Morningstar Manor

Sarah had just finished a really lengthy but reward project, designing a new website for a local author whose main focus was historical novels based in the City. It was ready to go live, pending final approval, and she sat back with a satisfied sigh.

Charlie was hanging out in the Mocha waiting for the time when he could drop Nia off at the day care. She had a cookie and was playing with a handful little plastic soldiers and giving each of them their own crumb. "Eat it ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL up," she advised them.

Charlie smiled and continued to draw, letting his eyes swim out of focus and making lovely bright blurry mark on the page in oil pastels as the people there came and went each accompanied by their drifting signature of colour.

All the boxes had been emptied, and the ball room was full of clothes and clothes and clothes, on racks and on chairs and in stacks and in bags.

There were a few makeshift curtains between the pillars, and Lewis was hopping between them like a goblin, bringing new suggestions for outfits, or parading his makeshift models in front of a big mirror.

He was being followed by a calm woman in her fifties who was wordlessly scribbling on a large pad, Andras who was snapping the 'winning' outfits with a compact camera, and a little girl of about five who just gaped at everything and tried to stay out of the way.

When Andras almost fell over her, he just turned, grabbed her, put them on his shoulders before she could even squeal, and just carried on working as if she wasn't there.

Looking for volunteers for a fashion photoshoot here in the Manor ASAP. All on the up and up I promise and with big names behind it. Meet me in the Mocha!

[ooc: this is sent out to any and all men or women that have been in the spa and conversed with Gabe in any shape or form so feel free to respond]

Hugh was not a big fan of the holidays. Gathering with his family was always a rather stressing affair. But he'd done his duty and traveled back to the UK to see his parents and now he was home and back to work.

The dreams had been coming strong and nearly every night and Hugh was again in the Mocha with his little netbook and typing away on a rather gruesome part. Truth be told it had unnerved him when he'd woken up and found - well he wasn't sure how, exactly, one of the shirts in his hamper had wound up with blood on it but he was sure there was a good reason.

Now he paused in his typing, pushed his glasses back up his nose a bit and sipped his coffee, reading over what he'd written so far.

It was a cold time of year to be serving pizza in your underwear, Niles decided as he turned the heat up a bit in his apartment to compensate for his lack of clothing and turned on some Rolling Stones while he was at it. As he'd promised Sarah, he was wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs and there was a large pizza sitting on the kitchen table, waiting for her arrival.

There were two boxes, one large and one quite small.

In the big box there was the full collection of Manic Panic hair dye in every color currently on the market. In the smaller box there was this along with a note: 

Happy Holidays, my beautiful Rah. Take this and do something with all that pristine blonde, will you? I'm starting to get a complex. And while you're at it, come see me for RivRah night down at my palace. I'll feed you pizza in my underwear, if you're lucky.

Love,
Riv

"Mmmm, dinner was absolutely fabulous," Sarah said, rubbing her belly. "Now's the part where I invite you up for a nightcap, but I'm warning you, I only have hot chocolate and a couple of licorice strips."

Connor, in the Lamb, had taken over the bar to give Molly the day off so she could...well, do whatever it was that needed doing this close to Christmas. He was alternately serving drinks and food and working on some lists of things he intended to order for the Lamb, bills to be paid, general stuff like that -- but ahhh, it felt good to be doing it in person instead of over the phone or online.

Sarah had ducked down to the Mocha for something sweet, her notebook in hand. She'd actually managed a few chapters on her book-that-wasn't-a-memoir-after-all, and it felt good to take a break from writing to face the world, even if it was still only inside the Manor.

Brian and his Grams were also in the Mocha, Grams looking pink-cheeked in her favorite dress and hat, ready to be taken out for a full day of Christmas shopping. Brian looked tired, probably because...he was. Late nights and early mornings at the lab were taking a toll.

Trevor in the gym, working out hard, working up a sweat. He was feeling strange, had to get out of the apartment that was too empty without his wife.

Gavin, on the other hand, was really out and about, sitting in the corner at the Lamb, nursing a Guiness and basket of fries. It was time, he'd decided, to get the hell out of that apartment, meet some people, get a life that didn't revolve around his brother...or anything else.

Annnnnd, finally, Elspeth was in the lobby overseeing some last-minute changes in the holiday decorations. It turns out some of the glass balls dangling from the Manor's oversized tree were too breakable, so she was supervising their replacement and the re-hanging of nearly identical ones in child-proof plastic.

"I'm telling you, this is the place. I mean, not that I'm a stalker or anything, but it's where he hangs out." Sarah pointed across the street to the little deli on the corner. "I think we should go in!"

They weren't really stalking him, were they? If they just happened to go in for a sandwich?

