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

[key-youth-bert.livejournal.com]

Cuthbert whistles.

And then, "Oh, hey--"

He reaches into one pocket, and pulls a smallish, rectangular object wrapped in brown paper out of his pocket. "Want this now?"

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Cuthbert is so subtle at subject changes.

Alain grins, and shrugs. "Sure."

[key-youth-bert.livejournal.com]

Cuthbert grins, and hands it to him.

"Fair warning, it's blatantly and unapologetically sentimental."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Alain cocks a curious eye at him, and opens the package. It feels like a book.

This is probably because it is a book. Mercer's Homilies and Meditations, bound simply in brown leather, and written in the familiar Great Letters of Mid-World. Alain owned a copy of it before, a present from his mother long ago; it was destroyed in Mejis, when Jonas Eldred ransacked and vandalized their cabin for spite.

Alain looks at it for a moment, and then reaches out to pull Cuthbert into a half-hug.

[key-youth-bert.livejournal.com]

Cuthbert laughs, and hugs him back.

"The idea for it just popped into my head a few days ago, and...I don't know, I thought you'd like it. Something from home, you know?"

He knows he's babbling, so he just shuts up, and hugs Alain again. "Happy birthday."

[honest-johns.livejournal.com]

Alain's grinning, because Cuthbert is indeed babbling.

"I do. Thankee."