Happy Birthday My Olde Friend [August 24] [Shepherd's Haven] [Open]

[numberedshepherd]

Who: Lazarus, Nathan, Misa, OPEN to anyone in Shepherd's Haven or who might drop by
Where: Town Hall
When: August 24, Monday
What: Just because Tony stalked off doesn't mean that they aren't still going to be celebrating Nathan's 20th birthday. Look at the kid. You'd have to be a dick to even imply that he was born at an inconvenient time.
Warnings: Probably the most depressing birthday party ever.
Status: Ongoing/Open. Set your own threads here! Have fun! Or try to.



The day before had been a mess. Not only had Lazarus' doppelganger resurfaced after a full year of silence, effortlessly bringing infected sore points to the surface and sowing gleeful discord in his wake, but Tony had left on bitter and angry terms, accompanied by Richard. Understandably, it's cast a pall over the settlement, but as always, there are other things to think about, matters of obligation and the heart.

Nathan is turning 20 today. Lazarus remembers it blearily as he wakes up hungover. Dragging himself out of bed, showering, and dressing, he mentally runs over all the things he needs to do today.

See Misa about a cake. Get some toys from Woodend. Generally announce that this is happening, and above all, don't forget to smile.

He glances at a mirror and gives it a shot. His dry, pale skin, cracked lips and deep undereye circles don't make it look particularly encouraging. He fights back a wave of nausea, taking a quick seat, deciding that he can wait for it to pass before he tackles today's priorities.

Comments

Lazarus and Misa- Closed

[numberedshepherd]

Her cottage is the first one he appears at, knocking before the Sun's even up. He'd prefer to get this out of the way before that happens and he has to deal with a whanging headache from all that he drank last night.

"Misa? Are you awake? Open up, please, I need your help..."

[lovesickkiller]

Misa takes a minute or two to make it to the door, clad in a nightshirt and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She very obviously was not awake, but she is as concerned by his appearance as she can muster while still half-asleep.

"What is it? Are you okay?" she asks, stifling a yawn. What time is it?

[numberedshepherd]

He nods jerkily, regretting not simply insisting that she stay the night. If she had, he probably wouldn't have had so much to drink, and he very likely wouldn't be so hungover now.

"We were distracted, and I hate that I didn't mention it before, but today is Nathan's birthday," he says, leaning hard on the door frame. "I don't think he's ever had a party, and I want to try to put something together for him, but I can't bake to save my life. I was hoping you could help with a cake."

He pushes some warm eggs into her hands, quite literally farm fresh.

[lovesickkiller]

"Nathan's...? How old is he?"

She blearily looks down at the eggs in her hands, as if not quite sure how they got there.

"I can make a cake, but... is he really going to be in the mood for a party?"

[numberedshepherd]

"He's 20 today," Lazarus says; if he's surprised to reflect on the strange reality of this, he is too anxious to let on. "So... I need to get Nux to go to Woodend and gets some Lego sets and action figures and maybe some games for him. Hopefully... maybe something can go right if we can pull this off, you know?"

He crouches on the doorstep, resting his head on his knees, not because he's overcome with emotion, but because he's dizzy and dehydrated.

"...can you also get me some hair of the dog?"

[lovesickkiller]

"He is not," Misa mutters reflexively at the suggestion that Nathan is 20. No way. 16 maybe, even that would be pushing it.

"Yeah, oka- Lazarus?" she asks, concerned as he suddenly crouches down. She sits on he heels, peering at his face. "I told you not to keep drinking..."

[numberedshepherd]

"No, he definitely is," Lazarus replies quickly, if not particularly happily. He's starting to get too nauseous for comfort. "Come on, you know this, that he's older than he looks..."

It's officially not a good idea to talk anymore, at least until he's regained his bearings. He nods miserably as she crouches next to him, taking a few deep, oxygen-rich breaths.

"I didn't listen," he croaks.

Birthday Shopping- Open (to everyone but Nathan!)

