Alain's birthday

[key-youth-bert.livejournal.com]

It's almost sunset, and the preparations are almost finished.

Cuthbert, Lilly, and the waitrats they've roped into helping out have set up tables with food out by the lake. On one of them, there's a small CD player currently playing The Beatles.

A few games are set up in the surrounding area--the kind you'd find at any country fair or picnic--but on the whole, there's nothing elaborate.

All that's needed now is for people to show up.


[Summary: Alain has a birthday party. Roland, Cuthbert, Susan, Lilly, Faith, Ace, Meg, and Gavroche attend. There are snow cones and lovely presents and a general mood of "there's doom all around, so let's make this one thing tonight happy and fun".]

Comments

[awesome_lilly]

"You're welcome," Lilly says. She gestures at the machine. "Want a Snoopy sno cone? You're the birthday boy, you get them made for you."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

"Can I get an explanation of what it is, first?"

[awesome_lilly]

"Oh sure," Lilly replies, demonstrating as she explains. "This is a genuine Snoopy sno cone machine. You lift up the Snoopy here, put ice in, and then push down on his head while turning the crank. The ice comes out into the paper cup, you flavor it with whichever syrup you want, and voila! Sno cone."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Alain doesn't really see the point of having a tiny child's toy on the top, or of having the thing shaped like a house, but it has been well-established that both Lilly and her world are kind of weird.

"...Okay." There's only a brief blink at an entire cooler full of ice -- Alain's gotten used to the bar having crates full of things that were rare and valuable in Mid-World. "Shiny. What are the syrups?"

Aside from also very colorful, and in bottles shaped like little snowmen.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly grins, and points them out.

"Yellow snowman hat is lemon, orange hat is orange, blue hat is blueberry, pink hat is strawberry, red hat is cherry, and the purple hat is raspberry."

She doesn't mention that she made the syrups herself. She kinda figures that might not be a selling point even if she did resist spiking them.

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Lilly is wise. Also, wise to have resisted spiking them.

He ponders. "Lemon, then. Say thankya."

[awesome_lilly]

"Coming right up," Lilly says cheerfully, scooping ice into the top of the house. She pushes down, cranks away, and crushed ice comes sliding out into a paper cup. She finishes it off with a generous topping of lemon syrup, sticks a red plastic shovel/spoon in it and hands it to Alain with a flourish.

"There you go. You know, generally you're supposed to avoid the yellow snow, but in this case I think you can ignore that."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

He snorts.

Drily, "I'll keep it in mind."

He tries it anyway, and his eyebrows go up. "Gods that's sweet." He likes it, though, and grins at her. Ice in summer's a treat, and sugar too; for a birthday sweet, it's excellent.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly beams.

"I'm glad you like it. So hey, when do you want your present?"

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

He blinks.

"It's not the sno cones?"

Seems a decent present to him.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly shakes her head, smiling.

"Nope, those were just my contribution to the party. Your real present is all wrapped and everything."

As if to prove this, she reaches behind the table and then hands him a box done up in Snoopy wrapping paper and a bright red bow.

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

He takes it, with a laugh for the paper, and starts to open it.

Snoopy patterns or not, he automatically opens it carefully rather than ripping off the paper.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly watches him, a bit impatient. She's always been a paper-ripper. She's also hoping he likes it, as what to get dead gunslingers from alternate worlds is not a present quandary she's ever had to work out before.

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Milliways is good about expanding your horizons that way.

Inside is a black tobacco pouch, with papers and good tobacco, and a small silver device which after a moment he recognizes as something like a flint-wheel. On the bottom of the lighter is engraved Happy Birthday to Alain, from Lilly.

He laughs, pleased. "Say thankya, Lilly."

[awesome_lilly]

"You're welcome," Lilly says happily, delighted that he likes his present. "I promise not to bum too many cigarettes from you either."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

He grins. "The corruption continues, does it?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly shakes her head sadly.

"It does, say true. It's a shame, Alain. I used to be such a model citizen before I started hanging out gunslingers."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

"It's a sad story."

[awesome_lilly]

"Tragic," Lilly says in a voice that would be full of sorrow if she weren't fighting off giggles.

"There I was, young and innocent and then suddenly thrown into a bar with people who smoked and drank and swore. What could I do but become one of them?"

A stifled giggle absolutely does not escape her at this point.

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Alain's got a better straight face. This should suprise no one, really.

"The only way to cope with all of us."

Mock-sorrowful.

[awesome_lilly]

"Driven to it," Lilly starts to agree before she loses it and the giggles overwhelm her.

"Damnit, Alain. I bet you're really good at poker."