route_1065 | Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle

Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle

Who: North Dakota and you!!
Where: Goldenrod Department Store
When: 2-6pm in November, Thurs-Sat, and 2-8pm Thurs-Sat December 1-24
Summary: North has gotten a job as a Department Store Santa, which in poke-world means a fair share of actual children and Poke-children of all shapes and a fair range of sizes (luckily he is a very large Santa).
Rating: G, for the kiddies
Log:

It turns out that prosthetic beards are very scratchy, especially when they have to be fire-resistant in case somebody plops a Charmander in his lap. In fact, he muses, his Santa suit is starting to feel more like armor than his actual armor did. One of the Delibird helpers is holding onto a water bottle for him, which he takes appreciatively when the bird offers it, repaying its kindness with a scritch to the feathers with one of his gloved hands.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What was this?

Ming simply enjoys shopping, and the main department store in Goldenrod is always filled with all kinds of fascinating things. Including all sorts of entertainment options. Home entertainment here was much different than in Numara, and she was captivated by it.

But currently, the odd yet festive display set up in the store has her attention. She can't help but curiously approach, trying to discern just what's going on. So she hovers, watching the children and Pokemon and the red-suited man with the booming voice, not certain if it would be terribly intrusive to inquire as to what's going on.

North smiles for the camera, blue eyes twinkling behind fake wire-rimmed glasses, one arm gently holding an old woman's very thrilled Snubbull. While Santa is definitely a thing, a thing that people are excited for, there's not been too long of a line. As long as he acts in-character (or keeps his voice down) there aren't any ropes or walls stopping people from approaching him when there's no line.

And it seems like he's seen her, giving her an acknowledging (and in-character - there's nothing flirty about a wink from a man in a full-length curly white beard) wink and a nod, as the line begins to die down. When it's gone entirely (for the moment) he leans back in his big green and gold chair.

"Now, I don't believe that I've seen you before."

"No, I don't think that you have. I haven't been here terribly long, and I've been keeping to myself of late. Last month, you know."

Ming's hands are clasped in front of her, and her expression is mostly one of curious wonder. She's certain she needn't give any further detail as to why she'd keep a quiet few weeks in the wake of that.

"But I haven't seen anything quite like this before. What's happening here?"

North nods understandingly, knowing full well the previous month's excitement. But her expression is utterly endearing, and he's charmed.

"There's a tradition for Santa-" he puts a gloved hand to his chest to indicate himself "-to bring presents to good boys and girls on Christmas Eve. This here is an opportunity for children - and plenty of Pokemon and grownups too - to come and tell Santa what they want for Christmas."

"Christmas? Santa?" Ming's head cocks, her confusion polite and curious. "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with these things. It's some sort of festival, yes?"

Those are very popular here, she understands, but not at all familiar.

"It's a festival, yes. People buy gifts for their friends and families, and then they wrap them and wait until December 25 to open them together. There's also usually a big dinner where people get to see their friends who they haven't seen in a while."

He's still using his Santa Voice, but it's more subdued instead of the jolly, announcing voice.

"The tradition of Santa Claus is more for the children, but plenty of grownups enjoy it for the nostalgia."

"What's the significance of the date? Of..." She gestures to him, in his 'Sanda Clause' costume, growing more and more intrigued. Presents and feasting all sounded like celebrations she was well familiar with, but the trappings...

And there was such a theme of cold, it seemed. How interesting!

"Is it very common to celebrate? Here, I mean? Oh I'm sorry, I'm just pestering you with questions, aren't I?"

North scratches his cheek, at the edge of the prosthetic beard. "It's also a religious holiday, but I don't know how much of that aspect is at practice here." Santa never brought gifts to the baby Jesus, after all.

Despite the uncertainty of his last answer, Santa North gives a jolly old 'ho ho ho!' "Not pestering at all!" As you can see, he doesn't have a line right now. "Christmas is maybe one of the most popular holidays! I hope that soon it will be more than just the department store getting into the holiday spirit."

"I see..." Ming is intrigued. "No, there really doesn't seem to be much in the way of organized religion." Not that she's complaining, she has few views on the whole thing. It's difficult to have many personal feelings on it when you're revered as a god in your own homeworld.

"Are there many traditions associated with it, then? I assume much of it is geared towards children." Her limited experience with holidays here has led her to believe that's common.

And this display only adds to her surety.

Tobias is loading up on supplies for a gym run, but the display makes him stop and smile. Of course. He digs through his bag to see which one of his Pokemon would like to sit on Poke-Santa's lap. None too big, since... he doesn't want to crush the poor guy. He stands in line, pulling out Nimbus the Swablu and Sparky the Emolga, who are both flapping around and chattering happily to each other.

As soon as they're finished, North sends the Youngster and his Rattata on their way and motions to the blond boy and his two flying-types.

"Ho ho ho, now who do we have here? Santa never forgets a face, but sometimes he has a hard time matching them to his big ol' list of names."

The voice is a little affected, but warm and hearty and genuine. And probably a little familiar.

