'Tis the Season [S.S. Scaled Lightning]

[Requiem]

Corvou rested on his bed on one of the corners of the dormitory, his back laid against the sheets beneath him and his legs crossed over one another in a comfortable fashion. Strewn around the corners and walls of the room were an arrangement of the typical holiday lights that one would most likely see decorating a home or a tree around the general season, as he had simply been bored and decided to take the liberty of spicing the room up a little bit. After finishing up, he had gone to read a book, though had fallen into a light slumber. Because of such an occurrence, one of his hands were rested on his chest while the fingertips of the remaining extremity were still ever so slightly latched onto the bottom of his book, which was still open and resting upon his face as he laid as he was.

[Drae]

Ishi slowly approached the door from within the hallway, a small present clutched underneath her arm as she slowly pushed the door open. Her faunus senses alerting her to Corvou's sleeping presence as she slipped inside. She slowly crept over to her own bed before sliding the small box underneath, her seasonal attire brushing against the floor as she stood back up.

I wonder why this feels so... natural. Coming back to the dorm and finding him asleep like this, She thought, sitting down on the bed and looking at the reptilian from over her shoulder.

[Requiem]

It seemed that, as if in reaction to the other's entry, the drake had begun drifting from his little state of slumber. A quiet groan and mutter escaped his lips as he began turning a bit, his hand unintentionally brushing  the novel that he loosely held off and onto the floor. For a moment, the crossbreed gave another mutter before groggily opening an eye and reaching over, stumbling his hand across the floor for a few seconds before finally feeling the book within his fingers. He picked it up and just tossed it onto his nightstand, rubbing his face as he began to drift off once more. Before he had fully done so, however, he sensed the presence of the other, and brought his silver-eyed gaze to shift over slightly. They blinked slightly while scanning the girl's attire, and he slowly scratched his head while beginning to sit up, yawning.

"Well...someone seems to be dressed for the season..." he laughed tiredly, eying the wolf.

[Drae]

Ishi glanced over at the newly awoken drake, for once understanding the subtle joke implied underneath it all and merely rolling her eyes instead of leaping across the room at Corvou. "Yea I guess, although it does make me a little more relaxed, y'know? Being able to just celebrate for once without worrying about gangs and all that fun shit," She said calmly. Being at complete ease was a rather new feeling for her, and she found that she rather liked it. Made her feel a bit more human instead of the animal she shared traits with.

[Requiem]

A nod would be given in response to the girl's remarks as Corvou took a deep breath, pooling in a bit of effort in his tired state to hook his feet over the edge of his bed to sit up. Releasing another long, yet quiet yawn, he placed his elbows onto his knees, leaning forward a bit while clasping his hands together gently. "Yeah...it is pretty nice..." he spoke in a quiet agreement, his tail swaying to and fro for a moment or so before loosely coiling onto the mattress besides him. It was then that a thought seemed to occur to him, which caused him to tilt his head a tad.

"I...assume that you've been, like...really busy for the past few years up until now?" he asked with a slight spark of interest. "Like...barely had time for just...laying back and that crap. What exactly did you do around this season back then?"

[Drae]

Ishi chuckled quietly at Corvou's question before following up with a reply. "Work, mainly. That and make sure the rest of my family stayed safe. They got to celebrate, but I was always busy working or dealing with the local gangs," She said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she gazed up at the ceiling. A solemn look would be reflected in her eyes as she sighed, her body relaxing into the mattress beneath her as she kept her eyes on the ceiling. The look, for once, held none of its usual intensity.

[Requiem]

Corvou blinked quietly while listening to what Ishini had to say. "Dealing with that sorta stuff during the holidays... Huh...that's gotta suck..." the drake remarked. He took a moment to glance around at the lights that he had set up for a moment, a soft murmur escaping his lips as he allowed his gaze to shift away from the brightened display. "Uh...well, like, the dealing with gangs and working, at least. Looking out for the family is always a nice gesture, and all."

Huffing silently, the man pondered on another thought for a second or so, his tail flickering as he glanced over at the same nightstand that he had secured his book upon. his eyes remained locked upon one of its drawers for a moment before he glanced at the other from the corner of his eye. "So...I assume that you haven't really had much of a gift-exchanging experience, then?"

[Drae]

Ishini nodded, "To be honest I never really saw much of a point back then. What is the use of getting something that might be stolen from you the very next day?" She said, lifting herself up into a seated position as she looked over at Corvou, her tail peeking out from beneath her attire as she smiled at him, "But now that I have the chance to experience it... it kind of feels natural."

