tampered | openish; in-progress

openish; in-progress

When; Wednesday, March 3rd
Rating; G
Characters; MKR apartment and friends~
Summary; Umi, Raenef, and Lockon's birthday party. But mostly Umi's!
Log;

It hadn't occurred to Clef to have the party at the beach - probably because it was still a little chilly yet, but that's presumably why Fuu had rented the hut. He still smiled to think of how meticulously she had planned it, and right under the noses of everyone else. She had gotten the decorations together, rented the hut, and sent out invitations even while Umi and Clef were still unable to decide where and how this party was happening. Not just that, but all of Umi and Shin's cooking for the party had somehow been transported here. It was absolutely perfect, he thought, and now that he considered it he knew that this was exactly what Umi would have wanted - whether she realized it at the time or not. She loved the beach, so it was entirely appropriate to have her party there, regardless of the season.

Clef, for his part, wasn't much of a party person. He made sure to give his well-wishes to all three of the birthday people, but aside from that mostly stayed on the sidelines, ready to help Fuu with her hostess duties should the need arise. Seeing all three of the girls so happy made even him a little more cheerful than usual, though, and even as he lurked in his little out-of-the-way corner there was plainly a slight smile on his face.

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Oh. That's what she meant. Alice looked away, just a bit detached from the conversation. She'd already talked to Doll about this, and it still bugged her but she would try not to let on. "No. I wasn't ever really born. Rather, I was made. But I don't know when that was either."

Made...

Like a weapon.

A Chain.

Umi remembered this all too well. She hadn't expected it to hold such a literal meaning. So Alice was a creation of sorts indeed. The thought struggled with her understanding of things for a second.

But in the end the Water Knight frowned at her friend, determined in the only one possible conclusion this bore.

"That doesn't matter. The day you came to this world, made or born? That's your birthday!" Her voice was as emphatic as her expression. Though the latter was soon soothed by a smile. "You don't remember when that was? Not a problem here! You can pick whatever day you like best and THAT will be your token birthday."

She'd fixed this for Raenef. Like hell she wasn't fixing it for Alice too.

This surprised her quite a bit. Alice had said the same thing to Doll, that they would make birthdays since they had none to claim. But when Doll said that she didn't want to celebrate without her family here, and that she'd only make a birthday once they showed up, Alice pretty much forgot about the idea.

But it was like she'd said: if she didn't have something that she wanted, she'd take it and make it her own. That was her right and her strength. And while she, just like Doll, didn't really want to celebrate without Oz here, she was certain he'd show up eventually, so she grinned and nodded her head, "Yeah, yeah! That's great!"

"Of course it is! Everyone has the right to celebrate." It was wonderful to see Alice so enthused. Just like Raenef had been! Umi felt accomplished. As if the whole idea of claiming token birthdays had been her own. In a way it was. If this party of hers could be an inspiration for other people to be as happy in a place like The City as they could possibly be, then half the eternal war Umi waged against it was already won.

"Look at what a great place to do just that Fuu picked, too. We could go for a walk down the shore and pick rare seashells later."

And Umi did quite a good job of it. Alice was now very excited for the future, something she had never really felt before. In Abyss, one day was eternity and there was no passing of time. On the surface, every day brought new troubles and surprises and though Alice much preferred it to Abyss, she could never really say that she was excited for the next day. But the idea of having a birthday, something to signify that she is alive, and being able to celebrate it with friends - well, the rabbit was quite excited indeed.

She'd never been to the beach, however, so the sight of the water and the sand was all new to Alice. At first she was annoyed by the cold, and still disliked the feeling of it, but found the sound of the waves soothing. It showed that the ocean had hidden power, and a Chain could appreciate such thunderous strength. So when Umi suggested venturing along the shore, she nodded enthusiastically, "Okay! But first, what's a seashell?"

"...Y... You've never seen one?" That meant Alice had never been by the shore?? See the ocean?? The waves...? Umi couldn't imagine what it could be like, for a person to never have seen the sea. It was like her second nature! The Water Knight's affinity with it wouldn't let her concieve such a thing. Her eyes went wide in surprise, but that was quickly replaced by an even stronger determination than before.

"Time to fix that!" She announced, spunk at its most grandiose. "Come with me!"

Umi's bewilderment confused Alice. It didn't really seem like that big of a deal to her, but then again, she didn't know what was a big deal to anyone. And if it was a big deal to them, Alice generally didn't care. But at this moment, she was interested in whatever Umi was so fired up about so she followed along willingly, "Um, okay. Where-?"

"The beach! Right by the ocean." And yes, Umi spoke the word as if it were the most wonderful thing in the world. It was, in her book. And she was making sure that Alice grasped that same beauty. It was almost like a calling. She was the Knight of Water. She had to make this work for her friend. "So you can have a look at seashells right where they come from!"

Alice blinked, "Seashells come from the beach? Does that mean we have to go in the water to get them?"

