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

NIKI

With Flora officially surprise!d and almost glowing under the combined affection of her gathered friends and family, Niki smiles and retreats back out of the crowd where he can't be accidentally jostled and trodden on. No sooner has he found himself a comfortable place to stand, though, when Kaisel comes tearing across the room, and if everyone didn't know where he was before, the certainly do now. "Hello, Kai," he greets cheerfully nevertheless, blinking at the Blue Torcher thrust into his hand and murmuring a puzzled thanks.

"The party looks gre-- oh, a dream?" It doesn't surprise him that Kaisel forgoes smalltalk to get straight into the weird (he isn't complaining), but the nature of said dream and his part in it is ominous to say the least. "That is not ideal," he says. "Is your subconscious still convinced I am some sort of phantom, do you think? How did I die? ...And what does Sunjata have to do with it?"

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

It’s a cochophany of surprises! and a touch of internal awkwardness that he hopes aren’t showing on his exterior as he stays relaxed in spite of being in the same room as Hotaru. He stays out of her orbit, at least, offering a lopsided smile toward Flora when she casts her gaze across everyone in attendance.

And once the party finally starts to get into swing does he glance around for what he can kind of lose himself into. Niki is currently involved with Kaisel, Danta is currently beside Asta who looks like even if he were to cast a too long glance might come for him. And while he’d rather not feel like a third wheel to Melita and Iskra, it’s the best option he has right now.

So he drifts toward them with an easy smile and a bump of his elbow to Melita, nodding a smooth greeting to Iskra. “Hey guys.”

the flood

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

totally sniped from odd ilu

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

“Of course,” she whispered low in Iskra ‘s ear, but with a wicked grin. As Flora wandered in she’d be greeted by the sight of confetti bursting upwards harmlessly, and showering down over the crowd, participants, and party-goers. A good show of amusement and chaos and innocence within the scene. “How was that?” awaiting his approval, before the show was on and the Doubletake was tearing up.

She grinned, massive and wide, content at the way the Queen went from person to person, and then stayed on Kaisel. Jack would never have thrown her a birthday party – fuck half the time he hadn’t even acknowledged her as significant to him. And while the bar might’ve seemed low (in hell), the fact that Kaisel had taken the opportunity to gather her family and friends here showed a great deal more. “Good for you, Flora,” she whispered mostly to herself, taking a deep breath, proud for her friend and all the things she deserved.

Melita had almost nearly reached for Iskra’s hand, when her eyes caught Ru maneuvering around. Flickering her gaze back and forth, from her uncle appearing near them, to the Valkyrie, she nearly cringed inwardly; waiting for something to happen that probably would never arise. Giving a quick glance to Iskra out of solidarity or dread, she welcomed Sunjata into their threshold. “Hey. Isn’t this nice? Do you want us to give you a big party too?” For what, she didn’t say, figuring the needling urge to tease would be better served as a distraction.

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

COLT

She got smiles in a jar by the door
She likes her days better when the sun goes down
She loves the rain

With the surprise underway and Flora looking both stunning and stunned, Colt smiles turns into the bar nearest her. She is one of the furthest people from the birthday girl and anticipates her getting well and fully swept away by others, and surely those who are closer to her. The friendship that’s begun to settle between them has been slow growing, but she’s been more assured of it than ever after the spa day and Flora’s genersoity of offered help last time she’d been in Torchline.

Putting in an order for a margarita and forgoing the special drinks of the night, Colt glances around. Her gaze is drawn to Hotaru , a tilt of her head and a wink offered, perhaps a suggestion they chat more later, but as the drink slides into Colt’s hand it’s to Mateo that she sets off. ”Howdy,” she greets as she sidles up next to him, seeing that he’s traded one shade of feather boa for another since last she saw him. ”I don’t think we were ever properly introduced, and that ought to change,” she informs him, holding up her glass like a better version of a handshake. ”Colt Winchester.”

