May 13th
Cinnabar Gym - Evening - Clear
Cyrilla Klein
She couldn't be mad at them, really.
Even if she tried, her friends had been thoughtful enough to throw her a birthday party. Cyrilla was honestly surprised that they'd even remembered. She had told Nev and Ana a year ago, but it was too late to do anything about it, then. Not that she had really cared; she and Ryk both disliked their birthdays for obvious reasons, however; she couldn't say that she hated it, now.
She was with people she loved; people who'd been there for her when no one else really had, and she loved every single one of them. Eryk, Ana, Aidan, Drake, Nev, Mel, Kas.
The fact that Drake let them use his gym as a place to throw the party was even more hilarious than Cyrilla thought it could be. Currently, everyone's pokémon were running about, though some of them stuck together. Typhoon, Drake's salamence, was currently nestled up to Argent, Mel's sylveon, which was adorable to Cyrilla. She'd never really seen a match like that before, but she supposed there were weirder ones. Diva was living up to her name, whining every so often when she wasn't getting enough attention from Noctis or if Ziggy was trying to eat her stubby tail. Cyrilla found that hilarious, actually.
“Happy birthday, Cyrilla!" Drake nearly shouted, startling Cy from her thoughts. “Sorry, sorry," he apologized, waving his hands in front of him.
“Thanks, Drake. Also, how in the world did they convince you to use the gym for this?" she asked, watching as Drake blinked slowly.
“Well that was easy. Ana and Mel suggested we use it since we had so many people, and the gym is big enough for everyone to let their pokémon out. Plus, the gym has a pool and a jacuzzi and... uh, one other thing I keep forgetting," he replied. That made sense, she supposed. Why not have a party where everyone had enough space that they wouldn't be crowded together.
Plus, it made it easier for introverts like Ana and Ryk to have their space if they wanted it. Big crowds were still a little uneasy for Ryk, she knew, but he seemed to do okay when it was just the eight of them.
Basically all the pokémon were out, too, including, hilariously, Aidan's lapras, Skiff, who seemed to make Drake nervous for some reason. Fortunately, he was confined to the pool, which at the moment no one was using.
There were a few small presents on the table Mel had dragged out from the kitchen, but by mutual consensus they all saved the really major gift-giving for winter, so they could do it together. Ana arrived a little after everyone else, and it was immediately obvious why: she was carrying a rather large, three-tiered cake, with what seemed to be a thick layer of buttercream frosting. The whole thing was decorated as if three giant strawberries had been balanced atop each other, including the frosting being dyed red and painted with little black dots.
"Happy birthday!" she said, smiling a little. "I, um, made you a cake. Eryk helped!"
Eryk was frowning slightly, mostly at Ana's statement. Cyrilla didn't know why, but she could speculate it was because he probably didn't help much with the cake. She knew Eryk wasn't the best at cooking or baking, but she smiled nonetheless. It was the thought that mattered, and the cake really did look good.
“All I did was burn the first attempt," he replied, pursing his lips together in a way that Cyrilla thought he was pouting.
“You didn't have to, you know," she stated, smiling a little at them. “It almost looks too good to eat, really. I'll be kind of sad to cut into it," she was mostly joking, though. A cake that looked that good was probably just as tasty.
“You don't have to eat it, but we will," Eryk stated as Cyrilla furrowed her brows.
“You wouldn't dare."
“I would."
Ana laughed, putting the cake down on the table alongside a little package she took out of her pants pocket, wrapped in pretty silver paper. "Anyway," she said, shaking her head a little. "What are we doing today, anyway? I know there's options, but it really should be you who decides, Cyrilla."
Cyrilla shook her head. “Nope, I am not going to be the delegator of things to do. It might be my birthday, but I want everyone to just enjoy themselves. If you want to go swimming, or go in the jacuzzi or play air hockey, be my guest. Honestly, as long as everyone is having fun, I'm having fun, too," she replied with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“I don't think that's how it's supposed to work, though. We're supposed to be doing something fun with you," Nev interjected as she appeared, causing Cyrilla to snort softly.
