Room 322, Thursday Lunchtime

[not_every_mage]

Anders had never openly celebrated his birthday at the Circle. That would have been frivolous, and Maker knew apprentice mages weren't encouraged to be frivolous, or to do anything that separated one from his peers for a reason as arbitrary as the date of his birth.

But he'd always recognized it, all the same, if only to himself. (And occasionally with his friend Karl, who tended to indulge Anders' need to feel special.)

Last year, he'd been too confused by the new calendar to figure out which day lined up with 11 Justinian, and had passed from 15 to 16 without much notice. This year, he'd pieced it together, and was celebrating at his desk by eating a cupcake topped with a truly absurd amount of chocolate frosting as he paged through a guidebook to Delaware beaches. He was excited about the upcoming weekend away with Nathan.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"It is. Gold star for Nathan Byrn in Not Getting Sick in the Danger Shop," Anders nodded, smiling back. "You really aren't much good with compliments, are you?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Not used to them," he said, shrugging. "Didn't hear them very much when I was growing up. No one wanted to compliment me."

[not_every_mage]

Anders made a face to show what he thought of that. "You deserved so much better," he said. "I'll have to keep complimenting you until you're used to it. Or sick of them, anyhow."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan shrugged again but followed that up with a small smile. "Thanks for doing that, though. And happy birthday."

See, he remembered.

[not_every_mage]

"Thanks," Anders said sincerely. "It still feels funny to have one where I can do whatever I want. Even if it's just eating a cupcake."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Are you thirty five now?" Nathan asked, peering down at the cupcake curiously. "Or forty?"

[not_every_mage]

"I'm still younger than you, you ass," Anders informed him affectionately "Do you want half? I'll give you the part I haven't licked."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"No, no, you should have it all," Nathan told him, straightening up. "It's your birthday cupcake, you deserve it. You deserve the sugar high."

[not_every_mage]

"Best birthday present ever," Anders said, and licked a bit of frosting off his fingers. "Do you think that's a real thing? Sugar highs, I mean. Never had enough white sugar at home to worry about them."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't know the science of it but it seems like it'd be a real thing," Nathan said, nodding. "That much sugar all at one time has to do something to your body."

[not_every_mage]

"Probably. Seems like a lot of anything is bad somehow," Anders mused. "Even a lot of carrots will turn you orange."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Will they really?" He'd never heard that before (which wasn't strange) but it just sounded so out there.

[not_every_mage]

"It's what I heard, anyhow," Anders told him. "I've never wanted to live on carrots until I found out. Has to do with something about the vitamins in it."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I wonder if it would be permanent," Nathan said thoughtfully. "Not that I want to do that but it's funny to think about. I'd probably end up more brown than anything considering my skin tone already."

[not_every_mage]

"Orangey brown," Anders nodded. "I don't know. I suppose it wouldn't be fair to ask you to do it just as an experiment."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I like carrots but not that much," he said, shaking his head. "I'd rather avoid making carrots the only food in my already cruddy diet."

[not_every_mage]

"Why is it cruddy?" Anders wondered. "There's not a shortage of free food here."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"That's not what I mean," he said, shaking his head. "I mean I eat a lot of junk food because I can and it's there. That's a cruddy diet."

[not_every_mage]

"Well, at least if you added carrots you'd get a vegetable," Anders said idly, putting the rest of his cupcake aside. Somehow he'd lost his appetite for it. "Hey, notice anything different about the room?"

It contained about 80 cubic meters of hair less, for one thing.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Honestly, Nathan hadn't looked too much but now that he did, he frowned.

"It's emptier than it was," he noted, glancing back at Anders.

[not_every_mage]

Anders nodded. "Rapunzel went home," he said, making a face. "While we were girls, so I didn't get a chance to say goodbye -- just a note. It's too bad. Lachlan misses her."

Anders missed her too.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," Nathan said, frowning. "Did her letter sound okay? She wasn't in danger, was she?"

[not_every_mage]

"Maker, I hope not," Anders said. "It's hard to say for sure,but I didn't get that impression. She just said something had come up and she'd explain more when she had a chance. Seemed like she must have been in a hurry."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I hope she's okay," Nathan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Good that she got to go home and see her family again but I do hope she's okay there."

[not_every_mage]

"Me too," Anders nodded. "And I hope she can come back once she works out whatever it is. I haven't slept in a room by myself in years. It's weird."