1. Do you celebrate Winter Veil at all? If so, is it a new tradition for you, or one you've been doing for as long as you can remember?
2. How do you feel about the more commercial aspects of Winter Veil? Do the Smokywood Pastures vendors bother you at all?
3. What sort of food do you like to have around Winter Veil time? Are you a fan of Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake?
4. What sort of decorations do you put up for Winter Veil, and when do they go up?
5. If you could get anything at all from Greatfather Winter this year, what would it be?

Ovistine
1. Do you celebrate Winter Veil at all? If so, is it a new tradition for you, or one you've been doing for as long as you can remember?
Oh, all me life. I'm a dwarf, after all. An' yes, of course I celebrate -- it's one of the best times of the year. I go back home to Stormwind, spend some time at the Cathedral to bring myself closer to the Li--

--I--this year I'll probably go back to Ironforge, maybe see how Grandmum an' Grandda are doing, hang out at the forge. I'll look around an' see what wishes are around for the orphans, if anybody wants wee steam tonks or mechanical yeti, an' build a few if there's a need. Of course, Da always makes a fine Winter Veil breakfast an' me an' Da an' Mum open our presents together, an' then we go to the Ironhammers' an' see Uncle Brandur. Grandda is already bugging me to bring the elf. After Pilgrim's Bounty... we'll see. I'll ask him...

2. How do you feel about the more commercial aspects of Winter Veil? Do the Smokywood Pastures vendors bother you at all?
Nah. I figure goblins celebrate in their own way, an' if that involves turning a profit, a'right. They're good for presents for people you don't quite know what to get, anyhow, an' Light knows I've always got some of those!

3. What sort of food do you like to have around Winter Veil time? Are you a fan of Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake?
Oo! Fruitcake! Well, it's got to be soaked in rum, of course. But aye! It's one of my favorites. I'm also fond of the candy you find this time of year--peppermint sticks, chocolate bark, chewy nougat, and any sort of chocolate. Da's usual Christmas turkey is always nice, too. An' I'm hoping Valinar will bring some more of those sweet potatoes. I mean, if he comes for Winter Veil. Light knows with my family being how it is, he might rather not...

4. What sort of decorations do you put up for Winter Veil, and when do they go up?
At me own place in Stormwind, I have a teensy mechanical tree. Built it meself two years back with some help from Da. It lights up and spins around! There's a stocking I knit meself, but as Mum pointed out, what with it sort of having two toes, it might be a good axe cozy. I need to look up Tiforis an' see if I can try it on that fromping great axe of his, the one like Valinar's, so as to see if it'll fit. An' then I suppose I'll need a new stocking...

5. If you could get anything at all from Greatfather Winter this year, what would it be?
*braids droop* I... I don't think Greatfather Winter's in the business of granting what I want most for Winter Veil. At least, last I checked, he didn't do much about dead snake gods an' restoring someone's spirit to the Light...

Teuthida
1. Do you celebrate Winter Veil at all? If so, is it a new tradition for you, or one you've been doing for as long as you can remember?
Eeeeee! Winter Veil! It is the most wondermous time of the year! For sparklies! For presents! For happiness! Even the goblins are cheerful! It is such fun! Yes, yes, it is a new tradition. I first heard about Winter Veil on my buzzbox. Then I asked Miss Twirlybraids about it. And oh! Such wonderfulness! She even made me a set of Red Winter Clothes, with a convenient hole for my tail! It does not cover much, but that is all right. Valyrie approves. Clearly she is equally fond of festiveness! This is why I put battleproof tinsel on her horns.

2. How do you feel about the more commercial aspects of Winter Veil? Do the Smokywood Pastures vendors bother you at all?
No no no no no! I buy many presents from Smokywood Pastures! Cheese wheels and bean brews! Candy canes! Fruitcake! Meat pie! Meatcake! So useful!

3. What sort of food do you like to have around Winter Veil time? Are you a fan of Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake?
Yes yes! Oh, fruitcake! Very delicious! Though I am told only the rum-soaked kind is useful, and tastes better too. But I did not know this at first, and so I put the fruitcake in a bowl and submersed it in a whole bottle of rum. Valyrie would not even taste it. Fortunately, I traded it to Miss Twirlybraids for a lightly soaked cake. All worked out!

