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There is five minutes to go until midnight and Greg is pouring champagne into glasses, being careful to make sure none of them overflow. Behind him the TV shows images of the crowd gathered on the banks of the Thames waiting for the fireworks. Their anticipation occasionally sends wave like ripples running through them with the electricity and fire Magi literally glowing in excitment. They all know that there isn't long to go now until the main event they have all turned out to see.
While it may seem a shame not to go see the real things when we live right in the city, all of us decided we wanted to avoid large crowds of people for a while. Besides it is probably safer for Rose. London is not always a good place to be a person made of glass. And speaking of Rose... I glance over at Mycroft sitting on the sofa, smiling when I see Rose is still curled up in his arms. On the sofa beside them Chip (so named for the chip of glass missing from his left ear) does his best to stand guard despite being too small to really appear all that intimidating. Since being brought to life by Creation Chip has quickly become part of the family. I couldn't imagine life with him. Mycroft notices me watching him and returns my smile.
"She tried so hard to stay awake bless her. I'm planning on waking her up when the fireworks begin." He says softly as he strokes the top of Rose's head. The glass girl mumbles quietly but otherwise does not stir. She does not even react when Mycroft has to momentarily let go of her in order to take the glass being offered to him by Greg.
From where he is sitting on the floor in front of my chair John yawns as he too accepts a glass from Greg. "I know how she feels. I'm struggling to stay awake too." He says, rubbing at his eyes and staring blearily at the TV. "How long is there to go till midnight? If it's much longer there's no way I'm going to make it."
I glance at the clock on the opposite wall. "About three minutes. Not long to go." I say, accepting my own glass of champagne with a smile. "Thanks, Greg."
Despite the fact it's the eve of a new year there is a degree of quietness to our celebration. I think all of us have found ourselves dwelling on everything that has happened this year, remembering just how close we came to not making it at all. Hopefully next year will be a better, calmer one without any apocalyptic events... My train of thought is broken (which is good because new year's eve is no time for such dark thoughts) by a loud, insistent knocking on the door.
All of us jump a little. Hmmm, we weren't expecting any visitors. I exchange a look with John who gives me a small nod and clicks his fingers to summon a ball of electricity. With the creatures from the Forgotten Realm running around you can never be too careful any more. I just really hope the person, or creature, on the other side of the door is friendly. A fight would be such a sad way to begin a new year.
Putting down my glass on the table beside me I get to my feet and slowly head towards the door, John following closely behind me. When I get there I hesitate for a moment, taking a deep breath to prepare myself, before flinging the door open. To my surprise I find two very familiar creatures grinning back at me from the hallway outside. Behind me I hear John suck in a sharp breath, obviously just as surprised as I am.
"Hi, we were hoping you would be in." Cernunnus the stag says, the tips of his antlers scraping the ceiling and forcing him to stoop slightly. Down by his hooves the bloated serpentine body of the Drowned God seems oddly out of place beneath the glow of electric lights. None of us have seen these two since the apocalypse was narrowing halted and it feels a little strange to come face to face with them again. It suddenly brings back a lot of unwelcome memories and I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. Cernunnus paws at the carpet, watching me hopefully. "We thought it would be nice to see the new year in with someone. It seems like a fun Mortal Realm tradition.
The Drowned God nods in agreement. "Seems appropriate as well considering how us, you and the humans are all entering a new era together. We'll probably be seeing a lot more of one another after all." It says, gazing up at me expectantly, obviously really hoping I'll invite them inside.
I hesitate for a moment, wondering what to do, but then Mycroft calls out from the room behind me that there is only thirty seconds to go until the fireworks. I quickly come to a decision. "Come on it- the more the merrier." I say, stepping aside so the two of them can enter. They do so, the Drowned God finding it difficult to squeeze it's bulk through the door. It manages though and settles down in the little space there is avaliable.
All of a sudden the front room of Baker Street seems very crowded. Mycroft and Greg give Cernunnus and the Drowned God a wary look but don't make any comment, instead seeming to accept them into our strange little group of Magi, humans and glass creatures. Then everyone's attention is drawn by the ten second countdown, everybody beside the Thames and all of us at Baker Street happily calling out the countdown numbers.
I can't help but smile as I watch the people and creatures gathered together to welcome in the new year. It's comical in a while and I find myself chuckling to myself as Cernunnus and the Drowned God struggle with the words of Auld Lang Syne. Still they don't do too bad considering they have never even heard it before. We certainly make for an odd little group. The next twelve months should prove to be interesting.