Looking back at it, the day started like any normal other day. The Elysian Realm was quiet enough, except for some rustling in the mansions garden. Looking closer at the flowers you could see Thorn in the middle of them, replenishing their mana and making sure, that none of them had overgrown or wilted. He did that for the next few hours, until Prisma came and interrupted his work with his usual smile. “Hey Thorn. Do you know if any of the chilli peppers are ready to be farmed yet?” Without looking up, Thorn quickly answered: “Give me a second. You’re timing is as impeccable as always.” He went back to the flowers, finishing his work, before looking up at Prisma. “Some of the chilli peppers in the first and second row should be ready to harvest. They should be bright red and feel firm to the touch. Also, if you find any that have wrinkles or soft spots, could you throw those into the compost, they’re either overripe or spoiled.” With that, his attention went back to his flowers, as Prisma left for the back garden to get some chilli peppers. “Wait, why do you even need chillies?” But when Thorn looked up again, Prisma had already left. *Why chillies? He normally hates spicy food?* But Thorn knew that he would get the answer he was seeking at dinner, so he just went back to checking the flowers. So, another hour passed, before he called it a day. He went to his room to change into new clothes and freshen up a little, before joining Prisma in the kitchen. Entering, he saw Prisma already standing at the stove, preparing some meal. Over the last 1.5 years this had just become their routine. Thorn would make sure that the plants were in top condition, while Prisma cooked. “What are we eating today?” Thorn asked, while getting two plates and some cutlery to set up the table. “Curry. And yes, I made sure to make a separate portion for myself this time.” At that comment, Thorn couldn’t help but to let out a little chuckle. The last time they had curry, Thorn had been the one cooking it, to teach Prisma his recipe. But as it turns out, Prisma couldn’t really eat anything spicy, while Thorn loved his dishes extra spicy. And well, Prisma had learned that the hard way. Thorn could still remember Prisma’s sudden reaction, as he had stopped speaking, before nearly eating a whole loaf of bread to ease the pain. Thorn could’ve sworn he had even seen Prisma slightly change colour from green to red, even if it was just for a few seconds. Since then, they had decided to always make to different portions, if the recipe was spicy. “Don’t want to repeat last year, right?” The slight teasing made Prisma turn around, giving Thorn a death glare, before returning back to cooking. It only took a few more minutes before he had finished cooking, placing two full plates on the table. “There’s still more, if you want a second serving.” Prisma said, as he sat down. They both wished each other a good meal, before starting to eat. It was impressive for Thorn, seeing how well Prisma had actually perfected his recipe. “Have you been practicing, or are you just constantly improving? Because I’m sure we haven’t had this since I taught you how to cook it.” Prisma looked up, answering:” No, I haven’t been practicing. Guess this comes from always cooking.” “Wait, but you followed my recipe, right? And if yes, how can yours be better than my own recipe?” “Well, I never said I followed it perfectly. I just followed the basic steps but changed some of the measurements.” Now Thorns curiosity had been piqued. “But how did you know how to change the measurements, if you can’t even taste it?” He was right there. Prisma couldn’t eat anything spicy, so how could he have chosen the measurements. “That’s pretty simple. I just make the base curry, before adding anything spicy like the chillies.” “Oh, okay. Well, you did a commendable job refining my recipe.” With that, the conversation died down, and they enjoyed the rest of their dinner in silence. Afterwards Prisma excused himself, saying that he still had some work to finish. Thorn didn’t mind, as he washed the dishes, before retreating into his office. There to his surprise he found multiple things on his desk. The first thing that caught his attention was a small glass filled with what seemed to be dark chocolate mousse. Looking closer at it, there were even small raspberries inside. Next to the glass was a card and a small box below it. The front of the card showed a simple bouquet of different flowers. As he sat down, he opened the card, reading through its contents.

Hey Thorn.

I know it’s your birthday today, but I also know that you might prefer a quiet celebration. Afterall, you didn’t even tell me when your birthday was. I just got lucky and found a small note in your calendar a few weeks ago. And don’t you ever start saying something that you didn’t need any kind of celebration. Afterall you yourself told me how important a birthday is. So, I thought you might enjoy this little present just for yourself, no big celebration needed. I even made your favourite curry for dinner, if you haven’t connected the dots by now. But your real present is in the small blue box. I know it’s not much, but I made it myself, so I hope you like it. And you didn’t have one yet.

With that I hope that you properly enjoy your birthday.

-Prisma

As he read the letter, a small smile formed on Thorns face. He put down the letter, before opening up the blue box. Inside of it was a purple bowtie. Brushing his finger over it, he noticed that it was definitely made out of some kind of enchanted silk. “He must have gotten that silk during on of his last few adventures.” He whispered to no one but himself. He put it back down, before enjoying the dark chocolate mousse. And even thousands of years later, he still wears the same bowtie…