1465/Happy Birthday, Runealy!

Happy Birthday, Runealy!
Date of Scene:	10 May 2016
Location:	Waldians Home
Synopsis:	Three aliens try their hand at an Earth style Birthday party for the Guardian Princess of Waldia. Maybe the 'surprise' part wasn't such a good idea, though...
Cast of Characters:	Valeria Barun, Fate T. Waldia, Runealy Waldia

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Valeria Barun has posed:
    Today is a very important day, both cause for celebration and mourning. Fifteen years ago today Runealy Waldia was born, giving the Kingdom of Waldia a new Princess and heir. One year ago today Queen Lene Waldia was murdered in her own castle home, only to be found by the very same princess on her Birthday. May 10th is thus a day of bittersweet and conflicting emotions. It would be easy to let the more recent tragedy snuff out the joy of the occasion, especially when you figure in the horror of how that tragedy was discovered.

    It would be easy, but Valeria doesn't want to let that happen. Runealy has suffered plenty and doesn't deserve to suffer further in her mind, and moreover her very Oath is to protect their future and it's happiness. In this she finds duty for this very day. Because it's one thing to remember the tragedy of the past, but it's entirely another to let that tragedy ruin all future May the Tenths, to spoil every birthday Rune might have before it ever comes. This is the first birthday Runealy will have had since her mother died and as such may well set the tone for those that follow.

    In keeping with her own pursuit of Earth culture and traditions she's looked into how birthdays are celebrated and has found that there are many similarities, but with one very important added detail. Cake. There must be a Birthday Cake for it to be a proper Birthday Party. This is, apparently, an ironclad rule set in stone. The exact type of cake can vary greatly, but it must be present. With this in mind she set to work scouring the internet for bakeries with the best looking and tastiest cakes, whittling the list down to the top five, taste testing them in person, and finally placing an order at the supreme cake shop around.

    With that set she'd clued their newest houseguest, Fate, in on her plan to throw Runealy a party. While not exactly a full surprise party she had asked her to keep everything on the down low, and explained as best she could that Rune's mother had died on her birthday and that she wanted to make sure to let her be at least a little happy on her birthday, but to be ready if the tone ended up being somewhat morose regardless. Valeria thought Fate's presence would help a lot, that their 'guest' showing an interest in trying to cheer Rune up would in itself be a big part of doing just that, and she let the young Device user know it.

    Today she had gotten up early and snuck out, picking up the cake and bringing it home, once back she woke Fate up to help her decorate the Waldian's living room in true Earth Birthday fashion with supplies she'd kept hidden in her closet. Shiny balloons with cheerful birthday messages float in the corners of the room. A big string of red, blue, and green letters reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' has been hung across one wall, and twisted streamers arc across others in various places. The table has a tablecloth with a print of little conical hats and cakes placed over it, and sitting on it is a large circular cake with the words 'Happy Birthday' and 'Runealy' scrawled across opposite sides in curved script. In the center is an artists depiction of a golden crown inset with green gems. Fifteen candles have been spread across the cake, ten in an outer ring and five in the center.

    Once the decorating is complete Valeria's plan is to simply wait. To wait for Runeally to come down and just happen to randomly find a Birthday party waiting for her. Set upon her head is a yellow cone hat, much like ones on the tablecloth, held in place by an elastic string. She's supplied one for Fate as well if the girl will wear it.

    Assuming Runealy does actually come to the living room at some point Valreia will jump up excitedly and say, "Happy Birthday, Rune!" immediately before blowing into a paper noisemaker, urging Fate to use the one supplied to her, before trying to light the candles on the cake as quick as is safe.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Not counting her memories of being called 'Alicia' that make no sense to her, Fate has been to only one birthday party before now. It was for Takashi Agera, and all things considered it was a bittersweet party at that.

