2019-12-15 - People in glass houses...

There are people who arrive at parties fashionably late, and then there is Anne. Ever punctual, she comes through the doors of the Addington House precisely at the time on the invitation. She'd actually been here for the past fifteen minutes though, strolling around the gardens until the appointed time. Which is now. Which is why she's coming through the doors, as previously stated. Her hair is left down in gentle curls, and she wears an off-the-shoulder holly red cocktail dress with an asymmetrical skirt, and strappy red sandals. In spite of things (lies) she may have said, she comes alone, drifting through the pretty fairy lights on the search for something. Probably wine.

August is here because Hyacinth Addington insists on filling the house with people she can talk to without wanting to stare a hole through them. Also because he's a business owner, and also because he makes a nice trophy boyfriend for Eleanor to show off. He's dressed appropriately, in a dark, forest green, three piece suit with an ornate, Paisley tie in gold, green, and black. He gives the tree an appreciative look; he won't judge them going with a live tree, even if he's convinced he can convert everyone to fakes and thereby save the forest one Christmas at a time. Anyways, Hyacinth has impeccable taste.

It's too perfect and that by itself is enough to put Isabella in the sort of unease that one is often inundated with when one is accustomed to more casual surroundings. Still, none of it is visible on her sunkissed features when she sneaks up behind Anne and murmurs, "Boo!" softly and somewhere behind her. She's dressed in a cocktail jumpsuit; black slacks that are loose on the legs but snug on the hips and waist, with a silk top that is dyed a rich green to emphasize the color of her eyes, the cut of which leaves one shoulder bare with the other covered by a draping sleeve. Her moonstone pendant glitters against the bodice.

Her hair is pulled up in a neater twist than usual, making the most of the frame her neck and shoulders make, her bangs swept sideways to leave a long curl brushing against her right cheek. "Look at you, you look amazing!" She, too, seems to have come alone. Catching sight of August, she lifts her hand in a wave.

Patrick is trying to untangle himself from a conversation at the bottom of the stairs with a woman that's very happy to tell him about how she knew him when she was a boy. She's ninety if she's a day, and can't hear a goddamn thing that anyone says to her, so it's probably fine when he says, "Oh, lovely. Here comes your hemlock and coke, Missus Ericson. Excuse me, won't you," very loudly at her, but she clutches him by the forearm with her knuckly bony old lady hands, wanting to tell him about how her grandmother was a lesbian who had an affair with Marie Curie. So he remains trapped for the moment, smoothing his candy-cane-striped tie with one hand and just stealing the old woman's drink with the other. The rest of his suit is boringly black (though he has a nice holly-berry embroidered handkerchief in his pocket).

Eleanor Lake is here with her dashing man. Her dress is even gold in an effort to compliment August's outfit. The tall redhead is in a floor-length, backless column dress that works for her slender figure (https://i.imgur.com/RJdfLss.jpg). Her hair has been somewhat tamed and slightly straightened, though the damp of the town seems to be resisting the pin straight perfection she was going for. She squints at the real tree and whispers to Roen, "That one isn't capable of beating people up right, since it's not in the ground anymore?"

Enzo arrives right when it's exactly fashionable to do so, checking the cuff links (Christmas trees) on his pristine and sharply cut suit before fully entering the fray of this immaculately cultivated evening full of family members and strangers. Though really, it's hard to tell which is which sometimes. He skirts the outer fringes of the crowd, casting about to see who is who and who's arrived so far. He smiles charmingly at a few familiar faces and more or less heads to where he can get his very first drink of the night. There will be several of these.

Anne doesn't quite jump out of her heels, but there's a light bounce forward when Isabella comes up to startle her from behind. She whips around with a flare of her skirt, but there's already a bit of laughter bubbling out of her. And probably relief that she hadn't relieved the waiter of his wine yet, else she probably would've spilled it all over him. "Hello Isabella," she greets the woman with delight, going so far as to give her a quick peck on the cheek, before she leans back to grab that wine glass from the waiter. "You look beautiful yourself. No Alexander?" There's a hike to her brow, though she follows Isabella's wave to August, and raises her cup to him before she takes a sip. While she's enjoying the fancy wine (which isn't the expensive stuff, but isn't the cheap stuff, either), she looks over towards the stairs, her lips curving into a mild smirk when she sees Patrick caught there with that ancient woman.

Atli has only been back in town for a day or so, but one never misses an Addington family event. Her almost platinum locks are perfectly curled about her face. A deep green lace dress accentuates her slender form, accompanied by black strappy heels and a clutch hand bag in black. She walks in at fifteen minutes past, not so timely as to stress her hosts, but not later than fashionable. It had been several years since she had seen most of her family, though you would not be able to tell from her polished grin and congenial nature. The first person she would find to greet would be her Uncle Patrick, mentioning how lovely everything looked. (Dress, but in forest green Front: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ed/f3/5f/edf35f581141b762283a68be2e1089f5.jpg Back: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/56/5b/ea/565beac5501125bcb796cbcbfbd4310a.jpg)

August has to give Eleanor's question serious thought. "I'm not sure," he murmurs, now eyeing the garlands with suspicion. "I've never tried to control plants that weren't actively growing in the ground or in a pot." And he's not going to right now, but he is going to file away a memo to experiment later, at home, and then forget to do that.

He raises his hand and smiles a hello to Isabella and Anne. "That's Anne," he says. "She's like Itzhak. Want to go say hi?"

Fashionably late, yes, but very specifically. Fifteen minutes after the scheduled time, Abitha is entering the doors to the Addington house, in a quite modest and demure looking outfit. She immediately has to figure out what to even do, as this was her first time even on the property. Green eyes, skillfully lined survey the offerings of the night, and heeled boots carry her towars wine. Booze first, of course, then people could be dealt with soon after.

Lilith probably wouldn't really be here if it weren't for male company in the form of Byron Thorne, but you wouldn't know it from looking at her. She's played glitz and elegant glamour to a tee in cocktail seasonal fashion, dark curled hair up with pins and sweeps and deliberate loose ringlet tumbles to keep it up off of her bare shoulders. Her cocktail dress is pale gold and strapless with a tiered flare skirt to the knees, black eyelash lace accented on the edges and embroidered on the tiers of the gown's skirt. She walks in her strappy black designer heels with glide and confidence, despite the pencil thin stems for balance, and she appears to be on best behavior to boot, keeping a dusting of pretty presentation smile on while her eyes sweep with curiosity.

Though past experience outside of Gray Harbor has seen her in posh settings enough over the past few years, she's never been to one of the Addington house affairs, so much. There's a lot to take in and see between the gathered company and the setting.

All the holiday cheer! Erin is dressed in an elegant cocktail dress with a scoop neckline. The material is soft and clings to her curves gently. Her heels are high, towering her usual 5'9" to a little over 6'. Small gold and seed pearl earrings shaped like Christmas trees dangle just below her lobes but otherwise there is no other jewelry worn. At home in Addington house, she's spent plenty of time here in the past, she pauses to admire the way it is decorated for the season with a quietly contemplative look.

Hyacinth is both family pariah and trend setter. Little has changed. She's wearing winter white with a leg that is beglittered in silver and while and flocking making the entirity of her look like some sort of human designer present. Next week they will still be talking about this on E! and Friendzone. (https://tinyurl.com/y6dv7255). If Margaret is till cross with her she can kiss her rhinestones. Her poise is polished like a surgical knife walking in thanking a couple of the VIPs local for attending. There are two drinks in her hand and she wades through the room putting #2 in Enzo's hand giving her brother a smile. "Paaaatrick, you did...excellent." Turning she finds Eleanor and gives her a finger wiggle wave still on cruise control to greet Isabella and Erin and pauses to assess the room.

"Have you met my cousin? Vicenzo?" Patrick helpfully snags the man by the elbow in passing, pulling him back over to where Mrs. Ericson is prattling on about whatever she's prattling on about. It has something to do with the way things were fifty years ago, blah blah blah, it's an eye-glazing story. So, while she's droning, he adds out of the side of his mouth, "She can't possibly hold us both here. Shall we - " But reinforcements!

Hyacinth and Atli fortunately break the old woman's spell, and Patrick leans across to cheek-kiss the former and correct, "I did surprisingly little, but thank you. Hello, Atli."

Mrs. Ericson fades off to wherever NPCs go when we're done with them. The restroom? It's not important.

"Sure," Eleanor quips to August and lets him lead her over to where Isabella and Anne are. The one who helped you make that map you gave me?" she asks him as they stroll, her arm linked through his and a smile on her lips, even if she's feeling a bit of the crush of so many people, many of whom Glimmer, being in one place. That paranoia at the back of her skull has her wondering if it's basically ringing a dinner bell for Them to have so many in one place at one time. She returns Hyacinth's wave with one of her own, before she starts blushing.

Byron is no stranger to dressing up for events such as this (or in general), so of course he shows up in a slate-hued tuxedo complete with waistcoat and a bow tie ensemble. He looks as put together as he tends to do with his hair slicked pack and that shiny Audmar Piguet gold watch at his wrist. He strikes a dashing figure. On his arm is the lovely, as always, Lilith Winslow. The pair wander on in, taking int he decor. It's then that Byron reaches for a couple of glasses of champagne on a passing tray, handing one off to Lilith in the process. He's surprised to see certain faces present, but not others.

To Lilith, he says with a smile, "Look who's here. Isabella." That's when he gives the room a suspicious once over, wondering if her other half showed up as well. Nevertheless, he steps out to meet with the group, "Bella, you look great." That's when his sights are set on Hyacinth too, in the distance.

Enzo had just managed to get his first drink when Hyacinth puts the second drink into his hand, "Thank you, sister." Then he starts to consume the first one when Patrick wheels him into this situation with the old woman and he plasters a brilliant (if fake) smile onto his face, looking faintly concerned by all of the activity suddenly surrounding him. He doesn't have to do anything with Mrs Ericson though as she seems to be drifting off to wherever old people go during parties like this. "Drink?" he holds the second one out to... someone.

