☆` this feeling of love must come from you

[kagayakashi]

Who: Akechi Mitsuhide (wavesoakedlegs), Chosokabe Motochika (behisstrength), and Gracia.
When: Saturday, May 26, at around 12 noon! Lunch time!
Where: On the island, by an intimate clearing somewhere between the north forest and the harbor.
Style: [ Action. ], y/y?
Status: Closed.



[ As soon as she got off the elevator, with a whole trail of happy-to-help locals behind her, she knew it would be a good day. Though she didn't celebrate the same way she did last year - a party at their home with gift giving and everything - the young woman was still ridiculously excited, for she would be spending her 20th birthday with fewer yet more meaningful people. Not to say that the precious friends she's gained in Vatheon who came to her birthday last year weren't as meaningful...but there was something special when it was just her, her Father, and Motochika.

So that might be the reason she went a tad bit overboard with her special request. Mitshide had given her permission to bring a few boxes up to the island, but she forgot to relay the message to the locals when she asked them for their help. Looking back on it, "bring all the boxes that you can!" did seem like a rather vague request. Thankfully, most of them were empty at the very least.

And the locals helped her bring so much! Small, big, soft, hard...Gracia got giddy. Extremely giddy. Before she could successfully remember the word "few" as per her and Mitsuhide's agreement, the boxes were just pouring out of the elevator. How could she stop their valiant efforts to help her on her special day? She just couldn't! "Place them wherever you can" also seemed as vague.

Well, what can you do now? Gracia had already forgotten about the box dilemma as soon as she got dressed. And she supposed this way, other people who might chance upon the boxes would have just as much fun as her! An adventure for all; that was what she said, right? ]

Oh, I can't wait for them to arrive! Father, Motochika...

[ Gracia chuckles to herself, her petite body comfortably positioned inside her special crate. She decided early in the day to turn it into a game. She was feeling playful, and who could blame her? So many beautiful boxes, all gathered in one place! She holds back another wave of laughter and waits patiently inside her box. She asked one local - a kind looking man with a funny mustache - to help her out. The plan was simple! As soon as Mitsuhide and Motochika got off the elevator and stepped unto the island, the local would relay her note.

"Find me quick, okay?"

As soon as they find the box she's was currently hiding in, then it would begin! She hopes she didn't give it away too easily, though. Her box was the only box along the lush clearing, adorned with a lovely floral bow atop the lid. ]

[ She can hardly contain her excitement! Gracia's certain this would be the best of all her birthdays! ]

Comments

[wavesoakedlegs]

['Good heavens' was probably nowhere near a strong enough exclamation right now, but it's all Mitsuhide can manage after he and Motochika finally arrive on the island, get the message and step out far enough to see what is waiting for them.]

[What happened to 'a few?' It's practically a sea of boxes, in countless sizes and designs. Just how many locals had Tama employed to help her bring them up? Mitsuhide twirls his parasol, looking a little bewildered for a moment, but it does not take long for him to start laughing.]

[Well, it is her special day, and no doubt she will tidy it up in the morning. Right?]

The depths of her affection for boxes is... quite something. [Mitsuhide says, turning his head to look at Motochika.] I often wonder what her mother was like; she must have been a very unique woman, full of energy.

[It seems that in many worlds, Mitsuhide finds those with a unique look and personality to be appealing.]

Well, shall we look around? In truth, I suspect she will not be too hard to find.

[behisstrength]

[Motochika nods, his amusement clear in the curve of his mouth as his eyes roam over the vast array of boxes.]

We do not want to discover her immediately. [She only specified quickly.] Not after all this effort. Let her anticipation build.

[After all, one is meant to be excited on their birthday. Motochika wanders a little into the mass of boxes and stops by one of the crates. He knocks on it with his foot and looks over his shoulder -- the shoulder with a view unobscured by his shamisen which is strapped onto his back.

She is fond of games, he implies with a raise of his eyebrows, so let us seize this opportunity. If they make a fuss over finding her then she'll practically be bursting with joy by the time that they uncover her.]

[kagayakashi]

[ Gracia moves ever so slightly inside her special box, still holding back her chuckles. Little did Motochika and Mitsuhide know that her pets were also somewhere on the island, roaming around in box attire! Futon was small enough to fit in a separate box on his own, but Firelight and Feng Huang were not. To remedy this, Gracia placed a large cardboard box on Feng Huang's head, and hid Firelight behind her.

She's too wrapped up in her excitement that she fails to notice Feng Huang walking towards her family, slowly, looking around with a cardboard box on his head. It is obviously obscuring his vision, but the Chocobo does not shake it off and walks out in the open anyway. ]

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide nods himself, looking around and deciding that none of the boxes in immediate view were the ones containing his daughter before replying.]

Of course not. [He laughs quietly.] Let us find her box, and then make a game of our 'search.'

[Following on, Mitsuhide too begins to weave through the mass of boxes. The rain is heavy, and many of those boxes were soaking wet on their outsides. He idly hopes that Gracia's box is waterproof before something eventually distracts him. He blinks, because... no. Surely that can't be... she wouldn't go so far as to...]

Good heavens!

[Yep, it's her chocobo. With a cardboard box on his head. Mitsuhide had said she could bring her pets along, but... the samurai walks towards the creature, making soothing sounds as he does so.]

sorry for the delay, ladies!

[behisstrength]

[Motochika cannot help but laugh at the surprising, comedic sight -- it's not as though Feng Huang cannot simply dip his head and free himself and he sees no sign of distress. Perhaps the box remains because the chocobo's mistress willed it.]

She does nothing by half, certainly.

[He too moves, though he lets Mitsuhide approach Feng Huang ahead of him.

There are times when the differences between Gracia and Mitsuhide are worlds apart -- only rarely, but this act is definitely one of those. Having never known Gracia's mother, the mystery of whether it is a familial eccentricity or unqiuely Gracia remains unsolved.

After their time as a family in Vatheon, to Motochika it does not feel as though they have all grown seperately, though that is (for the most part) true. They resonate.

If this an an echo of the experience, then he and Mitsuhide have truly missed out on something extraordinary in not having raised Gracia themselves.]

no worries <3

[kagayakashi]

[ Gracia's box wasn't exactly waterproof, but it could withstand a slight drizzle. She's confident that her chosen location for the picnic could shield them from the rain. The flowery box Gracia was currently hiding in is directly under the shadow of a roof of wispy green leaves. The way the leaves bunch together leave splotches of light here and there, accentuating the intimate atmosphere.

In Gracia's said special birthday box, she made a hole large enough to see only one eye, or perhaps to just speak out of. She uses that opening to glance around the area, her senses on a heightened awareness of sorts. She can feel them approaching, closer and closer...Was the game about to end already? ]

I suppose placing so many boxes around the island worked to my advantage! How lucky!

[ Motochika's hunch was correct. The more they prolonged the game, the more excited she felt. She can hear her heart pounding in her ears, and she imagines how it will all play out. While her main reason for celebrating her birthday in such a manner was because it was what she truly wanted to do on her special day, Gracia also exerted such efforts to prepare the bash so her family would enjoy as well. This was her second birthday in Vatheon, and despite the joyous occasion, in the very recesses of her mind, she was always afraid that it would be the last.

She wants to make every single celebration count. ]

[ As she sits in her box, anticipation brewing steadily, it was Firelight's turn to make himself known. The colt neighs rather noisily, and given the gentle silence that enveloped the area...Gracia gasps and shushes Firelight in a chiding manner that may have just been as loud as Firelight's own neigh.

Oops. ]