Battlefield Birthdays

[walking_nuke]

Who:	Residents of 847 Goldberg (Balin, Virginia, and Caesar), as well as any guests (Utsuho, others depending on what happens!)
What:	Balin has the unfortunate predicament of having been born right before April Fool's. He's 28 today!
When:	Friday, March 30, 195X+4
Where:	847 Goldberg Street
Warnings:	Nukebirds in boxes? Nah, probably nothing serious.

[For soldiers deployed overseas, celebrating birthdays is hard enough. In the AFS, though, practically everywhere is the front line. With Earth gone, there's no relatives or friends from home to send you birthday wishes or throw a party for you when you come back—you're lucky if any are still alive and deployed on Foreas or Arieki. Still, soldiers find ways to party.]

[In Balin's case, though, he's now been stuck in Mayfield long enough to grow a year older. It dawned on him in a conversation with Virginia earlier in the week, and now ... he's really not sure what to do for his birthday—somehow, being stuck in Mayfield feels even more limiting than living among the militarized remains of the human species. But maybe Virginia or Caesar have an idea in mind ...]

[(Note: This'll be a multi-thread log, for various interactions and tags throughout the day depending on what happens.)]

Comments

[walking_nuke]

[... Well then. That ... probably makes the most sense, and answers a question he didn't have. Drones know the real birthdays of captives.]

Guess you're right.

[He's having mixed feelings about this, and it shows!]

[commentboxtroll]

If someone had bothered letting me know a whole lot earlier, I may have gotten you something for real. All I have on hand right now are books and you're probably less interested in those than Crowe was.

[Speaking of books, he finally closes the one he was skimming.]

Anyway, it isn't dangerous. I can't quite recall what it was exactly, but I do know that much.

[walking_nuke]

[Still having visibly mixed feelings, at least at the open admission from Caesar that he'd actually bother getting him a present.]

Guess at'd depend on'a books'ey got here. I never really looked, you know? After hearin' things about'a Library I wasn't sure Mayfield stocks anything actually interesting to read.

[Which begs the question—kind of things would a droned kid get for their "father?" Maybe some ties or clothes or something.]

[commentboxtroll]

I keep getting books from home... [Too many history books. Too many!] And I'm working on fixing that library problem.

[But that's a different discussion! He can't help but notice Balin seems less than thrilled at the thought that he would have actually gotten him a present... or maybe he just doesn't believe the gift from the drone is harmless.

There's no way to be sure, so Caesar doesn't bring it up.]

Well? Are you going to open it?

[idkmybfforin]

[...oh are we still talking. Why are we still talking? Okuu not want talk.

Her next grumble-squawk sounds like "what?", though her eyes are still closed.]

[walking_nuke]

Eh. Guess'ere'll be time to talk later.

[... Someone help him Utsuho's head is too fuzzy to the touch and he's still giving her headscritches.]

[idkmybfforin]

[Well, while you're here--

The other side of her neck is slightly itchy. So she's going to be turning her fluffy feathered head thataway.]

[walking_nuke]

[Oh yeah, that side of her neck is totally getting scritched. In his struggle to not be completely subdued by the fluffy bird-in-a-box, Balin thinks he's just going to have to ask Virginia what the deal is with Utsuho being here—if she isn't already watching him pet the nukebird from behind or something.]

[walking_nuke]

[Balin looks up at Caesar. He doesn't look startled, but something in his eyes almost suggests that kind of expression, like Caesar calling the gift to his attention had jostled him out of a train of thought.]

Oh! Uh—yeah. Sure.

[And he's going to get right on unwrapping that thing!]

[Seriously this is the most awkward birthday ever.]

[commentboxtroll]

[What is with that look, man?]

Is something wrong?

[He's only now starting to wonder if they're going to be at odds forever here. Even over this! Oh, but now he's opening it, so he leans over to watch. What is it, what...

...

A... a 'World's Best Dad' mug.]

Wow. That's awful.

[bantorain]

-Yep.-

And here I thought you were incapable of making nice with one another.

[idkmybfforin]

[It's only because she's...tired! Yeah. That's it. Not really

Utsuho carefully hooks her beak over the edge of the box to see who was there--carefully because she did not want to dislodge those fingers.

She caws at Virginia, once. She recognized that voice a bit more than Balin's, and had some favorable memories associated with it.]

Unyu.

[...then her head drops back down again.]

[walking_nuke]

[Figures, really!]

Eh, I didn't know it was her at first.

[And yet he's still scritching the raven's head.]

[bantorain]

She's gonna stay with us awhile until she's better. She's still recovering from that weird eye going out.

[walking_nuke]

Nah, it ain't anything—

[He looks back down at the box, now that he's opened it.]

... Pfft.

[Balin pulls the mug out of the box to get a better look at it.]

"World's Best dad." I dunno, does havin' a kid when you're ten really count?

[idkmybfforin]

[Indeed Balin is and now that he's every so slightly distracted she can turn her head almost all the way over so he's scratching the raven's chin, more or less.

The normally distinctive red eye that would normally be at least partially visible and glowing was...not there. Even with her neck stretched out.]

[walking_nuke]

[That doesn't escape Balin's notice, especially since Virginia just mentioned the eye going out.]

What happened to'at thing?

[who's a good bird yes you are]

[bantorain]

When I was out practicing the other day, she dive bombed me. I had no choice but to shoot the thing out, which was what she had wanted of me in the first place.

[idkmybfforin]

[She totally would have said please!

...if she'd had the presence of mind to which she didn't. Though she did kind of say that obliquely but that probably doesn't count.

She does grumble a bit when the incident is mentioned, though.]

[walking_nuke]

Huh.

[Balin looks very puzzled now, looking at Virginia, then back down at Utsuho after she makes another grumbling croak.]

She wanted you to do'at?

[bantorain]

She did... She was happier once it was gone.

[idkmybfforin]

[Why yes, yes she was. Utsuho ruffles all her feathers again and seems to almost chirp.

...though since she's not a songbird it still ends up sounding a bit squawky.]

[walking_nuke]

... So she regained something she didn't want.

I wonder if it's part of'a reason she flipped out like she did earlier'is month.

[bantorain]

I wouldn't know. That's for her to answer.

[commentboxtroll]

Would it only be ten? I thought you were older than that.

[Like super old.]