[open] // HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROUND

[velveteenmage]

Who: Waver, Palmon, and you!
What: Certainly not a birthday party. That's silly. You're silly.
When: October 3rd, afternoon
Where: Newbie apartments lobby.



"What - are - you - doing?!" sputtered a horrified Waver. He'd gone looking for his suspiciously absent partner, only to find the plant Digimon decorating the lobby with streamers and balloons mostly in shades of red and gold. She stopped mid-inflating a balloon, surprised enough to let it go and send it rocketing around the room in an erratic streak of scarlet and noise of 'pffthpthpthth'.

"What's it look like?" Recovering from the sudden interruption, Palmon's hands went to her hips (such as they were on both counts) as she responded indignantly. "Don't lie, red and gold are your favorite colors, aren't they?"

"It looks like something I specifically asked you not to do, now doesn't i--who did you invite?!" Flushing about as red as half the decorations, Waver's frustration snapped right back to abject horror in midsentence.

"Nobody...well, nobody specifically. It was kind of an open-ended thing."

And that was all the color draining from Waver's face. This kind of technicolor reaction couldn't be healthy.

"WHY." he demanded in a voice that suggested a nervous breakdown was mere seconds away.

"Why not? You need to get out more and have some fun for once, and this is a perfect chance for it." Waver's arguments were for a moment reduced to emphatic flailing of both arms and choked interjections that were not quite words. It seemed entirely possible that Palmon's insistence on his birthday being a thing that happened may have actually broken the student on some level.



"You...you...you traitor!" Once proper use of the English language returned to him, Waver stammered and threw his hand out to point accusingly at his offending partner. "This is the worst, unforgivable! 'Palmon' isn't terrible enough--your name should retroactively, presently, and eternally be Rafflesia, because you're clearly just as useful as one!"

A tense silence fell between them--tense mostly due to Waver, who looked so angry steam might well have been coming off of his head. In complete contrast, Palmon broke out into a lopsided smile and clapped her hands (vines? leaves???) together.

"You're doing that thing where you pretend you're angry when you really aren't. And you even gave me a nickname! You're the best partner ever, Waver." It was then that the indignant magus found himself dealing with an armful of plant giving him a birthday hug.

"What--no! You've got it all wrong! Entirely wrong! You couldn't be more wrong, I-I'm obviously really angry, s-so get off of me!"

Ladies and gentlemen, the defense mechanisms of a Waver Velvet in his natural habitat. You may note flailing, stumbling, and probably even falling over.

And a lot of shouting.

But don't let that stop you from enjoying the impromptu and hastily planned party. There's probably even going to be a cake courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Saori.

Comments

[velveteenmage]

Waver looked up from where he'd fallen over under his partner's weight, seeming as though his next logical step was to give up on life. When one had a grinning plant-thing sitting on them, it was hard to opt for anything else.

". . . thank you." he muttered reluctantly. It was a little hard to be all that mean to Roze, even in his usual fashion of 'not really angry but it's not like I like you anyway'.

"Heheheh, I knew you'd see things my way."

"I-I wasn't talking to you! And get off of me already!"

[fullofthorns]

Clucking her tongue thoughtfully for a moment, Roze squinted and walked over to Chosen and parter, setting the bag on the box and balancing it in one hand so she could reach down, grab Palmon by its tail and hold the Digimon out at arms length, quite off of Waver.

"Uhh....Happy birthday," she mumbled, chewing her bottom lip as she held out the box and bag, tossing the Digimon over her shoulder without a pained grunt, for once. And she was four-inches shorter than usual! Much less towering.

[velveteenmage]

"Hey, come on!" Palmon protested, squirming ineffectively. Meanwhile, as Waver stood up he looked from Roze to what she was holding in legitimate confusion before carefully taking it.

"You...wait, you got me something?"

[fullofthorns]

"Well no, not exactly," she murmured, glancing off to the side uncomfortably. "I didn't really have a lot of money left after some things came up. So all I could really do was make some things myself."

She shrugged, sliding Palmon off her shoulder and setting the critter on the floor carefully.

"Its...well its probably stupid and I apologize for the quality. Its just a little bit of cake and a small present."

Inside the white box was one small personal cake made of red velvet and topped with a crisply made bit of icing rose. In the bag was something else entirely.

It was a hand-made UFO catcher-style plush of Rider, stitched carefully with little bits of leather, fleece, brushed yarn and anything else she could find to get as good a replica as possible, right down to his mess of red hair and little red-bead eyes.

Roze scuffed her feet on the floor, sneakers squeaking as she looked anywhere but Waver.

"So yeah. I just wanted to stop by and drop these off for you."

[velveteenmage]

Waver opened them both carefully as Palmon sulked about being pulled off her partner, a faintly impressed look on his face as he saw the cake. it did look like she'd put genuine thought into this--

--and that turned to a fleeting moment of genuine shock when he saw the plush she'd made. Had she actually gone to this much effort and trouble for Waver's sake, being one of the considerable group of people that knew how important Rider had been to him?

