Happy Birthday Aster

[savedbyasong]

Who: Shion, Aster and anyone! Mingle among yourselves!
What: It's Aster's birthday. Any and all friends are welcome (and if you don't know them you are still welcome, they won't turn anyone away)
Where: The southern beach on Islet four.
Warnings: Hopefully none

Aster's birthday was important. A date she had chosen herself, a date to celebrate her and everything she had achieved so far.

The last time they had celebrated had been in the tower and now they were in a completely different world with different friends and Shion was determined for it to be a nice day.

He had had help. Ignis had helped cook of course. Shion heavily suspected the candied fruits were from Dagger and he had no idea how exactly Connor had managed it (and he wasn't going to ask) but Laurent had provided ice for sea salt ice cream.

There's a fire on the beach and fish on sticks to roast. Guests may have to wrestle off an overexcited Dreaeater but Shion tries to keep Excalibur under control for the most part. Cobweb and Thalassa are a lot more calm, flopping down near friends to demand pets.

Shion keeps an eye on Aster, hoping she is having fun.

Comments

[want_to_belong]

Prompto didn't have much he could offer. With help from Ignis, he wrapped up some simple but juicy fruit treats, carefully cut and gently sweetened. Maybe in the future he could come up with something better, but this would have to do for now.

Besides that, he relaxed near the fire and roasted some fish on sticks, watching the flames dance around it with his gifts sitting by him in their little leafy wrapping. It was peaceful. Quiet to some extent, with the waves lapping at the shore and the salty air filling the air. When he came here the beach had still been relatively new scenery for him. Now it was an old, familiar sight.

He could use more of this. Time to sit down. Enjoy food. Be with friends. He smiled... and pet the demanding animals. For some time his eyes were drawn to the waves, but when he noticed someone nearby, he smiled up at them with a smirk and a soft wave.

[savedbyasong]

Shion waved at him and moved over to the fire, he was glad Promto had come. He was someone Aster saw as a friend. You could never have too many friends.

"Are you having fun? Do you want any more food?"

[want_to_belong]

He was pulled away from watching the waves by a familiar voice, and shot him a smile.

"It's nice to relax once in a while. Pretend things are normal. I'm good."

He scooted over a bit to make some space for him, as if there wasn't already tons of beach to sit on. "Would you believe that 2 years ago I had never seen the ocean?"

He snorted a bit. Now it was practically a constant. "Used to be so stunned by it."

[savedbyasong]

"I hadn't seen the ocean before I left my world either." There had been an ocean in the tower, but it had not been real. Even before they had known about glamour it had still not seemed right, an ocean on a floor of a tower.

"I wonder if there is any part of this world that isn't just islands."

[want_to_belong]

"You mean like a whole big continent? ...I don't know. We've never gotten very far. Probably has to be something out there, right? I wonder if there's a whole world of people who have no idea we're even here."

Good? Bad? He wasn't sure if he'd like that or not. They might not be friendly. Or, they might be able to integrate with a new world.

[savedbyasong]

"Yes, a mainland where many people live." A whole world. Could it all be islands.
Was there a world out there?

Shion wasn't even sure any of this was real so it might be that there isn't. Just endless ocean with islands that appeared and disappeared at the whims of gods.

"Then again... the last time we met people it did not go well..."

[want_to_belong]

"That'd be crazy. Finding out we're all sitting out here, while millions of people are walking around just over the horizon."

He leaned his head back, gazing up curiously at the sky. "On this world? Yeah. I'd be a bit worried about who might be out there. I think I'd like to get settled before we deal with anything like that."

[jelliclerats]

Nezumi doesn't really know Aster. In truth, he doesn't know Shion all that well either. He thought he did after all the years of keeping an eye on him from afar, but the past few days have made him realize something is different. At first, he didn't want to see it, but finally, he realizes denial can be dangerous. Shion's changed, and now Nezumi has to learn him all over again.

