[ CLOSED ] spring break babeyy

[wiedzminka]

Who: Ciri, Julie, Nadine & Jaskier
When: early May to... like May 20?? who knows.
Where: Aquila, Andromeda Bay
What: a roadtrip and a beach vacation with the girlssss (+ Jaskier). what better way to cope with all the bad shit happening than to just. bounce. bye.
Warnings: drug use and drinking, lbr; discussion of eating various animals



[ Frankly, by this point, they've all well and truly had it.

After the stress and unpleasantness (trauma, even) of sharing memories without anyone's permission, losing more of their number (the loss of Rinwell stings the most, for Ciri), and suffering an all around shitty past few weeks, it's time for a change of scenery.

Ciri talks to Jaskier first; he could also use the distraction. She tells him how she'd promised Julie a view of the ocean, which apparently Julie's never seen. She calls in a favor or two with some merchants she'd helped guard on the road and back a few times, helping Jaskier secure them all a wagon and horses for rent. She tasks him with inviting Nadine and goes in person to tell Julie, figuring out the best time to leave (as soon as possible, in fact).

If any of them seem a little desperate to get away, at least none of the others will judge.

The trip takes about a week, but with the comforts of the wagon, plenty of drink and familiar company, it passes by quickly. Ciri rides alongside on Nixie while they travel, or occasionally ties her to the back of the wagon on her lead, letting her walk around while Ciri sits and chats. She hunts for meat to add to the provisions they've brought, desert rabbits roasted over a fire, the occasional small fowl.

When they arrive, Ciri shows them the inn she and Sephiroth had found last time they were here, a cheerful little place decorated in brightly colored tapestries and fish-centric motifs. They could have stayed in the wagon, but between her and Jaskier at least, they've got the coin for a bit of a splurge. And besides, the inn is only a short walk from the bay. ]

Comments

near the beginning of the trip!

[cointosser]

[After crying himself exhausted a few days, drinking several bottles of reserve out of heartbreak, and staring at the ceiling for at least five hours straight at one point, Jaskier was also convinced he should, perhaps, go elsewhere. The idea had already been lingering after his talk with Quilleth some time ago -- if he was to tour the Free Cities, he should know all of them just as well as Cadens -- and now, with fresh heartbreak, the idea he may visit one with close friends is appealing.

It is not his first heartbreak, after all. But it is not any easier, even if he still has a few things of Hector's and Rinwell's to remember them by.

(It would never be enough.)

He scoops Mog into a satchel that rests on his hip, grabs the lute Ciri gifted him, and hires a wagon for all of them. Luckily he's always been a light traveler. He wears a bone amulet he found in Hector's room around his neck, and has one of Rinwell's books with him. It feels only fair they should come, too. He would have... they would have invited them both, wouldn't they?

Unfortunately, a bottle of wine makes its way into his lute case, cradled against its neck. For later.

Despite their own loss -- or possibly because of it -- for Nadine and Julie, he makes sure to be extra jovial.]

After all that running, I must say, it's blessed opportunity to finally travel for the mere fun of it.

[For all of them, he suspects. Julie and Nadine (and Lloyd)'s long journey to Cadens. He and Ciri's own escape from Thorne. Even better it is with company.] Now, dinner will be my treat. I'm sure an inn this fanciful must have its own kitchen. I say, for the first few nights, we should at least spend it half-drunk. It's the only proper way to start a true vacation.

[Hah, see. He's a master of modern terms now.]

[nadine_he_loves]

You know, I've never traveled just for the fun of it before and you're right. It's nice.

[Besides just going for the occasional day or weekend trip, Nadine's never taken a proper vacation. Jaunts to Sculptured Rock Park down in Grotton or the ice caves aren't really vacations. Nor were fieldtrips. This is a real vacation. And one, despite all surrounding circumstances, she's looking forward to.]

And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you're also right about the drinking.

[She's never been much of a drinker, and even since coming her, she usually only drinks in the Horizon. There have been a few times she's indulged in the real world, usually at Julie's urging, but it's still habit not to. Too many years of abstaining for fear of dropping her guard or saying something she shouldn't.

