lucetilogs | Happy Happy birthday!

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Happy Happy birthday!

Who: Close friends of Rei Hino's and one other guest
What: Birthday party surprise times!
When: April 17th
Where: Tsukino Shrine around 7pmish
Summary: Rei is getting a surprise birthday party!
Rating: PG

Helios had done all he could to make sure Rei was out long enough from the shrine to setup for what was indeed her birthday. With some help from her friends and close acquaintances Helios had decorated the shrine in some lights and lanterns for the occasion. It was nothing too outrageous because he knew Rei was a more subtle person, so the decorations are few but meaningful.

Birthdays are good for starting fresh, and spring is a time for letting go of the past and starting anew. The lanterns symbolize that but also help with the festivities. Even if its a small affair Helios puts a lot of hard work into it because of how helpful Rei has been these past few weeks. So to help ease out of the terrible feelings since the draft and to celebrate the birthday of a good friend Helios will invite whoever is close to the young woman.

((ooc; For the sake of not hurting my hands trying to juggle both a post and a log I'm just going to handwave Helios putting up the announcement over the journals to help set things up for Rei's party. If you're character is a close acquaintance/friend of Rei's they're more than welcome to stop by!))

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[He's pretty content to let her mull it over for a while, while he sips his drink.]

She does have an unfair advantage.

[He smiles back at that. Flippers and a tail helped a lot.]

Me? Nah. I mean, I probably could if I wanted to put that much time and energy into a spell but it's not something that comes easily to me.

...I could make it look like I'd transformed.

[Ai inclined her head affirmatively with the smile still on her amused features. With all her expertise, even she would have difficulty swimming against a seal and winning, after all, even an older one.]

So it is an ability you have to train and practice with, then... You can potentially learn it if you wanted to.

[In which case, he had probably spent more time focusing on other spells, whatever his kind was capable of. Max's next statement got a curious lift of Ai's brows in return and a tilt of her head.]

...Oh? What do you mean?

Magic is... I mean, in my world at least, anyone can learn at least a little. Some people have an innate talent for it, some more than others, but you still have to practice and work at it. I mean, kind of like learning a musical instrument. Even a brilliantly talented person won't get anywhere if they don't practice.

And there are methods even if you don't have talent. Rituals, calling on spirits and gods to loan you that power.

[he smiles a little mysteriously when she asks that.]

It's called a sight shield. It... it's like an illusion. I can make things invisible, change what people see, even if I can't change the thing itself.

[Ai listened to the explanation of Max's world's magic and how it worked; it was fascinating to hear how many different variations of it there were depending on where a person came from. It wasn't a universal thing at all, just like the many works of fiction they had in Earth.]

That makes sense. In that case, you have simply decided to devote time to learning other spells instead.

[Now this illusion ability was an interesting one to have, and something the girl was of course curious to see in action. Though the same would have also been said if Max had told her he could also transform into something.]

Ah, I see, that is interesting... [She glanced towards the other guests in the shrine momentarily.] Doing this here would probably attract attention...

[Even if he could single it out in a way so it only affected her, she still didn't know how exactly the casting process worked and whether it would have been obvious that he was using magic.]

[He gives a quick nod at that. Seems about right.]

Yeah, pretty much. I mean, you tend to fall into a certain kind of magic. Again, like someone who plays cello might be terrible at piano. Everyone has their aptitudes. Doesn't mean you can't learn the rest.

[You just tended to specialise, especially as you got older.]

Well... I'm sure I can manage something unobtrusive. You got any particular requests?

[This all made sense, and it correlated pretty well with what else she had learned about magic as well. Her talk with Helios in the library came to her mind, for instance. It was amusing, in a way, that she wasn't discussing it as something that only existed in fiction anymore.]

And there are probably magic teachers as well as books that you can use to learn these spells.

[So he meant that he could potentially do something that wouldn't attract attention, and she was most certainly curious to see what kind of magic he was capable of without ruining Rei's party as a side effect.

With a bit of excitement, her mind cycled through possible scenarios that she wanted to see, registering his words. He could make it look like he transformed as an illusion, make things invisible, change what people saw...]

...Could you make it look like you transformed into a cat, then? [Her favorite animal is what she eventually settled on.]

Yeah, there are ways of learning. It differs from person to person. All a spell is is a way of focusing magical energy into the right form. I was lucky. I had a lot of teachers on hand to help out when I was a kid.

[That suggestion... heh, it makes him smile and he runs over a few ideas in his head for a moment.]

Yeah, I can do that. Gimme a moment...

[He's a little out of practice, preferring pure invisibility to outright illusions, but it isn't too hard to craft a shield, twisting the light to suit him until it looks for all the world like there's a small black cat sitting on his chair.]

That is a good thing, then. And you can even continue learning here if you wanted to. [Given the fact that there were apparently magical guides in the library, along with teachers as well.] ...Though you would forget everything when you eventually go back to your world. [Which was a deterrent for Ai to spend as much time as she could continuing her studies from home.]

[When Max began transforming, however, Ai's eyes could help but widen in expectation and excitement, eager to see what he could manage. When she saw the cat that took the man's place on his seat, a wide smile crept up on her face instantly. It was a black one too, her favorite color.]

Oh! This is such a cute cat! [She leaned forward a bit to look at the little animal from up close.] It looks so real... can you make it meow?

[Perhaps she didn't think this through as much as she could've, though, because now she got the immediate urge to pet it, and she knew that it was nothing but an illusion. She was very fond of cats, after all.]

