Griselda's Birthday (Open)

Storyteller wrote:

"Oof," he said softly, with a laugh. "Lass, ye don't weigh thirty pounds anymore," he said with a slight tremble in his voice. He was ridiculously happy himself, very near to tears, but he was making light of it so as to not make a huge spectacle -- more than they already were. He caught her under the legs and held her against him, one hand at the back of her head and holding her tight.

And after a few moments, he put her down, speaking to her in soft Gaelic -- about how they could catch up soon, seriously, really, very soon. He wasn't going to lose her again.

She laughed softly, pressing kisses to her father's face. The way she looked at him was a special look, very private, very intimate. Not like that, you freaking pervs. She was sharing many, many things with him in the time space of a few seconds. And then...oh, then....the joy fully hit her.

She fairly jumped out of Joseph's arms, though she had her hand in that of her father and gripping it tightly. She was scanning the faces, looking around, almost frantic but not quite, then she stopped looking. The smile on her face lit up the darkened grove better than any bonfire could.

She had spotted Erik - and Matieu - and some girl she didn't know but she was making the assumption that it was Matieu's girl that Erik had told her about. She made a beeline for Erik and much like she had done to her father a moment ago, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Erik, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hello, Love," she said to him, almost unable to contain her excitement. "Did you get to meet my dad?"

Rhiana wrote:

Abigail O'Reilly wrote:

Abigail helped Rhianna get thing set and then milled around the back of the party.  She wasn't being antisocial but was fine just watching the new faces

Rhiana was smirking and came up beside Abigail again.

"Am I mean because I want to see how Auntie's boyfriend handles coming face-to-face with her daddy? Mortal daddy, I mean. 'Hi, I'm boning your daughter' just doesn't seem like the smartest thing to say," she giggled. "But I'm a little bit of a sadist."

Said the six-year-old.

Abigail chuckles slightly. "no, tha isn' mean a' all

Ra'idah wrote:

She laughed softly, pressing kisses to her father's face. The way she looked at him was a special look, very private, very intimate. Not like that, you freaking pervs. She was sharing many, many things with him in the time space of a few seconds. And then...oh, then....the joy fully hit her.

She fairly jumped out of Joseph's arms, though she had her hand in that of her father and gripping it tightly. She was scanning the faces, looking around, almost frantic but not quite, then she stopped looking. The smile on her face lit up the darkened grove better than any bonfire could.

She had spotted Erik - and Matieu - and some girl she didn't know but she was making the assumption that it was Matieu's girl that Erik had told her about. She made a beeline for Erik and much like she had done to her father a moment ago, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Erik, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hello, Love," she said to him, almost unable to contain her excitement. "Did you get to meet my dad?"

When Griselda made her way over to Erik, jumping into his arms too, Jamie moved. He put two fingers into his mouth and whistled sharply, starting to clap and cheer and hoping that he wasn't the only one.

Abigail O'Reilly wrote:

Abigail chuckles slightly. "no, tha isn' mean a' all

She laughed softly.

"Good," she said, joining her father in the cheering and clapping. Griselda looked so happy that she couldn't help it.

Victor clapped. He just wasn't the sort of person to be overly boisterous in public but he did clap and smile warmly while he did it.

Victor Steele wrote:

Victor squeezed her hand and smiled.  "It's moments like this where I feel like all the strife and struggle of the years is worth it, just to see one brilliant shining light of joy."

She held Victor's hand and gave it a squeeze. The miracle of God was present this evening, whether anyone else believed or not. She knew it, deep within her bones. And she saw it, saw the greatness that was God's mercy and love, when she saw how Griselda wrapped around her father that was assumed long-dead.

And oh, oh, oh....Griselda's man was here - the man who treated her well instead of like an afterthought or abusive in some way. The one who made her smile and laugh instead of whimper and hide. He was there, too, and when Griselda wrapped around Erik, she almost had tears in her eyes.

She settled for clapping and cheering along with Jamie and Rhiana. She knew, deep in her heart, that this was right. Everything about this evening was right.

Ra'idah wrote:

She had spotted Erik - and Matieu - and some girl she didn't know but she was making the assumption that it was Matieu's girl that Erik had told her about. She made a beeline for Erik and much like she had done to her father a moment ago, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Erik, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hello, Love," she said to him, almost unable to contain her excitement. "Did you get to meet my dad?"

He kissed her back, "No I haven't." looking guilty at the mention of her Dad.

"Hey gorgeous, met your friend we helped out, she's very nice." with a smile that said but she's not you. "This is Tris." Putting an arm around the one she didn't' know. "Hope you don't mind we brought her too."

"Nice to meet the lady that's turned my big brother's head so much." with a sweet smile at Griselda, but didn't offer to shake her hand cause she was trying to be nice.

