It's a far cry from last year.

Sometimes their birthday passes with little fanfare. Last year that was the case, though not because Shion wanted that. He would have loved a party. He was alone then, though, just a handful of friends and not much else. The year before that, they'd had one of their big parties at the house in Riverfield, half of Decelis in attendance. He'd enjoyed living his teenage movie dreams, even if he'd also felt, now and then, a little too aware of the 200-year age gap between him and the guests. That hadn't mattered so much at the time, though, because Sooha was there. There was so much he didn't yet know then, but he'd been irresistibly drawn to her. They all had been, whether they'd liked it or not. Her presence had made the party feel right, just before everything began to go horribly wrong.

After a year that was too hectic and a year that was too dull, Shion's ready to have a celebration somewhere in-between. Maybe it's a strange kind of a thing to celebrate. Maybe commemorate is more the right word. His understanding of what they endured at Vamfield has shifted substantially in the last couple years, but that October night more than a century ago remains the same in his mind in the most important sense. They did not leave Vamfield. They escaped.

It felt odd considering it his birthday last year without his family at his side, but he's never had one of his own, not that he knows of, and survival is always worth celebrating.

This year, though, is so much better. This year bring with it the best gifts he could have asked for. Now, would he have asked for Solon? Well, no, doubtful, but that's not the point. Would he have asked for Sophie? Also no, because he'd never even considered her return to be a possibility, and thus it wouldn't have been worth asking for. But he got both. So tonight? Tonight they party.

But not too hard, because it's a school night. Actually, it's more like they'll have a nice dinner of junk food and watch a movie as a family, but that's exciting! They haven't had an actual proper family movie night in years! They used to do it every week back in the '90s. And he has to admit, picking out a movie to stream doesn't have quite the same nostalgic feeling as renting a VHS, but it's hard to find a place in Darrow that rents those or DVDs, aside from the library, which isn't the same. And, anyway, since Sophie has school tomorrow, they'll start pretty early, so all in all, it's a very different experience.

He pulls up short in his meandering, head tipping to the side. "Am I getting old?" he murmurs thoughtfully. Last month he got a responsible job doing actual work. This month, he's just settled on a new house for him and Solon and Sophie. Now he's planning an early night and getting excited about pizza and a movie with no guests because he has to take his kid to school in the morning and — "Oh, my god, I'm an adult. I can't even drive." He arches an eyebrow at his own reflection in a shop window. He can drive, in the most technical sense. Legally speaking, and for the safety of the general public, he really should not. The bags of junk food he's carrying, including an oversized plastic tub of cheeseballs, don't really give him an air of maturity either. Heli always got them for movie nights, though, and it'd feel wrong without them. And if anyone's an adult, it's Heli.

"Huh." Truth be told, he's not sure he saw this day coming. Sure, he's old compared to ordinary humans, but he's still awfully young, and he feels it. But he also feels strangely... responsible. Grown-up. Is this because he talked about his feelings last week? Because that was awful, and he never wants to do it again, except for the part of him that feels a million times better ever since he and Solon had it out, the part of him that kind of liked being honest and open, even though it also hurt. He carries a lot of hurt around anyway. It was good to let it out for a change. He's not sure he's up for more of that, though, not for a long time. Maybe not a whole century next time, but he needs time to recover, time to adjust to the idea that he can talk to Solon again the way they did when they were kids.

[ And it's his birthday, come on, he's just a little birthday boy! Find Shion near some shopping area or other in the late morning/early afternoon. He will not have been shy about telling friends it's his birthday, but it's also a good time to meet him! Feel free to say he stopped quickly in the middle of the path in front of your pup or turned abruptly around to knock into them as he went on his way, or hear him being an idiot baby, or say he texted yours, etc. Tag his brother while you're at it! ST/LT welcome. Open until this says otherwise. ]