[ME] Fuck it up if it's your birthday bitch

You're my lighthouse in the darkness when the storm is comin' in

Sunjata and he are of the same mind, though he doesn’t know it, not the depths of it anyway. Iskra would also be sure to pull a small crowd, too small to even deserve that label, and he can’t recall the last time he’d celebrated much of anything besides surviving DeepFrost. Unless drinks at the bars all those years for surviving another day counted?

Where Melita opts to push in a bit more, Iskra, recognizing the appeal of quietly brushing past new milestones, instead decides to turn it back around on her. ”Sure sounds like it’s Mel who wants to have us throw her some outrageous party.” He bounces his brows towards Jata in open conspiracy, and he’s only half-joking at this point. They could probably ambush her with ambiance and affection within her skyship…

His thoughts fall away much like Mel’s as the scene around them shifts. A bit slower on the uptake than the super hearing of Jata and the nosy prowess of Mel (which he can only admire how well she sniffs out action), he turns his focus in time to catch Colt’s departure and Flora hustling after someone into a side room. Sipping at his drink as his eyes widen visibly the quiet communication of oh shit to both of them, he turns back around more properly, though an ear is cocked. ”A falling out?”

Iskra

Lookin' in your eyes, there's my whole damn life

Sohalia

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

They weren't away from the party for long, and Sohalia returned arm-in-arm with Flora with a smile on her face. If there was any lingering unease from the entire interaction that had come before, she shoved it down deep. This was Flora's day, and she wasn't going to be the reason that any more of it was ruined. If anything, she was determined to show her best friend a good time.

So she even managed to bite back the awkwardness she felt around Kaisel as she steered them over to he, Mateo, and Astaroth. "Sorry," she said breezily, gazing at Flora with open affection. "Had to fix my makeup. Much better now, right?" she asked, tilting her head in Flora's direction as though waiting for confirmation. "Did we miss anything?"

I was enchanted to meet you

I can feel it in her bite
there's something more than ecstasy

Things go to shit with impressive speed - and not even due to her son’s sudden concerningly bright grin after Mateo stops by. Not that it stops her from smiling at the young man, though she firmly does not want to know whatever he has just done that has made Enzo grin like a crazed, canary-stuffed feline. It’s enough to distract her from the early signs of disaster, though given how close she is to Colt where they both linger on the outskirts, she isn’t exactly able to remain unaware.

Hotaru reaches to grab Enzo’s arm when he bristles, subtly shaking her head and leaving her hand there to keep him tethered at her side. This is a cat fight, and sometimes the only way to get to the bottom of things is to let the claws fly for a bit and see if it can be sorted out naturally. Like wolves - but with a lot more yowling and bristling fur.

Not that she’s happy that her daughter’s big day is devolving into something that is at the very least upsetting to Flora, but Ru would never presume to enforce her daughter’s boundaries on her own turf, no matter how protective she is. Flora has every possible advantage here; this is her birthday, her house, her region. Ru expects a swift conclusion, one she doesn’t put much stock in; her tentative almost-friendship with Colt doesn’t hinge on whether Colt and Flora are friends of their own.

Well. So she thought.

Her name is flung out like a gauntlet in the sand, making golden brows rise sharply on her face, genuine surprise flickering past her neutral guard. The Valkyrie hadn’t expected to be involved, and now she isn’t sure how to feel about the fact she was. Was, because everyone storms in different directions thereafter. Hotaru exhales a slow, tired sound as she releases Enzo, having forgotten she was holding onto him by the end. He peers at her, questioning, but she waves him off silently.

“Not now, sweetheart. Go start the party back up for your sister, will you?” Enzo doesn’t let his frown show, but she can sense it all the same. Nevertheless, he obeys; vanishing from her side to pop up by Flora’s, grin slightly mean at the edges but still dazzling enough to distract and engage. Leaving Hotaru against the wall, twirling her glass, decidedly robbed of her one option for a conversation partner and left with a tangled mess to boot.

beneath those pretty little eyes

Hotaru

the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole

Before he has time to actually focus on Melita’s comment about what he celebrates – because right now there’s hardly anything he can think of worth celebrating aside from maybe the healing river when it’s finished. But it’s a long ways away – Iskra’s comment about throwing Melita a party grabs his attention as a lifeline the Heartless latches onto with a laugh. “Y’know, I think you’re right.”

Ah, but then drama is afoot and while he can hear the quieter comments thanks to the hEARs in his ears, the demigod is still loathe to get anywhere near it. Thankfully, though, as Melita questions it and Iskra offers his own possible suggestion, Sunjata grimaces slightly and raises the glass to his lips. “Sounds like Colt’s trying to snag people to live in the desert and it didn’t go over well with Flora.” He’d have to check in with her, maybe able to snatch her passing through to make sure she’s okay.

