Happy Belated Second Birthday

[themorbidsocialite]

Mori hadn't actually been expecting to do anything for a second birthday. It'd been a slow, painful process and not really akin to birth in anything but arduousness. It'd just been a point of humor shared between him and the Maven to his perspective, an in-joke that meant nothing.

So, when she replied with gift ideas and asking after Persephone's favorite cake, Mori was suddenly faced with the realization it'd been serious the whole time. He'd need to remember the date, how many years it'd been, plan for gifts or events. Because it was his daughter's second birthday and he would be damned if he didn't try to make it pleasant and memorable.

On short notice.

On a Monday.

After nearly a week of constant stress and anxiety.

Mori crashed the moment he looked at how much pinnet banners would be in terms of echoes. Maybe, perhaps, it could be a surprise...

He'd still make her favorite food for Monday lunch, however: paprika hendl. He'd made it when they started reading Dracula as the bedtime story, finding a recipe in the card box of his foremothers, and his little girl fell in love. Especially when it came to the spice level, true Hungarian peppers being hot and dry and quite thirsty. Mori could take it or leave it, but it was his daughter's second birthday. He could survive food neutrality.

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[the_soft_hearted_maven]

The Soft-Hearted Maven, The Brash Devil, and The Curious Outlaw once again made their way to the Morbid Socialite's home. But this time, instead of being filled with worry and concern, there was an air of excitement and joyful anticipation. Jane was carrying a chocolate-berry cake, while both Derek and Ember split the three gifts between them to carry.

Ember was the one to knock on the door once they arrived.

[themorbidsocialite]

Mori was busy in the kitchen when the knock came at the door. "Sweetheart, could you get the door!? I don't want to leave chicken juice everywhere!"

"M'kay!" Persephone had been hanging upside down on the chaise, reading about the War Against Hell, written by a noted Hellish Scholar. There was a second book beside her on the same topic, written from the human perspective. Every time she got to a landmark event in the campaign, she'd switch books to take a look at the other perspective and read until she got to the next event. Interrupted, however, she stuck a bookmark in the book and tumbled over the edge of the chaise, landing messily on besocked toes. She stayed on her toes all the way to the door, limping significantly on her stone leg, but not seeming to care about it.

Percy pried open the door and looked up. And further up. "Wow... Hi! My name's Persephone Malodrema. Papa's busy at the moment. Is there something we can do for you?" She was well practiced in answering the door while her father was occupied with cold flesh in another room, the flesh being chicken and the room being the kitchen being no different.

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Maven had been anticipating this meeting for awhile now. To see the results of Mori's hard work finally paying off...

She smiled down at the young girl, "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you! We're some of your father's friends! My name is Jane Rosewood." She looked at the Devil, "This is Derek."

Devil nodded down at her, "Hey kid, nice to meet you."

Maven then turned to Ember, "And this is Ember."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the rogue law did a small bow, "We came to celebrate your resurrection."

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy's eyes brightened momentarily. "I recognize your voices! But, wait, if you're here for the resurrection, you're too late. It already happened."

Mori finished washing his hands and left the kitchen. "Okay, who is- Oh! Jane! Derek! Ember! You made it right on time, I'm about half way through making lunch." He came up and greeted them all fondly, with hugs and the occasional kiss. "Everyone, meet my daughter, Persephone--"

"Or Percy!"

"Percy, Dr. Jane Rosewood and Derek are very good friends and partners of mine and Ember is their adopted family. And they're here to celebrate what amounts to a second birthday."

Percy blinked - once, twice - before finally realizing the implications. "I get two birthdays!?"

Laughing, Mori ruffled her hair and let everyone else in. "Living is a big deal, especially starting to live when you didn't before. It only makes sense that your resurrection should count, don't you think?"

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"Yes, I thought it would be nice to celebrate your resurrection as a second birthday," Maven explained, holding up the cake she brought, "Hence we came with cake and presents."

Also good to know she can freely refer to herself as Mori's partner around Persephone. She hadn't wanted to assume anything, assume that just because Mori was open about it with their adult friends that he would be with his young daughter.

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy's eyes practically sparkled at the mention of cake. "Can we have it before lunch?"

"No, you'll fill up on cake and get sick."

"Please!"

"Percy..."

"Pleeeaaase!!"

Persephone was promptly picked up around the waist and turned upside down with squealing laughter. Mori laughed alongside, struggling to hold her up through all the squirming. "You'll spoil lunch!"

"To Hell with lunch!"

"To Hell with paprika hendl!? Who are you and what have you done with my daughter!?"

Persephone gasped and struggled for real, promptly let go once the tone changed. She recovered quickly with a stifled cough. "You made what for lunch!?"

"It'll be nothing at all, if I don't tend to it, make sure it doesn't burn. Get to know everyone while I work, okay? Lunch will be ready soon." He ruffled his daughter's hair and shared a fond, beaming look with the guests before going back to the kitchen.

