lounging on his couch, if she wants to come deliver it.

on her way anyhow, and lets herself into his house. "Uncle?" She's poking around -and maybe raiding the pantry a little- as she looks for him.

on the garden outside, watering his plants while Eustáquio gawks on his head, staring pointedly at Shaliza.

peeks outside, and waves at the rooster. "Happy Birthday, Uncle!!"

jumps at her voice, smiling widely at her as he turns off the water, ushering Eustáquio off. "Shaliza! What a pleasure to see you today..." He hums, hugging her tight and kissing her forehead.

hugs him back, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I brought you your gifts! How's your birthday been so far?"

nods. "It's been great, I have more beer than what to do with it, courtesy of the Germans, cake.. it's cute, even that rude Turk sent his wishes." He smirks at that, like he conquered a battle.

laughs a little at that. "Well then. Maybe I should take this back home." She pulls a bottle of rum out of her bag, wiggling it a little. "Puncheon. Might be a tad strong for you, Uncle~"

a lightweight, although he guesses Shaliza might as well know. "Possibly... Me and a couple friends were setting up to enjoy some party today, holiday and all, so I might take it." He smiles. "Do you want_

cake? I have plently."

perks up at that. "Yes please!" She loves cake. "If you're taking shots of this, take a teaspoon or something, okay? Less for you. It's really really strong..."

almost certainly forget it once he's drinking but what's the worst thing that could happen! "Then after me... Eustáquio, you stay, no, shoo!" He waves at the rooster once it starts following to the kitchen.

alcohol poisoning could happen incredibly quickly... She follows after him though, glancing back at the rooster. "I'm serious, Uncle. Don't overdose on this stuff, okay?"

raises his eyebrow at her. "Remind me who's older here, again? Calma, things'll got fine.. I'll probably just add a drop of this to the sangria and done."

facepalms. Mixing it with other things....aye. "If you wake up in a ditch, I told you so. I reserve the right to say that."

(not a ditch, a tutu)

laughs, he'd said that mostly to entertain himself. "There is the mother I've never had." He pats her shoulder after he's washed his hands, fetching the cake to cut a slice.

[xDD]

him a look. "If I have to be. Uncle, it's really strong okay?" She's already eyeing the cake though.

cuts her a large slice of cake. "Coke, mango juice or coffee?"

adores him. "Tea please!" What? She liked tea, and it went well with cake.

shakes his head in shame at the Britishness, but does move to boil the water.

isn't British...is she? "Gracias, Uncle."

doubts a lot she is but... mother. Ah, her mother. "You're welcome." He serves her the tea he has, a simple cheap thing for guests, leaving the sugar nearby.

a little spoiled in that she only uses honey or maybe brown sugar. She stirs the tea, taking a sip. "It's good." She won't turn her nose up at any tea though. Tea is tea, and she's grateful.

smiles. "It's not much... I never buy expensive tea, it always goes moldy here, near the coast." He sighs, taking a seat after he cuts himself some cake. "So, how have you been?"

shrugs. "Busy. Lots of political things. We just had Indian Arrival Day, and India's boss came down for a visit. So did Alfred's Vice President."

raises his eyebrow. "India? How is that nagging old man?" He ignores the news about Alfred, not a big fan of the boy.

adores Alfred! "He's...old. A little full of himself concerning my home, but okay." She shrugs. India was very very full of himself concerning her home.

would say India is full of himself and period. "But he's been changing... Protesting for his women, as I've heard."

nods. "That's true. It's been happening for far too long without people speaking up. I'm happy they finally are."

nods. "I guess we're also to blame, never thinking about the other side... He's less arrogant too, now that you can buy pepper everywhere."

doesn't know about less arrogant... "I guess that's true..." She pauses. "Hey, I should give you some pepper sauce. I make it myself."

grins. "I'd love it! Maybe I should even go fetch it, for old times' sake."

laughs softly. "Maybe you should!"

do it then.

prepare a huge bottle for him.

it sounds great, maybe he'll even send some to his kids.

make as much as he needs@

*!

Munches on his cake, nodding. "And no more puncheon for five years."

laughs softly. "Well you haven't tried it yet. But sure."

shakes his head. "From the way you say it, I might as well not even try.

"

grins proudly. "Nope, don't even try. I'll let you hold onto the bottle though, for decoration if nothing else."

she's gone mad. "Right, I'll be sure to take as many pictures as possible."

might be a little. "Good! Pictures are fun, they help you put together what happened the night before, when you wake up with a hangover, and no memory."

raises one eyebrow. "Now you doubt my memory..." But it was good advice, not that he didn't know.

shrugs. "Not your memory uncle. A drunk's memory. I know from experience. Lots and lots of it."

crosses his arms. "Now... Were is your father to tell you not to drink so much?" He sighs. "It is really unbecoming of a lady..."

rolls her eyes. "If Papa told me not to drink, I'd probably tell him something rude, complete with gesture." She sticks her tongue out at him though. "Unbecoming? Uncle, you remember what century this is, _

_right?"

blinks at her. "Not the right century to flip your father off and throw gestures at him."

sighs. "It definitely is. Maybe..." It was the right century in terms of she wouldn't be punished the same way Papa...punished people during the Crusades, or anything. But wrong in terms of so much time_

_has passed since he did her wrong, that it feels petty to hold onto such things, even though she does.

shakes his head. "Please, Shaliza... We have changed since those days, give us a little faith. Yes, we did wrong but, it's been so long, and... Look at us both." He smiles weakly. "Toni and I are broke."

tries not to sigh. "I know you've both changed. Papa is still an idiot, but with significantly less power these days." In terms of financial...well, as much as family was family, sometimes first world countries

_needed to know how the rest of them lived. "You two will be fine. You have the EU and all that, si? Look at Herakles, they helped bail him out, and you can't get much worse than him."