He downs another long sip of the very strong drink, grateful for the burn that’s there after so long without it, before he’s glancing back toward them with a small smile. “I’ll see what I can find out.” He shoots them a wink before he’s stepping away as the party shifts and everyone begins to go back to normal now that Colt’s no longer here. He scans the crowd again, avoiding looking over at Hotaru to scan the rest – spotting Niki stepping away and Flora snagging Sohalia. He’d have to time everything just right, but he thinks it’s doable.

the flood

and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below

totally sniped from odd ilu

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

He waits for whatever it is Flora decides for him to do, tail flicking behind him back and forth like a cat ready to pounce once given the instruction. Unfortunately, however, it becomes a smaller and smaller possibility, even as Colt’s snark meets him and Flora’s tone is breezy and bright for how many daggers it harbors within them to chase after Colt’s spine as she steps away.

The butcher only takes one foot forward, each shadow at the ground snapping at Colt’s heels as she steps away and finds the exit on her own, the butcher’s black eyes drift toward the birthday girl with a dip of his muzzled chin for understanding. A glance back up at Mateo briefly with recognition for a face he recognizes but not much else, the butcher takes a deep breath and draws each portion of his haunt back into himself aside from the horns that harbor a few too many tines than normal.

Before he has a chance to slip away, Kaisel’s at his side, asking the two of them what happened and for that the butcher isn’t much inclined to stay away from Danta’s side as he shoots Kaisel a far too toothy grin that might suggest he’s inclined to take a bite out of him, even if his voice is velvet when it leaves his lips. “It has been handled, darling.” He straightens up, runs a hand through his hair and fixes a sleeve that felt like it had started to drop down.

A nod is granted to Sohalia as he steps away, deciding they could all figure it out amongst themselves, unless he’s needed again. But his attention returns to the Maverick behind the bar that he sweeps back behind and snakes his hand around his fiance’s middle, the diamond ring glinting where he keeps his hand very visible. “Did you happen to hear much of that, Wasp?” He asks in a low conspirator's whisper.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

For all her wicked notions, Melita hadn’t seen the party aspect dropping back upon her. Truth be told, the Honeybee didn’t think she’d incite a massive crowd either – unless it was vengeance for her bullying tactics. “Eh, doubt I’d be much of a draw either,” based entirely on her own choices and actions in life. “Aren’t we fun and popular,” she added with a snort and pout, kicking a rock by her toe. Plus, they were missing out on the dramatics!

Though it seemed her uncle had his own means, and she granted a conspiring grin towards Iskra as she leaned into the theatrics and upheaval. Colt trying to gain people for the desert, something about Flora…her eyes narrowed, wishing they had the full play by play and notations. Taking another sip of her drink, the scrutiny intensified, but then the Flood was just leaving so… “Hurry back!” she hissed.

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

Let's make tonight the weekend, I don't wanna wait

Though Kaisel's gaze sparkles after Astaroth 's retreating form, dying to know more, he turns his attention expectantly to Mateo to fill in the blanks. Flora and Sohalia soon return though, though no one stays stationary for long or offers further remark, and so the party is not derailed further nor is it overshadowed by the argument.

It continues well into the evening, and candles are blown out and cake served well before anyone is too faded for it to be considered a fire hazard. Kaisel even brings out a tiny smash cake for Enzo , claiming that since he's been revived, his birthday officially restarts so he's just turned one again, hence the tiny cake and not at all because I forgot they have shared birthdays being fucking twins and all. The smashing of cake soon turns to more drinks and dancing that has become more loose and questionable, and party decor swiftly becomes props and playthings as inhibitions lower all around. The ice carving at some point ends up in the pool, and one of the band members passes out on the couch. Kaisel, a deifnite fire risk by now, sages the entire place at some point, very grimly informing people he's saving their souls as he does so.

As guests begin to retire for the night, either to their own homes or a designated or offered room here, the celebration naturally winds itself down into something quieter and made memorable (or not, depending on the number of Blue Torchers) rather than a memory unfolding. At least one pair still has something of a memory to make though, as Kaisel takes Flora 's hand and carts her away from the spotlight at long last, the one gift he's adament she open tonight tucked in his pocket with a far too obvious shape in his shorts. The act of slipping away is almost practiced, as if fading into nothing more than laughter and each other's arms is always how the night ends, regardless of what preceeds it.

[FIN]

Kaisel

Got no reason not to celebrate