westfallcorndog | 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

Hey, when you get your carbs, get them all. His mouthfuls aren't small either, because his mouth is not small. Each one leaves a jagged chunk taken out thanks to those shark teeth too.

"Nineteen! A fine age, a proper step into adulthood. I'm sure his parents are quite pleased with his direction in life."

Haha, hooboy.

Harrow returns his attention to the direction of Viatorus, though watching Naugus eat that pizza is entertaining as Hell. He smiles proudly at the sight of his friend and nods slowly along with what Naug's got to say.

"I remember when I was nineteen. Workin' the fields, becomin' a man. Had a girlfriend, thought about gettin' married and bein' a dad. Glad I didn't though, girlfriend turned out to be real weird."

He turns back to Naugus with a laugh and an awkward smile."...Come to think of it, nineteen was a real weird year for me all around. Shoot. I think Viatorus is gonna have a better time than I did. He found another world, met all sortsa cool folks, had an underwater birthday party. I bet this is gonna be a good year for him."

Then, eyeing Naugus, he asks, "When's your 'Emerged fully formed from a cave' day, man?"

"I think his discovery of the Nexus will be nothing but enriching for the young man. He got to meet me, after all. The sorcerer supreme and last of Ixis! Anyone with magical schooling would be gratified with that." Sure, Purple Pizza-Eater.

At the question of his own age, an ear twists in consideration. "Hm? Oh, I don't recall the exact day. Why would I? Sometime in the summer, I suppose. You can pick a day if it matters at all to you. It doesn't to me."

Harrow's floaty hand demands a high five from the Naug-man. "Summer birthday buddies. I don't remember mine either, though. There was a whole lot of us kids, though, so we kinda just did four birthdays a year, one for every season."

His other hand is busy pouring a glass of punch, which it delivers to Naugus. Dude's gonna need something to wash down all that Entire Pizza.

"You're the last of 'Ixis'? So Ixis is a title? I thought it was... Mages like you, y'all always use titles. Archmage on my world, usually. And you're the last? What happened to the rest? Ya eat 'em?"

Naugus will play along and five that high, though he may look a little confused about it. He's got his hand free either way, it's fine. The claw is now a pizza-pincher.

He's drinking the offered punch when the questions come. One last gulp and he's ready to answer, "It's a title, yes. Ixian magicks, the controlling of elements. Who knows what happened to the rest! Maybe I did destroy them, maybe I didn't. I don't recall." Wow, way to say that so nonchalantly. At a birthday. "I don't see why I would, but given how we've discussed my past is a blank slate and all."

Harrow hrms thoughtfully. "If you don't remember killin' 'em, I don't think you can officially take credit... But there ain't anyone around to refute it either, is there? If I were you, I'd start puttin' that shit in my title."

His arm sweeps before him as he says, "Grand Archmage Naugus, Last of Ixis, Master of the Elements."

He crosses his arms then and with a casual shrug says, "On paper, anyway. Fuck announcin' myself as that to everyone I meet. I don't even use my title anymore. I don't even use my human name. That was two names and that was too much, man. Gonna keep shortenin' this shit 'til everyone's just callin' me Hair."

"But I do! Well, introduce myself in such a manner. Ixis Naugus, sorcerer supreme and master of the elements! At least for the initial meeting. Like you side, it gets just a tad lengthy if I have to claim it all the time."

Although one part of that gets him to pause before taking another chomp out of that 'zza. "Wait, what was your Overlander name?"

Harrow grins slyly down at Naugus. That smug smile. That stupid, smug smile. Like this is some kind of GREAT, DEEP SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE he's holding onto here. He even pours himself a cup of punch just so that he can drink it smugly.

And then, finally, he answers.

"Seymour Butts."

Sip.

"Seymour...Butts."

There is a moment. Gig's up, Harrowbutts. He knows an obvious joke if he sees one. You can't get one past the sorcerer supreme!

"Quite the family name."

No way.

Harrow snorts, then fumbles with a cough full of punch. Don't spew all over yourself, don't spew all over the party!

"It's a joke, ya dingus. Seymour Butts? 'Cause it sounds like I'm sayin'... See," He points to his eyes, "More butts." Then, of course, to his ass.

"See more butts. Seymour Butts. That ain't my name, man. You for real thought there was a guy you know named See More Butts?"

"I don't know what you Overlanders consider traditional! Least of all Overlanders from a place that isn't Mobius! I was going to be polite because I tolerate you, Harrowheart." Aww, he tolerates you! That's super sweet.

Harrow fans himself with his hand and bats his eyelashes at Naugus. In his most belle of falsetto Southern voices he trills, "Such strong words, Ixis, I do declare!"

Aw, but the acting doesn't last long. He's quickly back to his regular self, including a warm smile for his friend.

"That's nice, though, man. I mean it. You know you're free to make fun of me anytime, though. We're pals, that's what pals are for."

"I would have made fun of you regardless of your permission, but thank you all the same." Said the guy who was just gonna try to respect the powerful surname Butts.

That pizza is about half down by now. "What is this? It's good."

"Cheese and bread and herbs and tomato sauce, then whatever you wanna put on the top. It's called pizza, my dude. Premier Earth food. But don't worry! This was made by bird folks over at a place I like called Piccione's. Lotta animal folks like us go there. I gotta take ya sometime, man, you'll love it."

Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

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