Show me who I am // open+one year // and who I could be

[london r.]

Less than a month from now would be London's own birthday, a day she was rather excited for, though she did not really have any idea what she wished to do on that day. She supposed she still had time to decide. At her half-birthday, Maria had prepared a cake, so she supposed she might make one of those, though there were also other pastries she could try out. It didn't seem like it would be difficult, she just needed to follow the instructions of one of the old cook books and magazines the girl had taken here with her from the gas station. It would just take a moment of concentration to conjure one up, in fact, she had already begun looking for a recipe.

That's why she was so surprised when she saw a cake as she entered the main cavern. It reminded her so much of her half-birthday, that the clouded leopard briefly believed the hallucinations she had once had were back. Back when Maria had left her, and she was forced to be independent. During those days she could have sworn that she could hear the laughter of her brothers as she had walked around those familiar lands, and she would briefly make out the shape of them before realizing it wasn't them at all, just a bush, or a trick of the light. Until things had gotten even worse and she had started seeing her mother and brothers wherever she went, asking her what she was doing, why she wasn't dead yet. They had blamed her, and she blamed herself too. However, she soon realized that wasn't the case, much to her relief. This was not a memory returning to haunt her, but instead just Jacob being kind as he always was.

"Happy Birthday." the girl would mumble quietly, still not quite able to pull herself out of her memories. The girl had no idea it was Jacob's birthday, she supposed she should have guessed that this might be it, but in truth she did not know. He did appear to be close in age to her, but that thought hadn't even crossed her mind as she crossed the cavern to where everything had been set up. The words had been said almost unconsciously, her mind still stuck in her past as she tried to pull herself back into the present. The girl would grab herself a small piece, starring at the fluffy vanilla cake for a moment. Maria had made some that was both chocolate and vanilla back then, but London had only wanted the vanilla cake. Funny how the next time she had any cake after that it had the same flavor. A small smile plastered itself on the girl's maw as she tried it, the sweet taste of the icing managing to cheer her up from the shock she had just had.