[witnessme]

Nux is thrilled. He gets to go to Woodend today, which means a decent-length motorcycle ride, and now he's looking for company because he's got to go on a pretty important errand, here. Lazarus gave him clear instructions and now it's up to him to make his little workout buddy's birthday wishes come true.

"Hey... hey, going to Woodend. Want to ride along? There's a birthday party later, uh, gotta get some stuff."

The Party- Mingle

[numberedshepherd]

[[OOC: Set your own threads under this header! Please put you character's name and an "OTA" (open to anyone) or "closed-to X" designation in the subject line, have fun!]]

The party's kind of a glum little affair, now that you've made it here to the lodge-like building that serves as Shepherd Haven's modest town hall. There's been an attempt made at streamers, some of which have come untaped and hang and drag limply on the floor. There are beverages and snacks sitting out, mostly chips and small cookies in bowls, thankfully without slime this time, but not much in the way of more substantial food or anything more involved to prepare. Some gifts sit on another table, ranging from nicely wrapped to more tape than paper.

At least the cake is pretty, and guests can take comfort in knowing that if they stick around long enough, it'll get cut. Many of the people present seem inherently on the sad side, and any life that erupts here is life that you probably brought yourself and didn't find here.

Misa Amane- OTA!

[lovesickkiller]

Misa is well aware that this is basically the worst party ever. She did her part as best as she could, ensuring that the cake at least was appetizing, but... this is a disaster. The snacks are a disaster, the gifts are a disaster, and most of the guests are in no mood for a party. If Lazarus had told her today was Nathan's birthday before 5am, she might have been able to pull something better together, but Tony's absence would have still been weighing on everyone all the same.

She frowns to herself, then abruptly banishes the expression with a cheery grin. Screw that jerk. It is Nathan's birthday, and they are throwing this party anyway, so she will do her damnedest to be a cheerful hostess. She'll project enough happiness to make up for everyone else! She will be as aggressively joyful as the party requires.

[witnessme]

Misa's doing a great job with the party, and even though the gifts are a little paltry and ill-chosen (how the heck does a person buy presents for a grown-up kid?), Nux thinks that he did a pretty bang-up job, too. She's one of the more cheerful people here, so he automatically gravitates toward her, actually wearing a jacket today (though still no shirt under it.)

"Hey, uh... Misa," he greets, glancing around before lowering his voice. "Haven't seen Tony today. Do you know where he might be hiding out?"

[lovesickkiller]

Misa's expression falls at the mention of he-who-must-not-be-named, and she can't stop herself from glaring at Nux for a moment or two. How can he be so out of the loop after such a public meltdown?

Sighing, Misa cements her smile back in place. "He's not around right now! Don't worry about it, he just needed some time to himself."

[witnessme]

Nux looks taken-aback by the souring of Misa's previously cheerful expression, and he automatically ducks his head and averts his eyes like a rebuked puppy even though she hasn't directly said anything to chastise him.

"Time to himself? But he wouldn't want to miss Nathan's birthday, and... and Nathan wouldn't want him to miss it either, would... he...?"

[lovesickkiller]

"Tony isn't a very considerate person," Misa says through grit teeth, smile still in place. "Let's not bring it up, okay? We should only talk about good things at a party."

[witnessme]

"Huh?" Nux's bright blue eyes widen; he's clearly shocked by the answer. "T-Tony's good, what are you talking about? Why can't we talk about him?"

He sounds scared by this point.

"W-what did he do?"

Nathan (AKA, the birthday boy, god help him) | OTA

[solvethepuzzle]

Nathan is not at all sure they should even be having this party.

Given yesterday's events, he cannot imagine anyone in his closest circle is in the mood for it, and he knows that he isn't. Having a celebration after all that seems sort of in poor taste. But everyone is going to a lot of trouble for this, so it would be wrong of him to not attend his own birthday party.

Nathan is bad at affecting cheer -- and thus will not even attempt going that far -- but he at least tries not to look outright depressed. The party might be a little pathetic in execution, but he frankly has nothing to compare it to so far as previous birthdays go. He'd never had a party before. So . . . this is fine, really. He is not particular.

