avalononline | 04; Video; UN: Roseofdawn

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04; Video; UN: Roseofdawn

[Aurora is humming softly, weaving sprigs of evergreen together, a little bird handing her berries or plants, several squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks holding twigs or pinecones but she's honestly surrounded by all sorts of animals in her home. A giant fire is going in her fireplace, the whole room gives off a feeling of warmth.]

Al...most.... done. [She held out her hand for a pinecone, the chipmunk handing it to her.] Aaand there.

[She held up the wreath.]

It may not be a traditional Evergreen Yule Wreath, but it is rather lovely.

The dried oranges were an excellent idea. [She said as she turned to look at the giant Eurasian Eagle-owl perched on the back of her chair.] Thank you for the suggestion, Vivek.

If anyone else would like, I have plenty enough to make more wreaths, especially as the solstice is almost here! Thought they may be much more traditional than this. Or, if you would like to imbue it with your own home's warmth and protection, I can show you how to make one.

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[Rude, Gokudera. Her house is clean! She makes a soft "Ooo!" and immediately lets him go to take the drink. Yes, she has a sweet tooth, a ridiculously large one at that. There was a reason Fauna made a sixteen-layer birthday cake. She inhaled the aroma of the drink. It even smelled sweet! She took a sip and her eyes widened.]

It's delicious! I love it!

[He’d probably figure that out after inspecting it a little closer, but he also isn’t sure what to think when there are so many animals. They’re amazing, but there is all manner of fur and feather. Gokudera feels excited and a bit stunned, looking about as Aurora moves to smell and then taste the offered drink.]

It’s very good, even without marshmallow. Here, if you’d like to try it with mint-

[Gokudera takes off his winter coat and picks up his own drink for her to try.]

[She took a sip of his drink, closing her eyes in content.] This is very good too. [She grinned and held up the drink to his lips.] I will say I like mine more, though, as it is sweeter. [Because, of course, her sweet tooth wins out.]

Now, come sit by the fire until you're a bit warmer, and then we'll make that wreath.

Mnnn [He sips at the drink she lifts to him, cups his hands about hers for a moment, then lowers it gently, taking his drink from her before he’s moving towards the fire to take a seat.]

Is that why you’re like that?

Like what, my darling? [She tilts her head.]

Sweet.

[He replies easily, quick, almost teasing but obviously fond.]

You think I'm sweet? [She grinned, though well aware he did as she moved to sit beside him.] So then, whatever do you eat to make you so handsome, hmm?

Yes.

[Without a doubt, absolutely, and he would fight anyone who says otherwise!

But at receiving an obvious compliment, his face goes pink and he looks away from her. Oh wow, he warmed up fast!]

Sweet is how you act! I can’t behave handsomely!

[He wants to argue she has bad taste, but… they both like Zuko, so that would be an insult to him. Gokudera only wants to insult Zuko to tease him, right in front of him because pushing his buttons would be fun.]

Oh, I quite beg to differ, my love. If someone can behave in an ugly way, and if someone can behave beautifully, then why couldn't someone behave handsomely?

[She ran a gentle finger along his jaw.]

Because that's exactly what you do.

I just-

[The finger on his jaw snaps his attention right to her, and his voice kicks up awkwardly.]

I wanted to say you’re sweet! I-I’m-!

[What is he arguing for? Why is he arguing? He’s not upset, but it’s very clear he’s far too flustered from her compliments to think up any appropriate response.]

I don’t eat anything handsome!

[Is there such a thing as handsome food?]

[She HAD warned him about her home being filled with endearments.]

Oh, so this is just innate, then? My, how lucky you are. And I as well, as I get to gaze upon you as much as I like.

[She carded her fingers through his hair.]

[This is SO MUCH.

He’s never been complimented so much, or like this, and he feels like he could melt, and brings a hand up to his face to hide his eyes. Which would make him feel safer, to hide, but then she’s touching his hair and it feels nice and he’s blushing harder and looking on at her with a pout, dropping his hand from his eyes and losing all his anger with the soothing touch.]

Stop it…

[She pressed a kiss to his temple.]

Very well... but I did warn you. [She teased lightly before moving over to the table filled with the supplies for the wreath. She took another sip of her hot chocolate, closing her eyes and humming softly. Yes, lovely. She opened her eyes, smiling at him.]

