They do what they can with such a small budget.

[to_theleft]

Who: Anyone. Everyone.
What: A party on the Antoinette, for Haruhi's birthday.
Where: The docks at Isla Empieza, and on-board the Antoinette.
When: February 4th, afternoon and evening
Style: Whatever floats your boats!
Status: Open to everyone! Come enjoy the celebration.
Warnings: None yet; will be added as they occur.

The docks are usually loud and busy, but today, one ship sticks out as being particularly energetic. Those on the Antoinette are preparing a surprise for one of their crew, and they are not being quiet about it in the least. Instructions are shouted from one end of the deck to the other about decoration placement; some unlucky passers-by may wind up with rejected decorations on their heads, as anything deemed 'not good enough' will be carelessly tossed over the side of the ship.

A steady stream of food is being delivered to the Antoinette, and placed on top of a series of makeshift tables decorated with over a dozen drawings of happy tanukis, each enjoying a different meal, and each with a party hat on. Anyone who comes onto this ship and tries to eat something without permission will be swiftly descended upon by a member of the crew - this food is not to be enjoyed until the birthday girl returns.

Games have been planned; some more carefully than others. They've not managed to find a decent musician around yet, so unfortunately this party is sadly lacking in the music department - anyone with an instrument and talent would be welcomed.

All entrances to other parts of the ship have been roped off, and any attempt to explore beyond the deck will result in Trouble.

Come enjoy the party, and make some new friends!

Comments

[failguardian]

[Anise is just casually walking along the docks back to her own ship when out of nowhere, a whole heap of confetti floats gently down to land on her head. And since she hadn't been paying attention to what's above her...

Cue shrieking and a mad flailing attempt to get it off her head.]

What the hell is that?!

[princelycharm]

[Who needed commoner's caffeine when the mere thought of his daughter's smile was enough to fuel Tamaki's whirlwind of actions. It was a busy afternoon, and the host club king was yet to be fully satisfied by the preparations.

Then he heard a shriek. He saw what caused it and gave an apologetic look at the girl before looking back at Hikaru with his usual president (authoritative) voice.]

Hikaru, I told you to be careful!

[to_theleft]

[Hikaru turns around only to pull his lower eyelid down and stick out his tongue. He's not sorry at all.]

[princelycharm]

You could have injured someone!

[Shaking his head.]

How are the preparations?

[to_theleft]

If somebody gets hurt by something like confetti, then they shouldn't bother leaving their house. [Seriously, what are you even worried about?

He straightens up a little at the question about the preparations though, and flashes a quick grin.]

All going according to plan, Sir!

[princelycharm]

It could hit their commoner eyes and blind them~!

[He still needs to know more about the difference between commoners and people like them.]

That's good! Inform me right away if there are any problems!

[to_theleft]

[Tamaki's an idiot, but Hikaru will pretend to believe him on the commoner thing and gasp appropriately in feigned surprise.] You're right; how stupid of me. I won't do it again. [He's totally gonna do it again.

He snaps off a quick salute in acknowledgement of the order, and he's off again to get back to it. There's still a lot to be done!]

[princelycharm]

Good!

[With that, Tamaki disappears to the lower deck and getting oh so excited about the party.]

[to_theleft]

[He peers over the side of the ship to see what that scream's about, his dark hair blowing into his eyes, and is distinctly unimpressed by both the mad flailing and the wind.]

Looks like one of the dead bugs went overboard; my bad.

[No point in telling her it's just confetti; girls like that tend to freak out more when they think it's a bug.]

[failguardian]

[As he predicts that brings a fresh fit of glass-shattering shrieks and renewed attempts to get the mess off her hair.]

[...Then she finally manages to sweep the thing off her hair and-!]

This isn't a bug!

[to_theleft]

[Yes! Just what he was hoping for. She might not be able to see his smile from that distance, but there's definite amusement in his voice.]

Really? I must have gotten it confused with the other bucket.

[There's a brief bit of a scuffle on the deck as he's chastised, and shortly after he's making his way down to her, carrying a rose made out of plain paper in his hand. This whole 'behave nicely' thing sucks. He kind of hopes she won't stay long enough that he has to apologise.]

[failguardian]

[What a jerk! Angrily, she kicks at the dock, scowling.]

I can't believe you!

[She's about to say more, but that scuffle sounds interesting and she strains to hear. And then...whoa! It's a rich-looking boy with a rose! For her!]

[Anise immediately switches tracks entirely, going from scowling to fluttering her eyelashes at him and pulling out a cute pose, already seriously regretting her earlier words.]

Ohh! Is that for me?

[to_theleft]

[He sighs inwardly. Typical girl. Outwardly, he presents his Host Club smile; charming, mischievous, and refined. He took a moment before leaving the ship to make sure his dyed-dark hair was still sitting well, and to brush the evidence of any work off his clean, well-made outfit. After today, these clothes are going back into storage so he doesn't wreck them on the sea. He presents the paper rose to her with a flourish, mourning the loss of the quarter-hour it took him to fold it last night to use as a decoration, and offers a short bow with his left hand pressed against his chest. All part of the job, this. At least he can be sure he still looks good.]