"Roze, you... I-...Did you really...make this?"

[fullofthorns]

"Ahh haha! Yeah! Yeah I did - its pretty awful, huh?" she laughed, a little too loudly, one hand going behind her head, the other propped on her hip as her cheeks colored faintly with embarrassment.

She should have known better. Waver was a grown man, even if not exactly the height and weight proportions of a lot of men his age.

"Well, you can do whatever you want with it, its no big deal. I just uh...well, yeah. Its...yeah you probably can't tell. Hn. Its supposed to be your friend," she mumbled, trailing off and pointing at the doll briefly. "Or I mean, I tried to make it look like him."

It was a very good replica in miniature, despite her discomfort and obvious uncertainty about it. Someone with very little confidence in their ability to please others.

"Hm. Anyways I hope you have a great birthday n' all. Don't get all grumpy about it. People jus' wanna do somethin' nice for you," the Amazon rumbled, punching him gently in the shoulder and offering a wan, crooked smile. "If it gets too crazy, don't worry about anyone else but your own fuckin' self, okay? Its your birthday. You do what you want. N' don't let Audrey over there bully you into festivities."

[velveteenmage]

"W-wait." Waver managed to say, voice unusually quiet. He set the cake down carefully, holding on to the doll like he was almost concerned it might break. This was proving a difficult situation to react to; Waver wasn't all that well-equipped to deal with emotions that weren't frustration sometimes.

"I...I, uh..." Staring intently at the ground himself, Waver faltered and stumbled over his words. Behind him, Palmon muttered something that might have been 'spit it out already'.

"I-it's the...best thing I could have asked for. R...Rider probably would have loved it too." he finally managed, clearly embarrassed. "And if, er...if you wanted to hang around for a while I-I guess I could live with that."

[fullofthorns]

Roze listened, leaning back slightly as though concerned he might swing on her all of a sudden. When he ducked his head and stammered she had to lean a little closer, ear turning towards him and eyes squinting in concentration.

Color crept into her cheeks again, lips parting enough to let a long sigh brush past. A cool hand reached around, cupping behind Waver's neck and tilting him forward enough til full lips pressed against his forehead. It lasted only a moment before she pulled back and flicked his nose gently.

"I'll go sit over there for a while. Long as I ain't runnin' around and actin' stupid I guess there's no harm in pretendin' to be a wallflower for a bit. I'm...really glad you like it. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

[velveteenmage]

"Wh--ow!" He flushed deep scarlet at the contact, feeling an odd twinge in his forehead when she flicked his nose. Strange, the kind of nostalgic sensation a gesture like that could cause.

"Qu-quit it! And don't be sorry, I mean...I'm not joking, this really is-..." Again Waver seemed to encounter that problem of his voice getting gradually quieter as he tried to be sincere about things. "-really is great. You didn't have to do this at all, but I-I guess I'm glad you did."

Shaking his head quickly, Waver tried to put his usual composure (if that was what one would call it) back into place.

"I think I'd feel better being a wallflower myself. I still don't think I'm really the type for parties."

[fullofthorns]

"Mm. You don't have to be the type of person that likes parties. You just have to let yourself enjoy the warm atmosphere and take pleasure in knowing there are people that care about you and want to see you well on your birthday. Its your day. People will respect that differently from other parties. Just try not to let it turn into a somber affair and you'll be fine," Roze offered as helpfully as she could, looking around the lobby awkwardly.

"If you wanna talk or anything I'll hang around a while. And...I'll let you know before I leave."

[velveteenmage]

A small but genuine smile twitched across Waver's face for a moment, but before he said anything in response a thought occurred to him.

"Roze, is everything alright? You seem a lot less...eager than usual."

[fullofthorns]

"I'm tired," she admitted with a long sigh, rubbing the back of her neck and gesturing vaguely at nothing in particular.

"A lots happened and I'm havin' a hard time keepin' up. I'm not used to bein' human, y'know? I hurt all the time and makin' money ain't easy when you're so fuckin' busted up its hard to even do your day job, let alone go on actual missions. Definitely makin' me respect normal humans a lot more," she remarked, rubbing the underside of her nose before folding her arms and smiling faintly.

"I spend more time worryin' about everyone else. Tryin' to keep everyone in good spirits, fed and healthy and not at each others throats. I guess I'm just runnin' myself a little ragged is all. Don't worry about it, though. Takes more than a few slips, trips and falls to keep Roze down."

[velveteenmage]

"Someone should worry about you if you won't do it yourself." Waver answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Teasing aside, Roze had never been anything but nice to him (sometimes aggressively nice, even). It seemed unfair that she should have a hard time of things in return. Magi dealt in matters of equivalence; it was one of few viewpoints Waver shared with the general society. Things should always have evened out wherever possible, whether the matter was magical or not.

"If you needed help with anything, you could just ask me."