When the sky turns grey, you should see her face
She finds beauty in broken when nobody else can see
Maybe I got a shot of her seeing something in me

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

He didn’t think she’d forgotten, not really, since this is by far the most perfect place for it. Although he sort of figured that might ruin the fun for her, instead choosing something like an ominous ritual or a study hall to set it off. She doesn’t disappoint though, clearly timing it just so to ensure confetti adheres to as many guests as possible. ”Spectacular!” His eyes gleam with the adoration of it, trailing the flutter of a few pieces for a moment.

Swiping some Twisted Tides off a catering tray that walks past, Iskra hands one over to @Melit just as Sunjata walks up. He has also seen Hotaru, and the potential for drama has him immediately lifting his drink to his lips in lieu of popcorn. ”We could go bigger,” Iskra offers, rather helpfully, around a sip. He keeps a firm, if curious, watch on Sunjata’s expression for the moment, trying to gauge how anxious the man might be.

Iskra

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

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

There’s an edge of excitement to his retelling. Less so because of the contents, moreso because he actually ran into Niki before he forgot all of this. That he remembered anything at all past waking is a triumph all on its own, dreams being slippery things once reality returns. ”No, it’s the worst,” he emphasizes with his hands, including the one with the drink, which nearly threatens to leap over the glass rim like some rogue wave. ”It would be much better to not ghostify, obviously.” Alive would be best, but if he had to die, he could at least do it properly.

The host of questions is the exact line of thinking Kaisel employed not long after waking, so he readily hunkers down beside Niki to consider them all. ”Probably, which is not good news for my actual conscious now that I know about it.” He seems to still suddenly, as if aware in that very instant that but telling Niki about Niki that he is in fact suspicious of that very same Niki.

His gaze narrows subtly, squinting like the Fry from Futurama gif, but then just as quickly seeming to shrug it away and move on. ”You just,” he blows a raspberry with his lips and tongue, free hand flopping over at the wrist. ”Keeled over for no apparent reason. You aren’t prone to feinting, are you?” As for Sunjata, he shrugs, taking a long pull of his drink. ”Who knows, maybe it was his house, but I was outside the window and was going to jump in to handle it all but then, poof, I woke up.”

Kaisel

Got no reason not to celebrate

open hand or closed fist would be fine

"Asta, I think they get the message." Danta laughs over his shoulder to the butcher as he hands off the last of the first round of drinks, having saved two for them. Taking pity on the butcher and his muzzle, the Maverick sets a straw into his cocktail before passing it up to him with a wink, raising his own in a toast towards Flora as she starts to settle and mingle into her party. "I think this was a success. The surprise element, at least," he continues, grinning and lifting his drink to his lips for a generous sip.

One he doesn't expect to be quite as potent as it is, and it's lucky that Danta is such a seasoned drinker, because he gets away without coughing it all across the bar. "Dygra's tits, that's strong," he hisses through a laugh, the burn travelling down his throat and into his chest. "Think they call this one the Blue Torcher. Maybe we start and finish the night with these." You know, go out with a bang and whatnot.

Dantalion

the blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

NIKI

Niki and Kai are a study in opposites in more than one way, it's true, but this evening it's particularly in the soldier's perpetual motion when placed next to the necromancer's stillness. Niki's eyes are following the drink in Kai's hand as he gestures, in fact, as if waiting for it to inevitable slosh onto some poor party guest, but that doesn't mean he isn't still listening. "Is ghostify the technical term?" he wonders, his own cocktail still safely in his hands - and nowhere near his mouth either for the time being.

But then Kai is narrowing his eyes at him, to which Niki responds with his own suspicious squint, though whether he's merely reacting to the expression or he's trying to gauge whether the soldier has figured out tHe TrUtH about his status as a maybe-ghost is entirely left to interpretation. The moment passes without any ghostbusting, at least, and the necromancer is happy to concede it to talk of his manner of death.

"I know this may startle you, so please try to contain yourself," he says dryly, "but I do possess quite a poor constitution, and I am prone to fainting. Not dying though, so far as I know." The smile is slow to curl across his lips, but it does make it there eventually, and he tilts his head with clear interest. "How were you planning to handle it?" he wonders.

