[attr="class","merkI"]

Ever since she heard of the name of the ball, Ruby knew that she had to attend no matter what. After all, she had Opal the Aurorus herself was definitely enjoying the snow. The large, frozen dinosaur pokemon was currently outside, slowly walking around as it watched all the excitement happen. A whole ball themed around the ice and snow? No wonder she was excited. Ruby simply let out a relaxed sigh, smiling at the sight from the warm inside. She would be out there with her, but not only did she trust Opal to be okay on her own and have fun, but she was wearing a dress! To head outside, she'd need to change into the proper attire! This cute, pastel-blue dress was in no condition to keep her warm outside.

Suddenly, Ruby felt a gentle nudge against her arm. Blinking in surprise, she turned to notice another one of her Pokemon, Darling, standing there with a little play full of snacks for the girl. A little bit of everything they had to offer. Her eyes widened immensely, her joy practically infectious as Darling herself was unable to help but smile as she politely just held the plate for Ruby as she grabbed a cookie from the plate. "Thank you, Darling," Ruby spoke softly. Taking a small bite out of the cookie, her free hand reached over and affectionately rubbed the Indeedee's horn. Satisfied with making Ruby happy, Darling let out a soft hum of joy.

"You know?" Ruby spoke softly to Darling, continuing to take gentle nibbles out of her cookie as she watched Opal slowly rolling some of the snow into larger and larger piles outside. "Mom and dad would really enjoy this. A cute little hotel, having a winter ball in the tropical region of Hoenn. Dad would get a kick out of it." She giggled quietly to herself, unable to help but grin a little bit wider as she took a larger bite out of her cookie. "Do you think you can remind me to send them a letter later? I know I can call them, but Mom's always been asking for postcards of the places I visit. " Of course, Darling only nodded her head, happy to be of service.

notes: Have fun at the ball, everyone. Feel free to interact with either Ruby inside, or Opal playing in the snow!

[attr="class","rndBG"]

[attr="class","flori"]




A ball!

Florian's thrilled at the prospect; there were plenty of fancy events back home in Kalos, but he'd strayed away from attending most of those he was invited to in fear that he would run into someone he'd rather not deal with. Here, in Hoenn, he was new to the region and ecstatic at the prospect of dressing up, showing off, and meeting some of the other outgoing residents.

He'd tried his hand at skiing first, getting the hang of it after a while but taking numerous spills. He stumbles toward the hot tubs half an icicle, with snow in his hair and cheeks flushed red, but he's grinning from ear to ear.

A Sylveon bounds through the snow behind him in equally high spirits, snowflakes dusting his pink-and-white fur.

There's a girl standing by one of the tubs, and Florian tilts his head as he strips off his bulky winter jacket and kicks off his boots. "Allo," he greets her, offering a friendly smile. "Are you not getting in? It must be cold standing there like that!"

He's already feeling the chill as he steps out of his outer layers, goosebumps prickling at his skin.

tl;dr: florian gets off the ski slopes and makes for the hot tubs, greets nicole. sylveon is with him.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]

[attr="class","merrkI"]
"you kidding it was easy! swept the floor with the gym no problem, i mean how else do ya explain this?" shinra held up the badge that he had won last month for the few folks he was chatting with to see. his arm flexed as he held it up in a triumphant pose showing off his muscles and earning a starry eyed gaze from someone before it suddenly broke into laughter and giggles. at first he was confused, perhaps they were finally noticed how silly his favorite sweater was before he noticed santa claus of all people walk by.

it was enough to make him do a double take

not because it was santa but because of who was underneath the suit. he'd seen news articles and pictures of fernando before but never met the guy in person, and well seeing him up close for the first time in a costume of all things was something that caused him to join the group in their laughter and giggles. he wouldn't fault the guy for dressing up but being santa had to be the result of him losing a bet or something. "well i'll see ya folks later, perhaps join ya for a dance after some snacks? or sit on santa's lap and ask for a gift."

with that he decided to make his way towards the free dessert table to fill up his stomach. watching the people who had come and gathered here he wondered if he should join in more on the festivities. dancing seemed like fun but he wasn't really well versed in dancing, sure he could move his body to the groove but it wasn't like he was about to waltz all over the floor. maybe provocatively move his hips but that was usually saved for other people. as he got to the table and grabbed a cookie he wondered if he could actually pull it off if he had some "courage", "does anyone know if there's some good booze at this party?"

+shows off his new meadow badge with a pose
+came in a very cute ugly sweater
+made his way to the dessert table and asked if anyone had some booze

[outfit]

[attr="class","merkI"]

Ruby was pleasantly surprised to see just how many people were already here. And in such beautiful attire too! There was this one lady in the room with a gorgeous dress! She couldn't see who it was from here but she made a mental note to give them a polite compliment on it later. For now, Ruby was simply content to enjoy the warm, festive environment, eating cookies slowly as she watched people around her. There was nothing wrong with people watching, in fact, sometimes it was more fun to her than actually being involved in the conversations directly.

Of course, that didn't seem to be what was planned. Before she could do get up and do anything, a man dressed up in costume with a decorated Sceptile came towards her! She only was able to know what kind of Pokemon that was, since Treeko was one of the most popular starters for the region, but seeing him all dressed up and decorated encouraged a quiet giggle out of her. As he spoke with that robotic tone, she was just about to giggle again and thank him, before a gift was given to her. Ruby's eyes opened up widely, a soft, nervous blush forming on her face as she stared at the light blue box now sitting on her lap. "O-oh my, thank you."

However, before she could open the present, a familiar face also dressed in a silly costume stepped up beside the man and spoke out as well with a loud voice. It was a good thing Whisper was back in her room, surrounded by lots of blankets to keep the sounds out, otherwise, that would have been enough to summon her. And yet, Ruby couldn't help but blush even more at the second gift given to her all of a sudden. "O-oh goodness, I, oh thank both of you. This is too kind."

Unsure what else to do, she smiled sweetly, her cheeks a soft shade of pink, she cracked open the fortune cookie, making sure to read and acknowledge the smaller of the two gifts before opening up the large one. ‘Be a generous friend and a fair enemy?' Why, how lovely of a quote. She gently set the cookie down on Darling's little plate to eat along with the rest of her assorted cookies. Of course, this prompted the passionate little Indeedee to hold up the tray, offering cookies to both of the costumed Santas. With a careful hand, she slowly unwrapped the box and took a small peek inside, her curiosity and nerves combatting against each other.

b2oUKSfH

- - -

Outside, Opal was simply having the time of her life playing in all this snow. The large piles of snow she had been forming were carefully being rolled into massive balls of snow, pushing them around with the top of her head and gently pushing them with her feet. However, with the addition of a cute little friend coming along, Opal slowly kneeled down, encouraging the Vulpix to climb onto her back if she wanted.

notes: Ruby accepts both gifts, incredibly flustered! Darling offers cookies to the two Santa Clauses, and Opal makes a new friend.