The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

"What d'you mean, tell them. You think I've any control of the hellcats?" Dravius grinned happily, the tone of voice he was using light and almost playful. "There really isn't. At least you can swim. If I get tossed in too deep, I'll likely drown." He added on the tail end of Karene's comment.

Dravius chuckled to himself at Xavier's question, deigning not to answer it at all, instead just crossing his arms in front of his chest. The word that Xavier had just said, kept circling around and around in his mind until they ran together like a sludge, something that sometimes happened in pauses between people thinking, the last words spoken staying until they hardly seemed like words at all. It was just soemthing that happened.

The Co-Master blinked and snapped out of his slightly vague grin, to realize that the conversation had moved on along without him. His eyebrows furrowed for a fraction of a second. He recovered in time to wave to Karene, smiling crookedly.

"How am I doing?" Dravius blinked a few times, quickly, looking at Maya. "Oh, I'm fine. Just a bit sleepy...I guess." The Co-master had already gone straight to rearranging the letters of 'How are you doing" into other words, and in different groups. He shook his head slightly, then looked down at his brother, chuckling, "God, you're a bit lazy today." Dravius dug the bare toes of one foot into his brother's side.

It really wasn't working for him at all to try and keep secrets, especially about soemthing tiny and cute. "Uhm. Maya. Maya." Dravius poked her gently in the arm, then gestured towards the van containing the two new puppies. "I don't know if you know this, but. Uh. Ny just had puppies, I think. And Zyano's in there with half of himself stuffed under their bed, trying to see them."

"She's also not really being very friendly-why didn't you tell me."

((KAY SKIP.))

"Oh. That's good." Maya responded to Dravius' response to her earlier question, pulling up a couple of shards of grass and twirling them around her fingers. "Besides the sleepiness bit. But that's normal for you." She laughed, her eyes following the Co-Master as he walked promptly over to Xavier and nudged him in the side.

"Nnn!" Was the older male's response, whacking Dravius lightly on the leg. "I'm allowed to be lazy. Isn't that why your Ring Master brought us here" He asked, shuffling himself away from his brother's foot and putting another pout on his face. He eventually settled himself another foot or so away, legs outstretched, and hands behind his head again.

Maya had watched him with an amused face, before glancing over at Dravius when he spoke her name. "What?" She asked, batting weakly at his prodding, her brows raised as he started talking. "You... She just what?" The blonde paused, then promptly pushed herself to her feet. She had been about to flee to Nylat's van when the Co-Master's last question caught her attention.

"Oh?." She started. "Ny never told you?... She only told me the day before last... And I didn't exactly have any time to tell anyone yesterday. Besides, I didn't think it was my place to say anything... I thought Nylat would have wanted to tell everyone else, considering... You know. She was the one who was pregnant. Also... She's left it pretty late if she's had them already..."