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

Should'a seen what I wore
I had a cane and a party hat

With his sister suitably surprised and then surrounded by her adoring fans, Mateo tips her a wink and celebrates by draining his cocktail dry - not to panic, it will be the first of many. Stepping out from the wall of greenery as if he really has been successful in hiding himself there (he has not), he does pass by Enzo on his way to find a new drink, offering his brother a clap on the shoulder. "Do not think I forgot about you either, fratellino," he says, subtly depositing a little parcel of something illict and potent into one of Enzo's pockets. "Buon compleanno. Do not do anything I wouldn't."

That leaves a very short list of wouldn'ts, granted, but then that's the point.

He's successfully gotten hold of a new drink - a Twisted Tide, apparently - when a semi-familiar blonde sidles up beside him, Mateo reaching out to clink his glass with hers, and merrily so. "Howdy," he replies, the word sounding remarkably silly in his accent. "I do not believe we were, no, which seems like a crime now that I am thinking clearly." It won't last, but whatever. "Mateo Taliesin, dream come true, at your service."

I was the king of this hologram
where there's no such thing as getting out of hand

RONIN

the white knight

They arrive after the initial burst of noise and colour of Flora's entrance on purpose, because no one wants to hear the wailing of two very small children who have been startled. But they do arrive, Ronin grinning across to Remi as they duck through the doorway, the party already in full swing with music, food, drink and socialising. He doesn't know which twin he's got cradled in his arms (he'll look at the label on Carlo/Calan's aqua onesie later), but the boy is awake and not currently complaining about his brother's absence, and so Ronin will take it.

"I was there when the cocktails were made, and I recommend not having too many of them. I reckon they could even ruin a demigod's tolerance." He chuckles to the Bastion. Unwilling to part from his husband for obvious seasonal reasons, Ronin nevertheless sends his duplicate away to fetch them plates of food and drink, and he'll offer cheerful birthday wishes to both Flora and Enzo when he sees them.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Kaisel has not stopped to properly consider the linguistics until now, but he does the moment Niki asks. ”Uhhhh, maybe the correct term is ghosted.” Which isn’t the way he’s heard that particular word used before, but as he rolls it over in his mind, he feels it’s suitable. ”Like, I’d say, Niki Ghosted, not Niki Ghostified. So maybe ghostify is when the even might happen, future tense, and ghosted is present and past?” He’ll have to cross-reference his ghost books, the only study materials he’s ever found suitable in his entire life, and confirm the exact language options.

That Niki’s eyes narrow in response, feeling very much like a high noon standoff for a moment, does not settle in Kaisel’s gut any better. That concern is drastically overshadowed by the much more present issue at hand though, one which earns a loud gasp from Kaisel, who definitely fails to contain himself despite Niki’s request.

”You ARE!?” Horrified at the news that Niki does in fact feint often, Kaisel reaches for the rim of his glass again to steady his nerves with something physical to do, like drinking an extremely strong drink. ”Do you think…oh my gods!!! Do you think that means it was a premonition??” His free hand reaches out for Niki’s arm, as if attempting to steady the man for his upcoming expiration.

His grip tightens accidentally as his head turns, easily finding the tall Sunjata in the crowd. ”Holy SHIT. This is a building! And THAT’s Sunjata!” It’s all coming true, and Niki might just find out how he’d handle it firsthand.

Kaisel

Got no reason not to celebrate

Sohalia

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

The surprise, it seemed, went off without a hitch, with Flora arriving only to be shouted into a smile that stretched wide and true across her face. Soh watched with affection as her best friend's gaze went to Kaisel - as it should seeing as how he'd planned this whole thing. He was completely deserving of this moment, and despite their differences, Soh knew that deep down, she wished them both the world.

When Kaisel and Nikandr stepped aside to speak, Soh swooped in on Flora with a bright smile. "Happy birthday," she said warmly, wrapping the Doubletake in a brief hug, squeezing her tight, as though she could erase their recent disagreements if she tried hard enough. "Love you." And then she stepped aside to allow others to greet the guest of honor, slipping off to the indoor bar to procure a Blue Torcher and linger, for a moment happy just to watch the party.

