A Merry Little Life Day [SJO]

[Silver Starlight]

It was a joyous day at Silver Rest.

The Tree of Life was sparkling, illuminating the hall in a soft, multi-colored glow. Beneath the evergreen branches, there was a rather impressive pile of gifts. Some were wrapped with festive paper and ribbon, others were nestled gently inside gift bags, and there were some special gifts tucked into Life Day stockings!

Members of the Order would soon gather around the tree to celebrate Life Day.

It was a time to reflect and enjoy the company of others. As a gesture of gratitude, the Order had prepared a small token for each member that came to visit the great Tree of Life. Wrapped up in simple parchment and red ribbon, each person would receive a new knit hat to keep them warm.

Nearby, there was a fire burning in the hearth and a long table that was nearly overflowing with winter treats. There was coffee, tea, cocoa, and warm cider – beverages that were sure to help everyone warm up and fend off the morning chill. And, there were cookies. Lots of cookies! Many had contributed to the delicious display – ginger cookies, frosted sugar cookies, and chocolate cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar snow.

And if that wasn't enough to draw a crowd, there was always the Secret Stocking Swap!

Participants had been matched up weeks earlier in anticipation of the event. Each person had been instructed to bring their wrapped gift to the tree (or something that represents the gift, if it is especially large), and place it there with a tag that neatly displayed its recipient. It would be a fun morning to see what sort of gifts would be unwrapped!

[Tag: Any SJO member is free to join this thread to enjoy some Life Day fun! Come eat some cookies, drink some hot chocolate, and exchange any gifts that you might have for family and friends!]

Secret Stocking Swap:

Spoiler

Secret Stocking Participants – Please post with your gift under the tree, tag your recipient! IC, they won't know it's you – unless you would like to reveal it to them yourself. Let me know if you signed up, but do not get tagged with a gift.
([member="Yuroic Xeraic"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Jairdain"], [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Matsu Ike"], [member="Eustachya"], [member="Tanaski Yumi"], [member="Tom Taff"], [member="Rick Kaloo"], [member="KeCholo"], [member="Varindar Asyt"], [member="Nesota Kynnovan"], [member="Drystan Marakos"], [member="Sko'saht"], [member="Daphne Dara"])

 

[KeCholo]

''Happy Life Day!'' a receptionist at the party would joyfully proclaim while handing Ke'Cholo a knit hat. He nodded, and maybe even smiled a bit. He stowed away the hat inside his jacket for later. These sorts of parties were always enjoyed by Ke'Cholo, the prospect of free cigars and new business contacts seemed to draw him to these large public events. However, today he was here for a much different reason. He reached inside his jacket and retrieved a very small envelope simply labeled ''[member="Sko'saht"]''. He placed the envelope in a central part under the tree, so that it would not be missed. Inside the off-white envelope were two items. The first was a key and the second was note emblazoned with ''To find your gift go to hanger, open me last.''

Should Sko'Saht go to the hanger and press the alert button on the set of keys, he would be directed to a Starfighter in the middle of the hanger. The Interloper had a bright red bow on it, as well as a set of books and holotapes inside the cockpit. It was polished and painted immaculately, with neither scratch, dent, blemish or dirty spot. A holopad hung on the headrest to the chair detailed the starfighter's specifications as well as weaponry, hyperdrive and even how to uninstall and install parts. The information was all that a pilot or mechanic would need.

Should Sko'Saht open the letter it would read:

''Dear Sko'Saht

I hope you enjoy the starfighter, I made it specifically for you. It's the fastest and most maneuverable starfighter this side of Coruscant. You'll need some special training to work it effectively because of it's high maneuverability. I've left some holotapes and books for you to read, they'll give you all you need to know. The holopad on the headrest is filled with all the details about the craft. Hope you enjoy.

Merry Life Day''

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic arrived at the Life Day present party early, he accepted the knit cap with a bemused smirk etched across his face. The gift he had constructed was in his mind elegant as well as useful, it was not the biggest present but the gift was made for the person with a large amount of hopefulness that it would be perfect for the person. He placed the gift carefully under the tree, the present was wrapped in a lovely festive paper and a tag was attached for the recipient [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

Happy Life Day, Asaraa!

Hopefully you will enjoy this gift, though we might have to do some practising with it together.

Enjoy the day and don't drink too much mulled cider!

