[Xanth]

OOC: Set right after Extai's post in Xanth's Grotto 2012.

Xanth did not watch every person who visited the shrine, even during Xanthmas, and she especially had more pressing matters that demanded her attention since she reopened the Acanthan portal. She did, however, keep one wall of her throne room available for monitoring the maze and infused her avatar with a semblance of her own personality so it did not seem merely a fake hologram but could react personally to each visitor. Faroah was meant to be watching the projected images so he could alert her to trouble or anything he felt she might wish to respond to directly. The tiny dragon had insisted on helping, almost inconsolable when she initially asked Midnight and the imps instead. Of course, the imps were still surreptitiously doing as asked from where they were hidden among the vines that wrapped around the marble pillars, because after centuries together she knew better than to think Faroah was either reliable or had an inkling of what really merited her attention. If he had his way, she would have missed Extai's dance because she would have been meeting with a piece of tin foil instead.

Fortunately, though they appreciated the shinies almost as much as Faroah did, the imps had a much better notion of what counted as an offering and not just a piece of rubbish that had breezed in on the wind.

Atop the tree made of snow and air, a pixie-like burst of lilac appeared, no more than three inches tall. Wings curled out and fluttering frantically, she flitted about the top like a would-be star, her voice a gleeful high-pitched squee of joy. So many Elysians felt the need to spend a fortune (or a pittance) on their offerings, when Xanth was just as pleased with an effort like this. The Nymphs always did know how to make a song and dance of their love for her.

Moving to hover before Extai's face, between the Nymph and her tree, the pixie slowly grew larger until she was identical to the avatar still seated on the ice throne. Gentle hands cupped the Ayad's face and Xanth smiled beatifically down at the Nymph, bent slightly at the hips to stand over her. Her smile turned mischievous. “What, no baubles?”

[Extai]

Extai's mouth fell open in an unladylike way. She tried to come sentences but all that came out of her mouth was,"You......but...it......gusts...how..." Composing her self a little she blinked at the Goddess. "....did I black out?" Extai closed her eyes and pinched her skin,"I swear I didn't eat those berries." Extai blinked at the Goddess again and shook her head. She knew she didn't eat those berries. Or maybe she did.

Remembering that the Goddess had asked her a question she gaped,"I.....I don't have any." Her face blushed a vibrant red and she averted her eyes.

[Xanth]

Xanth's mischievous smile widened, the bow of her bottom lip curving almost excessively. Goddess she may be, but even after twelve thousand years, she was still little more than a child herself, a young adolescent who still enjoyed moments like these, moments when she surprised her Children not because of the big things but because she had an unexpected sense of humour. There was a reason the imps felt so at home in her temple, after all.

Xanth pinched Extai's cheek with the fondness and irreverence that only a mother could display. She might have cooed a little too, if the Ayad had managed to include baubles in her little display. “Fear not, Little Miss, the tree is gift enough on its own.” She winked and spun away so that her gossamer skirts swished and circled her knees, spinning across the snow and ice on bare tip-toes. Plucking a bauble from the tree, large enough that she had to cup it in both hands for fear of dropping it, Xanth danced back and presented it to the Nymph with an exaggerated curtsey. “As you please.”