text;

[doggedly]

so if you see something that looks like mistletoe growing in the corner of your doorway
or elsewhere

DONT LET IT SEE YOU
DONT APPROACH IT especially with company
GET AWAY FROM IT or else set it on fire
carefully on fire
ill be along to take care of it later


thanks



[as part of the aftermath of space christmas, there may be some vicious mistletoe hanging around in certain doorways. some of it bites, and some of it growls, and some of it pursues you until you kiss the person you ran into on your way into the kitchen. classic wizard mistletoe prank gone slightly awry but also it's still funny. mistletoe began concentrated mostly on level 5, but it's spread itself upwards and downwards. and into the SEC offices. and elsewhere. feel free to say that you have been assaulted or do some threads of being assaulted in this post/your inboxes/useful log created for this purpose.]

Comments

[doggedly]

[exactly.]

right!


5 minutes
are you in your room with the door closed & locked or dyou think i can get in

[overdraws]

well they're keeping the door pried open so you can probably get in, if you can get past the ones blocking it
those are why i can't get it
they keep attacking me when i try and trying to cut through them makes it worse

[doggedly]

& you with no one to kiss to placate them
what a sad story


FORTUNATELY i can be along in about 20 sec's time
listen for a loud crack sound out in your corridor & start making noise so its easier to find you
although i sppose ill just find the horde of mistletoe crawling closer

READY?!???

[And there is, as promised, a loud CRACK, just a few seconds later--]

[overdraws]

[ She jumps at the sound of the crack, and ventures close to her door (although not too close; the last time she got close to those things they tried to tie her up, and she's not having that again). ] Sirius? [ She tries to pitch her voice up so he can hear it. ] Down here, room 16!

[doggedly]

Wotcher!

[He doesn't sound at all fussed. 100% cheer, that's Sirius Black, because the creation of the mistletoe--while it has gone slightly awry--is now yielding pretty good chances for him.

Anyways: mistletoe, Christmas. You've got to be cheerful. Although there are rather a lot of mistletoes here, she wasn't exaggerating, and Sirius gets to work. He blasts a few straight off the ceiling, leaving a black scorch mark and a withered set of leaves.]

Merlin, you must have really attracted their attention.

[overdraws]

[ Allison has her suspicions about the creation of the mistletoe and who did it and why but right now isn't the time for baseless accusations and slander. She's standing about a foot away from the door, and the mistletoe is already only a few inches away from creeping up on her entirely, but she's not paying attention to them because she's too busy ducking her head from Sirius trying to set her ceiling on fire what the hell?? She looks up at the scorch mark and then to him, scowling. ] Yeah, I'm not sure how. I was trying to get out to grab some lunch, and they just-- attacked. My knives didn't do anything but make them angry. [ And, yes, plants can be angry. She's got an angry tree back home, for instance. ]

[doggedly]

It's safe!

[The fire, that is. As proof, he does a little twist-flick of his wand. A little tongue of flame leaps to life, a brief flare, like the flicker of some invisible lighter, there and then gone. It's a bit more reddish than the usual flame might be.]

And yeah, knives'll do that. I s'ppose it's an inherited memory. All plants fear garden shears. [Obviously. He jabs his wand again, and another rustling mistletoe withers under a burst of flame.] I don't know that I'd call these angry. Not exactly. They're more ghoulishly festive. Are you all right? Did you have to kiss anyone unsavory?

[overdraws]

I haven't had to kiss anyone yet, so I'm doing fine so far. They didn't hurt me too bad. [ Thankfully. And maybe she looks a little relieved at that. ] Can you kill them all with fire?

[ ARE WE GONNA HAVE TO KISS ]

[doggedly]

Oh, well. That's not fair. All injury, no kisses--it's like eating a chocolate but only biting down on the bit that just so happens to be slightly poisoned. All pain, no reward.

[You poor thing. He shakes his head, sympathetically, as he blasts another mistletoe with flames.]

But probably I can, yeah. Why--would the alternative be so terrible?

[overdraws]

That depends. Are you a terrible kisser? [ She crosses her arms and finally notices the mistletoe at her feet, which she promptly steps on. Curse this stupid stuff. ]

[doggedly]

Am I--

[He pauses in battle, wand still half-raised, to arch his eyebrows at her. Hm-mm.]

What d'you think?

[The mistletoe, crushed underfoot, growls angrily. Some of the leaves rustle, a demonstration of agitation.]