I've already picked up a few things. Might as well broaden my focus a little since there's not much going on for the exorcism business here. [Which was not necessarily a bad thing. It was good work, but tiring and draining and occasionally terrifying.

He winces a little at the mention of forgetting everything. The draft had sucked, sure, but there were things here, people here that he couldn't bear the thought of losing.] Yeah, it's... it kinda sucks knowing that.

[he shakes his head and focuses on her reaction to the illusion instead, giving a soft laugh and making the cat meow softly.]

How's that?

[Ai picked up on the slight wince, nodding slightly at his words as her face fell momentarily, briefly thinking about how much she would already forget from this place that she didn't want to. She hadn't been through anything traumatic here yet, her memories were mostly of the kind that she'd want to fondly remember in the future, as well as the people she had met.

Regardless, she concentrated on the cat in front of her herself, giving out a heartfelt chuckle as she heard it meow. How irresistably adorable.]

This is a really good illusion! If you wanted to learn how to transform into something, I would suggest this cat... you are making it very believable. [And nope, hand back Ai, you still can't pet it.]

[He doesn't want to forget. Is that so wrong? They get dragged here, used as guinea pigs, and they don't even get to remember the good stuff that comes out of it.]

Thanks. It's... a full change is a hell of a lot more work than an illusion unless you have a natural aptitude. I think I'm just gonna stick to this. But thanks. I'm glad it looks good.

Fair enough, then... You are very good at this anyway.

[It was true; she just couldn't help but be reminded of her favorite cat Pooh back from school, who happened to look exactly like this illusion, only slightly bigger in size. It was quite amazing what some people could do with magic as she had begun to consistently witness during her stay here.

In a brief lull in the conversation, Ai was reminded that she hadn't quite introduced herself before, which prompted her to do so.] Oh, I am Ai Nanasaki. It is a pleasure to meet you.

I've been practicing my whole life. It's as close to a destiny as anyone can have.

[He didn't really believe in destiny, but magic ran in his family.]

Oh right! Nice to meet you, be introduced... uh... yeah. [He drops the illusion, letting it melt away.]

[She nodded wordlessly in response to his comment, eying him curiously afterward and remaining silent for a while until the illusion was broken and she was could see his real form again, the black cat that had been in his place before now gone.]

And what is your name?

[Oh... wait, yeah, they hadn't actually got that far in introductions had they? He gave a sheepish smile.]

Max. Max Woodville. Sorry. I guess I got ahead of myself.

[Max?... Rei's friend Max, here at her birthday party?

The recollection of his name was visible on Ai's features as she gave the man a slightly confused look. It would've made sense that he was here, given that Rei had mentioned that he was close to her. Oh, yes, she had heard of him, and was more than aware of a certain recent situation involving him and Helios that apparently worked and brought them together.]

Oh... You recently got trapped by Hino-san here, did you not?

[A hint of an amused smile played on the corner of her lips.]

[Oh god... He blushes a fair bit at that question and gives a small nod. How many people knew about that? It had been a good thing but still... kind of mortifying.]

Uh yeah, that would be me.

Mm... interesting. [A heartfelt chuckle escaped Ai's mouth as she grinned, amusement clearly visible in her eyes and features. There was no mistaking that blush on Max's cheeks and it was something she could have a little fun with. Always in good nature, of course.]

So I hear that turned out quite well. [Her gaze went to scan the inside of the shrine, focus shifting from guest to guest until it landed on Helios.] It is... amusing, though, that such a bold plan on Hino-san's part was necessary.

[Well, he was just going to sit here and quietly die from embarrassment. Not that he's embarrassed about Helios, of course not. Just... apparently love makes him lose any kind of grace he might once have possessed.]

Mmmm, very well.

[He follows her gaze, smiling fondly when it lands on the other man.]

There are reasons. Stuff happened. Stuff that had been said on a previous shift.

[And Ai was going to bask in that embarrassment for a moment or two as she observed his reactions, though of course she knew her limits and didn't wish to make the man uncomfortable. She was at a party, though, and she was enjoying herself immensely, so she was about to do that just a bit more.]

"Stuff", huh? [She grinned once more as she bit her lip a little, and then proceeding to take another one of the momentarily forgotten crackers and began chewing on it painfully slowly.] Must have been... complicated, then.

[She turned her head in his direction again as she swallowed the remainder of the cracker.] With... things like this in general, sometimes it is not as straight forward as one would imagine, and... I bet the Malnosso factoring in made Hino-san's intervention all the more necessary as well.

[One thing was for sure; whatever the Malnosso did with the Shifts and the drafts, it sometimes led to unexpected results, or so Ai was beginning to understand.]

Really complicated. [But it isn't his story to tell and he won't give away Helios's secrets. He still wasn't entirely sure how they'd manage to overcome that, but he was glad that they had.]

The Malnosso are cruel bastards. And yeah, they probably... I was ready to walk away, leave him be and pretend my feelings didn't exist.

I think it would have been hard to manage that.

[At least that was what the girl expected, as she saw herself going through with it and confessing anyway. Malnosso or not, such feelings were too strong to keep contained, and whatever was going on, the two could've used each other's help.]

It is for the better that you were open with him about it, and I can imagine he was glad for it as well.

Hard yeah, but possible. If he hadn't been interested then... well, what else is there to do?

[He would have just had to walk away from Helios, because he wouldn't have pushed without Rei getting involved.]

Yeah, I- I like to think so.

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Happy Happy birthday!

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That icon is perfect! :D

Hehehe, I am pleased with the icons I have for him :3

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