The blonde paused again, idly wondering whether or not the hybrid had actually told anyone else at all. Blinking, she shook her head, lunged forward to give Dravius a quick hug and smile, then promtly shot off in the direction of Nylat's van. "I'll be back in a sec!" She called over her shoulder, flaring her wings a little as she ran towards the hybrid's residence.

~~~

(((8DDDDDD))

The first day at the lake passed pretty much without interest. It was a pleasant, lazy sort of day. The only real buzz being focused around Nylat's new pups, which, once Maya had caught sight of them, had pretty much become the talk of the day.Most members had wanted to see them... But whether or not Nylat allowed it was another matter entirely.

It had eventually quieted down, the members settling themselves around the lake on in their vans as the sun began to set. Maya, who like most everyone else, had spent the day pretty much doing nothing, remained sat by the lake. The blonde had been looking sedately at the sky, watching the steady change of bright, clear blue, to a blazing sort of orange, tinged with purple.

She always had been a great fan of sunsets. One of her favourite times in the day. It was just so calming, and, when you were in a location such as this one, absoloutely stunning to watch. The blonde pretty much had a perfect view, having been sat right on the water's edge, her legs up to her knees actually touching the water; The reflections of the burning sun muffled everytime she moved them. Maya still remained wearing her white dress, having decided she hadn't wanted to get completely wet today, and her hair still fell loosely down her back, her fringe falling lightly over one side of her face.

Sighing through her nose, the butterfly stretched her arms above her head, her vivid wings following suit, before she flopped onto her back, her gaze skyward. She was still feeling somewhat baffled by the birth of Nylat's pups. She really hadn't expecting them to be born so soon after Nylat had leaked the news to her. And they really were adorable. Luckily, she had managed to restrain herself from asking the hybrid whether or not she could hold one.

After all, they had only just been born, and Maya remembered quite vividly how she refused to let anyone hold Angel too long for a short while afterward. She had just been a little too fascinated by the little girl to really relinquish her onto anyone else. Except Dravius, naturally. She really only felt comfortable enough letting him hold his daughter.

Smiling to herself, the blonde pushed her upper body up so that she rested on her elbows, eyes back on the lake, staring at it's stunning reflection of the sky above. She idly noted tomorrow's date, wondering fleetingly whether or not Dravius would remember, before flopping back onto her back, still smiling. Huh. What a peculiar sort of day.

Kanec watched the sunset blankly, his mind going a mile a minute. He idly tapped his pointer and middle fingers on a small box in his pocket, taking a deep breath. Now or never. He couldn't wait any longer. And there was no better place. Flicking his ears back determinedly, he shuffled his wings, then quickly found Disera. With an easy smile that didn't at all betray his intentions or racing thoughts, he took her hand. "Follow me." Without waiting for an answer, he walked calmly to the lakeshore, far enough away from the main group of the relaxing Circus members so that it was still somewhat private, but not quite out of earshot. After all, he didn't want to go too far.

He clasped his hands behind him, trying desperately not to fidget with the small case in his pocket, lest he give away his motive. Humming slightly, he smiled softly. "You know, Disera. We've been together for nearly five years now, and I've realized...this relationship hasn't quite gotten as far as I'd have thought it would have by now. I mean, we have a wonderful son, and you're a great mother to him. And we both know I love you, but. I feel it's time to make it official." As he said the last sentence, he took a step back, lowering himself carefully to one knee as he pulled out the box. He opened the lid, displaying a simple band with a beautiful diamond cresting it, it's true beauty realized as the remaining sunlight hit it. He smiled again, his ears slightly lifted, his wings half-flared for balance.

"Will you marry me?"

((BLUH CHEESY. ANYWAYS. Leo's like. Already asleep. Yeah. We'll go with that for my purposes.))

((LOL!!! I hadn't realised you were going to do that STRAIGHT AWAY. xD!! Oh Kanec. How adorable you are. *Snugs*))

Disera had been taking advantage of Lionel being asleep to step outside of the van and stretch out on the steps, relaxing in the fading sun. When Kanec appeared and took hold of her hand, the shifter raised an eyebrow, but followed anyway. "Kioko! Sit with Lionel for a few minutes?" she asked as they passed the pyro, using her free hand to gesture at her and Kanec's van.

She glanced around the stretch of lakeshore that Kanec had led them to, then looked back to the other shifter. Crossing her arms, she addressed the other shifter. "Well, we're here. What are you- oh. Oh!" Disera went quiet as he spoke, eyes widening in shock when he went down on one knee and produced a ring box. "Oh," she said more softly. "Oh, Kanec. Of course." Tugging gently on the lapels of his coat, Disera pulled him to his feet and wrapped both arms around his waist, carefully tucking her face into his shoulder.

"I love you," she said happily, leaning back just enough to look Kanec in the face. The female shifter grinned widely suddenly, eyes lighting mischievously. "I love you, but you're doing it all backwards, you know. We're supposed to get married before we move in together and have kids," she joked.

Kanec let out a breath he had not known he'd been holding. Sure, he'd known and expected the answer, but there was always a ch--no need to think about that, now. When Disera dragged him to his feet and hugged him, he wrapped his arms around her, snapping the box closed with one hand. He would give near anything for it to just remain them for a while longer, but he was almost completely sure they had not gone unnoticed. Oh well.

As Disera pulled away slightly, making her comment, his mischevious, lopsided smile appeared. "Well, now, I love you too, but doing it all backwards isn't completely my fault, now is it?" He pulled her back into a hug, knowing that soon after they encountered someone, they're'd be a great deal of hubub, and he wanted to delay that. At least a while. He enjoyed the peace of the lakeshore.

((UGH.))

The rest of the lake's first day had been pleasant, the small town that ran adjacent to it without the slightly dirty smell of large cities, which was something that Dravius had been used to for a long time. Fresh air was a nice change, and had a calmjng effect on Dravius, the Co-Master staying calm and unsually soft spoken for the rest of the day, his blue eyes sleepily hooded.

He hadn't returned to Nylat and Zyano's van at all, rather wandering around the lakeshore with his jeans rolled up to just below his knees, enjoying the warm, clear water washing around his toes. He had also ventured into the tiny settlement, bringing his violin with him the play softly on a street corner, just generally people watching, and enjoying the relative silence of the village. Dravius, while he played, had been racking his brain for something to do for Maya tomorrow. It was an important day, in fact, so important that the Co-Master felt like the things he was thinking of were too small.

Maya was the sort of woman who appreciated any small thought, but he still felt as if he needed to do something large. Sighing irritably, Dravius gently tapped the middle of his bow against the strings of his instrument, his head tilted slightly to the side. What to do, what to do.

Looking up, Dravius noted that the sun was gently lowering, and he stood, the instrument and bow hanging loosely from his hands. The Co-Master's attention was caught by the art shop he'd been sitting in front of, a huge array of paints displayed in the window, certain pigments glinting in the dimming sunlight. On impulse, he ducked in and purchased many vials of paint, which were bundled tightly together in cloth to prevent the thin glass from shattering.

One purchase of a new, blank, screen stretched across a darkly varnished frame, and Dravius headed back to the circus, taking special care to avoid anyone from the circus. Sucessfully making it back to his van, Dravius immediately set the screen flat on his floor, lighting all of the half-used candles strewn about, then settled down, after collecting more than a dozen different brushes, a tall jar full of water, and began to paint directly onto the thin cloth of the screen, an expansive jungle scene stretching out on the screen, folds of leaves and loops of vines creating the smiling likenesses of himself, Maya, Angel, and even Maya's mother.

Along with the greenery hiding human faces, there were also hundreds of butterflies fluttering about, of all shapes, sizes and colours. Dravius continued working through the night, pausing everytime a candle ran out to replace it. As the night wore on, he became more and more splattered with paint, not feeling the need to sleep until he finished the massive scene, curling up in a large, squishy armchair after three in the morning.

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

Just before midnight, a slightly shambling figure traced it's way along the waterline, the stride of the figure akin to a person whose legs were not cooperating with their brain. The unlaced, slightly muddy army boots the man was wearing were washed clean by the surf, and as he stumbled along, the moonlight outlined the shape of his clothing, a ratty, black hoodie unzipped and the hood of which was thrown up, shielding the man's face in shadow.

The hems of the young man's pants bunched where they met the tops of the raggedy boots, the hems themselves little more defined than a line of straggling threads. His hoodie's sleeves stopped halfway down his palms, and the enitre garment was scattered with holes. Under his sweatshirt, the young man wore a striped, v-neck sweater over a white button down shirt and black tie. This together would have made a rather respectable picture, except for the fact that the sweater was also pockmarked with holes, and the white shirt was now more of a grey. All together, he looked like something that had been dug up from a graveyard and told to go for a stroll.

The young man was of average height, and as he shambled on, a shred of paper could be seen gripped in his hands, which had long fingers with cut close nails. A slight breeze blew the man;s hood off, revealing straight, chocolate brown hair that was just long enough to brush the tops of his eyebrows. His eyes stood out in the moonlight, a bright white, which even made the whites of his eyes look cream in comparison.

Along with his bright white eyes, he had huge shadows arching under his eyes, and a blank, inquiring expression on his face. When he got within the circus boundaries, the young man was swiftly stopped by a passing member. He showed said member his shred of paper, and the member gave him an odd look, pointed at Erik's van, and moved on, letting him advance into the grounds. The man's shambling gait only worsened over grass, and he nearly fell as he reached Erik's place of dwelling, his hands thumping softly on the side of the van.

The man then sat down in a manner that was more of a controlled fall onto the steps of Erik's van, slumped slightly forwards, and staring atraight ahead into the night, waiting for morning to come.

((*squints at hobo on steps*))

((*GIGGLESNORT* You should post.))

Maya had watched the unfolding of Kanec and Disera's interaction without any real interest, choosing to focus most of her sight on the setting sun. However, she was unable to keep her attention diverted when she caught sight of the male shifter kneeling, raising herself so that she was sat up, her eyes on the couple. She had, admittedly, tried not to listen too much to their conversation, because it had sounded very much to her like something that should have been more or less private; However, the fact that they were stood on the lake, where other members resided, clearly stated they hadn't minded too much.

Besides. It was pretty obvious that whatever Kanec was going to say now he probably wanted others to hear. The blonde listened, up until the point Kanec finished speaking. The other members at the lake had also watched quietly, clearly holding their breath for Disera's answer.Of course, once she had, the small group clapped and cheered, deciding to leave them to it for the most part.

Maya was looking ridiculously happy about the whole thing, though like the others, she refrained from going to speak to the now engaged couple, deciding there would be plenty of time to congratulate them later. The rest of the night passed without incident, before the blonde eventually stood herself up, then padded to her van for the night.

~~~

((I kind of have to time skip. O_O))

The next morning was warm and light, and Raphael and Karene had settled themselves just outside the food van, the latter sprawled somewhat haphazardly on the steps. She glanced up at the Ring-Master, grinning slightly before pulling herself to her feet.. "I take it you heard?" She asked, brushing down the jeans she wore, before leaning lightly against the banister, her eyes on the lake.

"That I did." Raphael laughed. "Looks like we'll have to go through it all again."

"Was it really that painstaking?" The woman snorted amusedly. "I wonder if Selvai knows yet."

"You didn't tell him?"

"Hardly. I only found out this morning. Besides... I think Disera will want to tell him. All things considered." Laughing quietly, the caramel haired woman waved a hand. "I'll go get him up, anyway. That's if he's still in the van." Snorting, she leapt the bottom stair of the food van, before heading off towards her own.

