Party Like It's Your Birthday [OPEN!] [Mingle-friendly]

[niepokonany]

Who: Feliks and anyone and everyone!
What: Big fancy noble birthday party!
When: November 11th
Where: The Łukasiewicz family estate in Union
Summary: Missing Boyfriend Quest kept Feliks from fulfilling his social duties, so for his birthday, his grandparents are shoving him back into noble society! But that's boring, so Feliks invited the ill-bred masses to come and make his birthday party actually fun.





It's been a long time since Feliks put in much of an appearance at any kind of noble function. When was the last time? Lux's birthday, maybe? Ages ago.

Now that his main reason for being away all the time is gone, though, his grandparents made it pretty immediately clear that he isn't going to get out of his social obligations forever. And what better opportunity than his birthday to throw a party and get him back into the whole noble thing? It's sort of like they're trying to re-debut him to Polite Society or something, he thinks.

Of course, Feliks doesn't care much for Polite Society, as much as he cares for his noble friends, so he's taken the liberty of inviting everyone else to come and keep him entertained. More guests mean more presents anyway, right?

The Łukasiewicz family might not be quite as prominent as some of the bigger, richer noble families, but they rather famously never do anything by halves. Every cobweb has been cleared out of the old ancestral residence that his grandparents stay in, every inch of marble and gold and mahogany in the place polished to a brilliant shine. Flickering candles and glittering overhead chandeliers light the entirety of the estate with a warm glow, from the elaborate ballroom down to the quieter sitting rooms and balconies, and there are lush floral arrangements everywhere, set into vases or twined around pillars and draped over doorways. A large orchestra is set up in the ballroom (which is left otherwise rather open to encourage people to dance), where they're alternating familiar dance tunes with a surprising number of adapted songs from Calderan and Citadel music, even one or two from as far off as Sanctuary or Glacier. Wherever people aren't dancing, a number of humanoid Pokemon in snazzy little butler outfits are wandering around with trays of drinks and fancy little hors d'oeuvres, offering them to anyone who looks thirsty, hungry, or in need of something to do with their hands. (The Gardevoirs are particularly adept at singling out people who need something.) A Blissey at the door (his grandfather's, Feliks thinks?) seems to be in charge of greeting everyone and taking their coats for them.

The guest of honor is dressed relatively conservatively (for him) this evening -- though for Feliks, all that means is that he felt more like wearing pants than a skirt this time. He is still wearing a wine-red tailcoat over a ruffly cream-colored shirt and a gold brocade waistcoat, with gold trim on his tight brown breeches and knee-length boots that have a bit more heel than is strictly considered normal for a man. (What good is "normal" anyway, right?) There are moments when he looks a little overwhelmed by all the people, but with several good friends in attendance, he's able to largely keep it together and enjoy himself, mingling with his friends and dancing with anyone who so much as stands close enough to the dance floor to get dragged in.

[[OOC: Going to put up a couple of headers for different areas of the party; feel free to use this as a mingle post and interact with each other!]]

Comments

[niepokonany]

[The Growlithe sniffs at Fai and growls a bit, still not quite satisfactorily acquainted with him to be sure he's OK to be around his human, but Huzar and Anna are quick to drape themselves all over him. Dad! Hi, Dad!]

[Feliks, meanwhile, relaxes the moment he sees who it is, flashing him a tired, grateful smile.]

I guess. Like, you're pretty skinny, so you'll probably fit if you fold up a bit.

[comparative_insanity]

Hold on, I'm just going to...

[Taking a moment to shower both Anna and Huzar with shameless affection, he then looks back over his shoulder and tries to line up his wings, folding them against his body as much as possible before squeezing himself inside. The limited space means he does end up more or less draped across Feliks' lap, but he doesn't exactly consider that a bad thing. The glow of his skin casts all kinds of interesting shadows on the pillows as he shifts gently to find a position that's comfortable for them both.]

I forgot how much people talk - and I know, I know, Geodudes in glass houses and all that. But it's a bit... tiring.

[niepokonany]

[Feliks certainly doesn't mind him being in his lap. He smiles, reaching down to brush small, gentle fingers through Fai's plumage.]

Babe, who've you been talking to out there that talks more than me?

[Huzar is just going to twine her long body around both of them, while Anna sort of wedges herself up against Fai in Feliks's lap.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai makes a rather birdlike little chirping noise, one he might otherwise be a bit embarrassed about if he wasn't so tired, and closes his eyes happily in response to Feliks' attention.]

You're different. You don't make my head hurt with your laughter or bore me with minute details of every single political development since I've been away. Why do they think I want to know that?

[He shifts a little bit so that he'll be able to scratch behind Huzar's fins, gently rubbing his cheek against Feliks' lap.]

[niepokonany]

No clue. Like, some people are just always gonna be tragically boring, I think?

[He smiles at that chirping noise, though, scratching gently at his scalp in between slow stroking motions in his feathers. Cezar the Growlithe sort of sniffs at him for a moment, and then accepts that Feliks accepts him being here (even though he looked like he didn't want any humans here a minute ago!! Weird!!) and flops down near Fai's feet.]

I didn't do a lot of this stuff while you were gone, so I kinda got a little unused to it, too.