"He said he needed to take care of something, but that he'll meet us here," Isabella supplies readily, planting an air-kiss on Anne's cheek. "The place is so picture perfect it sets my teeth on edge. I'm sorely tempted to...you know. Angle one of the centerpieces into something other than the perfect ninety degrees." Green-gold eyes glitter with barely suppressed mirth, though her attention gravitates to follow those blue eyes to regard Patrick being accosted. "Looks like a man that needs saving. Or additional weights strapped to his ankles, I think I'll need more wine in me to decide." She winks at her friend, before turning to Byron when he approaches. Her expression brightens visibly.

"So do you, Hot Shot," she teases. "Lil, gorgeous as always." She leans in, if she's allowed, to peck the air next to Lilith's cheek. "How are the two of you? Do you remember my friend, Anne Washburn?" She gestures to the brunette standing next to her.

"The very same," August says. He nods a greeting to Hyacinth, chases it with a wry smile of appreciation for her outfit. Well she never fails to deliver, that's for sure. He looks askance at Eleanor, noting the blush, but it takes him a second to catch on. He squeezes her arm as they go. "It's fine," he says under his breath. "You looked great."

Once they reach Isabella and Anne, August says, "Hey you two." Then specifically to Anne, he continues, "Anne, this is Eleanor Lake, owner of Espresso Yourself. Eleanor, this is Anne Washburn, City Hall Archivist." He nods a greeting to Byron and Lilith as they approach.

"I looked naked!" Eleanor whispers back at August, but she tries to compose herself. At least there are only two people in here who were on that trip. So far. Damned Veil Pollen. When they reach the others, Eleanor gives Anne a bright smile and offers a hand to shake. "Very nice to meet you Miss Washburn. I'm sure I've seen you in my shop a few times." Because hasn't she seen everyone in town there at some point? "Isabella, you look lovely. Byron, Lilith, how have you been?"

Continuing her wandering, Erin notices Hyacinth among other family members and she strides over with a smile, "Good evening," she murmurs to her softly, "You look lovely, as always." Careful not to scrunch any of the fabric of that dress, Erin's is a little more muted but also boasts the name of a fashion supergod. "Patrick, it's good to see you again." Enzo and Atli she recognizes more from family functions, but they are familiar at least. So many Addingtons in one place! Snagging a drink for herself, she sips before offering, "The decorations warm this place considerably."

"I'm sure no less than half a dozen employees would rush to correct whatever you angle out of place," Anne remarks with an amused grin to Isabella, a hint of a mischief glimmering there in the blue of her eyes. As for Patrick, she lifts a slim shoulder, watching for another moment or two before her attention returns to her friend. "He made a promise. We'll see if he follows through. He's a crafty fellow, I'm sure he can engineer his own escape." But there were people coming, and she beams a smile to August and Eleanor, before she blinks a few times at Byron. Does she look a little closely to make sure he's not made of wax? Only for a second. "Hello August, Byron. And nice to meet you, Eleanor. I go to the coffee shop all the time," she admits.

"Mhm, and there's Erin too, and August and his girlfriend..." Lilith nods her coiffed head a little to Byron as they cross to meet with Isabella and some of the other approaching parties, listening in to the introduction made by August after Isabella asks if she knows Anne. After returning the air kiss alongside the cheek with lean in for busking with the other brunette, she gives a vague, apologetic smile, "I'm afraid not. I'm Lilith, hello." When she gets a moment, she waves some to Erin, indicating the attire of the other woman with compliment from a distance.

Then she takes to drinking from her champagne Byron handed over, eyeing some of the others in attendance before Eleanor's inquiry catches her attention, "We've been busy bees in the relatively productive sense lately, which obviously needs to stop so we can decorate our own tree, mm?" She looks up with a fond smile for Byron before affirming, "But between shop tree, his apartment lobby trees, and work, as well as the little angel tree we took to a family, we probably underestimated how long tree trimming takes. Granted, there was hired help in the lobbies, but my dig in for Christmas spirit this year also dictated me pushing in."

Atli smiles at Enzo's predicament and gracefully takes the offered beverage. "Thank you Vincenzo!" At family functions Atli felt an overwhelming pressure to use individuals birth names rather than given. It was almost disrespectful to shorten them in certain company. She gives a tinkling laugh at Patrick's comment before offering Hyacinth a winning grin. The dress was a bit much, but the women always had been a bit ostentatious. "Good to see you Hyacinth, you look fashion forward, per usual!"

If no one else is going to take that second drink, Patrick happily snags it from Enzo and pours it into whatever it is he took from Mrs. Ericson. "It's going to be a long night," is his smiled excuse, followed quickly by a pleasant, "Hello, Erin. Always lovely to see you." The cheek-kiss is on offer there, too, aren't they just such a loving family. "Hyacinth helped sort out the decorations. But if anyone wants to compliment the bar? That was all my doing." He takes a drink of whatever the fuck he has just concocted in his glass. Annnnnnd regrets it, eyes watering while he coughs.

Byron, more or less, probably had to dive into the City Hall's archives at least once. Possibly more times. The actual Archives, not the weird one. So he's met with Anne at least in some point in the past. "It's been a while since we last spoke. It's wonderful to see you again, Miss Washburn." He's so formal, but then again, he doesn't know her all that well. Then the others join up where Byron just has to inquire, "Roen, Miss Lake." A pause, "Did you help with decor, Roen?" Any plant-type thing in the room, "Nevertheless, it's good to see you both." Byron is a frequent visitor of Espressor Yourself, so he knows Eleanor well enough.

There's this mock staring down at his watch when he murmurs, "After all that time spent decorating, that just leaves, oh... how many days to purchase and send out those presents." The watch hand is lowered, just as he takes a sip from his champagne glass.

Enzo pulls back the drink from Atli's grasp, looking at her with an expression full of faux outrage. "Vincenzo? I'm going to need you to-" wait, what? He turns and stares over at Patrick as the drink disappears and ends up poured into another glass. He sighs. "See, this is what happens when my full name is used. Bad, terrible. Cursed." He sips from his glass. "Anyway, lovely to see everyone in one place. Beautiful decorations, etc..."

Every new outfit Abitha's gaze falls on seems to make the girl more relieved. Knowing how to dress for this sort of thing had never been a strength she'd possessed, but apparently mom's advice had been just fine. Oh good, there's August again, her look seems to say. That'll be a conversation sometime. Luckily she has enough time to just continue to stand near the periphery and fortify herself with wine, which was actually pretty good. Everyone here seemed to know eachother already, which was fine. Meant she got to slowly wander and explore the decorations of the place, admire the architecture. Which was solidly boring. God, why did these people send her an invite? Wait, there's champagne, and she was definitely in.

"What, don't tell me the Addingtons managed to convince the house elves to make sure every piece of decor is properly in place. I didn't think we'd ended up in Harry Potter territory when I wasn't looking," Isabella returns with a laugh. With other people joining them, her enthusiasm for the season only heightens. "August, Eleanor, you both look smashing as always," she says with a grin, following that with a wave towards Erin when she sees her, albeit she seems surrounded by Addington relatives at the moment.

With the flow of the conversation and people shifting, her eyes lift to look at the end of the hall. "Is it time?" she asks her companions, reaching out to a passing waiter and relinquishes a ticket in favor of a short glass full of Scotch. Goosebumps start pebbling her skin at the brush of wintry air against her arm, and she attempts to quell an instinctive shiver.

August tracks Anne's reaction to Byron, hides a smile behind his hand. Well at least she gets to meet the real guy here, in the open, with other people to assure her he's himself and not a wax copy.

He arches an eyebrow at Lilith. "That's a lot of tree trimming," he says, sounding amused. "I settle for the one at the shop. Well, and," he looks at Eleanor, "yours. That's two trees, that's plenty." He notices Abitha, gives her a small nod of acknowledgment. Yes, what a conversation that should be.

Eleanor snags a couple champagne glasses off a passing server's tray and hands one to August, forking over a pair of drink tickets. She needs some liquid courage tonight. She takes a sip and chuckles. "I have to pull it down out of the attic. If it's not up before my parents arrive from Florida, there will be hell to pay." Her father was a longtime member of the Gray Harbor Fire Department, and her mother was a local seamstress before they retired and moved someplace warmer.

Hyacinth looks to her brother and arches both eyebrows as she takes a sip from her glass in that message of you'll need to second glass listening to her. She leans to Enzo getting him caught up pointing out the 'important names and faces'. He won't remember them but there's enough hints so he can hone in on what he needs to. Her smile warms to Atli, "Glad you could make it, when this has died down and you have time later to discuss the mock up for the downtown project. We have the drafts in. I don't like them. We're going to fix them and make them acceptabl-HIiiiii" Her smile breaks off to endure more elbow nudgings.

And then? The tree. There are things weirdly important to Hya. The carolers, bring an honest smile to her. Until someone looks. She leans to Eleanor, "It's pretty magical."

"I'm still not sure who approved - " Patrick, still a little hoarse after that awful drink, summarizes Hyacinth, Enzo, and Atli collectively with a circle of his finger in the air. " - any of your names. Your whole generation is just doing it wrong." Despite that it's gross, he's still going to drink this cocktail, suggesting the cluster of Addingtons head toward the Christmas tree with a tilt of his head thataway. Whether they follow or not, he's crowd-navigating his way over yonder. After he ducks his head into some side-hallway out of sight to check the thermostat; pretty magically chilly!

"It's all about appearances," Anne retorts back to Isabella with a wink and a giggle, taking a savoring gulp sip of her wine. "It has been awhile," she agrees with Byron, "And yet it only seems like it's been a couple of weeks since I saw you last." Oh, it's an inside joke, but it makes her laugh, hiding the grin behind another sip of wine. To Lilith, she flashes a pleasant smile. "It's nice to meet you, Lilith," she says genuinely, about to launch into further conversation when the choir starts to sing. She doesn't subdue the shiver from the sudden chill in the air. "I guess we should be going towards the tree," she tells the group, and makes sure to relinquish another cup of wine. But she doesn't lead the others to the foyer - she takes a few steps over to the stairs, drifting around the edges of the Addington family group. Mostly to tap Enzo on the shoulder, beaming a smile up at him. "Enzo! It's nice to see you."

