A Celebration for Nell

[mylandmyrules]

Nell had tried something a little different for dinner tonight. She'd made a large, and hopefully tasty, vegetable stir fry and had stir-fried some beef in a different pan so those wanting meat could have some. She also had homemade sourdough bread, salad, and a vegetable broth based soup to start the meal.

The apartment was spic and span, the cats were happily curled up on their cat trees, for however long that would last, and she thought she was prepared as she could be for her first ever birthday celebration. Now to wait somewhat anxiously for her guests.



[For those who know who they are.]

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[unusual_sith]

Lana made sure to show up on time, since she was bringing the cake. It was a vegan chocolate cake she'd been assured would be delicious, with raspberry filling between the layers. She had regular and vegan vanilla ice creams to go with it. On top of the frosting, it said "Happy Birthday, Nell!" amidst creeping vines that also held two and two-eighths candles. (Lana had absolutely measured them.) Floating along behind her was a potted tree, black with glowing red spikes on top.

She put the cake on the table and the ice cream in the freezer, and looked around for somewhere to leave the plant.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts didn’t need to be a detective to figure out the unfamiliar face in the room was. So at some point early on in the gathering he made his way over, twirling a blossom he’d plucked from… somewhere sorry Nell between his fingers.

“Llewellyn Watts,” he introduced himself. “And you… would be Miss Beniko.”

[unusual_sith]

"I would, yes." Lana smiled back. "And I imagine you're Detective Watts." She didn't need to be a former Minister of Intelligence to figure that out, either. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave him a slight bow.

[pocketpretzels]

“I am,” he confirmed, returning her bow with a nod of his own. There would have been hat-tipping, were they not indoors and his hat already off.

“Steven is- quite fond of you,” he said.

[unusual_sith]

Lana smiled. "Not as fond as he is of you. We've enjoyed swapping philosophical texts, though. How was your trip to Portugal?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh, fantastic," Watts enthused. "I've been wanting to go for ages, I'm only glad Steven was amenable to taking the trip with me."

[unusual_sith]

"What is it like?" Lana asked. "It's on Europe, isn't it?"

[pocketpretzels]

"It is," Watts nodded. "You went on the school trip to France, yes? Portugal is fairly nearby, the country of Spain separates the two. It's- the architecture is stunning, much of it centuries old." Which probably wasn't all that impressive to Lana, but from someone who'd grown up in Canada...

[unusual_sith]

"Some of the buildings in France were lovely, so I can imagine," Lana said. "Not to mention the wine and cheeses."

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh the wine," Watts said enthusiastically. "Portugal is known for wine as well- different varieties than you'll find in France, but still amazing quality. We participated in a wine-tasting tour in Porto, one of the cities we stayed in." Well, Watts had participated, really. Steven had mostly just listened to Watts be a giant nerd about the wine.

[unusual_sith]

"I confess I'm more knowledgeable about whisky," Lana said. "How is the wine different as compared to France's?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh, well..." Watts said, and for a moment was briefly disappointed he wasn't at his or Steven's apartment, where there would be several varieties of each that he could have Lana try for comparison. "There's a number of factors, you see- the two countries are close by, but the climate is different enough that it makes a difference. Portugal's also got far more varieties of actual grapes..." oh, you've gotten him started, Lana. Going to be hard to get him to stop now.

[unusual_sith]

Honestly, Lana would probably have enjoyed comparing them.

"It always astonishes me how many climates Earth has in such a small area," she said. "How many types of grapes are there?"

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh my goodness," Nell said, "Lana, that's beautiful! You can set it right over there on that table. And welcome, safety and hospitality to you while you're here."

[unusual_sith]

"May the Force grant you a good year," Lana said, smiling as she set the tree down. "This one's from Umbara; it grows without sun, and it's potted in its own soil for now so you can figure out what it needs."

[mylandmyrules]

"It's incredible! And it doesn't need sunlight? No chlorophyll then." She looked it over. "I'll enjoy getting to know more about this one!"

[unusual_sith]

"It's called a Zabrak Spine. Give it enough room and it'll grow bigger than you," Lana said. "Umbara has virtually no sun, so it's used to darkness. I'd hazard a guess it might be used to protein in the soil; it usually grows along with Death's Embrace, which is a carnivorous plant."

She grinned. "I almost brought you one of those, but I wasn't sure how you would feed it. Hopefully you don't get so many annoying customers."

[mylandmyrules]

"Zabrak Spine," Nell repeated, nodding. "I can find a way to add protein in the soil."

She smiled at Lana. "Prob'ly for the best. Fandom's a small place, so people might be missed more easily."

[unusual_sith]

"True." Lana grinned and nodded at the tree. "So you get this one instead. I hope you enjoy it. Happy birthday."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell's smile grew. "Thank you. I'm sure I will. 'Specially since this one won't try to eat my cats."

[unusual_sith]

"That was also a consideration, yes," Lana agreed. "Maybe next time I should get you a nexu kitten."

[mylandmyrules]

"What's a nexu kitten?" Nell asked a little warily.

[unusual_sith]

"Nexu are cats," Lana explained. "Some people keep them as pets, and they're apparently quite loyal. And the kittens are adorable."

Sounded great, right? "But they grow to several meters, and between their rows of teeth, huge claws, ridge of spines, and whip-like tails, they're known for being rather deadly."

[mylandmyrules]

"Might not be the best thing to have here," Nell said, "though if I was living in Soulwood they might work out okay. As long as they didn't hunt all my other animals."

[unusual_sith]

"They probably could do with a bit more room than Fandom," Lana agreed. "And the kittens you have are already adorable."