The Ring-Master watched her go, smiling absently. To think... Kanec and Disera. One of the oldest members of the Circus, no less. This certainly would be a celebration to remember.

~~~

Maya hadn't really wondered much about Dravius' absence the night before, having figured he was off strolling around somewhere. She had, however, woke up with a confused expression the morning after. Huh. The guy must have slept in his own van last night then.

Shrugging to herself, the blonde got herself up and ready, donning a light cream chifon strapless dress; Consisting of two layers. The bottom layer ended just above the young womans knee, the other a couple of inches above the bottom one.

After quickly running a brush through her hair, the blonde stepped outside her van, stretched her arms, then headed off down towards the lake. She mentally reminded herself to congatulate Disera and Kanec when she saw them.

Stopping just by the water's edge, the blonde idly pondered whether or not she should go find Dravius, before a voice caught her attention. Her mother, carrying a squirming Angel, was padding towards the lake, smiling slightly. "Morning." She greeted, her tone of voice stating she was hiding something. Although that didn't last long. "Hey. Did you know Kanec and Disera are engaged?" She asked, trying to wrestle Angel into being still.

"I know." Maya laughed, flopping onto the grass and crossing her legs slightly.

"It's wonderful." The older woman stated, snuggling Angel before seating herself next to her own daughter. "Got any plans for today?" She asked, smiling slightly. She was obviously referring to the five year mark of Maya being with Dravius.

"Not that I'm aware of." Maya replied, earning a raised eyebrow from her mother.

"Five years together and you have nothing planned?" She laughed, turning to look at Angel as the little girl started making funny noises. Maya snorted quietly, leaning over to lift hr daughter into her arms. "I'll spend the day with him." She suggested, laughing. "That's the best I can come up with."

"But five years is quite the mark." Lucia persisted. "Did you at least get him something nice?"

Rolling her eyes, Maya shook her head. "It's not about the gifts."

"I know, but." Lucia shrugged, pausing when her daughter handed her a box. The older blonde spent a minute looking at it, before opening the lid. Inside resided a stunning ebony harmonica, inlaid with silver markings. Dravius' name was carved into the black colour, the silver curving extravagantly around a small, incredibly detailed butterfly.

"A harmonica?" Lucia smiled, lifting out the little instrument. It really was rather stunning.

"You try buying something for someone who already has everything he wants." Maya laughed. "That guy has every instrument under the sun. But I've never seen him with one of those... Or heard him play one. I thought it'd be nice for him."

"It is... This detail is amazing." Still smiling, Lucia placed the harmonica back into it's cream silk bed, before closing the lid to the black case. She handed it back to her daughter, taking Angel back in exchange. The baby looked slightly confused, before trying to clamber over her grandmother's legs in an attempt to get to the lake. It looked ultra shiny, the sun's reflection causing the water to glint and shimmer.

After all the previous day's excitement, Adriel had planned to spend most of the day relaxing by the lake, and after finishing breakfast she headed back to her van to change into a swimsuit and grab a few things before finding a suitable spot by the water. Her path took her by Erik's van, which, on a normal day, wouldn't earn a second look from her. However, most days there wasn't a ragged looking man draped over them, looking as though someone had kicked his puppy into the street.

She stepped close enough to talk to the man, but still far enough away in case he turned out to be dangerous, and coughed loudly to get his attention. "Excuse me, sir? Do you need help?" Adriel asked. Before the man could answer, the door to Erik's van cracked open, and the shifter peeked out briefly before stepping partway out of his van. Smirking at the uncomfortable tone of his voice, Addie stepped slightly closer. "So, Erik. Who's your friend?" she asked, fighting back laughter at the look on his face.

-----

Erik pushed open the door to his van, taking a second to appreciate the sunlight before heading outside. Or attempting to head outside, anyway. When his foot hit against something soft on the van steps, the shifter glanced down, let out a high-pitched shriek, and promptly slammed the door and locked it. He hurriedly moved anything he could in front of the door, then tossed a few items in a duffel bag, and spent the next five minutes trying and failing to climb out of the small windows in the van.

When he finally accepted that he wouldn't be able to run away and join a different circus, Erik sat down on the bed with a huff, throwing a pouty glare at the door like it was to blame for his slightly mental ex-boyfriend finding him. Well, fine. He didn't HAVE to go talk to him. He'd just sit in his van till he went away. Yes. That would work.

His plan to sit inside and sulk all day was interrupted once his stomach started growling, and Erik swore, jumping up from the bed and stomping over to the door. "FINE. I'll go talk to him!" he yelled at no one, grabbing the random items in front of the door and tossing them out of the way. "God, but being this attractive is such a pain," he muttered.

The shifter opened the door a crack, checking to see if perhaps Otto had decided to leave without talking to him. Unfortunately, he hadn't, and Erik took a second to brace himself before opening the door all the way. "Well, hello there," he said cautiously, standing halfway inside of the van door. "It's quite a surprise to see you here, Otto. Considering it's been six years." The shifter coughed, shifting uncomfortably. "So, how have you been?" he asked weakly. He winced at the sound of Adriel's voice, shooting the dark haired woman a glare. Great, there went any chance of getting rid of Otto before someone saw him. "This is Otto," he growled at her. "And Otto here was just about to leave. Right, Otto?"

-----

Disera stood on the steps of Selvai and Karene's van, bouncing slightly as she waited for someone to answer the door. She'd planned to wait till she saw the pair over breakfast, but she hadn't wanted to risk someone else telling them before she could get the chance to. Plus, she wanted to see the look on Selvai's face when he heard about Kanec's proposal the previous evening.

She waited another few seconds, then knocked again, more impatiently. "Come on! I know it's your honeymoon, but you've gotta leave the van sometime!" she called through the door. There was a hurried shuffling noise from inside, then the magician appeared at the door, clothing rumpled and hair falling out of it's usual neat ponytail. "Disera, honestly," he scolded, although without much heat behind it. "People can hear you!"

Hiding her hands behind her back, Disera grinned at him. "Oh, come on. It was funny, and it got you to answer the door." The shifter peered around him, into the van. "Karene isn't here?" she asked, slightly disappointed. "I believe she has already went to breakfast," Selvai, explained, stepping away and allowing Disera to enter the van. He began to sort out his hair, pulling out the rubber band securing it and picking up a comb as he continued speaking. "If you will give me a few moments to get ready, I am heading to the food van myself. If you have not eaten yet, we can have breakfast together."