Erin notices Lilith and she smiles, genuine warmth there, nothing forced. "You look beautiful," she says just loud enough for her to hear, and a wave to Isabella along with a wink, her expression trying to say she's glad to see her! Then her family is speaking to her so she turns back to face them, "Thank you," spoken to Hyacinth and she goes through the motions with Patrick too, all air kissy and proper. Nothing to see here except one big, happy, accepting family! "Oh the bar? Incredibly stocked," she tells him as he coughs from the drink. "I highly recommend it." Looking amused at the name play, she adds in her two-cents. "Good evening Enzo, I'm so glad you made it home for the holidays. You as well Atli. You look pretty."

"Yes, well. I'm making up for lost time, in a sense." Lilith tells August with a little flip of her hand after she smiles around to the intros and small talk, then leans into Byron's side with affection, "Next year, if we decide we're still smitten around this time, I think I'll have had my fill to last and suggest a getaway instead." Then, after drinking, she visibly hears the carolers pick up and she's quite still and attentive for a beat before an arm slips around to squeeze in brief at the date who brought her, silent sentiment, "Do you want to get a little closer?"

Alexander is late. Not fashionably late. Just late. At least he's dressed appropriately for the evening in charcoal and burgandy, although one of his cuffs is uncuffed, and he's hastily rebuttoning it as he slinks into the party. He's an official plus one on someone's (read: Isabella's) invite, so despite dubious looks, he does manage to get in. Ignore the fact that he's pale, probably did most of his dressing in a damn Uber, and takes his drink ticket and heads straaaight for that bar before even trying to find anyone else. Vodka, straight, yes please.

Accepting the champagne, August assures Eleanor, "We'll get it done." He nods a thank you to Isabella, saying, "So do you. Sorry Alexander couldn't make it." 'Though maybe that's for the best', he's thinking, because Alexander seldom does well in crowds. He guides Eleanor towards the tree. Noting the chill, he asks her, "You want my jacket?"

...but there's Alexander right now. August blinks, tries to catch his eye and nod a hello.

She is taking a sip of her whiskey when she spies a familiar figure slink to the door, the wattage of Isabella's expression turning up significant degrees when she finds Alexander walking through. "Alexander!" she calls, lifting a hand and clustered with a group of familiar faces: August, Eleanor, Lilith, Byron, Anne and Erin. She's got a scotch in hand, and she's even about to tease him when her expression dims at the fact that he looks pale.

"...excuse me," she murmurs to the rest, before she starts to proceed in that direction.

Eleanor gives Hyacinth a smile somewhere between happy to see her, and wanting to crawl under a rock forever. The other woman knows why. The carolers make her smile wistfully. This is a lovely annual tradition and, along with the parade, does a lot to wake up her holiday spirit. She shakes her head at August's offer and gives him a wink. "Not yet, this dress is too nice to not be seen by everyone in town." She does lean into him for some warmth though.

Abitha is cheeky enough to return the quiet nod, even briefly lift her glass in August's direction. In for a penny, in for a pound. Weirdness was just sure to follow her life from here on out. But it's Christmas in a smaller town, just a normal classy event. She was a business owner, and this was the stuff normal business owning adults do. Oh good, there's another of the ones she left for dead. Alexander gets a smirk and a raise of glass as well on his way to whatever bougie friends he likely knew at this party. She was hoping that meant Abby was alive too. Every thing about this place was totally normal... Right?

When he notices Abitha wandering around, Byron somewhat recognizes her in passing, "You were at Two if By Sea with James that one evening." That's all that he really knows about her, really. "The Addingtons have truly dressed this place up for the occasion. While I can imagine how much of a nightmare it would be for something this large scale, I think any creative mind would enjoy the challenges."

There's this curious look given Anne, however, when she talks about how it only seemed like a couple of weeks since she saw him last. He'll smile of course, even if he has /no/ idea what she's referring to, not having heard anything about the other group meeting up with Tour Guide before his own team's trek into the Void-- the Veil. It's when the choir starts to sing that he finally notices Alexander's presence. Figured, she'd drag him along to something like this. "Clayton." He says, all-a-grin, lifting his champagne glass up in the other man's direction before taking another drink from it. As they all seem be herded in one direction or other, he will follow suit. He makes no comment about the chill, but he will say of the magically ringing ornaments, "That's a pretty neat trick..."

Taking Patrick's lack of manners in stride, Atli simply humors the comment with another short laugh. She nods towards Hyacinth, appreciating the immediate inclusion, until her dark hair is turned the opposite direction. The tree was a sight to behold, more beautiful than memory served. Beginning to move as Patrick had directed, her vision is then funneled towards Erin as she is mentioned by name. "Lovely to see you Erin!" Atli gives an approving gaze at her attire. "You simply must take me with you to where you have been shopping lately!"

Not forgotten she gives a playful wink towards Enzo at her use of his name, the social equivalent for Atli of sticking out her tongue.

Alexander gets his drink, and drinks it in a couple of impolite swallows. Then has to raise his hand to hastily cough, because he does not usually indulge in raw spirits. He doesn't ignore the disdainful looks this provokes from some of the other guests, but they're not important to do more than cringe apologetically back from as he places the empty tumbler back on the bar, and turns towards the sound of familiar voices. Even as he is, his smile for Isabella is warm and relieved, and he meets her halfway, lifting his hands to place them on her shoulders. "Hey," he says, softly. Before his eyes move beyond her and pick out other familiar faces to nod at. "Sorry I'm late. I got...held up. A bit."

"Pourhouse." Abitha corrects, the correct information seemingly first priority to her, then social graces, "Abitha Machinae." She remembers to say quickly after, slightly embarrassed. "I own the Control Pad." She looks past Byron to Lilith briefly, remembering the bit of violence that had sent her on out the front door and cutting the conversation with their ginger friend short. But past is past. Nothing scary about that woman... At all.

"Hey." Isabella's voice is quiet and concerned, her hand reaching up once his own find her shoulders to cup the side of his face. "You look..." Not tired, but something else, and her worry is a palpable thing, emanating from her in waves. Her other hand joins the lifted one, to adjust his collar along the lapels of his sports jacket, and then along his arm to find the uncuffed sleeve and buttoning it carefully, before tucking her hand into his inner elbow. "You're just in time for the star lighting," she tells him. To Abitha, there's a smile in her direction. "Isabella," she introduces, since she's talking to Byron and it seems that names are being exchanged.

Standing there like a glammed up brunette doll, surely there's nothing scary about Lilith, she even smiles over at Abitha over her drink when she's addressed by Byron, vague recollection in her made up blue eyes. Most of her attention seems a bit snagged by the scene and the sound of actual caroling by choir, though, putting a bit of reflective, almost wistful expression to her fine features as she wanders by Byron's side.

Eventually, she snaps out of it enough to look at Alexander and wave a little with her drink glass, like she's proud of him bucking up to come with Isabella. Her arm slips back around from Byron's back to tuck and smooth a rogue curl of hair from updo, eyes taking a wander to the top star when they're a bit closer.

Eventually, Patrick will make his way over to Anne, or she's made her way over toward him; they can argue about how that went down later. His approach accompanies raised hands, the empty one held up as if in surrender, the one with the cocktail glass... well, still holding the cocktail glass. "I did try," is the entirety of his excuse. And then, with his eyes having passed across Alexander's briefly from afar, he's pointing to the tree to note, "Someone rescued the angel ornaments and put them on the tree. Did you see? I'm starting to think that might have been a bad decision." His shiver is more dramatic than it needs to be. It's not that cold, but it's definitely getting chillier.

August gives Eleanor an appreciative once over. "Yeah that's for sure," he says, super casual, and sips from his champagne. He watches Isabella go to Alexander, and when nothing explodes immediately, relaxes. Well, whatever his errand was, he made it and seems fine. He considers the tree and its ornaments. And also glances around for that murderous lamp. If he sees it, he's breaking it.

"I look alive," Alexander tells Isabella as he leans and gives her temple a kiss. "And appropriately dressed. That's a win." He takes her arm, and is led back to the small group of people he mostly knows, although Abitha is given a thoughtful once over. And then Patrick draws attention to the angels, and he goes, "...you didn't. Patrick, that's--" And then they come to life.

Alexander just sort of sighs.

Enzo leans forward as his sister quietly speaks to him, pointing out a few different people around the room. He does a fine job of smiling politely throughout all of the small talk and not looking utterly clueless about who everyone is. He's on his way to the tree when there's a tap from Anne on his shoulder and he turns to greet her, all bright, warm smiles. "Anne! Good to see you too. Seems like everyone is there, hm?" A similar smile is used for Erin and he nods, "Yes, wouldn't miss it for the world. Holidays with the family, so cheery." He eyeballs the tree and the ornaments that are now alive. It's fine.

Abitha smiles genuinely in Isabella's direction, glad at least someone was going to introduce themselves and she could feel less like some sort of leper. And then, quite as soon as that feeling settles on her that things could possibly be normal, all hell seems to be breaking loose. Welp, here goes her opportunity to be just like the classy folk, "What the fu-..."

Anne most assuredly did not make her way over to Patrick! She's totally standing over here with Enzo. In fact, she pretends like this is the very first time she's noticed Patrick in spite of oogling at him over her wine glass a few poses back. "Oh! I didn't even know you were here," she lies through her teeth, but the tight smile releases some of its tension when she notes the holly berry colored hanky in his pocket. It sets her at ease .. for exactly five seconds, until a fairy suddenly zooms overhead and sprinkles her with snowflakes. "Oh my," she gasps, eyes widening as she cranes her head to look up, immediately tucking her arm around Patrick's own. "I think your thinking is right. This is very bad."

"That's right! The Pourhouse." Byron says with a slow nod. That night really is all coming back to him. The violence and all. "I don't think there was any time for formal introductions," It was the Pourhouse, after all, "Byrone Thorne," Most of the town knows who he is, "And this is my girlfriend, Lilith Winslow." He notices that look in Lilith's face when she looks entranced by the whole thing-- the decor, the choir, everything. He did promise her that they'd go all out for the holidays. This may have been part of that deal.

To that cold air that fills the room, his arm around Lilith tightens, drawing her closer to him when he leans in and asks, "Do you need a jacket?"