Yuroic stepped away from the tree and wandered over to the table with the drinks where he poured himself a warm mulled cider to warm his cold body as he smiles. The man was wearing his most festive jumper with some comfy jeans and a t-shirt underneath the cosy jumper that had a slight itchiness to the wool. Sipping the mulled cider, he enjoyed the blend of warmth and spice to the apple acidity of the cider. It was a perfect drink for this cold but festive morrow. Looking around, he wondered who else would be taking part in the festivities.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Happy Life Day!"

[member="Gir Quee"] would find, somewhere else in the hangar where [member="KeCholo"] stored a fighter, a crate under fine wrapping paper containing both an Otherpilot navicomputer and the corresponding Otherdrive. But he wouldn't know about it until the crate would open, or even find out that it contained an exotic starship component. Now, Varindar would no doubt find out that other people had other gifts to make, but she could feel that at least some of them would receive personal equipment such as weapons or armor. Hopefully that someone will actually gift to me something that isn't a weapon or a suit of armor, she thought, while realizing just how tunnel-visioned some of them were. She could always put it on some display case in the main lobby of one of the hotels she ran if it came to that, probably next to some pictures of satisfied guests, especially if it was an item she couldn't readily use. So she crossed her fingers, hoping for the best, and hoping that whoever gifts something to her will be gifting her something other than a weapon or a suit of armor.

 

[Rick Kaloo]

Rick was looking forward to today's events.​

​

In his hands was a small yet heavy metallic box, covered with vibrantly colored wrapping paper. He placed it under a large tree already filled with presents, leaving a note on top of it.

[member="Tanaski Yumi"], here is a little gift for you. It may seem heavy, but a majority of the weight is the box. I'm just playing it safe in case it goes off. After all, even with the armored box, I was hardly let through the security checkpoint with the box's contents. These "contents" I'm referring to, it is the Mida submachine gun. The only one of its kind, with two unique functions. It is actually quite a light gun, and doesn't take much experience to handle. I hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely, the spirit of Life Day.

P.S, the code to open the lock on the box is 5824.

Then, Rick left to enjoy the other festives.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

The concept of life day was still a new thing for Tana, true it was a well known celebration though having lived most of his life in a sort of nomadic fashion along with his parents unique backgrounds it was never an event his family celebrated or knew a lot about. Regardless the young Jin had decided to participate in the event as best as he could, having made, in his mind, quite the useful and fashionable present for this gift swap. In his arms sat a small box, ornate with a more typical type of warping paper as to not instantly give away who it was from, inside it the hand made present that was intended for the Jedi Master [member="Jairdain"].

He wished he had known a bit more about the women, though considering her actions as a whole and the very few training lesson he had attended Tana was certain she'd like this some some extent, or if not she could find use for it. As he place down the box under the tree he took out a small card sticking it to the top, "Dear Jairdian I hope that this present finds a good home in you and that you use it well, to be honest you may know who sent such a gift considering the few people who would be knoweldgeable of such an item and it's home of origin but either way I am confident you will like it".

Standing up from the tree his eyes scanned over the other ones present... hee present, though the boys brown eyed gaze fell upon one metallic box, one that was addressed to him, kneeling down again he read the card on the from, his eyes going wide at the implication of the gift being a gun. "If I didn't know any better I'd think this is from my mother, though, this is a nice gift... I'll pick it up later". Swiping the small greeting card the young Jedi made his way to the main party area.

 

[Matsu Ike]

Life day was always a welcome sight as the jedi amster was standing there. purple kimono, crafted from vine silk as she moved on the woden geta. Carved from the wood of an ankannes tree that had fallen in one of the attacks. The geta made soft sounds as she moved and her pale feet could be glimpsed briefly before the kimono covered them back up. She had two gifts.. one was a small box full of life day gifts for those who wished to see or use them. The small bundle of Vaotossa blades was there. Beautifully crafted katana's a lightsider would be able to use. THe second was something simple enough in terms with life day rings. For her well gift exchange she had brought [member="Daphne Dara"] a healer's chalice. Made by maple and working for skilled healers it was a wonder.

 

[Drystan Marakos]

The sweet smell of Tobacc filled her nostrils, and like a dragon spouting smoke, she exhaled... twin streams jetting from her nostrils. The cool air of the evening colored her cheeks a bright pink. Stubbing the cigera against the wall in a shower of sparks, the woman turned, returning to the party.

She'd already joined some of her friends in a drink, and she felt loose - joyous, content.