4. What sort of decorations do you put up for Winter Veil, and when do they go up?
Yes yes yes yes! All sorts! Trees! Lights! Little train sets! Battleproof tinsel! This goes on everything. Best places are trees, including druids, and horns, and sometimes on particular swords. There were swords Valinar was given from the Ebon Blade. They were just like little Winter Veil trees! I put much tinsel on them! Now he has axes instead. I have not yet caught up to him to put tinsel on.

I tried so hard to convince Valyrie to let me keep everything up all year! So very hard! But no, she is saying; up it can go after Pilgrim's Bounty, down it must be before Lunar Festival. Sigh. Pilgrim's Bounty! It would be better if I could put it up over Hallow's End! Or even Brewfest!

5. If you could get anything at all from Greatfather Winter this year, what would it be?
Oh! Oh! Hmm... well, I am already having a dancing girl brazier. Oh! I know! A Sonic Celebration Oscillator! It would be so wonderful and sparkly!

Agness
1. Do you celebrate Winter Veil at all? If so, is it a new tradition for you, or one you've been doing for as long as you can remember?
Oh, sure. I've been celebrating Winter Veil ever since I could remember. Mostly I've always just gone to the Cathedral and helped the less fortunate, since that was what most of the priests I knew did, and of course Vaelen is always very fond of doing that sort of thing. One year we took a shift in the Trade District, ringing a bell for charity. Vaelen was very enthusiastic! The bell was... loud. I let him do that on his own these days.

2. How do you feel about the more commercial aspects of Winter Veil? Do the Smokywood Pastures vendors bother you at all?
Ugh, goblins. Yeah, I'd be happier without them, but every year it seems like somebody sends me a fruitcake. Vaelen seems to like them, though, so I guess it works out okay.

3. What sort of food do you like to have around Winter Veil time? Are you a fan of Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake?
Heh, we were just talking about that, weren't we? I'm not so crazy about fruitcake, but I do like chocolate bark and blended bean brew.

4. What sort of decorations do you put up for Winter Veil, and when do they go up?
We get a fresh tree every year. Vaelen chops it down at the tree farm, and we bring it home and decorate it. There are handknit stockings to hang on the fireplace, although I think I might make a new one for myself this year. I have been crazy about felwool lately. It's so great! Anyway, my old one is a little... white and shiny for my tastes now. Vaelen's still happy with his, I'm sure. It's bright gold and has a Stormwind crest on it.

5. If you could get anything at all from Greatfather Winter this year, what would it be?
A lifetime supply of wool-safe imp repellant, and my very own flock of felsheep.

Talents and abilities!
1. What's one thing you're particularly good at?
2. What's one thing you're particularly bad at?
3. Do you prefer it when your talents put you in the spotlight, or when you can perform them quietly from the sidelines? Or neither?
4. If you could be instantly great at any one thing, what would it be?
5. What's a talent someone else has that you particularly admire?

Ovistine Lighthammer
1. What's one thing you're particularly good at?
...I was real damn good at healing, once upon a time. I can make a mean flat of bullets nowadays.

2. What's one thing you're particularly bad at?
Heh. You ever seen my knitting? Or sewing? Mind you, it usually works out. I made this robe once that had a hole in the seat. Teuthida snapped it right up an' said it was perfect. Fit her tail just right!

3. Do you prefer it when your talents put you in the spotlight, or when you can perform them quietly from the sidelines? Or neither?
Well, neither healing nor melting faces really do their best when they're in the spotlight. I did win a contest once for "best model gyrocopter", back when I was a wee thing. (Though some folks complained that as a dwarf, I had an unreasonable advantage. Feck that. I worked as hard as anybody.)

4. If you could be instantly great at any one thing, what would it be?
Well. Right at this moment, given me options are a bit thin on the ground, I'd like to be better with Chaos. Shadow. It's not sommat I love, but it'll have to do, aye?

5. What's a talent someone else has that you particularly admire?
Mum makes pretty spectacular jewelry, when she's of a mind to. I wish I could do half as good with it, but the wee "String Your Own Beads" kit she sent me went about as well as the "Learn To Patchwork Quilt" kit I got from Agness one year. I'm still finding beads weeks later...

Agness Dea
1. What's one thing you're particularly good at?
Cooking! I love to cook, bake, and generally experiment in the kitchen. I may never live down that one time I made soup out of Murloc Fins, though...

