Tables were set up in the hall in the event any brought gifts.
((Here's the place for any of that you wish to post!))

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-set/BQcDAAAAAwoDanBnAAAABC5vdXQKFk5ydjVzTUhlM3hHQnZBV3JWZm5MYlEAAAACaWQKAXgAAAAEc2l6ZQ.jpg

Ever since Lirssa's wondrous tale the other night, the empath had been obsessed with making just the right gift for her young friend. She had worked throughout the night on the finishing touches and when she was done, Eless stood back with a pleased smile.

Inside a small box wrapped in sapphire silk and tied with gold ribbons, was a small figurine she had crafted of elven laen in Lirssa's likeness. In the crystalline figure's hand was a miniature "vorpal blade" and when one pushed the tiny button on the stand, it swished with an audible "snicker-snack"!

The card read:

Dearest Lirssa,

May thy birthday be killer good!

Much love,
~Eless

A small package arrives with a black envelope taped to the top of it. It has a picture of a gold rose and a heart on the cover. It is addressed to Lirssa Sarengrave.



Hi Lirssa!

It's me!

Aunt Tara!

YAY!

Fourteen is a great age to be, take it from me! I was married, had my first child, and lived in a big castle at fourteen! When I wasn't trying to hang myself from the portcullis to escape the lunatic I was forced to marry (his name was Jaron, by the way), I was throwing myself off the castle roof or down the stairs only to learn that being a child of an elf and a vampire?

My neck couldn't break!

Yeah, so that sucked, but you know, they say that it is better to have tried and failed, than to never have tried at all! I have no regrets.

Anyway, after I stabbed the psychopath a few dozen times with my Daddy's dagger and he bled to death all over my favorite pink dress, I escaped with my brother Tarathiele and we came here, to Rhy'Din! Yeah! I was the same age you are now when I first arrived here. I didn't know anyone or have a pot to piss in!

I'll never forget that first night, laying in that sheep meadow, underneath the great big sky, lamenting over the fact that my life up until that point was an utter failure, only to wake up and learn that my clothes had been stolen in the middle of the night by some pervert and was forced to wear a barrel for a few days until my brother could find me suitable clothing.

I remember thinking "Gee whiz, I barely escape that jerk husband of mine with my life and now I'm naked! What a world I live in!"

Tarathiele came through for me, though! He had to steal me some clothes from the tailor who wasn't very happy since Rhy'Dinians in those days weren't as generous as they are now, but you know, that's OK. It built my character! Made me who I am today! Your Aunt!

Yes, people stared at me and made fun of me but you know I made those bastards pay a few years later, when, at just sixteen, I became a vampire, an' ate them and their entire families! And to think....just two years earlier I was forever worrying where my next meal was going to come from! Now I have so many choices, I feel like I'm living in one of
those restaurants that offer a buffet option every night!

And the best part about it is, it's free!

Like I always say, if it's free it's for me!

Everyone in the Inferno is REAL excited it's your birthday. They're all so sorry they can't come, though. See, when you live the life of a sinner and are eternally damned because of it, you're sorta screwed and can't go nowhere. If it were not for that and the chains embedded in their flesh, they would definitely be at your party! Honest!

However, Geryon is going to deliver the presents I got for you to your home. He's allowed to leave. You remember him, right? He's the big monster with wings that almost swallowed Rekah whole the night he brought baby Razzle Dazzle's limb crib to the house?

Yep! That's the one! He told me to tell you he says happy birthday. He'd say it himself but he only speaks Demon and not Common like you or I and I'm thinking you aren't going to understand a damn word he is saying so it is just best if I tell you instead.

I've made a scrapbook with pictures of the presents I purchased for you so you can see what you're getting! I hope you like them! I'm going to try real hard to be at your party but the work of the Whore of Babylon is never done, so I may miss it! If I'm not there, please don't be sad! I'll see you again soon!

Well, I have to go whip a few sinners into submission and hang a few others on some meathooks, so I better go now.