[One or two noble parties spent all too aware of the pitying glances and whispered rumors that he'd gone mad with grief were more than enough, considering he'd already been sick enough of curious glances and whispered rumors about his clothes and his romantic persuasion.]

[comparative_insanity]

Gee, I wonder why.

[Fai's voice is dry enough that if it was a physical thing, the immediate presence of the Fire types would probably cause it to spontaneously catch fire. He squirms around a bit, trying to find a position where he can gaze up at Feliks without either straining his neck or squashing his wings.]

Considering I've heard a couple of people talking in what they choose to believe were whispers about how it's an acknowledged fact that one twin will go mad if the other is killed, stuff like that, and had others go up to me and seriously ask if this makes me the heir of the family now in pointed ways... You know, I can't imagine why you wouldn't have wanted to go to parties while we were gone.

[niepokonany]

[Feliks leans down to kiss Fai's forehead gently, but he's scowling when he sits back up. It's one thing to bother him with insensitive gossip, but bothering Fai, who didn't talk to any humans in months, who's faced with the loss of someone who's been with him in every moment since they were born? That definitely crosses a line.]

Ugh, some people suck. Like, what's their freaking damage? You should totally tell me who did that, I'll like, drag them like you wouldn't believe.

[Never mind all the comments he's ever overheard in his life about how he's "confused", or doesn't have half the brains to head his family, or how terrible it must be for his grandparents to have an heir like him, or how he's the homewrecker to blame for Lux and Fai's breakup, or how (depending on who's asked at what time) he either went mad with grief when Fai and Yuui disappeared and was running his family into the ground trying to find them or was probably behind their mysterious disappearance considering how close he was getting to their now-heirless parents. He can ignore those, because he's never given much of a damn what people say about him, but people hurting Fai? That gets under his skin.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai smiles, then, because just the way Feliks is so ready to fight for his sake, quite possibly literally if necessary, is a comfort in itself. It had taken a lot out of him to stand there and listen to people who found the collapse of his entire world to be nothing more than an interesting addition to their arsenal of gossip. But there were little things that, to his surprise, ended up putting more back. Like his mother looking ready to stab those people with her fork, and his father murmuring, 'Dear, not with a salad fork' to calm her down and draw a smile from her. And now Feliks, and the pokémon, and this warm little space in the world... it somehow managed to balance out.]

Maybe later. Anyway, they're out there and we're in here, right? If they try to lay siege on us, I'm sure we could defend our position with a little help.

[He reaches down for a moment and gives Cezar's fur a gentle pat now that he seems to have settled down a bit.]

[niepokonany]

[Cezar settles down a little more, between the petting and Feliks's obvious approval of Fai's presence. He gives a soft little bark of agreement -- he's always ready to protect Feliks! -- but Feliks laughs, his fingertips brushing over the soft skin of Fai's cheeks.]

Not gonna let me have any fun today, babe?

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai laughs quietly in turn, the light shifting and dancing slightly under his skin as he pushes himself up a little bit further. He can feel his wings brushing against the cushions around them, but happily having Psychic powers means that he can hold them in place just in case.]

Are you accusing me of being boring or something? [He leans their foreheads together and bumps his nose teasingly against Feliks'.] I mean, I do enjoy seeing you kicking ass, of course, but... I'd have to let go of you for you to do that.

[niepokonany]

You, boring? As if. But yeah, that's a major problem, for sure.

[He steals a little kiss, scratching behind Anna's ears idly to keep her sleepy and disinterested in what they're doing.]

So I guess they're safe from me for now, but they'd better hope I never catch them.

[Seriously. He will fight.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai lets out an amused little hum, mimicking putting a hand over Anna's eyes and miming 'Not in front of the children' with a mock scandalized expression. Then he leans in rather shamelessly for another kiss.]

My own personal Savior, aren't you? [His smile is teasing, but honestly, the truth is not that far off. Without Feliks, where would he be right now?]

I did also overhear a group of younger people talking about how romantic it was that you never gave up on me and got me back. So at least it's not all bad, right?

[niepokonany]

[Feliks snorts at that little pantomime, and leans down into the kiss. If there's one thing he still doesn't quite know how to handle, though, it's sincere compliments; he turns bright pink, squirming a little bit.]

I-I... Well, it's not like I was just going to give up and leave you behind! That's totally crazy!

[To anyone who really knows Feliks, at least.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai looks utterly delighted at that rather obvious blush, because he's a bit of a brat like that. He lets out a low laugh, playfully poking Feliks' cheek.]

Totally crazy for a hero, yes. But not everyone is, you know.

[He tilts himself in a slightly ridiculous - not to mention rather awkward and uncomfortable - pose to better mimic the cover of the sort of novel that had the heroine swooning a lot into the arms of the hero.]

I'm pretty sure a lot of people at this party are jealous of me.

[niepokonany]

[Soon, Feliks is probably going to hit the tipping point, resorting to showy bravado to preserve himself in the face of his own embarrassment.]

[Soon, but not quite yet. He stammers unintelligibly, the bright pink of his face illuminated by his own sparkles, then sort of bends over double to hide his face against Fai's chest.]