She laughed softly and tilted her head at Erik's guilty look. She kissed him again, gently.

"Don't fret. I'll introduce you later, when my head isn't exploding from trying to process a whole lot more information than I was prepared to process tonight."

She turned to Matieu and gave him a huge grin.

"Hey, Handsome! No, no, I'm glad you brought her!" It was true. She looked quite pleased, in fact. As for his comment that Orie was very nice, she looked slightly concerned. She knew Orie's brand of 'nice' and it usually didn't involve things like clothes.

"Nice to meet...." she paused and gave Erik a slightly sideways glance. He had not mentioned a sister, though it was just a slight smirk on her part. "...you, Tris." She beamed a grin, since she really only had paused for maybe two seconds. "And thank you so much for coming. It's an honor to have all three of you here, truly it is."

She was actually, truly touched. Go figure.

She couldn't help but continue to smile. "Are hugs completely out of the question?" she asked, because she knew what Erik had said about Tris before, that it could be painful or harmful to touch her. But she couldn't help it. She really just liked hugs.

The twins did what the twins did best. Matthew pulled out his guitar and started to softly play while George started to softly sing. Until Matthew started to sing as well.

They could be heard in the grove. However, they hadn't brought any amplifiers, so conversations could still happen and be easily heard. It was just what they did and it seemed like a good time to begin.

It was a risk, with unknown people there, to sing the chosen song. While not their most popular, it wasn't exactly unknown. They just didn't care.

Victor was still smiling when the twins started playing, but he glanced over confused at Miyu, looking for a hint on if this was a song he should be familiar with.

Matieu smiled "I'll take two and pass one along." with a nod to her.

She wasn't shy about hugging Matieu tightly. Considering that a few months ago, she had been grinding her ass against him, it would have seemed weird that she was averse to touching him. Which she wasn't, it's just how it is. She put her arms around Matieu and hugged him tightly and he could feel what no one else could actually feel. He felt her shaking. Apparently, there was just a little too much going on at the moment.

She stepped away from Matieu with a smile, then looked around for a moment, then looked utterly and completely lost.

"I have no idea what to do," she said, more to herself than to anyone.

Victor looked over at Griselda with a teasing smile on his face. "Not the first time a Ventrue has left a Tremere unsure what to do. Tell your dad how much you love him, open your presents and go home and catch up on the last 500 years."

She turned to Victor and blinked rapidly.

"You think my dad being here is the reason I don't know what to do?"

Her dad being there had nothing to do with it. She was the center of attention again and that really only worked well for her when she was leading an operation of some sort. Being the center of attention in a social situation is the sum total of the reason she was currently awkward.

Victor blinked back. Wasn't it? "Anybody know the words to Happy Birthday?" he muttered. Because seriously. He wasn't up on that stuff. It wasn't even written when he was alive.

She touched Victor's arm and smiled, looking around for where the snacks and tea were being dealt with.

"Don't worry about it. And don't try to tell me how to interact with my father; while I am very happy that he is alive, overjoyed that he's here and wants to see me, five hundred years is a very, very long time to be apart. I don't know him anymore and he doesn't know me, so we will catch up in our own way in our own time."

Victor smiled. "I know. I'm reminded why Miyu tells me not to try and be funny. We are both extremely happy for you... ah screw it."

He gave the Tremere a chaste hug. "Happy birthday. You earned this night."

She was almost more shocked by the hug from the Ventrue than she was by the sight of her father. She blinked, obviously stunned. She didn't return the hug but that's just because of her sheer, utter shock.

"Thank you," she managed then stepped a little bit closer to Erik, Matieu and Tris. Funny how she felt more at ease around those three than she did the people she had known for centuries. "Uh. I think it's time for tea. You want some?" she turned her head to ask the three if they wanted anything because somehow, she was turning into the hostess of this thing.

She almost jumped when she heard her father's voice behind her. Her face took on the oddest expression. Her cheeks were turning pink. Bright pink. She was blushing.

"Daddy...." she said in a warning sort of voice, reaching over to take a cup of tea off of his tray. Looking more like she might want to hide than anything, she took the warm mug of tea and held it with both of her small hands.

"Daddy, this is Erik, Matieu, Tris and Victor. Everyone, this is my dad, Joseph McKenzie. He looks more scary than he is."

Victor took the tea and got one for Miyu as well, and then smiled at Griselda.

"We met briefly before you arrived. "

He looked at Miyu and then to Joseph. "Mister McKenzie, this is Miyu Chen, our Harpy, and my lover. "

Miyu accepted the cup of tea and gave Griselda's father a slight bow from her waist.

"Mister McKenzie. It's a pleasure."