22nd Day of Winter, 514 AV
Phobius had barely gotten any sleep, but for once it wasn't because of nightmares.
No, today just happened to be a very, very special day. He had been waiting all season for it, and was so full of boundless energy and excitement that he'd woken himself up at the peak of dawn, pressing his face into his window so that he could watch the sun creep its away over the distant horizon.
It would be nice if it snowed, the boy mused, his eyes trained on the skies as their dark blues and purples faded into oranges and reds. I know it won't, 'cause it's too warm here, but...even if it was only for a chime, it'd be okay...
A pointless wish, but Phobius couldn't help it. An early childhood in Wind Reach had conditioned him to kind of expect snow in the winter. Around this time in the mountainous city, the ground and trees would be covered in thick blankets of the stuff, while snowflakes quietly drifted down in clumps from a pale, cloudy sky. And it was more often than not that he'd be outside, digging himself little snow-huts to sit in or trying to build snow-people for bells and bells. Other Yasi would be there, too, but the Inartan boy tended to keep to himself, and was usually the last one running around when everyone else had gone back inside with red noses and numb fingers.
It wasn't until he'd turned sixteen, when Tarrow had gifted him an itty-bitty strawberry cake, that he'd learned to separate birthdays from normal days. As far as he'd been able to tell, celebrating the day that you got a year older had never really been important to the Inartans. Or the ones running the nursery, at the very least. They would bring it up, and the child in question would get hugs and, on occasion, some sort of treat, but that was it. There was no huge gathering of friends, no performance by musicians, no wide array of food...and Phobius had given the whole thing some serious thought after his little revelation, curious as to what it was about birthdays that could made them so...well, unimportant. Eventually, he'd settled on thinking that the nice ladies at the nursery hadn't bothered with celebrating because there were too many kids to keep track of, and too many birthdays to remember. But they were hard-working people who had meant well, so he couldn't be angry with them for it.
It looked like today was going to be his chance to make up for all of that missed fun.
Bringing his face away from the cool glass of the window, Phobius swiveled around and threw his legs over the side of the bed, eager to go grab his clothes and get himself ready. No sooner had he risen to his feet, however, did he suddenly remember that the party wasn't until sundown. The sun had barely finished coming up.
With a frown, he sat himself back down and stared at the floor for a moment. Then he shifted his attention over to Nini, who was picking at her downy feathers with her beak. "I guess I've got to wait for a while, huh...?" he said to the bird.
A "while" was a bit of an understatement, though. There was a good amount of bells between now and the party, but the boy had absolutely nothing else planned for the day. Unsure of what to do next, he decided to try and go back to sleep. And when that wouldn't work, he scooped Nini up into his arms and headed outside to take a walk. She could use the fresh air, and he was simply too energetic to stay in one place for long, every muscle and tendon in his body compelling him to be out doing something.
For the next few bells, the two went traveling aimlessly about Alvadas, stopping a few times to get snacks or simply sit and enjoy the things around them, namely the weather and the people who'd walk by. Then they headed back to the inn and, deciding that he'd waited long enough, Phobius immediately went and fished his special doublet out of the drawer he'd tucked it in. It was still as smooth and new-looking as it'd been on the day that he had bought it, and he took a moment to marvel at it before shrugging out of his lontev to pull it on. The fabric felt nice against his skin, and it was a good fit; he was especially fond of the poofy sleeves, and giggled to himself as he waved his arms around, pretending for a moment that they were wings that he was flapping. Nini didn't seem too impressed, but she had no complaints to make when he asked her how it looked.
Feeling confident, he hurried into the lobby to show Miss Georgia.
"Well, look at you!" the woman exclaimed, a broad smile growing on her lightly-wrinkled face when she saw him. "Getting all fancied up for our birthday, huh? What a perfect shirt."
"You really like it?"
"I really do. And you've even got that little mask to go along with it."
Phobius blinked at her, confused for a moment before he looked down and noticed the fox mask in his hand. Right...he'd grabbed it off of his dresser right before he'd left his room. Beaming a little, the boy held it up so that Miss Georgia would be able to get a better look.
"It's a present," he explained. "A early one. I'm gonna wear it at the theater. ...but...but what if no one knows I'm me?"
"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem."
"No?"
She shook her head, pursing her lips a little. "No. But you know, adding a bit of mystery to things makes them more interesting, don't you think?"
Interesting...? Phobius inwardly echoed. What'd she mean by that? Expecting her to explain, he was silent for a moment, blinking at her until she chuckled and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her desk.
"Actually, that scarf might give you away. You don't have a red one you could wear?"
"...I like this one."
"Ha, alright then. Go and have fun at your party. And happy birthday!"
Smiling, the boy gave a nod before turning and heading out the door. It took every ounce of control he had within his body to keep himself from breaking into an automatic run, so he settled for a jog, instead. Reaching the Crooked Playhouse didn't take as long as he'd expected it to and, with a quick glance at the sky, Phobius determined that he was early, if only by a few chimes. That was a good thing, wasn't it? Being early to his own party? At least this way he'd be able to welcome everyone in.
The food and Musician's Guild probably hadn't come, yet, unless they'd shown up earlier than he had. Maybe the juggler had even joined them. Either way, all that the boy had left to do now was to wait.
Slipping the fox mask over his face and adjusting it a little, Phobius hurried through the stone arch and went inside.
OOCSorry that I took so long with this, guys. Now that I know that there's nothing wrong with the prep thread, though, we can go ahead and get this thing started! c:
Oh, and here's the invitation that he sent:
"You're invieted to Phobius's Birthday Party!
At the Crooked Playhaus, On the 22nd, When the Sun Sets
Food, Music, and More Fun Stuff!
P.s. It's a Maskeraid Party, So Bring a Mask!"