She shrugged. "I suppose we could, although I'd have to swing by the van and see if Leo's awake yet. Anyway, that's not why I came by." Disera smiled widely at Selvai, rocking back and forth on her feet till the magic user raised an eyebrow at her in curiousity. "Remember how ticked you got when I had Lionel, and me and Kanec weren't married?"

Selvai stopped untangling his hair to shoot a pained look at Disera. "Please do not tell me you and Kanec are expecting another child. Especially since he seems to be in no hurry to actually make you his wife."

Disera snorted. "I won't. But I will show you the engagement ring he gave me last night," she said, smirking as she waved her left in front of him. "So, you can't really complain about him not doing the right thing anymore," she said gleefully.

Selvai finished with the comb and tossed it back on the dresser, then tied his hair back in a ponytail. "And it only took him five years and a child," he said dryly. "Quite admirable. Are you ready to go to breakfast?" he asked.

"Pffft, fine. Let's go." Disera stepped outside, waiting for Selvai to follow her before turning in the direction of her van. "Gotta get Lionel before we do, though. I left him with Kanec, but you know how high spirited he is. Poor guy's probably worn out already."

Otto had sat on Erik's steps all through the night, fidgiting with the scrap os folded paper in his hands, which eventually became soft from all of the unfolding, creasing, and refolding it recieved. The thick ink strokes on the surface of the paper, a long note explaining his situation, and signed by one Nurse Reynolds, whose handwriting was smooth and flowing cursive.

Not a single word had come from Otto's lips as he sat, but as morning oozed over the horizon, he shifted himself, blinking his white eyes a few times in rapid succession. Erik never was an early riser at all. The sun rose higher and higher, but still no one emerged from the van, and no one came around the area in which the man sat. It was nice and quiet, this place. The last city Otto had been in was far, far too loud. To Otto, the living all seemed like one person.

And not a very nice person, at that.

Otto had been staring into the reflections of the lake, which had been beginning to hurt his eyes due to the light bouncing off of the small waves, when a foot colliding with his back startled him. A loud, shrill, noise made him grimace, and he stood just in time to catch sight of a closing door, and the noises of things being thrown. Otto's light eyes were wide, accentuating the massive circles under his eyes.

At the arrival of a woman, Otto got to his feet, swaying slightly, as if experiencing vertigo. The man stood with all of his weight on one unsteady leg, the other's knee bent slightly. "Hallo." Even with just one word, one could tell that the man was from far away, a strong German inflection lacing through his words.

"I am-" The man was about to introduce himself and offer his note to the nice looking woman when Erik decided to make an appearance. Otto's thin, dark eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and then his face regained it's blank look. In order to turn properly, Otto needed to come off of the steps, which he did with only minimal difficulty.

"I vas NOT leaving, Erik." Otto's speech had an odd lag in any consonants he said, something that made them seem to drag on just a LITTLE too long. "How haff I been? Vell, dead, mostly." Otto's face was a blank slate, his dead white eyes boring into Erik's face. "How haff you been."

Otto staggered backwards a few steps unsteadily, executing a managable pivot in order to regard the woman with blank eyes. "I am Otto. I meet you well." He then offered the dark haired woman one hand half covered in his ratty sleeve, which was, in turn, coated it what appeared to be dried blood and tiny feathers.

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

Dravius had had an excpetionally good night's sleep, although the duration of it was only a few hours. The young man woke with a start, light oozing around the heavy curtains he had hung to try and keep that selfsame light out. He unfolded himself from his seat with some cracking and popping of joints, arching his back to try and stretch out his spine.

The Co-Master's van looked as if a tornado made entirely out of art supplies had hit, with paint scattered all about, including on Dravius' person, streaks all the way up to his elbows, and adorning his face. Sighing, he began to gather his paints and try to put them in some sort of order, then glanced in a mirror. An even deeper sigh resulted.

Dravius scrubbed the paint off of his face and arms, shaking the bead of water off of his face, blinking rapidly. He then began searching through his various closets, eventually finding a huge roll of wrapping paper that was a soft grey colour, the same shade as a common pigeon's plumage. One quick wrap job later, Dravius was carrying a rather unweildy package with a small tag marked with a heart attached to it, in search of Maya.

Eventually spotting his beau standing with his mother, he trotted over, a huge smile on his face. "Happy Anniversary!" He said cheerily, setting his gift down and sitting with crossed legs to wrap Maya in his arms, grinning. "See, I didn't forget, at all. I've planned a picnic, and everything!" He seemed extrordinarily excited, his smile like a little boy's on Christmas.

He then wiggled his fingers at Angel and then Lucia, saying, "Morning, guys! How've you guys been?" Dravius bent over to his left quickly and ruffled his daughter's hair.

Raphael, having watched as Karene left, heading in the direction of her van, decided it might be a good idea to take a quick stroll around the grounds. It wasn't exactly like he had anything else to do, having already eaten breakfast. Besides, it'd be nice to just take in the sights and converse with a few of the members he hadn't spoken to this morning yet.

Setting off, the Ring-Master meandered around the vans, pausing to greet members and engage in idle conversation. The vans had been set out spaciously, considering they were a good distance from the village and the fields surrounding the lake were huge. The trees scattered around casted splotches of shade against the stark bright green of the grass, falling on some of the assembled vans.

The blonde had been heading off towards the lake shore when he caught sight of Erik's van, and, it seemed, a stranger to the Circus. Raphael idly assumed it was probably a visitor from the nearby village, but chose to go and check it out anyway.

Stopping not far from Adriel, the blonde couldn't help but notice Erik's expression, remaining silent as he listened to the strangers last words.

Dead, eh?

Snorting under his breath, he watched the man greet Adriel, before throwing a wave in Erik's direction in greeting. "A friend of yours?" He asked. He could only assume that's what this was, considering this peculiar looking man seemed to speak to the Shifter as though he did indeed know him. Despite the fact that the red-head seemed to quite clearly not want him here... Or at least. Was not entirely comfortable with this man's presence in the Circus.

~~~

Karene had made directly for her own van, smiling slightly to herself as a reflex to the news she'd heard earlier that day. It was probably best to still keep it to herself, though. Disera, being Disera, would want to tell Selvai afterall, and probably her too. She could humour the Shifter until the news truly got out. Not that it wasn't already.

Sighing through her nose, the magician stretched her arms above her head, her hair falling freely over her shoulders in loose curls. She donned a simple white and silver striped t-shirt, and a pair of dark blue jean shorts, which was just as well considering the weather was looking to turn warmer as the day drew on.

Sighing again, the dark haired woman paused momentarily as she caught sight of Disera heading away from her van, Selvai following shortly behind. Hunh. Looks like the summoned creature had decided to get him up herself. It really wasn't a wonder why, and Karene wondered whether or not she'd actually told him the good news yet.

Continuing on her way, the magician raised a hand above her head to catch the two's attention as she approached, smiling. "Finally up?" She snorted in her husband's direction, before raising her eybrows at Disera. "All right?" She added by way of greeting, looking slightly amused at the blue skinned Shifter's face. "You certainly look cheerful this morning. Sleep well?" She laughed.

~~~

Having spent the last few minutes wrestling with her granddaughter, who was still trying to clamber out of her arms, Lucia eventually relinquished the little girl back onto her mother for half an hour. She eventually got the dark-haired baby back, trying to amuse the little girl with snuggles as Maya watched with amusement.

The younger blonde was taken rather suddenly by surprise when Dravius showed up, looking at his face with raised eyebrows. Pff. What was he so excited for?... Laughing quietly, she returned the Co-Master's hug with one arm, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "Happy anniversary to you to." She smiled. At his following sentence, she laughed again.

"I wasn't expecting you to forget." She snorted, prodding him in the ribs. "And... A picnic? That's more than I came up with." Still laughing, she shook at her head at him, watching as he greeted his daughter and her grandmother.

"Good morning." Lucia grinned, looking down at Angel as the baby tried to get to her father. At his appearance, she had started gurgling a long string of "Da's", clinging firmly to her grandma's shirt. She let out a little squeal of a giggle as Lucia shifted her slightly, so that she now sat between the blonde's crossed legs. "And we've been all right." She responded with a smile. "This one hasn't been much trouble at all."

"She must be having off days then." Maya laughed, as Lucia snorted in response, eventually lifting herself to her feet.

"Well." Lucia started, shifting little Angel in her arms. "I'll get going. This one still needs to eat this morning. I'll see the both of you later. Enjoy yourselves." She smiled, turning on her heel and heading back towards the group of vans. Maya waved her fingers, smiling as Angel immediately became distracted by her grandmother's earring.

"Well. She seems to be having the time of her life." Maya laughed, referring to her daughter before looking back at Dravius. "How are you, anyway?" She asked with a smile, shifting herself so that she sat a little closer to the Co-Master, sliding her arms around his waist. "I didn't see you last night. Oh." Pulling away for a moment, the blonde reached over to retrieve the black box that her mother had hold of earlier, before handing it to Dravius. "Here. I was going to wait until later but... I have it here already." She smiled, replacing her arms around him and looking at the little box.

The sunlight by the lake was beginning to grow stronger and stronger, which told Dravius that it was again going to be quite hot. It was almost becoming unseasonable, now. One of the things that Dravius loved was snow, especially when it was freshly fallen. The sight of any landscape blanketed completely in white was one of his most favoured sights. Ah well, you can't win them all, and Maya's wings got cold quickly anyways.

Though he had been thinking about snow rather wistfully, he still managed to hear most of what Maa's mother said, and thus got the general gist of the conversation. Dravius returned the older woman's smile with a crooked one of his own, tilting his head to one side. "Have a lovely day, Mrs. Vielle. Thank you for watching Angel." He waved one hand, turning his attention to Maya. Smiling wider, Dravius leaned his head onto the top of Maya's own, his cheek resting on her golden hair.

"Oh, I'm fine. Had a nice sleep for once, actually." The Co-Master said, lifting his head to adjust himself to wrap both of his arms around Maya once again. "Well, I went into town, and by the time I got back, you were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you, so I just slept in my own van. You looked to peaceful to disturb." Dravius laughed slightly, then raised his eyebrows in surprise at Maya's presentation of an apparent gift.

He took the black box in one long fingered hand, tilting his head slightly to the side, and pushing off to sit up straight, using the hand not holding the box to open it slowly, his look of confusion turned into one of pure delight. Dravius let out a small laugh and lifted the instrument out, turning it over and over in his hands.

"Maya, this is....fantastic!" Dravius laughed quietly again, the slowly pulled away from the woman to retrieve his present for her, putting it down next to her flat, then kneeling a few feet away. "I didn't get you anything nearly as fancy as this." He smirked, the instrument back inside of it's box. The Co-Master gently rubbed the smooth surface of the container with his thumb, waiting for Maya to open the beautifully painted screen. Hopefully the thought that he put behind it would come through when she saw it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Otto," Adriel said. She eyed the small, bloody feathers stuck the sleeve of his jacket, a grimace momentarily passing across her face before she carefully shook the offered hand. "Adriel Reid," she replied, quickly scrubbing her fingers against her jeans once her hand was released. "Nice to meet you as well." Adriel threw a smile at the circus master, letting out a small "pffft" at his words. "I think it's one of his "special" friends," she drawled out quietly, giving Raphael a pointed look. "Although why he'd want to track Erik down, I can't imagine."

Ignoring Adriel's comment, Erik stepped down from the stairs to face Otto. The shifter raised an eyebrow at the German's strange reply to his previous question. "Well... you look very good, for a dead man. Not a sign of decomposition anywhere on you, that I can see. Would have thought you'd have lost at least a finger or two by now," Erik said flatly. "Myself, I've been keeping busy with the circus here. Perform a few times a day for a couple of days, travel to a new city, set up the place and do it all over again. It fills up my schedule." There was an awkward pause of a few seconds before Erik spoke again. "So. Why have you tracked me down, Otto? As exciting as I am, I doubt you were missing my company after all this time."

-----

"Hey Karene!" Disera waved back at the female magic user as they closed the distance between them. "I'm fine. Alot better than fine, actually, I'm fantastic right now," she said. She raised her left hand to show off the engagement ring, sunlight glinting off the diamond. "Kanec proposed yesterday," the shifter explained happily. "That's why I showed up so early at your van, I was hoping to tell the two of you before you heard it from someone else. I'm not too late for that, am I?" Disera asked suddenly. "I know how quickly gossip travels around this place."

"I had not heard anything of it until you told me this morning, so there is nothing to worry about," Selvai reassured her with a smile. "Although it is more than likely people talking are about it today."

"That doesn't matter," she said dismissively. "I just wanted to make sure your two heard it from me first. The rest of the circus could pass out flyers now, if they want. Unless Kanec wants to make some sort of formal announcement, which I doubt." Disera fidgeted briefly with the engagement ring, twirling it around her finger as she spoke. "And speaking of Kanec, he's probably wondering when I'm going to show up for breakfast." The female shifter looked over to Karene. "Have you eaten breakfast yet, Karene? Me and Selvai were going to get Kanec and Lionel and head to the food van when you ran into us. You could join us if you want."

((ASDFGHJKL;. Much MUCH shorter version. My computer CRASHED ON ME when I posted it first time around. >!!!!! ))

Disera's apparently over-excited response to Karene's question hadn't really been all that surprising to the magic user, all things considered. Although she did attempt to look at least slightly curious as the shifter lifted her hand to reveal the ring that now resided there. She looked both suitably surprised and ecstatic about the news, despite having already heard that morning, and laughed as she responded to the blue skinned being; Waving a hand quickly to dismiss the shifter's following words.

"That's amazing! Congratulations." Karene laughed, glancing at Selvai as he spoke before turning her attention back to Disera. Shaking her head, she smiled slightly. "No. Not yet." She replied, turning to glance off in the general direction where the shifter's van resided. "And that sounds like a plan. Oh." Looking back over her shoulder, she threw Disera a grin. "Got any plans for an engagement party?" She asked.

~~~

"Pfffffff. Just because I'm sleeping doesn't mean you need to sleep elsewhere." Maya snorted, trying and failing to prod Dravius in the ribs again. The fact he had his head on hers made it somewhat hard to curl herself around enough, and made her somewhat reluctant to move anyway.

She smiled at him when he opened his gift, looking at the ebony instrument as the Co-Master inspected it. "I wasn't sure whether or not you've ever had one of those. I mean, I've never seen you with one. And I know what you're like with your instruments." Laughing quietly, she watched him as retrieved a package he had brought down with him earlier. Her expression was partway surprised by the size of it.

She looked at it for a second, then glanced over to Dravius as he knelt himself down. The blonde "pff'd" quietly at his comment. "It's the thought that counts?" She laughed, looking back at the package. "Dravius this thing is huge."