Those days are behind her, though. She's at the seaside with good friends and her boyfriend, she can indulge. Let herself go a little. She's even tried to make sure her wardrobe is a bit less practical and muted, her satchel packed with the things Julie's helped her pick out.]

We're here to relax, after all.

[wiedzminka]

[ Vacation is a term Ciri's been newly acquainted with as well, and she's embraced it whole-heartedly. They've settled into their rooms -- one for Nadine and Jaskier (yes, they are being encouraged to have privacy), and one for Julie and Ciri -- and now that they've freshened up and reconvened, Ciri is all for getting some food and drink. ]

The inn has food, but there are some restaurants nearby too, and some proper taverns. They have excellent seafood. Honestly, I think I could eat a whole dolphin right now. ...d'you think dolphin is good to eat?

[ All this delivered while she's got her whole arm in Mog's satchel, half leaning on Jaskier. The mini-gryph is holding onto her with his front paws and nibbling at her loose shirt sleeve, apparently in an attempt to groom her nonexistent feathers. ]

In any case. Drinks, definitely. And plenty of them. See, even Nadine has no excuse.

[princessvegas]

[ Julie, on the other hand, does not travel light. Did she haul three entire carpetbags full of clothing and wine with her? She sure did. To be fair, one of the bags was really more so that she'll have more space to carry new purchases back, but she figured she'd take advantage of the empty bag on the way by stuffing it with bottles of wine.

After all, it is a week in a wagon. What else can she be expected to do?

When they arrived, Julie did little more than set her bags down before she left to go shopping. She'd returned within an hour with several dresses and two pairs of sandals, one of which she'd handed over to Nadine, as the only other one who hasn't already visited this city.

Already mildly buzzed, Julie turns all her attention to Ciri, nose wrinkled and grimacing in disgust. ]

I mean, I know everyone was always tryin' to make the Japanese stop eatin' 'em. Dolphins are like, as smart as little kids. It's weird to eat anythin' that smart.

[cointosser]

I can't say I've ever indulged myself, but is it not just an extra large fish? [A bit differently shaped, of course, but. Maybe the fins? Honestly, he's rather starving himself. The trip here was nicer than most he's taken, given he can grow fresh fruits in perfect condition on the way, they were well-stocked with water and wine, and the wagon had some rather comfortable seats, but it's still far too bloody long stuck in a wagon.

Even with very lively company.

Jaskier is dressed-down for Jaskier, which means a cream-colored tunic embroidered with blue flowers, curls of chest hair showing where Hector's amulet and the bone ring hand from gold chains. He still wears boots, and considering what Julie is handing out to Nadine, he may be, perhaps, a bit overdressed.

His feet are sweltering a bit.]

The Japanese are... a people? [As good a guess as any.] Wait, what? Since when are fish intelligent? Or perhaps children from your world are very dumb?

[He's mostly kidding. Then he pauses. Not Jim, he mouths at Nadine. In case she has yet to tell the others about him.] Well, what do you all enjoy? Tuna? Crustaceans? At this rate, I'll eat a limping horse if it gets too close.

[nadine_he_loves]

[Nadine is quick to change her footwear when Julie offers her more vacation appropriate footwear.

And her expression mirrors the other woman's and she shakes her head. Different world, she reminds herself. And Ciri and Jaskier just apparently don't actually know what dolphins are. Why would they? She doubts marine biology is a booming industry in their world.]

No, dolphins aren't fish. They're mammals. And they're really smart, they have a complex language and problem solving skills and they make and use tools...they have social structures similar to humans and they use names for each other, and they've shown signs of actual self awareness. A dolphin can look in a mirror and understand that image is him reflected back. They also rescue sailors in trouble.

[Eating dolphin is absolutely not on the menu.]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love a real lobster. Nott didn't have lobster, just crayfish. Or clam chowder...I come from the land of clam chowder.

at the beach.

[wiedzminka]

[ In the afternoon of their first full day saying at the inn, Ciri is eager to go down to the water while the tide is low. Anyone who was around when she left would have also been ushered out excitedly.