I love you, sweetie! I'm just so very proud of you! Fourteen! Wow! This is such an exciting time! I hope your life is as blessed as mine has been!

Happy happy birthday!

Love N Kisses,

Your Aunt Tara


(( I posted an album of the present pics to my FB profile. You should be able to see them here. ))

Jo' didn't know much about Lirssa, aside from what she knew of their first encounter a few weeks ago. So going out on a limb she bought Lirssa a huge stash of Twizzlers and Dr. Pepper so that she could test out Jo's theory on Twizzlers being the perfect straw for Dr. Pepper.

She also didn't have a clue on whether or not Lirssa was girly or not, but she figured she'd try to by some things similar to what she got when she was Lirssa's age. So a makeup and nail kit were purchased and arranged in a make up train case.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/mythicsiren/LirssaB-daygift.jpg

Inspired by the revels of youth and a gift she'd not too long ago received, Lilliana worked long into the weeks predating Lirssa's snowy affair. Where there's a will, there's a way, and for every obstacle in one's path there is always a way through it, not around. Just as fire burns through the thickest of thicks, so too can a young woman's heart...

It was not so long ago that the gypsy witch herself was a young woman just peaking the age of childhood and spilling into her buxom bits and pieces. Lirssa was a practical girl, intelligent, smart, willing to learn, and always ready to accept the patient word of a friend or loved one whom might know better, even if she'd rather not. Lilliana had a feeling the girl could handle the responsibility, and that her parents would approve.

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs47/i/2009/181/7/d/Ornate_Keyhole_Necklace_by_Hen_na_Ningyo.jpg http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/118/3/6/36be7fcae894dc40bd168b3fef2922f7.jpg

A keyhole to touch to any surface bit enough to fit through, a key to make a proper mate with; enough to bring her to the home of her heart, whomever that may be; both works of magic charm disguised by a simple piece of string to give it the appearance of a whimsical neckpiece.

And of course... How could it be a gift from Lilliana if it weren't in a practical piece of packaging?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5my8a5kjFTk/TC2EFXBxN0I/AAAAAAAABok/-jGhpalbP80/s400/0610+JH+box+copy.jpg

Like the 'necklace' the box was also finely attuned to it's intended owner. Only Lirssa would be able to open the box, just as only Lirssa would be able to use her heart-bound keyhole and key. Like any finely woven magic though, it comes with it's quirks and can at times grow with it's owner... Gypsy presents are always much more than they seem.

http://www.benningtoncarriages.co.uk/images/ww/wicker-basket-large.jpg

Not to be uncourteous in any manner, however, the fingertip-to-wrist-sized-box for the birthday girl was set inside a wicker basket ladened with smaller offerings, all swaddled with care for a certain new addition in a certain family... A soft, curly teddy for brother, and a pair of matching, home-knit blankets in pink and blue for both siblings.

http://www.thewoolroom.com/prods/images/46_2.jpg

Unfortunately, due to Lilliana's unusual schedule and stealthy affairs as of late, she would not be able to deliver the gifts herself. Things often have a way of working out though, and for Lilli, they usually always came in a fantastically fiery manner.

Kazzy gave Lirssa a black t-shirt for the local band Siren Slippers with their band name in white and red along with a tape cassette of the same band's most recent album, "Cake on the Rocks."

Three packages were left for Lirssa to open at her leisure, along with a note in an envelope.

The note read:

Dear Lirssa,

Happy birthday from all of us. My present for you is in the silver snowflake paper, Alper's is the green snowflake paper, and 'Tonio's is the purple snowflake paper.

All our best,

Maranya, Alper and Antonio

The first box, wrapped in white paper with silver snowflakes, held a platinum pendant in the shape of a snowflake, with a white opal set in the center, and on a platinum chain.

The second box, wrapped in white paper with green snowflakes, held a platinum charm bracelet, with charms in the shape of juggling implements and pompoms.

The third box, wrapped in white paper with purple snowflakes, held a new juggling motley, sized for Lirssa these days, and in the colors of her old motley.