Nadia & Bunny, about an hour in [We can make this short, since so much else is going on, but I had to let Bunny say hi.]
It's amazing, what Nate has done here for Nadia. He always was like this, part magician and part miracle worker, the sort of man who can make impossible things happen even in a world where even the basics are hard to comment. It's one of many things she loves about him.
There's no shortage of well-wishers who want their time with Nadia, but Bunny doesn't mind waiting her turn. Watching someone else experience joy is its own kind of reward, and she spends most of the early part of the party smiling each time she sees Nadia in conversation with yet another person. Good fortune has fallen on the other woman since their visit to the Dog Park, and Bunny can see it around her like a subtle glow, in the way she holds herself, the way her laughter comes more readily. Whoever Anton may be -- and Bunny only knows what she's heard from Nate -- his appearance has been good for Nadia. Optimism has never been a very far reach for Bunny, but she hopes this is just the start of many good things for Nate's dear friend.
When Bunny glances over to see Nadia on her own, she wastes no time in slipping over, greeting the woman before giving her a light embrace. "Happy birthday," she says, and passes over a parcel wrapped in plain paper. Early on, shortly after arriving in Austin, Bunny stumbled across a craft store, and she's been making the most of it ever since, turning old talents she hasn't used since her teenage years to making beaded jewelry for trading. Inside Nadia's package is a scarf she acquired in this way, by crafting a multi-strand necklace for one of the Capitol women. A bracelet, too, made by Bunny's own hand, is included.
"These are completely frivolous," she admits, but there's not even a dollop of shame in either her expression or her tone. "That's what birthday presents are for."