And then things happen, leaving him standing there to blink as the ornaments zip around with a life of their own. Lilith might feel his body tense up against her, his hand tightening around that champagne glass. "You really went all out for this occasion, Patrick." He murmurs...

Eleanor watches the ornaments come to life and begin raining magic snow down on them with a frown. "So much for Silent Night," she mutters to August. "Maybe I will take that jacket, just to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions," she states, preparing to grab one of the little things when it zips by.

Hyacinth leans to Atil and there's a smile, maybe conspiracy and says, "This is Eleanor," Oh yes, Ellie you are not escaping here. "Eleanor is the owner of the Espresso Yourself. The coffee shoppe we like." As opposed to the one she wouldn't wipe her Jimmy Choos on the mat of. "That is August Roen who helped provide he majority sum of our greenery this year. VYv is going to be late. There was some wedding cake emergency. The things that man gives up so everything is done correctly is more than admirable. And that..." Her eyes squint withholding judgement, "That is Alexander Clayton." Her eyes flicker back to the tree and squint as the ornaments rocket off in sparks and light!

His lean has her returning the token with a press of her mouth against his cheek. "Well, yes, that's always a good thing but..." Isabella watches Alexander's profile with a furrowed brow, before Patrick mentions something about the ornaments. Watching the two men's exchange, her expression flattens visibly. "...is this related to the Macgyver elf?" she wonders, just before she ducks as an ornament zips past. She attempts to grab one at the wake of it.

"...and all I wanted was to drink today," she moans,

August watches the ornaments come to life. "Yeah," he says, slipping out of his jacket and offering it over to Eleanor. No sooner had he done this than an ornament zips by, and his hand darts out to grab it.

Patrick assures Alexander quickly, "No, Clayton. I didn't. I tried to suffocate them in a vacuum bag." He looks pointedly at Anne while he says that, then ducks as one of the little things goes zipping by his head, only to be snatched neatly from the air by August. He keeps waving the stupid things away from him, "Stop, go, quit," while trying not to spill his drink. It's not a good look.

Alexander makes an instinctive swipe at one of the ornaments that's more like a swat. And now it's snowing. Indoors. He gives Patrick a look. "Maybe they were in the vacuum bag for a very important reason, Addington. So that they wouldn't fly around and snow on people." Speaking of, he glances at Isabella, and shrugs off his jacket, offering it to her as she ninja-swipes one of them.

Abitha wasn't really trying to grab one of these things, who would? This was creepy, but when something is flying at your face, you flail, you snatch, you don't let it get to your makeup. That shit took time. And so, flinching, she manages to set hands on one of the things just as it flies at her. Slowly, she looks down into her hand, flabberghasted.

"This wasn't his fault, I was the one who said he shouldn't try to suffocate them," Anne wasn't exactly defending Patrick, but maybe it was an attempt to defuse the situation. After all, there are more important matters to attend to - like random flying fairies. "I thought you said you were keeping them locked in your office?" she makes brows at Patrick before another cherub flies overhead, and Anne decides she should try and catch it in spite of having one hand full of wine. She practically trips over herself, and the wine goes sailing, the glass shattering on the floor. Someone's shoes are probably gonna get fucked. But hey, that little fairy thing kisses her on the nose, and she manages to snag another in the process. "I got one!" she yells triumphantly to Patrick, and then looks appropriately ashamed at having dropped her glass in the process.

Erin switches off her glass for the champagne. Experience has her knowing it's expensive. Nothing but the best for the Addingtons. When she might have responded to Atli and those addressing her, the cherubs alight from the tree. "Hyacinth," she says hesitantly. "What did you do to the decorations?" The words are spoken in a soft tone, sort of. Then one zips by her and she reaches out her hands to try and capture one of them so she can examine it! Enquiring minds want to know! She misses and gets a kiss and almost sneezes at the burst, but manages to not. Another zings by and she manages to get it. "How creative!" Not that she imagines this was by design..

Ellie takes August's jacket and slides it on, her hand snapping out through the sleeve just in time to barely catch one of the ornaments as it soars past. In her hand it becomes a simple porcelain ornament. "I hope these things aren't going to explode," she murmurs. Because this is Gray Harbor.

Her hands curl tightly into the ornament she's grabbed, frowning at it when she's got it in her hand. Alexander's offered jacket has Isabella turning around to present her back so he can drape it over her shoulders, because at the moment she's got her fingers full. It stops moving though, and she shows it to her companions. "...I didn't expect this to just stop once you grabbed them," she admits.

Hyacinth reaches out and it's really not a sport for a woman who is not a physically enabled sort. She has people for that! Does she spill her drink? Well she would have were there anything left in it. She's swatting at it like a cat with a canary until it comes to hover up in her face. Slooooowly she looks to the side. Nope. Not looking at it. Her drink is set down keeping it in her peripheral vision. Nope! totally not looking at you, bulb! And with some alacrity her hand comes up to catch it with a "Ha!"

"Yes, I know. I am the one that put them in the vacuum bag, and apparently someone thought - " The rest of Patrick's story gets clipped when another cherub buzzes him and Anne Washburn comes to his defense? He gawks openly. Gets kissed on the nose abruptly. And manages to compose himself promptly thereafter. Yes, he used his Christmas angel so as to maintain his cool, don't judge him.

Lilith is highly and visibly conflicted when the magical snow dustings start coming from the zipping and now living ornaments. She's somewhere between girlish, unwitting glee and some very keen wariness given past experiences, so the look on her face is almost a weird consternation of wide-eyed wonder. With Byron's arm snagged around her, she turns her face briefly with head duck when one zooms by, then she looks at the other people nabbing them with a few bats of her lashes.

Then she looks up at Byron, then back at the scene and all around like she's waiting for someone with one of those ornaments to... well, explode, as noted by Eleanor. But after a moment, when it doesn't seem to happen, she murmurs aside, "... I kind of want one, but remembering how I used to do this with fireflies because they were pretty and then they'd die... makes me feel like maybe it's rude. Like touching a butterfly. Am I just being soft? Or is this PTSD from touching things I shouldn't touch?"

Alexander drapes the jacket over Isabella's shoulders. "They're ceramic, Miss Washburn. I don't think they're gonna--" and then he gets smooched on the nose, and blinks. "Again?" But the thing is damned adorable, and he remembers what happened last time. He reaches out to grab a little zippy angel, and this time it's an easy grab. He draws it close and looks down at it. Is he actually smiling, despite all his grousing about not setting loose the magical angels on the unsuspecting populace? Yes. Yes he is. The thing is freaking adorable.

Enzo attempts to capture one of these creatures! But he misses it. Then it misses him. Then he misses it again, then it kisses his nose. "Ugh, no. I didn't want that." He brushes away at the air in front of his face with obvious annoyance. "I haven't had enough to drink yet for this."

"They don't look very ceramic up there!" Anne replies to Alexander, though the one she's 'caught' looks very ceramic in her hands. She blinks a few times, pockets the cherub, and makes her way back over to Patrick while he's gawking. Here, she's helpful - she sticks two fingers under his chin to close his mouth back up. "You look like a fish, dear," she beams at him, and there might be more to that but the floor suddenly turns into a puddle. "Oh god."

Atli nods politely towards each person Hyacinth introduces before her full attention is drawn to the spectacle at hand. She spins happily beneath the glittering snow, attempting to pluck an ornament from the air and missing. It promptly hits her pristine hair and she giggles, retwirling a curl with her fingers good naturedly. "How clever!" she states, probably too kind a remark for someone who had just taken a snowball to the head. The overall holiday magnificence was not lost on her though. Noticing Hyacinth's ruined drink and her own lack of one she leans in towards her "I need a glass of champagne! Care for one?"

"Is this one of those things where I'm just supposed to assume this is par the course for you people?" Her foot then splashes and she looks down, eyes going saucer wide. She quickly looks around the area, wondering, maybe even fearful, but... Well, where was there to flee? She just left everyone last time... Water was rising, and that meant it was probably time for high ground. She eyes the tree... Was it climbable?

When Christmas ornaments are flying around the place, Byron remains perfectly still, even if every muscle in his body tightens as if prepared to jump into action. That doesn't stop him from taking a distracted sip from his chilled wine glass as he monitors the area, watching as others are assaulted by kissing cherubs. In turn, this makes him set his now empty glass o a passing tray, the waitstaff being stunned or confused by what's going on. When he notices that a few people have caught those things, his eyes narrow to see exactly what they had caught.

Now Lilith tells him that she wants one of those things, words enough to make him release a heavy sigh in the cold room. "I mean, if you want one..." He'll ask, but it looks like the ornaments have either been obtained or melted away, so there's very little that he can do about it now. "We'll pick up more ornaments if you'd like."

Then the realization that the room was suddenly being flooded hits him and he tries to step away from the rising water, but there's not really anywhere that one can go. Turning to Lilith, having not heard where she wanted his jacket or not, but right now, he's shrugging himself out of it to drape on her, before he leans forward to help lift up to hire ground. On a chair or table or something. A sharp look is given the others in the room. A flooding room is quite panic inducing. "Let's get out of the water." He starts, before his eyes lift to view the area to see if there's any way to stop the water from coming in.

August catches one as well, peers down at the ceramic ornament in his hand. He makes a low sound of agreement with Eleanor. Then blinks as one turns into water. "What the hell," he says. ...and now, they're stuck in a bubble filling with water. "Shit." He looks to Lilith, to see if she's in here with him, raises his eyebrows. They might need to break something.

There is a MEEP from Eleanor as the room begins to fill with water. She looks at the snow, at the tree, and the ornament in her hand, then at August. "Tell me we're not inside a goddamned snowglobe?" The bottom of her dress is soaked, and the water is still rising. Wait, she knows someone who, "Hyacinth! Can you do that thing you do, make it a glimmer free room!?" she calls to the other woman.

Alexander absently stows the cherub in the interior pocket of his jacket, and looks down. These are new shoes, too. And new clothes. There's another of those sighs, before he shakes his head at Abitha. "It's actually something new and exciting every day. Death by snow globe is actually a new one," he mutters. He also starts to look around for higher ground to guide Isabella towards. "Don't try to break it right off the bat," he says to Eleanor and August. "It might fight back. There might be a...trick to it, or a key?" He's feeling cautious for some reason.

