audio & action @L.Mills forward dated to April 8th

[thestoriesarereal]

[The audio turns on to the sound of silence for the first few seconds before Lucy asks her question.]

If you could have one wish, what would you wish for? Not like...money or anything. Not for powers, but what would you really wish for?

[Because it's her birthday, and she wasn't really in the mood to celebrate. Of course, she'll wish for her family to be okay, for them to remember and come here so they could meet Victor. But...would that be a waste of a wish? Sure, wishes were powerful, but she was in another world, and she didn't think they would be strong enough to pull her family from one realm to the next...

Or, maybe she's just over thinking things. Maybe she just wants to talk and not think about her birthday.]


[ooc: Lucy's birthday is on April 8th, so here's her birthday post! She won't say it's her birthday, not yet anyway. Either way, this post can double as action too. So have fun!]

Comments

[jolting]

It's good they put in those details. The forensics can be just as important to the solution as any other factor.

[he cracks open the book, just flipping through the pages. It has a list of A-Z with explanations to the meaning and origin of each name. He pauses, giving her a smile]

That's very thoughtful. I'm sure James will appreciate it.

[thestoriesarereal]

Mmhmm, and it's really cool how they do it! Like, the science behind it, and what machines they use. [She's all about learning--and dancing.]

I hope so. I want him to feel at home here. Maybe he could spend more time with us.

And! He's a pretty good babysitter.

[jolting]

I know, it's incredible. That's the power of human ingenuity.

[he beams at that, chuckling at her comment] You should tell him that.

[thestoriesarereal]

Mmhmm! Maybe my next bed time story could more on the scientific side? Not murder mystery, but just mystery?

[There's a shake of her head.] I think you should tell him that. I think he'll love the praise coming from you.

[jolting]

Like Scooby Doo? [look, those are excellent mystery stories]

[and she's not wrong about James loving praise when it comes from Victor] Okay, then I'll tell him.

[thestoriesarereal]

Mmm, not quite as...kiddish. More like...Nancy Drew?

[She grins.] Good.

[The little porg starts to waddle back to the pair, opting to hop on Victor's knee and then rest on Lucy's shoulder.]</small

[jolting]

Excellent choice. I'll go looking for those later.

[he smiles, watching the little bird-thing situate itself] You know, it looks kind of like a cross between a penguin and an owl.

[thestoriesarereal]

Can we go together and look for them? Please?

[Lucy starts to pet it's head, being careful to not place too much pressure and be as gentle as possible.]

Really? I was thinking of a puffin and a owl.but penguin works too.

[jolting]

Sure. I can come pick you up after school so we can head straight to the bookstore before getting home.

Hm. Yeah, it looks a bit like a puffin. There's got to be a name suitable to such a unique creature.

[thestoriesarereal]

Yeah! Maybe even get ice cream afterwards?

[A slow nod]

We'll find something. I'm sure something will jump out at us.

[jolting]

We can do that. We can also do a little science and make some.

[thestoriesarereal]

Maybe we should do that instead. We haven't done anything like in a while...or gardening.

[jolting]

Yeah, it's been a little crazy lately between the move and this flood. But we have a nice back yard now for gardening. Let's set aside a day where we plan out where we want the garden to go and start planting some seeds, all right?

[thestoriesarereal]

Mmm..and what about star gazing, or camping? We were suppose to do that too...

Could we still do that? Please?

[jolting]

Sure. Until this flooding's cleared up, we should probably stick to our back yard, though.

[thestoriesarereal]

Yeah, that would be a good idea. Or, after the flooding, maybe not stray too far from home.

[jolting]

Exactly. But we can star gaze as often as you want. I have a telescope we can use, and some paper and pencils for star charts.

[thestoriesarereal]

Maybe we could it once a week? Or every other week? Just the two of us?

[jolting]

Once a week sounds good to me. [he kisses the top of her head]

Before I forget, I have something for you.

[he moves to get her present. Not that it's wrapped like a present at all. Inside is an old-style pocket watch. It's pretty similar to the one passed down to Gerhardt from their mother.

He'll wait to see what she thinks of it before explaining why he gave it to her]

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy perks up a little from the kiss, snuggling more with Victor and happy. Happier than she’s been in a few days. ]

Something for me? [ Well, she wasn’t expecting anything. Lucy didn’t say it was her birthday...unless he figured it out. Which he probably did, knowing how smart he is.

Lucy carefully opens the gift, stunned to see a pocket watch. It looks beautiful, something from his time period? Or possibly older. ]

It’s pretty and very cool. I didn’t think girls could have a watch like this. [ Because she’s only seen it in movies where the male lead has a watch like the one in her hands. Like Sherlock Holmes! ]

[jolting]

It’s actually a lot like the one my mother used to have, so girls can definitely have them. And I thought you might want one, too.

[thestoriesarereal]

Really? [ The item became more precious to her, knowing Victor’s mother had something like it. Was this a tradition in his world? Passing a family heirloom down? He really did view her as his daughter.

Still holding the pocket watch in one hand, she gave Victor another hug. ]

I’ll take very good care of it, Papa. Promise. Thank you.

[jolting]

[He knew that it was the sentiment behind the gift that would matter to Lucy, not the thing itself. And she had guessed correctly that Victor's sentiment was to show her he thought of her as his family. He squeezed her gently when she hugs him]

I know. I would trust you with anything. Look, I engraved it with your initials, too.

[He turns it over so she can see "L. M." etched into the back of the watch]

[thestoriesarereal]

[Her smaller fingers run over the initials he had engraved for her. He took great care to pick out this gift. It's something Henry or her mom would've given her. Something precious, something meaningful and it makes her happy and sad at the same time.

Victor was truly an amazing and kind hearted person. She really was lucky to have him as her guardian, as her Papa.]

I love it. [To emphasize her point, she placed a kiss to his cheek and hugged him again.]

...Do you think, we could get your initials engraved too? Next to mine?

[jolting]

[Victor knows he's pretty lucky that Lucy understands his thought process and gestures. His own family didn't always understand his expressions of love, but she gets it right away. And when she gives him her own expressions, it makes him very happy]

Yes, we definitely can.