    When it came time to help out Valeria in preparing a birthday party for Runealy, Fate was more than happy to help. She had some idea of what was supposed to happen, but she was actually very surprised to hear that having a cake was some kind of necessity. Was there a cake at Takashi's birthday? No, Fate would have remembered something like that.

    Well, too late to worry about that now. Upon being woken up, Fate was happy to help Valeria set things up, putting balloons in the right place, making sure everything looked nice. She didn't really know enough about either Earth customs or Waldian customs to know what needed to be done, so she more or less followed Valeria's lead on this. Fortunately Valeria seemed to know enough about what was proper.

    Fate is sitting at the table, wearing a yellow party hat and holding a noise maker in her hand. She doesn't want to play with it because the noise might give it away, but she's... also curious as to how these things work.

    The thought of Runealy being fifteen boggles her mind a little. To a nine-year-old, that's more than half-again her own age. Wow.

    If and when Runealy comes downstairs, Fate will be right next to Valeria saying, "Happy Birthday!" and blowing into the noisemaker.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Despite those intentions, Rune spent some time away from the house. She got as close to their homeworld as possible, the marble-sized bit of blue energy in a forest south of Tokyo... the currently inert portal between worlds. She had skipped school - claiming sickness, true only in some ways - to do this, and sat and thought on things alone for quite some time. The princess found only a few answers to the many topics weighing on her mind, and eventually came back home.

She is thus unaware that anyone has been looking in to cakes; there are likely some similar baked goods back home, but not on the scale that modern science has wrought and they might not even be seen as a universal symbol to celebrate the occasion; perhaps other foods reign in this role, depending on the region one hails from.

She's even less aware that Valeria and Fate have been taking the lead on setting up a surprise. This lack of stealth will give them some warning that she's not arriving from the expected angle, as a driver pulls their limo up to the house in order to let Rune out. After a quick but very quiet 'thank you' she moves to head into the living room. Not from upstairs, but from the front door.

She's greeted by very sudden noise, jolting in place with wide eyes from sheer alarm! "Summoning Princess' Ti--"

She cuts off mid-sentence and there is no conjuring of magical royal headwear. This surprise isn't like the ones she has spent the last year getting increasingly 'used to', if still terrified by. No corpses, and there is nobody trying to turn her into one.

After a moment to calm herself down, Runealy begins to look around the living room. Her eyes remain quite wide, but this time it's with curiosity. "Wait... what? Fate? Valeria...?"

And then realization sinks in. It's not hard to put the clues together here. It's May 10th. Rune knows that quite well. Valeria and Fate just outright shouted the occasion they have in mind. The decorations literally spell it out!

Thus after a few seconds of alarm followed by confusion, she gets it. Rune blinks a few more times, then smiles. "Did you really set all this up just now? Wow...!"

Valeria Barun has posed:
    This is the downside to mounting a surprise party without having someone to lead the person to be surprised around and bring them in at a certain, predetermined time. Not only can they walk in and find you setting the party up, but they can also completely divert away from what you imagine they might be doing. Just as Valeria had snuck out earlier, Runealy seems to have snuck out without her noticing.

    Suffice to say it's much longer than Valeria was expecting before Runeally arrives at her own Birthday Party. After a couple of hours she admits that perhaps she should have thought this out a bit better, and starts trying to teach Fate some simple word games to pass the time. Another couple of hours and a potentially failed attempt at teaching her a pen and paper game about what may seem to be dubiously ethical methods of making money through trade. Look, she was raised in a merchant family.

    Eventually things get to their logical conclusion and they're sitting down facing each other with a deck of cards to the side and various piles in front of them and in their hands. With a sigh she hands over her 4s to Fate, only to be slightly startled when she hears the sound of a car pulling up. It takes her a moment to realize it's a limo. "I believe she has returned so since you're ahead you win," she tells Fate while quickly picking up the cards and grouping them into a neat pile.

