[Birthday!]

[villageson]

11-12 isn't making a big deal about it but it's likely his friends and family know that today is his 23rd birthday and he can be found wandering around the grounds (or inside later), looking quite happy and content. He'd love to speak to anybody, even those he hasn't met yet or who don't know it's his birthday!

Comments

[silvereyedphage]

He might come upon a not!step-father in the garden, smoking and admiring the view (he calls this "getting a breath of fresh air"). Taking the cigarette from his lips, he blows a plume of smoke into the air before speaking. "You seem chipper today, 11-12," he notes.

[villageson]

He gives the cigarette a wary look before smiling at Muraki.

"Yes. I think it's going to be a good day."

[silvereyedphage]

"Might I ask what the special occasion is?" he asks, curious, trying to recall what it might be.

[villageson]

"Oh. It's my birthday," he smiles more.

[silvereyedphage]

"Ahh, congratulations, then," he says, smiling. "And, if you know what number it is, might I ask, how old are you this fine day?" he asks.

[villageson]

"Thank you, and I'm twenty three. Although I suppose technically I'm not really that old."

Since the Village was only really perhaps going for a few years, at most.

[silvereyedphage]

"I'm of a mind that people are only as old as their minds and hearts are," he says. "If you feel that you are twenty-three, that you are that age. If feel younger than that, there is no shame in it. In fact, it is a blessing."

Growing thoughtful, but still cheerful, he adds, "I'm forty-eight years old this year, but I still have the heart of a man half that age."

[villageson]

"I didn't think you were that old," 11-12 says then bites his lip. "Sorry. That sounded rude."

[silvereyedphage]

He merely smirks, playfully, lifting one graceful hand in a gently dismissive gesture. "No need to apologize: I pass as a much younger man, though I've had a few people take me for an older man, when they first saw me from behind," he replies. And that very thing happened when he first met 11-12's mum: it was an awkward, but somehow charming beginning.

[villageson]

"My father is a lot older than that...," he frowns slightly thinking of his father. "I guess you're old enough to be my father too." He pauses. "Do all fathers have white or grey hair?"

[silvereyedphage]

"If a person lives long enough, perhaps into their sixties and beyond, their hair may turn grey, though some have this happen to them at a younger age, depending on their health or their genetics," he says. Then with a self-deprecatingly wry tone, he adds, "In my case, I was born with white hair, but it's darkened a bit over the years. I am what's called a hypomelanistic albino: my hair and skin and eyes lack most of the pigment that most people in my country tend to have."

[villageson]

"So you're unusual where you come from?" He still doesn't know all that much about different countries in the real world.

[silvereyedphage]

"Yes, people as pale as I are a rarity: I stand out in particular in my country. Most people there have dark brown or black hair, dark eyes and tawny-colored skin," he says.

[villageson]

"I think I'd be happier not to stand out. Does it bother you?"

[silvereyedphage]

"It used to, when I was younger and my classmates -- along with everyone else -- would stare at me. Some would go so far as to ask me, how I came to be so pale," he says. "But I learned to ignore the worst of the stares, and to politely bear with the questions."

[villageson]

"It must be very frustrating. You must have a lot of patience." He doesn't think he'd have the patience to bear with that all the time.