thanks for reading this far, i really appricate it. I know its been very stress full times lately and I hope your doing okay. you feel that? its me sending you casting som bardic inspiration. best of luck and add +3 to your luck rolls.

Chapter 8. Canrif â Hanner and other stories

"Do the others know about Dath- Dar. Dathliad? Am I saying right? Do the others know about that then I take it?" Kravitz asked as they broke up the Brother in- law boyfriend Taako sandwich. "The seven of you, not just you two and Lup?"

Taako nodded. "It's a two-sun elf thing. We had them on ship sometimes."

"And I'm guessing it's a birthday related thing too?"

This time Barry nodded. "Yeah. But everyone's so focused on a 'surprise party angle' right now, I don't think the other three twigged about Lucretia's actual birthday. Not even with all the hypothetical questions about her age." He said.

"Magnus hasn't fo' sho'. The big guy can maths unless there's attack rolls involved." Taako agreed.
"I can't be sure about the other two. Merle may have? And is keeping quiet and gonna spring it out of nowhere last minute to burn up some party points? Or the old man will remember about Dathliad Oedolaeth if we spell it out to him. Third option: Given time he'll work it out and want me to talk about it and feelings. Bleh!"

"Or Merle will work it out then forget completely." Barry remined. "Guy needs a bullet journal, rather than a teen bible."
"A X-treme teen bible. You're still dunking Merle even when he isn't here to defend himself?" Kravitz teased. Barry grinned.
"Me? Never. Don't know what you mean, Kravitz."

"We'll get him one next Candlenights. Cap'enport might have worked it out from the off?" Taako continued. And frowned. "Might be why he was so funny about me doing the cake?"

"Huh… Shit. Yeah, yeah Maybe? It's hard to tell with Cap." Barry said sitting back down. "But they don't know now, they'll probably realise. Right?"

"Right. And then they really will want me to make an amazing cake." Taako said. "There's no way it was ever going to be a small show I knew that much. Even before Avi quadrupled the guest list. But once they click on? Well then this little surprise party is going to be an OTT fiesta, trust me. Lup is already trying to push for a big bonaza. If Maggie and Merle decide go all out too, then I'm not sure I want to be a part of that."

"But you've done so much work already?" Kravitz frowned.

"We don't even know if Lucretia knows." Barry pointed out. "I mean she knows. But back to the age thing and does she count herself as too old, old enough or to young? And she might feel like she doesn't deserves it."
"She doesn't."
"Taako!" Barry scowled.
"She doesn't." Taako persisted. "Didn't say I wasn't going to still make this cake."

"You kinda did?" Barry said. Then added. "Plus, again she's introvert? Lup knows Lucretia wouldn't want it too out of control, especially as its involving th staff."

"Deffo not a Dathliad Oedolaeth if it's in control." Taako nods and sighs. "But if she is a hundred and fifty six…and I DON'T make a big deal…then, well. Fuck right?"

He doesn't go further. Barry nods suddenly focused on his coffee mug.

"Alright. Sound ominous?" Kravitz said finally. "So, are either of you going to tell me what a Oedolaeth Dathliad is then? Or should I call Lucretia herself to tell me?"

"Dathliad Oedolaeth." Taako gently corrected. "And yeah it's birthday related. But it's not that one I'm worried about so much."

Taako is rarely this quiet when explaining something or teaching. He pushes himself up until he's sitting on the worktop. Something he normally bollock anyone else but angus for doing. Kravitz sits at the bar stool nearby, trying not to crowd him.

"Okay so," Taako eventually starts. "Elves-. well two sun elves and elves here. We all generally slide out of our teens and start becoming young adults at somewhere from like eighty to hundred-ish, right? That's when they- we pick our own names too if we want to change them. You know that one or something like it?"

"Huh. Hmm Yeah vaguely?" Kravitz said. "Is that the 'The of Age Naming' thing, then?"

The other two nodded. "Alright. Seemed more just a private naming thing here then birthday related." Kravitz shrugged. "But I've only been to like two though."

"Oh?" Barry asked.

"Well, I was invited to one when I was alive. I was only a little child, so I don't remember it much. The other was after I became a reaper. And the Grandfather involved was actually a warlock who'd decided to use the ceremony as a cover to sacrifice his son-in-law for necromantic needs."

"Huh. Cool."

"That's not cool Barry, that's BAD." Kravitz scolded. Taako sniggered. "Anyway, what about it?"

"About that." Taako's smile faded again. "So that here? 'The of Age Naming' is in Faerune elvish Ath-she naming, right? Well, that's sort of twosunny's the Oedolaeth? But ours is more chill. You pick your birthday and bam! Legally choosing to start becoming an adult in the eyes of the elves. Me and Lup were earlier, no big celebration. And I kept the name I already had – can't improve on perfection there."