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.
Phobius had barely gotten any sleep, but for once it wasn't because of nightmares.
No, today just happened to be a very, very special day. He had been waiting all season for it, and was so full of boundless energy and excitement that he'd woken himself up at the peak of dawn, pressing his face into his window so that he could watch the sun creep its away over the distant horizon.
It would be nice if it snowed, the boy mused, his eyes trained on the skies as their dark blues and purples faded into oranges and reds. I know it won't, 'cause it's too warm here, but...even if it was only for a chime, it'd be okay...
A pointless wish, but Phobius couldn't help it. An early childhood in Wind Reach had conditioned him to kind of expect snow in the winter. Around this time in the mountainous city, the ground and trees would be covered in thick blankets of the stuff, while snowflakes quietly drifted down in clumps from a pale, cloudy sky. And it was more often than not that he'd be outside, digging himself little snow-huts to sit in or trying to build snow-people for bells and bells. Other Yasi would be there, too, but the Inartan boy tended to keep to himself, and was usually the last one running around when everyone else had gone back inside with red noses and numb fingers.
It wasn't until he'd turned sixteen, when Tarrow had gifted him an itty-bitty strawberry cake, that he'd learned to separate birthdays from normal days. As far as he'd been able to tell, celebrating the day that you got a year older had never really been important to the Inartans. Or the ones running the nursery, at the very least. They would bring it up, and the child in question would get hugs and, on occasion, some sort of treat, but that was it. There was no huge gathering of friends, no performance by musicians, no wide array of food...and Phobius had given the whole thing some serious thought after his little revelation, curious as to what it was about birthdays that could made them so...well, unimportant. Eventually, he'd settled on thinking that the nice ladies at the nursery hadn't bothered with celebrating because there were too many kids to keep track of, and too many birthdays to remember. But they were hard-working people who had meant well, so he couldn't be angry with them for it.
It looked like today was going to be his chance to make up for all of that missed fun.
Bringing his face away from the cool glass of the window, Phobius swiveled around and threw his legs over the side of the bed, eager to go grab his clothes and get himself ready. No sooner had he risen to his feet, however, did he suddenly remember that the party wasn't until sundown. The sun had barely finished coming up.
With a frown, he sat himself back down and stared at the floor for a moment. Then he shifted his attention over to Nini, who was picking at her downy feathers with her beak. "I guess I've got to wait for a while, huh...?" he said to the bird.
A "while" was a bit of an understatement, though. There was a good amount of bells between now and the party, but the boy had absolutely nothing else planned for the day. Unsure of what to do next, he decided to try and go back to sleep. And when that wouldn't work, he scooped Nini up into his arms and headed outside to take a walk. She could use the fresh air, and he was simply too energetic to stay in one place for long, every muscle and tendon in his body compelling him to be out doing something.
For the next few bells, the two went traveling aimlessly about Alvadas, stopping a few times to get snacks or simply sit and enjoy the things around them, namely the weather and the people who'd walk by. Then they headed back to the inn and, deciding that he'd waited long enough, Phobius immediately went and fished his special doublet out of the drawer he'd tucked it in. It was still as smooth and new-looking as it'd been on the day that he had bought it, and he took a moment to marvel at it before shrugging out of his lontev to pull it on. The fabric felt nice against his skin, and it was a good fit; he was especially fond of the poofy sleeves, and giggled to himself as he waved his arms around, pretending for a moment that they were wings that he was flapping. Nini didn't seem too impressed, but she had no complaints to make when he asked her how it looked.
Feeling confident, he hurried into the lobby to show Miss Georgia.
"Well, look at you!" the woman exclaimed, a broad smile growing on her lightly-wrinkled face when she saw him. "Getting all fancied up for our birthday, huh? What a perfect shirt."
"You really like it?"
"I really do. And you've even got that little mask to go along with it."
Phobius blinked at her, confused for a moment before he looked down and noticed the fox mask in his hand. Right...he'd grabbed it off of his dresser right before he'd left his room. Beaming a little, the boy held it up so that Miss Georgia would be able to get a better look.
"It's a present," he explained. "A early one. I'm gonna wear it at the theater. ...but...but what if no one knows I'm me?"
"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem."
"No?"
She shook her head, pursing her lips a little. "No. But you know, adding a bit of mystery to things makes them more interesting, don't you think?"
Interesting...? Phobius inwardly echoed. What'd she mean by that? Expecting her to explain, he was silent for a moment, blinking at her until she chuckled and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her desk.
"Actually, that scarf might give you away. You don't have a red one you could wear?"
"...I like this one."
"Ha, alright then. Go and have fun at your party. And happy birthday!"
Smiling, the boy gave a nod before turning and heading out the door. It took every ounce of control he had within his body to keep himself from breaking into an automatic run, so he settled for a jog, instead. Reaching the Crooked Playhouse didn't take as long as he'd expected it to and, with a quick glance at the sky, Phobius determined that he was early, if only by a few chimes. That was a good thing, wasn't it? Being early to his own party? At least this way he'd be able to welcome everyone in.
The food and Musician's Guild probably hadn't come, yet, unless they'd shown up earlier than he had. Maybe the juggler had even joined them. Either way, all that the boy had left to do now was to wait.
Slipping the fox mask over his face and adjusting it a little, Phobius hurried through the stone arch and went inside.
OOCSorry that I took so long with this, guys. Now that I know that there's nothing wrong with the prep thread, though, we can go ahead and get this thing started! c:
Oh, and here's the invitation that he sent:
"You're invieted to Phobius's Birthday Party!
At the Crooked Playhaus, On the 22nd, When the Sun Sets
Food, Music, and More Fun Stuff!
P.s. It's a Maskeraid Party, So Bring a Mask!"
"This is speech in Nari."
This is thought.