Secretly, he hopes none of those changes took away what drew him to Shion in the first place.

But he shows up to the first birthday party he's been to since the village burned. He says the food is worth trying, he supposes. It's not like he did anything in preparation.

In truth, he comes for Shion, even if Nezumi finds birthday celebrations to be stupid. What's the party for? Surviving another year is important, he supposes, but being alive itself is the reward.

At times, he can be found near the fire, roasting the fish slowly, always aware of the world around him. At one point, he removes his shoes and goes into the water just a bit. It's been a while since he's done that.

[savedbyasong]

Shion sits down next to the fire as well, picking up a fish to roast. He's... a lot calmer than when Nezumi first arrived. Then it had been a shock, he hadn't wanted to believe it was true. But it was. Nezumi was here and as strange as meeting a Nezumi from a world that was so far behind his own they hadn't yet reunited was, Shion knows it must be so much stranger for Nezumi to meet him.

He's been keeping an eye on him. Trying to give him space to settle and figure things out for himself even though his instinct is to pull him close and protect him from anything that this world might throw at him. Shion protecting any Nezumi is laughable but he can't help the feeling, that nothing should hurt Nezumi.

"Thank you for coming. Aster will appreciate it."

[jelliclerats]

The fire dances, it's flame lighting up the circle around it as small embers erupt into the sky, only to fall again. The fish on his stick darkens as it cooks. Though Nezumi will never admit it, the food here is a treat. There's not been a day that he's gone hungry, a day he's had to be creative about food.

"Why would she appreciate a stranger coming to her party?"

He nearly says 'I came for you' if only to not seem too nice, but then he realizes that answer is too nice in itself. Instead, he quickly changes his answer.

"Do you throw parties for everybody, or only for adopted sisters?"

[savedbyasong]

The food here was a treat. It hadn't always been so plentiful, but they had gotten to the point where they had stocks and could sustain themselves.

"She likes you." Alright it was a lot more complicated than that. But Aster knew how much Nezumi meant to Shion, she had known Shion a long time. She would be glad of his presence in the same way that Shion would be glad if Sora or another from Aster's world showed up here.

Glad and a little bit concerned.

"I'm not really good at parties, this one is the first I've organised on my own..."

It wasn't going horribly, so far so good. "Do... Do you know your birthdate? I'll throw you a party when it's your birthday if you want."

The tone is half teasing, but half intensely serious.

[jelliclerats]

"If she likes someone she's only just met, that's her mistake. You should warn her to be more careful of strangers."

Strangers usually have bad intentions, Shion. Nezumi may not be a stranger to him, but Nezumi's barely only met Aster.

Crossing one leg over the other, Nezumi leans forward.

"And what would my birthday party be like?"

He knows. Nezumi remembers more of his life before the fire than he ever lets on. He knows his age, and he knows when it changes. But just as he'll never give his name, he'll never tell that secret either.

[savedbyasong]

"Just because she likes you doesn't mean she is not careful of you." There was a difference. Shion liked a lot of people and yet he understood that people would hurt him and he understood that even if they didn't want to people could be made to hurt him.

He hurt others, he could be made to hurt others. But you couldn't just not connect with people. That was not a way to live your life.

He knew enough about Nezumi to know he would disagree.

"Small. I don't think you would want a lot of people to be there, especially if you hadn't met many people here yet. We could have food though and... Well birthday parties should be whatever you want."

[jelliclerats]

Liking people is a weakness, no matter how kind they may be. Liking Shion is a weakness. Nezumi devised a plan that had no payoff aside from Shion's safety and a lot of danger. If he hadn't been so intrigued, so enamored by the small boy who helped him that night, his life would have been safer.

Yet he knew he'd follow through on his plan.

Chuckling, Nezumi turns the fish.

"Shion, you just described dinner. But if you're offering, I'll agree to let you test out your culinary skills as long as you're not so bad as to make it poison."

And it won't be on his birthday.

