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[ Surprised by her friend bursting into tears, Mayari panicked while her hair glowed into white and her eyes blue, thinking that she might've offended her on accident. But when Hazel said that her gift was perfect, she stopped and gave her a small smile, one of her eyes turning into glowing white. ]
".....I'm glad."
[ She gave Hazel a gentle hug, slowly making small circles on her back, and said the words that the assistant needed to hear. ]
"Happy Birthday, Hazel."
"Hi Hazel! It's Mayari. Your birthday's on the 20th, right? I made something for you..... I know it isn't much, but I wanted to give you something."
[ She hands you a jar filled with colored paper stars. ]
“ … Huh, Mi… I mean, Mayari, what do you…? ”
[ She eyes the jar and looks up at Mayari, now fully processing the words spoken. ] “ … Oh… It’s my birthday today… My birthday… today…? “ “ … The 20th… April 20th… That’s right… “
[ They look down at the ground slightly. ]
“ My apologies, I appear to have forgotten… “ [ She gingerly takes the paper-star filled jar from Mayari, holding it in her hands as if it’d be taken away if she ever let go or let her eyes off of it for even a moment. ] [ It’d been… too long, truly, too long since she’d remembered a birthday of hers. How long had it been…? Three years…? Four years…? It was a miserable haze of time she’d failed to recollect, and she let her focus back on the gift. ]
[ How… how long had Mayari spent making all of these stars, just for her birthday? They were only mimics of stars, much like her hairclips, never truly reminiscent of the lights above. But… they had love and care crafted into them. How long had it been since she’s felt that? ]
[ Now she’s holding space in her hands, the stars in her eyes, and it’s hers, all hers, nobody else’s but hers. Her love, and it’s all for her to keep, never to give away. ] [ They’d always thought they could never touch the stars, after all the sacrifice. Ever since the tiger convinced her to stay. Even with all of her dreams… They were always nothing more than dreams. But… maybe, even if she couldn’t fully change… Maybe she could touch the stars, she could at least try to stay strong. ]
[ She didn’t realize it, but she was crying. Tears fell from her eyes and clouded her vision, but she didn’t wipe it away and hide… She just stayed like that, a small smile creeping up on her face. ] [ Even with all the money she could use, all the money she could buy gifts and food and hell, even businesses with… She was swarmed with a feeling she couldn’t buy before. ]
[ Happiness. ] ” … No, no, Mayari. This is… this is enough. This is more than enough. Thank you… thank you so, so much. I… I don’t know how… How I can re… “ [ She sniffs, voice becoming high-pitched and wavering. ] “ … I don’t know how I can repay you. This is… Perfect. “
“ …It’s perfect. Thank you…. “
[ Mayari nods her head as she rushes to find Tian or Matteo while carefully carrying tiny Hazel in her hands. ]
[ a tiny hazel comes up to you!! ]
“ … “
[ er… what do you say? ]
"I'm......not sure."
[ She says as her hair glows white with blue and her eyes blue filled with worry. ]
"Hmm..... maybe I could bring you to either Matteo or Tian. How does that sound?"
[ a tiny hazel comes up to you!! ]
“ … “
[ er… what do you say? ]