The morning begins as it always does, Daring waking up in the morning before the sun could shine into the room. Getting up and stretching her legs and wings, she flies over to where she hid a hand mirror, walking over to the dresser and watching the sun rise.
When it gets to the point it's shining in her eyes, she tilts her hat down and watches the reflected light, moving the mirror until the beam stops shining on his mouth and instead lands on the man's eyes.
The man grumbles in his sleep, ducking his head down to try and escape the light.
She doesn't let this get her; she directs the beam of light at the glass-covered portrait on the wall, making it shine back in his face, if a bit less intense.
Grunting, he opens his eyes, shielding them from the light. "Darn light..."
She quickly stashes the mirror away and jumps off the dresser, gliding through the air until she lands on his chest, looking at him with inquisitive eyes. "What does 'darn' mean, daddy?"
"It means daddy needs to watch his mouth..." He says quietly, smiling and stroking her mane. "Good morning, Daring."
"Morning!" She beams, happily nuzzling his cheek. "Are you gonna get up, soon?"
He chuckles, kissing her head. "Well, if you're up, I probably should. Got things to do today."
The filly's eyes instantly light up at this. "Oh, you mean the-"
He covers her mouth with his hand, shushing her softly. "Wouldn't want to spoil it."
There's silence for a moment before he feels something wet dragging along his palm and fingers.
He smirks, taking it away and wiping it on the sheets. "Yep, every time."
"Every time?" She tilts her head to one side, confused.
He smiles. "Every time I do that my hand gets licked."
She just stares blankly. "...even with Yang?"
He nods. "Yeah, but I only did that to her when she was really little."
"Why?"
"Oh, she was being fussy so I was trying to get her to calm down." He shakes his head, picking her up as he sits up.
"...I don't get it." She crawls up his arm and lays down on his shoulder.
He chuckles, nuzzling her as he stands up and stretches. "Anyway, I think a good birthday needs to start with some nice decorations and a good breakfast."
"Decorations?" Daring clearly doesn't recognize the word, though the growling of her stomach does distract her from it.
"Well, maybe some food for you first, huh?" He tickles her stomach lightly with a finger.
She squirms as she struggles not to laugh, but she finds the strength within to nod happily.
"Alright, what do you want this morning?"
"Pancakes!" She beams happily at him.
He laughs. "That, I can do." He takes her with him into the kitchen.
There he finds the youngest of the two girls, bright-eyed and doodling something on a piece of paper.
"Well, good morning, Ruby." He greets.
She looks up and beams, waving her hand. "Hi, daddy! Look!" She holds up her drawing, a picture of five candles. "I made this for Yang!"
He smiles, coming over and ruffling her hair. "It looks great! I'm sure she'll like it."
"Yep! I'm gonna put it on her cake!" She shrugs. "You said not to play with fire, after all."
He blinks, tilting his head before laughing. "You know what? I think that's a great idea. It'll be fun."
"Yay, I'm helping!" The girl jumps up and hugs her father happily.
He gives her a hug in return, kissing her cheek after. "I'm making pancakes, you want some?"
She just eagerly nods, her smile only growing wider.
"Alright, first, let me get this..." He takes her paper. "And put it in here with the cake." He puts it in the fridge on a colorful box. "And then we do breakfast." He starts on the pancakes.
Daring, still on his shoulder, watches all of this, as well as how Ruby jumps up to help.
The man goes for simple shapes this time: tiny circle to make tiny pancake stacks.
Leaning forward a little, Daring's hat falls off her head and towards the skillet. Rose eyes wide in shock, she leaps for it, not wanting it to be ruined, despite there already being twenty arrow holes in it.
Time seems to slow as she ponders what exactly an arrow is.
Suddenly two strong hands come into play, honed by years of fighting. They catch the girl and the hat, plopping them back where they belong as the spatula clatters in the pan.
"Look before you leap, Daring." Her father chides her.
The filly's ears fold back against her head, and she nuzzles his cheek. "Sorry, daddy..."
He nuzzles her. "It's okay, just trying to keep you safe."
