“Leave me alone,” Sei grumbles.
I will after you get up.
“You’re lying.”
Such a clever boy.Osric nudges him with the hairbrush again.Do you intend to wallow about the birthday thing all day?
Sei sits up. “No. I’m wallowing about losing my temper in front of Marek and Kazia and everyone. It’s deeply embarrassing.”
It will still be embarrassing however long you put off seeing people,Osric points out.Is it not preferable to bite the rabbit’s head off quickly?
“You have a way with words, Osric.”
Thank you.
“You also have something planned.”
Sei waits, but Osric refuses to elaborate. Osric also refuses to move, and Sei knows he won’t win a contest of wills against a fellcat. The hairbrush nudges him again. Sei snatches it from mid-air and begins resentfully brushing his hair.
***
Oh, absolutely not. Sei attempts to retreat downstairs as soon as they reach the garrison tower top. Osric pushes him out onto the roof anyway, then telekinetically closes the door. A latch slams shut. Osric stretches out in front of the door for good measure.
“Bad cat,” Sei mutters, and reluctantly faces the gathered party.
Clem, Kamil, and Delline wait beneath the patchy blue and silver sky. Marek towers over all of them. A few parcels are piled on the nearby parapet, and for some reason, everyone looks… nervous.
“What’s going on?” Sei asks.
Clem lifts their hand and counts three beats in the air. On the third, everyone shouts in unison: “Happy birthday!”
“-day!” Kamil echoes off-beat.
It’s the most stunningly awkward thing Sei has ever seen. He stares, dumbstruck. Then bursts into helpless laughter. Doubling over, tears stinging his eyes, Sei gasps for breath.
“Great,” Delline drawls. “You broke him.”
A shadow covers Sei, and familiar broad hands straighten him up by the shoulders. The nervousness in Marek’s rugged face quells Sei’s laughter. “Are you okay?” Marek asks. “I’m sorry. Fuck. This was a bad idea.”
Sei wipes his eyes. “What exactlyisthe idea, Your Highness?”
“I’m trying to throw you a birthday party.” Marek lets go of Sei. “If you want a grand banquet, I can do that too, but I’ll need at least a week to arrange it. I could only manage something small today.”
“No grand banquet. Please.” This is already the largest birthday celebration Sei has ever had. He doesn’t know what he would do with an entire banquet. Besides, Draskoran banquets seem very dangerous. “I’m sorry for my outburst yesterday. That was inappropriate and embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?” Kamil exclaims. “That was amazing. You were incredible. You yelled at Stormrider! The entire garrison is in awe.”
Delline elbows him. “Don’t act too excited.”
“Yes, Lady Adjutant.” Kamil hands a parcel to Sei. “Here, this one’s from me.”
Sei glances at Marek, then catches himself. Right. Sei doesn’t need permission to receive gifts. The parcel is solid, wrapped in paper, and very clearly shaped. “Is this a bottle of wine?”
“Maybe!” Kamil says. “Maybe it’s a surprise!”
There’s no surprise. Unwrapping the paper reveals a bottle of wine, labeled in Draskoran. “Thank you, Kamil.”
“Don’t mention it.” Kamil rubs his hand through his black and green hair. “Stormrider gave us about twelve hours’ notice, so I had to grab something from my cellar.”
