Requiem

38

"Say!" Raven's voice chimed up again, both Erik and Liesel looked back at her as she stood up. She brushed herself down and clasped her hands behind her back. She looked at them with an innocent smile. Brushing her hair over her shoulder briefly she shuffled forwards off of the mat and stopped by Liesel's side. "You said it is your birthday next week, right? We should totally do something for it!" Raven said excitedly, the thought of a party excited her, it would be a good thing for everyone; or at least a good thing to relax to through all the training. Liesel looked uncertain over the suggestion, whereas Erik looked between the two before running a hand awkwardly through his hair. He hadn't realised, but one thing he remembered well when it came to birthdays and Liesel: she didn't celebrate them.

In fact, she hadn't celebrated one once since he knew her. She had a celebration forced on her when she was a child, and that ended in disaster really. So it was made a point to leave her alone when it was her birthday. Blinking suddenly from a realisation, he glanced down at the auburn haired woman in front of him. She was still trying to fathom out a way to kindly decline Raven's suggestion, clearly. His mind suddenly pieced it together; that she had not celebrated a birthday since losing her sister. The one person she was most close to, apart from himself, that she would naturally celebrate with, was gone. He presumed one twin celebrating when there should be two was a lonely, painful affair. With or without those they were friends with around them.

"That's if we're still here," both eyes flicked up to him. One sharp green pair, thankful for his intervention and what he had actually said. The other calm blue and annoyed that he had intervened and over what he had spoken. Raven clearly didn't agree with Erik's slight pessimism. Or she didn't quite like him shooting down her suggestion, in a roundabout way.

"Touché," Liesel wagged a finger in the air and smiled thinly at Raven. "We have so much to do! Celebrating my birthday is pretty minor on the ground scale of things, no?" She continued on from Erik's general statement. Honestly, she was okay without celebrating her birthday. To her it was just another day, another year older, same old, sort of same old. When really, in comparison to her last birthday, a lot had changed for her.

"Fine! But if we're still here, we're doing something." Rave said in a playful yet serious tone while pointing a finger at Liesel. Narrowing her eyes slowly she smiled when Liesel saluted and gave a firm nod. Seeing as how that was agreement enough, Raven slipped past the two and walked away.

"Thank you," Erik looked down at her, Liesel stood frowning deeply. Blinking slowly and standing with her eyes shut for several moments she eventually looked back to him. "I really didn't want to shoot her down and say no...she seemed so happy at the idea of a party."

"It's probably just the party thing which made her happy."

"Hey!" Liesel exclaimed and swatted a hand at him. She frowned and pointed a finger at him before shuffling past him and walking out into the corridor. She didn't quite agree with Erik's words, that sounded a bit mean really. That the only reason why Raven suggested the idea of a party, was because she just wanted to go to one. Liesel had sort of cottoned on that the blonde had been a shut in, not through her choice, but probably more from her brother; but she had also learned that Raven was a bored teenager wanting fun, so if she got that, and got to celebrate Liesel's birthday too, why wouldn't she suggest such a thing?

"Come on, it didn't take them long back in the base, did it?" He followed after her, and suffered a look being shot his way. "I'm just saying, any excuse to mess around..." Erik trailed off, honestly if given any chance he was rather sure everyone would stop what they were doing right now to go do something else. Though yes, sure, they were all here voluntarily. But that still didn't mean they didn't still take any chance to slack.