She gently hugs him, keeping herself close to his body. "Thank you."
He nuzzles her as he makes their tiny pancake stacks. "Now, you're free to fall on these, before the syrup is added. I would suggest you eat them instead."
Ruby eats one of the stacks before either of her family members can react, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel's.
Her dad chuckles. "Wow, everyone's hungry this morning."
Both the girl and the filly nod, the latter still embracing the man's neck.
Chuckling, he finishes both their plates and his, bringing them over to the table with syrup. "Well, here you go."
Daring promptly takes the handle in her mouth, turning her head sideways so she doesn't pour it all over the table. She brings it over to her plate and lets it pour... and pour... and pour...
"Careful not to overflow the plate now." Tai warns, knowing her sweet tooth.
She turns her head to look at him, causing the syrup to splash onto his plate. "Hmm?"
He gently tilts it up so it stops boring. "Careful." He gently touches her nose with a finger.
She nods, then turns back and goes back to pouring on her own pancakes.
"Daddy!" Ruby reaches across the table, fingers inches away from the bottle. "She's going to use it all up!"
"Daring, don't you think that's enough?" He says as he pulls out the spare syrup and hands it to Ruby.
She shakes her head, splashing syrup over the table as a result.
He grabs the bottle, holding it still. "Okay, I think that's enough, you're getting a little messy." He chuckles.
Reluctantly she lets go, but she brightens up right away after seeing the sugary delight that is now her pancakes.
He caps the syrup, putting it to the side. "You know Daring, if you use a little less, I bet we can find you some stronger sweeter syrup with different flavors next time we go shopping."
She turns her attention back to him, muzzle scrunching up a bit. "...but that wouldn't mean it'd be sweet every bite, right?"
He shrugs. "That depends how much you use."
She thinks for a bit, then holds up her saturated pancake on a fork, which is between her hooves. "This much. Try it!"
Smiling, he leans down and bites it off, chewing thoughtfully. "You want every bite to be that sweet?"
"Yep!" She grins at him, ignoring the girl who's rapidly eating her own stack.
"I think we can do that if you dip the bites into the syrup that drips on your plate." He nods. "So, interested in flavored next time?"
She taps her chin, then nods, smiling softly. "Okay, daddy."
He smiles, nodding as he goes to his own pancakes. "Are you both excited for today?"
Ruby raises her hand, cheering loudly. "Of course!"
"Good, because I'd appreciate both your helps setting up for it."
Daring tilts her head to one side, eating the pancake held between her hooves. "I can help?"
He nods. "Yep. I was hoping you'd help with streamers and other things."
"Sure!" The filly beams. "I'd be happy to!"
"That's my littlest girl." He pets her head fondly before turning to Ruby. "You don't mind helping me with a few of the more down to earth parts, right?"
She gives a little salute, though the form isn't quite right. "Yes, daddy!"
He chuckles, going to his food. "Alright then, after breakfast."
The girls nod and wolf down their breakfast. Daring has to stop and cough at one point, though.
Tai pats her back softly. "You getting sick or was it the food?"
She spits up a glob of pancake, collapsing onto her side soon after. "...ow..."
He gently picks her up, softly rubbing her belly. "You and your growing appetite..."
She sighs softly, her forelegs held tight against her chest as she luxuriates in the gentle motions of his hand.
He smiles, looking to Ruby. "Can you put the dishes in the sink for me, please?"
She happily nods and gathers up the plates, letting Daring take her pancakes with a fork.
Tai shakes his head in amusement. "Easy Daring, don't want to give yourself a stomach ache."
She pouts a bit, then takes a bite of the speared stack, anyways.
"Cheeky little girl..." He chuckles, setting her down on the table with one last belly rub. "You can finish that while I get the decorations."
She smiles brightly, speaking through her mouthful. "Okay, daddy!"
Chuckling, he goes into the closet and comes back out with boxes of banners, streamers, and even balloons.
Daring quickly but carefully finishes her food, dropping the fork on the table before lazily flying over to him.
He chuckles, catching her on a box. "Okay now Daring, your job will be to tape these," he pulls out long colorful streamers, "to the ceiling so they hang down."