She's wearing the short, soft dress she got last time she was in the area, made of some sort of light and breathable dyed fabric, and some sturdy leather sandals with straps wrapping up around her calves. For once, she doesn't even have her belt or dagger, only the wolf's head pendant Geralt gave her hanging by a cord around her neck. On another, longer cord so it sits beneath the pendant, she wears a new trinket, a small commission from Jayce and Viktor's shop that contains a few things in a convenient and easy to carry form. (Yes, she's definitely shown everyone on the trip by now her new toy.)

Ciri makes her way along the beach to the rock outcroppings currently half uncovered by the low tide, climbing up to take a look around. ]

This is the perfect time to dig for clams and mussels. Maybe we can even find an octopus!

...though we'll need to find a bucket first.

[princessvegas]

[ Even late in the day when they'd arrived, Julie had first insisted that she go to the market. The dresses she normally wears in Cadens are actually fine here -- she's not much for the corsets and bustles so much as the lightweight desert caftans -- but the shoes there are geared more toward city life than roaming on the sand. It didn't matter if anyone went with her to buy things, but she was going to get better sandals before she did a damn thing else.

She came back forty-five minutes later with not just sandals, but several different inexpensive, lightweight dresses of varying lengths and styles, most of them draped more than tailored, all simple and soft. They're thrown atop the more intricate ones she brought from home, and it will have quickly become apparent that she's the one of the group who will be taking up most of the wagon space for their return trip.

Just before sunset, she'd gone to the beach for the first time. Again, it didn't really matter if anyone went with her; Julie is not someone who requires handholding when she wants to experience something. She knew what the ocean looked like, of course. Her whole life, she's seen pictures, movies, shows of it. It didn't feel like something that should inspire any kind of surprise. But she remembered the first time she saw the lake in Nott, how astounded she'd been at the size.

Standing on the dunes, she'd momentarily lost her breath at the vastness of it all, the sheer enormity of water that didn't end, disappeared off the edge of the horizon under the setting sun.

She stayed on the shore until well into the night, sitting in the surf, just looking at it.

In the morning, she didn't even eat before she went back. She just got dressed and walked out of the inn. She'd wound up sitting on a driftwood log, watching some early morning swimmers. As often happens, she fell into conversation with one of them, a sweet woman who then insisted on Julie letting her create designs in something akin to henna, all over Julie's hands and feet as they talked about Aquila. She learned where they should eat, what they should go see, what booths to avoid in the market.

She came back late morning and fell back to sleep, still sandy.

When she wakes, Ciri is rallying everyone she can find back to the beach, and Julie has no problem accompanying her, carrying her sandals in one hand as she walks in the tide barefoot. Looking up at Ciri with her nose wrinkled, Julie laughs, kicking gently in the water. ]

An octopus? I thought they live deep down. Where can we get a bucket?

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri had joined Julie the previous night, for a much more relaxing time just watching the water, mostly in silence. They'd watched the sunset together, and then the stars on the water.

See? I promised we'd go together, Ciri had said with a smile, looking at Julie looking over the water, pleased with how things have turned out despite the lingering losses dampening some of that joy. It is what it is; they have to keep going, and she can only hope that Rinwell is safe and well with her friends on her own sphere, the only explanation Ciri is willing to consider for the people she loses here. Rinwell had wanted to go home, at some point, besides. The four of them here -- they've all chosen to stay. Ciri hopes they can.

Now, the mood is brighter, less pensive and more excited. Ciri touches a knuckle to her chin thoughtfully. ]

Oh, sometimes they like to hide under rocks and get trapped when the tide is low. Have you ever eaten octopus? It's good! We'll grill it over a fire, you'll love it.

