This is a Cold War

[Action - 458 Stone Street, backdated to the 25th]

[Christmas had come, everyone un-personed had been re-personed, gifts were under the tree, all was good...

And Dakki stood in front of the tree in living room, staring at the Cosmo Fountain that "Santa" had been so kind as to give her back.

Yes. It is a toilet. A very fancy toilet. More or less.]

I... I can't. I just... no.

[That'll teach her not to clean her storage out regularly! But wait, there's an envelope tucked in the branches of the tree with her name printed on it in big letters. She doesn't dare hope that it's anything at all nice, what with having gotten a freaking toilet for Christmas. Still. She's curious. She has to know. So she tears it open, and pulls out a card. It has an image of a generic CAST body on it.]

A-aah!

[MERRY CHRISTMAS, OH YES. There's a burst of blue light, and when it fades, what was blonde and pink is now purple and... more purple. She's clad in close-fitting armor, she has antennae rather than ears, and there are seams on what little exposed skin she has.]

Yes! YES! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!

[Action - Around Town, backdated to the 25th]

[When you get an excellent present, you want to go around and show it off to everyone. And that's just what Dakki's doing, walking through Mayfield with a spring in her step and her head held high. She tied on a scarf and plunked on hat just because she felt it looked nice, but the cold seems to be giving her little trouble at all.

This walk is not just for showing off, however. If you're a friend of hers (Lucas, Nina, Quinn, Thor, Loki, Rin...) or heck, even if you've just talked to her a bit before and she liked you (Ciel, Gamzee, Megamind, Disciple, Pokey, Taiwan okay okay this could go on for a while, if you think you deserve a gift you are SO GETTING ONE...) she'll be knocking on your door, chasing you down with a "Hello!" or just plain leaving a gift in your mailbox.

You're all getting scarves.

All of you. Some of them are red with black stripes at the ends, and some of them are green with white stripes at the ends, and they're all actually decent scarves... but that's it. Scarves. Seems she's actually not bad at knitting. And she had a lot of time to kill in the evenings.]

[Action A - 458 Stone Street]

[Regular life in Mayfield, as much as Dakki had previously come to dislike it, was a relief in comparison to what had happened after Thanksgiving. She had been content to just live, and tend to the house, and take care of her drone daughters, and pet Chen, and be so, so thankful that Gat was still there...

Then came a small box for her in the mail, that morning. Which reminded her of all her previous discontenment, and then filled her with excitement. It could be her body! HER BODY! He real, honest-to-light body, right there, in that box! She scooped it up, tucked the other mail under one arm, and rushed back inside.]

I have mail! I have mail! Guys, guys!

[It was all plunked down on the kitchen table, and Dakki ripped the lid off of her package in her excitement. And seeing what was inside, her face fell. It was not her body. It was a small stock of Gurhalian healing items.]

...aw, c'mon! That's not fair!

[Action B - Library]

[Once again, Dakki finds herself at the town library. While it may hold few new cookbooks for her, she's on the hunt for something different this time. And there are three or four books already held in the crook of her left arm. They're all about knitting. Approach?]

[Action C - Shopping]

[Having decided for herself that she's going to learn how to knit, she's off to get supplies. Getting the needles was no real problem, but picking yarn.. that's tough. She's holding up two different balls of red, each with a slightly different shade, trying to make up her mind.]

If I could just get one of each... no, it'd cost too much...

[Phone, evening]

I didn't even realize it until everyone else started talking and decorating but... Christmas is coming, isn't it? It seems a little different than the Christmas I'm familiar with... but there are still presents, right? And trees? And special food?

Although... on the subject of presents... I'm not sure what I can get for my friends. I can't afford to buy them all something big. I'd like to make something... but I'm a bad cook, and I'm only just learning how to knit... Would anyone have any suggestions...?

[Phone, backdated to November 1st]

This is a call for anyone who knows Aurica Nestmile. As of this morning, she...

She's been droned, and if the information that I've been given is correct, it's not temporary.

[There's an uncomfortable, pained pause.]

I'm sorry.

We'll take good care of her.

-------

[Action A - 458 Stone Street, Morning, November 16th]

[The days had been dreary ones for Dakki, after Aurica's droning. Chen and Gat were still fine company, and she was very much thankful for them. But Aurica was someone that she had promised to protect and care for. And she had been unable to do that. The town had made it impossible. The injustice of Mayfield had become much more clear, and it was weighing on her much more heavily.

Still, she could be cheered up. And she was somewhat cheered to see that there was a package in the mail for her. It was a small box, as tall as it was wide. Somehow, she knew it wouldn't be her body... hadn't Gat gotten his back on a card? But if it was still hers, that was still something. She placed it down on the kitchen table, broke the packing tape with a knife, and then flipped open the lid.]

It's...? Oh, hey!

[It was a deactivated photon saber, which looked to be no more than a foot-long handle. Dakki held it up and turned it about, then smiled as she saw the spot engraved with her name. Making sure the kitchen was clear, she held it at the ready and powered it on. A brilliant green-white blade of solid light grew from the hilt. Three small photon stabilizers floated free and orbited around the base of the sword. This was a proper weapon.

The day was suddenly looking much more cheerful.]

[Action B - Park, Morning and Afternoon]

[Like a child with a new toy, Dakki very much wants to show off her regained weapon. It was under the pretense of "needing practice", as all of her training sessions over the last few months were with conventional weapons with conventional weapon balances... but practice probably didn't necessitate that much joyful "hah!"ing and "huwah!". Or that many acrobatic leaps.]