Happy Birthday, Dork | Backdated to August 31

[crouching_sin]

Sender: Naoya
To: Everyone
Subject: Birthday boy

My cousin, who recently arrived, has a birthday today. Wishing him a happy birthday is encouraged.

He's 18 now after all. In many places that makes you an adult, Kazuya.

Yes, I know you can see me writing this.

Comments

Sender: Naminé

[lethechained]

[ Assuming she and Kazuya exchanged names at some point-- ]

Happy birthday, Kazuya.
I'm not sure if there's anyone else by that name in town, but if he's the same person that I met the other day, I should probably thank him again, too.

Sender: Kazuya

[belheir]

[oh no the girl he met before is wishing him a happy birthday...

He's going to kill Naoya.]

Thank you, but please don't encourage him.

And there's no need to thank me, you were in trouble, so I had to help!

[lethechained]

[ -- Ah? Well, that's certainly not a reaction she was expecting. Naminé's head tilts immediately, curiously, as she scribbles back, ]

What do you mean? Encourage him to do what?

[ All that aside, though-- ]

Still, you were brave to do it.
If I had tried that, I don't think it would have ended nearly as well.

[belheir]

Be weird and obnoxious.

Maybe, or maybe you would have figured out another way to save me, if the situation was reversed? Though jumping in front of it was probably a little reckless, I'll admit.

[lethechained]

[ ...? ]

Is it not like him to wish you a happy birthday?

[ Because she's stuck trying to parse why that would be weird or obnoxious - but to each their own, she supposes. Maybe their world has some weird policy against well-wishes, or something. ]

I would have tried, I think. Leaving you alone would have been cruel.
Still, I'm not sure what I could have done that would have worked.
Freezing it to the ground, maybe? Although that might have been dangerous for other reasons.

[belheir]

Maybe if I were about six years younger it'd be normal for him to tell me happy birthday.

Well, either way. I'm glad you would have tried to save me if the situations were reversed. Do you have magic powers? Or is it the dreamotion stuff?

[lethechained]

[ Six years younger... ]

I didn't realize it made a difference which birthday it was.

[ Most curious indeed. In any case, there's a brief beat before she responds, but-- it's not as if she hasn't discussed magic with people here often enough. (That, and she owes him a little good faith.) ]

It would have been a little bit of both.
Magic isn't uncommon in my worlds, and I've had a lot of time since I first arrived here to learn how to mix the kind I already knew about with Dreamotion.

[belheir]

Birthday announcements like this are more for little kids to get hyped up. As you get older it's usually only more close knit people who care so much, like friends and family.

Though this is exactly the kind of situation family would pull at a restaurant or something, by telling the waiter it was someones birthday.

[... So not terribly off the mark, only it's not contained to a restaurant but the general population at large.

But then she says something interesting that catches his attention. She did have kind of a weird... aura about her when they met, but.]

Worlds? You've been to other ones before?

[lethechained]

[ Huh. Tilting her head a little, ]

I think I understand, if that's the way it is in your world.
Maybe I just haven't had enough birthdays yet.

[ Kind of a funny thing to say, considering they're about the same age-- ]

But I'm not sure that I know what you mean about restaurants.
What do those have to do with birthdays?

[ He did just say only close-knit people would care about them, so would the waiters--?

Anyway, it seems she's fielded questions regarding her worldhopping before, since it doesn't take long for her to write back, ]

A few, yes.
Where I come from there are many of them, although it's rare for most people to get the chance to travel between them.
Besides that, I've been to one other world separate from those before coming to this one, too.

[ So. More than most people, at least. ]

[belheir]

Sometimes people will ask the waiters at restaurants to celebrate someones birthday, and they'll usually get a free slice of cake or something, and in some places the waiters will come out and sing happy birthday. It's very obnoxious, and very annoying, and only little kids like it, but some people do it to their friends or family just to be jerks. It's kind of in the spirit, in some places to do that.

[He'll explain, because she asked. Though it is a little weird that she says she hasn't had enough birthdays... She looked about his age, but who knows? There's a bunch of different types around.]

Really? That's pretty neat. You must be a veteran world walker by now, if that's the case.

[But what she says is giving him ideas... If world traveling is a thing for her, and it's a little bit of a thing for him, at least in regards to the demon realm, and the outer realm.... Then wouldn't it be possible for him to be able to help Naoya by traveling to his timeline? If world hopping is possible, then surely timeline hopping must be as well.]

I never really thought about that kind of stuff before I got here. I had a pretty stereotypical life, for the most part.

[Demons aside...]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé endeavors for a few moments to imagine this purported scene; it's a bit tougher when she's spent so little time in restaurants up until this point in her life. But she's creative enough to manage something, at least, which prompts, ]

I suppose I can see why that might feel a little strange.

