The Brightest Birthday [Open]

[morphitudinous]

The Sensorium was transformed, the lights were lit and the trap was set. Billy stood in the center of a beautiful woodland clearing at dusk, waiting to surprise a certain special girl with a quiet and warm party for her birthday. Things were calm, beautifully lit, and (hopefully) just right for Ronnae.

Guests would come upon a circular layout to the clearing. One finely-cut circle in the center of the grass, separated from the rest of the area by entwined roots, served as the dance floor. Pathways wound out in several directions---to a secluded grove for talking in one direction, to the little round tables in another direction, to the vine-wrapped throne watching above all. Next to it was a small table for gifts, with one round box already placed there.

A crescent-shaped food table cupped the dining area, featuring simulations of foods of all sorts. Salads, meats, pasta, soups, hot potatoes---it was heavily based on Earth food, as that was what Billy knew best, but some dishes more familiar to the people of Azeroth would appear as well. If he did his research correctly, at least. He'd tried.

Standing just behind the table was a tiered strawberry cheesecake, red ribbons flowing throughout the creamy structure. It was surrounded by strawberries on all layers, and topped with a little decoration. Billy had argued with himself about whether it was appropriate or too sentimental for a little while, but there it was: a miniature big-headed version of Ronnae sitting on top of a flower, the little figure's toothy grin flashing at the crowd. He hoped she wasn't offended.

Now that the scene was set and the skylights were giving the place a gentle glow, he braced himself for the arrivals. He still wasn't sure if she would like the attention, but he hoped she could find a reason to smile tonight.
((Now open! Subthreads are up for early arrivals, the escorting, and gifts, and everything else can be social threads y'all start. Throw up more subthreads if you'd like to and have fun!))

Comments

Early Arrivals

[morphitudinous]

There were just a few things to get done before the guest of honor arrived. Billy was scrambling about to try to get them done, but other hands were welcome too.

((Talk to anyone who shows up or Billy here))

[nokosi.livejournal.com]

Nokosi was early--early enough, at least. He strolled in with Fontaine in tow, the giant, blue wolf looking much better than he had before. Silver eyes followed Billy for a few moments as he darted back and forth with preparations and the elf shoved his hands into his pockets before speaking up.

"Hello Billy. You look busy. Should you not have requested aid at an earlier time?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Kaya was here: she wanted to help with preparations of course, and she was happy to be here on Nokosi's arm as well. The waterbender was positively beaming when she looked at everything around her: as usual, Billy had outdone himself, making everything look special and unique. That hardly surprised her though: she had grown to be completely awed by her Bonded's imagination.

"Billy this is amazing!" Kaya squealed, grinning. "You really are going to make this a special event!"

Ronnae was lucky, no doubt about it!

[morphitudinous]

Billy looked up from his fussing over the exact position of table and chair legs relative to each other to address both of them, a weary but excited smile on his face.

"I hope so---and yes, I know, but I got so consumed with preparations that I forgot. I'm sorry. But it does look presentable, doesn't it?"

[thewunderkind]

"Wow, that is a lot of grass and wood," Lash remarked, coming in. She had a habit of arriving a little early and just making herself walk in like she owned a place. The wunderkind snickered watching it all, wondering how Ronnae would take to all this attention.

"So this is what birthdays are like..."

[morphitudinous]

"They're not all like this," Billy explained as he shifted the location of one of the tables one more time. How to maximize mobility space while promoting an atmosphere cf closeness? It was a delicate balance.

"Some are held at clubs like the one in the City, some are sleepovers at someones' house, others are beach trips or days at a restaurant. I thought she'd like something like this. Peaceful woods without the obnoxiously bright lights and loud music."

[thewunderkind]

"So wait, the beach trip could have been someone's birthday bash? I never planned it that way." Right over her head. "Do most people celebrate these coming of age parties each year?"

The Surprise

[morphitudinous]

Ronnae was on her way, with the help of a good friend...

((Ronnie and her escort go here!))

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Of course Ronnae was completely oblivious to anything that was involving said surprise. She was being her usual self and leaving work early cause she had finished everything that had been assigned to her desk and would rather do her personal projects at home today.

Of course she took the long route, no point in wasting the day away!

Re: The Surprise

[masterofnun.livejournal.com]

Punchy's not been around long, so he hasn't had much time to accumulate things to gift people. He did, however, make an effort for Ronnae. He's brought her a little digital camera with images he's loaded on it of famous Hubble photographs from his world, because she likes the stars.

"Ya dig, Red?"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae wasn't expecting to see Punchy, but she was very happy that he was here. Once she started going through the photos, she smiled widely at how beautiful the pictures were and she wondered if he could see things like these all the time.

"This is beautiful! Thank you so much Punchy!"

She of course gave him a timid hug, for being a sweetheart and caring.

Gifts

[morphitudinous]

Eventually, Ronnae would be led to the throne of vines overlooking the area, where a few small gifts from friends stood. Open seating was available for anyone who wanted to watch.