Tobias steps forward, a little unsure as to how this works. Really, all of the experience with mall Santas he's had was watching them work while he hung around near the arcade. But the two flying types glide over, settling on 'Santa's lap.

"Sparky and Nimbus." The Emolga grabs onto the robe and climbs up the front, while the Swablu chirps happily. "Hey - guys, calm down -"

Sparky takes this as a cue to not calm down, and instead squeaks noisily near Santa North's face.

North opens his arms when the two flying-types glide over to him, running one gloved hand all over the spots where his own Swablu likes to be pet, the other hand gently scritching behind the Emolga's ears.

"Sparky and Nimbus, that's right." He carefully eases Sparky into a better position for the cameraperson to snap a picture. "And it seems like they are ve-ery excited to see ol' Santa!"

Bowlful of jelly he may not be, but he has the "right jolly old elf" part down to a tee.

Nimbus flaps happily and leans in, and Sparky allows himself to be moved over for the picture. "They both get excited pretty easily. It's good they like attention, though, since they're both in my circus act."

Sparky chitters and finally settles down next to his older sister, leaning against her and looking up at Santa North. Nimbus chirps away first, presumably telling Santa what she wants. She nudges Sparky, who chimes in with his own wishes.

Tobias can't help but smile. Is this what it's supposed to be like? He could get used to this kind of holiday cheer.

North listens intently when the pokemon start chirping away their Christmas demands, despite the fact that he himself can't really understand pokemon. Santa can, and that's what matters. Once they seem to be finished, he strokes his beard with a very serious 'hmmmm'.

"Well now, Santa will just have to see what he can do about that," he says. "But, you two have to promise me that you'll continue being good. Can you do that for me?" he asks, knowing already what the answer will probably be.

They squeak and squawk in affirmation, looking over at Tobias. "Don't look at me. Santa's the one who makes the decision. If you're bad, I'm not putting in a good word for you."

Spakry looks a little disappointed, but Nimbus just nudges him again, and he nods. Okay, okay. He'll be good. Or... try to, at least.

Even though he's not actually Santa, there's still an amused twinkle in his eye when he looks over at Tobias as well.

"I believe that you can do it," he says comfortingly, in response to Sparky's disappointed look. "Now, was there anything else that you wanted to tell Santa?"

Edited 2015-11-22 16:57 (UTC)

The two of them think for a moment, and then Nimbus chirps gently, looking over at Tobias and then up at Santa. Tobias... isn't entirely sure what he's saying, but it feels like it's cute, anyway. He can't help smiling a little. Is this what having kids is like?

When Chihiro hears of there being someone working at the Department Store dressed as Santa, he's both charmed by the idea and a little surprised by just how quickly November seems to be flying by. It's true that December will be here soon enough, and then Christmas following...but since the end of October is still fresh in his mind (with one of those strange weekends looming, no less) he decides to take a day to head to the store to pick up some supplies for his special Christmas breeding project as well as to visit Santa.

When he arrives, it doesn't look like he's planning on sitting in Santa's lap himself (though who knows, really), namely because he's got two Abra in tow, one in his arms while the other floats slowly behind him. The one not in Chihiro's arms looks a little excited, trying to peek past Chihiro's shoulder to get a look while the one in his arms just looks sleepy...and a bit shy, too.

If it weren't for the two Abra, North probably would have assumed the tiny person approaching him was coming to see him themselves - he's had enough Youngsters and Kindergarteners taking pictures with him, lord knows.

"Well, well, now is this a set of twins?" he asks, when Chihiro gets close enough with the two Abra. He motions for the one floating behind him to come sit on his lap, making room for the other one as well. "And what are your names?" he asks, because judging by the teleporting these are psychic-types and if they can't tell him themselves they'll appreciate his not speaking over them (he learned this in the week-long Santa School).

"Oh, no. But with how close they are, you would think they would be," Chihiro answers for them as the Abra not in his arms carefully makes his way over, settling down on North's knee while Chihiro places the one he's holding on the other. They both look a bit shy in their own ways, but the little girl still looks like she's about to fall asleep...though her ears do perk when Chihiro deposits her in a stranger's lap, her head tilting back to look at him.

And since they both stay silent at the question (again, out of shy/sleepiness more than anything), Chihiro speaks up again as he folds his hands at the small of his back. "This is Chiaki-" he says, nodding to the sleepy one, then to the other, "and that is Kaze."

North puts a steadying arm behind each Abra, smiling warmly at them behind his beard when they look shyly up at him. He's dealt with plenty of shy pokemon today, and a couple shy kids as well.

"Hello there Chiaki, hello Kaze," he says, nodding to both of them. "Look over there real quick-" and click! goes the camera shutter "- and now, was there anything you two wanted to ask ol' Santa to bring you for Christmas this year?"

The Abra both look over when they're told to, but Kaze is right back to looking at North just a second later. He seems more interested in that fluffy beard than anything, while Chiaki...is already slumping against his arm a little, her head lolling forward onto her chest.

Kaze doesn't sleep at least as he ponders the question, resting his claws against North's knee. After a moment of silence, he'll hear a soft, telepathic voice.