[ Being sung at by random strangers, that is, waiters or not. ]

Still, I'd be curious to see it at least once.

[ But that's neither here nor there. In any case, ]

I'm not sure I can call myself that.
Some of the people I know have been to many more worlds than I have, so it'd be generous to say that about me.

[ In comparison, that is. ]

Most people don't seem to think about it.
Even though many of us here are from different worlds, very few had any reason or opportunity to travel from one to another on their own.
That seems to be consistent, at least.

[ As for Kazuya's assessment of himself, though... ]

But I am a little surprised to hear that you've had a normal life.
You didn't seem to hesitate when you decided to help me the other day.

[ And it's fairly uncommon for your average civilian to spring into action to stop a giant gob of bubblegum by jumping in front of it... ]

[belheir]

[Well... She's right about that, but also he knows she's also weird, in the way that he can tell she's not entirely human. Now that he thinks about it, she can probably tell he's off too...]

You think so? I know a few people who would have done the same thing, I'm pretty sure. One of my friends probably would, actually.

But I promise my life was pretty normal back home.

[Was. Past tense.]

[lethechained]

[ She's not unaware of his peculiarity, that's for certain. Whether he's aware of hers she's less sure about, but perhaps her admission of worldhopping was evidence enough. Either way, she doesn't feel the need to call him out on a trait they both share quite that directly.

Instead, ]

There are a few like that everywhere, I think.
Every world needs heroes.

[ And suffer for the lack of them, inevitably. ]

But that doesn't make it any less impressive.
If your friends are like you, then you're lucky to have each other.

[ Those types do tend to find one another, don't they? Or at least inspire more of their kind. ]

In any case, I'll take your word for it.
Although, what's 'normal' might be different to both of us.

[belheir]

I don't know if I'd call myself a hero, but thank you.

And you're right. Your normal includes world hopping, and mine includes playing video games and going to school and occasionally going shopping with my friends. That's a pretty big difference of "Normal".

[lethechained]

[ It's only out of politeness that she includes the, ]

You're welcome.

I do know that some people put a lot of importance on that name.
Maybe I should say that you acted heroically instead.
Would that be better?

[ Which... is still the same thing depending on how you look at it, but semantics. Reading his description, ]

For the people in my worlds, most of that does sound like a pretty typical life.
Mine hasn't been that way, but I think that's what most kids would expect to spend their days doing, even where I come from.

[crouching_sin]

Oh? My baby cousin's made a friend I don't know about? How interesting.

How did you two happen to meet?

[lethechained]

[ There's that word - the 'friend' word. She's more able to accept it these days, but-- ]

I don't know if I could say that, exactly.
He and I only just met the other day.

[ ... Although, reading that back, she feels the need to amend, ]

Not that we couldn't be friends in the future, that is.

[ There, that's... better, she thinks? Anyhow, ]

When we met I was trapped in one of the bubbles from the fountain.
It wouldn't stop rolling down a hill with me inside, and he stepped in to stop it.
If he hadn't I'm not sure what would have happened, so I'm very grateful.

[crouching_sin]

I see. He's that type of person - the one who helps others. He's alwayhs been that way.

I'm Naoya, if it wasn't obvious. He's my little cousin, but we were raised together.

[lethechained]

He and I haven't spoken much, but I thought that might be the case.

[ Kind of hard to miss the hero vibes, considering how they met. ]

It's nice to meet you, Naoya. My name is Naminé.
It's lucky that you're here together too, then. Are the two of you close?

[crouching_sin]

We were raised together - his parents took me in when I was young. So yes, we're close.

[lethechained]

[ There's a thoughtful little pinch in her brow as she compares what he says to Kazuya's apparent demeanor in her other messages. Maybe they just like to poke fun at each other, as close friends (or in this case family) do. ]

I'm glad. It's important to have people you can depend on here.
Not that that isn't true everywhere, but things can get a little overwhelming at times.

[ Of course, in comparison to her previous world - well, anyway, it doesn't bear talking about. ]

Although now that I think about it, you might have found that out already.
I know you mentioned he'd just arrived, but have you been here long?

[crouching_sin]

I've been here a few months. Not too terribly long, but enough to start to get my bearings and a grasp on the world at large here.

[lethechained]

[ Initially, she feels rather positively about that answer, since it means he'll be settled enough to help out a relative who's just arrived, surely--

But then she does a little math in her head and pauses. ]

I see. Were you here when the Story Eater caused all of that trouble?

[crouching_sin]

No, I showed up just after that incident, it seems.

[lethechained]

[ Phew. ]

That's a relief.
I'm sure it wouldn't have made the best first impression.

[ Not that the aftermath was likely a great one either, but there are degrees. ]