“You missed the point, Nev. If everyone is having fun, then I'm having fun." Nev just furrowed her brows deeper, causing Cyrilla to sigh in defeat. “Fine, let's go play some air hockey."
Kas chuckled quietly at her concession. "Somehow, I have a feeling I already know how this is going to end up," he said, rubbing at his nose a little.
"How's that, Rheinallt?" Aidan asked, carrying the bag of tortilla chips with him. He didn't seem to be dipping them in anything—just eating them plain from the bag.
"Nope, not telling. It has something to do with you, and you'll act differently just to be contrary."
Aidan snorted.
Cyrilla chuckled lightly and shook her head. Drake, however, thought it was funnier than it was, for some reason, and was laughing.
“Did someone spike his drink?" Eryk deadpanned, causing Drake to furrow his brows and quiet his laughing a bit.
“I don't think anyone would do that except for you, Ryk," Cyrilla responded, rolling her eyes when he just shrugged his shoulders. She knew he wasn't going to deny it because it was Ryk, and he would do that.
“Alright, let's settle this, then," he stated, pointing an accusatory finger at Eryk. “You and me, first," he stated, all but running towards the air hockey table. Cyrilla smiled softly at how excited he seemed to be. Eryk didn't seem to mind, though, and positioned himself around the opposite side of Drake.
“Well, since Eryk and Drake are first, we'll just play the winner per round," Cyrilla suggested. Drake had two tables, after all, and if they wanted, they could do it in turns or pairs. If they did it in two teams, two people could face off with each other. It was up to them how they wanted to play, though. Like she said, Cyrilla wasn't going to dictate or delegate anything to anyone. She just wanted them to enjoy themselves.
Aidan shrugged, taking up a spot on the side of the table to watch the match. Kas disappeared back into the kitchen for some reason, and Mel sidled up next to Aidan. He immediately tilted the bag of chips towards her. With a happy noise, she took several. "You're like... psychic or something, I swear."
Next to Cyrilla, Ana tensed slightly, but relaxed again immediately when Aidan snorted.
"Nothing that complicated," he replied with a shrug.
“Big Bro is just really good at reading people," Cyrilla stated, glancing towards the kitchen where Kas disappeared to. Part of her wondered if maybe she should use this opportunity to go talk to him, but... well, there was just a small little bout of fear in her chest that kept her where she was.
Ryk and Drake both grabbed their respective strikers before Drake grabbed the puck and set it on the table. “Alright, first one to get ten goals, wins," he stated. Eryk shrugged as if he were agreeing, and readied his striker.
“I honestly don't know how to play air hockey. I've never played many games before, as you all know," Nev confessed slightly as she frowned slightly. Cyrilla snorted softly and shook her head.
“It's really not that complicated. If you watch Ryk and Drake's match, you'll see it's basically just hitting the puck back and forth as strategically as possible. Why don't you go next, Nev?"
“Really?" she asked, a little unsure of herself.
“You'll never know how to play unless you experience it first hand."
"Not until you've got a couple drinks in you," Aidan advised, regarding Nev from the corner of his eye. There was a little smile at the edges of his mouth. "Your coordination improves a lot right between buzzed and shitfaced."
Ana giggled softly. "That explains bowling."
Nev gave Aidan a flat look, but looked like she was also pouting. Cyrilla chuckled and rolled her eyes. “You know he means well, Nev. No need to pout like that," she stated as Nev turned towards Cy.
“I'm not pouting."
“Yes you are."
"S'cute," Aidan said simply, returning his attention to the match and eating another tortilla chip.
Ana and Mel both snapped their eyes to Nev, though, obviously intent on her reaction to that statement.
Cyrilla was quite interested as well, tilting her head slightly in Nev's direction. The older woman, however, seemed to be at a loss for words. Her mouth was slightly open and her face had turned such a deep red that Cy didn't know people could blush like that. It was obvious that no one had ever said the word cute to Nev before, at least not like that, and Cyrilla thought it was adorable.