    She just finishes up when Runealy walks through the door, proceeding with her plan of enacting the surprise. When the Princess reacts the way she does Valeria feels bad, wincing a little as Runealy starts to calm down. Luckily she isn't mad afterwards, and the lavender haired girl decides to play it off easy, walking towards Runealy and smiling. "We did, yes. This is all for you, Cousin. I wanted to give you something to be happy about and enjoy today, and once I told her about it Fate was more than happy to help." She turns graciously to the twintailed blonde girl and inclines her head thankfully.

    Then with a brighter smile she snags one of the balloons out of the air by it's string and holds it out to Runealy, "This is for you." It has the predictable words printed on it along with wrapped gifts and what seems to be falling confetti. "As is this," she smiles wider still as she makes a sweeping motion to the cake. "If you would like we can have some straight away, or I could prepare you a snack beforehand if you'd like something more substantial." She isn't sure if Rune has eaten while she was out, after all.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate still has a few things to learn about playing card games. For one, she's not that great about hiding her hand. For another, it hasn't occurred to her to have Bardiche calculate probabilities for her. The word games and trading game were even stranger to her still, and while she tried to get the rules it became clear that she really didn't. Despite this, she seems to be doing well enough at whatever card game they were playing, at least until she hears the car door out front.

    This is far later than Fate expected Runealy to come, and that is... not the direction she expected Runealy to come from. Apparently she's been out somewhere? Where could she have gone? How did they not notice? It's true that they didn't specifically check... but... that seems like quite an oversight. Fate should have considered that Runealy might be off at school or something or another.

    The princess comes in, and the two surprise her. Runealy is startled, and Fate's smile is immediately apologetic. There are no immediate dangers here, at least not as far as Fate knows, and it's just a matter of waiting until Runealy figures that out on her own. After a moment, the princess seems to have taken it well, and once she calms down Fate stops worrying about it. To Runealy's question, Fate nods emphatically. "We did! We've been waiting for you, Runealy!"

    Fate hops out of her chair, walking along the floor to approach the birthday girl, smiling up at her brightly. She doesn't ask where Runealy has been, at least not yet. The thought of this day, and what it means, makes her feel like maybe she just shouldn't pry to much in what Runealy does with her free time.

    "I admit I don't know much about Earth birthdays, or Waldian ones, but we do have cake!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune is visibly flickering between two emotions even as Valeria explains what's going on here. Despite knowing what's going on and why it's happening, she still occasionally looks somewhat confused by all this.

Yet Valeria is able to bring her out of that. There might be moments of bewilderment in Runealy's eyes, but a balloon is a fine prop for overcoming it. It's taken in hand while she nods to Valeria, "'Cousin'" This is simply repeating the term, not using it oddly or dismissively. "You know, I got to talk to him for a while. He was waiting by the other side of the portal! Our voices were pretty garbled," Talking through a really tiny flux of magic energy will do that, "but we got through. You might still be able to talk to him if you drop by there." Without context, outsiders might not realize Rune is referring to a shared relative between herself and Valeria.

Then she's regarding Fate, and /this/ time the surprise isn't related to some inner confusion. It's a more clear thing as she notices Fate's demeanor, something much higher than it was when Bardiche's wielder was first brought here. It's a welcome surprise, and when Fate joins in on insisting there are baked goods at hand...

...Finally the flickering of doubt versus smiling ends, with the latter more consistently taking over on Rune's face. Trying to coordinate some kind of diet plan or pre-cake snack with her is immediately dismissed. "Then let's get to it! Looks like you brought plenty for everyone, huh?"

Valeria Barun has posed:
    Trying to explain games to a child when neither you nor the child share concrete cultural ties is fairly difficult, especially when those cultural aspects are in many key to the aspect of the game. Never mind that even a Waldian of Fate's age would have a low probability of quickly understanding the mechanics behind the trading game. At least the card game was fun!

    Fate is also spared an apologetic look when it seems things might turn out as planned, and then a thankful one as the girl helps to bring Runealy around.

