Summer Birthday for a Sunshine Child

[destiny_key]

Who: Sora and You!
When: Day 147
Where: Somewhere in the Summerlands
What: Sora's birthday party!
Warnings: None~


[An Open Message]

[Sometime early on Day 147, Sora will put out a message over the radio;]

So, um. I've been here a while. I don't really know how long, but um...

I think I might be sixteen, now. So, if you wanna come hang out, that would be cool.

[And that's all he'll say.]

[Sweet Sixteen]

Where has Sora been for the past week? He's been... around. He hasn't holed himself up in his room or anything, been out and doing his job and exploring the area. To a casual passerby, he seems completely normal.

But anyone who knows him, will know that he's been unusually quiet. He's not been as... everywhere, as he usually is. He's not avoiding anything, but he's not running towards it either. It's entirely likely that the radio message he put out will be the first most people have heard from him all week, and that's only slightly troubling.

He's currently sitting in one of the more secluded gardens of the Summerlands, set up almost like a tea garden. Sparky the Shinx is purring on his lap. But aside from Sora himself, there's... nothing. The garden is empty, no balloons or cake, or anything to indicate that there's a birthday happening today. 

He's been doing a lot of thinking, lately, and it seems that's what he's doing today. In fact, he won't even look up from petting Sparky until you approach him.

"Hey," he smiles thinly. "What's up?"


[ooc: Feel free to threadjack! The party portion is an open log, even if it's not much of a party yet. An additional thread will be put up this weekend containing more of an Actual Party.]

Comments

sweet sixteen

[pipers_son]

While Sora is sitting there, petting Sparky, something else will start to slowly circle down....

Until a Dartix is sitting on his head, a pendant in its mouth as it leans over to look down at Sora.

Wassup. Ignore the other feathery asshole sitting in a tree nearby.

[destiny_key]

Honestly, though, he doesn't even notice he's not alone until Dartix starts hopping around on top of his head. Lethargically, Sora reaches up a hand for the bird to hop into, and then brings it down to eye level. Sparky protests only a little from the sudden lack of petting.

Sora takes the pendant from its mouth, and examines it. It's another few minutes before he speaks.

"I know you're there, you know. I can hear you moving around."

[pipers_son]

"Naaaaaah," is the lazy response. "I'm practically invisible, but with sound. Can't hear a peep."

Although Feathers is certainly peeping, more than happy to have attention paid to it instead.

[destiny_key]

Sora laughs quietly, and pets the bird gently on the head while it tweeted away happily. Sparky, having lost interest in the current proceedings, stretches and begins to snooze away on Sora's knees.

"Really? Maybe I've got special hearing, then."

[pipers_son]

"I wouldn't be surprised. People gets all sortsa special things around here~."

Good. Laughter is good. It's better than the awkward silence that was happening not that long ago. Joker shifts, making himself a little more comfortable, before offering anything else. "It's magic, just so y'know."

radio to prose, eventually

[whattaprick]

[ Here's a voice Sora probably wasn't expecting to hear: the Nightrider, casual as you please. ]

It helps if you tell people where they can find you, you know.

[destiny_key]

Oh, uh, right. Sorry.

I'm in the gardens. One of the side ones. I think it's a tea garden or something.

[whattaprick]

[ Sora, you're making a big assumption thinking that Lambert has any goddamn idea what a tea garden is. ]

That doesn't exactly narrow it down. There any landmarks? Use a light for a signal or something?

[destiny_key]

Oh, um. I... don't know?

[Sora quickly looks around the area, for some sort of landmark to guide Lambert.]

Um, it's on the far side of the city, I think? Away from the carnival. Kinda near the market, maybe?

[He doesn't know where he is, really.]

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert huffs, slightly. You really can't give him any better directions than that? But chewing Sora out for it is pretty pointless, so he'll simply say: ]

I'll ask around. With hair like that, you'd be pretty hard for the fae to miss.

[ And with that, he's off the radio, hunting out Sora's location on foot. It takes longer than he'd like -- to be expected, with such vague directions -- but he does get there eventually, squinting as he steps into the garden. ]

open message

[wild_magic]

Are you gonna have a birthday party, too? Like we had for the rat? [Yes, that is Susan's only experience with birthday parties. Obviously all of them must be like that.]

[destiny_key]

Oh, um, I dunno. Maybe? I don't really have anything to throw a party with...

[Sora you're in a magic garden geeze.]

[wild_magic]

Well, other people must! Otherwise we couldn't have had one before.

