Letting others have their turn at greeting Faith first, Sarah circled the small crowd around the woman that morphed with every arrival or departure of birthday wishers. When a small lull in the approach was eventually evident, she slid in between the others to reach the birthday girl. Her gift for Faith from her, Peter and Toby had been set on a side table, ready to be opened at Faith's leisure so as not to bury her in wrapping paper where she stood.
"Twenty-five is a good age. The kind of age most women choose to stay at whenever asked their age," she said with a soft laugh and a wink, then reached in to hug Faith. "Congratulations."
For a number of people, getting older wasn't a congratulations sort of celebration, but for a Slayer, it was rare and worthy of note and Sarah respected that fact highly. It was a positive achievement, to be certain, and Sarah genuinely hoped that this birthday was another step forward for Faith.