Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

[westfallcorndog]

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.))

Comments

[rogueinladysclothing]

"So why don't you?" The corner of her lip tugs upward into a smirk. "I'm sure we could arrange for it. It is your birthday party, after all." Always an enabler.

[heirtothearcane]

His head spins so that he can blink at her, a little pink rising to his cheeks. "Oh, uh, I... I didn't pack swimming trunks..."

[rogueinladysclothing]

Her lips draw into a line as she tries to suppress the impending laughter. "I'm certain we could find a pair for purchase if you're really keen on the idea."

Nope, she can't hold in that laughter any longer. She actually has to turn away from him so she doesn't feel quite so foolish for losing all composure. It's such a silly thing to laugh at, but his answer was just so... straightforward.

"I'm sorry," she says after she manages a breath. "I didn't mean to make you so flustered. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken my teasing quite so far. Forgive me?" She looks back at him with a sheepish smile, still having to fight to keep from laughing again.

[heirtothearcane]

He gapes uselessly when she suggests that they could find him some. His eyes flicker between the deep water and Amelia as he imagines everyone being able to watch him like the fish in the tank. Perhaps it's the recent lesson in empathy, but he feels himself getting pre-emptively self conscious.

Amelia's laughter startles him ever so slightly and confuses him at first, but then she points out that she was joking and he relaxes into a relieved breathless laugh. "Of course, of course. No, I..." He rubs the back of his head. "It just surprised me. That's all."

[rogueinladysclothing]

This line she walks is a lot harder to follow than she thought. She frowns and bows her head slightly in response. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Smooth, Amelia. Real smooth. Always taking it one step too far.

Now it's her turn to look uncomfortable as she focuses back on the scene beyond the glass. "I'm glad you like all of this," she says softly. "I've been so worried that you wouldn't like some parts." Wouldn't like her being here, is what she really means to say, but she doesn't exactly want to draw attention to that. "But let me know if you want anything changed, all right? Anything you like, I'll make it happen." She gives him a slightly nervous, but honest, smile finally.

[heirtothearcane]

"You didn't... didn't make me uncomfortable," he tries to assure her. What he should really say is that he gets uncomfortable about a lot of things so she shouldn't worry too much, but that's not how polite conversations generally go.

"Oh, no, it's..." He looks around and smiles again. "It's all perfect. I wouldn't change a thing."

[rogueinladysclothing]

That gets him a slightly more confident smile and a nod. "I'm glad to hear that." Not that she's going to relax now that she knows that, but it does help to hear that he likes the party they put together for him.

She looks around quickly and, after making sure everyone is otherwise occupied, gives him a very quick peck on the cheek. Her cheeks are a light shade of pink when she pulls back and smiles at him. "Happy birthday, Viatorus."

[heirtothearcane]

He only looks surprised for a heartbeat, but then he smiles and ducks his head to hide the red in his own cheeks, shuffling his feet before he looks at her, trying to regain a gentlemanly appearance. "Thank you, Amelia."

It's tricky to find the balance between cold and respectfully distant after the kiss, so he opts to change the subject just slightly. Offer an alternative thought. "I shall have to visit the beach soon after this. Now that the days should be getting warmer. Would you like to come?"

[rogueinladysclothing]

Warmer weather. Oh. Right.Spring.

The thought catches her off guard and her face pales. "That sounds lovely," she manages after a moment. "I'd enjoy that."

If she can't stop Spring from coming, that is.

"I'm afraid I have nothing to wear though." Another distracting thought, one to hopefully draw her away from darker ones.

[heirtothearcane]

Ladies' beach clothes. That... sounds like he could accidentally make a multitude of potentially inappropriate comments regarding that. So he bites his lower lip before offering, "I could ask Isidor to take you shopping for something. She knows everything about what's best to wear and when."

[rogueinladysclothing]

Amelia doesn't know anything about bathing suits, so Viatorus is safe on that account. "That would be very kind of her and I'd appreciate that. Thank you." There's going to be a whole lot of 'nope' going on when she realizes how much skin is exposed with modern swimwear. For now, though, she forces a small smile for him in a vain attempt to lighten her mood. "I do like the idea of going swimming again. It's been... many years since I've gone."

[heirtothearcane]

The happy nostalgia is a good thing to see for a change. Since it's so easy to remind Amelia of things to miss. At least this is something she can do here too.

"What is it like?" He asks suddenly. "Swimming without magic?"