((Make a post that describes the gift package and what's inside, and we'll have it opened here))

Re: Gifts

[fireforger]

Daja could not come to Ronnae's birthday without a gift, of course. For this occasion, she had crafted a beautiful gold bracelet. And she hadn't just made it an attractive piece of jewelery - the bracelet was spelled with Daja's own magic, to speed Ronnae's ability to heal when injured, and to stave off illness and disease.

She hoped that Ronnae would love the gift, and she stood nearby, waiting to see her reaction.

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

After all the passing out excitement of the party, it was gift time... And her face couldn't have been redder! She almost felt as if all of this was some dream, a very nice and happy and almost unbelievable dream!

She shifted nervously towards the first gift, looking down embarrassed as if she was being stared at from all directions. It was nerve wracking, yes, but in a very good way. These were her friends and crew mates and she couldn't be happier right now.

Once she opened her first gift, her eyes shone brightly as she looked upon the golden bracelet. it was not only beautiful in itself, but the craftsmanship was solid and worthy of praise! that's why it was no surprise to her when she noticed who it was from.

Taking a moment to put it on and admire it, she blushed and looked to her friends, finally spotting Daja and moving shyly over to her. She paused for a moment, not really knowing what to say in situations like these, but she couldn't resist giving Daja a nice, warm hug!

"T-thank you~"

John's gift is going to be a bit different - brief ride in his module

[youmissed]

He shows up late. And he doesn't have a gift, no boxes, no clothing with receipts 'cause you have to assume they'll want to return it to Macy's; basically nothing physical, just waiting at the door with his arms crossed as he waits to catch up with Ronnae. Parties. Haven't really been to a real surprise party in cycles and he's not even sure how to handle it anymore. Too much Danger Will Robinson and not enough downtime without thinking about Scorpius riding his ass. Seems like a better idea to catch Ronnae once she's on her way out instead of sitting there with a group of strangers and boxes and secretly wondering who might have concealed weapons.

Anyway, it's not like this is one of those things you can just give in front of a group of people. There's no possible way they'd fit in Farscape One.

He could say this is payback for helping him around Stacy, figuring out what's where and touring him through Engineering and all that. But the truth is it's also an alien girl's birthday and maybe he can at least learn to start celebrating those again. John catches himself wondering about Chiana before he can stop himself. She's probably alive, just like the others.

He'll keep telling himself that as long as he needs to.

"Hey, I've got something for you," John says as soon as he catches sight of Ronnae. He grins. "Meet you at the hanger in ten."

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

The whole ride had been quite exhausting for the very shy girl. Everything about the surprise, to her friends, to the gifts and to the day in itself had been quite exciting. Aside from passing out from happiness/embarrassment!

Once she reached the exit, she noticed and smiled at John. He was one of the new crew members she had helped on the day the pods were released and had a nice time showing him around.

To see him here was heartwarming, and at the mention of something for her, she blushed. "O-Oh, okay." she replied timidly, wondering what it was that he had for her. "It's... it's n-nice to see ya again."

She would of course go meet with him, after all, it was rude to leave someone waiting, and her experience with him had been pleasant.

Re: Gifts

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Kaya was very conflicted abut what to give Ronnae. she never really seemed to have a whole preoccupation with things that she wanted, so finding the right kind of thing had been hard for her. She finally settled on something that she hoped the half orc wouldn't hate: it was small, but Kaya had seen it and thought of Ronnae the moment she'd seen it.

"Here," she said, looking a little apprhensive. I hope you like it. (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=brooch&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=709&tbm=isch&tbnid=pGrkhW8I2uT0AM:&imgrefurl=http://www.nlshaw.com/%3Fsec%3Dfil%26cat%3D0%26gid%3D11&docid=bX-MlgKyvrJc6M&w=933&h=856&ei=EAyTTtqNDcnq0gGfyJ1N&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=862&vpy=273&dur=931&hovh=215&hovw=234&tx=118&ty=111&page=5&tbnh=158&tbnw=158&start=70&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:70) I;d lopve to say I made it, but I'm nowhere near this good! I guess that's just a skill I won't have!"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

In the middle of all the overwhelming fun, Ronnae bumps into one of her best friends and smiles timidly, "H-hey~"

Once Kaya pressed forward her gift however, the girl blushed even more and her eyes glossed up in happiness. "W-wow... this... this is beautiful Kaya! T-thanks so much!"

And with that, she embraced Kaya with a tight, warm and loving hug.

[morphitudinous]

The round box in navy blue paper with a silver ribbon was Billy's, but she might have been able to tell that from its appearance alone.

Inside, she would find a star-shaped music box. The top depicted a hill in the evening, dark colors fading up into a point of crystal at the very top. When this was pulled, the lid rose up, playing a soft little tune. A light within the column at the center activated, lighting the box with little colored lights. Surrounding the central pillar was a magnificent red dragon, with the just visible form of a girl lying against it. Underneath them, there was plenty of space for possessions to be stored.

He really hoped she liked it.