[ Probably. As for a bucket... ]

Inn might have one. I can run back. Or... [ She lifts her skirt, forming a loose sort of pseudo-bag in front of her. ] This might work. There's a lot of material. I can tie it to the side. [ She demonstrates. Please imagine her with a skirtful of clams, Julie. At least she didn't start shucking the whole dress (yet). ]

[princessvegas]

[ "Yeah, you did," Julie had agreed softly, her chin perched on her knee and her arms wrapped around her shins as she looked out at the waves. She had never really thought she'd see the ocean at all before Abraxas; before the plague, she'd been doomed to spend her life languishing in small town Kansas, and after, it just so happened that neither of the remaining hubs of society were anywhere near the ocean. It had simply not seemed to be in the cards, and sometimes that's just what it is. But now, here she was, and it was so big.

Julie watches Ciri hold her skirt out like a beggar child under an apple tree, and she has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She does love this strange little bridge troll friend of hers. Finding a larger rock, she rests against it. ]

I know people do eat octopus, but I ain't ever had it. Where I'm from is so far from the ocean that the only seafood most people ever eat is frozen and deep fried. I've had calamari, that's squid? And like popcorn shrimp and fish sticks, and once, I had lobster mac and cheese. That was really good.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri snorts, shaking her head. But she honestly loves when Julie tells her about stuff from her world, especially things to eat or drink. ]

Squid, I know. Never heard of calamari. Half those things barely sound like food. Which part of the fish is the stick?

[ Deciding she doesn't want to go back for a real bucket, apparently, Ciri begins to climb onto the rock outcropping trailing into the water, balancing on the drier parts and hopping over pools of water already trapped by the receding tide. But this is too close to shore, so if Julie wants to go looking for seafood out here, she'll have to come along further out on the rocks. ]

I think I've seen popped corn at the market... What's a mack? Mackerel?

[princessvegas]

Calamari is just squid that's battered and fried. It's real common. And a fish stick is white fish that they cut into little blocks and then fry. Sometimes they get called fish fingers, but it's the same thing.

[ She laughs again, climbs atop the nearest rock and walks along the little jetty until it ends and she jumps back down, the water up to her knees now. Julie doesn't really know how to look for things worth eating, so she's much more captivated by tiny crabs and other creatures. ]

Well, popcorn is different from popcorn shrimp. Popcorn shrimp are these real tiny fried shrimp, but they're called that 'cause you can eat a whole handful like you would with popcorn. That's all, there ain't any corn in popcorn shrimp. And no, mac like macaroni and cheese. It's pasta in cheese sauce, and you can add all kinds of stuff. Meat, vegetables, a bunch of different kinds of cheese, breadcrumbs. It's like a comfort food, so there's lots of versions. And in my world, lobster is real expensive, so some people put it in macaroni as a kinda... gourmet thing? Like, to be fancy.

Various Points During The Trip

[nadine_he_loves]

Beach

[The beaches here in Aquila are nothing like the rocky New England shorelines Nadine grew up with. She's actually excited to be here, to take a real vacation for once. She's even found a two piece suit she feels very cute in. It'll be nice to just relax for a little bit in the company of some of her favorite people. Her main goal is to try and not be so responsible and practical for the time they're in Aquila.

But that doesn't stop her from taking an afternoon to stroll along the shoreline and a venture into the tidal pools with her satchel and her ingredients box, collecting plants and critters. And encouraging her companions to join her, even if it's just for the company. Tugging up seaweed and digging weird clams out of the sand isn't everyone's idea of a fun time.

The rest of her time on the beach is spent in a more leisurely fashion. Either stretched out on a beach blanket with a drink or actually swimming, and at one point asking if anyone else would like to build a sand castle - it's a traditional beach activity, after all.

At some point, emboldened by alcohol and whatever else is on hand, Nadine decides the beach might be a very enjoyable place to spend some time in her other shape. She's done it a few more times, either in private or just in Jaskier's company, and she's grown more comfortable with it. Julie and Ciri both know she can do it, and she trusts them. Random strangers also enjoying a seaside trip? Well, she doesn't care and they live in a world of magic anyway. A chick turning into a wolf probably isn't that out of the ordinary. She's already decided she's going to push her boundaries and not care as much about everything on this trip. It's not like she has anything to be embarrassed about - it's an objectively neat thing she can do. And anyway, Jaskier always seems delighted by it.

