get ready everybody 'cause here we go

[dashing]

WHO: Saoirse, Herian & open.
WHAT: a combined birthday hangout.
WHEN: 30th Haring.
WHERE: The Hanged Man.
NOTES: Drink up now and turn up hungover to the Firstday feast. Open invitation over here, no need to reply to the network post or even have prior cr in order to attend. Please add any warnings to subject lines if they come up.

"Party" would be an extreme word for it; the more accurate word would be "casual gathering of people with liquor readily available." It is The Hanged Man, though, so who knows what shenanigans could unfold.

They've taken over a corner of the inn, and though there isn't much in the way of decorations - making sure the place could be easily accessed after all that snow was work enough - there are a couple of strings of bunting.

Don't get too wild; it'd be unfortunate if Herian had to interrupt her own (shared) birthday celebration in the sake of preserving the Inquisition's reputation. (Or do get wild, and simply shrug it off as The Hanged Man's influence. Whatever.)

Be sure of one thing, though - at least one round is one Herian. Maybe. If you're a close friend, or look particularly glum.

Comments

late enough in the evening that people are there, early enough that nobody's piss-wasted yet

[onlyhymns]

Part of Cade's effort to be more of an actual person is to occasionally leave his comfort zone, and, Maker forbid, sometimes even go out of his way to interact with someone, so he takes the opportunity to give himself a panic attack in order to simultaneously assuage some guilt about The Past. There's a lot going on.
Trying to avoid Herian entirely on account of her being Extremely Frightening, Cade hopes to find Saoirse in a state of approachability, at which point he thrusts a book (neatly tied around the covers with a ribbon) toward her and mumbles something that would sound like 'happy birthday' if he were at all audible in the sea of voices. He says it to the floor. But he's trying. Hey remember how I oversaw your Harrowing, congrats on still being alive years after?

[elegiaque]

Presumably, no one needs an explanation for why Gwenaëlle is not attending this get-together - but a pair of Vauquelin-liveried elven servants do arrive with a large gift box, setting them down at the birthday girls' table without much fanfare and excusing themselves swiftly. A note is attached:

You should have at least one drink that isn't swill. Open it when the bartender isn't looking.
GV.

herian; a dramatic birthday girl

[dashing]

(if you want a custom one let me know, but otherwise wildcards are welcome)


early;
Guess who has two thumbs, is reaching their twenty-ninth year, and looks kind of unexcited about it?

It's not that she looks glum so much as she looks very serious and preoccupied; it could be before other guests have arrived, she did get there early to make sure everything was in order, or maybe others are there and she's just gone off into her own world. In either case, it might take something to get her attention.


later in the night;
Herian does not get drunk. She drinks very sparingly, in fact, as a general rule. Temperance, control, focus, all those good things. A knight should not act in excess, and they should not act in any way that compromises their honour. The problem is that refusing drinks could also be rude, and causing needless offence is also something she does not care for.

The end result is that she has had a little more to drink than she normally might, and is a little more relaxed. While she's not in an excellent mood generally, these past weeks, at least her manner has eased a little, for now.

saoirse; a less dramatic birthday girl

[sulena]

( shoot me a pm or hit me up on plurk if you'd like something custom. otherwise, wildcards are totes welcome. )

— early.

Unlike a certain someone Saoirse is just a little more excited for her most recent birthday and the current party taking place today.

Perhaps it's because it has been so very long since she had actually celebrated it. Time in the Circles, especially when she lived in the Gallows, left little time for celebration or any sort of enjoyment in those later years especially. It is why she arrives early in the day with Herian to make sure everything is in place and there are no complications to be found with their location. It's nothing grand, sure but Saoirse is enjoying the work and can constantly be found throughout the day with a bright smile on her face.

— later.

But on the other hand, much like her birthday friend, Saoirse is not the sort to get drunk although she does enjoy the sweeter drinks offered by the tavern keep. Perhaps it helps that she keeps passing him food and what else, or perhaps because he thinks she cannot handle much more than the sweet wines and mead. Though there is probably some truth to the thought especially as the night wears on and she drinks a bit more than she might usually.

She tries to greet everyone that arrives, especially the unfamiliar friends of Herian and might take someone by the hand at one point to dance. She sings too, songs from Starkhaven for her and Herian but leaves it to the tavern bard tonight for the most part.

[youwonscience]

[Earlier/Herian]

Cosima is late. That's partly because she just is, but largely because she has spent the time between the network announcement and now scrambling to find a gift that is not so much it would embarrass Herian, yet definitely enough to show she cares, but then again something Cosima can actually afford after blowing a lot of her cash on that microscope.

So when she arrives, she's a bit flushed, but triumphant, and works her way over to the birthday girl. (Or girls, possibly.) "Sorry! Sorry I'm late."

[Later/Open]

Cosima cannot monopolize Herian's attention all night, nor does she intend to try. But she does feel the need to stay for moral support, if nothing else. Just in case Herian needs her.

In the meantime, she's several glasses of wine in, and she's decided dancing is in order, because one of the advantages of being a rifter is that everyone assumes you're bizarre anyway so why not take advantage?

cosima & saoirse.

[dashing]

At some point a little later in the evening, when Herian has had not enough wine to be drunk (because she doesn't have that much wine ever, probably) but enough to make the prospect of this a little less daunting, she decides she really should introduce Cosima and Saoirse to one another. The woman can better cope with the prospect of fighting two dragons at once than introducing her two favourite people, it seems.

When she notices Saoirse is free for a moment, and that Cosima isn't currently dancing, she gently catches Saoirse's arm. "Can I introduce you to someone?"

And once she has a response, she is (also gently) steering Saoirse the short distance towards Cosima. Hi, favourite people, Herian suddenly seems as tense and formal as ever she does. Nervousness is not an acceptable emotion, so let's just repress the hell out of it.

"Cosima," she starts, and then realises that perhaps she should have been more formal, "please allow me to present Enchanter Ceallach, we grew up in Starkhaven and then were in the Circle together, for some years."