"The tide leaves them there on the sand. Wait and check it out for yourself!" That stated, Umi waved at their guests to let them know she and Alice where going outside, and off they went. "You won't even have to get wet!"

"O-okay," Alice said, following her out of the hut. The cold hit her like a brick and she shivered a bit, but then came the crashing of the waves and suddenly she didn't mind so much. She looked down to their feet, seeing nothing but sand everywhere, "Where do we find them??"

"See the way the waves break over there?" Umi pointed at the huge rollers hurrying ashore. The wind had picked up and now they were coming bigger and bigger. She could feel them under her skin. Rather than being bothered by the strong gusts, Umi seemed invigorated by the nearness of the ocean. She beamed back at Alice as the tide retreated.

"That's when they get dragged out. Come closer." She took her friend right where the water stopped wetting the sand. Small while shells crowded up the shore. "Over there! See how many kinds there are!"

As Umi approached the shore line and got closer and closer the water, Alice got more wary of stepping further. She dreaded the idea of getting wet at all, let alone in this cold. But then her eyes caught sight of the little shells littering the sand. Her eyes practically glowing with awe, she pointed at them excitedly, "Wow!! They's so many of them!!"

"Right! I told you, didn't I?" Umi felt so ridiculously accomplished at Alice's excitement. Almost as if she'd been the one to scatter the shells there. "Go ahead and pick the ones you like the most! I promise I won't let the waves bother you!"

...There she went. Clef was going to give her a piece of his mind about irresponsible use of water magic. But heck, it was for the best of causes. Her friend would enjoy the sea's gifts.

Pick them? They were okay to just take? And suddenly, the rabbit had a strange and ludicrous revelation that made absolute sense to her, and probably only her in all the universes. If Umi paid any attention, she might see a peculiar little light in the back of Alice's eyes as she observed the shells at their feet, looking for the prettiest one. Finding a rather large, multi-colored one, Alice picked it up with a great sense of accomplishment. She held it in front of her, staring it down, noticing all the neat little ridges and the way the colors blended into each other. Nevermind the sand on it, her mind was dead set on one thing and one thing only.

If the shell was this pretty, it had to taste just as good. Right?

Taking the shell in both of her hands, she opened her mouth wide and put a good portion of it inside, chomping down. Hard.

But wait! Shells are hard! And salty!

And ohsweetmotherofgod, what has she done? It tastes awful and her teeth are now aching. She throws the shell and spits out as much sand as she can.

"What the hell! That doesn't taste good at all!" Alice cries, her mouth feeling crunchy from the sand that, as everyone knows, is damn near impossible to get out of your mouth without water. She turns to Umi, near tears of anger and frustration and disgust in her eyes, "How do I get it out?!"

...Alright.

So.

Through the last three years of her life Umi'd seen a lot of stuff she could qualify as Weird. Weird was in fact her favorite word for describing anything that left her gaping, awestruck, questioning where the heck had the laws of logic of the universe gone.

This?? This here had to rate real high in her weirdness list.

No, Umi would even dare say this topped it all. Flying fish and weirdo line-shaped fountains included.

Alice had believed...?? She'd actually thought...??

Edited 2010-03-06 03:00 (UTC)

"T---t-those are NOT for eating!!" Something the Water Knight never thought she'd have to specify to anyone, granted. She just stayed there pointing at the remnants of the shell the other girl had nearly munched away with an expression of sheer disbelief on her face. "They're for looking at! For listening to, even! But they're definitely NOT EDIBLE! Not this sort, at least! What made you believe you could eat that?"

Yes, she had actually believed, and yes she had actually thought the shells would be edible. You'd think she'd've learned her lesson from eating roses, only to find out those were quite disgusting as well, but Alice is Alice. And Alice isn't that bright.

"What the hell is the point of that?! Why would you want something if all you can do is look at it?!" It all came back to the roses again. Doll said having roses made someone happy because they're a gift from someone who likes them. So having roses just to look at makes sense. But picking up something on your own just for the sake of looking at it? Pointless! Absolutely pointless. "It looked good, okay?! "

"Pretty: that's the whole point!" Now, how to explain a concept that Alice sounded like she understood already. Maybe just by bringing it up??

Umi rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the sand bank, picking up a large, colorful shell, nevermind she'd forgotten to watch out for the tide and it started to wet her ankles. "See? It's something beautiful to look at! Maybe something that'll bring you nice memories of today when you do! And if you put it close to your ear you can hear the waves inside it!"

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone; 1/2

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone; 1/2

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

at the hut! || open to everyone;

hut → beach || open to everyone;

hut → beach || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone; 1/? for incoming wtf-ery! :D

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone;

on the beach! || open to everyone; done! :D

on the beach! || open to everyone; OMG I died LOLing XDDDD 10 points! 1/2

on the beach! || open to everyone; 2/2

on the beach! || open to everyone; XDXD VICTORYYYY!! \o/

on the beach! || open to everyone;