Tucked beneath the SJO's great & beautiful tree (sparkling with decorations) was a package she'd brought for another of her fellow masters: [member="Tom Taff"] would find a box wrapped in brown paper & tied with a simple string. The package would be a bit heavier than one might expect, and would reveal a beautiful gift... one which might easily draw the eye of any onlookers. A lovely card, hand-crafted like the item, rested atop the box:

"Dear Tom,
In all the Galaxy, through countless years of searching, I was very lucky indeed to find you. Your support, care, and friendship has been a great boon to me in my darkest hours... and your wisdom is worth more than all the collected memories of the Galaxy. I hope this gift, made by the greatest minds in the SJO & hand-crafted with your sense of style in mind, protects you in your travels from our home on Kashyyyk to the darkest corners of the Galaxy. May it keep you warm on cold nights, and cool-headed when the fires of war rise to test you.

Your friend,
D.M."

Drystan helped herself to a fresh glass of spiked cider, kept warm near one of the fireplaces, staring into the curling tendrils of flame for a moment... lost... before she decided to join her friends.

(Happy Life Day, everyone <3)

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The festivities were in full swing as a familiar pink-haired Jedi managed to extract herself for long enough to sneak out to the tree. It was the trickiest part of secret santa, not letting your giftee know who you were. A small package wrapped in red and green festive paper floated away from the girl's hand to settle down underneath the tree. It didn't really stand out all that much, one small rectangle amidst a pile of rectangular containers. But then that was the whole point of the Secret Santa.

The tag on the present was made out to [member="Nesota Kynnovan"], and inside a pair of custom-made pistols, Asaraa was pretty happy with how they'd ended up. A simple note on the card read, 'Welcome, I'm glad you're here with us. Welcome to the SJO and enjoy these.'

Gift subtly delivered Asaraa span on her heel, eyes flicking over the gifts till she spotted hers, floating it over to her as she turned to make her way back to the party, carefully unwrapping it. On second thoughts...the girl redirected herself outside, fingers running over the bow in her hands, maybe it was time to take this outside and see what it could do.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Daphne stepped into the main hall, eyes wide at the sight of the Tree of Life all lit up. The sight brought a wide smile to the archivist's face, and she continued on her way towards the tree. Clutched in her hands was a wrapped gift box, her item for this year's gift exchange. It was a fun way to experience Life Day, she mused silently. The box was wrapped in festive paper and tied up with a pretty bow, the last thing it needed was a gift tag.

Pausing next to the tree, she had a seat in one of the armchairs. Daphne pulled out a tag and a pen, she began to write:

“[member="Eustachya"], wishing you a most merry Life Day and the best in the new year. I hope you like the gift!”

She had decided not to sign her name, in the spirit of secret stocking swap. Placing the gift box under the tree, she sincerely did hope that her recipient did like it. Nestled inside was a porcelain tea pot, and a handmade tea cozy that she'd made herself. She had also included a bag of tea to go with it.

Turning slightly, she spotted the stack of gifts from the Order – she accepted it with a nod and a grin. It was then that she noticed a gift under the tree with her name on it...

 

[Sko'saht]

The three large droids bustled through the crowd to take place roughly under the tree. Each had a large green bow on top with the name of their recipient spelled out clearly, @KeCholo. Painted gaily in red, green, and white stripes they shined under the lights of the tree. Chittering in Verpine and binary they jostled each other trying to actually fit their rather large bodies. A note on them read:

"To KeCholo;

I trust you will find these droids as acceptable gifts. They are repair droids able to take care of most damaged components and can be easily modified and reprogrammed. If you have any issues contact the manufactures and I'm sure they will be able to replace anything that might go wrong. Have a good Life Day and keep an eye on the droids in case they do upgrades you are not ready to install just yet."

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir strode through the Silver Rest, slipping past many of the other guests with small package underneath his arm. Gir admitted to himself that he usually was something of a humbug. Not the type that hated Life Day per se, but the type that simply opted to treat it like every other day. But a recent near-death experience in the vast void of space had taken that cold edge off of him, at least for now. He tapped a small transponder button on his package and set it down next to the tree. The package would then transmit its location and a message would be transmitted to [member="Rick Kaloo"] informing him of his gift and its location.

This battle baton served another illustrious mon calamari admiral in the past. I hope it will serve you well now, either as a source of inspiration or as a means of defense in more dire situations. May the Force continue to be with you.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It was Life Day already?

