[Sixth Strike]: [Accidental Audio]

[warriortigra]

[mutter]

What's wrong now, Ahime?

Twenty-four.

... come again?

Twenty-four! I'm going to be twenty four! In five days!

... this... is a problem how?TWENTY. FOUR. I wasn't supposed to survive this long! I'm a twenty-four year old displaced college student IN ANOTHER WORLD. Aaaaauugh! [several sounds of angered exasperation. Ari waits patiently

Comments

No, he doesn't know you. He's responding anyway.

[apwbbumblebee]

Ah, happy birthday, my dear!

I recall having much the same reaction when I was perhaps forty--about the same time I became Nicholas Flamel's partner in alchemy, in fact. Of course, by the time I turned an even one hundred it was rather less of a worry. [chuckles]

<3 Ahime can always use more friends.

[warriortigra]

... that sounds like something out of a fantasy book, sir.

\o/ Albus likes making friends~

[apwbbumblebee]

[another chuckle] Well, I am a wizard and apparently a rather well-known fictional character among some of the people here, so that is a rather appropriate observation.

Ahime... doesn't, but she's getting over that.

[warriortigra]

[Give her a bit, she'll start to figure it out.]

Huh. Well.. ah... thanks, sir. For the birthday wishes I mean.

He wasn't actually wondering. XD

[apwbbumblebee]

You're quite welcome, my dear, although ... [knowingly] judging by your reaction I daresay you would have preferred I kept them to myself, eh? Ah, youths. So eager to grow up and yet afraid of growing old.

I do believe I have neglected to introduce myself, however. My name is Albus Dumbledore. And you are ...?

Eh, the girl just has mild trust issues. Though now she'll be spazing out.

[warriortigra]

N-no, it's okay...

I-...

Wait.

Alb-

... you're from THAT series?!

I meant he wasn't wondering if she knew him, sorry, my bad. XD;

[apwbbumblebee]

Ah! I see you are among those people I was referring to. [chuckling slightly] That does seem to happen quite a bit.

Ahah, I see ^^

[warriortigra]

That's... wow. First Travis, now this.

Admittedly, this place is actually starting to win some damn cool points.

O-oh! Sh-! I-I mean, sorry, sir!

[apwbbumblebee]

[cheerfully] Not at all, not at all! I did live in a school, after all; students often experimented with the boundaries of, ah, language use. I must confess some of them slip by me, however--foul language had rather different conventions when I was a youth. Indeed, I remember some of the combinations my friends and I tried before we graduated--

[soft, reproving trill]

... But that may not be an entirely appropriate subject ... yes ...

I did not get your name, my dear?

[warriortigra]

I uh... have a bad habit of being vulgar. Comes with being the daughter of a Navy man...

Oh. Ahime. Ahime Bouvier.

[apwbbumblebee]

A pleasure, my girl!

I do hope you have a way to make this upcoming celebration a little less depressing for yourself? Truly, ageing has its negatives, but I believe I may say with assurance that you are, after all, still young yet.

[warriortigra]

I don't feel young...

I have plans. I can't say they're wonderfully exciting, but getting drunk and watching bad movies with a friend is better than nothing.

[apwbbumblebee]

How old you feel is important, yes. After all, if I felt all one-hundred-fifteen of my years I daresay there isn't much I would feel like doing at all! However, one must always remember, my dear, that while physical age is what it is regardless, one can change what age they feel--with enough effort, and enough cause. There have been times when I have felt every one of my years, and yet in seeking out that which makes me feel young, I may keep those years at bay. Perhaps you should seek out one such thing for yourself?

Indeed, the best way to spend a birthday is with a friend. I do hope you enjoy it, my dear, despite your belief otherwise!

[warriortigra]

... I lost what I was seeking a long time ago, sir. And I've been drifting ever since. I... took a beating, emotionally and physically, at a time in my life when I was supposed to be enjoying my youth and the people I had around me.

And the sad thing is... all I wanted to do was help. In the end it cost me everything.

[there's a long pause, as if she's about to say more, but she stops and clicks her mouth shut with a sigh.]

You don't want to hear about that. Sorry... thank you again.

[apwbbumblebee]

[a little wistfully] I am ... quite familiar with that feeling, Ms Bouvier. In fact you ... may already be familiar with the particular time in my life that I felt it, given that you knew me as a fictional character.

When one loses what one is seeking, the answer usually is to seek something else--or, perhaps, to build something entirely new. I will not pretend that it is easy, but it is better than nothingness, no?

On the contrary, my dear--I have, after all, been around for quite a while and although, contrary to popular opinion, I may not know everything, I daresay I do know a thing or two. If ever you do feel the need to speak to someone, you need only ask.

[warriortigra]

I don't-...

It's... not something I like sharing. It's not something most people would even believe. I think it might be a stretch even for some one like you...