The blonde paused for a minute, before leaning over slightly to grasp one end of the soft gray wrapping paper and gently pulling it across. It took a couple of pulls before the screen was finally visible, and Maya had to stand herself up to get a decent look at it. She seemed somewhat speechless by the magnificence of the piece. Sure, she knew Dravius' level of skill in this area. But this really was stunning to look at. And it was pretty easy to tell Dravius had done it himself

"Is that my mother?" Maya asked suddenly, breaking out into laughter, before stepping quickly around the piece to pretty much throw herself at her boyfriend. "Dravius, you are amazing. And so are your art skills, obviously. This is better than anything you could have bought me." She grinned, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck and kissing him. After a moment or two, she pulled away long enough to glance over her shoulder. "I love it." She laughed. "But... Hey. Where am I going to put it?... It's not exactly wall-suitable."

Snorting, she sat herself so that she could snuggle Dravius, eyes on the lake. "Maybe my old van?" She murmured. "I dunno... Oh!" Straightening herself up, she looked at Dravius, a huge smile on her face. "Seeing as you've only just got out of your van... I don't suppose you've heard?" She paused, then giggled. "Kanec proposed to Disera last night. Right over there." She pointed someplace across the lake shore, her expression excited and ecstatic. "Our Kanec's getting married." She stated with another laugh, going back to snuggling her boyfriend.

Otto was pleasantly surprised when Adriel actually took his proffered hand and shook it. Most people took one look at his filthy hands and sleeves and walked the other way. Although he didn't miss the not-so-subtle fact that the woman immediately scrubbed her hands on the leg of her pants afterward. Ah, well.

The man turned his head to follow Erik's movements, his dark-ringed eyes boring into the redhead. Otto's blinks were few and far between, which made for a quite unnerving stare, especially with the colour of his eyes. At the man's remarks, his eyes flicked towards his hands, which had all ten of their fingers still, then narrowed his eyes at Erik. "Thoughtful uff you to point out." Otto carefully shifted his weight to one foot, glancing down at his boots as he did so. He still seemed very unsteady at best.

Taking one shambling step towards his former beau, Otto offered the scrap of paper he'd been clinging to, the surface of it soft and insubstantial with wear and tear, although the words were still clear. "Vell, it's certainly good zhat you've been BUSY. God forbid you become BORED." Otto said, with more than a little bit of spite in his voice. "I haff come because zhe people in zhe hospital think it vill help me get over my 'deluzhions'." The young man shambled even closer to Erik and poked him once in the chest with his index finger.

"VELL, I say zhat maybe I would not haff vhat zhey call DELUZHIONS if you had not LEFT ME SIX YEARS AGO." Otto's voice was rising in volume, his face just inches from Erik's. "MAYBE if you had even TOLD ME I vould not BE HERE. Instead, you left me a NOTE under zhe door! A NOTE. And zhen, vhen I tried to come und visit, zhey tell me you moved out zhe DAY after I vent avay!" The young man was panting slightly, but took a few steps back and took a deep breath through his nose.

"Vhy did you leave so fast." Otto's eyes turned back to Erik's face. In his relatively swift movements, the man's hood had slipped, and finally removed itself from Otto's head, revealing more chocolate brown hair that was surprisingly well trimmed. If Otto cleaned up, he would make a pretty picture, but right now the open gash running across the back of his head and blood matted along the edges of it were a slight marring feature.

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

When Maya stood to unwrap her gift, Dravius stayed on the ground, tilting his head upwards to watch her. He was passing the black box between his hands as he sat, itching to try the intrument out. He'd never really thought of playing it before, but how could he resist when such a beautiful one had just been handed to him. His already present smile grew crookedly as Maya gazed at the screen, looking almost as pleased as she did.

"Your...yeah, of course!" Dravius nodded, still grinning. He rocked back slightly when Maya wrapped her arms around him, and then kissed her on the cheek after she pulled away slightly. "I hoped you'd like it." He was still holding the harmonica box in his hands, and his arms loosely around Maya's waist. Dravius was quiet for a moment as he surveyed Maya's face with his one good eye, the scarred lid on his right giving his entire face an even look, both his smile and gaze wider on that side of his visage.

The Co-Master's uneven gaze flicked away from Maya's face at her question, thinking for a few moments. He really...hadn't thought of that. Goddamnit. He really was quite bad at thinking ahead. Dravius had always been impulsive, although it was only small things lately, like where to hang to MASSIVE screen he had made.

At Mayanna's words about Kanec, Dravius' smile fell off his face in favor for a look of surprise, and he blinked quickly a few times, not saying anything. "Really? That's...wow." He chuckled slightly, squeezing Maya tighter as she snuggled closer to him. Everyone was getting married, he supposed.

Another thought occured to him, and he felt the muscles in his shoulders knot at the considering of it. He hadn't really given it much thought, but did Maya wish to get married? Dravius hadn't seen the need of it before. He was happy just as he was, but was Maya? Oh, god. To C-Master tried his hardest to relax the muscles in his arms and shoulders, which had tightened considerably, and succeeding to some extent.

Kanec fished yet ANOTHER toy out from under the bed, sighing. That was the fourteenth time in ten minutes. There was something Lionel didn't get about the fact that toys didn't go under the bed, they were to play with. Even after fourteen times he--Fifteen. After removing the toy from the dark recesses of under the bed, he shifted into a white tiger, he removed himself from the bed, stretching along the length of it, effectively preventing toys from passing him. He dozed slightly, still keeping an ear out for any trouble his son might get into, but was brought back to very-much-awakeness by a sharp prod from a plaything. At first, he ignored it, returning to dozing, but was met by another prod. Lifting his head to investigate, he sighed as, once again, he was poked in the side by a toy. Mumbling to himself, he moved back onto the bed, fishing out a toy a sixteenth time, and counting.

~~

Nylat, having acquired blankets and food from eager-to-help Circus members, had slept practically the rest of the day, and awaken only briefly at dawn, checking the pups before falling asleep once more. Now, at a reasonable time in the morning, she lay curled around her pups, humming to herself for amusement. As much as she loved the little darlings, she was restless, and she didn't want to leave them alone. Her paws itched to run, but her paranoia told her to never leave her kids alone. Ever. Squirming slightly, she woke the pups, who squeaked pitifully. She covered them with her tail, soothing them. "Hush now, little ones." She pulled them closer as they fell quiet, for a moment forgetting her restlessness.

"Yeah... You should have seen Disera's face." Maya laughed, shifting herself slightly so that she was in a somewhat more comfortable position; Her back leaning against Dravius' side, and her head resting on his shoulder. She spent a minute or two looking out at the lake, the sky and woodland far across the other side reflected in the surface of the mostly smooth water.

The blonde's gaze flickered from the lake to the sky, the beauty in the place evident, before eventually finding it's way back to the Co-Master's face. "Are you all right?" She asked, noting the dark haired male's silent state. More than likely he was over-thinking something, he did tend to do it a lot. Rolling her eyes, she leant forward enough to press her lips to the young man's jawline, before pushing herself away and standing up.