Josh had almost sworn that it was soon, but not now. But there it was. He had meant to wake up both his partner [member="Riamah"] and his son Jason to celebrate first thing in the morning together, but Jason had gotten the idea of Life Day in his head already and had been up before them. And had promptly started jumping on the bed at Josh's Kashyyk treehouse. So he'd had a Life Day morning with Ra and Jason, and soon enough went to spend time with [member="Scherezade deWinter"] who'd shown up for the holidays. He intended to hold something a bit more family and close friends based for the lot of them later, but first there was the SJO's version of the festivities to handle.

Knowing Jason would appreciate the treats, Josh and Jason would walk into the Silver Rest's main hall as the Master of The Order would stare up at the Tree of Life. This would be a different Life Day from the one he was used to. For all of the fun and games, and all the time he'd spent with others... It wasn't what he had. But he knew that those days were gone, those days had died just as she had.

But...

He could make a new life. A new Life Day morning here. And Josh knew it wasn't going to be easy, but...

He looked forward to seeing what it had in store for him.

So he would bring Jason to the tree, with a great big smile as they took a pair of hats. Josh would plop one onto Jason's head to keep him warm, as he stared out at the crowds about...

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]The holiday season was always something Allyson looked forward to. She was able to take some time off and enjoy time with people she wanted to be with. The month had gone by so quickly, with her vacation and her project that she was working on for this event. She had seen more of John, her cousin than she had ever seen in all of her life up to now. It was nice, she was happy that somewhere in the galaxy someone from her past was able to survive Corellia. There was someone that knew her history when she was young - and she could talk about her parents with. It was becoming easier to talk about them as time went on and she realized she was truly happy. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Slowly she walked into the room that everyone was gathering in, she made a beeline to the Life Day Tree that was beautifully decorated. The Corellian wondered how many Padawans it took to decorate the tree, she chuckled and sighed softly. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]In her hands, was a [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]small box[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]. She could feel the [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]electric life buzzing[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] about inside and she smiled. There was hard work put into it and she chuckled softly knowing that she needed to give her Secret Santa another gift since she can’t kill two birds with one stone. Opening her hand, she wiggled her fingers activating her newest toy and cycled through the schematics of the gift. To everyone else, it would look like Allyson was moving her fingers with an open palm, but to her she was reading a document on a hologram. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]With a wave of her hand, the hologram disappeared and the small glow in her palm faded showing that the implant was done doing what she asked of it. Placing the box down, with the rest of the gifts, she placed a card along with a certain Echani’s name written on it in a delicate script - [member="Jyoti Nooran"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]A message was attached inside the letter and Allyson exhaled softly and mused. As she waited for the woman to arrive, Allyson found herself staring at the tree becoming lost in thought. [/SIZE]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

~ Wearing: Shawl ~ Tag: [member="Matsu Ike"]; open to interaction ~​

It was a strange tradition to her: celebrating the seasons changing from the temperate norm of Kashyyyk to its month-or-so-long winter wonderland. Eustachya had to admit, it was beautiful, but still too raw a reminder to give her comfort. Memories of her exile into the Daphis Iceway was still fresh in her mind, despite not just the amount of passed time but the lightyears now between her and it. If Jyoti had not appeared to save Eucha from the deathly cold, she was quite certain she would not have made it.

She carried a small package over to the lit Life Day tree, carefully wrapped in a blanket because, yet another modern tradition Eucha had yet to understand and adjust to, wrapping gifts in perfectly good paper, something of a rarity on Sargus Novis, seemed very wasteful. She stooped and, scooting closer to the base of the tree, settled her contribution to Secret Stocking into an empty space between two other gifts. On the front, tucked into the top of the red ribbon was a note reading in small, neat, capitalized writing,

Master Ike,
May the most joyous year lay ahead of you.
~

With that, she stood and threw the side of her shawl that had slipped when she bent back over her shoulder. The padawan wasn't set on finding her gift yet. Instead, the festivities awaited. Perusing the food table, she helped herself to some chai some tea began scanning the room for someone she recognized. Possible, but unlikely. Thanks to the long sabbatical-like break she had taken from the Order, she hadn't met many of her fellows at all...

 

[Jairdain]

It could never be said Jairdain didn't have a sense of humor. So when the time came for the Secret Santa gift exchange, she ended up with having to get something for @Drystan Maracos. Well, she decided to show that humor today and did leave a small envelope for the other woman. Instead of a gift inside was a message that was typed out. Sometimes it was just easier to have some things done by other people. Not being able to read or write did have some disadvantages...

"Master Maracos:

I propose a challenge to you. Go the novice quarters here on Kashyyyk and your next clue along with a piece of your reward will be found there.

