westfallcorndog | Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

Entry tags:

amelia,
viatorus

Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

Invitations to this party have been written in neatly legible, semi-calligraphic font, hand-crafted with care and talent by Amelia Ronsam. Harrowheart has asked that she create a few more than necessary on the off-chance anyone lost theirs and was liberal in handing them out.

The room mentioned on the card is easy to find with a map of the aquarium: In the Earth wing, past a long series of exhibits, and through a glass hallway over which the water rests and the fish are free to swim. The corridor ends in a dome-shaped room spacious enough for a party of a few dozen.

The meeting space, like the hallway, is composed entirely of glass walls around which a vibrant array of Earth’s tropical fish drift through bright blue waters. Now and then they dart in odd directions, flashing their gem-like scales as their school is disturbed by the passing of a sea turtle or the flowing wings of a manta ray. Far, far in the distance are the silhouettes of whales that, on rare occasion, shadow the dome as they pass between the party and the far-off source of light above the water. Simpler creatures crawl through the coral just on the other side of the glass: crabs and minnows tease at algae, grinning eels poke shyly from their dark crevices, and anemones dance with the motion of the flowing seawater. The only thing to break the immersion of the scene are the mermaid attendants, glimpses of whom can be caught as they feed the fish while trying their best to stay professionally unnoticed.

Outside the glass is the beauty, but inside is the party! There are bubbly balloon letters hung from the ceiling reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Green streamers dangle from the ceiling like kelp, and someone's even set up a motorized shark balloon to swim through the air. Set up against one rounded wall are two buffet tables of food laid out. Stacks of cheese-stuffed fried peppers, fried chicken, grilled corn cobs, a kind of savory pork stew, something resembling black crab legs that’s been labeled ‘Duskwood Land Crab,’ a fruit and vegetable platter, a single pizza for the guests to fight over, and for the English Birthday Boy, cucumber sandwiches. Drinks are a bowl of punch and a keg of water. Looks like this aquarium party is a dry one. The sweets are cookies and hard candies laid atop a pile of pink candy floss. Then, of course, there is the cake: One large sheet cake of marbled chocolate and vanilla iced with buttercream frosting. On top there rests a little gingerbread man with black icing hair sleeping soundly atop a little frosted bed, a red smile on his face. Four tall candles make the posts of the bed. An unsteady hand has piped along the side ‘Happy Birthday Viatorus!’

Two people beat the crowd to enjoy this quiet afternoon retreat. Harrowheart, who sits at one of the tables in the middle and watches the passing of the fish, is dressed for the tropics. He’s bought himself a Hawaiian shirt to go over a pink tank with a pair of palm trees on the front, and of course he’s wearing his usual cargo shorts and tan work boots. ~~Any rumors of pajama dress code were greatly exaggerated.~~ With him is Amelia, whose garb for the evening is much more demure than her usual. The first sign is her lack of ~~visible~~ weapons. The second is the combination of dark navy jeans and black blouse. Her hair is tied back in a simple braid and the hair pin she's always been so fond of is nowhere to be seen.

((If you'd like to greet the host and/or hostess or remark on your character's entry, feel free to tag this post. Otherwise, try the Gift-Giving or Free Mingle subsections: Viatorus will accept gifts and well-wishings in the Gift-Giving section, and threadhopping will be with OOC permission. Free Mingle will be a threadhopping-encouraged area for party-goers to interact with each other. Meet new characters, talk about fish, fight about who gets to eat the pizza.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Steve is in his old suit he arrived in the Nexus with, fingers pressed against the glass almost as eagerly as Viatorus had been only moments ago.

He doesn't catch sight of the birthday boy until he's ripped himself away from the view, and can't help but grin as he heads the other's way.

"Happy Birthday Viatorus!"

Viatorus beams brightly when he spots his friend coming towards him. Meeting him halfway, he sets his hands behind his back to reduce the excited fidgeting starting to happen. "Thank you, Steve. It's good to see you here. How have you been?"

"Freezing, mostly, but I'm well. Work has been steady which never hurts."

Seeing Viatorus in a suit as well makes Steve inwardly pleased with his own choice of attire. Wouldn't do to have the birthday boy stand out like a sore thumb in the awkward sort of way.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Steve gestures to the aquarium shaking his head. "I can't even believe this is all possible. Is it magical?"

"It has been bitterly cold," he agrees with a sympathetic smile. Not something that bothers him too much. It just gives him an excuse to use different types of magic.

"I... don't think so..." He can't help it, he beams again once he's admiring their surroundings once more. "I've only seen things like this in dreams. Never in person. It's... surreal. Like another world entirely... I think I could stare out at it for hours. Days, even."

"We should definitely take a stroll through this place before the day is over." Steve agrees, glad someone else has his enthusiasm and appreciation for something like this.

"I'd love to sketch something in here....that would be really nice." He feels less silly admitting his awe of the place since Viatorus seems equally stunned, and Viatorus owns a castle of magic.

"I think we might lose each other, but I'm certain that I will wander around a little, and come back after today to enjoy the sights here."

Viatorus perks up at the idea. "That sounds wonderful! What would you draw first? Have you ever drawn fish before?"

"I haven't." Steve admits with a chuckle. "First time for everything, though."

"But I saw a mother taking her daughter through an exhibit on my way in, saw the way her chubby little face was pressed against the glass, squealing with delight. I'd draw that, maybe."

"That would make a lovely picture," he agrees. After a moment's thought, he tilts his head at Steve. "Do you think you'll have an exhibition here some day?"

The suggestion seems rather startling to Steve. He doesn't flinch or jump but there's a head in his face and he averts his gaze to the floor rather quickly, giving a nervous chuckle as he does so.

