ϡ - Chapter Eighteen; birthdays are sometimes bittersweet [action/voice]

[folkloristic]

[ Good afternoon Luceti. In the silence of this post you can hear the crinkling of a single sheet of paper. It is a lone letter, one from a man who is no longer in this world. You might also hear the whistling of water from a tea pot and the familiar sounds of someone preparing tea. A few moments later you will hear some banging coming from the

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[ action ]

[refinedmaestro]

[Frederic was in his room and heard Helios' entry, especially that loud bang sound and decides to come out soon after.]

Helios?! Are you all right?!

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[folkloristic]

[ Don't mind him he's just straightening himself and his chair and all that. Totally fine. ] Oh! Frederic, I didn't realize you were home. Aha I'm-I'm perfectly fine.

[ action ]

[refinedmaestro]

[He walks over to his friend and makes sure he doesn't have any injuries.] Are you certain? There's nothing I need to heal for you?

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[folkloristic]

[ He will dust himself off and take a seat again, sigh. ] I'm fine, really. Thank you for your concern though. [ He pauses looking at the letter on the table and biting his lip he turns back to Frederic. ]

I suppose you...heard about Giles?

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[refinedmaestro]

[He sits down next to Helios and sighs a little.] I did. It's sad, but I know he'll return one day.

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[folkloristic]

[ He glances over at the other. ] You think so? Well you did return and many others have as well. I suppose it's not...too far a stretch. [ He'll stare into the still steaming cup before him. ]

Still it's...very sad.

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[refinedmaestro]

[His eyes stare at the other and he'll decide to ask him a question.]

Were you sad like this when I left?

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[folkloristic]

[ He's a bit taken aback by the question. ] Frederic...yes I was actually. You were one of the first people here that I told about Elise. Giles...was the second person I mentioned...Nero with.

[ Even though it was a slip of tongue more than anything. ]

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[refinedmaestro]

[His eyes lower and he seems sad.] I'm truly sorry to have made you sad and unable to tell me about your brother.

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[folkloristic]

Ah! N-No it's fine, Frederic. It's hardly your fault. It...it isn't you, but me really. [ He sighs before taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with a forefinger and thumb. ]

They can't even let you enjoy a simple birthday here.

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[refinedmaestro]

[He hears Helios say that and gets up for a moment to go into the living room and magics up a small present for him then returns into the kitchen, a small smile on his face.]

Happy birthday Helios.

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[folkloristic]

[ Helios' eyes widen at that present. And he really doesn't know how to properly articulate a thank you right now. So a few seconds later he nods smiling despite his objections. ]

Frederic...you, you didn't have to do this.

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[refinedmaestro]

[Frederic simply smiles and shake his head, he wanted to make this day special for Helios despite everything.]

Go ahead and open it.

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[folkloristic]

[ He'll take it and begin to open it. Unwrapping it with a smile. ]

[ action ]

[refinedmaestro]

[He'll smile as Helios will see a miniature Wawel Dragon that acts like a real dragon despite it being so small.]

[ action ]

[folkloristic]

[ He will actually laugh at that. It's rather cute, despite the real one being a bit ferocious. ] Impressive! It's fantastic Frederic. Thank you for this.