[overdraws]

[ Allison makes the mistake of lifting her foot at the growl, and the mistletoe attached itself to her socked foot, biting down hard. Allison yelps instead of answering Sirius and stumbles forward, trying to shake the thing off. ] Ow!!

[doggedly]

[Right, so--all joking and potential for kisses aside, Sirius is still a Gryffindor, and while he's no James Potter, savior to any and all, even Snivellus one memorable time, he's still prone to action. The victim being Allison, a fit girl and also a fellow member of SEC, well, okay, so those things help.

In any case: he drops his act the second the mistletoe gives her a bite, and jumps forward to stomp it, boldly, crushing the bitey tendril beneath the heel of his boot. It gives an angry hiss; he gives it another stomp.]

No more biting for you, mate-- Are you all right?

[And, honestly, it does not occur to him that he is now in very close proximity to Allison, surrounded by mistletoe just looking for a kiss to watch.]

[overdraws]

[ She looks up at him, flexing the toes of her feet. It hurts, not unlike the vicious bite of a tiny dog, but she'll live, probably.

Their proximity isn't lost on her, though, and she looks up at him, their faces awfully close, and is that the sound of the mistletoe stretching forward to watch? Allison swallows. ] I'm fine. Thanks.

[doggedly]

Yeah.

[Wa-ait, he thinks, then, as the rustle of leaves becomes a little more clear, as a half-dozen mistletoes incline toward them, like they're eavesdropping on a conversation. Sirius looks behind him, and around them, and then, quickly, at Allison, with a slightly sheepish grin.

Only slightly.]

Well.

[overdraws]

[ She looks up at him, a small smile forming, and she glances around at the mistletoe as best as she can without moving too much. Allison bites her lip. ] Probably shouldn't set my room on fire. Lydia would be pissed.

[doggedly]

Does Lydia really care what you do in your room?

[What a loaded question! He takes some of the suggestiveness out of it by arching his eyebrows at her, a little over-exaggerated.

It's right around then that one of the tendrils of mistletoe reaches out to push--none too gently--at the back of Allison's calf. Nothing vicious, and no bites, just a push, like, go on. Sirius puts out a hand to steady her, or catch her, or maybe just to tug her a little closer still, to facilitate what has clearly got to come next.]

But I s'ppose we can't disappoint our audience.

[overdraws]

Well, I mean, we share it, so--[ She stumbles forward at the push, letting Sirius catch her, and she looks up at him for another small moment before craning up on her toes just enough to kiss him gently. ]

[doggedly]

So.

[He says that like he's agreeing with her, like, so, naturally. Only then she's stood on her toes, and there's her mouth, and oh, by the way: despite the earlier question, Sirius really is a fantastic kisser. Not dry mouthed and not slobbery. Just good, from plenty of practice. He keeps one hand on her to keep her steady, lifts his other hand to brush back her hair--a bare and gentle little touch, hardly there.

Around them, the mistletoe rustles appreciatively, like whispery applause.]

[overdraws]

[ It's nice, and Allison is secretly a little glad that he's not a werewolf because her heart is pounding at about a thousand beats a second, and if he was he'd be able to hear it. She can at least play it cool, this way, and when they part, she smiles at him, her cheeks just a little pink. ] So.

[doggedly]

So.

[He says it with some emphasis, like a little challenge, and he raises his eyebrows at her.]

That'll do it, I'd say. Oh, look--

[The rustling has grown louder, as the peeping tendrils and leaves creepily withdraw. They slither quietly against the floor and the walls and the ceiling as they make their retreat. Sirius still doesn't quite step back as far as perhaps he ought to, but smiles at Allison.]

Well done.

[overdraws]

[ She watches them go, a small smile on her face, and steps back as well, although she'd like to linger. She'd really like to do it again, but she can't -- won't. Her smile turns into a grin, and she nods. ] Not bad yourself. Thanks for coming to my rescue.

[doggedly]

Hey. Anytime.

[Not one to press, Sirius slips his hands into his pockets, with a shrug. A one-time kiss under psychotic mistletoe is good. He'll take it. If there's more to come, or the potential for more--let it not be said that he will not pursue. All in due time.

For now, he just gives Allison a grin.]

I mean, I'm SEC, right. That's my job. Next time, I'll let you do the saving.

[overdraws]

[ She gives him a small grin back, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. ] Good call. I kinda prefer to do the saving, myself.

[doggedly]

I'll keep that in mind for next time.

[NEXT TIME you dig??]

Put myself into deadly peril and wait for you to rescue me. Is that a bit too forward, or....