Kara hated dressing up. She wasn't a girly girl - she was far more comfortable in jeans and tshirts or flannels than in dresses. But sometimes you just had to. Like tonight when your bar was being given an award for one of the best bars in the City. She'd found out last minute and though she technically wasn't the owner - Connor still was - he couldn't go so Kara was filling in.

Hence the dress she was wearing now. But she had a bit until her cab arrived and so she had gone into the Mocha for a coffee, ignoring the looks she was getting.

****

Loki was sprawled over the couch closest to the fireplace, soaking up the warmth as he flipped through his old and battered copy of Poe.

****

Hugh was in the Mocha as well, reading glasses in place, hair sticking up wildly. He'd just had the oddest dream. Well he assumed it was a dream at least - and he must have been sleep walking. Because he didn't remember coming to the Mocha. But at least he had his notebook with him and now he was hastily jotting down the bits he did remember.

Sarah was a busy girl he'd learned after purchasing his new Mac and having to wait a few days to get her to come help him set it up. Even then, it was late in the evening before she could manage to fit him into her schedule.
Now he stood, leaning against the doorway of his home office in nothing but a soft gray t-shirt and jeans, watching her work.

It had been a long damn time, but Sarah was super ready for some pampering. Hair, massage, whatever else they were going to throw at her. She was ready. "Hi," she said to the receptionist. Appointment for Roth?"

It was nice to start off a busy week of work with doing jack shit, Drew decided as he walked into the little coffee shop in the Manor that everyone seemed so batshit crazy about. He wasn't especially a coffee person, but it seemed to be the place where everyone swarmed and he was interested in meeting new people and looking everyone over. No one had ever gotten anywhere by hiding in their living room, right?
So with a charming, amicable manner, he got in line and gave a friendly smile to anyone that happened to look at him.

Sarah, wearing fuzzy slippers and with her hair in a pony tail to disguise the fact she hadn't yet been touched up by that handsome dude who owned the spa, had just picked up her mail and was busy tossing a bunch of junk into the trash can conveniently located just next to the mailboxes.

One, two, three, all junk! And then a bill. And then a postcard. And more junk...

Elspeth was reading a magazine and nursing a pot of hot peppermint tea. She was also writing a list -- mostly of last-minute gift ideas -- Mr. Vision was so terribly difficult to buy for. He really was a man who had everything.

Sarah, feet up on an empty chair, had a thick paperback in one hand and a doughnut in the other. Both were gooey and decadent, and she was thoroughly enjoying each.

Gavin, on the other hand, was sitting by himself at a corner table, drinking black coffee and contemplating taking up smoking.

Hello, handsome -- remember me? Blonde with the bad roots? I'm in dire need of some upkeep and I've totally blanked on how and where to find you (professionally.) Can you call me?

I'll make it ever so worth your while...

xo,

Sarah Roth

Charlie had been on the phone since first thing that morning, talking to Amesh and Brian, Coo in San Francisco, Mimi in Honolulu and now finally, Andy in New York.

"So," he said, "that's what Coo said, and I asked Mimi what she thought and she agreed with some notes of caution. Amesh says I have to do something and this strikes me as a solution that - well - it makes me uncomfortable but it's better than the entire chain going bankrupt. If Udridtz will settle out of court for cash, it'll save a lot of woe."

"I can still go down there and kill him for you," Andy offered. "Well - sort of kill him - but yes, this sounds as though it might work. Gah, other line's ringing. I'll be in touch, Chas, byee."

She rang off and Charlie put the phone down, swung in his spinny chair for a moment then got up and went out into the gallery.

Making a decision was a relief, even if it was one that he didn't really like.

Coffee was a wonderful thing. Coffee and muffins were even better. Coffee and muffins and watching your little girl coloring pictures of turkeys and pumpkins was probably the best. Okay so technically she wasn't his little girl yet - they were still waiting on all the adoption paperwork to go through but as far as Deacon was concerned Nia was his.

"That's gorgeous, baby," he said when she proudly showed him the rather messy picture. Nia beamed and started a new one and Deacon smiled and sipped his coffee.

*******

Kara was sitting on one of the couches, sipping her coffee and going through the last few things she had to do before heading to Boston for Thanksgiving. Today was the last day at work then she could leave tomorrow - well they could leave. Her and Niles. That thought made her smile.

*******

Jack had been up before the sun. Mrs. Eddings's heater had busted, lift two had gone wonky, something had been messing with things in the basement... Yawning and already looking a bit ragged he stopped into the Mocha. It was time for a break dammit.

******

Jason was taking a break too, sitting just in the doorway of the Mocha and watching the room as well as the lobby. Oh sure Frank was covering the desk for a bit but it was the holidays. That meant guests were coming to the Manor and Jason liked to keep an eye out to see who the guests were. Holidays - at least for him - were always stressful.