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It had been a weird few days. The first instance that something appeared amiss to him, Drautos noticed Luche of all people looking rather....tetchy. Jumpy. Especially when he'd called him in to give him a lowdown on the day's events.
"Luche, today's report." Drautos ordered in an authoritative tone.
A low,extremely nervous laugh followed by a very poor attempt at a cough to cover it up had him looking up from his desk. The Captain blinked multiple times, just staring in puzzlement at one of his usually well composed and well-behaved glaives.
"Was it something I said?" Drautos was confused.
It seemed as if Luche realised his grave mistake and regained his usual prim and proper look, flicking a loose strand of hair back into place.
"Sorry, Captain. I've recently returned from a conversation with some of the others and...our discussion let's just say was...rather animated. Forgive me." Luche’s tone was clear. The correct voice for addressing a superior.
Drautos waved his hand, already bored.
"All is forgiven, just...continue. I haven't got all afternoon," He muttered, clearly not wanting to make the situation more awkward for Luche.
Leaning back a little, Drautos relaxed a bit.His focus was now on Luche, taking in everything the Glaive had to tell him.
------
There was rather a festive charge in the air, yet the Glaives knew their Captain didn't take much notice of it. Christmas to them was fun and joyful, yet to their superior it was something that was commercialised and expensive, a day of gluttony and excessive gifting. Sometimes Libertus described Drautos to be a Scrooge character of sorts.
It didn't take long for certain glaives to work out that their leader was often alone at this time of year. Drautos once told Crowe and Pelna that he was going to spend Christmas with distant relatives. This however was a lie. Drautos had no-one else. It was sad for them to know that their Captain was alone at Christmas.
"I get some people don't like Christmas for whatever reason but...we can't just let him be alone. We have to do something." Resting her chin on her hand, Crowe gave a little sigh.
"Like we did for his birthday that time?" Pelna chimed in.
"Yes Pelna. That's exactly it" Crowe beamed.
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So Crowe, once again with her plans and ideas, decided that even if it was just a one off, they had to do something for Drautos this Christmas. The birthday celebrations Pelna brought up were a huge success, right? What could possibly go wrong with the Christmas idea?
Nyx wanted out initially, straightaway raising his hands up in surrender when Crowe and Pelna had come back with their findings.
"Nope! One helluva nope. Drautos hates Christmas with a passion, for whatever reason I don't care to pry into. I'm sorry Crowe, but this time, no hidden celebrations. I think I can speak for all of us when I say, leave the boss man be. At the most, we can go all out for a meal on Christmas Eve. Leave it at that." Nyx protested, instantly waving his hands.
Exasperated, she turned to Pelna for back up but he too agreed with Nyx and a few others.
On the surface, she reluctantly decided to go with Nyx's suggestion; the meal on Christmas Eve.
---------
Dejected, she was heading home that day, when Luche decided to catch up with her, practically running down the steps. Crowe was quite startled when he took her by the arm.
"Look, I know why Drautos hates Christmas so much!" He blurted out, his words almost tumbling over one another.
Crowe blinked, staring at him to continue.
"He never had one." Luche crosses his arms.
"You know this how, Luche?" Crowe stood watching him with interest.
"I saw an entry in an old journal not so long ago whilst I was waiting for him to retrieve something from another room. I was delivering that day's report...it was just there." Luches words were almost a mumble, as if he felt guilty for stumbling across this secret.
"And?" Crowe hung on for more information.
"It was weird. Drautos only has the most relevant information on his desk at all times. The only paper he needs is the only thing in front of him.
The journal however? It was old. From what I could remember, this entry detailed a specific memory. He was only a child, and he was looking forward to all what Christmas brings and I'm quite sure it was his father who took that joy away. The rest of that entry was obscured by other documents." Luche trailed off.
Crowe processed this information for a moment, eyes looking back at Luche, then at the floor, to nothingness, then once again back to Luche. Gently cupping his face, she pulled him a little closer, a new determination lighting her eyes.
"Me and you, no-one else - we'll do something. Maybe once the ball starts rolling I can call in the others too." Crowe said quietly.
"I don't get to opt out of this at any point?" Eyebrows raised slightly Luche replied.
"We'll be fine. We got this. Crowe Altius knows exactly what she's going to be doing, just follow what I say. It'll be good," she said back to him with a wink.
Problem was, Crowe was slightly worried about a potential negative reaction from her Captain. Was this plan of hers really going to go off without a hitch?
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In the present moment, Luche was still getting over his jitters. His task was to make a mental note of when the Captain would be away from his office. When the Captain wasn't directly looking at him, he would notice spaces where things could be placed, attached to other pieces of furniture. Even the ceiling wasn't excluded from being a potential spot.
That was the easier part of his task.
He really needed to see the journal, which oh so happened to be right in front of his Captain. A tiny internal sigh almost made its way out, but still he hoped and prayed there would be some external distraction.
As luck would have it, almost towards the end of his report, Drautos' com buzzed, enough to make the Captain scowl and curse.
"Who is responsible for this?! Are there people still incompetent enough they can’t use a basic communications device?!" Snapped the irritated Captain.
"I-I'm sorry Captain Drautos, sir! I'm from the Crownsguard and--" There was a very nervous response from the guard on the other end.
"Crownsguard. Explains it then. Continue!" There was a snort of derision from Drautos.
"R-right, o-okay, Captain. Um, we're all down in the training area, and there's been a fight between some of the other Crownsguard and Glaives sir a-and the Marshal hasn't got here yet to try and diffuse t-the situation s-so--" The unnamed guard continued to babble, as if he feared Drautos would warp right behind him at this very moment.
"For Heaven's sake! Sometimes I think I should be wringing all of your necks and throwing you into prison! Indefinitely! I'll be down as soon as I can!" Drautos rolled his eyes, as if he'd just been thrust into babysitting a group of incompetent individuals.