She blinks curiously at him. "Tape?"
He nods, showing her a roll of scotch tape with easy rip lip. "It's sticky on one side."
As the filly tries to juggle everything, Ruby speaks up from next to her father. "Isn't there an easier way?"
He takes most things from the filly, giving her just a streamer and the tape. "How's this?"
She quickly flies up, putting them in place above the table before flying back down to him and smiling. "Like that?"
He nods. "Yeah, though you have a few more than just one." He points to the box that's full of them. "Just sort of spread them around the house."
She nods, taking the tape and pulling some off, getting it stuck to her hooves and mane as she tries to break a piece off.
He laughs, gently freeing it from her and putting some pieces lightly stuck on her hoof. "How's that?"
She beams brightly at him, flying up and nuzzling his cheek. "Thank you, daddy!"
"You're welcome." He smiles and nuzzles her back before he starts fishing out other things. The first is a big birthday banner.
Ruby, ever the inquisitive child, looks between the banner and her adopted sister, frowning a bit. "Can she lift that?"
He shakes his head. "I don't think so, besides, this is for me to hang up."
"Oh. Okay!" She smiles at him, then tilts her head a bit. "When should we wake up sis?"
"If she's not up by the time we're done, we wake her up then."
"Okay." She smiles at him, then looks up at the ceiling, now confused. "...that was pretty fast."
He looks up from where he had been planning on where to hang the banner.
The streamers have all been set up, some even sweeping from one side of the room to the next. He also sees the filly hovering in the middle of the room, a bright smile on her face and tape in her monochromatic rainbow of a mane.
"Wow, great job!" He nods approvingly as he surveys it all. "You'd think you'd done this before."
Daring just shrugs and lands on his shoulders, hugging his head so she won't fall off. "Need anything else?"
"Hmm..." He hangs up the banner, keeping it high enough so no one will hit their heads on it. "Want to put the tablecloth on the table with Ruby?"
"Sure!" She places her hat on his head as she moves to help Ruby set up the table. "Ooh, what are these?" She points at one of the many pictures adorning the fabric.
"Hmm?" He looks at them. "Oh, those are some general weapon types. Its a cool thing I thought the girls would enjoy."
Ruby grins, pointing at one of the scythes. "These are my favorite. They look so cool!"
"Yes, Ruby, that's one reason I got it." He says with a chuckle.
A pair of hooves covers his eyes in their owner's eagerness. "What are those things that look like your shoes?"
"Boots?" He guesses, gently tickling her hooves with his fingers.
When the pony tries to bat at the hands, the girl leans down to look at it closer. "I think Uncle Qrow called them greaves?"
"Ah, leg guards." He nods. "You know, when you get older, we could probably get some for you if you wanted, Daring. Just to have leg protection."
She blinks, then taps her chin thoughtfully. "...can they be weapons?"
He smiles. "Daring, anything can be a weapon if you find a talented place to order it from and a good idea."
She nods once more, eyes sparkling in delight. "Can you show me how for my birthday, daddy?"
Chuckling, he nods."Sure, I can do that. It'll be fun."
She hugs him tight, nuzzling his cheek. "I love you, daddy!"
"I love you two, Daring." He smiles. ""Now... I think that's everything that isn't food or presents..."
"Ooh, can I go wake Yang up?" She grins brightly, waving a hoof as she volunteers.
"To be fair, she's too small to carry presents..." A familiar voice says. As they turn to look, one side of the banner falls, smacking Taiyang in the face.
He pulls it off with a smile. "Glad you made it so early, Qrow."
"What can I say?" He chuckles, reaching down to ruffle Ruby's hair. "I'm a sucker for these kids."
Chuckling, Tai puts the banner back up. "Well, I know they appreciate it. We just have to get the birthday girl up and we're ready to start."
"Is that right?" He looks at each of them in turn. "Which one of you is doing that?"
"I believe Daring wanted to." Tai offers.
"Yep! I'll be back in time!" She jumps up and flies off, giggling happily to herself.