    There's a blink of surprise as Rune speaks of 'him', only to smile afterwards, "It's far more important that you got were able to speak with him today than me, Rune. I'm glad that you could." She considers for a moment, "Perhaps I will, but first I want to see you enjoying yourself."

    Thoughts of food are pushed aside in favor of the very visible cake, and the young woman moves closer to the cake, crouching down and using the modern marvel known as a 'lighter' to light the candles on the cake. Somehow she missed the necessity requisite birthday song and so she simply steps aside, "Blow out the candles, Rune; it's an Earth tradition. But before you do think of something to wish for and wish for it as you blow out the candles. It may just come true!" She gives the two others a mysterious smile before rushing off to the kitchen to get the cake knife and server as well as some plates and forks.

    When she gets back, assuming the candles get blown out, she plucks them off and sets them aside, cutting into the cake and giving each of them a good sized wedge. The cake itself is chocolate with a sugary outer frosting. The secret is between the two layers, however, where a raspberry filling sits above a rich chocolate frosting.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate watches as Runealy's emotional expression shifts around. Fate doesn't really blame her. She wouldn't really know how to feel in a situation like this either, but in a way she agrees with Valeria, that the joy of this day shouldn't just vanish, even if it has certain horrors that come with it.

    Fate doesn't know who 'he' is. She's assuming someone that both Runealy and Valeria know, at least from the context of Rune's statements.

    When Rune looks at her with surprise, Fate smiles. It's been, in her mind, a while since she first came here. A lot of the despair she was feeling was specifically Dark Energy induced and, as such, a non-zero portion of it went away. There's still a number of problems in Fate's life, but for now she's hopeful. Certainly there's no reason not to be happy for a friend on their birthday.

    Wait, so there's candles and a wish, too? This is all news to Fate! Yet, she goes along with it without much question. "Wow, Earth birthdays are neat."

    She looks up at Runealy, expecantly, seeing if she'll really blow out the candles, and wondering what she'll wish for. Is something like that rude to ask? Fate doesn't know.

    The cake is cut, and Fate looks inside. Wow, that looks tasty.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy is quick to let Valeria's attempt to redirect this conversation go as intended, a simple "Sure" and nod as she heads over to the table with eyes on the cake... and momentary surprise as Valeria shows off that Earth tech includes a stick that produces fire on demand. "Where'd you get that? Seems like it'd be great outdoors," she's pondering its uses in camping and the like!

"A wish? Is it something I should say out loud, or keep to myself?" She nonetheless takes a breath, leans in, and blows! It may take a second or even third pass to get all fifteen candles, but Rune works through it all the same. As for the cake itself, the princess looks eager to get in to it...

...and finds another pleasant surprise. The taste is complex enough that it takes her a second to realize what's hidden within, then... "Hey, you picked out a good one!" An immediate follow-up bite suggests this isn't just being polite.

Only then does she get back to something Fate mentioned. "The ones back home are pretty good too, but this /is/ neat! You did great picking up on everything that goes in to this!" A gesture to the cake, "And there's plenty here for you too, so go ahead," a quick nod over to Valeria indicates the same thing for her cousin's sake.

Valeria Barun has posed:
    Valeria looks at the lighter in her hand as Runealy mentions it, "The shop that sold me the decorative candles suggested it. You're right though; something like this would surely be useful in starting a campfire." About the wish she laughs softly, "If you tell us it won't come true; at least according to their legends." She can't help but agree with Fate, "They are, aren't they? It's fun doing things their way, for a change."

    She's rather pleased when her cousin takes such a liking to the cake. "I'm glad you like it, Rune," she replies with a small smile, keeping to herself how much work went into picking it out. She cuts a piece and serves it to Fate next, giving the younger girl a piece just as large as the one she served Runealy, followed by a piece for herself as well.

    She sits down before eating, holding her fork in a specific and delicate manner, eating only small bites at a time to be absolutely sure nothing has a chance of falling on her dress. Her manners are refined and meticulous even at a time like this. "It is very good," she agrees about the cake, deciding once again that it was the best choice after tasting it.