Come, make a wreath with me, I promise to behave.

[Gokudera closes the eye closest to the temple she kisses and keeps his pout in place.]

[She’s right to have warned him, but why couldn’t she have gone easier on him? He feels like he got steamrolled by affection and he’s at a loss for how to actually respond.]

[He looks down at his own hot chocolate and considers drinking more, but then he’s invited to help with the wreath he’d been excited about. Honestly, he’d just been excited to be around Rose. They could watch paint dry and he’d probably just be content in her company. Gokudera gets up and moves to the table with her, looking over the supplies with hesitation.]

I’ve never made a wreath before…

[He’s also never been totaled by endearments before, either. Wow, a day of firsts for both of them!]

Then I will teach you. I certainly wasn't born knowing. [She selected several long strands of the pine and then moved to sit next to him, resting her hands atop his.]

First, we need to weave the pines together.

Could you imagine if you were?

[That would be ridiculous. Gokudera lets out a little huff of a laugh at the idea of that being the developed skill since birth. What use could wreath-weaving be for a baby?]

You’ll show me how to do that, too, right?

[He looks on at the supplies, then his hands, and hers, then over at her. If she weaves, he can probably follow along beside her.]

That is my intent, yes. I want to share this with you. It's a tradition that was passed down to me by my aunts. I... I like being able to share this with you, with friends and loved ones. Traditions are meant to be shared.

[He looks down at the pine and twists some of it idly between the fingers of his free hand before looking up at her.]

Thank you, Rose…

[Gokudera moves to take a sip of his hot chocolate, then goes back to the wreath, where he just stares at it and then goes back to the pine.]

Is it a braid, or a twist? How do you keep it from fraying around?

Both would work. I prefer a braid because I feel it will last longer in harder weather but sometimes I like to do a braid for the core and a twist above it as twists allow are easier to put decorations in. [As evident by the initial wreath she made.] But, let's start with a nice simple braid. Don't focus on it fraying. When you near the end of one sprig, you will simply weave in another like you might with hair.

I’ve never braided before…

[Gokudera says and looks at the mess of pine he’s created in just a minute. It was fast work, and does not look good, and he’s pouting at it. Gokudera can’t even peel a potato or roll clay into a ball without messing up, so he’s going to need more involvement from Aurora.]

Well, we'll simply have to fix that. [She got up and came over to sit next to him, undoing what he did and pulling out three long sprigs before tying them together at the top in a knot.]

You are merely without practice or teacher. [She rested her hands above his and showed him the motions of how to weave a simple plait.] There now, see? A rhythm in and of itself, and I know how skillfully you play.

Do I have to tie a knot like that each time?

[What’s that knot for? Wait! Should he take notes?! Gokudera’s feeling a bit caught off guard realizing he knows nothing about what they’re doing. Okay… crap… uh…]

Both.

This isn’t anything like piano, Rose…

[He follows the motion she started, but then starts to knot them up slightly. Wait, but if he doesn’t, won’t they all go all over the place? Fray out like crazy? Should they bind it with something?]

No, but a knot helps when you're first starting, it's an anchor point. The more skilled you become, and I know you shall, eventually, you won't need the knot at all and the wreath will end as it began, seamless.

But I started my first wreathes with endless knots.

[She pressed a kiss to his temple.] Relax, darling, this is meant to be enjoyable. There is no consequence for needing to start over.

How big should we make it?

[He doesn’t know if he has the patience to make it a respectable size.]

Didn’t it take a while if it was endless knots?

[He pouts at her before she kisses his temple, then looks a bit lost. Oh well it would suck to have to do it all over, but not a waste of time because that would mean he gets to spend more time with Rose.

Either way, no matter how this will look, it’s probably going to be a memory he will cherish.]

Right… right.

For now, let's say at least 5 long sprigs?

My first few, absolutely. My very first two were little more than a ring of tied-up sprigs, no berries, no flowers, nothing but a wobbly wreath of a single circle of sprigs.

Oh, but how my aunts were so proud of me. [She smiled at the memory, her hands working through the wreath with ease and skill.] They hung it up in a place of honor, right above the hearth. They went on and on about how beautiful it was. I was little and couldn't have felt giddier at the way my aunts went on about my wreath, where they hung it. They refused to put any other wreath there, we just put the other ones all over the house.

[She looked over to him.]

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