| [Mar. 2nd, 2011|11:09 pm] |
Tsume edged away from the cake, picking up a bottle of beer as she did so and taking a long swallow.
“Can we cut the cake yet, Ma? Can we, can we?” Kiba nearly shouted, high on attention and ice cream. She lifted her eyebrows at his tone, and he deflated slightly, scuffing the dirt with one bare foot. “I mean, please?”
“I suppose everyone’s here,” she said, stepping closer again. If they served cake, maybe the party would end faster and Ibiki would go home.
He wasn’t far away, dragged into place by an eager Kiba. Tsume picked up the knife, slicing through frosting and bread, keeping half an eye on Ibiki.
“I’m surprised you came,” she said quietly. “Didn’t think a six-year-old’s birthday party would be your thing.”
Ibiki grinned. "Your budding little extortionist made it clear this was a command performance. He's clearly got a great future as a ninja ahead of him."
Tsume’s eyebrows shot upward and she looked at Kiba, whose scent went sugary sweet and sour apple all at once, and who smiled broadly, showing a missing canine tooth. “I just suggested, Ma. Idate wanted to come, but he’s not in my class, so...”
Idate, growing braver by the second as he carefully petted Kuromaru, looked up. “Kiba said I could see the wolves that are too wild to be ninken.” He looked at Ibiki, all big eyes and his own sugary-sweet scent. “I told you they were real. They’re real, huh?” he asked the group at large.
Kuromaru answered. “‘Course they’re real. We can’t all be ninken.” He angled his one good eye at Idate. “Besides, they help protect the grounds.”
Idate looked both awed and horrified. Tsume started handing out cake, putting pieces on plates and shoving them toward the edge of the table. Kiba grabbed the first plate and started to run, past the sparse buildings around the back end of the bonfire and off toward the river. “Last one to the river has to forfeit his cake to me!”
That caused a stampede, even canine familiars getting in on the excitement and tearing off after the kids — or just tearing around in general.
“You could go with them,” Tsume said to Ibiki dryly. “Since you came for the party and all.”
“Ignore her.” Tori elbowed Tsume out of the way with one arm, her other full of tiny baby, too young yet to even have clan tattoos. “She’s probably just PMSing.”
Tsume snorted. |
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