[Requiem]

A laugh escaped the wyrm's lips as he nodded in agreement once more, crossing his legs and sighing in a minor sense of inner relief. "The feeling grows on you when you actually manage to let yourself go, right?" he responded, returning the canine's grin with a slightly toothy version of his own. Another glance would be given to the drawer before he shrugged and opened it, giving the girl another quick glance before reeling a box of his own out; its figure rather thin and long, and tied neatly with a couple of amber-and-crimson-hued ribbons to compliment the snowy containment that it came with. He gave it a gentle shake while winking softly. After doing so, he got up, walking over a step or so before handing the box over. "It is kind of a gamble to give someone something that they may lose not even a day after- especially if you put some thought and a pretty penny into getting it," he said, his tail calmly rocking behind his figure. "...But cherishing whatever comes to you before that possible moment is really a gift in itself, in my eyes; one of the best."

Whenever it would be opened, one would be greeted with the sight of a rather shining, small-figured chain with a pendant of a small, eastern dragon with a cobalt hue taking the eye and flame that rose up a bit as a little engraving.

As if in a little symbolic action, Corvou was wearing a similar accessory of the general fashion, although his pendant was one of a small, metallic wolf with a dash of amber around its eye, which seemed to trail up from the material a bit to represent a sort of flame.

[Drae]

Ishi's eyes glimmered briefly as she lifted the lid, removed the necklace and held it up to the light, her face one of joyful astonishment mixed with a whole plethora of other emotions that made it nearly impossible to tell what exactly she was thinking at that exact moment, although one didn't have to wonder long before the tough exterior Ishini kept put up crumbled. "It's beautiful," she said as she continued to stare at the necklace. Her eyes were beginning to seem a bit watery.

[Requiem]

Smiling quietly while noting the reaction he had gained, Corvou crossed his arms lightly over his chest while walking over. He sat besides the girl, eying her while chuckling softly under his breath. "I didn't know that you'd react so heavily to it," he laughed in a joking way, lifting one of his hands and gently dabbing at some of the liquid forming within one of the other's eyes while speaking. "Buuuuuut, now I know that the first gift you got around the holidays was a good one, and I'm glad you like it. Sooo...aha, Merry Christmas."

[Drae]

Ishi smiled sweetly as she finally lifted her gaze from the necklace to stare up at Corvou, her eyes still shimmering as she nodded in response to his words. "Yea. Merry Christmas indeed," She said as she leaned onto him, her eyes closed as a content sigh escaped her lips.

[Requiem]

Eying the wolf as she moved a bit closer, Corvou blinked once before adjusting his arm, lightly draping it over her shoulders while patting her head a bit. Tilting his head a little bit, he leaned down the slightest bit in order to gain a better look at the girl's expression. "...Heh, you look...extremely peaceful for once," he said quietly. "...It's a better look for you, honestly. Makes you seem even more adorable."

[Drae]

Ishi's smile grew slightly as she nodded once in the affirmative. Her eyes were still closed as she continued to lay against the drake for a few more minutes before she finally responded in full. "Yea I can see that. I'm usually kind of tense aren't I."

[Requiem]

"'Kind of tense' is a liiiiiittle bit of an understatement in my eyes," Corvou joked a bit, allowing h own smile to grow a bit in visibility. In a slightly lazy yet carefree way way, he tilted his head a little bit, leaning ti side of it upon the other's gently while continuing to gaze down at her from his silver-hued vision. "Like...seriously. You really need to let go and just enjoy things like this a lot more often. Like I said the day we were put on the team, being caual and all that good shit really would do you good."

[Drae]

Ishini giggled softly, "Yea well when one is raised in the slums constantly fighting off thugs there isn't much time to really be casual," She said softly before sighing, "To be honest it makes me wonder what else I missed out on as a kid."

[Requiem]

Shrugging slightly, Corvou lifted his remaining, vacant extremity, setting it on his own head and brushing through his hair before scratching a little bit. "Eeeeeh... Well, you probably just missed out on being a grade A asshole of a kid. That's how a lot of kids are and were- Hell, I was that sorta kid during my childhood," he chuckled. Unhooking his arm from around the lass, the man heaved an exaggerated sigh before suddenly leaning back and falling back-first onto the sheets of the bed with little to no care. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before lacing both of his hands beneath his head. "I mean...the experiences you could've had may have been good, bad, or probably even both. But...there's no sense in worrying about it now, is there?"

He looked up at the wolf, a slightly bright and even dorky grin tugging at his lips.

"...You just gotta focus on the present, since that's where we are now. Right?"

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