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[ another month brings another full moon, and with the winter solstice, it doesn’t surprise wriothesley that this lunar cycle feels a little more intense—what with the nights stretching longer, and instincts thrumming louder in turn. he can already feel the pulse of his natural soul when he nearly jolts awake with a rough start that morning.

so, to avoid a repeat of last month’s chaos, wriothesley figures it would be better to rely on a bit of imprinting to keep the frenzy at bay. though truth be told, he doesn’t have a long list of imprints he’d trust to keep both the situation—and himself—contained, especially if what that odd stranger said about his scent hitting a fever pitch turns out to be true this time around as well. still, calling on someone is infinitely better than roaming the streets late night again and fighting the pull to completely shift or let certain instincts bleed through in his more human form.

and after carefully—painfully—weighing his limited options, wriothesley settles on reaching out to potentially the only person calm enough to handle it all. it’s not ideal to spring it on neuvillette the day of, but at least it’s still early enough in the day for the other to consider... and for wriothesley to plan accordingly if he really is left with no one to fall back on. ]

Good morning, Neuvillette. Hopefully I caught you at a good time?

[ his cadence carries the usual drawl, but there's no mistaking the edge of exasperation in his tone—less out of irritation and more from trying to quell the strange heat sparking somewhere in his chest. ]

[ with more darkness than daylight during the solstice months, wriothesley has been staying fairly active around the clock—or at the very least, rising much earlier and generally being more active than neuvillette, even as the cold always manages to seep into the odd corners of their shared apartment. it’s a shame the winter season seems to be weighing down neuvillette in more ways than one.

nevertheless, when neuvillette wakes and goes through the motions of his morning routine, he’ll find the kitchen table modestly adorned with several items. namely: a small floral arrangement, a folded quilt, and a nearly matching quilted robe (matching more in make than in design, given the fleur-de-lis top-stitching on the former), and a small jewelry box containing cufflinks.

a low whistle hums from the kettle, with the stove set to a small flame to keep the water warm and the kitchen gently heated. but above all else is a decorated card, marked by a familiar scrawl: ]

Good morning, and happy birthday, Neuvillette.

It seems most of my efforts were outshined by the sudden appearance of some of your clothing from home, but it never hurts to have more of a good thing, does it? But before you get too comfortable breaking in the new quilt and robe, though, you’ve got an appointment at Hé Huā this morning for a bit of R&R.

Admittedly, I may have embellished a few of your 'symptoms,’ but I’d argue the work you’ve been putting in during our evenings more than warrants the treatments offered. So take full advantage of them—for the both of us—and let me know how it goes.

The weather hasn't been particularly cooperative, and the sun only makes brief appearances, but I’ve arranged a small get-together this evening with Aether and Miss Navia at the former’s apartment. You’ll have to make the trek, unfortunately, since we’ll all be cooking up until you arrive—but you know how to reach us if you’d like to come by earlier.

Have a wonderful day, Neuvillette. We're all looking forward to seeing you tonight.

— Wriothesley

Good Afternoon, Monsieur Neuvillette!

I know Wriothesley must have mentioned the small get-together we're having, but I wanted to wish you a very happy birthday on my own before I start cooking. I'm in charge of desserts, obviously, and while we may not be in Fontaine, I am going to try and bring the Hotel Debord's great dessert selection to you! While I may not be as good as Chef Escoffier, I have picked up a few tips from her!

I only hope that we can all make your birthday a nice ray of sunshine while we're here.

- Navia ♥

[The letter than Neuvillette will find comes with a small bag of cookies that are shaped like little dragons, similar to those found on Saurus Crackers. People of Natlan and Saurians love them, so hopefully Neuvillette will enjoy them as well.

The letter itself is quite simple:]

Happy birthday!

In this special day, the stars send you all the well wishes! We may have found ourselves in a difficult world to be in, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy our time here.

And speaking of! I hope you will accept this little invitation for a birthday party! Location: my apartment. Please feel yourself at home when you're there!

The gathering will be small, with myself, Wriothesley and Navia. We hope you'll enjoy it and we can't wait to see you soon!

-Aether

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[Once Neuvillette will reach the apartment for their little gathering, Aether will eagerly open the door for him and usher him inside. The air is full of delicious smells from various dishes prepared by the trio and the traveler is grinning bright, awaiting the Iudex's reaction.]

I hope you didn't get too cold... If so, we'll make sure to warm you up!

[If needed, Aether has a blanket waiting on the couch, just in case their friend needed it. The traveler leads Neuvillette towards Navia and Wriothesley, then leaves for a moment to grab a small box and gift it to the Hydro Dragon.]

And here's a little something from me. It's nothing special, but I hope it'll be useful, especially now.

[Inside, Neuvillette will find a a blue and white scarf, soft to the touch and warm.]

forward dated to 12/4; call then action? already CWs for super moon shenanigans and debauchery

12/18; kitchen table

12/18, before the party

18/12, the invitation + action