"My shoes!" Erin doesn't want these heels wet, it would completely ruin the tops of them. "No.. no.. no.." That's the reaction when she realizes the water was rising. Someone was shouting that they couldn't get out, she looks over there and her eyes widen. "Stay calm, we will figure this out," she announces to anyone. Everyone. Then she looks expectantly at Patrick then Hyacinth, like.. Figure this out! "Can we dissipate the water?" This question asked of August and Lilith who are somewhat nearby, a look to Isabella. These are her friends that usually help figure these things out!

Lilith doesn't start cussing, but she snaps out of it when she feels both Byron's jacket being wrapped around her and the water suddenly filling the space. After a clear of her throat, she steps up onto the rare piece of furniture with helping lift and his quick thinking. Then she's gesturing with hand for Byron to do the same if he can manage it. After a moment of looking and thinking, she looks over at August, then at Erin before shaking her head quickly, "Not without flash boiling it and honestly, we're standing in it, so maybe... no, not that way. But..."

After a moment, she stops looking around and at the water on the floor and starts looking around at the proximity boundaries, then upward with a pensive, clockwork thought absorbing her eyes while trying to tactic. Then her eyes wander to the star to study it with a tilt of her head in consideration.

August gives Alexander a tired look. He scans the Christmas tree, looking for a likely suspect--the star, an ornament--then the room proper. A snow globe maybe?

"We need to get out of the water like Byron says, the hypothermia will kill us before we even drown," Isabella says, her heart in her throat but her expression grim. She plants her heel on a chair, and uses that to try and get to the bar with every effort expended to keep her clothes out of the wetness for as long as possible. Erin's idea gets a nod. "Dissipating if it can be done would be the better option, if we break the glass, I don't know how controlled the shattering's going to be, we might end up getting shredded if the entire thing explodes."

Well, to them hell with the rest of people standing around, Abitha isn't trying to drown. Also, it was cold! She wades in toward the tree, doing her best to get inside the outward layer of decorations just like Mom's cats used to. The inside of pine trees were actually pretty easy to climb once you got past the needles, she thought. Counting on her diminuitive size, she tries to climb the tree.

Alexander starts guiding Isabella and anyone else who seems inclined to the stairs, although he makes a grumpy sound when she starts towards the bar instead, and starts wading after her. "Let's try to stay as dry as we can while we try to figure it out? We might need to see if we can determine a weak spot, or..." he's half muttering this to himself, his hands gesturing a bit wildly as he moves.

Eleanor follows August's gaze to the top of the tree and the unlit star. "Do you think?" she asks him, then turns towards Patrick and the other Addingtons. "How do you light the star!? Light it!"

"Fuck your shoes, Erin, look at the house!" Patrick keeps picking up things and putting them in higher places. This thing goes way up here, this thing on top of this other thing, his cocktail stays at the length of his arm. Here, he pulls this chair over for Anne to stand on, even. "Wait, who's breaking the glass?" He heard Isabella's words, but can't locate the source, and is already trying to cover his head (and his cocktail) from, "Shards of glass everywhere. I don't know, plug it in?" That last for Eleanor. There's a cord over there somewhere. In the water.

That's right, Enzo will absolutely drink faster. Thanks. He chugs back the rest of his drink and goes for another and then... is this room filling with water? Are his pants wet? Are his pants getting more wet in a totally not-fun way. "I want to go back upstairs." He mutters and starts heading for higher ground, not entirely sure what's going on here. "I never got to light the star, so I'm not sure how to turn it on," he announces with a frown.

Hyacinth pauses and with her good foot (not the best one) beint 'wet' She blinks and hears Ellie and looks up and around. "Yes, Atil. Yes I would like that drink. " Cleaning her throat she sets her glass down and holds her fingers up in teh air, "Everyone, if I can have your attention please? We're going to try to clear up this mess but as there may be glass overhead and I don't want any holes in suits and taffeta can you kindly find some cover and look down closing your eyes." And with that she tries to push her will out over the room to make it stop. Here's to hoping.

"This is like Under the Dome by Stephen King. It didn't end well." Erin follows after Isabella instead of going towards the stairs which she expects to be packed soon enough. "Oh Patrick, calm down. I'm over the shoes anyway." To prove it, she kicks them off. "That was before I realized the water was rising. Try and keep up. And get to high ground while you can." Because such cousinly love and all. "Do not plug it in, there's likely water in there and you'll be electrocuted." All calm and shit. Damn her Addington composure. She works on climbing on the bar with the others,, reaching to help Isabella.

"There's got to be some way to get out of here, don't snowglobes usually have a plug at the bottom of them?" Anne was doing her level best not to panic, but there was definitely signs of it about to happen. At least Patrick brings over the chair that she scrambles onto to get out of the water, although it won't keep her dry for very long. She doesn't swoon and 'my hero!' him, but there's definitely a look. No smiles though, now was not the time for smiles! "Maybe if we focused on one single point, we could break it without cracking the whole thing."

Eleanor squints hard at the floor where the cable from the tree is sunk under the water. She grips August's forearm for stability and her Glimmer rises, a hand is held out, beckoning the plug to rise up to her hand. She dries it off on his jacket (SORRY AUGUST) and then her hand sends it flying towards a plug above the waterline to plug in the star.

"Have some of the healers keeping an outer ring of glass healed, while the rest of us try to break through the inner area, so that the whole thing doesn't shatter." Alexander sketches out a large 'outer' circle on the glass, and then a smaller 'inner' circle, which he then pretends to smash. "Or, um, plug it in." He frowns at Isabella. "Get up out of the water before anyone introduces electricity to it. Please." He'll offer to help her onto the bar if she will go in that direction.

While he's trying to find a safe place to deposit Lilith, so she's not standing in the rising pool of frigid water, Byron follows the path that Isabella and Alexander are taking, not liking the idea of forcing her to climb that tree in her dress! It seems that some of their attention is now focused on the star atop said tree though. But the idea of plugging that baby in after it's been sitting beneath all of this water does draw some concerns. At the bar, he works to lift Lilith up to some sort of safety just in case sparks fly.

She reaches the bar, and hikes herself up on it with Alexander's help, and reaches down with both hands to grab Alexander's and help him up, if he permits. And the first thing Isabella does when she gets there is...

...snag that bottle of Glenlivet that she has had her eye on for the entire evening, because if she's going to die, she's going to die well-dressed and well sauced. "What?" she wonders, whenever she gets the look, uncorking it and taking a swig. "It's a party." And because she's a conscientious citizen, she stuffs a few twenties into one of the bottles to pay for it. Green-gold eyes wander towards the rest as she starts using the length of the bar to get close to the stairs, in case this all goes south.

August looks at Anne a second, then says to Lilith and Erin, "Maybe Lilith can break it and Erin and I can guide the cracks by fixing them in a certain direction?"

He points at Alexander. "What he said."

"Yes! Do that," Anne points thumbs at August before she reaches to grab Patrick's arm to try and tug him up here on the chair. "Come on, get out of the water. This isn't a Jack and Rose situation, we can both fit."

Atli gives a small from trying to decide the best course of action as she does her best to move towards the champagne, grabbing two glasses. Walking back she leans in toward Hyacinth again, handing her a fresh pour. Hearing August's suggestion Atli spins in delight. "Perhaps we could heat and cool a small portion to drain it while some people work on stopping further degradation?" she says hopefully. "I can heat things, the ornaments cool, and I am certain we have several who can repair!"

Alexander goes up on the bar with Isabella. He reaches for a bottle of vodka, since he's there, and takes a pull from it. Yes, straight from the bottle. After the inevitable coughing fit, he says, "Okay. That seemed to at least stop it, and--" and now he can't use his abilities. He immediately starts to breathe harder - not quite hyperventilating, but not far from it. More drinking ensues.

Look, no one ever said the size of the drink on the drink ticket.

Hyacinth stands there, her hands aloft like a music conductor. She sighs, satisfied. "There we go. NOW... if anyone has a diamond ring? Maybe we can cut a hole for a door." Looking at Byron her eyebrow goes up expectantly and slooshes that way. "Lilith please tell me he's packing a pinky ring."

"Not everything we break has to shatter, it can be controlled stress fractures as long as we can pinpoint and control at... you know, physics, it's hard to explain how I see things when I'm breaking them. It's more controlled than manual, though, when we're not in tantrums, but..." Lilith balances there on her heels when Byron's lift gets her onto the bar space, then pulls in a breath while looking aside to Erin and August with the suggestion. She does, however stop and try to look at the floor for a moment because something about what Anne said has her looking at the water and things on the floor suddenly. Except she can't cheat, suddenly, to try and look at the floor and objects structurally in that 'thing' way to see if there is, in fact, a bottom plug, "... plan glitch. Whatever just made the water stop rising, made..."

Her hand squeezes on Byron and she pales some as she tries to explain, but can't, really. She may not have to, it feels weird. She does have a diamond pendant, on, though, an antique number she borrowed from the shop, and she touches at it, "I... have a diamond pendant."

August feels that nullification settle over them, shudders. He's been Glimmering since he was young, it's disorienting for it to be...gone. He helps Eleanor up out of the water onto the bar, leans over to Alexander. "It's okay. It'll come back." He waits to make sure Alexander is listening to him.

Another null room.

The blankness of it draws a shiver down her spine, Isabella's hand reaching out to tug on his nearest cuff. "Alexander, it's a void," she tells him quietly, because she's felt this before, and very recently. There's some relief, though, when she realizes that the water has stopped rising, and now her date is drinking. Her hand reaches up to press flat on his back, rubbing in an effort to calm him down.

To Lilith's remarks, she pauses, and looks at the glass. "Would it be enough to cut through?" she wonders. "The glass looks pretty thick..."

Enzo looks incredibly uncomfortable, from the wet clothes to the not being able to Glimmer, all of it. It's all not a great situation that he really doesn't have any solutions for at the moment. So instead, he finds a tall bar chair and climbs on top of it, finding some dry ground. Not a lot considering his expensive shoes are still in the water but at least his whole body isn't in it.

