A Portion of Thyself

Anders hated a lot of things about the Tower, but one of the ones that seemed the most utterly pointless to him was the way they weren’t allowed to observe their own birthdays, not really. They did, of course, but it had to be quick, surreptitious—they weren’t allowed to gather in groups for parties, and what sort of thing would they have given each other for presents, anyway? None of them had much, and most of what they did have was standard issue, the few personal possessions they’d managed to gather or hang onto far too precious to give away as gifts.