"I uh...An exhibition? N-no, probably not. I mean. You have to be admitted to a gallery for those, right? There's no way ahaha.."

Viatorus blinks at him. Lost. "Why not? Your art is really very good. I'm sure you could fill a room with it."

"I know the... How it all works, the logistics... I don't know much about that either," he adds after a second. "But someone like Isidor could set up an exhibition for you with no trouble, I'm sure."

"W-well, it's just that..." Steve trails off and flushes a bit self conscious suddenly that they're in public. "You have to be a professional for that, right? I mean..with clients?"

Steve has been doing commissions since he got to the Nexus but that's hardly...I mean. Requests for friends is one thing, but..

"Wouldn't folks be rather disappointed?"

Even more lost, he looks a little confused now too. "Why would they be disappointed? I've seen your work. I know people would want to enjoy them, buy them."

In an instant his expression changes into a much brighter one. "Actually I'd meant to talk to you about that. I'd wondered a lot time ago if you'd ever draw something from a dream? Dream things? I'd be really curious to see what you did. I'd even dreamwalk to give you something interesting to remember, if you liked."

There isn't a more delicate way to say it, so Steve shrugs weakly.

"I guess...where I came from, no one would want to go to an exhibit hosted by a broke guy from the slums. Is all. And I know I'm making a living here, but I'm still...you know. Me." Patched hand me down suit, low class..the whole nine yards.

Something that's been made all the more clear to him recently, through Dr. Hill and the Durant family.

Even with their recent lesson in empathy, Viatorus is struggling with this one. He tries, nonetheless. "I... I don't understand. I thought all artists started off like that. That's... part of the story, isn't it? Part of the journey, the allure? Only bad artists start off rich. Or forgotten ones."

After a moment he brightens again. "You need a patron! In a different way to me. Like the old masters. Someone who gives you continuous projects and promotes you."

"That's the catch 22 isn't it? You don't get exhibited unless someone rich already knows who you are. And you can't make any money as an artist until you get exhibited." Steve laughs and shakes his head. "I didn't really get into art for the money, but you know. Making a living. It's nice. Hell of a lot better than what I was doing in Brooklyn."

He hasn't forgotten the earlier question, either.

"I've drawn my dreams before, by the way." Steve says quietly, remembering the nightmares he'd shown Viatorus in sketches. "Usually nightmares, though."

That gets a curious headtilt. "What were you doing when you lived in Brooklyn?"

"What about nice dreams, though? Beautiful ones. I'd commission a whole set of those if you wanted to draw them," he says excitedly. The mention of nightmares is easily abandoned for happier subject.

"Occasional designs and advertisements for the papers. Flyer templates for the local market. Otherwise I worked wherever would hire me, loading or selling or what not until the job was over or I got sick again and had to quit..."

Steve gives a small shrug. It wasn't easy, but they got by.

"It would certainly be worth trying. Is there something in particular you'd want me to do?" Since Viatorus can control dreams and the like it seems fair to ask.

"You've... really had to work hard a lot, haven't you?" It's only just occurring to him the things that Steve has had to do. He'd never really wondered too hard about how Steve got an income, and had always assumed he was able to stay at home and rest.

His eyes scan back and forth with his thoughts for a moment. "Well. First I'd maybe see if you could draw a simple, nice dream. Capture the warmth or joy of it. And then, if you'd allow, try to offer you more abstract, intricate dreams."

"Well, yes. That's just how it's always been." Steve gives a small shrug. He's not sure why this should be big news. "That's part of why I try to be so active here. I've never had more money than exactly what i needed to survive, if not a bit less. It's been nice."

Capturing emotions. Steve nods along to the explanation.

"It definitely sounds like it's worth a shot. Could be a lot of fun, too." He smiles at the suggestion.

It's only just occurring to him that Steve has has to work harder than he has for so much less. What an embarrassing thought. He tries not to focus on it. Not today, at least. It might make Steve feel bad. "I suppose there's a lot more variety of jobs here too... More variety of everything... People, cultures. Things all very different from where you come from."

"We'll have to arrange something then," he says with a decisive nod, mind already whirling with thoughts and ideas.

"I enjoy being here. I still miss my home, my world." Steve admits quietly. "But this place has afforded me a lot more opportunities for work...and for friends." And that's worth quite a lot. More than Steve knows how to properly convey.

Even if...most days...he'd give it all up for a chance to go home.

It's difficult to explain. but it doesn't make his love for the Nexus any less genuine.

"I can't wait. Working in a new medium is always exciting." Steve positively beams with Viatorus's excitement.

Viatorus nods in solemn sympathy. There's little he can say to Steve's grief. How could he possibly understand? He's never known it himself. Certainly not to that degree.

"The Nexus has affected all of us. I suppose we all have that in common, to unite us," he points out gently.

"I'll have to make sure you have everything you could possibly need."

"What do you think you'll try sketching from here?" Steve nods back toward the aquarium with eyes wide with interest and amazement for their surroundings. It hasn't gotten old for him yet, and Steve suspects it won't for quite some time.

"I saw a green turtle a few minutes ago that was gorgeous!"

Nearly falling over, Viatorus spins on his heel and looks around them. It doesn't take much at all to redirect his attention. "I... really don't know. I think I'd like to try and catch the vibrance of the coral, or the some of the way the light falls through the water, casting shadows and picking out the fish." When he grins at Steve, he looks a little guilty. "I might end up just staring and admiring it all, though."

Steve reaches up to steady Viatorus when he goes off balance, for what little good that would do.

"A light study would be really neat to do, yeah." He agrees, watching the water shimmer as he speaks. He starts to drift off watching the fish swimming about before snapping his gaze back to Viatorus.

"I don't doubt that there will be a lot of that as well."

Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

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