Abitha roots around in the tree, probably at least partially obscured in glitz, lights, and tinsel... It was probably pretty comical looking... Quickly cursing everytime a tiny needle stabs her, muttering as she follows her own trains of thought, Abitha slowly begins figuring out where the cord leading to the Star was... Then the null feeling hit and something Abitha didn't even know was there was suddenly just gone. She felt cold and empty, the water not spexifixally hdlping, but... Her mind was on a task and she frankly didn't have time for that crap. After a couple more moments, she's pretty sure she was tugging on the right ones. She sticks her head out. Again. "Ok, got the cord, still under water?" She asks.

Once the room is nullified, Byron gets that familiar oppressive feeling that he'd experienced not too long ago. Pulling himself up out of that water, to join the others atop the par, the first inkling that something was wrong gets him to test things out, reaching out in an attempt to reach the emotions of those in the room. Nothing.

"She's right. The room is nullified, just like," He's about to go into further detail regarding that, but that's not really anyone else's business right now. It's cold, they've all been standing in that water for far too long. Besides the 10K dollar watch, Byron doesn't wear any other piece of jewelry, so he'd be no help there. His eyes on Lilith's pendant, he frowns, when he tries to study the glass from where he safe vantage point. "Is it really just glass?" Why couldn't it be ice... but then in this void, no one could melt it. 🙁 "What do we have that we can throw at it?"

"Yes. Yes, I know," Alexander tells both August and Isabella, while he gulps down another big breath. "I know. It's fine. This is fine." He eyes the vodka bottle, and reluctantly puts it aside. "Diamonds can scratch glass, but it'd take forever to try to cut through glass using one," he points out. "Unless it was a diamond saw." Another deep breath. "Okay. Um. Shit. All my plans involve abilities." A pause. "It's still better than being covered in cobras," he mutters to himself. Then, louder, "Patrick - do you recall any decorations that were brought down for this that might have triggered this? Snow globe? Snow scene? Giant death box saying 'don't open me or I will drown your cocktail party'?"

Having climbed onto the tiny chair, Patrick looks sadly across the room at all the floating relics. "Oh, yes. The box labeled 'this is how you all die,' I opened that one just this mor--" Is when he falls off the tiny chair, landing backward in the water. There's a healthy sploosh - some splashes at Enzo's awesome but probably ruined shoes - but he'll be fine.

"Throw at it? With enough force to break it?" Isabella pauses, before she eyes Alexander about the cobras comment. It sounds like a story. "We could try using the fire extinguisher." She points at it where it rests on the far wall. "Unless there's a place to stash tools in the foyer that we can grab and use? A hammer would be handy right about now."

Hyacinth relaxes her fists in the air looking at everyone taking the numbers of the gathered into account. "If my leg rusts on me I'm so done with parties til New Years." With a deep breath she says "If we cut a hole and tap the hole with the extinguisher we should, in theory be able to break it. The problem is the water will rush out and try to pull us through the hole and that will be really sharp. So we need to screen or bar ourselves in and then... plan B."

"That's what you get for joking about our imminent deaths," Enzo informs Patrick with a somber expression as he sips from his drink, standing atop the chair in his ruined, awesome and expensive shoes. He looks at him and asks, "Are you drowning?"

It felt like when Gohl's funeral ended and the veil shrank.. times a thousand. For a moment, Erin thought she couldn't breathe. Her glimmer had been such a part of her for so long that the absence of her abilities panicked her! She sucks in several breaths before she realizes she really could easily breathe. Uncomfortable though, she puts a hand to splay over her chest and the other into a fist as she coughs into it, trying to cope with the loss. The wet clothing and the cold she doesn't even seem to notice yet. But the sight of Abitha in the tree has her arching a brow. "We have a new Angel topper for the tree." All of this from her seated position on the bar. Close to the champagne.

"Isn't there a collection of snowglobes on the mantle?" Anne dangles on the edge of the chair as she helps Patrick up onto the tiny thing, looking around with an extended finger. "Over there!" There's a mantle over there. There's a bunch of Christmas knick-knacks. Maybe one of them is a snowglobe. Actually, many are probably snowglobes. She has no time to look though, because Patrick falls backwards into the water and makes a real splash! "Patrick!" she flails on the chair and jumps off the chair and into the water, splashing MORE onto Enzo's already ruined shoes. But she's here to save the day. Or pull Patrick out of the water by his shirt so that he doesn't drown.

Alexander does not burst out laughing when Patrick topples into the cold water, but it's a near thing. He just says, "That's not very helpful, Patrick." He glances to Hyacinth, and nods. "That makes sense, and it shouldn't be too hard to keep people out of the water. If everyone moves to the stairs?" When Anne points out the collection of maybe snowglobes, he jumps down off the bar into the water. "I'll check and see if any of them look particularly sinister." He starts wading in that direction.

Usually Lilith is very into breaking things as a solution, and she was so distracted by that as an idea, when the option is taken from her suddenly, she has to stand and think while standing there listening to everyone. After tilting her head, she looks at the tree, notices the sounds of sloshing, talking, and... no caroling, "The carolers. We can't hear them anymore and it was lighting the tree before, I thought..." After wetting her lips, she looks aside at Erin, August, and then Byron and Isabella all nearby like 'help'. Then, out of the blue, she starts a Christmas song and gestures for the others to follow suit with her hands. It's O Holy Night. It's kind of pretty. And weird to do. But maybe she noticed the silence was coincided with the water.

"Be careful," Isabella tells Alexander, though she doesn't follow. There's a pause when Lilith mentions that she doesn't hear the carolers anymore and when she starts singing, her expression is indescribable.

But when she thinks about it, she glances at the bubble surrounding them. "Vibration, maybe? From sound? If we generate enough, maybe the bubble can just shatter outward."

Patrick gets his feet under him pretty well on his own, but thanks, Anne. He surfaces, shivering unhappily, just in time to hear people talking about snowglobes on the mantle, and is flailing in that general direction, which means Anne's reward for being a hero is getting splashed a whole bunch. "Don't just go around touching things. How many times do I have to..." ...trail off mumbling about not touching things, Jesus.

"Oh holy night, the star is finally brightly shining so let us out." Ad-libbing maybe just a little. "Cut a hole in the glass, so we can get out of here." Erin at least has the tune. She may not know the exact words. but it doesn't stop her singing. She's not a singer.

August listens to the other ideas about how to break the glass, but his eyes remain on Lilith. She starts singing, and he tilts his head, shrugs, joins her. His voice is a deep counterpoint to hers, and untrained, but decent enough.

"Hey, folks." Abitha grins a little nervously from her tenuous perch out of the water but inside a big damn tree, "Weird question. Water stopped rising and it got all spooky feeling, right? Did I get that timing right?" She hoped she did. She really didn't know what was going on, but the puzzle-platformer in her was trying to solve problems.

"I'm not touching your things," Alexander snaps back at the flailing Patrick. "I am looking at them." And will probably smash one if it's got, like, tiny versions of them inside of it. Maybe. But that's a problem for future Alexander. And future Patrick - these things probably cost a fortune. He turns back at the singing idea, then shrugs, and joins in. Can't hurt?

Eleanor falls into line with the singing and joins in, muttering "I am so not able to hit the high note" to August as she does.

Byron is right about to take that pendant from Lilith and hop back into the water just to see he can carve out anything through that thick glass. He shoots a trailing look behind Alexander when the guy wants to actually sort through the globes. "Hopefully, with the room nullified, if something crazy comes out of shattering one of them at least.." Then he quiets. Lilith has a suggestion. In the madness of this Addington party, the carolers were gone. "I'd just assumed that they were on the other side of that." He gestures to whatever it is that's blocking things.

Then she starts to sing, which he's totally not prepared for. Breathing in a deep breath, he'll lend his voice to the task. May as well try.

Oh god, she is not a singer. But it's caroling and she loves Christmas, so Isabella joins in. She's terrible, and she sings at the top of her lungs. But if anyone asks, she'll blame it on the booze.

"You're splashing me!" Anne rabble-rabbles to Patrick, scooping her hand into the water to slap some of it back at Patrick. But she's shivering from having thrown herself into the water to SAVE HIS LIFE. Her teeth are chattering and her lips are turning blue, but people around her are.. spontaneously caroling? And Anne is no singer but she's going to go ahead and join in, while enveloping herself in a hug to try and stop the shivers. It doesn't help.

Singing sounds like a great idea, "Holy night, let us out, before Patrick gets pissed about people touching his stuff~" Enzo sings from the bar. He's probably not a good singer. But he TRIES. It's the thought that counts.

Wow. So a couple of the angels that were actually dead and drowning underneath the water manage to come to life, and like three of them kiss Atli on the nose - mwah, mwah, MWAH. She needs all the help she can get.

Lilith tries to get the guts to rise her voice to make an example for the others that are occupied with the whole screwery of the situation and stand tall, but it's funny what people are afraid of. It's not so much that her voice is bad, she just doesn't quite know all the words once she gets started because she's never been caroling before and she only knows bits and pieces from Mariah Carey. She starts to downright stutter with the nerves of it instead of leading a stellar example in a fantastic Christmas moment.

But! Others catch on and that's good, and they're starting to get results, maybe. Besides, once those little angels come to life and one of them has a smack at her nose, she suddenly knows the words and feels a little better about it while standing there on the bar.

Why is Erin not a big time singer? When she starts singing and the ornament kisses her, she belts out the tune like she's some Mariah Carey or something, making a Christmas album. The high notes are high, they linger, it's beautiful! Brings a tear to some eyes. Well maybe no tears, but she sounds incredible.

Abitha was going to feel damn silly if her idea meant she'd end up halfway up a tree holding the power chord to the star, but who the hell cares if she survives. She also tries to lift her voice which, stressed and usually flat, was just as bad as she remembers... Until the ornament she still had clutched in her hand comes to life and kisses her on the nose. Suddenly she was matching the tune, and had no idea how.

She would continue horrifying eardrums everywhere if it wasn't for an angel that is roused from its watery grave to fix this because oh god. And now, Isabella is singing like an angel.