“I think you broke her, Aidan," Cyrilla stated as Nev just swallowed thickly and turned her attention towards the match. So far Ryk had managed to score three points, and Drake had only scored one. It was apparent who was going to win the first round, but it was still fun to watch.
“Nev, do you want me to go get you a drink?" Cy asked as Nev merely nodded her head. Cy chuckled before making her way towards the kitchen, only momentarily remembering that Kas was also there. It was fine, though. She'd find the courage to talk to him about it, another day, but today, they were going to enjoy the party, and watching their favorite people make fun of themselves.
“Hey, Kas, where'd they put the drinks at? The ones that were meant specifically for Nev because you just missed Aidan breaking her," she stated, rounding the corner to the kitchen.
"Ah, hey Cy. I was just getting some for everyone, actually. By this point I think I know what everyone orders," he said, lifting his top half out of where it'd been partway in the fridge, holding several bottle-necks between his fingers. He set them all on the counter.
"Also, what'd he do?"
“You know Nev hasn't really had much of a life, and she wants to learn how to play air hockey," she began, because he needed the context to the what. “I told her she could play the winner of the round between Ryk and Drake, but Aidan told her to get shitfaced," not exactly in that phrasing even if it was one of the words he used, “first. She started pouting, tried to deny she was pouting, and Aidan told her it was cute."
“She's speechless at the moment."
Kas lifted a hand to cover his mouth, but it didn't much help him suppress his laughter. "Damn, I'm sorry I missed it," he said, once the laughter had faded to a bright grin that narrowed his eyes at the corners. "Sometimes I think he's actually the most merciless of all of us, but better at hiding it."
“You might be right," she had to agree, feeling herself smile a little wider before inwardly rolling her eyes at herself. “We should get back before we miss any more of it. Need help carrying any of that?" she asked, tilting her head in the direction of the drinks.
He shook his head, but did push a glass towards her. This one was an electric pink color. "Just carry yours," he said, tilting his head a little. "I made you a rum runner. Dunno if you've had one before, but I thought you might like it." With a little shrug, he picked up the rest of the drinks and headed out, almost a little too quickly.
Cyrilla blinked as he left, glancing at her glass for a moment before grabbing it. Was he... trying to avoid her now? She felt her brows furrow slightly, and something in her stomach drop. Maybe he regretted it? If that was the case, maybe she was better off not saying anything about it? Maybe she shouldn't tell him what she wanted, because wouldn't that be selfish of her? Sighing a bit too heavily, she pushed the voices in her head, out, as best as she could.
She had to pretend nothing was wrong. She had to hold her head up high, or else Big Bro might catch on because he was scarily good at reading people. She took a drink of the rum runner that Kas had made her, and smiled. It was good.
When she made it back to the group, Nev's face was still slightly red, like she couldn't stop blushing, and Cy snickered softly. Eryk had won the first round, it seemed, and was waiting on the next challenger. “Well, since Nev isn't quite shitfaced, yet, how about Mel next?" she suggested. Eryk merely arched a brow at Mel, almost as if he was challenging her.
Mel hummed, as though giving this some consideration, then nodded, handing her drink off to Drake with a kiss on the cheek, for his effort, apparently. She laced her fingers together and stretched her hands away from her body. "Time to try my luck against a ninja, I guess," she said with a little grin. "Though if it's anything like bowling, he's about to get his ass handed to him."
Both Aidan and Kas chuckled at that.
Ana, though, smiled. "I don't know if that's so true anymore," she said simply, bringing her straw to her mouth and taking a sip of her drink.
Eryk just gave Mel a flat look. “Air hockey and bowling are two completely different things," he replied as he rolled his eyes, but there was the faintest smile on his face. Cyrilla shook her head as she glanced in Nev's direction.
“Well that's one way to get shitfaced," she stated as Nev seemed to be chugging her drink. “Don't drink it so fast or you'll..." she wasn't able to finish since Nev started coughing a bit.
“Choke."
“I'm good," Nev stated as she pat her chest.
