Pre-Party Set Up: Leena/Chris
Chris had come over as early as Dante said she could, driving up as Dante and an unfamiliar figure were unloading Dante's car. She had dropped into polite observation mode almost immediately, engaging in small conversation while mostly observing Dante and her new friend Leena, as per Dante's instructions. Leena was clearly shy, as Dante had warned her, but Chris could work with that.
She followed the instructions she was given, for the most part. Dante had let her set up the drinks before shooing her away to go work on decorations with Leena. And the decorations were... unconventional, but in a way that made perfect sense to anyone who knew Dante. Sure there were your classic necessities such as holly and mistletoe (which Chris artfully avoided), but then there were also the Dante prerequisites, such as the inflatable swords.
And that was where Chris found herself with Leena - blowing up a handful of oversized, bouncy swords. What would ordinarily have been an innuendo-and-giggles-filled activity with Dante was a quiet and pleasant one with Leena, neither woman seeming particulary inclined to make raunchy jokes to a stranger. They worked in silence for several minutes, puffing into what seemed like a never-ending vacuum. "This is going to take forever." Chris shook her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Dante was trying to get us out of her way for the next hour."