Frost 13th, Year 119, Age of Steel
Alyssum probably hadn't ever worked so hard, so fast in her entire life. Sure, her life was usually a slurry of part-time jobs on top of full-time jobs trying to scrounge up enough money to actually survive on top of finally saving up enough one day to buy her dreams, but even then she took like with a certain kind of relaxed grace. She was a rathari, after all, her lifespan at maximum could be 280 years or so assuming she wasn't an idiot about it. She could even live longer if she found a way to extend her life, but she doubted she'd really need to. She wasn't even in her 60s yet, so she still had plenty of time to relax and work towards her goal at a pace that wouldn't cause her immediate death upon overworking.
The last week or so she'd certainly tempted that kind of fate, though. She'd worked herself down to the bone and gotten so very little in return for it. Especially since she had to work under that pompous ass hoity-toity no-nonsense try nothing new failure of an alchemist who she'd come to physically resent. But it would all be worth it!
Why would you work so hard, Alyssum? What possibly could be so important that you need to work that hard, Alyssum? Well! Alyssum had accidentally stumbled across a letter addressed to Talon. It wasn't anything serious and she'd mistaken it for order so she accidentally read the first sentence. The letter itself had been best wishes for Talon's birthday, sent from someone that Alysusm didn't know. Or didn't think she knew. She stopped reading the moment she realized it was a personal kind of thing. She was a curious sort but she didn't like snooping. Especially when Talon had for the most part been taking care of her during her stay in Kalzasi. She'd feel bad if she managed to do something that upset him, so Alyssum had been on her very best behavior. She promised! She hadn't even done anything illegal yet. By this time in literally any other city she probably would have broken at least one law she dictated nonsensical and pointless. And oh, did Kalzasi ever have a few. But she'd been a good girl because she didn't want it to reflect poorly on Talon!
Because she was such a good girl, her discovery had ended up bothering her. Talon's birthday was coming up, and it wouldn't be fair for no one to celebrate it. She'd queried him a couple of days prior and he said that he intended to come into work the morning of. Whether he was staying all day or going home early for a celebration she didn't know, but in case it was the former she'd started concocting a master plan.
Alyssum knew what it was like to spend a birthday alone. After Isra and Runar, she'd never found anyone in her life that was quite as important. It usually meant the day was spent in quiet silence, waiting for the hours to pass while she tried not to think about what day it was. Then again, part of the reason her own birthday was so twinged with sadness was because it technically wasn't her real birthday. It was her adoption day, and if it actually lined up with the day of her birth was debatable but it was the day that she finally got a family. A home. That home had disappeared a long time ago which left the day feeling kind of sad and hollow.
She didn't know Talon's home life. She didn't know if anyone would be celebrating with him or bringing him gifts. But it didn't matter, because a person should get the most attention possible on the day of their birth. So she'd decided that even if she was one of hundreds or the only one helping him celebrate, she had to do something.
It had taken a lot of effort on her part, but she managed to scrounge up the materials to decorate. In addition, it might have been a little small but she managed to scrounge up just enough money to buy a cake. She would have made one, but she frankly didn't trust herself with anything more complicated than fire pit cooking. So a bought cake it needed to be. She didn't have any plans for a present, but she figured that was okay. She could probably get, or better yet make, a present for him later.
So now here Alyssum say, hidden behind the counter of the Skyforge with the door still locked. She was technically supposed to open up since Talon wasn't going to be there for an hour or two, but she didn't want anyone else wandering in. Now she just had to wait...