It's weird. The expression on her face reflects it. But with scotch in her system and the fact that nothing will ever get her to hate Christmas even in the face of watery death, she leans hard into it, and goes full ham. She pretends the Scotch bottle is a mic and she sings her heart out on top of the bar. Because this is probably the only time she will ever sound decent doing this and she is taking shameless advantage.

There was a reason Atli primarily played the piano for years, her voice was a shortcoming. Suddenly thanks to the help of several guardian angels (That would be what she would call them later). She is able to help carry out the instructed plan, albeit while standing in water, because that was just life for the moment.

This is one of the weirder Christmas parties that Enzo has had the opportunity to attend in the last decade or so, but between drinking and joining in with the singing, it's actually not so bad. Sure they all almost drowned and might still die, but it's one hell of a party. Enzo dramatically flings his arms out to sing louder because, no really, he'd actually like to live to see tomorrow. He has an Amazon book to publish.

Patrick looks down at the still waist-deep water, more mouthing the words than really committing to singing them. "Fall on your knees," and he shakes his head, definitely not going to do that. Also, he puts a hand on the mantle and starts sliiiiiiding the snow-globes there way from Alexander, the other hand attempting to beckon Anne, Enzo, Hyacinth, a few other people he doesn't hate-to-death this way. From the side of his mouth, he sings a shivery, "This fire is going to be on when this is over, I firmly believe it."

Eleanor is a parishoner at St. Mary's! She knows the words, and she's clearly been holding out at karaoke nights by not getting up to sing, because her voice is pretty good.

Byron's not going to judge anyone for singing terribly. There was no rehearsal, no practice. Though most everyone should kinda-sorta know this song. He's standing on top of a bar counter, but he straightens his posture as that helps with the air flow when vocalizing. All the while, he gives the room a cautious look, watching as the tree lights once more. In truth, with how beautiful the melody is becoming thanks to those cherubs, probably, but also because maybe everyone was getting into the spirit, Byron relaxes somewhat, feeling the spirit of carol.

Hyacinth weirdly doesn't like to admit that she sings. At all. And OH don't ask her if she sings along with Ke$ha at full volume or her NIkki Minaj collection, but carols? Actually she can do. There's a sloshing and she slosh-scoots closer to her brother in the process trusting him to either get her to safety, or use her as leverage to climb to his own if all hell breaks loose. Both are acceptable really. Win for the home team is a win. Hey, imperious little mean girl growing up or not she liked the christmasy part of the singing. That and the lights were the things she bothered to pay attention to. That everyone's not ''good'/ draws a grin bemused. It sort of makes it better and more genuine.

Alexander was in a culty Church. He knows all the obscure hymns and Christmas carols, and where he forgets the words, or his teeth start to chatter because he's standing in four feet of freezing cold water, he just hums enthusiastically. And good news for Patrick: when the tree starts lighting up, he stops looking for snow globes to smash.

Anne pulls herself through the water over to the fireplace. "I hope you're right about that," she mumbles to Patrick, but it's okay. She'll just be over here hugging herself as tight as possible while she sings her little heart out. Fall on your kneeeeeees, oh pleeeaseeee put on the fireeee.

August...mostly knows the words. It's hard to not know them, even if you're a secular guy whose family isn't Christian. Life in America! (So he knows Jingle Bells better, so what. It's not his fault this tree is particular.)

Lilith stands as tall as she walked in on that bar, looking a little proud and all Christmas spirited with the pale cast that came when the room was nullified all gone. With her newfound confidence in voice and lyrics, she carries on and slips a hand over into Byron's, much less shy now that everyone's chipped in and she had that little encouraging kiss from an angel-cherub that burst into snow. There's a subtle shiver under the wrap of his coat, but maybe it's not just due to cold, this almost feels genuine.

Granted, not wanting to drown in a winter snowglobe can be inspiring here and there...

Isabella sings because now that she's started, she can't stop. And if she's able, she'll move over to where the counter is closest to Alexander and gestures for him to get out of the water because it's cold and there's no use standing in it if they managed to find a solution to this very peculiar problem.

Alexander edges over and takes a quick break in the music to climb back up on the bar, tucking himself in beside Isabella. Then he starts to sing again; he's actually got a nice, strong voice when he bothers to use it, and he gets out just in time for the water to sucked away under his feet. So, the bubble disperses, and a bunch of them are sitting on the bar. Singing. He looks around, and laughs, softly.

Erin is meanwhile seated on the bar with a glass of champagne, soaking wet, her shoes floating nearby from walking in the water. She's singing but drinking between, "I knew we should have went caroling.." she mutters before singing again. "Oh night divine.. oh night that Christ was born. Oh nighttttt, diviiiine.." She's shivering and has chattery teeth, so she drinks more champagne for the alcohol to warm her.

Anne yelps at the sudden POP! of sparks, but before she has a moment to brace herself, all the water goes rushing out. Yes, she does have a cherub, but maybe it's pissed at her because it doesn't do anything, and her feet just get caught up under her and she drops into the water. She's dragged a few feet before the water runs out completely, and she's left a soaking pile of red dress and ruined curls, coughing up a mouthful of snowglobe water. That's probably not very sanitary.

Eleanor finishes out the song and the crisis ends as abruptly as it started. She's still clinging to August by his lapels on top of the bar and, because this is all just that crazy stupid, she leans in to kiss him, because they have made it through yet another Gray Harbor weirdness scenario.

Enzo wanders over by Patrick in the midst of all of the singing, which he kind of enjoyed, it's true. It's on his way over that the water rushes out of the room and he slips in it, falling onto his ass and getting more of his expensive clothes ruined. "The dry cleaning on this is going to be very expensive."

The way it should be.

Isabella removes the jacket that she had borrowed from Alexander and drapes it over his shoulders - at this stage of the game, he needs it more than she does. With that, she shifts so she could sit down next to him, legs swinging on the edge of the bar counter and watches....

...as a few people are swept away by the current and the sprinklers turn on.

There's always a point where a specific circumstance hits that threshold of ridiculousness and there's nothing for it, really, but to laugh and laugh. That's what she does, even as she's getting soaked to the bone due to the sprinklers, her curls plastered to the side of her face. She cradles the bottle of pilfered Scotch on her lap, leans against her date, and keeps laughing.

"God, I love Christmas," she wheezes.

Patrick was not right. The fire had been crackling away cheerfully, but the sprinklers did a fine job of putting that out. So the room remains very cold and very wet and getting wetter, with the sprinkler in the middle of the room bubbling out lots of nice cold water for everyone. Also, it's quite dark in here now, just the dim glow of the emergency lights. By that dim light, he makes one quick snatch for Enzo when the guy loses his feet, makes two snatches for Anne, fails to catch either, and just looks up at the sprinkler like he could WILL it to go off.

Which he can't. No one can. Because Hyacinth broke the room. 🙁

Feeling the squeeze of his hand that Lilith's gives him, Byron turns to her and actually finds the time to smile even though they are all shivering from the ice water and a little frazzled from the whole experience. He takes a careful step closer, his own hand now returning the gentle squeeze. He continues singing for as long as necessary, most likely until the song finally ends. To what Eri says, he offers with agreement, "That actually sounds like a great idea. You don't get to see carolers that often in the big city, but in small towns like this, I dunno, it could become a tradition. And one that I'd fully support." See, he's all about community and not greed. Though it would probably draw attention to the town for it's good old-fashioned tradition. Or whatever.

Then boy is he glad to be out of that water and standing on something sturdy when the glass breaks and a bunch of guests are pulled out into the other room. "They should've gotten to higher ground." He'll murmur before hopping off of the bartop once it's safe and lifting his arms to help Lilith down.

Alexander...actually looks pretty comfortable. He definitely feels more at home in a freezing garbage fire than a fancy cocktail party, and looking like a drowned rat is normal for him, although he doesn't turn down the jacket when Isabella hands it back. Instead, he chuckles a little, himself, grabs that bottle of vodka again, clinks it delicately against her bottle of scotch, and grins towards the other people he knows. "And I thought this was going to be stuffy."

Atli happily remains standing, and in her several inch heels. Though she was shivering cold, and wet she was more concerned about the house's aged woodwork, exiting the room to try to find where the system could be shut off. She does however, take the remaining champagne bottle and glass with her hand with her.

Abitha was still some sort of horrible characature of a cat up a tree, so thankfully doesn't have to deal with the rushing water. She does, unfortunately have to deal with her situation. Slowly, and oh so painfully embarrasingly, Abitha lowers herself through the branches and slides carefully out of the tree.

Her face purposely blank, no one would probably be able to tell what she was thinking except she really just felt dead inside. Her hair had come undone during the rooting, a few pieces of pine needles and tinsel tangled in the chocolate strands. The crawling had snagged her dress in places and her black stockings had ripped. Life sucked. She needed a drink. Fire alarms or not, she stalks over to whatever still remains of the bar and looks to filch a rum bottle. Cracking it open, she takes a swig and swallows.

To add insult to injury, once Anne's no longer dragged off by the water, the sprinklers get her extra wet. She lays there on the ground until the water turns off, and then struggles to get up .. only to cut herself by a bit of porcelain, too. So now she's soaked, freezing, and bleeding from the forearm. "Ow, fuck!" she hisses through her teeth, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling as though she could stare right through it and up to the heavens to curse them.

August holds on to Eleanor as the house plunges into darkness, watching the tree light the room in brilliant, glimmering light. Then it's over and the water vanishes, rushing away. He leans into the kiss, because hey, they're owed a second on top of the bar in front of God and everyone. With the for sprinklers raining on them.

"Sorry, sweetie, looks like we don't get a normal holiday," he says on a sigh, and starts helping Eleanor down. "Let's go home, yeah? Get dried off."

Once she's done being fascinated with the tree results in the dark, Lilith can't help herself, and she starts to laugh with Isabella some, though in that teeth chattering way once the sprinklers are popping on to wet her perfect curls and tumbles of hair into soaked straggle and run some of her eye makeup. Not too much, though, because those are some quality, resistant cosmetics, apparently, to go with the hair and garb as it was prior.

