/* starter for @nytehavyn-circle */
The holiday season was usually difficult for Ed. Growing up, it had been the one time his father tried (and failed painfully) to actually be a father to Ed and his older sister. Ultimately for Ed, the holiday break meant he was stuck at home for two weeks with a father and sister who both couldn't leave work at work. After the whole debacle where his father had threatened to abduct him and make him work for fCon that had resulted in Ed obtaining a restraining order against the Dillinger patriarch, Liz had decided that the only way she could protect Ed was by limiting contact with him to letters.
Encom's holiday parties were not much better than the ones his father hosted for fCon that he was forced to attend as a child, the only difference being that Edward Dillinger Senior was replaced with another obscenely rich CEO in the form of Richard Mackey who liked the sound of his own voice more than Ed's father did. Talking with the rest of the partygoers was always a chore, as most of the other board members only cared about one-upping each other and increasing their own personal wealth. Alan Bradley might have been pleasant to talk to, if Ed had been anyone other than a Dillinger.
As an employer, Terran Nytefyr seemed to be at the very least less grating than Richard Mackey, though Ed had no idea what to expect of the holiday festivities his new employer had invited him to, except that he was still very likely to bail as soon as was socially acceptable.
Either way, he needed to find something for Beo and appropriate gifts for the work party. Beo had been easy enough. He'd found a Lego How To Train Your Dragon set that he knew the kid would adore. Finding things for everyone else had been a challenge. Ed barely knew his employer, or anyone else close to Terran, and after wandering the mall for several hours, still had nothing but the Lego set, except that now he was exhausted.
He made his way to a food court, hoping for somewhere to sit for a little while while he came up with an alternate plan, except that the food court was packed, with not a single open table in sight.
It's as he was scanning the tables again, hoping for somewhere to sit, that someone else in the crowd caught his eye. He walked over, leaning a bit on Colossus.
"Rachel?" he asked as he approached the table.