With that, he ended the call, pushing himself to his feet - leaving the journal right where it had been.
"Luche, I won't make you wait for something as petty as this. Write up whatever you need to tell me, leave it at my desk. Consider yourself dismissed. Here’s my keys. Lock up my office when you are done, then give them to me later on," Drautos responded wearily, making sure he had what he needed.
"Yes sir, you have my word." Luche saluted.
"Good. I'll be seeing you then." Drautos nodded before leaving in a hurried manner.
Waiting for silence, Luche closed the door and settled himself in the chair, nimble fingers prying through each page. Gloves still on, he made sure not to make any obvious disturbances which the Captain might notice later.
He was quick to find a break in the man's busy schedule and discovers that the weekend before Christmas is literally the only time free. Seeing all the busy note tacked pages even made the work-loving Glaive wrinkle his nose in surprise. It made him more on board with giving Drautos a brilliant Christmas.
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Things happened so very quickly when it came to preparation.Taking along two available Glaive members, Pelna and Luche, Crowe knew exactly what she was looking for when picking up the decorations.
The moment Crowe turned a corner in the local mall, shopping trolley in hand, both men's eyes widened when they saw just how much she planned to purchase. Already inside the trolley was a Christmas tree with accompanying fairy lights.
Keeping the surprise plans from the Captain had been difficult and so the moment Drautos' weekend off rolled around, everyone that was willing and available had swarmed to help.
Libertus insisted on doing the tree as they went into Drautos' office. To Libertus' left was a neat tidy corner with a vacant space.
It was a realistic fake tree that was not too overbearing and approximately 5 feet tall. The lights had different settings, and had colours similar to a gold and silver sparkle.
Nyx and Luche were given directions as to how to display the ceiling decorations. Angels and traditional foil glistened in the reflection of the big centre light, but Crowe was constantly changing her mind to make sure the positioning was just right.
Bunting was hung up where it could go, mini decorations near the Captain's only window. Pelna even made fake snowflakes which sparkled as he applied the dust.
Without considering anyone could interrupt them, Cor made the briefest of appearances, looking for Drautos. Crowe quickly ran over, placing a finger to her lips in hopes of shutting Cor up and sending him on his way, before quickly whispering whilst he was still in earshot.
"Don't you dare say anything Cor Leonis, not one word!"
****
It took some time until Crowe was happy with what she wanted, but when everything was complete it really did look nice. Festive and warm she hoped it would make Drautos feel like he wasn't alone, no matter how much he tried to deny it.
When Libertus was the last to finish what he was doing, they all had a good look at how it all came together. The office was giving off many Christmas vibes and energy. Paperwork was also put into order (some even completed by them), rubbish binned, furniture cleaned and bookshelves tidied.
When Drautos got too busy, self-care was often ignored.
Nodding, Libertus eventually gave Crowe a cheery grin, with a double thumbs up.
"We've done a good job, Crowe. I know we felt hesitant about this initially with good reason because Drautos can be scary but it needed to be done. Just,yeah."
Libertus commented, eyes scanning the room with satisfaction.
A few more nods come from some of the others in the room.
Crowe, despite reservations, was now starting to worry a little. What if he really didn't like their interference? Only time would tell...
****
Arriving at the citadel after what felt like the longest weekend Nyx and Libertus were training together whilst Crowe was unable to focus and could not stand still. She walked feverishly up and down, desperately waiting for time to pass.
It was only a short while later when they had heard a loud and agitated voice sound throughout the area.
"Who's responsible for this? Come to my office, now!"
Crowe took off to Drautos' office before anyone could stop her.
****
Drautos stalked through the halls commanding his usual level of respect. Appropriately dressed, clean, everything about him all to perfection,especially the care he gave to his blade and medals.
Everything seemed to be going well until Cor gave him an anxious greeting, a fleeting look back toward where his office was. Frowning a little and enquiring as to whether or not Cor was okay. All Drautos received was a dismissal of concern and an excuse to head somewhere he needed to be.
Feeling confused and also bemused, Drautos marched on at an increased speed. Fiddling with the keys, his strength sent the opening door back with some force.
The look on his face was unreadable as he soon saw everything lit up and sparkling. His jaw set in a tight clench, hand gripped the door handle until his knuckles turned white. A myriad of emotions began to flow through the Captain, not all positive.
He remained like this until he spotted a card in a red envelope on his desk, propped up by a little Christmas bear sporting a cute little Santa hat.
Walking slowly over to it, he opened the card and read it.:
"You deserve this, you are entitled to it. I want you to experience what you never got to all those years ago.
Merry Christmas."
Crowe. He just knew it was her. He gathered she wouldn't have done this alone, and that Luche was part of this too. Knowing how clever she was at pulling people into her plans, it was just too obvious.
It moved him how often they showed that they cared and thought the world of him.
Taking a step towards the tree, he noticed on the edge of his chair an actual Christmas hat for him to wear. Immediately, he hatched a clever plan. Placing the hat snugly on his head, he sat in his chair, and took a deep breath.
"Who's responsible for this? Come to my office, now!" Drautos bellowed, voice deliberately loud. No communication devices necessary for this message to be delivered.
It didn't take long for whispers and loud voices to start circulating and several pairs of footsteps to reach him. He was amused with the heightened voices deliberating on who would go in first.
Crowe eventually stepped forth, poised ready to deliver a speech when she saw her Captain, complete with festive hat. She stifled a laugh, as he rose to greet her. His look as forlorn as standard.
Hands clasped behind his back, Drautos gave a little nod along with an acknowledging smile. His appearance just this once in festive attire, he humoured them. They had gone to all this effort just to make him happy. He would enjoy it this time.