The date had been slowly and steadily approaching, just like every year, and Enn found herself contemplating and reviewing the plans for the day more and more often. She’s never been the best when it came to this kind of occasion, often struggling to make the best decisions despite how much she knew the person in question. It was a little ridiculous, to tell the truth. With a sigh, the brunette shifted her gaze upwards, letting it linger on the few stars that were already visible on the sky. Just a couple hours, huh? With yet another sigh, she turns back to the ‘children’, most of them already making their way back to their rooms or preparing for the first shifts of guard duty. After exchanging quiet 'goodnights’ with some of them, Enn decided to follow their example and also headed towards the tree houses.
It’s been a relatively quiet day, Enn notes dully as she moves through camp. It makes sense, though, and can’t really be helped considering that tomorrow’s plans leave little time for actual work to be done. Nothing unexpected, and yet a tiny part of her can’t help but feel a little frustrated. What a terrible friend she is.

The thoughts are quickly forgotten when she reaches her destination, her friend (and partial cause of her concerns) already there. “You finished early. I thought you were helping with the inventory today.” It’s a nonchalant comment, idle mostly, as the alchemist approaches the small desk in the room and searches for one of her diaries. She could swear she heard a chuckle, but Hma looks as calm as ever when her eyes settle on him.

“Ahm'ree volunteered to help me. There was less work than expected, too.”

“I see.” There’s silence for a moment, a quiet atmosphere that both of them are familiar and comfortable with, before Enn notices Hma joining her at the desk from the corner of her eye. “Shouldn’t you sleep? You stayed up last night, and today was quite busy, too.” It’s advice that will fall on deaf ears, she knows, but the fact doesn’t stop her from voicing it nor from frowning when the revolutionary truly doesn’t listen. “I mean it.” Another futile attempt. If anyone could testify to how difficult it was to make Hma change his mind when he decided to do something, that was Enn.

“I am aware, but I would much rather keep you company this fine night.” There’s a soft rustle as Hma opens one of the numerous diaries scattered around, only to put it down and replace it with one of the books from their small shelf after a couple of minutes. Well, alchemic formulas could only be so entertaining when you don’t understand them. It doesn’t really stop her from getting back to work, but part of her attention is dedicated to the blonde as she tries to make short conversation or comment on how he’s been reading the same page for the past 5 minutes, perhaps to Hma’s chagrin. It’s the closest thing to joking that Enn can manage, and she makes the effort to split her attention equally just for it; it’s the least she can do, it’s his birthday tomorrow, after all.

Ideally, he’d yield and actually go to sleep, but the option is so unlikely that the alchemist simply tries to help pass the time in the most comfortable way until she finishes transcribing. She can cut her workload for today, but this much needs to be done.

“It seems there will be no festivals close to your birthday this year. The weather, apparently.”

“So I heard. It is alright, though. I am happy just being able to spend time with everyone.”

“That’s like you…” Enn’s features soften slightly, the tension leaving her expression as her voice trails off. There’s no longer any attention to spare the diary before her as her mind wanders off, back to the first few years after their meeting. Who would have imagined they’d become close friends? Maybe not many. Even now, Enn can remember the numerous times when she’d only offer a quiet 'happy birthday’ out of courtesy, and it feels strangely far away. Then again, a century could be considered a long time by most standards.

She’s lost count of when exactly she started to congratulate the other more enthusiastically; of when the serious expressions changed to serene ones, then to small quirks of her lips and finally to friendly smiles. It wasn’t the kind of quickly established friendship that people tended to assume they had; in fact, it took plenty of time for Enn to be comfortable around the blonde.

“—n. Pry'enn!” With a startle, she raises her head to look at the taller protean calling her. For an instant, she almost chuckles at the mix of concern and bewilderment, but instead shakes her head to clear her thoughts. “You were spacing out. That is rare for you.”

“Sorry, I was… Reminiscing, I suppose.”

“Oh?”

The diary in Enn’s hands was closed with a quiet snap and carefully set on the table. She takes a brief moment to gather her thoughts, then turns away to look out a window. “Just the times back at the castle; like when I gave you a book thinking you actually liked to read, or the first time you convinced me to dance with you.”

“What about you taking three years to ask me for a dance?”

“We don’t talk about that.”

“Then I can bring up our first dance and how we—”

“We don’t talk about that, either.”

Though this kind of short exchange would normally hold a hint of annoyance from Enn’s part, there’s nothing but amusement in both of their voices. It was the kind of light-hearted conversation they enjoyed, but couldn’t have as often as they would like. They waste little time, quickly going back to those happier, and sometimes slightly ridiculous, times. The terrible gifts, short conversations, simple outings or even the wide range of festivals they had ever decided to attend. It’s nostalgic, yet strangely comforting in a way.

“Well, would you look at the time.” It comes suddenly, a strange way to interrupt their conversation as their eyes just instantly land on the nearby clock. It’s well past 12, probably only a few minutes short of 1 in the morning, and there’s a chuckle as the information sinks in. “Happy Birthday, Hma.” She delivers the good wish with a serene expression and equally soft tone, although there’s no helping the smile that appears when most traces of exhaustion seem to disappear from her friend’s features.

“Why, thank you.” He stands up as he speaks, quickly closing what little distance was between them. It’s clear as day, what’s going to happen next, and she readies herself for it. “Now then, would you—”

“Stop.” He seems surprised by her interruption (the second this night), which is strangely bold of her, but everything passes quickly. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking if you’d honor me with the first dance today?”

Despite having done this (ask him for a dance, that is) a couple times in the past, it is never any less embarrassing.

“If you insist.”

“Charming.”

After recovering from the surprise that came from the rare request, the blonde offered his hand and pulled her from her seat. It was a curious routine; regardless of how they decided to celebrate the occasion, the pair would usually share a dance in the privacy of a room, typically just minutes after the clock struck 12. The reason was partially because Enn was more comfortable away from crowds, and mostly because the last dance, after almost everyone was gone, was reserved for the princess. It was a strange unspoken agreement.

After clearing a small part of the room, the pair began a familiar sequence of steps. There’s no music, but that doesn’t seem to matter as Hma sets the rhythm and Enn simply follows. What little traces of fatigue or sloppy motions she might’ve expected from the lack of sleep are nonexistent, his leading as smooth and fluid as ever. It’s calming and familiar, the pair relaxing in comfortable silence.

“So, about our conversation regarding our first dance.”

“Don’t.”

As soon as they broke the silence, Enn could feel the hand on her back shifting slightly. It snaps her to attention, although the conversation remains as playful as before. As if to match that, the movements quicken and their steps steadily use up more of the somewhat cluttered room.

“Do you really not want to remember—”

“No.”

“Please, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“Ta'hma.”

“That moment when I tried to dip you an— !”

It happens in an instant, out of nowhere. Alarm spreads across their features as realization dawns on them both; this was not a minor prank from their dance partner, and the thought is what keeps them from reacting as quickly as they should have. They land unceremoniously on the floor, somehow avoiding injury but breaking the silence with quiet groans and choked back chuckles.

“Smooth…”

“Oh, hush you.”

“I thought I was the more likely one to trip over their own feet.”

“I didn’t trip over my own feet, however.”

As Hma sat up, trying to locate the cause of their harmless fall, the brunette simply rolled onto her side. It was easy to figure out what had happened, all things considered, so they just stay there for a moment.

“Should we take this as our cue to go to sleep?”

“I still had work to do, but I’ll agree this time.”