I was enchanted to meet you

COLT

She got smiles in a jar by the door
She likes her days better when the sun goes down
She loves the rain

Mateo’s enthusiasm for the cheers does not surprise her in the slightest with what information she has come by about him, most notably being his pharmacy in Stormbreak, the very thing that’s drawn her to him again, if for a different purpose. Her smile widens both in response to the chipper tone of their glasses greeting and the curve that finds his repetition of the word, nearly wringing out a laugh for the accent and its adorable take on what is normally so flat and dry.

The amusement doesn’t fade the further on he goes, her brows reaching for her hairline at his clear charm. ”Oh,” she let’s slip from one corner of her mouth, the very one that’s curled up with delight at his ego. ”I wasn’t aware you knew any of my dreams, or that you could fulfill them.” His true meaning sweeps wholly over her head, and in the true selfish fashion of someone certain they’re being flirted with, she assumes he’s talking all about her.

When the sky turns grey, you should see her face
She finds beauty in broken when nobody else can see
Maybe I got a shot of her seeing something in me

Flora

there's no time to waste on loving badly

Hotaru barely has time to lean in before Flora is already folding around her, arms winding up around her mother’s neck with the kind of immediate, unembarrassed affection that belongs to birthdays and champagne bubbles and the rare, shimmering little moments when life actually bothers to feel generous, and she lets out a soft, indulgent hum into the crook of her neck as though she might happily stay there for the next hour if the rest of the party weren’t glittering and clamouring all around them. "I love you, and I’m so glad that you’re here," she says, warm and low and entirely sincere, though sincerity in Flora never sits still for long before it starts putting on jewellery and batting its lashes, and by the time she’s drawing back she’s already catching the kiss Enzo sends sailing toward her from across the room. Her grin flashes brighter for it, all twin-threaded delight and menace in equal proportion, and she blows one right back before calling, "Don’t think you’re getting out of this unscathed!" with a wink sharp enough to count as a threat, or a promise, or both depending on how brave he’s feeling tonight, because yes it was his birthday as well.

Sohalia is next, and Flora doesn’t so much hug her as gather her in with both arms and hold on properly, tightly, her sequins catching candlelight while her bracelets press cool and familiar against bare skin. "Thank you so much for helping with all of this," she murmurs as she pulls back just enough to look at her, aqua eyes bright and sparkling in a way that has less to do with the party lights than with the fact that Soh is here, here after everything and despite everything and still close enough to touch. Her smile softens into something affectionate and fond and just crooked enough to still be Flora instead of some polished, sentimental impostor, and she adds, "I love you most," like it’s a joke and a truth and a tiny territorial flag planted between them all at once.

And then, because apparently the universe has decided to start arranging people in little clusters specifically to tempt her into meddling, her attention snags on Colt and Mateo standing together with drinks in hand, and the sight lands in her head like a match to dry brush. It isn’t even that Mateo can’t make his own choices, because he can and will and probably with some theatrical flourish she’d deeply respect under different circumstances, but the thought of Colt drifting through her life with that easy, careless habit of setting hooks into the people around her, all wide eyes and open roads and not meaning any harm while managing it anyway, presses against something sharp-edged inside Flora that has no intention whatsoever of behaving itself. So she goes, not in a rush and not in a huff but with that smooth, loose-hipped stride of someone who knows the house will part for her because it’s hers and because tonight, more than ever, everything in it has been bent toward her orbit, and when she reaches them she slides an arm around Mateo’s waist as naturally as if she’s merely wandered over for a sip of gossip and not because she’s decided, on a deeply spiritual level, to become a problem.

"Oooh, what are we talking about?" she interrupts, bright as sugared fruit and every bit as sticky, leaning lightly into her brother before tipping her face up toward him with exaggerated curiosity. "Is Colt trying to poach you to come live up in the desert with her?" The question is aimed at Mateo, but by the time the last word leaves her mouth she’s already turning her gaze onto Colt, sweet enough to rot teeth and so obviously manufactured it may as well come with ribbons tied round it. "She’s been doing that, you know," Flora says, all innocence lacquered over intention. "Trying to poach the people closest to me." Then she tilts her head to the side, slow and expectant and just challenging enough to make the whole thing gleam like a blade tucked into a bouquet, her smile never slipping once.

---

Flora is standing with Colt/Mateo starting a fight

Code stolen from Queen Sky