ph_logs | A Birthday Dinner [Closed]

You don't turn down an invite from Dahlia like this. Cerrit shows up with a bottle of wine, dressed in his work clothes still. He's managed most of his business, and is ready for what may follow.

Dahlia greets him warmly at the door, opening her arms for a hug. "I'm glad you could make it," she says, accepting the bottle. "Would you believe that the wine cellar was mostly alright in the fire? Just some scorched labels. But I'll never say no to more."

"Ah, yes, the fire." He nods a little, but then just hugs the heck out of her. His little girl, after all. "Still, my party back home would be disappointed if I showed up to a dinner empty-handed. I'd have brought some venison for your kitchen, but that might have seemed barbaric."

"Not at all! You know I always love good food." Backing away from the hug, she lets him in.

Lowering her voice, she informs him, "I finally made peace with the stupid dining room by changing a bunch of the furniture and replacing the wallpaper. I hope it makes it easier for you, too."

"Thoughtful of you." His crest lifts slightly, delighted that she thought of him. "How are preparations for the big gala going?"

"Perfect! Radar's got most of it under control, he's so organized. Plus a lot of the staff that's helping out is the same as past years, so they already know how it all works."

She makes a point of rotating who she hires to help so that those people can attend as guests in intervening years, but she does have a few people she gives repeat business to.

"Gods, I hope nothing goes wrong this time. I swear, it's always something. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll just be some interpersonal drama."

"Maybe. I'm expecting trouble though. I'll bring my hatchets, if you want. Or leave them at home, if that's what you prefer." He can be deadly without them, easily. But that tends to read more brutal.

Dahlia shrugs. "Not like I don't have a bunch of weapons around. You can stash them in the coat closet, then they're close at hand without needing to be carried around all night."

Little does she know that this is going to be largely unhelpful.

Erik comes dressed in a fine royal blue suit decorated with silver and gold brocade. It made him think of Dahlia when he saw it in the shop, and so it only seems right to wear it to a dinner in her honor.

He hasn't come empty handed, naturally. Business has been fruitful for him and, so, to show his appreciation, he has had these silver dagger and pearl earrings made for the birthday girl's silver jubilee. He has them tucked away safely in his pocket in a small paper-wrapped box.

"It's a lovely evening, and a lovely occasion to celebrate tonight, isn't it?"

"Erik!" Dahlia greets him with a hug. It's a polite hostess-hug, but the joy on her face and in her voice is still evident. "I'm glad you could make it. Don't you look like part of the family?"

Her own dark blue dress mirrors his.

"I thought I should represent the colors of the woman of the hour," he answers with a distinct note of pride. She noticed. He's pleased.

"I have something for you." He slips the wrapped box out of his jacket and offers it to her. "Happy birthday."

"Oh, Erik, you know I don't need gifts," she half-scolds, taking it anyway.

Opening the box, she lights up, grinning. "Oh my god these are so cute! Thank you! Oh, if my dress weren't gold, I'd wear them tomorrow. I'll be in them at work on Monday, though!"

She has no reason to believe, at the moment, that she will not in fact be at work on Monday.

"You don't need them, but they are still nice to receive," he says, expecting she's going to love this one and being very happy that she proves him right.

"I'm so pleased you like them. I thought something subtle would do just perfectly. I hope they bring you joy when you do wear them." He will still be hoping that even once the future takes its terrible turn.

It's an honest surprise to get the invitation, and the last birthday celebration Fever remembers attending was of a far different feeling than this. But of course she'll come. She dresses a little better than for work, and has a small box in her hand when she arrives, as well as a smile on her face.

And seeing the others...an interesting mix of people here. Fever knows most of them, but not all. A curious situation, but there's nothing like a meal to get to know them better.

Dahlia greets her warmly. "Hi, Fever, I'm glad you came by. I apologize if it's awkward, but you're someone I've been wanting to know better, and I thought this might be a good chance."

"Awkward? No, I'm flattered more than anything."

That's genuine, before she gestures to the box.

"This is for you - open it when you like. And happy birthday, I mean it."

"Oh--- Oh my gosh, thank you! I'm so sorry, I should have said that gifts weren't necessary. But I do appreciate it." Dahlia takes it gently, unwrapping it on the spot.

Nestled inside the box is a piece of glass a couple of inches long, shaped almost like a pear, bearing the cloudy nature of seaglass. Yet shot through, fused into the clear base, are parts of pale green and blue. It's almost like the color was injected instead of melted in, sharper in a burst. It's similar to the pendant Fever's wearing, only hers is smaller, with different colors.

"This is what I'm calling lightning glass. It's...something like a passing fancy of mine to make."

