It wasn't perfect, but ah, it was a new trick.

The show quickly ended, and the nyad returned to her Ginger Berry before taking a first sip of the Hero's Drink as well. It was definitely stronger than the Ginger Berry, more manly perhaps, but still suitable for a light holiday celebration. “So, which one do you like better?” she asked. “The Ginger Berry or the Hero's?”

[Nicolay]

As the heart became formed by the will of Lazuli's power, Nicolay reached out and poked it with his right finger, beaming at the nyad when the bubble burst and he sat back to his chair, taking his handkerchief out to wipe his finger with.

“Did you learn that from your mother?” he asked her as he followed her movements and took up his own mug of the Dardanian's Hero Drink to taste. The flavor was immediate, and he wrinkled his brows tightly as he eased the rim apart from his lips and set it aside, with a slight urgency. The impact of the drink was easily felt -- there was a definite fizz, a weight down his throat as he forced the liquid through and he let out a small gasp as soon as it was gone. It was bitter...and sweet.

It was definitely an impressive drink.

“So, which one do you like better? The Ginger Berry or the Hero's?”

“Mmm...” Now he was worried about drinking two alcohols, two foreign alcohols, in one sitting. “I must say, the Hero's Drink is more remarkable,” Nicolay said a little after and even proved it as he took the drink up and sipped from it again. His face tightened again as he put it back on the table. He reached for a fritter next and bit into it. “The Berry's easier to take, though. But I guess I like both. How about you?” munch. “Which do you like better? Try not to finish the Hero's Drink, too, if you can't.”

[Lazuli]

“My mother was a nereid,” Lazuli replied to Nicolay's first question. She added, “My father was an ayad. I suppose I learned it simply by practicing, for it's not too hard after a while.”

She watched Nicolay's facial expression as he drank from the Hero. It made her wonder if he was savoring the taste or if the drink was perhaps overpowering him a little. She had no need to worry, however, for Nicolay soon recovered his countenance and stated it as his favored drink.

Lazuli smiled, and in response to Nic's question, she took a sip from each of her mugs for better comparing. The Hero's Drink sent an electric shock through her throat. “I like the taste of the Ginger Berry more,” she said, eyebrows knitting together in thought, “yet the Hero's Drink is more... exciting!”

“Try not to finish the Hero's Drink, too, if you can't.”

“All right,” she nodded, but by the time the pair went back to Mery to pay and leave, a good deal of the liquid in both mugs had been depleted as well as all of the remaining fritters.

When they stepped back out into the night air, Lazuli took a deep breath and regreeted the stars in the sky. They twinkled brightly back at her as the noises of the Alehouse faded away. “The warmth feels so different!” she declared. “It doesn't seem as hot now, does it, Nic? ...Shall we head to Xanth's Grotto?”

[Nicolay]

There was a shade of blush patting Nicolay's face lightly and suddenly the world seemed like a brighter place to his eyes! The lights were warmer, sharper and he thought they glowed brighter than the stars. His heart thumped a little inside its cage and one other thing that was present on him was a smile.

Those drinks and those fritters were good.

“Sure,” he said in response to Lazuli, smiling at her warmly as he began to lead the way, his hands moving readily to catch the nyad should she ever be inclined to need a support. This was the first time he'd had a drink with her in a pub, after all -- and for Nicolay, it was important to understand how each of his friends tolerated their drinks so that he knew how to meet them in the future. Under the shine of the city, he could see evidences of the alcohol on her skin.

But when he found himself staring at her eyes for a moment, he knew it was time to look at the lamp post with severe interest.

“I'm surprised you could hold your alcohol that well, Laz,” he said after a while, lest she catch him in his stance. “So do you drink regularly or is it just being a nyad that makes you this way?” He asked as he led her to a corner closer to the Grotto marked by an luminescent shine in the distance. The crowd that filled the streets were all headed to that direction as well.

[Lazuli]

Was it just Lazuli, or did the stars keep getting brighter? Despite what Nicolay said, underneath her calm exterior, she did feel a bit... strange. As she walked with Nic at her side, sometimes it seemed as though she was floating on air.

“I'm not sure,” she admitted serenely, blinking. Maybe it did have something to do with her being a nyad, who knew. “And you?” She walked a bit closer to Nic so that sometimes their arms lightly touched.

Once they arrived at the Grotto, past the other crowds of New Alexandrians, Lazuli stood to simply take in the ethereal imagery. The nighttime beacons had been adjusted in such a way that brilliant violets faded into loving lilacs, which in turn slid into sapphire blues and sea greens, then honey golds and elegant reds and so forth. Casting the layers of snow and ice in glowing jewel-speckled washes of color, the soft lights created a gentle, even romantic atmosphere. The palace had never looked so majestic as it did now, a contrast of highlights and shadow.

It met all of Lazuli's hopes. “Everything's so beautiful here!” she breathed, eyes reflecting the hue-shifting glow of the wintery fairyland.

As she gazed on, a pair of anyeli nonchalantly passed her, and, stopping several meters away from Nicolay and Lazuli, began snogging by an abundance of mistletoe.

Lazuli hardly noticed them, but she did place a hand on Nicolay's arm and gesture toward the palace. “Do you want to look for Xanth's statue?”