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae passes out eyes the box lovingly, a small smile on her face as her misty eyed gaze travels over the box as her slender finger traces the detail on it. She could feel her heart racing just thinking about the thought put into it from her lover and her thoughts drifted to the things he had asked recently to her very oblivious self. He was always so thoughtful and caring, it was no surprise that her heart felt as if it was soaring.

Once she opened it, her ears flicked curiously at the sound and she couldn't keep her tears from running down her smooth and warm face. It was beautiful, everything about the box tugged at her heartstrings as it reminded her of the things she loved. She bit her lip as she closed it, wiping at her tears as she tried breathing to calm herself. Feeling light headed from all the emotions that were running rampant through her thoughts.

She finally turned to face a hurry to her lover, almost tackling him from the force of the embrace as she buried her head against his chest, tears of joy making his shirt wet as she held on to him, not saying a word but the feelings of love were apparent.

Re: Gifts

[bonnypiperlad]

The oddly flat gift is from Jamie, although for once it's not wrapped in plaid paper. Having finally run out of the stuff, he's had to resort to putting a couple of other pieces of paper together to make one sheet to cover the present. It's been layered to make it appear striped - or, well, as striped as he can get. It's not perfect, but he's done his best, and it does cover up what it's supposed to.

Inside is a square piece of wood that Ronnae might recognize as part of the bookshelf that they were clearing away in the house. It's one of the broken shelves, rough edges sanded away. Jamie has taken the time to carve a stylized tree into it, with sprawling, fruit laden branches that stretch up and outward, brushing against the sky. The ground below is made up of simple, wavy lines. Nothing terribly fancy, but he's clearly put some care into his work. There's a stand on the back that can be folded out to put it on a table, or she can use the brackets to hang it on the wall, if she prefers.

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae smiled as she looked at the carefully and creatively wrapped gift, her smile brightening even more when she noticed it was from Jamie.

Once she unwrapped it, a rising warmth covered her cheeks. She did recognize the piece of wood, having given her all to help her friend with his project, wanting to give him all the help she could muster. It had been a fun day with a friend and she could say that it was one of those days that made it seem like they wheren't in a war. That maybe they were just living in a pleasant world, all together.

Her fingers traced over the craftsmanship and the smile couldn't get any warmer. She loved art and this was exceptional, more so because of the feelings behind it! This would definitely be a piece in her home from now on!

After hugging it to her chest, she made her way to her friend and gave him a warm hug! "T-thanks! Jamie it's wonderful!"

Re: Gifts

[nokosi.livejournal.com]

Nokosi simply waited for a moment when Ronnae was by herself, then walked up, slid an arm around the shorter girl's neck, and stole her off to a less occupied area of the room. Since Billy totally stole his idea he needed to work on a new gift, the elf spent the last few days toiling over it.Thankfully he'd completed it and only come out of it a little worse for the wear.

The gift he held out to her wasn't wrapped, but instead it was in a wooden box with two latches. The box itself was a chocolate brown with a large etching that covered the front. Her house symbol--the one from the necklace in her possession that he'd asked to draw a picture of, was in the middle. The grooves were filled in with the reds and golds that corresponded to her jewelry.

Once open, inside it were many fragrant, dried flowers and a wooden flute. It was a deep mahogany color with a red tip, though it was nothing spectacular as far as craftsmanship went. It was clear all of that went into the design that covered the instrument. The front of the flute depicted the flowing, natural curves and forms present in much of Thalassian architecture, while the back had the hard, straight, bold lines present in Orcish culture.

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

The thought of pulling her aside for a small break had been enough for Ronnae to let out a small sigh of relief. She LOVED everything they had all done for her and more! But the girl was still as shy as they come. So at the chance for a bit of alone time, she smiled, looking up at her friend before blinking at his offering.

The case alone had made her eyes water, she looked it, to Nokosi, and then back a few times, unsure of what to say or do. It brought back a lot of memories and she could feel her heart tighten in a melancholy yet good way. She placed her hand over the house symbol, clutching her precious locket around her neck in turn and smiled, remembering the day that Nokosi had asked to draw it... she didn't want to lend it to him so he simply drew it with her present. She had no idea this is what he wanted it for.

Once she opened it, she let out a small giggle and wiped at her eyes, trying to move the tears away. It was beautiful, and she could see the effort her friend had gone into making it specifically for her. She took the instrument gently in her hold, with as much care as she always gave to those items that she cherished the most. Closing her eyes, she brought it close to her face and inhaled all the scents that were carried with all the hard work and care that had gone with the item, along with the fragrance of the dried flowers.

Without opening her eyes, she got into position and let her lips touch, soon enough, her breath flowed through the instrument, carrying with it a melodious tune. She played a little lullaby, one that Nokosi would recognize as the one her mama sung to her when she was sick, or when she was younger. Happy tears ran down her face as she played.

[everdistant_utopia]

Learning about Ronnae's impending birthday had taken the Servant by surprise, but fortunately it had given her enough time to find a suitable gift. At least, in Saber's mind it was suitable; she had found the stuffed toy horse while she had been out searching and to her it seemed perfect. Then again, Saber was the King of Knights and drawn to such things.