With Dahlia not really in need of anything, she thought something novel might be amusing enough to bring.

Dahlia's eyebrows shoot up at the sight of it, enthralled. "Oh--- wow, Fever, this is--- beautiful! You made it with magic?"

There's a subtle softness that enters her expression to hear her work praised like this, a true warmth.

"After a fashion. I found all the glass, but putting it together like this? Yes."

She could go into detail, but she doesn't know if Dahlia wants to hear about all of that - about the process and the fusion and the experimentation of it all and how you have to be careful lest you drop it while it's still warm and utterly ruin the end result.

Dahlia insisted that presents weren't necessary, and since she's Radar's boss, he guesses he's gotta listen to her even if makes him squirm. Showing up to someone's birthday without a gift? A whole universe and ten thousand extra miles away, Radar's pretty sure he can hear his mom having a conniption.

But. That just means his gift will be making sure the whole day goes off without a hitch.

He's been at the estate since six in the morning, having dropped off his animals at Baker Ranch and packed an overnight bag so he can stay in one of the guest rooms if the party goes real late. Even after the dinner guests start arriving, he continues to fuss behind the scenes -- sure, the staff know what they're doing and he's not gonna get in their way, but there's always little stuff to tweak here and there to keep things running smooth. Fifteen minutes before dinner, he finally pries himself away so he can actually, y'know, enjoy the evening, too.

The clothes Dahlia gave him might be the nicest thing he's ever worn, even counting his dress uniform. Radar still can't believe she just gave him something so nice. He added a slightly more distinguished version of his newsboy cap and a white silk scarf knotted around his neck (for good luck! you never know!), and if he's preening a little, well, you can't blame him, right? He looks so fancy.

...Now he's just gotta try to relax a little, too.

Edited 2024-09-21 02:55 (UTC)

For Dahlia

River's initial greetings are warm, and indeed she's looking forward to this dinner, but there's a moment when she kinda draws Dahlia off alone with a little grin on her face; not far from everyone, she just needs the tiniest amount of privacy.

"It's hard to get a gift for the girl who has everything," River whispers, a little conspiratorially. Her ears flick and bob, taking her grin with them. "But I did have one idea. Tell me...would you like a pet skeleton?"

At Dinner

She's here! And she's having a pretty good time! River's drinking in moderation, not wanting to embarrass herself amongst certain relative strangers, but the town blacksmith is available and she's having a pretty good time, even dressed in her cleanest clothes. If you want her, come get her.

Even the earliest of guests may notice that Daisy is already there when they arrive, seemingly at ease in the space as if she already lives here—because, well, she kind of does now? Half the time, anyway. So what would be the point in getting ready back at her house in town when she has a room upstairs?

The fancy thing that Dahlia's given her is still in her wardrobe, being saved for the actual party, but she's still dressed nicely enough where she sits quietly, watching but not on edge. It'll be impossible to miss that she doesn't actually eat when dinner comes around, but she at least has a drink in her hand most of the time.

It's equally impossible to miss the fondness in her odd, yellow eyes when she's looking at Dahlia, let alone when she's actually talking to her. "Nice seeing you enjoy yourself."

For everyone else, she's not the most talkative person, but she won't bite if you come for a chat when she's alone. Even the relative strangers are people Dahlia likes, so she figures she should behave.

Jeff is here! It's time to him to meet the others. And he's going to be on his best-- well, not best, but-- he's going to be reasonably well behaved, because he likes Dahlia and doesn't want to let her down, and also because he's determined to show off how amazingly well he's doing now that he's a living extension of dread Fear.

He's. THRIVING. Damn it.

Anyway, to anyone (including the hostess herself) he's just going to lean in and say: "This isn't a potluck, right? Because I kind of... I didn't bring anything?" He lowers his voice to a stage whisper, "I don't have a kitchen..."

Edited 2024-09-23 20:03 (UTC)

Fancy parties aren't something Laios is used to, and it shows in the way that, even though he's entirely bright with delight, he's still so nervous about getting this right. Even despite some anxiety, Laios is quick to chat with anybody who he lingers near for more than a few moments. What better time to get to know everybody, after all!

These are all people Dahlia cares about, though, so they're friends-by-proxy, right? Definitely. He even knows a few of them! This is fine.

He's bustling around when he isn't talking to Dahlia, and anyone he hasn't spoken to, at some point, he tries to stop by for a little chat. A compliment on their outfit, asking how they like the food, some enthusiastic prattling about how exciting all of this is. That brimming excitement doesn't fade when he's approached, either; in fact, he shines almost impossibly more over it.

Edited 2024-09-30 21:49 (UTC)

A Birthday Dinner [Closed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

OTA

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

OTA

no subject

OTA

no subject

no subject