[ss] the dream dreamt

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secret santa. give someone a gift, make them happy. he hadn't a clue what to give that particular person; red eyes stared from behind black bangs at the small box he held within gloved hands. despite the cold, he stood right in the middle where the winds were gusting. standing at five foot seven, altair did not cut an intimidating figure against the other couples who were heading into the wooden house for shelter and warmth.

he moved further away from the house, revelling in the faint christmas scent of trees. he stood by one of them, gripping the small box before finally pocketing it. altair felt aimless, drifting from one place to another without settling down. restlessness in a dream, and to think that he was most likely lying on his bed.

"i might not have made a wise choice ..."

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[sinclair]

Snow. Of all things to dream about, of all things, it had to be snow. Sinclair pulled her thick coat closer around herself, swearing at whoever came up with the 'Dream Festival.' The woman rarely ever dreamed anymore ... and, considering her surroundings, she really would have rather just kept it that way. She sighed, then glanced at the note in her pocket. She had recieved the summons; meet her secret santa at the large tree and exchange gifts.

The man she had got was, unfortunately, unfamiliar -- apparently some pilot named Altair. Thank Arceus the note came with a picture, else she never would have picked him out from the crowd of people. The woman had spent the next while attempting to decide what to give as his present (considering she had never once celebrated the holiday season in her life), and ... well. Sinclair finally bought something.

It wasn't anything incredibly interesting or extravagant, but it was the only thing she thought a man would be interested in.

Picking up the heavy box, she made her way to the largest, most obnoxioius Christmas tree she saw. Nobody was there. The woman sighed. Would she really have to carry the thing around until she found him?

The brunette wandered around the grounds, casually ignoring the giggling couples that popped up here and there. Someone caught her eye, and the woman turned to look -- lo and behold, it was the person she was looking for. Quickly making her way over with the large box, she said, "You're ... Altair, right?" Without even waiting for an answer, she held out the box. "This is for you."

Hopefully, he'd like the weights. From the looks if it, it seemed like he needed them.

[alt]

he smiled, seeing someone approach him. "sinclair?" he responded with her name, seeing as she had spoken his. altair nodded his response, then took the box - it was heavy! "thanks," he said, despite being surprised by the weight. he wondered what it could possibly be - there was no reason for it to be something extraordinary, or ordinary. probably something sinclair assumed he, as a pilot, would need. lanky and decently-built, the cooper had no idea she thought he needed them.

in return, he still passed her her present. "here you go, sinclair," said altair, a gloved hand extending her gift. it was a silver bracelet with a sapphire embedded in its clasp that he'd got a nice box to put in. for one, he wasn't sure if it was a female or male - the name could go either way, and there were male and female nurses around. he'd merely chose a safer gift to present, and hoped that she wouldn't bite his head off for it. he smiled, nodding at her to accept the gift.

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[sinclair]

Sinclair accepted the box with a curt nod and a mumbled 'thank you' -- she just didn't do things like this -- and, after a moment's pause, opened it. To her incredible surprise, there was a bracelet inside. The woman stared at it for a few heartbeats, momentarily forgetting her manners. Jewelry was something of a mystery for the woman, as pathetic as that sounded. She glanced back at Altair, self-consciously clearing her throat. "Thank you," she said, tracing the bracelet's chain.

Taking the bracelet out of the box and slipping the box into one of her coat pockets, she pushed up her sleeve and attempted to put the bracelet on her wrist. "... hm." The woman fumbled with the clasp for a while before sighing. She coughed, rather embarrassed, then held out her wrist and the bracelet. "Would you mind ...?" she asked sheepishly. "I've never done this before, so ... er." Sinclair pointedly glanced off to the side, attempting to ignore the slight flush in her cheeks. Never again was she going to celebrate the holidays.

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a small smile curved the man's mouth as he watched sinclair accept his gift. it wasn't something lavish - if he had had more time, his gift would have been different. more time and effort put into it; a twinge of regret cut him. was it not a good choice, seeing as she was fumbling with it? however, as he was asked to help with it, he realized his worry had been for naught. his smile widened. "of course not," he responded, making it a mental note to ignore the flush in sinclair's cheeks. if she did not wish for it to happen, then it did not.

humming a cheerful carol softly under his breath, altair's gloved hands took the clasps and latched them together deftly. "there," he pronounced, glancing at her - she was closer than he'd imagined; it seemed they had unknowingly kept their distances from each other. "it shouldn't break easily unless you get it severed with a chainsaw," he joked, but soon found the joke in bad taste. it was like wishing her hand to be sawed off.

"... sorry. perhaps that comment wasn't well-phrased," he said, apologetic smile complementing his words.

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[sinclair]

Sinclair sighed in relief when the man agreed to help her. "Thank you," she said gratefully. The woman kept her eyes off to the side as he fastened the bracelet, wondering what he was humming. The tune was vaguely familiar ... the brunette supposed it was some sort of holiday song, after a few moments of thought. Not like she would know, anyway. The woman glanced back at her wrist when he declared that he was finished. She caught herself admiring the bracelet, then realized that the man was now a little bit, er, too close for comfort. Sinclair rather enjoyed her personal bubble, and having it subtly invaded wasn't a feeling she was familiar with. The woman shifted her weight, abut to take a step back, when the man spoke again.

"It shouldn't break easily unless you get it severed with a chainsaw."

