[Hunter has of course busied himself the second he got here. It's not that the Demon Realm doesn't celebrate occasions like birthdays, but Hunter has never been invited to one. He hasn't been friends with Luz and the others long enough for a birthday to pass and the Coven scouts had never invited him to birthday parties. Who invited their boss of all people?]
[Since this is his first birthday invitation, a gift of welcome he wasn't expecting, he knows he has to achieve proper birthday guest standards. He has to be an exceptional birthday guest and prove that he was worthy of Dylan's invitation. So he's helping out in the kitchen with a great deal of speed and intensity, following the directions of others that seem to know what they're doing. After all, he doesn't know the human food involved in human birthday celebrations, and he needs to make sure he meets the required cooking objectives with speed and precision.]
[He does at least know his way around a kitchen. There were servants at the palace, but it had seemed rude to wake them up anytime he wanted a meal after some kind of mission or patrol that kept him out late, or just for a midnight snack, so he'd often cooked for himself at any off-times. Unlike how he'd originally dealt with his enemies, he'd tried to be more gracious to those serving under him. There was a difference between being a bossy boss with incredibly high standards and just being a jerk, after all. Unlike Adrien, the head of the illusion coven, his goal had never been to make one of his underlings just rage quit.]
The cutting of the vegetables and Earth meats has been accomplished. [Despite the speed he'd worked at, the meat cubes for the kebabs are almost perfectly cube-shaped.] What's the next objective?
[It makes for a bit of an odd sight, someone doing things in the kitchen with a soldier's intensity, like he's on some serious mission, but dressed like that. He's wearing baggy lounge pants that are merchandise for the Angry Birds game, covered in angry red cardinals, white crocks (with white socks with cutesy birds on them), and a t-shirt of a wizard that looks like it belongs on the side of a van.]
[Flapjack, his cardinal Palisman has been helping him where he can, stirring things with a spoon held in his beak or chirping out measurements or suggestions where he can. He's still on the table, hopping around and carrying over kebab sticks one at a time.]
Setup [locked to Dylan]
[Hunter looks extremely anxious as he approaches Dylan.]
I read that in human birthday celebrations, it's traditional for the host whose birthday it is to receive gifts, just like back home. I wasn't really sure what to get you, since humans have a lot of goods in their markets and I don't really know what a human teenager likes.
[To be fair, he also isn't sure what a witch teenager would like best as a gift either. He's different enough from other teens his age that he's pretty sure his tastes wouldn't apply.]
The shopkeeps at the Walmarket weren't the most helpful. [His eyes narrow slightly.] It seemed like they were afflicted with some kind of curse that saps human will, so I reported it to the Alliance. Hopefully one of their mages can help them.
Since I wasn't sure what to get, I figured I'd also give you a traditional birthday pie, like we make back home, in case my gift doesn't meet proper human birthday standards.
[He knows how to make them because he'd found a recipe book when he was younger and sometimes made them for himself on his own birthdays. It was a way of still having something a little celebratory despite celebrating alone.]
[In retrospect, it probably wasn't even his real birthday, just some random day Belos had told him. Or whatever day he clawed his way out of the dirt after the Grimwalker spell brought him to life.]
[He bends down and reaches into the bag he brought to pull out a gift that's clearly a sphere. The feeling and sound of something liquid sloshes inside. The wrapping paper is just pages ripped from magazines, taped awkwardly together.]
[In the other hand, he pulls out a small hand-sized pie. The crust looks fine but the inside looks horrendous, like the meat filling was probably entirely giblets, offal, and/or tongues of some kind. Two roasted chicken feet are sticking out of the top.]
They didn't have bat feet, cockatrice entrails, or trash slug tongues, so I found human world equivalents.
[There are people native to Earth that could have used the ingredients he used in ways that taste truly delicious. He is not one of them, because he's not from Earth. His palate is entirely alien. While nothing in the pie is actually dangerous, it's all ingredients humans use, and it's all fully cooked, it's nowhere close to edible, and every spice is paired wrong.]
[The tragic thing is if he'd given it to one of his witch friends they'd think it was one of the best birthday pies they ever had.]