Ana patted her back for her at the same time, smiling sympathetically. Aidan, for his part, shot her a brief look of concern, but then went back to pretending not to notice her embarrassment, probably the most merciful thing to do in this situation.
The puck flew back and forth across the table with a multitude of clatters; Mel was clearly more coordinated than Drake had been, and actually managed to score the first point on Eryk.
“Come on, Mel, kick his ass!" Drake stated, clearly cheering for Mel as they started the next round. Eryk seemed pleased, though, that Mel was faring better than Drake was, if the small smirk on his face was anything to go by.
“I feel like you don't have any other choice but to cheer for Mel. She's your girlfriend after all," Cy stated as Drake just grinned. “I almost feel obligated to cheer for her, too, since she was temporarily my girlfriend a few days ago," she stated, watching as the confusion flashed across his face before it dawned on him what she'd said.
“Wait, what?" he asked. Cy just shrugged her shoulders and took a drink of her rum runner, trying to hide the grin on her face as Drake pursed his lips together.
"Now this sounds like a story," Kas remarked. "Melly, don't tell me you did me dirty." He wore his typical lackadaisical grin, but there was something just a little different about his eyes.
Whatever it was, it made Mel smile smugly at him even though Eryk had won the point. "Can't do you dirty if you never shoot your shot, Mirmir," she replied airily, smiling wider when he frowned a little.
"I'm confused," Ana admitted.
Cyrilla had to admit she was a little confused, too, but she merely grinned and blinked as innocently as she could in Drake's direction. “Mel and I were temporarily dating for all of five minutes. Don't worry, Drake, I promise you I didn't steal her little heart away from you," she stated as Nev looked vaguely confused as well.
“Why would you date Mel, even if it was temporary, if she's dating Drake? Is that how some relationships work?" Nev asked, clearly trying to figure things out, but it was obvious enough that she was a little drunk already. Cyrilla sighed dramatically, and rolled her eyes a bit. How was it that this woman had no tolerance to alcohol?
“Don't worry too much about it, Nev, otherwise you'll just give yourself a headache. If you really must know, though, every relationship is different," she explained only a little, and shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't exactly give that kind of advice, not when she was dealing with relationship problems of her own.
Eryk managed to score another shot against Mel, though.
She rolled her eyes and retrieved the puck. "Yeah, all of them are different," she said with a little shake of her head, "but in this case, Cy and I were just pretending so some bro at the beach would go away. No actual dating involved."
Ana nodded, accepting this readily, but she still looked a little confused about something, and tilted her head briefly in Kas's direction before she shrugged and seemed to let it go.
The match went to Ryk, though Mel managed eight points before he got to ten, so it wasn't completely one-sided.
"I'll go next," Aidan said, handing his chips to Mel and setting his beer down. "Hope you're not tired yet, Nero."
“Not even in the slightest," Ryk replied, and Cy could have sworn he sounded almost smug, and sort of challenging. Arceus he was an idiot sometimes, wasn't he?
“I have a feeling we're going to be here all night, aren't we?" Cyrilla stated, rolling her eyes when Ryk placed the puck down.
“You could have called one of us, you know, if someone was bothering you," Drake stated as he pursed his lips together.
“And what? You don't think we can't take care of ourselves?" Cyrilla shot back, but she stated it in a light manner, and didn't want Drake to think she was accusing him of something.
“No, of course not! I mean, yeah, I know you can take care of yourselves and all, but..." he trailed off, causing Cy to feel a little bad.
“Hey, no worries, Drake, I'm just kidding. It was fine. We got a few laughs in about it and they didn't come back to bother us once we made it clear we weren't interested," she tried to explain.
“Can we eat cake while we watch Aidan and Eryk play?" Nev stated suddenly, glancing in Ana's direction.
"Oh, of course!" Ana shook her head, apparently at herself for forgetting. "I have candles if you want to do that part, Cyrilla?"
“Sure, let's go put candles on the cake," she replied, smiling at Ana and Nev. This was going to go down as one of the best birthdays she'd ever had.
And she was okay with that.
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