[rogueinladysclothing]

She blinks at the question and hesitates before answering. How does one describe something that they just do? "I guess it's... kind of like dancing in the water," she manages after a moment. "And a bit like handling a blade as well. The movements are simple, but there's a grace and power required to do it. It can be a symbiotic relationship or it can be a tumultuous one - it all depends on the tides and whether you're willing to listen to them."

[heirtothearcane]

"But..." He gestures unhelpfully, waving his hand about before bringing it to his face. "Air. What do you do for air? And for speed?"

[rogueinladysclothing]

"...you breathe what's above the water." It seems like an obvious answer to her. "And if you need to stay under water, you hold your breath as long as you can. As for speed, you swim a lot to build strength and then you can swim longer and faster."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "How do you swim?" Because now she's curios.

[heirtothearcane]

"That all sounds very strenuous," he comments absently, letting the thoughts settle. "Not very calm or peaceful at all."

"I can bring air down with me in bubbles. So I don't run out. A bit of magic in the right way helps me move quicker, or a lot can push me through the water." A giddy smile peeks through his expression. "You can go really fast with that. Like a fish."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"It's an effort, that's for certain, but there's nothing so satisfying as knowing you made it so far on your own strength. But if you're swimming with the tides, it's not that hard and it's very peaceful once you find your rhythm." She smiles lightly. She never intended for it to sound so bad to him, but she's unsure what else she could have said without changing the truth.

"That sounds too easy," she says with a small laugh. Seems the misunderstanding goes both ways. "If you use magic, do you need to go through the motions of swimming at all? Or is it purely for aesthetics?" So much curiosity about this. Viatorus is very good at drawing Amelia from sad thoughts by presenting topics for her to question.

[heirtothearcane]

He listens to the description and then nods to himself. "It's like spellcasting. Satisfying when you do something difficult and strenuous on your own, but you can use the natural powers around you to make it more pleasant."

The laughter gets a bright grin from him. It's extremely encouraging to see her so cheerful again. "Oh I do the motions, but I don't have to. It helps, though, to have more control like that. Physical and magical at the same time."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Yes, exactly like that." Finally, a metaphor that worked!

"That's cheating," she teases, winking to reinforce the point. "But now I'm curious to see how it works. You'll have to let me try when we go swimming." Wait, did she just ask for him to use magic on her? Apparently her research on magic has been going very well - or she's very comfortable with him.

[heirtothearcane]

Communication successes are always a wonderful thing, so he beams at her.

Viatorus isn't sure. He blinks at Amelia, wide eyed and almost certain that he can't be interpreting this correctly. It would be rude of him to assume, too, so he's cautious when he speaks. "Let you try it. You mean... help you swim... by using magic?"

[rogueinladysclothing]

She nods, trying not to laugh at his confusion. It's quite understandable, after all. "Yes." Beat. "If you can do that, anyway. I guess I don't know how that kind of magic would work exactly. I'm assuming you manipulate the water around you?"

...so much for her reading about magic being a small research project. But it's not like she's been trying to do anything else as of late. Going out still seems like a bad idea most days so she's been reading to fill her time instead.

[heirtothearcane]

It looks like his surprise isn't going away any time soon. He takes a bit longer to speak this time. "Uh... yes... um... Some of it. Mostly. I... I can enchant myself a little too. I... Are... Are you sure?"

His expression has a hint of scepticism in it. He's not certain she entirely knows what she's asking for.

[rogueinladysclothing]

She frowns. Partly because he doesn't believe her and partly because of her desire to throw a fit. Had she really been so petulant just a few months ago as to do something like that in public?

What a sad, pathetic thing she must be for that to be true.

"I have no reason to tell you anything but the truth," she says after a moment. "When I said I would be honest with you about everything, I meant it." A soft sigh escapes her. "If it makes you uncomfortable, then I'll withdraw my request. But know that I really do want to try." Her hands fold together slowly in front of her to give her something to do with them. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she adds, "Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

[heirtothearcane]

"No, you didn't, I..." He hesitates, trying to decide on how to put this delicately. He's not much good at communicating on the best of days. Settling on something, he looks her in the eye so that she can see he's being earnest and means well. "I just want to make sure you know what you're asking. It's a fun request, but... I don't want that to be ruined by a... by a misunderstanding. You... You never really liked magic all that much. Now... Now you're asking me if I could use magic on you. Affect you with it."

I love new V icons! <3

[rogueinladysclothing]

"But I want to learn to be better about it." Her eyes shift to the water next to them, though they don't settle on anything in particular. "I thought this might be a good way to start. Something interesting, fun, and less dangerous than other options." Mostly because other options mean jumping head first into duels and spars with magic users as she learns to defend herself. Even in the safety of the Nexus that could be bad.