So she excuses herself to a changing stall and returns in full four legged and furred glory - her bathing suit held in her teeth and her tail sweeping from side to side.]

Nightlife

[What's a vacation to a beautiful seaside city without a night on the town? Aquila is a vibrant creative place, full of galleries and chic little restaurants and entertainment spots. Nadine's not sure what the sword and sorcery version of a nightclub is, but whatever it is, it's probably here. This is another aspect of adult life that's mostly been a mystery. There was no nightlife in small town New Hampshire, and teachers at wealthy private elementary schools couldn't exactly go clubbing on the weekends anyway. Not if they wanted to keep their jobs.

She's even dolled herself up in something Julie had helped her pick out - she pretty much automatically trusts the other woman's fashion recommendations at this point - and used a dark blue glittery nail color on the tips of her horns. It almost feels as though she's wearing a costume, but...she likes it.

What even is there to do in the evenings in Aquila? Nadine isn't sure, but between Julie and Jaskier, she imagines they'll be able to find the 'hot spots', so to speak. The night is clear and the breeze coming in from the sea is fresh and there's just a good energy in the air.]

I wonder if there's anywhere to go dancing...

Wildcard

[Have an idea? Go for it!]

Beach

[cointosser]

[Jaskier has visited plenty of coasts in his lifetime, but something about this trip feels particularly memorable. Of course it's his first on a whole other sphere, but it isn't that, either. It's the company. A lover, their mutual friend, and Geralt's grown daughter.

People from other spheres. A woman he should not know at his age. Impossibilities, stacked on top of each other.

And yet these impossibilities can do the mundane: he can take his lute to the beach and lay out a blanket. He plays while Nadine walks past, giving a wave when she looks up, a sandy box with shells inside. Eventually he leaves the lute with Ciri and takes a walk along the shore with her, Mog following at their heels.

The best moment, he thinks, is when Nadine transforms again. Since the first time she'd showed him (and how that already feels years back, when their relationship had... shifted, so to speak), he had not asked to see again. It had been for that moment alone. But now she does it with ease, even willing to do it in public, when she had feared it so.

Jaskier laughs to see her, looking so much like the wolf he'd once created in the Horizon. He bends to kiss her snout.] I could carry those for you, if you'd like? [As he offers a hand, Mog carefully peeks around his legs, freezing when he takes in the rather giant white wolf -- when compared to his size, anyway. His head starts tilting one way, then the other, bird-like, trying to figure out who she is.]

Oh, don't be such a coward, Moggie. It's only Nadine.

[nadine_he_loves]

[It's still strange to interact with people like this. Nadine can't physically do so much of what she can in human form. But she presses her nose against Jaskier's cheek in lieu of a kiss and drops the little bundle in her mouth into his hand. Maybe she should look into some sort of carrying pouch she can wear around her neck when she's like this. She can hold this form for longer now than when she began - she could only keep it for minutes at the start - but she's pushed that to a couple of hours. And maybe with time she can push it even further.

There are some situations where she could see this form would be useful.

The reaction from Mog isn't one she'd considered. But of course the little griffin would be wary of a larger predator. She lowers her head and the front of her body, trying to look non-threatening, and extends her snout out towards Mog slowly. Do griffins understand canine body language? Nadine doesn't know, but she sweeps her tail back and forth anyway and keeps her ears perked forward. That's how dogs show they're happy and friendly, right?

It would be so much easier if she could talk in this form. Maybe there's some magic that might allow it...]

[cointosser]

Oh. [He grins. Wolf kisses, despite his experience with his wolf in the Horizon, were completely new to him. And yet how delighted he is but recognizing it for what it is. His attempt is a somewhat awkward kiss between her ears, with her fur leaving his nose a bit itchy.

He still finds her striking. Large, but gangly in a way. Still intimidating. And yet any fear he may have felt in the presence of such a predator is shielded by the memory of the last time.

When he had been deep, trapped in a well, that something as fantastic as a friend turning to an animal was all that could pull him out of it.

