<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c4/21/3f/c4213f61b4419ad6f9cdffa3332e4780.jpg)</div><br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">NAME:</span></strong>Malcolm Thomas (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=329085.msg15779733#msg15779733)<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">RACE:</span></strong>Human<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">OCCUPATION:</span></strong>Engineering Gimp<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">DATE:</span></strong>December 24th, 2174 CE<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">WEARING:</span></strong>Pictured w/ boots.<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">LOCATION:</span></strong>Kalanhai Bottom Deck | Cargo Bay<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">CONTENT:</span></strong>Mistletoe-get Practice?  God, that's bad.<br/><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">TAG:</span></strong>Flo<br/><br/><div align="center"> ___________________________________________________________</div><div align="center"> ___________________________________________________________</div><br/>The email from Flo had sent a rush of excitement through him that he was distinctly glad she wasn't there to see, because he felt his lips stretching into a grin and couldn't repress the joy he knew was shining in his eyes.  He'd loved talking to her and there was just<em>something</em>about her that made him want to see her again, to keep figuring her out and trying to break through that icy exterior she presented at initial glance.  And, okay sure, part of it was that he found her smoking hot and she'd touched him enough to get him thinking maybe he had a shot, but that wasn't<em>all</em>of it.  Like, if she told him to shut that shit down, he'd be happy to just be her friend.  But, uh...he hoped that she wouldn't.<br/><br/>In anticipation of the date, he'd already cleaned his old service pistol, not that it'd needed it since he was unable to shed the conscientious habits of military life even now that there was little call for him to draw his weapon.  He holstered it alongside his ribs, and then took a moment to check his hair in the mirror before grabbing the present he'd made for her in the few days since they'd last spoken.  It wasn't much, and he'd had to improvise, but it was something he hoped she'd like and he was glad that he'd be able to give it to her in person instead of just leaving it outside her bunk.<br/><br/>When he jogged into the shooting range, he was stunned by the decorations, stopping in his tracks to look around at all the work she'd put in in an effort to just make him feel more at home and to celebrate a holiday that she had no connection to.  Warmth clutched at his chest and he turned a big, sappy grin on her, managing - barely - to resist scooping her up in a hug even as she was punching his shoulder and giving him the universal signal for 'If you make a big deal out of this, I'll be horribly embarrassed and maybe leave.'  He schooled his expression and held out the small package wrapped in hand-decorated brown paper and tied off with a length of red string.  The paper had various red and green circles colored on it because, unlike her, he had about enough artistic talent with art supplies as could fill a thimble.<br/><br/>"Human religions are weird, Florinthia.  There was one about ghost aliens that attached themselves to living humans and caused mental illness.  And another with magic underwear.  Here...uh...it's traditional to give gifts and since you're the only person I know on the ship..."  He cleared his throat, waiting for her to take the lightweight gift, then moved to draw his weapon and fiddle with it, not needing to<em>do</em>anything to it...but also not wanting to watch her unwrap the gift like a big nerd.  Within was an acrylic box containing a necklace with a colorful, circular pendant (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/38/10/0d/38100df70c425f6e6846c4ab6965ddb8.jpg).<br/><br/>"I know you probably don't wear jewelry, but you can hang it up in your room or something.  Don't worry, I used scraps for it, so you don't have to worry about it taking up any valuable resources."  He grinned playfully as he finally glanced up, then looked toward the targets, rolling his shoulders and moving to position himself for target practice.  "The decorations are really nice, Florinthia.  Thanks."