2. What's one thing you're particularly bad at?
You know, this is going to sound weird, but for a priest, I was never much good at healing. I can still do it if I want to, though. What? I totally can, darn it. I just haven't wanted to in a while...

3. Do you prefer it when your talents put you in the spotlight, or when you can perform them quietly from the sidelines? Or neither?
I'm not too crazy about being in the spotlight. I'd rather donate baked goods for a bake sale than actually auction them off, say.

4. If you could be instantly great at any one thing, what would it be?
*mutter* I don't suppose "imp wrangling" is an option...

5. What's a talent someone else has that you particularly admire?
Vaelen can get the tops off jars every single time. It would be really, really useful if I could do that, but noooo, half the time I have to get him to do it. I swear, it was easier before we got married. Do you ever think marriage was invented so people would have someone around to open jars for them? I wonder that sometimes.

Teuthida of Shattrath
1. What's one thing you're particularly good at?
Setting things on fire! ...usually, even on purpose. Ahem.

2. What's one thing you're particularly bad at?
*sigh* It is not surprising to anyone, I think, and so I am going to say "languages". You would think after four or five years among the Alliance, I would be better at Common. But it is so complicated! So many words that mean the same thing! Such silly structure for putting words together! It is easier to just concentrate on blastings or healings and assume people will know what I mean, yes?

3. Do you prefer it when your talents put you in the spotlight, or when you can perform them quietly from the sidelines? Or neither?
There are certain dwarves who are very, very insistent that if there is a spotlight, or a puddle, or a blizzard, or a rune, I am NOT to stand in it. I must move quickly quickly quickly. Yetis are also not for standing in. So no, I am not liking the spotlights a bit. Unless it is Flame Wreath. Then I am not to move. Or things blow up.

4. If you could be instantly great at any one thing, what would it be?
It would be nice if I could learn to conjure pies, instead of only breads and cinnamon rolls... I am very very fond of pies! Also sandwiches, but I have learned recently to conjure those. \o/!

5. What's a talent someone else has that you particularly admire?
Have you seen the little dwarf? Ovistine? She shares my buzzbox frequency. She has braids that go TWIRL TWIRL TWIRL TWIRL TWIRL!!! So cute! Many dwarves can twirl their braids this way! My pigtails, they occasionally bounce and that is all. I would like to learn this twirling thing! Perhaps if my hair grows long enough...

Romance seems to be the driving plot behind a lot of characters -- or if not the driving one, certainly one that lasts through other major plot elements. I think it might actually be more unusual for characters in my circle to be single than attached.

Which makes me wonder, and inspired a set of five questions to be posed to any characters interested in answering them:

1. If you're attached, how did it happen? (If not, are you interested in dating?)
2. Have you been "lucky in love" in the past?
3. What's the number-one thing you need from a potential mate?
4. Is there friction in your relationship? Big, small, none at all?  (If you're not in a relationship, how much friction would you like?)
5. Do your friends and family like the person you're dating?  (If you're not dating anyone, how important is your friends' and family's approval?)

Of my four "major" characters -- Ovistine, Teuthida, Nancie, and Agness -- two are in relationships and two are, um, uh, HEY LOOK A MURLOC KILL IT KILL IT!

Ovistine

1. If you're attached, how did it happen? (If not, are you interested in dating?)
   I'm, uh... I mean, I wouldn't... well, if someone asked me out for a drink, see, I'd... I mean, only if it were a drink an' that's it. Right? It's not that I'm not interested, I just... I wouldn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. By which I mean someone twice my height, with pink skin an' purple hair, who carries fromping big axes. Not that I know if he'd be upset, but best not to chance it, aye? (Cf. fromping big axes.)
    
2. Have you been "lucky in love" in the past?
   I've not ever brought a lad home for the holidays, so I think that answers that. Um, unless you count last Pilgrim's Bounty. But that would be the first, so!
    
3. What's the number-one thing you need from a potential mate?
   A nice, bushy beard, preferably with braids in it. Oh, um, or someone patient an' kind an' thoughtful. With nice ears.
    
4. Is there friction in your relationship? Big, small, none at all? (If you're not in a relationship, how much friction would you like?)
   *grumbling* Not the kind I'd like. *pause* Assuming that's even... I mean, how would you... *blushes deep fuschia* Let's just say "no" an' leave it there.
    