    She gets about a quarter of the way through her cake before looking surprised and standing up, "Oh dear, I forgot something!" A bit of reaching under the table and she offers a round paper crown with an elastic band on it similar to the one on her and Fate's hats. "You don't have to wear it, but it is festive," she notes while offering it to Runealy.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate doesn't pay the lighter any mind until the other two girls point it out. She looks at it, studying it for a moment. It is an interesting gadget, and it's neat how they managed to create fire while knowing nothing of mana conversion. Not that Fate knows much about such things beyond what she was trained to know.

    Valeria's words confirm that no, Fate shouldn't ask what Runealy's wish is, so she keeps the question to herself. Instead, she curiously tries to imagine what Runealy would wish for. She nods at Valeria as she says Earth customs are fun, saying, "Yeah. We may as well, while we're here!" Her internal speculation doesn't last long, as Fate is quickly distracted from it with a plate of cake! "Thank you," she says as she accepts it, cutting it with her fork and eating a bite of it.

    Fate glances sideways at Valeria, noticing the unique way in which she's holding the fork, and tries, somewhat clumsily, to emulate it. It's a little off, but she's trying darnit! Manners aren't something that Precia thought worth teaching.

    Fate blinks at the paper crown being offered to Runealy. Sure, it's fitting, but something about it seems so silly. She can't help but giggle. Well, they're wearing party hats as it is. It's only fair that the birthday girl would get her own special hat. "That's really neat."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"In that case, I'll keep it to myself. We're already working toward making it real instead of 'just a wish', anyway." Rune's thoughts drift to the goal here: Help out those on Earth, such that Tokyo is safe and visits between this world and home can be ones of relaxing chances to see friends. It's a decent wish to aim for, one left unspoken for now.

She's not immediately given a chance to voice it as she's 'crowned', in any case. "No, no, it's fine," she takes the offered party-hat with a moment's thought; some day she's going to have to be adequate to the challenges of wearing the real crown. For now however, it's accepted in the intended spirit and Rune - after a few seconds of figuring out how you even wear this - gets it on.

Rune is somewhat informal as the meal continues, and nods aside to Valeria and Fate in turn. "This is really, really nice. Thank you!"

It has proven one way to offer a brighter contrast to what started out as a very emotionally 'heavy' day. A very effective way at that, one that is clearly improving Rune's spirits.

Valeria Barun has posed:
    A small smile shows on Valeria's face as Rune hints at her wish without giving it away. She can piece the general idea behind it together even if she can't get it exactly. Runealy cares so much about giving back to the people who helped save Waldia that it isn't the most difficult thing to figure out; proof of that desire to help is sitting right beside them.

    Speaking of Fate, Valeria notices her trying to hold the fork like she is and without saying anything holds her own up while it's free of cake and opens her hand up only to close it again much more slowly, showing off more easily the way and order she closes her fingers around it. Another small bite of cake is then carefully eaten.

    She lets out a small cheer as Runealy accepts the birthday crown, clapping the front of her fingers against her palm. "You're welcome, Rune. I'm very happy that you're enjoying yourself."

    And she means it. It might not be much, but she's glad if this little bit of sunshine can brighten such an important day.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate still doesn't know what to make of the wish, but she knows not to ask. She glances between Valeria and Runealy. It's almost as if the two have some secret language between them. Maybe it's because they know each other so well?

    Fate notices the way Valeria opens and closes her hand, paying attention to where the fingers are places and adjusting her grip accordingly. Then she goes back to eating her cake, maintaining her hold and enjoying the sweet taste.

    "You're welcome! Happy Birthday, Runealy!" Fate sounds cheerful enough. As well she should, considering that she's been a guest in the Waldian's 'safe room', and their idea of what 'safe' means. If Runealy wanted to repay Fate, she most certainly has.