Jaskier kneels next to Mog, picking him up and placing him in front of his boots.] You cannot be a coward forever, Mog. Come on! Even your namesake has found his own bravery.

[Whether or not Mog understand body language, he does understand Jaskier's gentle, soothing voice, and perhaps he can scent something from the wolf that is familiar. Jaskier gives him a pat on the rump and the gryphon stumbles forward, head twisting this way and that, and gives a coo, then leaps at her paw.] There we are! I knew he had some good instincts in him, after all. Ones that were not primarily about destroying things in the home that we hold dear.

[nadine_he_loves]

[Not currently possessed of vocal chords that can laugh properly, it comes out of Nadine as something of a huffing, barking sound. The whole situation is just a little ridiculous - but delightfully so.

She draws back her paw playfully and bounds backwards - not very gracefully, and she kicks up sand as she goes. This body moves in all sorts of strange new ways, she hasn't mastered all of it.

But that's part of the fun, isn't it? There is something freeing about shedding physical humanity and giving herself over to this shape. It's not as though she'd be inclined to run up and down the beach with Jaskier's griffin if she were her usual form. There would be that voice of reservation, the shackles of polite adult society and old habits holding her back.

And she's grateful she has a boyfriend who so easily and readily accepts her, whether she be two legged or four. Not every guy was going to take an animal form in stride. Then again, she imagines he still just considers her some sort of werewolf and hasn't given it much more thought.

Not about to leave Jaskier out of things, she darts towards Mog and then scrambles in an awkward little run around the man. It's the easiest way she can think to invite him to join in the fun.]

[cointosser]

[Oh, it's absolutely ridiculous. But he thinks they're well due for that sort of thing -- for the warmth of drink and company and ridiculous notions, like a man's lover becoming a wolf, and a wolf becoming a gryphon's playmate.

(She may as well be a werewolf to him.) However, this is even better -- because there is not a chance of losing her will to the change, to attacking others or cursing them. This is not a curse, and she is not in danger from the other end of Geralt's sword. He would never.

She is simply a woman who is a wolf, who has a small gryphon running after, giving these bizarre chirp-mewls, Mog's tiny wings flapping as if they'll help him go faster, as if he's forgotten he can fly. (Well. Flutter.)

Jaskier is about to simply sit and watch them, but a kicking of sand falls near him, Mog tumbling in his race to get back up where he missed a jump over Jaskier's boot. Hah! Very well. Apparently he cannot be left to write in peace.] Ahh, I see Mog has met his match. Here! Let him show off for you, Nadine.

[He's been training Mog for the months he's had him now, to help strengthen his legs and wings, as there is a chance they'll weaken over time without proper play. Jaskier stands, spreading his arms, and a flock of half-solid birds flutter out of a splatter of blue, smoking magic. They catch the air and shoot off in all directions, about at the height of his shoulders, for Mog to chase after and catch with swipes of his claws.] I promise whoever catches the most will receive the most expensive dinner of the night.

[It's a bit of a lie. He will, of course, spoil Nadine in any way she wishes. But Mog is an animal and doesn't know the truth.]

ciri's birthday party!

[wiedzminka]

[ It hadn't taken much for Nadine to get Ciri out of the inn. She'd asked for some assistance picking up ingredients for potions that would be hard to find in Cadens, and Ciri had happily agreed to join her, as she's rather familiar with sellers of exotic alchemy materials around the city, having supplied half of them herself.

They're out for a couple of hours, until Nadine seems to decide, a bit suddenly, that she's gotten all she needed for the day and suggests they head back. Helping to carry the supplies they've gotten, Ciri leads the way, filling the time by recounting the story of how one of the shopkeepers they'd spoken to always gives her discounts now after she saved his little dog from a predatory bird the last time she was around. ]

[princessvegas]

[ While Nadine and Ciri were out, Julie was tasked with commandeering the tavern. It's not particularly difficult for her to do so -- most locals are rather charmed by her bright hair and sing-song accent, and she doesn't want to kick anyone out, just hang up some paper decorations and send little sparkling balls of light to slowly dance around the ceiling.

