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

[lastgunslinger]

A slight shrug.

It really hasn't been a great couple of days.

Roland's not in the mood to fight.

"Fine, then."

[awesome_lilly]

It really hasn't. Lilly's still trying not to think about seeing Bernard this morning, spending time in the flat with Sunny and Fleur, hearing about Svava, Ophelia's racking sobs... yeah. But it's Alain's birthday and there are sno cones and people to introduce to them so she puts on a smile and starts crushing ice under Snoopy's head.

"What flavor do you want? I have lemon, orange, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, and strawberry."

[lastgunslinger]

"Strawberry, if it does ya."

[awesome_lilly]

"Not a problem," Lilly says cheerfully. She picks up the pink-hatted snowman and douses Roland's cup of crushed ice liberally with syrup. She sticks a bright red shovel/spoon in it and hands it to him.

"There you go, sai. Enjoy."

[lastgunslinger]

"Say thankya." Pause. "So. You and Cuthbert, I imagine. Yes?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly tilts her head at him.

"Me and Koosh what? Wear terrible hats? Because I left that phase behind in junior high, so I don't think it can be counted against me any longer."

She grins.

"If, however, you're not very clearly asking whether we planned the party, then the answer is yes. We did."

[lastgunslinger]

"Thought so."

Pause.

"You did well."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly blinks, startled, and then starts to smile warmly.

"Say thankya, sai. That's nice to hear. And I really do think Alain's enjoying himself, so we're all shiny."

[lastgunslinger]

"That we are."

Roland pokes at his sno-cone.

"Not bad."

[awesome_lilly]

"I love them," Lilly says. "I thought Alain would too. Koosh was telling me how ice and sweet things were kinda rare in Mid-World, so I figured sno cones would be just about perfect for a birthday treat. And the fact that you can make them with a Snoopy head is a total bonus."

[lastgunslinger]

"Ice was for birthdays and Fair Days, aye."

He eyes the Snoopy head.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly catches the glance and laughs.

"You probably didn't have cartoons in Mid-World either, right? So I'm guessing Snoopy here is an unknown factor in the sno-cone process."

[lastgunslinger]

"It is." Dry.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly is only too happy to explain.

"Okay, so you've been exposed to movies and tv and all in the bar, right? Well, Snoopy started out as a character in a paper cartoon called Peanuts but then he got an animated cartoon and there were toys like this machine and specials and there's a Christmas one where he does a dance and ohhh, Xander does a great impression of the Snoopy dance and it's totally not obscene no matter what you might have heard about Bernard's party."

The trouble with Lilly's explanations is that they're often more enthusiastic then, well, explanatory.

[lastgunslinger]

Silence.

"All right."

[awesome_lilly]

"I could get you a Peanuts compliation if you wanted," Lilly offers. "Ooh, or if we're both still here at Christmas you can watch the Christmas special!"

She pauses.

"Did you guys have Christmas in Gilead?"

[lastgunslinger]

Roland shakes his head. "Only a few held to the way of the Man Jesus...and the gunslingers did not."

[awesome_lilly]

"I don't either," Lilly says cheerfully. "But Christmas in my time didn't have much to do with Jesus anyway. More about Santa and presents and spending enough money to keep the economy going. The parties were usually fun, though. Lots of mistletoe."

[lastgunslinger]

"Parties?"

From Roland's tone, it seems like he's wondering if that's all she ever thinks about.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly grins, as Roland's tone makes his point pretty clearly.

"Yes, parties, and no, that's not all I ever do or did, even. They just make for better casual conversation than the real stories about growing up rich and fucked-up in southern California. Infidelity and suicides and abuse and murder aren't exactly popular topics, you ken?"

[lastgunslinger]

Roland snorts.

"I kennit, yar."

[awesome_lilly]

"So you see," Lilly says brightly, "given a choice between talking about the holiday traditions that were parties and fun or the traditions that involved me cleaning my boyfriend's bloody back after his father'd beaten him again because his mother was too drunk and high to do so, I generally lead with the parties."

[lastgunslinger]

"Understandable." Calm.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly smiles crookedly at him.

"I think you'd be surprised at how much of what I do is really very understandable when you think about it, Ro. There is method to my madness, I swear."

[lastgunslinger]

Roland looks at her for a moment, and nods.

"I know."

He does, really.