He mostly just picks at the food, and he will get to the gifts eventually. Even if some of them are so poorly wrapped that no surprise will be involved when "opening" them.

[numberedshepherd]

This morning, hungover and desperate to preserve something of the comforting consistency that's been established in Shepherd's Haven after a lot of dedication and hard work, Lazarus had been determined to ensure that Nathan had some validation and acknowledgment on a day where he'd historically never received any.

It had admittedly seemed like a much better idea then.

Even if Nathan's not looking outright depressed, there's no mistaking that he's one of the most negatively affected by the dismal tone of this ill-conceived party. He feels guilty as he approaches, hoping that a day spent trying every hangover remedy in the book hasn't made his condition too obvious.

"Do you... want to open your presents before, or after we cut the cake...?"

[solvethepuzzle]

There isn't any helping the tone, really. The gesture might be nice, but it has essentially come in the wake of a family crisis and he cannot bring himself to be happy about it.

And unfortunately for Lazarus, a quick look is all it takes for Nathan to realize what condition he is in. It is not due so much to his observational skills than it is to personal experience. He has seen enough hangovers to recognize one when it is put before him, even with the efforts to dull it. He knows what they look like.

But he will try not to mention it. "... I think after would be best."

[numberedshepherd]

The gesture was a desperate Hail Mary pass, or would be if Lazarus believed in saying Hail Marys. He wasn't raised that way, though, and has settled for just crossing his fingers tensely and hoping that it goes off without a hitch.

Hoping isn't enough. It very seldom is.

He fidgets at the way Nathan looks at him; though it's quick, it's unnervingly thorough, in a way that both of them have a knack for affecting.

"After? You've got it," he says, forcing brightness into his voice. "Misa did a great job with it, didn't she? I hope it's a flavor you like..."

[solvethepuzzle]

No, hoping is usually not enough to pull off things like this.

The thoroughness is mostly unintentional, simply how each of them tends to look at people, but as soon as his eyes had caught the first hint of a hangover, he'd instinctively searched for other cues. It had been a necessary thing back home, to gauge a sobriety level, work out what could be expected from it.

He hates that the instinct had gone to work here. This is an entirely different situation. He allows his eyes to settle on the cake in the hopes of disguising the fact that he's averted them.

"She did." That, at least, is honest. "I am not particular about flavour. I'm sure it's fine."

[numberedshepherd]

Lazarus, at least, is not a violent drunk, at least not toward others besides himself on account of his wide self-loathing streak. And in all fairness, being hungover is nothing like being drunk, just the shadow of an illness betraying that one was drunk at a point in the recent past. He's stone cold sober, even if he'd probably be steadier on his feet and less queasy if he wasn't.

"Fine isn't what we're aiming for," Lazarus says, tugging at the strands of bristly hair on the back of his neck. "The day you were born should be a happy one, even if unhappy things happen, sometimes."

[lovesickkiller]

"There's the birthday boy!" Misa yells excitedly as she skips up to Nathan, giving him a quick hug. She is no more in the mood for this than he is, but unlike him she is very good at affecting cheer. "Sorry the party's kind of... last minute. Next year I'll make sure we put together a really good one!"

[solvethepuzzle]

Nathan is never prepared for hugs, and he tenses while he's in her grasp. Fortunately, it does not last long.

"It's alright. The party is fine." Delivered in his normal almost toneless fashion.

And it truly is, for a given value of fine. There is not anything of the setup itself that he finds wrong with this day. But they're not talking about what is really wrong.

[lovesickkiller]

Misa would be offended, if not for the fact that calling the party 'fine' is actually being generous.

"A party should be better than fine! It should be great, and lots of fun!" she insists. "I bet the presents and cake will make you feel better~"

[solvethepuzzle]

Nathan hardly has high (or any, really) standards for parties. The slapdash execution would have been perfectly okay with him were it not for outside circumstances. It's difficult to be picky when one has never had a proper birthday party before.

"It should be." That is what they are supposed to be like, isn't it? He's resisting the urge to wind his fingers into his hair. "Perhaps."

He . . . really isn't expecting them to.