5. Do your friends and family like the person you're dating? (If you're not dating anyone, how important is your friends' and family's approval?)
   Well, it's important, aye! An' everyone likes Valinar. I mean, theoretically, if... they seem to like... what research facility is this survey with, again?

Teuthida

1. If you're attached, how did it happen? (If not, are you interested in dating?)
   Valyrie has been my closest friend since we were tiny! Since before our horns grew in! How did we... "hook up"? Um... I am having a fishing pole, yes? And Valyrie sometimes gives me shiny baubles for the fishes... and for me...
    
2. Has your character been "lucky in love" in the past?
   Oh, I am very lucky all the time!
    
3. What's the number-one thing you need from a potential mate?
   Well. Good bonking skills, and perhaps willingness to head-butt me if I am pouting? Or, no, no, wait! A sense of ADVENTURE! Yes yes! Also willingness to eat pies for three weeks if I am beset with an urge to bake.
    
4. Is there friction in your relationship? Big, small, none at all? (If you're not in a relationship, how much friction would you like?)
   Friction? This is... oh, fightings! Well, so long as they do not hurt themselves by head-butting giant fire elementals. ...too often. I suppose it is friction when I am head-butted for pouting, yes? That is fine too.
    
5. Do your friends and family like the person you're dating? (If you're not dating anyone, how important is your friends' and family's approval?)
   Oh, it would be very important for Valyrie to like anyone else who came to live with us! It would really not work even a little if only I were fond of them, or only Valyrie.
    

Agness

1. If you're attached, how did it happen? (If not, are you interested in dating?)
   Well, Vaelen asked a friend of his to ask me if I would go walking along the canals with him if he asked, and of course I said yes. Then we went steady, got pinned, got engaged, he gave me a pretty ring, and then there was that thing that happened over Winter Veil two years ago and we got married very, very quickly. He was kind of insistent. I just thought the Red Winter Clothes were cute...
    
2. Have you been "lucky in love" in the past?
   Vaelen is all the past there is, so I feel very, very lucky!
    
3. What's the number-one thing you need from a potential mate?
   Hmm... I can't decide between niceness, righteousness, or a desire to smite Scourge.
    
4. Is there friction in your relationship? Big, small, none at all? (If you're not in a relationship, how much friction would you like?)
    Um, well--hey! Bizpit! Felwool is not for eating!--I might have to cut this a little short. Anything else?
    
5. Do your friends and family like the person you're dating? (If you're not dating anyone, how important is your friends' and family's approval?)
   Unfortunately, both my parents were killed in the Third War, so I don't really have much family left. But Trisia likes him, and my friends like him.
    

Nancie

1. If you're attached, how did it happen? (If not, are you interested in dating?)
   Once upon a time, there was a gryphon rider who was verra earnest, but didnae fly so good. But it turned out he had a knack fer tinkerin', an so one day at th' Forge, he an' a young lass turned soldier noticed each other o'er a fiery blaze. Wasnae nearly th' hottest thing goin' on tha' day, if ye ken me meaning! *chuckle*
    
2. Have you been "lucky in love" in the past?
   A lady ne'er kisses an' tells. I suppose a few lads may 'ave carried a bit o' a torch fer me now an' again...
    
3. What's the number-one thing you need from a potential mate?
   'E jes' needs t' stand by me, an' Geoffar's done tha' fer many years now.
    
4. Is there friction in your relationship? Big, small, none at all? (If you're not in a relationship, how much friction would you like?)
   Pffft! Ain't a marriage a'tall if there's no' a row now an' then. Anyway, nowt serious ever came o' it. He loves me an' I love 'im an' thass that.
    
5. Do your friends and family like the person you're dating? (If you're not dating anyone, how important is your friends' and family's approval?)
   Mum an' Da were a bit surprised I fell fer a Wildhammer, but th' lad's perfectly keen on Ironforge as well, though we've moved about a bit. Obviously th' bit loves 'er da greatly. An' ol' Brandur kin keep 'is advice to hisself, thanks. Jes' 'cause I've 'ad months where I didnae get th' kind o' home-leave I'da liked... anyway, aye, everyone loves Geoffar.