Spinny top.

Honestly, being fallen asleep on is not the worst thing that's happened to North today, nor is this the first time that he's been fallen asleep on. He just keeps his hold on Chiaki so that she doesn't slide off of his lap, but lets her sleep.

Telepathic voices will never stop startling him, but he's stopped reacting a while ago.

"Ahh, a spinny top, hm? Hmm hm hm. A good toy, very sturdy. Santa will just have to see what he can do about that. But you have to be good, and behave for your trainer."

Kaze seems pleased by Santa North's answer, nodding his head quickly. Chihiro steps a little closer and puts a hand on Chiaki's head, who is- at this point- completely knocked out.

"They're both very good Pokemon. I don't think I ever have to worry about trouble out of them."

"Ho ho ho!" Santa North laughs with magnanimous jollity, although not so much that he startles the sleeping Chiaki. "Then of course I should hope to see both your names on my Nice List!"

"Mhm! And I'm sure these two hop so as well...right?" He asks the Abra pair. Kaze responds, at least, by leaning over to hug Santa North's torso. He seems a little too shy by all of the sudden praise to say anything else, but the movement of her fellow Abra causes Chiaki to stir.

...and once she's realized she missed something, she just slowly nods a little in agreement to whatever it was that was said.

"Go on, go ahead."

Well, here's a familiar voice. It's low, though, and only slightly teasing, which is about fifty percent less teasing than usual as York tries to encourage his Deerling--Albany, the egg Carolina gave him in their second round of egg-swapping--to go see Santa.

Albany's having none of it, prideful young buck that he is. He butts York's leg huffily and then turns his face away, nose up. He's not a baby, thank you.

"C'mon, man. Don't be a killjoy, you're ruining the Christmas spirit." York sighs. "Kids these days."

...Ah shit.

Santa knows that the minute he speaks his cover will be the most blown, and of all the things that York (and Carolina, he's not stupid enough to assume she won't find out too) will hold over him until the end of time, being a mall Santa is pretty high up there.

Oh well. Yolo.

"You know I've found that some pokemon want to see their trainer sit in Santa's lap first so that they know it's safe. Isn't that right, Albany?" he asks, with a wink to the snotty little Deerling.

Albany starts when 'Santa' calls his name and backs his butt straight into York's leg, alarmed. York, on the other hand, hits recognition by the second word--they all spent what feel like years on the field in those helmets, only differentiable by color and voice. He goes from surprise to sheer shit-eating delight in a fraction of a second.

If he gets no presents at all this year, his holiday season will still have been made, Jiminy Christmas.

"Well, in that case." York would be flirtier, but, look, North's on the job, and there are kids around. He didn't get away with everything he did aboard the MoI by completely lacking propriety. He ruffles Albany's little flower to reassure him and sits right in North's lap like he belongs there. "Dunno that I'm gonna be a good example, though. I haven't exactly been a saint this year."

Or, you know. Ever.

While it's not something that he's ever consciously considered, the fact of the matter is that North would more likely be able to identify their teammates from the Project by voice before he identified them by sight.

The shit-eating delight should scare him more than it does, probably, but his eyes twinkle and he moves his hands to the armrests of his chair as York flaunts himself over and into North's lap.

"Hmm, yes, now that I get a look at you... You're quite the frequent flier on the Naughty List, aren't you?" The flirting isn't completely overt. But teasing banter, there's no rule against that.

"Oh, Santa, you have no idea."

Somehow, he manages not to make it sound filthy, but his wide smile is a promise: York's holding everything for later. This is going to be teasing fuel for months. Teasing and other things.

In the meantime, Albany's picked up that Santa is Not a Threat, and is, in fact, super familiar. He comes up to nose warily at Santa's knee. He doesn't have Stripes' or Missy's nose, but surely this scent is familiar...

York's smile gentles and deepens. He looks from Albany to North. "But y'know, I've got a few new good influences in my life. Might really turn over a new leaf."

Wrath had crept into the department store in hopes that there would be some wild free samples roaming around, but was greeted instead with the sight of a Department Store Santa.

And he is morbidly mesmerized.

That man has an EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF HAIR COMING OUT OF HIS FACE.

Wrath is, to be entirely honest, somewhat wary of facial hair as a general rule. Mostly because he was once abducted by an enormous man with a positively legendary mustache, and horrific military-sanctioned science experiments ensued.

But even Armstrong's magnificent mustache (which was probably passed down in his family for generations) pales in comparison to the veritable WATERFALL OF SNOWY CURLS this strange man clad in red possesses.

So... North Dakota can just... enjoy this semi-feral, wild-haired child standing by the sparkly ornament display and OPENLY STARING AT HIM with the squint of someone who's not sure how to feel about something.

Roxas had finally made it to Goldenrod after taking the long way just to catch certain Pokémon. And now he needs supplies. Since this kid has never had a Christmas, it's strange to see a rather huge man in red and white. The beard looked scratchy to boot.

It's not until his little Dedenne trots over that Roxas goes over to the imposing man. "So... who are you supposed to be?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject