The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

Dimitri had been rather comfortable where he was, sat at that spare table, leaning back in his chair. His face was still amused from his minor jibes directed at Blaine, patting the dark haired cowboy on the back ."Come on, now. We a have to face this dissapointment at some time or other." He said cheerfully, grinning. He whacked Blaine gently on the arm when he got poked.

"I know I am." He responded, laughing quietly. "Cheer up, Blaine." Still grinning somewhat, the blonde stretched his arms above his head. He stopped the entire motion completely when the his fellow cowboy spoke, looking at Blaine momentarily confused before laughing.

"Goodness." He grinned. "Now, now. There's no need to take out your frustration on me~ I don't believe I even mentioned anything aout Mr. In Charge over there. You're just looking for something to hold against me." Still smiling, Dimitri patted Blaine on the head, laughing at Antonio's words. "You can't argue, he's pretty darn good looking. Saying that, so is Mr.Shirtless. Not to mention the other people here. It seems to run in the genes."

Stifling his laughter, the blonde leant himself back in his chair, before getting to his feet. "More drinks!... What're you guys having?" He asked, glancing over towards the bar.

~~~

Julian had been watching the dancefloor, looking back towards Kioko as she spoke again. "I know." He replied, exhaling quietly through his nose. "I hadn't had much chance to sit." He replied, pushing himself away from the van. "I've been catching up with others here. But perhaps you're right." Stepping off, he directed himself towards a near-empty table, one that wasn't too far from his van, before seating himself on it.

((I just went braindead. O_O))

Oh, thank god. Dravius could do slow, formal dances. He was better at things when they followed a set number of steps. At least, when he could keep the moves straight. He had an awful memory. Smirking amiably, he stepped up onto the wooden dancefloor and began dancing in a half-decent way, in time to the music.

"Odd is a bit of an understatement. They're male strippers for god's sake. Although. Not half band if they were just to be a band, actually." Dravius coughed, turning his head towards his shoulder. "And I'm fine. As long as this song doesn't swiftly turn into a jig or something. Be forewarned, if the cowboys manage to claw their way onto the stage, it'll be...weird music. Rock-ish."

Dravius sighed to himself, continueing to dance counting the steps out in his head. He really was quite abysmal at dance when it didn't have a clear structure. Looking a bit thoughtful, he added, "I always did think that faster songs were better to listen to, though."

-----------------------------------------------

"Don't...fuckin'...pout at me." Blaine pouted back just as hard at Antonio, crossing his arms over his chest. "And don't be silly. I'm not teasing anyody about anything." He shot a hard look at his couch-loving friend, still wanting to strike a match on the surface of his eyeball.

"Run in the genes...." The cowboy slumped slightly in his chair, turning his top hat over and over in his hands. "For the last time, I do not hae a crush. Or a fantasy. Or any additional fetishes." He snorted, then sat up once again once Dimi got to his feet.

"Oh, god....mmmm..." Blaine looked thoughtful for a second, tapping his chin with one finger. "White Russian, 'kay thank youuuuu~" The cowboy drew out his last word in a singsong fashion, then turned his face towards the band.

"Okay. Mister Raphael. Not to be insulting. But if your band doesn't switch it up a bit, I may or may not fall asleep. OH!" Blaine bounced up and down a bit in his seat, clapping his hands. "You should totally let us play a few songs!" He grinned amicably, hands clasped together.

Maya, having been more concerned over Dravius' current health, almost fell face first over the slightly raised platform when the Co-Master moved, making a little "mf," sort of noise as she straightened herself out. As Dravius got the dancing underway, the blonde wrapped her arms around his waist, her gaze drifting back over towards the table they'd just left as he spoke.

Her gaze, however, flickered straight back to her boyfriend when he revealed the visitors real proffession, and she stared at him for a couple of seconds before she started laughing. She should have known. The blonde had been pretty damn sure they weren't being all that honest when they said they were a band, and quite frankly, it just made more sense that Erik would be the one to hang out with them if they were strippers.

Pressing her face into Dravvius' shoulder in an attempt to muffle the giggles, she eventually pulled away long enough to speak. "Huh. You do remember some of last night then?" She asked, grinning amusedly before looking back towards the cowboys. "I didn't think they'd be so innocent as to just be part of a band." She admitted. "Probably because they're here with Erik."

Giggling again, Maya rolled her eyes slightly at Dravius' following words. "I doubt the music will change THAT quickly." She laughed, hugging him slightly as they danced. She had to stop herself rolling her eyes at him again when he started talking about the music.

"Pff." Was her only response, raising an eyebrow at his face, her expression amused. "You seem to be concentrating awfully hard on this." She laughed again, referring to the Co-Master's apparent concentration on the dancing, moving one arm to poke him sharply in the side. "Oh. By the way, Angel's staying with my mom for a couple of days. My mother's decision, obviously." She said with a smile, standing on her toes a little to nuzzle Dravius' neck, pulling away slightly to giggle suddenly. "She's going to be more spoilt than usual. We might have a little rebel on our hands when we get her back, huh?"

~~~

Raphael had been sat with his eyes still on the dancefloor, his thoughts elsewhere, when he heard one of Erik's new friends speak his name. He looked over his shoulder at the dark haired performer, raising an eyebrow. The Ring-Master stared at him for a minute, then exhaled quietly through his nose. He didn't quite feel like this young man was being all that polite.

"You know." The blonde said, plastering an over-friendly smile on his face. "If this doesn't suit your taste, my dear visitor, feel free to leave. This is a wedding reception, not a night club. We're only on the second song of the night, things will liven up." He paused to listen to the cowboy's words, then sighed quietly. "I don't see any reason why not. But I'd appreciate it if you'd wait a little while." Smiling a little more genuinely, the Ring-Master turned his gaze back to the dancefloor. Well. This would prove interesting.

"Oh, an apple martini would be lovely, if you don't mind," Erik called out as Dimitri headed in the direction of the bar. He sat forward, leaning on his elbows, snickering a bit at the banter between Blaine and Dimitri. Good looking, indeed. The abundance of attractive people was one of the major perks of living at the Majikus.

He groaned at Blaine's comments regarding the music, already anticipating Raphael's reaction. "Now, now Raffy, I'm sure he didn't mean anything derogatory by it," Erik cooed, reaching across the table to pat the back of Raphael's hand. Great. The last thing he needed was the head of the circus angry at him because of his guests manners. Better smooth this over before the blonde decided to hold him responsible for inviting them.

"Raffy dear, you have to understand that the boys here are used to a different sort of music. They're more accustomed to the sort of music that's played in clubs and bars. Far different from the wedding march." Erik explained. "Not much call for the slower songs in the sort of places they work, I'd think."

-----

"Just a beer, Dimi,"Antonio told him. He frowned at Blaine. "Then don't throw that 'I'm going to set you on fire' look at me. It's a piece of furniture, not your first born. It can be replaced. Wasn't even that dirty in the first place, you clean freak."

He snorted, turning to watch the couples on the dance floor. When Blaine mentioned the possibility of them performing, Antonio looked back over at the table. "I wouldn't mind playing a few songs, if no one minds. Later on, of course," he added, nodding at the circus master. He smirked at Erik's attempts to excuse Blaine's rudeness. "That's nice of you to say Erik, but there's no need to make excuses for Blaine. I'm fairly sure he knows what a slow song is, after all."

"All right, all right." Dimitri laughed as he padded away from the table where Blaine and Antonio were currently sat, directing his steps towards the makeshift bar a short distance away. While waiting for the drinks to be prepared, the blonde took the chance to take another look around. It truly seemed as though there was always something new to see. Or someone knew, to be more exact.

The Circus was teeming with unusual people, and Dimi was actually finding himself feeling somewhat taken aback by the mere number of people who were born with... Well. Abilities. Or wings, or something of the sort. It was like being in a whole other world, really.

At the prompt from the person behind the bar, Dimitri nodded in thanks, taking the drinks before heading back to the table. He placed the beverages in front of his two friends, then sat himself back into his vacant chair. Having been over at the bar, Dimitri had missed Blaine's apparent complaint, and as such, looked slightly confused when Raphael looked back over at them as Erik addressed the Ring-Master.

The leader of the Circus had his brows raised slightly as the red-head spoke, before rolling his eyes with a chuckle. "Please." He started. "Don't explain. Your friends may not be used to this kind of music, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't have enough patience to allow this reception to get warmed up. If I remember, it was you who invited them, Erik. And it's not your wedding." He paused, then chuckled again, turning back to the dancefloor. "Don't take my words the wrong way." He said, directing hs words at Blaine. "Give it a chance. The night's still young."

~~~

Lucia had spent the last half hour trying to keep Angel amused, which, in truth, wasn't very difficult at all. She'd spent most of her time at the buffet table, giving the little girl bits to chew on, before heading off back towards the sitting tables. She had planned on heading back towards where Maya had been sat earlier, but diverted herself when she caught sight of Julian and Kioko.

"Hey." She greeted with a smile, glancing off to watch the dancing couples for a moment before gesturing to a spare chair. "Anyone?" She asked, trying to restrain Angel as the little dark haired baby started gurgling and wriggling around.

Julian snorted quietly, then shook his head, a small, fleeting smile on his face as Lucia sat, her granddaughter in her lap. Angel pulled herself up, becoming immediately immersed in the sparkly confetti on the table as her grandmother held her still by the waist.

"She does look like Dravius, doesn't she." Julian murmered, eyes on the little girl. "I still find it somewhat hard to grasp that he and Maya have a daughter."

Lucia laughed. "Might have something to do with you knowing him pretty much all your life, huh?" Smiling, she turned back to look at Kioko just as Angel flopped back into her lap, trying to put the confetti that she'd managed to get to stick to her palm in her mouth. "And how are you two, anyway?" The blonde asked, gently pulling the baby's hand away from her face. "I haven't has much chance to speak with either of you today."

~~~

"... Wow. Are you two STILL going on about that?" Dimitri asked incredulously, laughing quietly at Blaine and Antonio. "Seriously, Blaine. You need a hobby." Shaking his head, he stopped his gaze rather suddenly on Anontio when the blonde spoke again.

"Performing?... Us?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You asked permission?" He laughed, rubbing his hand together before picking up his drink. "Goodness. This will be fun."

Dravius had been looking down slightly, making sure his feet were landing exactly where they should, and not where they shouldn't, on Maya's toes, for example. "Just some of last night. Bits and pieces. Like giving away my shirt." He snorted softly, looking a bit indignant.

"Remind me never to drink ever, ever again." The Co-master smiled softly, then chuckled softly. "You know I have to concentrate, otherwise I'll trip or step on you." He sighed through his nose, still managing to keep in time with the music and on the right step.

"She is?" Dravius' eyebrows furrowed for a second, and he followed up with, "That was a sweet thing to do. It should be nice to have a bit of time to ourselves, right?" He tilted his head to the side and sniffed softly. Dravius' head was a little stuffed up today, but he didn't think he was catching a cold. Maybe alcohol did that? Whatever.

"It's hard to imagine her being any more babied than she already is, honey." Dravius snorted quietly, as the song dragged on. Jesus. How long was this song? Sighing internally, the Co-Master realised that he was becoming a bit queasy, but nothing too concerning, at least not yet.
"Anyway, it'll be nice, yeah?" He smiled warmly, his crooked grin in place.

---------------------------

Kanec shrugged. "In a thick crowd, it's possible." At her second remark, he waved a hand. "Ah, but it's Ny. She won't hurt me. Too much." He flicked an ear, glancing at the bar. He was seriously considering getting something, but he wasn't someone who could drink his life away. Nor had he had alcohol since he'd joined up with the Circus--with the exclusion of his short leave of absence. He wasn't quite sure how much it would affect him after so long. Finally, he sighed flicked his ears. Not tonight. He wasn't going to risk it. He hadn't had the...best habits with drinking in the past. With a shuffle of his wings, he stood, then folded his arm across his stomach, his other behind him as he bowed deeply, wings half-flared for balance. He looked up at Disera, grinning mischievously. "How about a dance, hm? I'm sure someone will watch Lionel for us."

"Pfft. I would rather she not hurt you at all," Disera replied. She watched him curiously as he stood, covering her mouth with the hand not holding onto Lionel and giggling as he bowed. "I'd love to. Why let those guys have all the fun, right?" the shifter asked, gesturing toward the dance floor and the couples that had joined Karene and Selvai. Standing, Disera shifted Lionel onto her hip and began looking over the tables of people that were sitting out the dance. "There's Kioko, Julian and Lucia over there. Wanna go see if they'd mind holding him for a few minutes?" Disera asked.

Making her way over to their table, the shifter greeted the three with a wave. "Hey guys! Good to see the two of you again, Lucia, Julian. We'll have to catch up later, after all the wedding buzz has died down. But, ah, for right now I was hoping I could ask you guys a favor?" Disera smiled innocently, holding Lionel in front of her. "Would one of you mind watching Leo here while Kanec and I take a turn on the dance floor?"

-----

"Oh! Lucia, it's so good to see you!" Kioko rose from her seat, skirting around the table to enclose the other woman in a quick hug. Ruffling Angel's hair, the pyro stepped back, smiling happily. She shook her at Lucia's question, taking her seat again. "No, it's just the two of us here so far."

"I'm well. Been keeping busy with the circus and the preparations for the wedding," Kioko told Lucia. She was busy sweeping the confetti on the table out of Angel's reach when Disera approached with Lionel. Dusting off her hands, Kioko waved at the little boy. "I don't mind keeping him busy for you, Disera," she offered, holding out her arms to take Lionel. "Have fun out there, guys," she added with a grin.

-----

Erik pursed his lips at the circus master's reply, but decided to let the subject drop, since he had been rather... under the influence when he had extended the invitation to the group. Didn't need Raffy bringing up that fact right now. "Of course it's not my wedding," he declared, switching the topic before Raphael decided to point it out. "For one thing, I'd be allowed to wear whatever dress I wanted at MY wedding," the shapeshifter said with a slight pout.

-----

"Oh. That's good." Lucia laughed quietly, still keeping a firm hold of Angel's little hands. The dark haired baby was sat in her grandmothers lap, her eyes focused on the sparkle-ness of that stuff all over the table. It was a pity she couldn't reach it. Yet. Looking up at Lucia, Angel gurgled loudly, then turned her attention back to the tablecloth, managing to hold on to the pale green material once her grandmother eventually let go of her hands.

The blonde sighed, her expression amused. ".. I hadn't realised this one had so much energy." She murmered, watching Angel cling to the table. "She's been trying to grab hold of things non-stop since I got a hold of her." Laughing, Lucia gave her granddaughtr a quick snuggle, then looked up as Disera appraoched with Lionel. "Oh, hey." She greeted with a smile, returning the Shifter's wave.

Julian, who had had his gaze elsewhere, pulled his eyes away to glance over his shoulder at the approaching shifter. It was a pity he really wasn't all that good with kids... They took far too much looking after. Not to say he wouldn't keep an eye on the kid if he had to... But he really did lack the knack for that sort of thing.

As much as Lucia would have loved to take care of Lionel for a while... Her hands were rather full at the moment, and she had to look at Angel for a minute when the baby started facesmushing the cloth in her hands. Before she could say anything, however, Kioko spoke up, offering to keep an eye on the little boy for a short while. "Yeah. Enjoy yourselves." Lucia added after Kioko, giving the pair another wave.

~~~

"Pff." Maya laughed. "Gave away your shirt?... Huh. I was wondering why you'd passed out half naked on your van steps last night." Snorting quietly, the blnode "pff-d" at him again when he mentioned needing to concentrate on the dancing. "I know you do." She agreed with a grin.

She gave the Co-Master a half-hug, then laughed again. "Yep. And pff. Sweet. I highly doubt my mom is taking care of Angel for our benefit." Still laughing, she nodded in response to Dravius' following statement. "It will be. Means we don't need to keep our eyes on her, right?"

The blonde leant her chin on the Co-Master's chest, smiling at him with her eyebrows raised. It gave her the impression of being highly amused by something. When the dark-haired male spoke again, she pulled her head away, her expression looking more amused than it had done previously. "It's my mom." She said by way of explanation, trying not to smile too much, and failing. "My mom, Dravius. And she hasn't seen Angel for a long while. You know what she's like."

Giggling under her breath, she caught sight of Dravius' expression, then rolled her eyes slightly. "It will be nice, yes. And, you know." She started, pulling her arms away from her boyfriend's waist. "If dancing with me was such a torturous thing to do, you could have just said no when I asked." She laughed, punching him in the arm. "Honestly. No need to look so impatient."

Snorting quietly, she patted the Co-Master on the chest, then padded off towards the table where Raphael and the others sat, before plonking herself in the seat she had earlier occupied, smiling absently.

Blaine, after making his rather ridiculous suggestion, had slid down in his seat until his posture mimicked a bored teenager in a math classroom. He sighed softly, looking a fair bit calmer than he had thirty seconds before, and in truth the cowboy felt suddenly sleepy. Geez, apparently nicotine withdrawl involved mood and energy swings.

Bluh. Blaine had a slight pout on in his face, and that, coupled with the fact that he was a bit baby-faced, made him look like a petulant high-schooler, if it weren't for the huge, dark circles around his eyes.
In fact, those circles were only worsened by the tone of his skin.

Blinking once hard, Blaine sat back up at Raphael's almost hostile tone, now balanced on the edge of his chair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude..." He quickly rubbed one of his eyes, blinking again. He felt a bit like he was falling asleep with both eyes open, and furrowed his brows slightly. "Sure, waiting..." He murmered drowsily, vaguely listening to Erik being indignant. At Raphael's response to the red-head, Blaine nodded sleepily, smiling slightly.

When Dimitri returned, Blaine jumped slightly when his drink was set down. Rubbing the same eye he had before, the cowboy leaned forward until his elbows were on the table, running a finger around the rim of his glass drowsily.

Taking a distracted sip of his White Russian, Blaine looked up through his curly hair at Maya, who had returned to the table, looking much happier. What happened to her? Snorting quietly, Blaine settled his drink down on the table, then stifled a yawn.

The cowboy let his head rest gently on Erik's shoulder, which was admittedly bonier than he would have liked, and murmered, "M kinda tired." as if the statement wasn't obvious already.

--------------------------------------------

Maya's repeated "pff-ing" struck Dravius as slightly amusing, and he smirked slightly at the shorter woman. Then he snorted heavily and murmered, "I do know how she is. And I still think we're the top spoilers in this situation." Dravius smiled wider, although he still had a large wrinkle between his furrowed brows as he continued dancing.

The Co-Master coughed quietly and under his breath, then clearing his throat a few times. "What...but...I didn't.." When he was punched in the arm, his concentrated expression changed to one of slight confusion. My god, was he really that transparent? He'd need to work on that. Perhaps in front of a mirror. When no one else was around.

Dravius snorted to himself as Maya walked away, chuckling under his breath, then turning to stride off the dance floor. His nausea had subsided for the moment, although now he was feeling a little light headed. Closing his eyes for a moment, Dravius shook his head and leaned against to beverage station, waiting for the reception area to stop spinning. Stop the world, he wanted to get off. ....That was a terrible cliche.

Thanking Kioko as she agreed to take Lionel, Kanec took Disera's hand and led her over to the dancefloor, joining into the middle of the current dance. It was a slow one, thankfully. He didn't know any others. And the slow ones were all the same to him. He took the lead in the dance, as he should, and moved his feet with the music. Despite never having danced since he'd joined the Circus--and not ever a slow dance--he was pretty good at it. The only bad part, to him, was that he had to keep his wings tightly furled, or risk knocking out one of the other dancing couples. Which would not be very good.

(( Right okay. O_O I am time skipping. Because I can. O_O! And because my mind is running dry on posting for this reception LOL. Let's go to the lake. 8D

If you guys don't like it. O_O Shout at me later.))


After Maya's return to the table, she had resorted to staring at the tablecloth for a minute or two, before the voices of the cowboys the next table over caught her attention. The blonde threw a fleeting glance at them, then turned her attention back as Raphael spoke, the Ring-Master's gaze somewhere off the dancefloor.

"He certainly doesn't look all that well, does he?" He asked, snorting quietly as Maya focused her gaze where his currently was; On Dravius, seemingly holding himself up with the bar.

"He still wasn't feeling too well earlier." She murmered, brows furrowed slightly in concern.

"... Really?" The Ring-Master looked over his shoulder at the butterfly, eyebrows raised. "Poor kid. Alcohol really doesn't agree with him, hm?" He chuckled. "Any other person would have recovered slightly by now. Although I don't suppose we can really blame him, all things considered. He doesn't drink."

Still looking slightly amused, the blonde looked back towards the dancefloor, just as the music ended for this tune. Maya, however, stood herself back up. "I'm going to go see if he's okay." She stated, padding off towards the bar.

Raphael watched her go, then snorted quietly. He really couldn't help but feel sorry for Dravius. Still, he did kind of bring it on himself. Chuckling again, the blonde shook his head, expression amused.

~~~

The rest of the night went splendidly. After the somewhat slow start, the music and general banter picked up, the reception becoming more rowdy and party-like as the night wore on. Needless to say, most members got to the sleep incredibly late that night, and woke rather late the next morning.

Raphael however, still went ahead with moving the Circus, the day after consisting mostly of preparation. Actually heading to the lake took very little time, but because of the lateness of them setting off, it was night again by the time they got there.

~~~

The next morning dawned bright and airy, and many of the members had awoken out of sheer excitement. It wasn't often the Circus stopped in such a calm, quiet, and beautiful sort of place; It was a real contrast to the towns they were so used to. Raphael, as per usual, had been one of the first members up, and currently stood outside his van door, arms crossed, and his gaze on the water.

The vans had stopped not far from the lake; Just on top of a gently sloping hill that headed down to the water. Some distance to his right, just on the horiizon, was a very small village, nestled right on the waters edge. There were trees scattered around, a forest clearly visible on the other side of the lake. The sky was almost cloudless, and a bright, morning clear blue.

Sighing through his nose, the Ring-Master watched as a few of the members, particularly the younger ones, amused themselves in the lake. Well. They'd had no chance to do so last night, having got here as late as they had.

Smiling to himself, he glanced over his shoulder at the sound of an obvious yawn, coming face to face with both Xavier and Maya, the former of which had a hand over his mouth.

"Tired?" Raphael laughed, as Xavier flopped onto the grass not far from him.

"Not really. More the toll of all that activity yesterday. I'm not used to so much labor. And after a night of heavy drinking, too." He grumped, stretching his arms above his head and falling so that he was completely laid out. The tall, dark haired man was dressed in a simple white tee, which donned a tribal wolf pattern on the front. His trousers were plain black., rolled up above his knees.

"And how are you?" Raphael asked, chuckling slightly at Xavier as he addressed Maya; The young woman of which was donning her signature white dress.

The young woman stepped lightly over Xavier's spread-out form, looking at the male with an amused face. "I'm all right." She replied, throwing a smile at Raphael before looking off towards the lake. "I never got a good look at that last night." She said, gesturing towards the mass of water. "It looks amazing. So does that village."

"I thought you might like it." The Ring-Master laughed. "They do look a lot nicer during daylight hours." Pausing, the Ring-Master stretched out an arm, then seated himself on his stairs. "Where's Dravius this morning?... I haven't seen him yet. Come to think of it I haven't really seen anyone."

"Probably because we're up early." Maya laughed. "Dravius is probably still sleeping. I tried not to wake him when I got up. I saw Karene and my mother in the food van, though."

"Ah... I might have to go say hello." Standing again, the blonde threw a grin at Maya, glancing fleetingly at Xavier and rolling his eyes slightly. "See you in a bit." He laughed, heading off towards the food van.

Nylat, actually, had been the first one in the Circus awake after arriving at the lake late. Though not by her own means. In the middle of the night, a sharp stab of pain had lanced through her, and instinct had driven her under the unused bed, where she still remained even now, as other Circus members were waking. She was curled up with her back to the outside, her body wrapped around two little bundles of fur that were tucked up against her, sleeping. She herself was half-asleep, one paw protectively covering the two pups. One was stocky, his fur only a few shades lighter than her's. The other pup was at least half his size, and closer in color to her father. Her snout was also slightly shorter than her brother's, but not drastically so.

Nylat licked the two pups carefully, flicking an ear to listen for her mate. She hadn't woken him; there was no reason in her eyes. No sense in him being just as tired as her. Concluding that he wasn't awake, she laid her head beside the two pups, her eyes closed. However, her heart was racing far too much for her to sleep. Sighing, she adjusted herself, careful not to wake the pups.

((... ASDFGHJGHOUKDRITJG *Steals puppies*))

(( D: B-b-b-b-but. ;~; ))

((*takes puppies back to Ny* Bad Maya! |:<))

(( Omg it''s not like I left the country with them. I was only sat here in the corner. ;( And you. Selvai. Stop butting in on my snuggle time with the puppies and go post. ;o))

(( You never said you hadn't left the co--YOU LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. D: Taking them is just as bad as leaving the country with them. ;~; ))

((-Sneaks in, scoops up puppies and flees to own van-))

(( *snufflewail* ))

Dravius had actually begun to enjoy himself as the night went on, although he didn't feel like staying up late into the night, so he ventured into the van he shared with Maya just before eleven o'clock. He didn't, however, sleep very well, tossing and turning on his side of the bed. Eventually, he got up to sit at the desk in the corner of his van, drawing odd pictures for an hour or so, then leaving a heap of paper on the flat surface and crawling into bed again. The Co-Master ended up sleeping with the blanket pulled up over his head, snoring softly.

It only took a little bit of time after Maya left for Dravius to wake with a start, almost falling off the bed as he jolted into conciousness. Rubbing his eyes quickly, he rolled himself out of bed, running his hands through his hair. He pulled a pair of jeans that were a bit too long, the hems of them catching under his heels as he walked. The Co-Master walked around picking up his bits of paper that had fluttered to the ground, smiling softly at the beginnings of a portrait of Maya sleeping, looking almost unrealistically peaceful.

Putting the sketches in a desk drawer, along with the half-dozen or so writing utensils that were scattered about. Dravius then dug around for a bit to come up with a t-shirt with tiny, blue owls places randomly about it. Not bothering to try and calm his unkempt hair, the man coughed softly and stretched like a cat, his arms over his head.

Venturing out into the sunlight, Dravius looked out over the lake, quite impressed by the veiw. It looked much nicer in the daylight, with the sun glinting off the soft waves. Well, he might as well check on Ny, since her van was actually in his line of sight. Maybe she'd still be in, although she was usually an early riser. Might as well try.

Dravius wasn't really much for knocking on either Nylat's or Raphael's van most of the time, but he did rap his knuckles against the wall as he walked in. Aww, no one was there. Except for the bits of Ny-coloured fur poking out from underneath the bed. Huh. What...Without much more noise, Dravius got down on his hands and knees and poked his head under the bed, then immediately withdrew his head with a gasp.

"NYLAT." Dravius hissed as loudly as he could, sitting a few feet away from the bed. "You never tell me ANYTHING." He had a resolute expression on his face, and was fighting an extreme urge to squeal loudly and nuzzle the two tiny puppies underneath the bed.

Nylat was nearly asleep, about to find the much-needed sleep she desired, when a knock on the wall jolted her into full-awareness. She let loose a little growl, careful not to wake her pups. Being blind to the outside, she didn't know who was there right away. It made her insanely tense. Dravius's voice made her half-jump, jostling the two sleeping furballs. They squirmed, the smaller one squeaking pitifully. Nylat licked her a couple times, then took their two scruffs in her teeth and moved herself into the corner, still under the bed. The little girl still squeaked and squirmed as Nylat laid back down and set them down. Wrapping her tail over them, the other pup having joined in the noise, she glared in Dravius's direction, which she was now facing.

"Thank you very much for waking me. As for telling you I would have thought Maya would have." She licked the two pups, keeping them close with one paw wrapped around them. Moving around, it was now quite obvious that they both had white underbellies, and the little girl had slightly darker markings akin to her mother's, though she was so small it was hard to tell. It could be seen, however, that one of her paws had white toes, and another had a white foot, while her brother had a white sock. Nylat flicked her tail over them, muffling their squeaking and calming them down. "Is Zyano not in here?"

"Oh. Okay. Bye." Maya watched as Raphael left, before turning her gaze back to the lake when he walked out of her line of sight. It really was rather stunning, with the view of the little village of in the distance, and the woodland that ran across the other side of the lake. Heck. The blonde was sorely tempted to get into the water, although she thought it might be more wise to wait for it to get a little warmer first, not that it wasn't already.

Stretching her arms above her head, she threw another amused look at the sprawled out Xavier, just as Karene approached, hands in her pockets.

"Pretty." She stated, eyes on the lake as she came to a stop at Xavier's other side. She looked down at him, then threw a wicked sort of grin in Maya's direction. "I think we should throw him in." She said passively, gesturing towards the lake, causing the blonde to giggle under her breath.

"... I'm not asleep, you know." Xavier said from where he lay, eyes closed and an exaggerated frown on his face.

"Psh. Like that matters?... I'd throw you in anyway."

"Gee. Thanks. Have fun trying to lift me off the ground." He snorted, crossing his arms, his expression that of someone who was actually expecting Karene to try.

"Oh... I wouldn't have to do that." Karene responded, her tone a little too sweet to be genuine, and a wicked grin on her face. She had done a funny little motion with her hand, one that quite clearly stated she wasn't planning on physically lifting the older Wolfe brother. She did, afterall, have other means of doing so.

"... Don't even think about it."

~~~

Zyano had spent most of the night on the roof. Which was more or less normal for him, seeing as, like Nylat, he much preferred to be outside rather than in when the weather allowed. As soon as the Circus had come to a stop,he had taken a good half hour or so to explore the area, even going so far as to pad just outside the boundary of the little village off in the distance. Upon returning to the van, he had flung himself straight onto the roof, and pretty much just fallen asleep where he landed.

The following morning, it was that tapping on the side of the van that had woken him, and the wolf gazed blearily as he caught sight of Dravius entering the van; The Co-Master seeming to completely miss him being on the roof. The sand furred hybrid gave a quiet, but huge yawn, partly considering going back to sleep for another hour or so. It was only the sound of Dravius' voice from within that really prevented him from doing so.

He sounded awfully surprised about something. Perhaps Nylat had finally told someone else about her condition. That hardly seemed right, however, seen as Zyano hadn't heard his mate speak. It was only then of course, that the squeaking caught his attention, the sound barely audible through the open door. To anyone else, it probably would have been much, much quieter. To Zyano, it was a signal something quite significant had happened over night.

Standing up, all air of drowsiness evaporating, the hybrid padded quickly to the edge of the van, then promptly bounded off of it, coming to land just outside the open door. Turning, he jumped the steps, his paws making no noise as he padded quickly over to the bed, pausing next to the Co-Master.

"Nylat?" He asked quietly, stuffing as much of himself under the bed as he could. Unfortunately, he was just a little too large to really fit, and ended up on his stomach, his paws and head under the bed. As much as he had been expecting to see those pups, he hadn't quite expected the sudden rush of emotion that hit him forcefully in the snout once he had caught sight of them.

They were beautiful. Both of them.
He was a father. A dad.

Despite being half stuffed uncomfortably under the bed, Zyano was grinning, his expression immensely proud, his tail sweeping the floor. He was doing his utmost best to recognise both new scents. He did, however, pause the whole thing to look at Nylat, his face somewhat dissapointed.

"You should have woken me." He murmered quietly, sticking his nose right next to one of the pups. It was a shame really, to miss the birth of his and Nylat's first pups. Although there was little point in worrying about that now. Whining quietly, he cut off the sound to continue sniffing, his expression content.

"They're amazing." He said quietly, before pausing. "And so are you, of course." The hybrid very nearly attempted to try and lick his mate's snout. Although gave up on discovering she was just too far under the bed for him to really get that close to her. Instead, Zyano settled himself with placing his head on his paws, his amber eyes on his new little pups; His tail still moving swiftly across the smooth wood of the van floor.

((DUH. CHEESY. 8D))

Dravius had been sitting a few feet away from the grumpy-sounding Nylat, trying his best to see both under the bed and over the new mother, blinking a few times in mild surprise at her question. "Zyano? I don't think-Nnn!" He jumped slightly at the thud outside the door, turning his head and shoulders to look out the door.

"Well, I guess he was on the roof, then." He cleared his throat, and made a strangled chuckling noise as Zyano shoved himself under the bed, back paws scrabbling comically on the floor. Stifling another laugh, he stood up and said, trying not laugh at Zyano's current position. It was both touching, and absolutely ridiculous.

Chuckling slightly, Dravius ducked out of the van, leaning gently against the side of the dwelling in order to just admire the sparkling surface of the lake again. It really was stunning, and he bet when the sun set it would be even prettier. All orange-y and things.

Coughing to himself, Dravius' eyes caught a glint of gold in his peripheral, and he twitched his head to spot Maya, along with a few others who were all grouped together. He rocked back onto his feet and started strolling towards them, a slight sile spreading across his face.

The small clump of people were all gathered around his brother, who was lying down on the ground. Hey. Why hadn't Maya told him if she'd known that Ny was going to have puppies all along. Well, perhaps he just wouldn't tell her that there were actually puppies here now. Ha.

"Hey, Re. Maya. Xavier." Dravius smiled crookedly, waving a bit, and then snorting, having just heard the tail end of the conversation and seeing the look in Karene's eyes. He was quick enough on the uptake to realize that his brother was being jokingly threatened, which made him snirt to himself rather quietly.

It was a pity, really, that Karene had only been joking about throwing Xavier in the lake. Maya was pretty certain it would have been highly amusing, and probably would have made her day right then and there. The older Wolfe brother's expression only made the whole thing more funny, and the blonde giggled as she sat herself not far from him, keeping her eyes on the two of them as they bantered some more.

The dark haired male was still laid out, arms crossed behind his head, his eyes focused utterly on Karene, his exaggerated frown still in place. He had the look of someone who was keeping his vigil, clearly keeping himself aware of the magician's every move... Just in case, of course.

At Dravius' arrival, Xavier turned his head to regard his brother, his expression overly pleading as both Karene and Maya waved at him. "Dravius." He stated, managing a half decent pout in the younger man's direction . "Tell the women to stop picking on me."

At this, Maya broke out into more giggling, and Karene merely "pff'd" loudly, proceeding to kick Xavier gently in the side. "Oh, you're such a wuss. Stop complaining. There's nothing wrong with getting a little wet."

"... If it's against your will it is." Xavier sniffed, frowning heavily again. Karene eventually stopped kicking him in the side, and the man turned back to Dravius. "Look. Look at this. How do you survive in a Circus full of such abusive females."

Snorting, Karene laughed. "Oh, you're no fun. It's okay. I'll find someone else to throw in. Dravius, for example." She gave the Co-Master a sharp grin, before shrugging. ".. .Maybe later." She seemed to reconsider, laughing undr her breath. "It's too much effort too early." The magician stretched her arms above her head, then waved a hand. "I'll see you guys later. I need to find my husband."

"Yeah... Go abuse him. He's the one who signed that particular pact." Xavier snorted, rolling out of the way of Karene's foot as she went to kick him again. Unfortunately he was unable to evade her second kick, and he muttered a quiet "Ow." as the magician walked past, snorting quietly.

Maya watched Karene's retreating back, her face amused. Honestly. Those two. Throwing a quick glance at Xavier, the blonde then smiled over her shoulder at Dravius. "And how are you?" She asked with a quiet laugh, as Xavier got himself comfortable again, arms back behind his head.