birthday [★] by the sea

[michael t.]

YOU NEVER GAVE UP ON ME; WHY DON'T YOU?
I'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU SEE; WHY WON'T YOU?

When Michael had initially heard about Keona's birthday from Kian, he had been a bit hesitant to try and get her anything. Not because he didn't like his fellow dealer – in fact, he respected her and enjoyed her company quite a bit – but mainly because he didn't know what to get her. Keo had never really seemed like the type to be too interested in material goods, something that was in stark contrast to the bobcat's own nature. However, with a little bit of extra thought, Michael thought that he was able to figure out a gift that bridged the gap between his own specialities and Keona's tastes. Of course, that was with a little help from Kian, since the thief on his own didn't know anything like Keona's favorite flower.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long for Michael to actually get the gift prepared. While it was a bit of a pain adjusting a bracelet to actually fit to the size of Keona's small legs, the bobcat had experience with altering jewelry, so it was relatively painless. He then brought the gift – a very subtle and plain silver bracelet with a charm bearing the initial K – towards where Keona sat on the shore. His gift was wrapped up in a simple and small box, mainly for the benefit of not letting it fall into the sand, considering it wasn't as if Keo could peek at what it was. Once Michael was near where his fellow dealer was sat, he placed the little box down next to her, muttering softly, "Hey, Keona... I'm sure you don't wanna make a huge deal out of your birthday, but I did get you something. Seemed like the proper thing to do. I know you can't... you know, see it, but... I think you'll appreciate it anyways. And the smell... er, I know that sounds weird now, but... it'll make sense once you open it, I promise." Working with tiny ilima flowers in order to make sure the bracelet smelled like them was a bit of a hassle, but it wasn't so bad. He was at least lucky enough that The Typhoon lived so near to the ocean, so they weren't too terribly hard to find.

— Reggan