Inside the other room, Yang is still snoozing, one arm and leg hanging off the bed as she snores.
Daring slowly flies closer, trying to move her wings to make her flapping as quiet as possible.
The girl sleeps blissfully on.
She smiles, proud of herself. Then her wing cramps up, making her fall right onto the girl's belly.
"Snck, gah?" Yang sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Alright... who's on my stomach this morning?"
Daring, having tumbled onto her lap in a pile of limbs and feathers, just looks up at her, nervous. "...quack?"
The girl blinks before laughing and hugging the pony. "Are you a ponyduck now?"
"Maybe." She tries flexing her wing, trying to hide her grimace.
"Aww... did you hurt it?" She hugs her a bit more gently.
"...a little..." She sighs, then lays on the side opposite her hurt wing. "...sleep well?"
"Yep, how about you? Still snuggling with Dad?"
"Yep!" She grins widely. "It's the best!"
"I'll bet." She smiles. "You're free to sleep with me and Ruby, too if you want."
"Maybe tonight." She shrugs a bit, then clambers up her shoulder. "Are you hungry? I think daddy's making pancakes."
"Oh, that sounds good!" She nods quickly, getting up while still in her night shorts and shirt.
As she gets situated, Daring pokes at the clothes she's wearing, her muzzle scrunching a bit. "...Yang?"
"Yeah?" She asks, running her hands through her hair.
"Your... clothes smell a bit." She gives a sheepish smile. "Could you please change?"
"Huh?" She lifts her shirt, sniffing it. "I don't smell anything... but okay." She shrugs. "You'll half to get off my shoulder though. Want me to put you on the bed?"
"...can't I stay on your head?"
"I pull shirts off over my head."
The filly is silent a moment, trying to come up with a retort. "...so?"
"Well, I guess if you think you can hold on..." She shrugs, moving and pulling off her current shirt.
Daring closes her eyes and grips the girl's head, careful with her precious golden locks.
Once she gets the shirt off, she works on her shorts and what's underneath. "You think you'll ever wear clothes besides your hat?"
She looks down at her, frowning a bit. "Should I?"
"I don't really know..." Yang shrugs, finding a new pair of underwear and slipping them on before she goes to her drawer of shorts. "You have fur, so you're not cold too much, but everyone wears clothes."
"...how about a vest? That could be useful." She smiles at that thought.
"That... could work, but it doesn't really cover your girl parts on it's own." Yang says, putting on a pair of blue shorts and now looking for a shirt.
"...girl parts?" She looks down at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You know, like what under my underwear and what's under your tail." She says, making gestures to try and explain something that seems simple to her.
"I think my tail works for that." She shrugs, then points at the window. "Look! A birdy!"
"Huh?" Yang looks where she points.
She gets to see the bird for a moment before something dashes through it. Daring is understandably distraught.
"Birdy, no!"
Yang puts on an orange shirt, moving to the window. "What was that? Is it okay?"
"I... don't know. I think it was a cat?" Her mind goes back to the books Tai used to teach her, the picture of a cute kitty bringing a small smile to her face.
"Well... anyway, pancakes?"
"Yep!" She gets off her head, flying and grinning widely. "I bet you can't make it to the kitchen while blindfolded!"
"Oh yeah? I'll show you!" She giggles, getting a bandana from a drawer and wrapping it around her eyes.
"No peeking!" She pats her on the head. "I'll know if you do!"
"I'm not gonna peek." She says, arms reaching out in front of her. "Though, stop me if I'm gonna knock something over."
"Sure!" She beams happily, then takes her spot on Yang's shoulder.
"Now let's see..." She follows the walls, fingers brushing them as she laughs and takes careful steps.
Meanwhile, a small pile of presents and a handle of balloons have joined the decorations in the kitchen.
Ruby hugs her father from his left. "Do you think she'll like it?"
"I think so." He smiles, petting her head as he hears sounds from the other room. "I think that's her, now."
The girl grins, then hides behind the table, ready to jump out and surprise her sister.
Eventually Yang slowly works her way into the doorway of the kitchen, blindfold now visible.
