Room 424 [afternoon]

[momslilassassin]

Ben hadn't been able to shake a feeling of something being wrong, but he chalked it up to it being his birthday.

After classes and his weekly stop in to see Ender, he fielded comlink calls from his father, Aunt Leia and his Jaina, telling them all he'd see them next week, then curled up on his bed with Tahiri (who he was starting to despair of ever not being a cougar, and he was mentally running the odds of his father being more or less okay with him dating a cat versus a version of someone who'd tortured him), and tried to take a nap.

[OOC: Door closed. First for the kitty-girlfriend, then for anyone else looking for the birthday boy...]

Comments

[weetuskenraider]

The cougar kitten who was usually Tahiri (this wasn't the new usual, was it?) seemed a bit agitated -- she'd been planning on throwing a birthday party for Ben, until turning small and fuzzy had derailed that.

She pawed lightly at his chest, purring apologetically.

[momslilassassin]

Ben cracked up one eyelid and smiled. "It's not your fault," he said, reaching out to scratch between her ears.

[weetuskenraider]

But she'd wanted to make sure he had a nice birthday! She laid her ears back, snuggled against him, and purred louder. (The purring seemed to be an instinctive reaction to the scratching, which was a little disconcerting and she still hadn't quite gotten used to it. But it did seem comforting somehow.)

[momslilassassin]

Ben curled closer around her. "This is fine," he said firmly. "I don't want today to be a big deal."

[weetuskenraider]

But it was a big deal to her, at least? She'd really wanted to make his birthday special, and she wrapped an arm around him as she --

Wait, arm?

Give her a second. The other details haven't processed yet.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's eyes had drifted closed again, so he hadn't noticed either.

[weetuskenraider]

"B --" Tahiri coughed; a week of not being able to talk made talking again feel weird. But look, she had fingers again! Which she was focusing on, rather than the fact that it was oddly drafty (she blamed the sudden lack of fur) as she reached up to touch his cheek. "Ben?"

[momslilassassin]

His eyes snapped open again. "Hi!" he said, smiling.

...and then gawking.

He'd noticed why she was oddly drafty, yeah.

[weetuskenraider]

"Hi, yourself. I thought you'd be happier to see me back to normal in time for -- what?" Tahiri asked.

And blinked.

And blushed brilliantly, furiously red as she scrambled to try and grab some corner of the blankets or something to hide behind, and this really wasn't working very well . . .

[momslilassassin]

"Don't fall off the bed!" Ben flailed, probably hindering more than helping as he shoved a pillow at her.

[weetuskenraider]

Hindering, yes, because falling off the bed was exactly what Tahiri did, with a squeak of embarrassment because this pillow wasn't nearly big enough to cover everything.

"Ben, where are my clothes?"

[momslilassassin]

That was a loooot of leg. Yes. Focus on the legs.

He squeezed his eyes closed again. "I don't know!" he wailed. "They went away when you turned into a kitten!"

[weetuskenraider]

"I'm borrowing one of your shirts again," Tahiri decided -- not asked, just decided. "Could you maybe, I don't know, help?"

If she wasn't so embarrassed, she might be annoyed that he didn't want to look. But since she was flailing so much herself, she appreciated it.

[solo_sword]

Jaina was pretty sure she had the timing down well enough that she was at least calling on the right day, and not at some bizarre hour.

So this would be Jaina calling from California, hoping she was right on that timing thing.

[momslilassassin]

"Skywalker here," Ben replied, answering his comm.

[solo_sword]

"Happy birthday," she greeted him, again, hoping it was the right day.

[momslilassassin]

"You're the second you to tell me that," Ben said, tone teasing. "Thank you."

[solo_sword]

"I'm better," she said with a smile. "You doing anything to celebrate?"

[momslilassassin]

"Not really," he said. "Fifteen's not that big a deal."

[solo_sword]

"You're not old enough to be jaded against birthdays," she said. "I think you have to wait till at least nineteen for that."

[momslilassassin]

"Is there a rule?" Ben teased. "I hadn't heard about that."

[solo_sword]

"It's because you haven't been on Earth long enough," Jaina said, feigning serious. Amazing how much better a mood she was in when she wasn't in Fandom.

[momslilassassin]

Ben snickered. "Thank you for your wisdom," he said. "Where are you anyway?"

[solo_sword]

"California," she answered. "It's the holidays over by John, so I'm over here."

There was a pause, and then a, "Hold on one second, Ben."

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John had given up on being patient and was bugging to get his turn at the line. "Hey Ben! Happy birthday, buddy!"