Persephone coughed some more and sat on the low table, where there wasn't any clutter of books and papers. "So, may I ask personal questions?"

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Maven laughed at the sight of the two interacting. Such a stark contract from how she saw Mori just a few days ago. It made her happy to see him like that, to see Persephone be just as lively and open as Mori had described her. To think that not too long ago the hope for resurrecting her was just that, a hope....

Maven, Devil, and Outlaw sat on the couch as Maven responded, "Of course, I don't see why not!"

"Long as you're fine with us asking questions back," Devil warned.

"I am also fine with it," Ember agreed.

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy nodded. "I'm okay with questions! I'm told I need to go slower, though, so... You." She looked straight at the Devil. Those golden eyes were so cold and piercing when she wore them, boring straight into Derek.

"What are you? You have pelican eyes but there's something weird about them. Are you a squid person disguised? Are you actually from the sea- the zee?" All that reading on the Campaign of '68 and she still didn't know how to identify a devil.

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"A squi-" Devil blinked at that. It's not like it was the first time he encountered a child from the Surface who didn't know a devil on sight, but being accused of being a Rubbery Man was a new one. He let out a laugh, "No kid, I'm not a Rubbery Man. I'm a devil, I'm just a monster hunter too."

[themorbidsocialite]

"Rubbery Man..." Percy pulled a notepad from the stack of papers and started writing stuff down. "Devils have strange eyes... Monster hunter means pelican..." She was, in fact, spelling it as if she were referring to the bird. "Splendid! Should I go again or are you going next? I can take whatever question you throw at me!"

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"Uh yeah, I guess I'll go," Devil shrugged, "But it's peliGIN, not pelican. So, guess I'll start with the obvious: what's it like being not-dead now?"

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy scratched out the incorrect spelling with her pen and rewrote the word.

"Well, it's sore and itchy and kinda boring. And-!" She fell into a harsh coughing fit, rattling and raw, ending in her producing a clump of melon leaves from her mouth with a disgusted face. "That happens sometimes. They never match what's in my arm, though. I don't know what's in my arm. We can't see well enough to research it, the glass is all foggy, and we've never really been a botany family." She said that as if it was part of the apology her father gave her for not having an answer for what the plant was.

Percy jumped right into the next question, turning to Ember. "Why don't you got a face?"

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Maven got off the couch and went to Persephone's side when she began coughing. She was relieved when Persephone continued on just fine, although she still felt concerned over the condition. She wondered if this was something that would go away with time or a new chronic condition for the little girl. When Persephone mentioned the plant in her arm Maven couldn't help but look at the arm, see if she could tell what the plant was.

Ember tilted the hat a bit, "It is difficult for me to maintain a form with a face for a long period of time, I feel most comfortable taking the form of sigils."

[themorbidsocialite]

Persephone nodded. "Wow. So, are you a, um... shapeling like the Professor? Or a devil? What other people are there in the Neath besides humans, sorta humans, and devils? And- Hey, wait a second, those symbols sorta look like me!" She pulled up her trouser legs, showing off the carved and stitched scars in Correspondence.

The plant was very obviously a tree sapling, that much was certain. Parts of the foliage seemed to more closely resemble ash trees, including the leaves closest to the base and the buds on some of the limbs, though the leaves further out on the branches and the type of bark seemed to more closely resemble old growth oak. Percy didn't seem bothered by having her arm observed, even positioning it out so it could be better viewed.

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"I am what is know as a rogue law," Ember explained as simply as one would talk about the weather, "A law of reality that was created recently and has maintained a physical form due to recent events when Hell went missing and reality began to fall apart as a result. And yes, this form is made of Correspondence symbols, much like the ones your father used during your resurrection."

"Hmmm, interesting," Maven couldn't help but comment, "I wonder if the sapling in your arm is some kind of hybrid. It looks like it could be a mix of an ash and an oak..."

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy looked back at the Maven. "You said an ash tree? We had an ash tree back home. Or, I guess I had an ash tree. Papa said it was tradition to plant an ash tree when a baby's born, tying the health of the tree and the health of the baby together. If the baby gets sick, you can also pass it through the branches to cure the illness. Papa says that's quack medicine, but we still tried it about five months into me being sick. And look at me now! Alive!" She giggled, knowing it didn't make much sense, but also knowing that attributing her revival to a wives' tale would frustrate her father in a funny way, should he be able to hear.

She turned back to Ember with an excited smile. "How old are you, then? If you're a child like me, maybe we can be friends! My first friend in London!"

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"Oh really? Then I suppose, if an ash tree is meant to be planted at the birth of the baby, it makes you having a second birthday even more appropriate," Maven smiled at that bit of information.