Maybe you could have Twister again? Or karaoke!

[destiny_key]

Oh, um, maybe! But I don't know that this is the place for it.

[How do you tell a kid that you don't really want that kind of party?]

[wild_magic]

I think any place is the place for a party.

open message!

[flashover]

[HARK! A DISTRACTION!!! JUST WHAT THEY ALL NEED.]

DUDE. Ok, I need to know, for like... reasons. What your favorite flavor of cake is. It's very important!

[destiny_key]

Um? I... I dunno?

Um, chocolate, I guess?

[You've put him on the spot. Cake flavors are not at the forefront of his mind.]

[flashover]

Uh chocolate you guess? [Rin says, playfully mocking a little] Are you sure about that? Cause... you know!! You never know what you're gonna get!

[destiny_key]

What d'you mean?

I mean, I'll eat most cake, to be honest...

[No, he doesn't get it yet.

Well, he does kinda get it. But he's not sure where you're going with this.]

[flashover]

[oh my god Sora, how can you be dumber than Rin? HOW.

At least, in this situation]

Well, I mean... what other kinds of things do you like to eat? Any fruit you like...?

Sweet Sixteen; I'm late to this I'm gomen

[puddingemote]

After the radio message, Tamaki went looking around. It takes him probably a good hour to find Sora; even after hearing a tea party garden mentioned, it's easy to get lost in the maze of greenery that makes up the Summerlands. But it's not like Tamaki has much better to do than look around and try to find the birthday boy.

But finally he finds him, looking... pretty down considering this is his birthday. Tamaki hesitates for a moment before coming closer, letting Riori, his Oricorio, out of her ball as well. She chirps happily as she looks around, before bounding up to Sora with much less hesitation than her trainer.

"Didn't you say it was your birthday?" he says in response to Sora's greeting. Shouldn't it be obvious what's up?

[destiny_key]

"Well, um, I dunno, really," Sora answers slowly, petting Riori as she tries to take over his lap from Sparky, who does not appreciate the shift in attention and tries to push her off.

"Just, like, I'm not really sure... how long I've been here. But I was pretty close to being sixteen back home, so like... I think I've had my birthday? But I dunno."

That's a pretty vague explanation, but Sora can't think of a better way of explaining it. He just sort of shrugs and turns his attention back to the pokemon trying to vie for being pet first.

[puddingemote]

Ignoring his Pokemon's lap hogging, Tamaki considers this explanation. Thinking of it like that, he himself probably turned eighteen awhile back; even though he can't possible know when April 1st was, it wasn't going to be too long after the night he came to the Carnival. Though, celebrating his birthday without his friends sounds like a sad idea, so he decides to ignore his own birthday instead; he can always turn eighteen back home. Sora, though, clearly wants something, or he wouldn't have mentioned it.

"Then, that sounds like a good enough reason."

Everyone could use some cheering up after Portland, after all. Tamaki watches Riori shake her pom-poms at Sora while trying to sneakily push away Sparky with her foot, and he can't help but chuckle before looking back at Sora.

"Back home, when it was someone's birthday, we called it Strengthening Month." He flexes an arm, though it has nothing to do with physical strength. "So everyone had to be suuuuper nice to whoever's birthday it was, and do something that they wanted for the month! Like, clean your room, or watch anime." Which were mostly the things Tamaki was told to do, but that aside.

"So if you want, this can be SOR Strengthening Month." He puts his hands on his hips, smiling like he just said something really awesome. "So, what do you want me to do?"

[destiny_key]

Sora blinks blankly up at Tamaki as he says this, not really sure how to respond. He's never heard of anything like that before; but then, different worlds have their own traditions, he supposed.

Still, it looks like Tamaki is trying to cheer him up, and he can't help but feel thankful for that.

"Oh, um..." Sora starts slowly, smiling awkwardly. "I... I don't really want you to do anything. I just... kinda wanted someone to hang out with, I guess. I haven't really seen anyone since... you know."

Maybe that was a little rude, turning down Tamaki's offer like that, but... he's tired. He can't think of anything for Tamaki to do, anyway.

[puddingemote]

It's less of a "world tradition" and more of a "Tamaki's specific group of friends" tradition.

With his idea turned down, Tamaki deflates a bit. He'd thought that would be a nice way to cheer Sora up, but maybe he came on a little strong.

But it doesn't really matter if he feels gratified by this exchange, after all. He sits down in a chair by Sora.

"I can just hang out. That's okay, too."