Reclaiming Lost Felicity

[kingkingcxiii]

♥ Who: Regis, Cor, and Cor's closest friends & family
♥ Where: The Lucis Caelum Home: Senior Version ;-P
♥ When: Evening, May/Ealom 5th
♥ What: A celebration of the birth of a man truly worthy of celebration, even if he thinks differently.
♥ Rating: PG/PG-13, please mark if it goes beyond that!

[Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that the first time Regis really seems to come back to himself--or at least the self he was before having returned home and lived those five years--is when it comes time to plan Cor's birthday. Much like Regis himself, Cor would rather his birthday go unremarked on, and much like Cor himself, Regis can't let that happen. It's an even trade really, which is probably why they've never gotten too mad at each other for all those surprise and not-so-surprise birthday celebrations over the years.

About a week before the party, Regis sends out invitations to all of their closest friends and family through his tablet. Cor doesn't do large gatherings when he can avoid it, so it is best to keep this out of the public eye.

Warmest Greetings!

I hope this letter finds you all doing as well as possible. It has been a rough month for our extended family, but this is not something I wish to linger on. Instead, I would rather speak of a much happier topic; one I would like to request your assistance in handling.

For those who don't know, and I suspect this is most of you considering how our dear lion is, May 5th--or Ealom 5th as the natives apparently call this month--is Cor's birthday. He is like me in that he doesn't really feel a celebration is necessary, but as he would not allow my birthday to pass with no celebration, I feel it is my duty to return the favor.

On the evening of the 5th I would like you to join us at the house for a small celebration of Cor and all that makes us love him. I have asked the owners of Affurgato to prepare the food for us, so there is no need to bring food unless you really wish to.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII

P.S: In my personal opinion, he should be showered with gifts, but they are by no means necessary. I know he will appreciate your presence more than any gift.

In the evening on the 5th, Regis will be waiting with a welcoming smile to greet anyone who shows up. Cor will be there, even if it takes a little coaxing on Regis' part. However, Regis cannot guarantee how easy it will be to find the birthday boy at times. Cor is Cor, after all. Fortunately, Regis and Noctis have both had a hand in helping those at Affurgato prepare foods both with an Eosan taste and that Cor really likes.

Using them as bait may just be a valid option...]

(OOC: Mingle for Cor's birthday is a go! Post your top levels and have fun! For reference, the house's layout is here.)

Comments

[necromanswers]

[Aaaaand here's Lup, sidling up beside Honerva to bump elbows.]

Well? It's been ten minutes. Who did you talk to, and how'd it go?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Well, she can't even be mad; she's at least discovered that she does know more people gathered than she had expected, though a few were... newer. Still doesn't make a gathering of them any less weird for her. ]

... I did end up speaking to Ardyn, for a short while. It did... not go poorly. Have you met him?

[necromanswers]

["Did not go poorly"... honestly. They've gotta work on her feedback delivery at some point, too.]

I did meet him, yeah. Feels weirdly kindred, that one. Though he's more honest about it.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She looks thoughtful, her ears shifting lightly in contemplation. ]

... Kindred... yes, that is how it felt. He was strangely quite easy to talk to... perhaps because of our mutual discomfort with these situations, among... other similarities.

[ No need to dance around with small talk, or worry over how best to be presentable to another person expecting... normalcy. Strange, that. ]

[necromanswers]

Similarities... right.

[They're dancing around it a little, but Lup smiles, understanding; they're not alone, even if no one happens to be listening in. This is neither time nor place to be revealing certain things.]

Maybe through some talking, you can train each other how to people.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She figures it's better to be discreet now, when they'd have more time to exchange more details at home.

She does actually smile and laugh softly at Lup's assertion, however. ]

I wonder. It is far more likely we'd continuously echo our sentiments at one another before too long, given our highly specific... troubles.

[necromanswers]

Gods, you're probably right. Even in that short interaction, getting him to accept a casual compliment was like pulling teeth. You guys need some kind of social training class.

[Honerva's made progress and Ardyn seemed about on a similar level, but they're both still lacking.]

[shroudedsecrets]

... It seems very lucky that he is surrounded by a rather stubborn, but... welcoming, family. Regis has that... forceful, yet gentle nature, and Cor likely is just as protective of him. Although I do not know if he has had those whom he could... relate to before. Certainly not with the weight of... centuries.

[ To understand why those fears and doubts exist, and how very difficult it is to allow for the blossoming of trust. At the time, it had made Honerva only for that brief moment wonder what it might have been like if she had arrived in this world from her past before the Fleet, instead of with her precious connections, though she'd tried to put that out of her mind just as quickly. ]

[necromanswers]

Yeah... kinda got that impression myself. At least he knows he's got a few folks he can look to if he needs it now, yeah?

[She hadn't been explicit about that herself, but she wouldn't deny it, either. At least he can know that she's not what you'd call normal either. And while she doesn't have the same weight of thousands of years, once you've lived long enough to stand ageless while those around you die generation after generation, how many centuries tends to matter very little.]