[Hunter holds out the two gifts, one in each hand, and bows down toward Dylan until he's facing the ground, in an entirely too formal gesture.]
Fireside [OTA]
[Hunter is confused about the fire. He doesn't know why the humans would have one if it wasn't for warmth and it's not that cold seasonally yet. And they all brought warm cloak-like clothes, like the heavy hoodie he brought. The idea it could just be fun rather than practical or for a ritual doesn't occur to him]
What's the fire for? It's not cold enough to really need it for warmth. Everyone's dressed well for the elements.
[His quizzical look is slightly concerned.]
Are we doing a book-burning? We used to do a lot of those back home but it turned out wild magic wasn't dangerous after all, so it wasted a lot of rare books for no reason.
[The ones he hadn't discreetly pocketed to read for himself, anyway. Someday if someone recommends Fahreinheit 451 for his reading list, he's going to intensely identify with Guy Montag's whole deal.]
But if it's the tradition, I can leave and come back with a book that isn't a rare copy.
[He's already getting up, ready to fly off to a book shop, because he doesn't want to birthday guest wrong.]
After-party Sleepover [locked to those invited]
[Hunter didn't bring any specific pajamas because it's not like he'd ever really worn jim jams back home, just taken off his cloak and mail and tunic, all the things he wore as a uniform, and settled in in the more comfortable clothes he wore underneath. The idea you wear pajamas is a comfy idea your parents teach you. Belos hadn't encouraged any comfiness ever.]
[So he's there still in his t-shirt and lounge pants, sitting on the floor with his back against the couch.]
[He looks thrilled to be there. Not only did he get invited to the party, he got invited to the human social sleepover afterwards, clearly meant for the most elite of friends and acquaintances.]
[He turns to the person next to him.]
Is there anything I should know? If we were chosen to perform the more important arcane birthday rituals, I don't know anything about them.
[A pause.]
They don't involve any Earth animal sacrifice, do they? I didn't bring a change of clothes.
WILD CARD! [OTA]
[Hunter will be all over, doing things way too intensely, feel free to hit me with anything!]
Hunter | OTA + Closed
[Hunter has of course busied himself the second he got here. It's not that the Demon Realm doesn't celebrate occasions like birthdays, but Hunter has never been invited to one. He hasn't been friends with Luz and the others long enough for a birthday to pass and the Coven scouts had never invited him to birthday parties. Who invited their boss of all people?]
[Since this is his first birthday invitation, a gift of welcome he wasn't expecting, he knows he has to achieve proper birthday guest standards. He has to be an exceptional birthday guest and prove that he was worthy of Dylan's invitation. So he's helping out in the kitchen with a great deal of speed and intensity, following the directions of others that seem to know what they're doing. After all, he doesn't know the human food involved in human birthday celebrations, and he needs to make sure he meets the required cooking objectives with speed and precision.]
[He does at least know his way around a kitchen. There were servants at the palace, but it had seemed rude to wake them up anytime he wanted a meal after some kind of mission or patrol that kept him out late, or just for a midnight snack, so he'd often cooked for himself at any off-times. Unlike how he'd originally dealt with his enemies, he'd tried to be more gracious to those serving under him. There was a difference between being a bossy boss with incredibly high standards and just being a jerk, after all. Unlike Adrien, the head of the illusion coven, his goal had never been to make one of his underlings just rage quit.]
The cutting of the vegetables and Earth meats has been accomplished. [Despite the speed he'd worked at, the meat cubes for the kebabs are almost perfectly cube-shaped.] What's the next objective?
[It makes for a bit of an odd sight, someone doing things in the kitchen with a soldier's intensity, like he's on some serious mission, but dressed like that. He's wearing baggy lounge pants that are merchandise for the Angry Birds game, covered in angry red cardinals, white crocks (with white socks with cutesy birds on them), and a t-shirt of a wizard that looks like it belongs on the side of a van.]
[Flapjack, his cardinal Palisman has been helping him where he can, stirring things with a spoon held in his beak or chirping out measurements or suggestions where he can. He's still on the table, hopping around and carrying over kebab sticks one at a time.]