[suspecteverything]

Both Shion and Aster are friends. Or at least as close to friends as Jules ever really gets. Still, he isn't one for big events with large groups of people. When you've been alone for so long you simply become accustomed to it and anything different became easily overwhelming.

Jules stays on the outskirts, not totally part of the event. While he certainly isn't trying to come across as creepy, he probably appears that way. It would make more sense for a stalker to be partially hidden out of the way than it would a legitimate guest after all.

[savedbyasong]

Creepy or not Shion is glad to see him and waves before making his way over. "Hello Dagger."

He's glad he came, he knows that Dagger doesn't particularly like crowds, nor does he like food not prepared by himself. But he was here and Shion was glad.

"Aster will be pleased to see you."

[suspecteverything]

"I haven't seen her in a while."

Which is true. Of course he hasn't made much of an effort recently to see anyone.

[savedbyasong]

"Then she will be even more glad to see you."

Aster has been isolating herself a lot. Shion understands why, it is easy to hide away, especially when things are safer here. But he worries about her, it was one of the reasons he had organised this.

"Thank you for the fruits, I'm sure Aster will thank you herself as well."

[suspecteverything]

"I hope she liked them. I didn't have a lot of supplies, so I couldn't do anything particularly extravagant."

He'd been hard pressed to come up with many ideas that he had confidence in really. Ingredients here are hard to come by, and many of them are things he hasn't worked with before.

[savedbyasong]

"She did." She would have been grateful for anything Shion was sure, but the candied fruits were very tasty.

"You don't have to be over here, you can come and join us."

[jelliclerats]

Nezumi is silent. Perhaps a life of pain and constant fear has made Jules particularly aware of his surroundings, giving him an almost supernatural sense for danger. It has for Nezumi. If so his presence isn't as much of a secret as it would be otherwise.

"If you're planning to try anything at the party, I'll put a blade in your back faster than you can turn around."

Despite the threat, his voice is pleasant, as if discussing weather over coffee.

Birthday parties are stupid, and he doesn't even know Aster. In addition, he wants Shion to learn how to defend himself. It's no good if someone needs a constant protector. Still, this isn't the only time he's broken his own philosophy for Shion. As long as the white-haired boy never sees, it's probably okay.

[suspecteverything]

It isn't a surprise at all really. Like Nezumi, Jules is always hyper aware of his surroundings, especially when there are a lot of people. He knows Nezumi is nearby before his Trisani abilities pick up on Nezumi's thoughts.

"You could certainly try, but I doubt you'd be any more successful than the laundry list of other entities who have tried."

And that list is pretty darn long. Right before Jules was dragged here he'd been busy taking out his grandmother's henchmen. Of the nearly 2 dozen he'd killed, almost every one of them fought back in one way or another.

[jelliclerats]

"Those people who've tried aren't me. You know, to stay alive, you have to win every battle."

The knife twirls in his hand, the steel catching light from the raging fire from below. He grins, darkly. Dangerously.

"But to die, you only have to lose once."

Even the fake smile drops.

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

[suspecteverything]

"Not necessarily. I've lost a lot of battles in my life. Still here. If you're planning on taking me out, you're going to have to use more than a knife."

Granted a knife is what had nearly ended his life before he'd met Ushara, but that was before. Now he has a lot more power and he's actually healthy. There's a big difference.

"I'm everyone's most hated asshole generally. Worse than you, though Shion's opinion of you is probably tainted by his general rose colored view of people."

Yeah, he knows who you are even though he's never actually met you. It's one of the pleasures of mind reading.

[jelliclerats]

"Then they weren't trying to kill you, obviously. Unless you're telling me you're a zombie. In that case, I just have to take off your head... Isn't that right? It shouldn't be too hard if I cut in at the right angles.

But since you're offering such useful information about your weaknesses, don't let me stop you."

His eyes narrow. He doesn't like that someone would have more information on him than he'd have on them. Information is a power Nezumi prefers to wield.

"And what has Shion said about me?"