A Holiday Story: A Moon & a Star in a Wet Wick
The Wet Wick was unusually quiet as most of the Adderson were out making their rounds & few patrons stayed at home this holiday season. Usually, the place would be filled to the brim with drunkards & the occasional groups who wanted to start a fight. It was strange to say the least. Nevertheless, the gang was all here to celebrate not only the holidays, but Llaurium's birthday! Kuras was informed to stay far away from the kitchen, & was sitting near the bar, wrapping presents as instructed. Leander was still speaking to the Adderson, pointing here & there for stringing up decorations. Ais was speaking to the bartender, handing him a bag of coins & whispering something that no one could quite hear. Mhin & Esther were excitedly going over something at one of the nearby tables, with Esther being the one to barely stay still in his seat. He was as always, a bubbling joy of sunlight. Then there was Illya, humming along to a tune & checking to make sure all the presents were set. They still had a few boxes that needed to be tidied up, but everything seemed fine.
With a smile Illya's ears perked up as she could hear Vere teasing Llauri about something.
"Look alive people! Birthday bird is here!" Illya shouted, grabbing the giant Tiramisu cake they had made & smiled brightly.
Vere walked in highly amused, stepping aside to reveal the room to Llauri. The place was decorated with banners, streamers & a few Christmas ornaments thrown up to the ceilings. It was shiny & pretty. Things that Llauri would like. Everyone watched as Llauri looked around at each one of them confused. They slowly made their way up to Illya & tried to take the cake from them.
"Auri, my love....what are you doing?" Illya tilted her head, watching Llauri look around again. They came up closer to Illya, ears wiggling a bit as they looked into her eyes.
"Do you guys need help with something? Like....Are we planning something here?" They were genuinely puzzled on why everyone was gathered in one place.
Illya busted in a fit of giggles, almost dropping the cake in the process. She set the cake down on a nearby table, & wiped the non-existent tears from their eyes. Clamping her hands down on their shoulders, she locked eyes with a bewildered Llauri.
"Auri honey....Have you ever had a birthday party before? Or celebrated a holiday?" Illya asked tenderly. Llauri's face scrunched up.
"A who? Huh?" Llauri, looked around again, wondering what exactly Illya was going on about.
Vere was chuckling near Ais at the spectacle, already knowing this was going to happen. Everyone in the room had gone silent, realizing that Llaurium had never celebrated their own birthday nor a holiday for that matter. Llauri moved closer to the bar, still feeling confused & a little insecure now about what's going on.
Illya tried their best not to giggle again & played the music they had ready. Moving over to Llauri, they side hugged them & patted their head. Llauri looked up with a pout, still not registering anything that was going on. Illya smiled warmly at them, before speaking.
"Okay, I'm just gonna assume that mutt over there..." Illya points at Vere as he scowled at her. "...didn't explain shit to you. So, here's how a birthday party goes..." Illya started going into details about how a birthday was thrown, why it was created & celebrated for anyone who was born. It seemed like the more they explained it to Llaurium, the more confused they became. Illya could sense there was something fundamentally wrong with Llaurium & slowly stopped smiling. She gave a knowing smile & patted their head again.
Llauri blinked. It was a lot of information to take in & the explanation made sense.... it's just.... the cult never provided them this privilege before. This was just an experience that they currently couldn't fathom. They looked at everyone again; watching as they were talking to each other & enjoying the atmosphere. It was warm & inviting. It wasn't something they were used to. They looked at Illya again.
"So...this party is for me?" They asked carefully. Illya nodded & smiled again.
"How about we eat some cake & we just hang out like usual?" Llauri wings fluttered a bit at the mention cake & hurried to grab a slice. Illya giggled again, happy to see them take a big chunk of cake & biting into it. Illya smiled wide, leaning onto the bar.
"They remind me of past husband. He wasn't one for parties."
Everyone went quiet again. Esther was the one to break the silence. "YOU HAD A HUSBAND?!"
@someiicecube oc: Esther & @faustiandgaius oc: Llaurium