A strange noise escaped the back of her throat -- something that sounded like the unholy offspring of a giggle and a gasp. Nearly choking, the woman coughed and waved away his apologies with a hand. "It's ... it's all right," she said, attempting to regain her composure. "Interesting, er, metaphor, though." She offered a tentative smile to reassure him that no offense was taken. Sinclair fell into a slightly awkward pause, then held out her hand. "Anyway, I don't think we've ... properly met. My name is Sinclair Hope."

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"you're welcome," altair said graciously, finding it entirely in his nature to help sinclair with the bracelet. he stepped back from the female, then gave her a polite nod before taking her hand and bowing. it wasn't forced; in fact, he did it naturally as if he had been doing it all his life - which he actually had. "it's my pleasure, ms hope. i'm altair cooper of lake valor." he straightened himself, face as calm and patient as ever.

notes orz so short! sorryyy

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[sinclair]

It was impossible to hide the flustered blush that swept across her face when the man took her hand and bowed. What the hell was going on? "Cooper, you ... you really don't have to bow like that." She quickly withdew her hand, mind reeling. How was she supposed to deal with this man? It was bad enough that he gave her a gift -- that happened to be jewlery, of all things -- and that she had to enlist his help in getting the damned thing on. Now he was bowing and being respectful and was still standing there with that calm expression of his like giving gifts and being nice and bowing was an everyday thing.

What was she expected to do? Socializing in general wasn't something the woman was all too fond of; stick her with one of the nicest people on the planet and Sinclar was way out of her comfort zone. Shifting uncomfortably and rubbing the back of her neck and hoping he wouldn't point out her red face, the woman warily glanced back at Altair. "Do ... you always do things like ..." she made a bowing motion and gestured at her bracelet, "... like this?"

NOTES lol your post is fine. it's just the dream world, anyway. and whoo altair for tossing sin into the ocean of awkwardness

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altair blinked, glancing at sinclair with a calmness much like the sea. his gloved hands moved to lock themselves behind his back. "it's just a matter of formality," he said quite simply, "but ah, i agree. i should have dropped it." he gave her a nod, at the same time making a mental note not to act as he normally would around her. flustering a lady was improper, after all. he raised an eyebrow when she moved to bow; he almost reached out a hand to stop her, but restrained himself.

"oh ... yes," he finally said, "however, i'm sorry for having made you uncomfortable, if i have."

notes he's aware yet unaware of it

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[sinclair]

"N-no!" The woman's protest came out a little ... harsher than she expected it to, and Sinclair felt like shooting her foot. She had to remind herself to be polite -- since he was so nice, it was only fitting that she was civil back. "It's fine -- I'm just not, er, used to it. Don't apologize." With a small cough, she averted her eyes once more. "You don't have to act differently ... or anything." For some reason, Sinclair felt like she owed something to this man, and that meant letting him do what he wanted without worrying about her comfort zone.

She supposed he was just ... too nice. "A-anyway." The woman absentmindedly played with the chain around her wrist, trying to find a non-offensive topic. Her eyes drifted down to her hands, a thought occurring to her. "How were you able to choose a present?" she asked. "Not that I dislike it," she added hastily, to avoid offense. "It is very nice. Just ... I don't understand how you could choose something for someone you don't know." Sinclair thought about her own gift, and felt rather embarrassed. She had received a bracelet and he got ... weights.

[alt]

the man chuckled softly under his breath. "even in times of war, manners are still important to some," he commented gently, "i may be an exception - but yes, the present?" altair went along with the flow, listening to her words before his red eyes crinkled as a smile once again graced their presence.

"i admit, it wasn't an easy choice," he confessed, "but i suppose everyone likes receiving gifts, do they not?" sinclair might have been stoic in the beginning, but it seemed to him that the bracelet had warmed her heart on a cold winter's day. "regardless of what the present is, it's the thought that counts."

and he meant every single word he said.

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[sinclair]

His words left her at a loss. The truth of them gave her a strange feeling in her chest -- happiness? The realization surprised her; she hadn't felt something like that in a long time. "Gifts ..." she echoed. What an unfamiliar word. Her eyes flicked up to Altair. "I ... can see why so many people like this holiday, then," she said, slowly smiling. "Giving and receiving gifts does feel rather ... well, nice."

NOTES hey guys sinclair has feelings.

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ah, so she finally smiled. altair felt a little surprised, but concealed it behind a responsive nod of his own. "festive seasons are seasons of cheer and happiness, after all," he said, "it's normal to feel nice." he felt that everyone was capable of feeling nice; not everyone realized it, but it was present. of course, being 'nice' varied from person to person, but altair's concerns were no longer on his thoughts, but on sinclair.

"are you cold?" he asked, concern apparent.

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[sinclair]

Sinclair nodded, shoving her hands in her pockets to keep the cold at bay. "I could get used to it," she murmured quietly. 'Cheer' and 'happiness' weren't exactly a part of her everyday life, but the woman might -- just might -- be able to make an exception now and then. She glanced at the man when he asked about the cold, eyebrows raising slightly. She opened her mouth to speak a stern refusal, but thought better of it. If she was completely honest with herself, the breath fanning out in front of her and the chill in the air was a bit too ... frigid to be comfortable. With a bit of hesitation, she said, "Want to go inside?" Sinclair gestured at the warm-looking building a ways off. "Perhaps acquire some food?" How strange. Was she getting hungry? In a dream?

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"if you wish to," altair responded, gloved hands moving to remove his coat. it wasn't good, or in the least mannered of him to leave a lady freezing in the cold. no matter how unlike it was for her to celebrate christmas, she was still a lady, and a lady should never be kept cold. the frigid wind could be unforgiving. he wrapped it around her, then nodded at her. "after you, ms hope."

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