Of course. An apology for causing you discomfort. [He rises out of the bow, offering out his left hand for her to place one of hers in.] What's your name?

[So he can remember her for later.]

[failguardian]

[Man, he's so charming! Although she hasn't really forgotten about that whole "dead bug" thing, but she can let bygones be bygones, even if she isn't sure how sincere he's being. Still, it's fun to play along! Giggling, she takes the rose with one hand and places her other hand in his.]

I'm Anise Tatlin, at your service! What about you?

[to_theleft]

['Anise Tatlin', huh? Not typically Japanese, so best to not confuse her with the proper way of introducing himself. It's uncomfortable even for him, but he'll deal with it. It's not like he doesn't have others who are informal, after all.

He'll begin to gently lead her away from the Antoinette, continuing to hold his hand aloft to rest hers on like a proper lady. His steps are slow and careful, and his grace comes from a lifetime of practice.]

Hikaru. [He's sure to shoot her a dashing grin and a wink.] What brings you by here, Princess Anise?

[Just a few more minutes, and hopefully he can get her out of here without someone onboard the ship having a fit at him.]

[failguardian]

[Eeek! Princess! If only she really is one. She allows herself to pretend, just for a moment, that she's some rich noble being escorted to a ball. It's all too easy to do so with the way Hikaru is leading her along, all elegant and gentlemanly.]

[But a noble shouldn't behave like a silly little girl. Determined to immerse herself in the scenario, Anise adopts a more serious bearing, although the bright smile doesn't fade from her face.]

Oh, I was just exploring around the island! I'm going back to my ship and crew right now. We're the Shepherds, have you heard of us?

[to_theleft]

[Silly little girl or noble, he's used to both kinds. And fangirls, too.]

The Shepherds, huh? Never heard of them. Do you transport sheep, or something? [That's what shepherds do, right?]

[failguardian]

Nope! [...Do they? She had just joined the crew, so she has no idea. Unsure now, she frowns.]

Uh, maybe. I don't know why we have that name! It sounds pretty lame now that you mention it.

[to_theleft]

How can you be on a ship and not know what you do? [Ah, crap, slipping out of gentlemanly there - he continues on smoothly, hoping to distract from his blunt question. Thank god they're almost far enough away that he'll feel comfortable ditching her soon.] Though, I guess it wouldn't be good for a young lady to be herding animals. How many people are on your crew?

[failguardian]

[Usually, Anise would bristle at his tone, but she's in the mood to let it slide with a light shrug of her shoulders, especially once he brings "young lady" into play.]

Well, I'm pretty new! And things have been pretty chaotic lately with the whole witch and fortress thing and all.

[Man, how many people are on her crew? She tries to think of names, but...hmm. Jeez, why did they have so many people?] My crew's pretty large, so I don't know everyone on board yet. But there's gotta be someone who's good at doing all the hard work!

[to_theleft]

Ah--so you got here during that whole witch thing? [If she did, then she's the first person he's met that arrived at the same time as him. That earns her a little genuine favour in his book; it's good to have people in the same situation as you, especially when everyone else just seems so accepting.

They've now reached a distance where he'd feel comfortable dropping her, but... well. He wants to find out if she and he came in the same batch, first.]

[failguardian]

Yep! [And cue venting time, mostly to try get pity points from Hikaru. Her tone takes on a fearful edge.] I had an awful time! It was so scary to have people threatening me right after I arrived!

[Then she peers up at him from under her eyelashes, smiling shyly.] But I bet you handled it just fine.

[A bit of flattery never hurt, right?]

[to_theleft]

[He really doesn't care about what troubles she may or may not have encountered, but he's a damn good actor. He softens his features into a pitying, understanding expression, and speaks with concern evident in his voice.]

Did you get through it okay?

[Truthfully, he had 0 problems with his arrival. His twin had found him very quickly, and after that it was just days spent searching for coral. True, the insanity of the masses wasn't fun to deal with and the rude locals could have been less obnoxious, but at least he managed to avoid anyone truly murderous.

He will, however, turn his head away from Anise in apparent shame, dropping his shoulders a little and speaking in a quieter voice.]

It... wasn't easy to manage, but... [He turns his head back to her a little, and gives her a gentle smile.] My brother helped me through it. I would be gone now if it weren't for him.

[Not entirely a lie; he certainly would have been lost for a lot longer if Kaoru hadn't had incredible timing.]

[failguardian]

[His apparent distress reaches Anise. She had never liked seeing anyone in distress, and she returns his gentle smile, automatically trying to comfort him. All thoughts of the earlier dead insect incident are forgotten, at least for the moment.]

At least it's over now. We just have to keep moving forwards. Things aren't so bad right now, so maybe they'll keep improving.

[to_theleft]

You're right; everything is much better now. [He attaches what appears to be a heartfelt smile to the end of that sentence, encouraging the implication that 'now' means 'because I met you'. He's not sure if she's bright enough to fill that in on her own, but no harm in putting it out there for her.

He's gotten what he wants to know out of her, so it's time for him to end this. He slows his stride to a stop and turns to Anise, bowing over her hand in his before letting it go.]] Thank you for your company, Princess Anise. I've got to go back now and finish our preparations for tonight - I'll see you around?