milliways_bar | Ingress's Sixth Birthday Party

Entry tags:

Ingress's Sixth Birthday Party

*It's eleven o'clock on Saturday morning, thanks to Millitime, and the stage is set for Ingress's birthday out by the lake. The House of Arch family has gathered around a perfect picnic spot under a tree. Right beside them is a playground Tom has conjured just for the occaision. There is a swingset, a slide, a merry go round, and a sandbox charmed with sand that's perfect for building.

Ingress is wearing a gown fit for a princess. It has been charmed against stains and ripping just for this special day. She is also wearing a blinking button which reads "I am 6!" She is very, very, very excited.

Tom, Door, Gavroche, and Megwyn are putting finishing decorating touches on the picnic tables set up with a gigantic cake, gallons of ice cream from Florean Fontescue's ice cream parlor, and punch. There is also a table with baskets of wizarding crackers. These are gifts for the guests - once the crackers are popped, the recipient will get a hat of some kind (maybe there will be a plethora of pirate hats!) and a wizarding toy or game like chess or gobstones. Or whatever else you'd like - the guest gets to decide!

There are several chairs under the tree as well, providing a good view of the playground.

Come, birthday with them!*

OOC: Summary forthcoming. However, very important (and menacing) Barty and Tom thread within.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I could say the same about this white thing you've got going on." He smirks at her tunic. "Still, a big improvement on those pants you wore once."

*Kerowyn pulls herself up straighter* These happen to be full Herald Whites. The uniform Heralds wear. *she looks down at their almost blinding whiteness*

They are incredibly stupid things to wear into battle. You might as well paint a big target on your back. That's why I only wear them when I can't get out of it. But today I thought I should wear them for Ingress.

"That's almost as crazy as the British red coats."

He pauses and explains right away. "During the War of Independence for my country, the colonialists wore bright red, where as my country fought in browns and greens. The war was fought in forests and fields, and it made them stick out rather a lot, and made them easy prey for guerrilla tactics and ambushes."

Exactly! *she rolls her eyes* But Heralds can be so stuck in their ways some times. I wonder at times if the word "subterfuge" means anything to them. *she shakes her head* Riding around dressed all in white on a big white horse.

"The so-called Art of War," he points out. "The established governments in those times were all about the regalia and properness. It's all well and good when you're facing unarmored tribesmen with nothing but spears against your firearms. But when the sides are evenly matched in terms of weaponry..."

Indy trails off and frowns.

"Uh... we're talking about war again. How do we keep doing that?"

*She shrugs* It's on my mind, sorry. We must stop doing that. This is a party and there should be fun.

*She thinks for a moment and then remembers a question she had from last night*

Indy, what's a pirate and how do I dress like one?

"A pirate is one who robs or plunders at sea without a commission from a recognised sovereign nation. They tend to wear lots of different things really. They were sort of scruffy buccaneers and swordsmen, with cutlasses, bandanas, and a lot of jewelry from their looting. An eye patch is a must in the costume though, for the men at least. The women were just kinda... swenchy."

He thinks. "It's difficult to describe. I'm sure Bar would give you some appopriate garb if you asked her."

Swenchy? *Kero's eyebrow raises as she gives Indy a look* Uh-huh.

Why are we all dressing as robbers to go to this party?

He shrugs. "It's just a fun theme. So people can look a bit different and silly I suppose."

*She looks at his pink hat and grins*

Ah yes, to look a bit silly. *she nods*

You didn't tell me last night. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy?

"Uh, yes... let's see... well, I'm bound here now. That happened about five months ago. I got shot in my world and dropped back here for some reason. Good thing really, because I would have certainly died were it not for the magical healers here. Tom and Alanna, amongst others, saved my life. But I haven't been able to leave since."

"Since then I've taken in a room mate, who used to be a giant anthropomorphic ninja turtle, but who is now just a regular human being thanks to a magic gift he got for his birthday. We have a nice suite upstairs now, and we're starting to work the bar on Monday afternoons."

He pauses and takes in her confused look. "Wait... maybe these will help."

He pulls out his wallet and extracts a few small copies of polaroids Mike has taken. "This is Mike before he was transformed, and this is him afterwards." He goes through some of the other pictures, detailing the adventure in Loompaland with the accompanying photo of him encased in chocolate, explains the War in Tim's world and his love life ups and downs. "There's been a lot of weddings and there's a lot more scheduled. Even Bernard's got in on the act. Him and Tonks are engaged. But I'm trying to steer clear of anything serious. I still see the muse occasionally. I've got a ncie thing going with a girl from Alanna's world, and also with Inara."

*Kero listens in growing confusion. Then Indy pulls put the pictures. She's never seen anything like them. They aren't painting and look so real.*

*She chooses to ignore that he's living with a guy that used to be a giant turtle. Sure she can accept that. She's a bit more unsure of Indy's many romances, multiple relationships seldom end well in her experience.*

You have been busy. What are these? *she waves one of the photos around* I've never seen pictures like this.

"They're the product of a neat bit of technology from my world. It's basically a little black box that captures light through a small aperture and projects it onto some chemical material that reacts to the different wavelengths and stores the image when the aperture is closed again. The material can be developed and copied into these forms."

He flicks through a few more shots, pausing on one of Stampy.

*She listens, fascinated.*

*She stares* Blessed Agnira, what is that?

"That is our little bundle of fun, Stampy the miniature elephant. She's Mike's pet. A magical dwarf version of a large land mammal from our world. Bar produced her one day and one of the wizards here gave her to Mike for his birthday."

"You should meet her. She's very cute... but also a real handful."

She is adorable. Her ears are so big. And, is that her nose? Goddess.

"It's called a trunk. They use it to stretch up into tree to get leaves, or down into water, so they don't have to bend down. Because they are very large animals normally."

He looks a bit perplexed himself, and harkens back to his Kipling just for a bit of color. "There's a story that says it got that way because a crocodile grabbed the small nose they used to have and a big tug of war ensued. But, it's just a story." He shrugs again.

It's a great story.

What an odd animal. And you have one as a pet? I'd love to meet her. Is she going to be at the party tonight?

He shakes his head emphatically. "No. She tends to get a bit over-excited in large crowds."

Of course, Indy doesn't know what Mike has planned in terms of her training tonight, and one can never discount her ability to open doors with her trunk.

*She nods* And the last thing you want is an over-excited mini-elephant.

*She says this with a straight face.*

"Too right," he agrees gravely. "Mike and his girlfriend got her hooked on sugar and chocolate when he first got her. She was pretty hyper to start with. I swear she didn't sleep for the first two weeks."

*Kero laughs, her entire body shaking with it*

And I bet neither of you got any sleep either?

"Mike can sleep through anything," he moans.

He shrinks away from a bunch of screaming children as they cavort past waving platic cutlasses and lightsabres. "I gotta find a better hiding place."

*Kero watches the children with fondness* Oh go on, hide in the bar. *She rolls her eyes* Children are notoriously dangerous. *she giggles* I'll see you later tonight.

"No. I still think Tom might need me. That tree over there looks better." He nods with satisfaction and starts to move towards the shade of a huge oak. "I look forward to seeing what your costume looks like."

He smirks and tries to disappear—failing miserably.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ingress's Sixth Birthday Party

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject