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

Her pinks turn a slight shade of pink. "I'm not brave," she says, shaking her head. Selfish is a better word for it. "But I trust you. I know you won't do anything to hurt me. If something bad does happen, I won't blame you for it. I promise."

"It is brave," he insists gently. "I remember when you first talked to me about magic. This is brave of you. Exploring the unknown. A world you once knew nothing about. It's incredibly brave. I don't think I'd be able to do what you do. It would be like me learning how not to use magic. I don't think I could do that the same way you're learning about magic."

Her cheeks turn and even deeper shade of pink. "You give me too much credit, I think." Not that she can stop him, of course. "I said such terrible things about you and your magic then, was so afraid of you just for being you." She gives him a small, sheepish smile. "I'm so glad I've gotten to know you better. And I'm glad that you're... my friend." That bit is still hard for her to say, but she does mean it. Her smile doesn't falter at all. If nothing else, she is grateful to know him.

Viatorus is in no position to comment on bright cheeks, but he will smile brightly. "So am I. Glad that you're my friend. It's so nice to have someone to share all of this with. I hope I'm always this lucky."

Her smile quickly matches his. His brightness is always infectious with her. "You'll always be that lucky with me, I promise."

Happy Birthday, Viatorus!

Gods, I adore this icon of V

:D Happy icons!

Oh gods that typo. Can't believe I missed that one. >>;

It happens ^^

no subject