"Speak of the Devil...there he is! Hi Brian!" Arion waved towards a young man with red hair wandering by.
"Well, hello there!" The newcomer smiled at everyone, but his eyes seemed to scan the garden for something specific. His mood seemed to drop a bit when he couldn't find what he was looking for. "Thanks for the invitation!" he said as he turned towards Nareen.
"The more the merrier! So you're Brian? Hello!"

"Consider yourself honoured, as we decided to actually play Christmas songs instead of our regular repertoire today." Arion laughed as he took position besides Brian.
The audience gathered around them as they started to play "Jingle Bells". It was noticable that this wasn't what the band was used to but the singer and guitarist did very well.
Nareen listened to the music and was quietly singing along when she felt a slight tug on her skirt.

"Yes, what is it? Oh, Sackboy and Sackgirl!"
Both sackpeople wobbled with their heads and gestured wildly.
"You have to go already or you'll miss the release of Little Big Planet 2? Oh, that would be awful, I totally understand!"
The sackpeople waved and grinned.
"See you next time then! It was so nice of you to come!" Nareen waved goodbye but noticed a new guest coming up at the same time.

Eternia gasped. "Oh no! It's Mir! She really showed up at our party!"
"Is something the matter?" Sol asked with a hint of distress in his voice. "You're so pale all of a sudden."
"Huh? Oh, I'm okay. Just a bit... err... cold. I think I'll go inside for a while."

"Whoa! We don't want you to get ill! Let's go then!" Sol said as he promptly made his way towards the house.
"Oh, you're coming too? Thank you." Eternia was annoyed about not getting to talk to Arion, but she began to wonder if she wasn't trying to score the wrong date there. So what if Sol looked a bit medieval? He seemed to honestly care about her.
"Hmm..."

Tamara approached Nareen and Mir with a curteous bow. "Lady Mir! What a pleasure to meet you here."
"Good day Yoriko." Mir's black eyes were fathomless.
"Oh, you two know each other? Yoriko? Who's Yoriko?" Nareen wondered, astonished about Tamara's behavior. She had never heard such a soft and obedient tone from Eternia's friend.
"Of course I know Lady Mir. My family serves her, and Yoriko is my true name." Tamara answered. "Tamara is just an alias that's easier to remember for some people."
"Oh?"

"Do you need anything?" Tamara asked the pale woman.
Mir's face lit up and she seemed to relax a bit. "Not today, Yoriko. This is Nareen's Christmas party and we are equals as guests."
"As you wish. You should know I'm one of the hosts, though, so if you need anything please let me know. I'll be inside checking on the other guests."
"Say hello to Tahome for me." There was an unidentifiable tone in Mir's voice that made Nareen shiver.
'Uhm, and who's Tahome?' she wondered silently.

"So, this is our living room!" Eternia was showing Sol around when she noticed that his hat was dangerously close to the ceiling. "Be careful; you saw that sign outside!" she said with a chuckle to hide her embarrassment about the faulty house.
"Don't worry, it's okay. Good thing I don't grow anymore, huh?"
"Does that mean you want to visit here more often?" Nahh-Ati asked with a grin.

Sol, suddenly shy, scratched his head and took a seat in the distant armchair while Eternia sat down on the sofa. He was rescued by Tamara's approach.
"Hi from the boss," she said flatly to Eternia, who winced.
"Ugh. Did she say anything else?"
"No. Seems we have a truce today." Tamara was still calm. "Don't you think you should go out and say hello?"
"Uhm... maybe later... I think..."
Sol wondered if Eternia had a problem at work but thought it was best not to pry.
"Your decision. I'm going upstairs for dinner." With that, Tamara left them.

Dolltopia Archive 45 <-- # --> Dolltopia Archive 47