"I'll be right back." She laughed, walking over to the painted screen; Admiring it for a minute before picking it up. "I'm gonna put this in my old van, okay?... I can decide what to do with it a little later." Throwing Dravius a radiant sort of smile, the blonde immedaitely headed off in the direction of her van, carrying the huge screen somewhat awkwardly. Lucky for her, the vehicle wasn't too far off, and she was able to get the screen inside without any real difficulty.

The inside of Maya's old van had changed dramatically. Having no longer lived here, the place had become home to her wandering butterflies, and the space had many more exotic looking plants standing around than it had done previously. The bed and drawers had remained where they were, however.

Placing the screen against one of the bare walls, Maya took a step back to look at it again. It really was amazing. To think Dravius had done the whole thing himself, too. His skills really were unmatched.

Smiling to herself, the blonde immediately turned and headed back outside, being sure to grab a towel on the way out. She made her way swiftly back to Dravius, throwing the cloth on the ground and proceeding to remove the sandels and cream dress she wore. Underneath, the blonde had donned a pale, peach coloured bikini, and she stood staring at the lake for a second before padding over to Dravius.

The blonde bent down far enough to kiss her boyfriend teasingly on the lips, before bolting off towards the water. "Are you coming in?" She laughed, looking over her shoulder just as she hit the waves. Her plan had been simple, really. Getting Dravius to chase her in. Problem was, the water was FREEZING, and Maya had immediately bolted out of it as soon as she had hit it.

Pfffasdfghj.

Snorting to herself, she stood just on the water's edge, slipping her feet in one by one and choosing to get in a little more slowly. It'd probably warm up a little... As the day went on. It was rather early afterall.

"Well, you know how observant I can be," Erik joked weakly, eyes darting around quickly as he tried to think of some way to gracefully escape the situation. He scooted back a few inches when Otto began poking him in the chest, only stopping when the back of his ankles hit the bottom step of his van.

"Hey! That was not my fault. What normal, adjusted person starts having delusions after a relationship ends?" the shifter protested loudly. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing the note held out by Otto. "And I will have you know that was a very nice note. I used my best stationary for it. And stayed up all night writing it. Which really cut into my packing time."

The red haired man shifted around uncomfortably at Otto's last query. "That's, uh.... complicated," he mumbled, looking anywhere but at the German's face. "You know when you're having fun with someone for awhile, and you lose track of time, then they go away for a bit, and you realize how long you've been in one place, panic, and pack up all your things in the middle of the night and take off as fast as you can? Yeah, it was kind of one of those situations," Erik explained with a shaky smile.

"That's very interesting and all," Adriel interrupted. "And I'm sure the two of you will want to sit down later and work through everything, but I really think that giant gash on the back of Otto's head needs to be tended to." She looked over at Raphael before stepping forward and carefully touching Otto on the shoulder. "Just... sit there on Erik's steps, and I'll go get a first aid kit," she said, already taking off to search for one.

"God lord, Otto," Erik said, edging around to check out the back of the other man's head. "How did you manage to do this to yourself," he questioned, gently tilting his head to get a better look at the wound.

-----

"Pfft. We haven't even talked about any of that stuff yet," Disera said in response to Karene's question about an engagement party. "And I doubt Kanec even cares about details like that, to be honest." The shifter shrugged once as she headed toward her van. "We'll probably just wing it, to be honest," she added.

She stepped inside just in time to catch Lionel tossing a toy under the bed, barely holding back a laugh at the sight of Kanec retrieving said toy from under the bed. Scooping up the toddler, Disera sat down on the edge of the bed, nudging the other shifter with her elbow as she did. "He's already gotten you worn out, hunh?" Disera asked. She bounced the little boy on her lap as he began trying to squirm out of her grasp.

She finally allowed Lionel to climb out of her lap and crawl back over to his pile of toys. "Selvai and Karene are waiting outside," the female shifter told Kanec. "We're heading to the food van for breakfast, so roll out of bed already." Disera nudged him once again. "Unless you want to stay here with Leo while I go eat, of course."

Otto's eyes had narrowed immediately after he spoke his last word, and his arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at Erik, who was obviously uncomfortable. The young man was almost pleased to see Erik squirm, especially after six years. Erik didn't look a bit different, and Otto was willing to bet that that could be attributed more to his ability to change his appearance than aging gracefully. Otto's jaw muscles were knotted tightly as he listened to Erik's rambling explanation.

Stationary. His best....stationary.

The young man's eyes were mere slits at this point, and his thin, dark brows pointed downwards to form an expression that was less than pleased. Erik's excuses even seemed thin to the dead, and at the red-head's last sentence trailed off, Otto's eyes stetched wide. Uncrossind his arms slowly and deliberately, the german took a deep breath through his nose to prevent himself from beginning to scream at the man in front of him in broken English. Otto's fists were now clenched at his sides, his arms trembling minutely with tightly wound muscles. Just as the young man was about to tell Erik exactly how he DIDN'T know that feeling, the woman standing behind him mentioned something on his head needing attention.

With a slightly vacant look, Otto reached up to feel the back of his head, his fingers stopping at the matted hair around the wound. The gash hadn't bothered him overmuch, other than adding to his sense of constant unsteadiness on his feet, and as long as he could still stand, he didn't want to deal with it. Dropping his hand to his side, Otto furrowed his brows and tried his best to answer Erik's question.

The wound was at least a few days old. What happened...a few days ago. Otto's memory had been spotty at best, and he had difficulty with details unless they were written down. He vaguely remembered a crowd of people. They all had been yelling, and throwing things? Otto swayed a little faster as he tried to recall any more details. Throwing things, yeah. Pointy things. One had hit him, and then he'd hit a stone with his foot. He got a bit beat up, although it wasn't overbad. A zombie wandering about wasn't really well recieved, especially by teenagers, for some reason.

Instead of explaining anything to Erik, Otto just shrugged his shoulders sluggishly, pulling his sleeves over his hands completely.

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

Dravius started a bit at Maya's question, before looking down slightly and nodding a few times, a smile returning to his face. "Sure, sure." He scratched a place just above the scars in his eyebrow, pulling his knees to his chest and staring out at the lake while she was gone. It really was nice. Maybe he'd go wade around in the water for a bit, later. If Maya wanted to. She got pretty grumpy when her wings got wet, and a grumpy Maya on her anniversary would not be all that great.

When the towel hit the ground next to Dravius, he looked up to be greeted by the sight of Maya removing her clothing in public. What...Oh. The slightly worried look on his face disappeared when he realized she was wearing a bathing suit under her clothing. Woah. For once, she and him were on the exact same wavelength. Huh. At the playful kiss, Dravius chuckled for a moment then got to his feet, watching Maya walk to the shoreline. It was still pretty early, and Dravius figured the water might still be a little cold.

Better to check before running in, but he stripped off his shirt regardless, rolling his shoulders a few times before following his girlfriend slowly, laughing at her surprise at the water's temperature. He snorted at her easing into the water.

There was only one way to get into cold water properly.

It was all or nothing...

Dravius sprinted past Maya and dived straight into the water, his wet head popping up a dozen feet from her. The Co-Master laughed and stood, the water coming to about chest level, and waded towards Maya, who was still standing with her feet wet on the shore. "You can't just ease in, goof." He chuckled, sitting in the surf next to her. "And it's not that cold. Pssh."