She also threw a hefty, pre-emptive tip in, which sealed the deal.

Julie spends the first two hours madly making paper flowers and fans, which she then goes downstairs and strings near the ceiling with her third hand. The tiny fireballs, colorful things that look like the tips of sparklers, go up next and gently move around as if blown by wind. (They'll be gone within a few hours.)

Down the street, she's able to pick up a cake fairly easily and cheaply, and she sets it next to several wrapped gifts. All of which Julie picked out personally, but are being presented as from the entire group, which is fair considering that Jaskier paid for them.

When Nadine and Ciri return, there are a handful of other patrons in the tavern, but mostly Julie waiting to throw up her arms. ]

Surprise! Happy birthday, Ciri!

[cointosser]

[This was probably his most brilliant idea yet. Of course when he had learned of Ciri's nameday from Geralt, he had to let this little secret slip. He wants... well, something more for her, something special. He has missed so many celebrations between them that, while she may remember, he has not lived himself.

Jaskier's jobs were easier: give Julie a heaping pile of coin from his latest ventures (and yes, he absolutely is performing in Aquila), and procuring a few bottles of wine and, for Ciri in particular, mead. However, he wants to offer more. Julie is absolutely trustworthy as a party planner and a decorator (possibly the only one Jaskier would trust with a task), so he occupies himself with a spot of the beach, growing special flowers he once saw decorating the tables of Cintran banquet tables to tie together into bouquets. They sit in vases on a few of the tables they've procured for themselves, and he has carefully wrapped the special gift he bought her weeks ago in parchment paper.

He is particularly sneaky when he returns, waiting for Nadine and Ciri to step inside. He follows behind them, and as Julie exclaims in front of them, he does so behind.] A happy nameday to the Lionness!

[nadine_he_loves]

[Nadine plays her part well, giving no indication there was anything at all going on. She hopes Ciri enjoys the surprise. Obviously she has no idea what sort of history with birthday celebrations the young woman has, but she knows how much it had meant to her when Julie had thrown her a birthday party.

She keeps a straight face right up until Julie yells surprise.]

Happy birthday!

[It looks as though this was pulled off perfectly.]

[wiedzminka]

[ They did it. The little tricksters really pulled it off. Ciri is actually, genuinely surprised.

One, she'd never expected to have any party in the first place, and didn't know that any of them knew. Two, it's several days past her actual birthday at this point. And three, well-- She'd kind of forgotten.

So when Julie greets her surrounded by sparkling, Julie-like decorations, Ciri assumes in the first moment she's concocted some sort of plan to enjoy their vacation in a more exuberant way. It takes her another second to realize what's been said, when Jaskier and Nadine chime in.

Congrats, everyone. She's standing there, dumbfounded, for a good two seconds, staring between Julie and the cake and little pile of wrapped boxes on the table beside her. Then, she blurts: ]

What? How did you know?

[ A beat, realizing that's probably not the correct response. ]

I mean. Well.

[ She laughs, turning to look at Jaskier and Nadine as well. ]

Oh, you sneaky devils!

...thank you. I don't--

[wiedzminka]

Thank you. Truly.

[ She moves to hug whoever's nearest first, or maybe all of them at once, blinking hard and laughing breathlessly. ]

[princessvegas]

[ Julie, still giggling, doesn't hesitate to throw her arms around Ciri's neck and give her a loud smack of a kiss on the cheek. She really does have an enthusiasm for throwing birthday parties, especially when it's a surprise. Her invisible hand carries over a bottle of wine to begin pouring. ]

Now, I don't know if birthday cake is really a thing for y'all, but in mine and Nadine's world, you hafta blow out all the candles so you can get your birthday wish.

[ Moving away from Ciri, Julie gently lifts up the cake she procured, which does, in fact, have a number of small white candles atop it. She didn't know how many to use, exactly, so it's just a circle of candles around the edges of the cake. Holding the cake in one hand, she waves her other a few inches above it, and the candles all cheerily flicker to life as she offers the cake to Ciri. ]

So make a wish and blow.