Jairdain Ismet"

Sage her small Ashlan Wolf companion came with her and jumped down to look through the various presents there. Bringing back a package that had her name on it, he wagged his tail as she took it from him and climbed back up to her shoulder.

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

Life Day.

He'd never heard of Life Day. It was apparently a holiday tradition on this planet that was often celebrated by other cultures outside of the Wookiee as well. Or was it? Was this just the Silver Jedi's way of respecting the cultures of those that lived on this planet and had called it home for generations? It was... An interesting reason to hold a celebration. But with all the bad in the world, Nicholas couldn't truly fault them for wanting to spread some sort of good and cheer.

Despite all he'd put them through, he had been welcomed into the care of the Silver Jedi - for real this time - and into the family of his brother with open arms. The Master of the Order had created a family of his own, in a sense. He had a son now, named Jason who Nicholas had yet to meet. There was a "Ra" in the picture now, apparently his brother's new partner. He had a different partner the last he had heard, Jason's mother, but according to records the woman was now deceased. His second brother, [member="Gherron Vael"] had also apparently survived the events that had separated them, though Nicholas had still yet to meet him either. And now there was this "Madalena", who while not related by blood or by a partnership, seemed to be considered family by his brother either way. While he did not understand why a Sith would be accepted into the fold, he supposed he couldn't blame him... For what was he? Brother or not, he had done terrible things. He did not deserve to be brought into this family unit, and yet here he was, welcomed with open arms... And invited to a family dinner at some point later today. Apparently Gherron, or James as was his birth name, [member="Riamah"] as well as this Madalena ( [member="Scherezade deWinter"] ) had all been invited. A family gathering, he had said.

Considering he had tried to kill two members of this "family" not long ago, this was going to be a bit awkward.

Still, he wandered the halls of the Rest while he tried to clear his head. He found himself staring up at this tree of theirs. It was a symbol of some kind, right? But something else caught his attention. It was a familiar face in the form of [member="Jairdain"], a woman he knew from his second set of memories. He remembered her... He had considered her weak and unworthy of being a Sith, too caught up in sentiments to survive. He had told her to run. Told her to run from the Sith before her Master turned her into putty.

He found himself smiling, just slightly, at the sight of her. Her being here must have meant she had found her place and calling here. He was happy to see that.

But as he found himself staring at her, he had to ponder on the irony that they would both find themselves here.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Eustachya"]

Matsu looked at the people who were there and raised an eyebrow while she walked finding something with her name on it well... she hoped it was for her. A small mistake that happened when you said master Ike.... there was her, katagiri, Orihime, reiko, noriko, Nico, Via, Ikki, Ikari... the Ike clan were jedi through and through before she held it up and examined it. THen opened it and looked at the cup itself when she looked at it. Checking it out so that she could when she touched it warmly. "Beautiful." And it was, she liked it, clearly they had thought about what she would want and that was more then enough for her as she focused on the force itself and was filling it up with convection from her fingers to heat the water.

 

[Jairdain]

As she turned away to head to the novice quarters, Jairdain stopped. She felt eyes on her and Sage perked up. Looking around for her, she was looking through her wolf's eyes when they saw Nicholas staring at her with a small smile on his face. Since she had been totally blind when they met and only saw through the Force, she had never actually seen what he looked like.

Not wanting to pass the up the chance to speak to him though, she walked his direction. When she got closer, she reached out with the Force to feel this person. If they had met before, that imprint they had would be remembered. Taking in a bit of a breath, the surprise would be seen on her face.

"Nicholas, what are you doing here? I never thought to meet you again."

Stopping within an arms length they had been this close before on that now forgotten world when she was sith. He had been as well, but advised her to run...

"Did you run too?"

[member="Nicholas DragonsFlame"]

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

By now most people had come and either put a gift down by the tree or have picked one up, it was rather nice to see people getting into the grove of things and participate in such a nice event. going back to the tree he picked up the metal box, tucking it under his arm, before heading back over to socialize but with who? Earlier he had seen a familiar face that was always fun to talk with and look at. Looking around his eyes scanned for [member="Drystan Marakos"], the women's golden blonde hair coming into view among the small sea of people in the room, Tana quickly making his way over to the young Jedi master, giving a small *ahem* when getting within arms distance.

"Happy life day Drystan, may I ask what you received for your stocking swap"? With how different the gifts seemed to be no real idea came to mind on what she could have gotten or who her secret swap person was, though for some reason she didn't seem very enthusiastic.