presumablyalone | Fifteenth Firefly

[ It’s been over two weeks since the New Year started, since Seto has considered himself yet another year older. That makes him seventeen this year, two years older than what he arrived here as.

Seto has never celebrated his birthday in his whole life. He’s celebrated his friend’s birthdays here, but not his nor even the old man’s back home. For as long as he can remember, his grandfather would just mark him a year older every year at some point. It isn’t likely that the old man actually knew when his real birthday was since he had only been with him since he was five. He was just an old man he lived with, an old man he rarely spoke to even until the very end.

But in his world, there had never been a point to celebrate a birthday or a way to, because they have nothing, not like they do here in Luceti. Not to mention, whoever is born into his world would have nothing to know of the date they were born. Survivors too because even if they remembered their birthdays, they would've no doubt lost track of time and dates.

There was never any to tell what month is coming up or which is ending. The only way to tell what time of the year it must be was when seasons would begin to change, watching the leaves, grass and temperature all change. It's how things were for him and his grandfather at least. He can't speak for the survivors whom he doesn't even know are alive, only assume if there are even any.

...It makes him wonder briefly to himself if the silver haired girl and Crow know theirs at all.

He's not one to complain, and really he won't, not about this. But... it would still be nice to have just one day that he can celebrate his birth, to be grateful for still being alive for another year when all others have died and to be grateful to his parents for giving birth to him. ]

What do you do when you don’t have a birthday? Like you can’t remember when it is. [The question comes after a moment after he opens up his journal.] Is there any way to just... make up a birthday?

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[He pauses for a moment to think back on that day]

It was nighttime and the sky was clear. There were a lot of stars and moon was really big and bright that night. It was humid too.

[Many stars? That reminded Tear of something that occurred during the past summer, even though the memory took a backseat to the events at that time.]

Have you heard of a festival called Tanabata?

[Tilting his head as he thinks]

I... think I've heard of it. Everyone here celebrates it here during the summer, right?

So they say, but to my understanding the tale behind it is that two people important to each other meet on that day across a bridge of stars.

A bridge of stars? [Well he and Ren did meet on a starry night when the moon was really big so that might actually be a good day... ]

Do you know what day Tanabata is on?

So the story tells. Tanabata fell on July 7th last year. [It's a date she remembers too well, given some of the things happening at the time regarding her friends.]

People also have a custom of writing wishes on the holiday.

What's a bridge of stars, exactly? Does it mean a starry night sky? [He's just curious really, he likes the idea either way.]

The 7th of July... [A date to write down for sure.] Really? Are the wishes ever granted?

I believe so, or a part of the sky where a higher number of stars are gathered. [The books had described something called the Milky Way, though the best equivalent she could think of for her world was the fon belt.]

As for wishes... I think they can be granted, in time.

Like the Milky Way? [His grandfather had told him about it when they looked at the stars. It was always so visible in the night sky when there were no clouds. It was really a beautiful thing. One of the very few things he misses from home.]

You think so? Did you make a wish before?

Yes, that's exactly one such example. [Then he must know the beauty behind such a sight, something she was glad he had.]

I did, though I wonder if it might have been too broad.

Can you see something like the Milky Way from your world? [With no lights or anything to make the stars disappear at night, he can see them all. He's accustomed to the sight of the milky way and all of the beautiful shining stars. He's even seen an aurora before.]

Why do you think that?

We have something resembling it that seemingly circles around the planet, the fon belt. They aren't stars, but it's no less beautiful when they reflect the light of the sun and moon. [Again she pauses when he asks his last question, but not because she didn't want to answer. It was more musing on how to go about it.]

My wish wasn't entirely for myself, it was for others important to me. That time had been hard on a number of my friends, so it was a very simple wish, but susceptible to individual interpretation. After all, I am not them, I cannot tell them how to fulfill their wish.

The fon belt? What is it made out of? What's it look like? [You can definitely color him curious here. Astronomy was never his strong point, like many things his grandfather had an interest in, but he does like it and find interest in it. He has to wonder if maybe it's like the belts that are around Saturn?

He blinks at her response though and smiles softly] That was really kind of you to wish for your friends. Do you think all of their wishes were granted?

It's made out of fonstones, all gathered in the sky and held there. Ever so often one of the stones fall down onto the land. [It wouldn't be the first time she's explained the topic, and while it could be difficult she didn't mind answering Seto's questions.]

... I hope they have been, however long it may take.

Fonstones? Are they really different than normal stones? [He's trying to imagine a stone being different from a stone. Not working out well.]

I hope so too... [And then a smile] I hope whatever you wished for and might wish for some day come true too.

Fifteenth Firefly - [voice]

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