He says it with a jokey tone. But it felt hollow. Taako was quiet another moment then continued.

"... But still. Traditionally elves- Twosun Elves also have a big shindig for their one hundredth. That's a Dathliad Oedolaeth. Though that's only really if you've rich family who want to go all out. Kinda like how some humans here go buck wild a sweet sixteen or an eighteenth? And there's a joint party if you get married before both are two hundred as well but skip that for now…"

"The main meal deal here is a hundred and fifty. That's the Canrif â hanner'." Taako said.
"That's the big shindig. That's the defiantly 'this is an adult big enough and daft enough to go out into world and make your own mistakes so let's get plastered' party. And it's a joyful thing. Three days party, rich or poor. Invite your neighbours, regardless of their species. Dress up to the nines. Big stew in the pot. Drinks music. The kind of party you always remember." Taako finished.

"Or not, depending on the alcohol." Barry added.
"Not if we've Ren and Killian in charge of cocktails!" Taako agreed. "But yeah, that's a regular Canrif â Hanner for you."

"I see. And you don't know if Lucretia sees herself as thirty-six, fifty-six, a hundred and thirty-six," Kravitz said as he clicked. "Or a more importantly, one hundred and fifty-six?"

"Hm. Yep." Takko said popping the P. "Nailed it bucko."
"Like Magnus said. It's complicated." Barry sighed.

"Complicated as Istus's knitting patterns. Listen, because if she is at one fifty-six?" Taako said conjuring a mage hand to tap at the blackboard. "We missed her Canrif â hanner by half a decade. And that's bad. Like cursed the harvest bad fortune on your household bad. Even though that's her fault! Nothing on your boy's part. All down to Madame Director-tatta-tot."

The other two agreed.

"But that's a pretty big deal for elves. I mean SHE's not an elf. But she is- she was. " Taako stops and starts. The pinching the bridge of his nose took a breath and started again.

"Me and Lup, we always celebrated our birthdays when we had with our aunt. Even the ones that weren't 'special' number wise." he continued. "But when it came to our Canrif â hanner we were only just looking at getting into the IPRE. The IPR, even. They hadn't even added the 'E' yet and the Light hadn't fallen. So Starblaster wouldn't launch for another eighty. But still: Big deal!"
"We made our own. Everyone in the halls of residence, folks we knew from town and some of the staff. It's how we first met Davenport, although he was only a Lieutenant then. If there was a Canrif â hanner on campus you might as well shut the labs down for a week, Everyone would be there. And ours was a joint one so it was double the occasion. So then we brought our traditions on to the ship with us too. Brought them out once it became it wasn't a three months or bust ride we'd planned…"

There's a pause before he carries on, fiddling with the rings on his fingers.
"Merle's Canrif â hanner' was a few years in. We nearly missed and only just celebrated on the right day. It was a surprise cos we hadn't real explained what it was and he'd forgotten it was his birthday. And even after that, Davenport wouldn't let us have parties for him first half of the century. You know gnome traditions and all that. I'm not even sure when his birthday is now."

"He wouldn't tell us his age either so one year the twins made him a huge four twenty weed cake. And they threw a huge party for my hundredth- my Dathliad Oedolaeth." Barry smiled, with pride. "About two years before me and Lup became an official Item. Right Taako?"

"Ew Bluejeans. Do you mind?" Kravitz teased.
"What? What'd I do?"
"The sappiness level just hit the roof."

"Yeah. And Don't tie any of your Oedolaeth's to hooking up with my sister. I love you both but ew!" Taako agreed, and made a face at him. Barry made one right back.

"We made sure Barry here's Canrif â hanner was pretty amazing too. It was the first birthday we celebrated here. You know before shit turned south." Taako continued, turning back to his boyfriend. "Sixty-nine birthdays were pretty awesome too. That wasn't tradition, that was just for funsies when we could. But we kind of lost track of actual birthdays by the time the other two humans reached a hundred. We'd just hold them on random days whenever we had time or remembered. Magnus' official one was a wash out. Stupid planet where it rained ALL the time." He sighed. And then his focus seemed to drift again.

"But …her Canrif â hanner…"

"That's like the two-sun elf equivalent of a twenty first and then add some." Barry chipped in trying to explain to Kravitz. "I mean we did throw Lucretia a twenty first as well at the time."

"No. We threw her a twenty second, cos her for twenty first was Cycle two and we were on absolute nuclear dump site of a planet." Taako corrected.

"Oh yeah!" Barry grinned. Then didn't. "Yeah me, Creesh and the microwave didn't make it that year, did we? … But hey; terrific twenty second, right? And her and Magnus had joint Twenty fiveish and twenty four and half birthday. Talk about hangovers-!"

"Barry can you go for a walk five minutes?!" Taako snapped suddenly.

Barry, to his credit, sharply skedaddles.