Ruby stares on in confusion. "Yang, why are you wearing that?"
Hearing her sister's voice, Yang smiles. "Daring bet me I couldn't make it to the kitchen blindfolded, but I did!"
"Chair." Daring speaks up too late to keep her from banging her toe against the furniture in question.
"Ow!" Yang yelps, jumping away and holding her foot up. "Dumb chair..."
The younger girl giggles, moving over and patting her sister on the shoulder. "Do you want daddy to kiss it better?"
Qrow raises an eyebrow at this, his attention on his friend. "Do they normally include you without asking first?"
Tai shrugs. "What can you do? They're my girls. They know I'm free to say 'no'. Over time it'll teach them how to negotiate."
"...sure, why not." He sighs and shakes his head. "Regardless, don't you think we should take off her blindfold?"
"Yeah, I think she won a little prize."
"Prize?" Yang says as she blindfold is removed.
"Happy birthday, Yang."
The blonde beams, looking around at everyone. "Wow! Thanks, guys!"
Qrow chuckles, ruffling her hair playfully. "You're very welcome." He glances at the filly, smirking a bit. "I bet you had her put on the blindfold on purpose."
She sticks out her tongue, dropping her party favor. "Maybe."
"Atta girl." Tai praises.
She practically glows from his praise, while Ruby pouts.
"Now, I was going to save this, but I think I can make an exception today." Going to the fridge, he pulls out the white and yellow frosted cake with the picture Ruby drew earlier curled in a cylinder on top so you can see it at all angles.
"Hand drawn candles?" She giggles, looking at Ruby. "Did you do that for me?"
She blushes a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "Daddy said I'm too young to play with fire. So I did that, instead!"
Yang hugs her. "I like it. Maybe it'll be easier to blow out."
Qrow smirks, leaning in to whisper to Tai. "Or blow over."
"Hey, we can always put it back for another round." He whispers back as he puts the cake on the table. "Five already, huh? Let's make it official."
"Yeah!" Yang raises a fist in the air as she cheers.
"Yeah!" Daring grins, then looks to Tai, confused. "How?"
"Blow out the candles of course." He pets the cake on the table, Yang sitting down eagerly in front of it.
The filly flies up to her father's shoulder, whispering into his ear. "How do you blow out paper?"
"You try." He says, motioning as everyone gathers around the birthday girl. She smiles at all of them before she takes a breath and blows on the paper candles. They resist a moment before flying off and flying into the opposite wall, causing Yang to cheer.
"Got all of them!"
"Yay!" Daring claps her hooves together approvingly. "Way to go!"
"Can I have this for breakfast?" Yang asks, pointing to the cake.
"Heh, sure, but only for today." Tai says, moving to cut the cake.
As Qrow moves to the side, watching with folded arms, Ruby moves next to Yang, tongue extended as if to lick the cake directly.
"Hey!" Yang playfully pulls her away. "Tongue off my cake!"
Daring suddenly faceplants in the cake, her body falling onto the table right after.
"Daring..." Tai just sigh, shaking his head before he fishes her out. "Well, it'll still taste the same."
She stays silent, her head resting on his arm as she watches Ruby smush a piece into Yang's face.
Tai chuckles, snagging a piece on his finger and tasting it. "They haven't changed..."
Qrow glances at the filly, then up at his friend, leaning over and talking to him. "You should probably take her somewhere to talk, Tai. Let the girls have their fun; I'll watch them while you do that."
"Huh? Well, alright, you three have fun bonding." He nods appreciatively before taking the frosted filly towards the bathroom.
Daring is quiet, not to mention shivering a bit as she tries to swipe at her face.
Standing in front of the sink, he gets a wet cloth and start cleaning her face, smiling as he does so. "Finally hit your limit on sweets?"
She doesn't respond, her wings held tight to her sides as she stares down at her hooves.
"Hey, you okay, Daring?" He asks, finishing clearing her face and now trying to meet her eyes.
She sniffs, looking up at him in concern through the tears in her eyes. "...how... how do I fly? I... I can't remember..."