Ergo, if she had only ever treated him kindly, it stood to reason Waver should have been doing the same.

[fullofthorns]

Tilting her head slowly, Roze looked waver over with a warm smile of weary gratitude.

"Other people have been chiding me as well. I don't like asking for help, though. No one really ever does, but I appreciate the offer and I'll keep it in mind. Right now, you'd help me the most by going and having a good time on your birthday. Let yourself enjoy the company of others. And I'll consider being more forthright about shit with my friends too. I know at least a couple of people worried about me. And I know I'm being stubborn. I've just been upset about some things I...heard."

How to explain grating voices in the dark belittling you? Waver had been in the dark as well. A lot of people had, and yet few were willing to talk about the experience. Roze was no different in this. She would suffer it and struggle and hope it would pass; it was just one more unpleasant thing in her life to endure. She was stronger than whatever was in that darkness. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

"I'm bein' stupid, Cake. Jast call me stupid, okay? I'll get my shit together," she chuckled softly, hands lowering to clasp together behind her back.

[velveteenmage]

"I call everyone stupid. I don't think it'd have the effect you want." Waver admitted, shaking his head with a halfhearted frown. 'Idiot' was practically his version of a greeting. "But if it makes you feel any better, I hate looking for help from anyone too."

"...Wait, something you heard?" Problems with hearing things, now that was uncomfortably familiar. "You didn't...get in some kind of trouble lately, did you?"

[fullofthorns]

"Trouble?" she asked, pink brows furrowing together as she shook her head. It didn't really seem like "trouble" to her. That implied a long-term issue with authority of some sort. Or criminal activity. At least in her circles. Trouble wasn't exactly what she would call psychological impairment.

"No, I don't think so. why, did someone say something?" she asked, perplexed by the question. "I mean I know I've been on and off of Princess, Shorty and Pretty Boy's shit lists all the last couple of weeks since the mission, but I'm pretty sure that's just general moodiness."

[velveteenmage]

"No, but--when you said you heard something, I thought-..." Waver trailed off, repressing a slight shiver the best that he could. While he'd mostly pushed aside his mess of an encounter in the Dark Field, it would be a lie to say it didn't bother him a little. Roze didn't strike him as the type to be all that hung up over whether or not someone insulted her, so that seemed like the next logical step.

"It's nothing. Sorry, maybe I was mistaken."

[fullofthorns]

Let it go, Roze. Let it go, walk away. Just blow it off--

"You thought what?" she asked, shifting her weight and stepping a bit closer so that her back was to anyone that might come in and his face was obscured in her shadow. It was no one else's business what they talked about.

[velveteenmage]

Waver shrank back slightly almost on instinct; the motion was unexpected, and genuinely startled him for a second. But since she seemed to be on to him, it would probably be easier to stop dancing around the issue.

"I...you didn't get caught in a Dark Field, did you?" He froze, almost immediately backpedaling. "It's probably none of my business, I mean you really don't have to answer that."

[fullofthorns]

She sighed, leaning back slightly and scratching the back of her head with one hand, the other propped lightly on her hip as she nodded. If she said no outright she'd be lying. She hated lies.

"Yeah. It was a stupid mistake on what shoulda been a simple there and back mission. A while ago, when we were supposed to take those thingies and close the dark areas all over? Most of my team got caught in one. It was my fault. And...well, no one will talk about it, really. But then no one will ask, either."

[velveteenmage]

"Not that you have to, but...I'll listen if you want to talk about it."

Doing as much did help Waver feel some measure of better about his own miserable adventure, so it was only fair he should extend the same offer to anyone else.

[fullofthorns]

"Not on your birthday," she chided softly, shaking her head and gesturing to the side. "Tomorrow maybe? I do...think I need to talk about it to someone that would even know what I was talking about. But getting Princess or Pretty Boy to talk about anything is like pulling teeth, and asking Sexy would be...insulting, I think. Plus I hate when he looks at me and I think he's just seein' a silly, helpless girl."

She sniffed, reaching up to scratch her forehead as she glanced sidelong at Waver.

"Soon, but not today. Not on your day."

[velveteenmage]

Waver sighed, fully aware that was probably the best option for everyone involved. So instead he shifted the conversation to something a little less bleak.

"Why all the nicknames? Do you do that with everybody you know, or are we just that special?"

[fullofthorns]

"Hm? Everyone gets one. I think? I don't know. I just say what comes to mind. I don't have a very good brain/mouth filter and honestly I don't fuckin' care. But I'm tryin' to be a little more uh...tolerable for people. Yeah? So if you really don't like it I will call you Waver. But there's like, Velvet Cake, Hot Stuff, Shorty, Shortcake, Princess, Motormouth. Lots of people," she explained, smirking and looking more than a little proud of herself.

[velveteenmage]

"I don't really hate it." he admitted, trying not to laugh at the list she'd given. Waver honestly couldn't begin to guess who went with which name.

"At least, I don't think I do. It's sort of...endearing, once you get used to it."