[action]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ So today is a certain daughter of Hecate's birthday, and a certain boyfriend of hers has been working on how they should celebrate that. The most obvious thing? A cake, which he has been collaborating with some of the nymphs to make a reality. Sometime after lunch is when the big reveal happens, and they bring it up to Natalie's table with bright grins.

It's... a relatively plain cake, compared to the one she'd had made for Leo's birthday. There are colors swirled in icing, blues and purples with runes dancing over the surface of it in glowing green - what they mean, or how they're glowing, Leo isn't entirely certain, but it looks awesome. His particular contributions was a little fog machine meant to emulate the Mist, the little clouds hugging the layers of the cake but not hiding it entirely. Oh, and the pair of lit torches in lieu of candles, sized down to fit.

And there's another surprise he's put into this, but hopefully that won't be revealed until he's ready. ]

Happy birthday, Nat!

Comments

[clearasil]

Are you impatient to go further with me or if not impatient, do you think we're ready for .... anything else?

[ An astonishingly coherent question albeit a bit rambling, which is customary. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Oh. Leo averts his eyes, taking a breath to control his temperature before it flares while he thinks about that. ]

I, uh. I'm not really impatient, I guess? [ Maybe a little. It's not like he can control his hormones. ] And... I dunno. I guess that'd be up to you.

[clearasil]

[ She starts winding her hair into a bun before letting it fall over her shoulders. The blush is clear on her cheeks and she chuckles nervously. ]

Well, I like making out with you.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ He leans back with a deep sigh of too-obvious relief. ]

That's a weight off my chest. I wasn't sure if you did it just to make me happy or what.

[clearasil]

Yeah, I don't think I'd let you go there if I didn't like it also, dude.

[ She snorts before slowly leaning back, waiting for the ferret to crawl over her chest to settle on her stomach before she lays flat on the sand, arms over her head. ] Maybe we can try other things.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ He laughs, watching the two of them. ] Didn't think so.

...What kind of other things?

[clearasil]

Like.

[ She scrunches her whole face. ] More than making out.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ The cake's all gone, so he sets the plate aside and leans back on his elbows. ]

You mean like we have before? Those kinds of other things?

[clearasil]

[ Nat folds her arms under her head and shakes it slightly. ]

No. I mean, even further. [ Six months is a pretty big deal and there are hardly any reservations about sharing this moment with him. It's more about worrying whether she'd be any good at it. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

Further. [ He nods and looks back out at the waves, trying to process that without breaking his record of non-combustion. Natalie wants to go... further. The mere thought sends a thrill of excitement straight through him, but... ] Wouldn't we get in trouble for that?

[ Asks the kid who went to a school for juvenile delinquents. ]

[clearasil]

[ Natalie's entire face and neck are warm and she just wants to burst out laughing at how nervous and awkward she feels. But that would be misleading, like it's some big joke to her. ]

We can come up with a counselor to counselor privacy agreement. [ She counters so seriously. ]

I think between the two of us, we have enough skills to cover our tracks.

[commandertoolbelt]

A privacy agreement. I guess we could make that work. [ There's an nervous chuckle; he never expected she would suggest any of this, least of all today. ] You did hide us pretty well in that canoe.

[clearasil]

[ She genuinely laughs at that, nudging him. ]

My first time will not be in a canoe though. [ The flames though.. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ He makes a face. ] I'm cool with that. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, even for making out. I don't know how the little mermaid did it.

[clearasil]

Do you think we could get away with it in the forges? [ Nat sits up again, shaking the sand out of her hair. The polecat looks vaguely miffed at being disturbed on her belly but resettles in the folds of her shirt. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

Do you have a way to keep the rest of my cabin out of it?

[clearasil]

I could, but then I'd probably fall asleep before we could do anything. [ She laughs again. ] There are too many eyes in the woods and too much, you know, dirt. Maybe the bunker.

[commandertoolbelt]

The bunker might be easiest, [ he agrees, chuckling as he pushes himself back up. ] We'd only have to worry about Kevin or Dany, but most of the time it's just me there, and we can kick Festus out, if you want.

[clearasil]

I like the guy, but I'd rather be alone. I mean, with you. [ She does have to figure out a crate for Wolfgang but it's not like they're jumping to it right away. It makes her giddy though, giddy and frightened because this is big, but she's never felt more levelheaded about a decision like this. It feels rather unromantic in this context, but it's better to have things more or less figured out as far as she's concerned. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

Whatever you want, babe. It's your birthday, [ he says with a grin.

Is it weird how casual they're being about this? Because it feels a little strange that they are. But this is kind of normal for them and how they work together, and he's just happy it isn't overly awkward like it was in the canoe.

Nodding at the polecat, Leo asks, ] What about him?

[clearasil]

This guy - [ She nods down at her lap. ] - I've got a spare pillow for him, but I'd like to give him a mini room in the cabin. Not a cage, though, but a polecat pad. Also, I should invest in toys and figure out what else he can eat that's available in camp.

Anyway.

[ She takes a deep breath, lips quirked anxiously. ] Thanks for him.

[commandertoolbelt]

A polecat pad. I like it. He can deck it out, all nice and swanky. And I can make some toys for him; he can't be that hard to entertain.

[ Smiles. ] You're welcome.

[clearasil]

Lots of jingly things, like maybe a bell for a collar. [ She'll be the best polecat momma there ever was. ]

So when do you want to ... ? I mean, not make his toys obviously. You know. I can - whenever.

[commandertoolbelt]

A bell would be stupid easy to make.

[ At her question, Leo huffs out a breath and looks to the sky, shaking his head although he's still smiling. ] Do we really have to, like, set an appointment, Nat?

[ He leans over to kiss her on the cheek. ] You've been getting your romance tips from Cabin Ten again, haven't you.

[clearasil]

I just want to put myself in the proper mindset! [ Huff. She's defensive, even as she leans into the kiss on her cheek, closing an eye when he does so. ]

Yeah, I definitely consulted them and Cosmo magazines on how to woo men. [ Not the best joke considering how horrifying Cosmo tips are. ]