Setup [locked to Dylan]
[Hunter looks extremely anxious as he approaches Dylan.]
I read that in human birthday celebrations, it's traditional for the host whose birthday it is to receive gifts, just like back home. I wasn't really sure what to get you, since humans have a lot of goods in their markets and I don't really know what a human teenager likes.
[To be fair, he also isn't sure what a witch teenager would like best as a gift either. He's different enough from other teens his age that he's pretty sure his tastes wouldn't apply.]
The shopkeeps at the Walmarket weren't the most helpful. [His eyes narrow slightly.] It seemed like they were afflicted with some kind of curse that saps human will, so I reported it to the Alliance. Hopefully one of their mages can help them.
Since I wasn't sure what to get, I figured I'd also give you a traditional birthday pie, like we make back home, in case my gift doesn't meet proper human birthday standards.
[He knows how to make them because he'd found a recipe book when he was younger and sometimes made them for himself on his own birthdays. It was a way of still having something a little celebratory despite celebrating alone.]
[In retrospect, it probably wasn't even his real birthday, just some random day Belos had told him. Or whatever day he clawed his way out of the dirt after the Grimwalker spell brought him to life.]
[He bends down and reaches into the bag he brought to pull out a gift that's clearly a sphere. The feeling and sound of something liquid sloshes inside. The wrapping paper is just pages ripped from magazines, taped awkwardly together.]
[In the other hand, he pulls out a small hand-sized pie. The crust looks fine but the inside looks horrendous, like the meat filling was probably entirely giblets, offal, and/or tongues of some kind. Two roasted chicken feet are sticking out of the top.]
They didn't have bat feet, cockatrice entrails, or trash slug tongues, so I found human world equivalents.
[There are people native to Earth that could have used the ingredients he used in ways that taste truly delicious. He is not one of them, because he's not from Earth. His palate is entirely alien. While nothing in the pie is actually dangerous, it's all ingredients humans use, and it's all fully cooked, it's nowhere close to edible, and every spice is paired wrong.]
[The tragic thing is if he'd given it to one of his witch friends they'd think it was one of the best birthday pies they ever had.]
[Hunter holds out the two gifts, one in each hand, and bows down toward Dylan until he's facing the ground, in an entirely too formal gesture.]
Fireside [OTA]
[Hunter is confused about the fire. He doesn't know why the humans would have one if it wasn't for warmth and it's not that cold seasonally yet. And they all brought warm cloak-like clothes, like the heavy hoodie he brought. The idea it could just be fun rather than practical or for a ritual doesn't occur to him]
What's the fire for? It's not cold enough to really need it for warmth. Everyone's dressed well for the elements.
[His quizzical look is slightly concerned.]
Are we doing a book-burning? We used to do a lot of those back home but it turned out wild magic wasn't dangerous after all, so it wasted a lot of rare books for no reason.
[The ones he hadn't discreetly pocketed to read for himself, anyway. Someday if someone recommends Fahreinheit 451 for his reading list, he's going to intensely identify with Guy Montag's whole deal.]
But if it's the tradition, I can leave and come back with a book that isn't a rare copy.
[He's already getting up, ready to fly off to a book shop, because he doesn't want to birthday guest wrong.]
After-party Sleepover [locked to those invited]
[Hunter didn't bring any specific pajamas because it's not like he'd ever really worn jim jams back home, just taken off his cloak and mail and tunic, all the things he wore as a uniform, and settled in in the more comfortable clothes he wore underneath. The idea you wear pajamas is a comfy idea your parents teach you. Belos hadn't encouraged any comfiness ever.]
[So he's there still in his t-shirt and lounge pants, sitting on the floor with his back against the couch.]
[He looks thrilled to be there. Not only did he get invited to the party, he got invited to the human social sleepover afterwards, clearly meant for the most elite of friends and acquaintances.]
[He turns to the person next to him.]
Is there anything I should know? If we were chosen to perform the more important arcane birthday rituals, I don't know anything about them.
[A pause.]
They don't involve any Earth animal sacrifice, do they? I didn't bring a change of clothes.
WILD CARD! [OTA]
[Hunter will be all over, doing things way too intensely, feel free to hit me with anything!]