[shroudedsecrets]

He does. Funny isn't it, how it is worlds like these that bring... people like us together.

[ From across all sorts of universes, to find who could relate to each other in even these... strange and perhaps unsettling ways. ]

He'd asked me if I considered myself comfortable here.

[necromanswers]

And? What answer did you give him?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She smiles, but gives her a significant look. ]

I simply told him that my family is here. There's no greater comfort than that.

[necromanswers]

[That makes Lup grin. Not a surprise, but nice to hear it said aloud, nonetheless.]

Looking around the room, seems like he's in a similarly good situation there.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She says that often enough to others now, perhaps not enough to those who ought to hear it. Something she's working on. Even better, to see Lup smile like that. ]

Doesn't it? What a favorable group to have collected all under one roof, this family. So much must have changed... for many of them here. Just for being pulled elsewhere.

[necromanswers]

What impresses me is the generation span. Got quite a handful among the lot of 'em, and they still manage to get along this well? That's what I'd call a Candlenights miracle.

[Her multi-generational family all kind of hated one another when they were around, or at least barely tolerated. They'd obviously all got problems, but seeing such a peaceful gathering is wild.]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Her ears can't help but droop slightly at the consideration. Of course she had no experience to weigh it against, to have those sorts of comparisons on hand. ]

They're all linked in a significant way, aren't they. Biologically and by their bonds... and endured so much.

[ She's certain they're only aware of a fraction of any of it, if only from knowing Cor and even observing how much they banded around when one of their unit went down. ]

[necromanswers]

Bonds are more important than biology, though. We all know that.

["Found family" is sort of a thing in their household. And for a member of the Starblaster crew, a ship that literally was fueled for a hundred years on the bonds built between its crew and kept them all alive and forever young through that power... she knows inherently its value.]

[shroudedsecrets]

... Yeah.

[ Her tone is a little distracted for it, but she exhales softly. Better not to focus on the biological aspects when her future was right here. ]

Prompto considers them all to be his family as well. I know he missed them, when we were... back on the Fleet.

[necromanswers]

Mm. The fleet was noisy, but sometimes it was lonely, too.

[It's far enough away now that she can admit it, at this point.]

I felt the same, you know. Missing my crew. I don't know if it's possible not to.

[shroudedsecrets]

... I know.

[ She knows Lup suffers for it far more than she lets on. She remembers that there was a time Taako couldn't even see her for who she was, and there's that soulmate she needs to reunite with. She leans in, reaching for Lup's hand. ]

You were off away on your own ship for too long, even with your visits. It was hardly the same as it is now.

[necromanswers]

[Lup hums agreeably, giving Honerva's hand a soft squeeze.]

I liked that crew okay. They were good people. But they weren't... family, I guess. That was the problem.

[Honerva wasn't family for a long time, and Taako was only family on her side, not his, until right at the end. A lot of what they went through on the fleet was far more painful than she likes to admit.]

This place is kinder than we're used to. That's weird, isn't it? Or is it just me?

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Their history aside, all the downtime they had in the fleet it was still riddled with suspicion and paranoia of the Atroma's motives and all that went with it. ]

It is... kinder. Although if we had arrived here without our prior connections intact it may have been more difficult to accept.

[ Which was still a terrifying thought. ]

But because we did... we've taken to things with more ease, haven't we? Weird it may be, but we were able to find a house, create a business, enjoy and even share our cats. We did not have to struggle for finding our bonds because we were not alone when we arrived. That is the difference.

[necromanswers]

At least it's a good difference.

[None of them are particularly pleasant people when left alone for too long. To be all here, together, with their memories intact? It's a surprisingly merciful gift, considering the lives they've led for many, many years. Such pleasantries can only last for so long, she knows, but she's not in any hurry to see them disappear.]

Bonds are meant to exist, to be made. No one's built to be 100% alone, it's no way to live. [Take that from someone who lived in solitary.] Good, bad, downright wacky- keep making bonds with people. I guarantee it'll pay off one day.

[shroudedsecrets]

It is. Perhaps it's... been something of a way for us to find our feet more.

[ As a family. Or maybe just enough time for her to figure out how to be a person. She had not truly understood her own loneliness until her veils were pulled away, for all of her years of having a singular person and their cause to be devoted to, and still experiencing long time damaging effects of that servitude. Having the ability to engage with others and... understanding them, and wanting to know them, being more connected to them than simply labels in a hierarchy was so different. Something to not take for granted as much as she ever needed the reminder. ]

... You know, it is strange to realize that I do know most of those gathered here.

[ Nervous as she still is for varied reasons, but people had been taking to her oddness well enough. ]

[necromanswers]

Oh shit, for real? Nicely done.

[Lup casts her gaze around the room. It's not a huge gathering by any means, and it's no surprise for her to know everyone, but for Honerva it's quite the feat.]

What do you think, working the cafe helps to meet people, yeah?