And when Byron hops down to scoop her off of the bar and down herself, her arms go about his neck and shoulders to steal a kiss from him on the way while the spirit of the moment is still intact, at least for her and them that aren't fighting the flood. She kind of didn't notice people going washing away with only the emergency lighting on, at least until she hears Abitha curse, "... what are people getting hurt by? It's all clear now?" Old wariness starts to creep up because with them still in nullified space, her senses feel all off.

"Honestly I'm relieved, everything looked so picture perfect," Isabella tells her companion, toasting his vodka bottle with her Scotch and taking a swig directly from the lip. "Maybe the profession's made more of a mark on me than I thought that I want everything to have a bit of wear and tear." Water soaks through her skin and clothes, she's going to feel it in a moment, but she's always loved water and will generally get it whenever she could have it, so long as it doesn't kill her. Watching August and Eleanor kiss nearby, she can't help but smile.

"We'll see you guys later," she tells the leaving couples within earshot, lifting up her bottle in a jaunty goodbye.

Eleanor lets August help her off the bar and she settles an arm around his waist. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe some hot cocoa and absolutely NO christmas carols," she says with a smirk.

Hyacinth is the wrecker of fun, and persecutor of people who wear socks with sandals. Yeah. Big responsibility there. The room is 'broken' or safe. She tried to grab a sibling to keep her balance and chose perhaps unwisely. Ah well. She looks around pushing herself to a soggy kneel. What a wrong day to wear winter white. Carefully she picks pieces of ceramic cherub off the floor. She frowns looking up to Lilith, "I don't suppose you can repair them tomorrow?"

A very confused waiter with a bunch of glasses of champagne is like, "Er, should we...?"

Leaving Patrick to open his hands to whoever's still here, and whoever hasn't decided it's open season on the bar - he sees you over there, Isabella and Alexander - with a pained, "Oh, by all means. Champagne is clearly what's missing." He takes a glass, drains it, and passes a second to Hyacinth. "Here, one for your brother, too. I think I saw him treading water over there somewhere."

The next two glasses are for him and Anne. "Please try to keep the blood off the rug, will you?" The ruined antique rug, sigh.

Alexander hops down from the bar, and puts the vodka back on the counter. He holds a hand out to Isabella, trying to ignore that he's squelching in his nice new clothes. "Can I help you down, my dear?" A glance towards August, and Eleanor, and Byron. "Hey. You guys. We should probably talk soon?" A glance to include Isabella in it, too. "I sort of went hunting today." Is he sheepish about that? Yes. "Didn't go great."

If looks could kill, Patrick would be dead right now. Anne angles her chin up to glare at Patrick, holding her cut arm to her as she gets to her feet. "Believe me, not bleeding all over your precious rug is the only thing I can think of in the moment," she mutters at him, then adds pointedly: "You're a real ass." But she's going to take the champagne anyway, thankyouverymuch. Down the hatch it goes!

Sharing in this magical Christmas moment with a kiss, Byron sees the full destruction that went on in the room once proper lighting returns. The place was a mess and this was a museum of all things. While he's standing on solid ground, he hasn't put Lilith down yet, still cradling her in that cocktail dress in his arms. Then Hyacinth approaches, looks just as drenched as the rest of them really, but at least some didn't get swept away.

At her suggestion, Byron can't hide this concerned look on his features, his eyes flickering in Lilith's direction. "Were all of those antiques..?" He asks. Because if they were random ornaments and the like, he wasn't gonna let Lilith repair any of that. "This... this looks like a pretty big job."

And then he catches what Alexander says, though says nothing in response, but he is curious.

"I am up here for the duration. My shoes washed away with the water and there is broken glass." Erin kind of looks accusingly towards Patrick who had decided the fate of her shoes earlier when he told her unceremoniously what she could do with them. So she remains drinking champagne for now, but at least she's not singing.

Enzo eventually just sit on the floor where he fell down. He removes the expensive jacket and starts wringing it out onto the carpet, looking balefully up at the ligths when they come back on. "Now that's just unfair," he complains and flicks his hair. This is the most untidy he's probably ever appeared in public. It's not a good look.

She reluctantly puts away the scotch bottle, because she will probably have to drive. Isabella slips her hand on the offered hand and slides off the bar. "We should probably get you someplace warm." she tells him quietly. However the mention of hunting has her furrowing her brows at him, remembering how he looked when he arrived. She responds with just a nod, her fingers lacing over his.

"Once everyone's dried off and rested, I think," she supplies. There's a smile towards Anne and Patrick, waving her fingers towards them and gesturing to the former that they're about to head out.

August pauses on the way out the door with Eleanor, looks back at Alexander. He tenses, wary, but Alexander looks okay, and right now August really wants to get out of these wet clothes and warmed up. (One way, or another, ahem.) "Okay." His expression says, 'we're gonna talk all right, if you went hunting alone.' He makes sure Alexander has a chance to take in that look, then guides Eleanor out to the car.

Leaned on the bar with both elbows, mouth still tasting of rum, which at least was the good stuff, Abitha quietly contemplates if any of the spirits in front of her were high enough proof to rig herself a Molotov. Really give those firefighters something to do. No, arson was not the answer. Slowly pushing herself back upright, she takes a final look around at those gathered, lifts her pilfered rum bottle in a toast, swigs again, then stalks out into the flickering glow of red and white, seeking a blanket and to walk the hell home.

"Maybe. Uncertain in here with my eyes and way about seeing altered because of the..." Lilith waves around a little at the air in general while answering to Hyacinth's questioning approach with a few pieces, "Maybe bring them by the Penthouse tomorrow or send someone with them, I could take a look and see what I can do, especially if they're part of the tree every year and traditional..." The woman does look a wee bit wary, but also somehow up for the challenge of it given she's seen them in pieces and seen them animated too, and might want to see if she can just to see, who knows.

Also, though, it's an Addington asking about Addington things in the Addington house at the Addington party, so... it's not like she's going to be anything but lovely and say yes. Besides, Byron is still cradling her and she's a little less uncertain about things when his arms are about her, but eventually, her legs drop to slip down to standing on her own.

"I'm fine, Isabella," Alexander tells her, with amusement. "I walk in the rain all the time. If it was gonna kill me, it had plenty of chances." He squeezes her hand, and seems content to be led out, though. He might try to drive - he's only had a few heaping swallows of vodka! Just a few.

Patrick has a handkerchief. It's very damp, but he takes it out of his pocket and slaps it a couple of times in the air before offering it to Anne. "Happy now?" IT'S ALSO AN ANTIQUE, YOU HARPY. He clicks glasses with one hand and offers Enzo help up with the other. "Welcome home, cousin," he beams, and then has to detach himself to smooth things over with the firemen.

Fortunately, Patrick is good at smoothing things over. Oh, actually.

He promises to write a big check.

The sprinklers having been turned off, Atli reenters the wonky feeling room, her hair pinned back. A blanket from another room already around her shivering form. Aware that nothing could be done about the priceless objects that were becoming more ruined by the second, she tries not to twitch. Giving a practiced grin to Patrick, Enzo, and Hyacinth she offers parting words. "I'll be in extra early tomorrow to help get this cleaned up and we can finish up the special way if need be, then I would love to see those plans Hyacinth!" Internally she wants to cry over the water logged piano, but there was enough happening for the time. "Take care everyone!" Atli smiles and waves, politely exiting the premises.

"Rain is a completely different animal from the drink, and you were wading in ice water. Do you know what that does to your core temperature? Because if you don't, prepare yourself, because I have an entire rant about the evils of exposure queued up and ready to go," said as Isabella heads out hand-in-hand with Alexander.

"No," Anne says about being happy, but she snatches the handkerchief from him and pats it on her arm. At least it matches her dress; it's the small things. Isabella and Alexander get a wave goodbye, before she trudges out because hopefully some hot fireman will GIVE HER A BLANKET GODDAMN PATRICK U STUPID.

"I'm going to go change, I can't risk people taking pictures of me like this. What will the publicist thing?" Enzo asks no one at all. Answer: he doesn't have one so this really isn't an issue. Still, he wanders off to wherever it is that he lives. It's somewhere.

Hyacinth is soaked. Somehow her hair stays. Who needs glimmer when you have enough Paul Mitchell to kill a moose? With a sigh she looks to Eleanor, "Lunch. Soon?" Looking up to Lilith she nods trying not to let the broken ornaments upsetting her really show. Taking a deep breath she says "Well, I think that's... yes, Enzo. That's the plan." She excuses herself to go call someone to come pick her up. Can she drive? Yes but she's not getting her Tesla soggy. Also it's more beneficial this way. Planning, all, it pays off!

"I just think that you shouldn't take the task on alone." Byron will make sure to add when Lilith accepts. It looks like a million shattered ornaments, but he's still uncertain as what Healers and Menders can do. With his arm around Lilith now, he nods over to Hyacinth, "Yeah, let me know and I'll make sure to have them brought up to my apartment." Then it's to Patrick that he speaks to next, "Addington, as much as some people would like to think, I had no doubt in my mind that the Addingtons threw blow out parties." Just as with the others, he says in agreement, "Let's get dried off and see how we can occupy ourselves for the rest of the evening." Unlike some of the others, he isn't overly perturbed by being seen soaking wet in Gray Harbor even in his expensive tux. Probably one of many.

Patrick will be here, in the soggy ruins of his meticulous planning. With champagne for days. "Mister Thorne, pretend I said something witty in response. Cheers." He lifts his glass.

Erin is calling an Uber. Her Maserati can sit here for a bit until she gets home and changed so she can come back and get it. It won't stay the whole night! She gets down off the bar with one of those bottles of champagne for days, and makes her way barefoot, very carefully, across the room to the door. Her shoes are nowhere to be found. That old lady NPC probably has them or something. She waves to her cousins. "Be back shortly."

"Sounds like a lovely plan." Lilith says with a rubbing assurance on Byron's wet tux vest after another nod and flash of quick smile to Hyacinth noting the look on the other woman's face over having the ornaments ruined. If anyone was going to fix a thing, well... she'll worry about that tomorrow. With the suggestion from Byron, she huddles in his coat while wandering to say a few farewells on their way out, then suggests, "Decorating our tree in fluffy warm robes with a fire going? I'll call you Hugh all night, if you want me to."