Happy Birthday Doom

The chronicles of Estim, Nagala, and Toriev sent them through numerous worlds, with varying technological and cultural elements that are equal parts familiar and distinct. Whether they visited a country dedicated to the teachings of Aroheim (Risala) or a world filled with demons bunkered in a massive subterranean city (Geisaro), they met with enough adventure to last a lifetime. Which was a good thing: they had no plans on returning to fix the problems of a multiverse once on the verge of destruction.
    As a result, vacations became a welcome change of pace for the intrepid adventurers and their growing band of like-minded travelers. And relatedly: Celebrations wound up being a good reason as any to take time off, so a trio decided to take one as an excuse to abandon restraint and visit a reality solely for the express purpose of celebrating.

A horse-drawn carriage pulled into a quaint village surrounded by verdant hills, arboreal sights, and wind so calm, it practically slept. A sign greeted them to the town of Couer Dora, a village that, judging by the surrounding, either forgot it wasn’t supposed to be a quaint Irish country town or didn’t give anything close to a fuck about it and decided simply exist as it always had. Its hill seemed to protect it from the ravages of time, cultural emigration, and whatever else threatened to change its very existence.
    It proved rather calming – fortunate as three passengers disembarked from their carriage after the driver tapped on the carriage with the subtlety of a horse getting his kicks. Nagala, Relevae, and Nias emerged, their feet touching the country dirt road entering the relaxed little village before them; each stretched as they found the room to do so, though only Nias didn’t bother giving a smile as they looked upon the town.

The town was, to put it bluntly, damn tiny. The entire ‘downtown’ area was a single plaza draped by encircling buildings, a fountain in the center, and people resting on porches underneath their businesses’ signs. Most of the buildings were built from old red brick, with plants and vines crawling up them to give the impression nature asserted its domain over mankind periodically. The smells of baked goods, candles, and more wafted through the air, upon and down the entire plaza – which tapered north towards a road into some dense woods. The telltale sign of chimney smoke gave the party enough indication that the residents didn’t call the plaza home, and retreated to the woods when business ended for the day.
    “Oh my god, so quaint!” said Relevae with a cheery smile, leaning her head cheerfully and reciting her sentence with a lilting tone of voice. The carriage departed as she continued. “And the air is so fresh! It feels like we can stretch forever out here.”
    “It is a shame you didn’t bring Aryva on our outing,” said Nagala with a chuckle; Nias blushed and smirked as she heard Nagala’s statement leave her throat. “She needs a good time to relax now that she’s being a mother soon, right?”
    “Oh, I know,” said Relevae with a smaller smile. Her tone dipped a bit, but only slightly. “Such is the life of a queen-becoming in Geisaro; she’ll be contending with a gaggle of little demon feet pattering across her castle’s floor before long. She’s growing up so fast.”

“That reminds me, Miss Relevae,” said Nias, in her familiar neutral tone of voice – or at least as neutral as she could afford, with her cheeks blushing and her voice giving a hint of happy anticipation. “You assured us we wouldn’t leave without getting something for Aryva.”
    Relevae gave a knowing chuckle as she put a hand on her cheek. “You are quite a studious mind when it comes to dear Aryva,” she said heartily, as Nias recoiled in shock and blushed a deep shade of red – not before temporarily diverting her gaze from Relevae as Nagala laughed. “You are also quite correct; we must not leave without something for her. It would be remiss of us if we avoided giving her a memento of our journey here.”

The plaza was undeniably cozy, with its encirclement of shops built like cottages to make people feel like they were entering a small town with amiable citizens eager to lend a hand. And that was largely accurate: each shop the trio passed they were greeted with warm salutations and encouragement to buy something to remember their time here by. The smells enticed the group into a pleasant haze, smile all abound – even a small one cracked on Nias’ face, though it disappeared immediately as Relevae pinched one of her cheeks.
    “What is she hoping for, anyway?” said Nagala, her eyes and head pivoting to see what surrounded them. The town prided itself on hand-baked goods, hand-made products, and a friendly atmosphere, accented by the numerous baked shops, chocolate shops, and so forth surrounding the plaza. “They are quite content with giving small town goods, from the looks of things.”
    “If there is anything you can trust will please her,” said Relevae, raising both brows. “It’s one thing that she gets from me.”
    “Chocolate,” said Nias with a shocked expression, looking up a sign for a shop that dabbled in various chocolate varieties, and – perhaps inexplicably – body lotions. The smells of both caught everyone’s attention as they turned towards the same shop.
    "That’s one way to her heart I suppose,” said Nagala. Naturally this perked up Nias’ ears, who immediately shuffled inside, as the other two watched her curiously.
    “One way or another, if you think about it,” said Relevae with a troll-like smile.

An hour passed before they exited the store, products in hand to show they managed to make something out of the trip. Each clutched their purchases of choice in small paper bags with the store’s logo drawn onto them by hand, a nice touch that made Relevae want to hug the ones she held. The fact she did was obviously related.
    Nagala revealed her purchase first, showing a box of truffles coated in dark chocolate, topped with white chocolate and crowned with cherries for the sake of that quaint goodness only a small town provided. She laughed along with Relevae, who showed hers: a mix of hot cocoa guaranteed to relax anyone’s temperament, if its container was to be believed. She pointed out that part in the back of the container, with Nagala detecting a hint of chocolate scent coming from it.

Nias walked behind them silently, eyeing them carefully before slowly reaching for her gift. She purchased a lotion made for the bath, scented with flower and berry oils – and rather potently so, judging from how strong it came off with the cap remaining atop the container. It read, in lettering fitting Valentine’s Day, that it would help make anyone amorous and make any atmosphere ready for a sensual time. Nias blushed as she read it carefully, her cheeks becoming deeper red in color as she noted the lotion practically guaranteed love – which easily prompted the image of Aryva to pop in her head.
    Giggling stopped her from daydreaming much, however, and she immediately noticed Nagala and Relevae giving broad, knowing smiles towards her as Nias clutched her purchase tightly in response. Her shocked expression lasted for a good few seconds before she instinctively hid the product back in her bag, huffed, and marched onward, desperately trying to act like nothing happened. She walked in front of Relevae and Nagala easily, with the two warmly laughing as they knew what Nias was intending with her purchase.