Christmas "Redecoration"

In one of the many snowy streets of Manta Carlos, a group gathered below the mistletoe of a fishing store with the cliche name Robert & Son's Bait & Tackle. Though it wasn't too late, only nearing the middle of the evening, the street was mostly empty. The residents of the street decided to arrange a small celebration for Christmas, and were all currently partying in a department store at the end of the road.

On the few steps that led up to the shop's doorway stood a somewhat short blond teenager, his body wrapped from head to toe in as many thick clothes as it could carry. A civilian-grade gas mask hung over his cozy blue scarf, and a large black duffel bag hung over his shoulder.

After the chattering of the people before him died down, the boy cleared his throat and clapped his gloved hands together. "So!" he addressed the group with a warm smile that contradicted the cold weather around them. "First of all, thank you, everyone, for accepting my invitation. It really makes my heart skip with joy to see so many people interested in art."

Zelyn's golden eyes swept over the heads of those who had decided to - hilariously enough - take the bait that was his invitation for a "nightly outing." Or perhaps they figured out something fun was about to go down, and wanted in? Either way, it was good to see he could get people at all. It makes things easier.

"That being said, you're all probably wondering what kind of "redecorating" we'll be doing. To answer that question..." as he said those words, he removed the bag strap from over his shoulder, and tossed the open duffel out in front of him. With a few loud metallic clanks, the bag landed on the ground to reveal that it was filled to the brim with spray paint cans of various colors. "We're going to do some... repainting!" Zel announced, still grinning despite the fact he had proudly (and somewhat indirectly) announced they would be vandalizing the street with graffiti.

"Don't worry if you're not really good at it - I'll gladly help anyone who's struggling. It's all about expression, y'know?"

At this point, he knew some of those who accepted his sketchy invite wouldn't stick around any longer, given he just told them to join him for some illegal activities. But that's why he handed out so many invitations - he only really needed a few others to make it work.

"Any questions?"

To no surprise, the street fell silent save for the Christmas jingles emanating from some of the stores. Those who had gathered around were in a slight shock from how an innocent invitation to decorate had turned into a blatant proposal to vandalize.

Shortly following the silence was the departure of a good portion of the group, the abandoners mumbling to each other about how much time they wasted or how damn cold it was. Regardless of how many took their leave, however, Zelyn still grinned widely. He had confidence in those that remained.

His smile only grew brighter when an impatient shout came from within the smaller group, now consisting entirely of people who looked like, and probably were, delinquents, urging him to get on with it.

'Perfect. They're really into it.'

With an elegant bound, he hopped from the step and landed in front of the tossed duffel bag. Crouching down, he pulled out a can of red spray paint, then tossed it in the direction of Evie, hoping she would catch it.

"I like your enthusiasm," he complimented her, giving her a smirk that seemed a lot more evil than his previous friendly smiles. "You don't have to wait for me to tell you to get started. Go ahead and show me something good, 'kay?"

As Zel stood up again, hand clutching a can with a black label this time, he heard another person calling in his direction. The wording was much more polite - though perhaps the tone not so much - than when the other girl had talked to him, which managed to rub him the wrong way. He knew these kinds of people.

"Aww, come on, don't put it that way," he said with a somewhat mocking voice as he approached the newcomer, black boots crunching in the soft snow. "I prefer the term... 'beautifying' someone else's property. We're doing them a favor!"

He stood shoulder to shoulder with Elisa, turning so that he was facing the same direction as her. "Just look at how... dull and lonely this street looks," he added and placed his arms forward, forming a rectangular frame with his forefingers and thumbs, like a photographer trying to find the perfect angle for a shot.

Indeed, he wasn't entirely wrong - this was one of the more rundown areas of the city. "We could make it so much better~ Why don't you join in on the fun?"

There was always some righteous idiot trying to ruin Zel's plans. You'd almost think this was a fictional story, where he was the villain constantly being chased by protagonists! So while he kept his cool outwardly, internally he was starting to get a little irritated.

When Elisa pushed his hands down, he pulled them away instinctively. "Why are you assuming I'll ruin it? I'll have you know, I'm a professional artist~" he exclaimed proudly. "Anywhere I go, I only make better!"

Momentarily, he glanced over his shoulder towards the eager girl from earlier. Somewhere between the lingering thoughts of the crowd around, he could hear Evie's thoughts mentioning this chick being part of the student council as she slunk away.

'Of course it had to be the student council...' he thought in mild annoyance.

Well, student council or not, he wasn't about to give up. In fact, perhaps he could make something fun out of this.

"You're not going to let me vandalize this street, you say?" Zel repeated her question, as though he couldn't quite comprehend what she was trying to say. "Those are some bold words... what exactly are you planning to do about it?"

A one-on-one case would've been easy for Zelyn to handle. When someone's facing a difficult situation alone, you can devote your attention to them and really get into their head.

But it seemed that his event attracted more than one white knight.

Soon enough, a second righteous crusader stepped up beside the first, this time someone that he noticed had been with the group from the start - although a bit more secretively than the rest.

Zel nearly clicked his tongue when she threw the phrase "council mate" at Elisa. Great, now there were two of the glorified hall monitors he had to deal with.

'Man, coming back to school after the break is going to be rough.'

"Oh, please, why not give us a little show and tell?" he told Liliana after she finished speaking. "Not sure if you noticed, but i'm a huge advocate for freedom of expression and speech~"

While it seemed like he was just mindlessly provoking the council members as a distraction, the gears in his head were turning as he formulated. There was no doubt about it, he wouldn't be able to take these chicks on his own.

However, he wasn't alone... in fact, his "army" of delinquents was starting to drop what vandalism they were up to and gather around now, attracted by Zel's purposefully loud voice and the commotion the three were causing.