Ember thought for a moment before answering, "I suppose by human measurements I would be considered a child, though laws of reality do not have states of immaturity the way organic life does. That is not my reason for looking like a child however. On average I have found people are more likely to overlook and pay children little attention, which allows me not to draw unnecessary attention. Additionally, I am still comparatively ignorant of the ways of London society and the Neath in general, and I have found people are more understanding of ignorance in children than in an adult, at least in so far that they expect it from them more, it is debatable on how understanding they are in terms of compassion. Regardless, to answer your question, if you would like to be, we can be friends, though I am certain the Soft-Hearted Maven and the Brash Devil would also very much like to be friends with you." It finished with a look to each person in question.

[themorbidsocialite]

"Oh, but child friends are much different from adult friends. And both are much different from family. With adult friends, it's usually someone tied to the family, not just to you, or you just see them often in shops or at Mass, and they always know better than you and they have more experience and they ignore you more often or try to teach you or other things that adults do all the time to people younger. But, with kid friends, you're equal and teaching each other and view the world from the same angle and can really, really share things. At least, that's what it reads like in books. I never really had many friends. Just a bunch of people my age I tried to get along with, but they were weird. Couldn't appreciate a good bug collection or a neat skull to save their lives."

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Devil looked incredulous at that, "What kid doesn't like a good skull? Are kids on the Surface just weird as shit or something?"

Maven was not sure how Mori would feel about Devil cursing around Persephone, but for the moment focused on what Persephone was saying. What she said was very... familiar. She gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded, "That is true, there is a big difference between adult friends and child friends. And it sounds a lot like what my sister and I went through when we were children. We didn't have many friends either, for a number of reasons. It's a shame we couldn't have been children together at the same time, it sounds like we would have had similar interests. What kind of bugs did you like to collect?"

[themorbidsocialite]

Persephone nodded intensely. "Right!? The only other kid that liked my bugs was Thomas and he tried to steal them from me because he said girls shouldn't play with bugs and bones and such! I think he just wanted my whole shrew skull."

She beamed, however, being asked about her collection. "Whole lots! I found butterflies, moths, snails, grasshoppers, woodlice, spiders, ladybirds, most of them had to be gotten rid of while we moved to the Neath. But Papa remembered which were my favorites and kept those around! Which means I can show you..." She got up and limped to the trunk where she used to be held, pulling out a little latch-box and fully wiping the dust off. From within, she produced: "Oliver! My greater stag beetle! Look! All six legs still on, both antlers attached, perfectly new still! That's what's cool about bugs and bones is that they don't really decay as fast as anything else, so they look nifty even years after you find them. They can stay the same while everything else changes."

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Maven gasped when she saw the greater stag beetle, "Oh that is a wonderful specimen! Very well preserved! I had one but it wasn't nearly as complete, it had missing legs and such. Didn't make it any less impressive in my eyes, mind you. I remember my favorites were some rose chafers from my mother's garden and a beautiful brimstone butterfly I found on the ground in the woods. I was so enchanted by that in particular, it looked like the wings were made of little leaves!"

"And since you have an interest in bones, perhaps at some point in the future I could take you to the Bone Market. It's a place where paleontologist and hunters go to trade bones and other interesting items. I'll have to remember that for the future, that is if you're interested."

[themorbidsocialite]

Persephone was amazed. "Rose chafers are so pretty! They're like little jewels! The rosemary beetle, my prettiest, only has one wing and two legs. I had to save her from the ants before they pulled her apart entirely. I've never heard of a brimstone butterfly before, though! If it looks like leaves, why's it called brimstone?"

She brightened even further at the mention of- "A whole bone market!? We have to go! Please, oh please!"

There came a soft chuckle from the kitchen door. "Soon. Once we've determined you're fully stable. And I would ask to come with." From that very same kitchen, there came a strong, spicy, flavorful smell. "All that said, birthday lunch is served, whenever you all are ready."

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"Oh brimstone butterflies are one of my favorites! They are one of the first kinds of butterflies people tend to see when spring starts, and they are called brimstone because their coloration ranges from a light green to a yellow similar to sulphur."

Maven smiled at Persephone's reaction to the bone market. Her enthusiasm was really quite infectious.

"Be right there Mori!" Maven said, picking the cake back up as Devil and Ember picked the presents up as well. Then all of them headed into the kitchen.

[themorbidsocialite]

Percy held open the door and- Goodness, what a smell! Chicken cutlet simmered in a Hungarian paprika-heavy roux, served with nokedli - an egg pasta common in central and eastern Europe - to take on all the extra sauce from the chicken. Olive oil, red capsicum, and tomatoes helped to temper the heady, dry spice of the paprika and add moisture to the chicken.

Plates were served as people came in and Mori briefly wondered if there was a way for Ember to enjoy this, too. Being made of Correspondence, perhaps a florid, purple description of it? A rosé was picked out for the adults and a citrus squash or ginger beer offered to those that didn't want or couldn't have wine.

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

"Oh that smells wonderful!" Maven commented, a huge smile on her face as she set the cake on the counter, "And you said this is called paprika hendl? It sounds familiar but I don't recall ever having had it before." It likely sounds familiar to her due to her having read Dracula before, but for the moment she is not able to recall that that was where she first heard of the dish.