"You probably should, you know." Karene pondered, referring to her earlier question regarding an engagement party for the newly engaged; Eyes skyward as she walked alongside Disera and Selvai. "There's no real need for it, I guess. But I thought you of all people would have wanted to take advantage of the situation." She laughed, arms loosely crossed. "Especially after waiting so long for him to pop the question."

Chuckling under her breath, she paused as Disera entered her van, opting to stand outside and wait for the Shifter to gather the rest of her family. The magician raised an eyebrow slightly, before throwing a look in Selvai's direction; Her expression amused.

"Bet you finally feel somewhat better about the whole thing." She snorted with a laugh. "Now you can leave poor Disera alone about doing things backwards. You didn't exactly set an example, did you?" Pff-ing a little, the caramel haired woman stepped up beside her husband, slipping her arms around his waist. "I think... Seeing as we're here. We should do something later. Make the most of this "holiday" and all that." Shr grinned at him, holding her face a few inches from his. "What do you think?"

~~~

Zyano had spent most of the morning curled up on the bed in the van he had shared with Nylat. He had chosen not to bother rushing up this morning. The sand furred hybrid had been only half dozing when the squeaking noises from under the bed caught his attention; And an ear flicked in reflex as he stretched himself across the length of the bed.

Sitting himself up, he gazed at the small patch of floor just outside the bed, before standing himself up and padding off of it, being sure to direct his gaze to where Nylat currently resided. The pups, despite their little snuffling noises, seemed okay enough. Nylat herself however, seemed somewhat strained.

Zyano sat himself down, allowing his body to slide so that he was eventually laid, ears perked. "Are you all right?" He asked of his mate, amber gaze at least halfway understanding. "I can stay here if you want to take leave for a while." He suggested, although he knew without even waiting for his mate's answer that she would probably refuse, and rightly so. He did, afterall, feel the same way she did.

"If not. I can go catch you something to eat." It seemed a pointless, perhaps. Considering the food van wasn't far off, but Zyano somehow felt that actually hunting seemed more... Appropriate. Probably his instincts kicking in - Which no doubt Nylat would understand. Him wanting to provide for his own mate and pups was the most useful thing he could do as of right now, considering Ny would probably refuse to leave the two any time soon. Tilting his head, Zyano waited on his mate;s answer, leaning his head lightly on the wooden floor.

~~~

Maya had been staring at the water of the lake, very slowly trying to get herself halfway into it when Dravius decided he wanted to show off and run headfirst straight in. She had been ankle deep in freezing water when the Co-Master sprinted past her, and she pouted heavily at him; Although she was unable to not make herself look somewhat amused.

Shaking her head at him, she pff'd in response to his goof comment. "I can just ease on in if I wish to, dear sir. Unless you're willing to help me by throwing me in." Laughing, the blonde nudged Dravius with a foot as he sat himself in the shallows. "I didn't mean that." She added, giggling as she proceeded a little further into the lake. She managed to get in hip deep before pausing again.

"And it IS that cold." She snorted, throwing the Co-Master a radiant smile over her shoulder, wings flaring slightly with a shudder as she got adjusted to the water;s temperature. "You're just... Losing feeling in that body of yours." She snorted, folding her wings close to her body and lowering herself so that the water came up to her shoulders. She pouted at him, then quickly stood herself up and waded back to the shallows, flopping heavily next to Dravius.

"It's a beautiful place, huh?" She stated, smiling at her boyfriend, before turning her gaze back to the lake. The blonde fell into a thoughtful silence, distractedly taking hold of the Co-Masters hand and proceeding to lace her fingers through his. "Hey." She said suddenly, looking back at Dravius. "It doesn't feel like five years, does it?" She asked, staring at the dark haired man for a moment, before smiling at him again; An expression that clearly stated the young woman wished to be absoloutely no where else but here with him.

To her, it certainly hadn't felt like five years. Much, much shorter than that. And she was still very much in love with him, despite knowing him most of her life. She was pretty certain she never would stop loving him, to be quite honest. And really... She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. She had him. She had Angel. Something she would not have expected six years ago. It probably made her appreciate the whole thing so much more. "I love you, Dravius." She murmered, pressing her lips gently against the Co-Master's shoulder, before leaning her head against the same area, still gently playing with the Co-Master's idle fingers.

Dravius' happy expression had only grown at Maya's offer to chuck her in, and began to get to his feet as she waded a little ways away, suddenly pasting a pout onto his pale face. He figured that as long as she was offering, it was alright and she wouldn't get too grumpy. But Maya immediately nuked that idea, and he crossed his arms loosley, pouting heavily.

Eventually Maya decided to take Dravius' advice, at least in the Co-Master's eyes. Lowering herself into the water, Dravius leaned back on his elbows, extending his legs into deeper water. His relatively loose pants floated around in the currents of the lake, the material darkened by the moisture permeating them. The lake water actually felt rather nice on the dozens of small cuts that were always present on his body, although the sand was beginning to itch on the cut near the back of his foot. Rubbing the soles of his feet on the relatively silky sand of the lake, turning his damp head towards his girlfriend.

"It is really, really nice," He said in agreement, nodded a few times, before shaking his head like a wet dog, his hair sticking up in one hundred different directions, his crooked grin making him look like a happy child. "Feel like..? No, it really doesn't." Draivus cocked his head to the side to regard Maya, spreading his fingers to better intwine them with hers.

At the small silence that stretched between them, Dravius was content to merely stare out over the lake, smiling happily. At Maya's sudden, short, sentence, and facesmushing into his shoulder. "Awww, I love you to, May." Dravius smiled and planted a kiss on top of Maya's head, letting his free hand float on the surface of the lake, shaking his head agian shortly, splattering water everywhere.

Nylat sighed, a long gust of air that expressed, but did not release, her boredom. She met Zyano's eyes fleetingly, before shifting again, closing her eyes. At her mate's suggestion, she shook her head. "No, I can't leave them. Not as an insult to you. But they're just so small. And something could happen, so quickly." At the second offer, she also shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Right now, my only issue is not being able to run." She flicked her tail over the pups, who had woken when she moved, but had not made a sound, instead falling asleep.

((UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH))

~~

Kanec barely noticed Disera walk in, until she made a comment. He huffed, the sound coming out somewhere between a 'yes' and an 'ugh'. And at the mention of breakfast, his ears pricked, but he made no effort to move. However, when she threatened to leave him alone with Leo again, he sat bolt upright, shifting back into a human, grinning widely. "Well, then, of to breakfast we go!"

((((((((((FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFCAN'TTHINK))))))))

Having had most of her attention focused on the glittering water of the lake, Maya took a moment to respond to Dravius' earlier reply. She never did get bored of him saying he loved her, and the blonde threw him another radiant smile before raising an eyebrow at him.

"You were really planning to throw me in the lake earlier, weren''t you?" She asked, still idly holding onto Dravius' hand. She made absoloutely sure the Co-Master could see the obvious, and over-done pout on her face as she looked at him. "How mean are you." She laughed, pff-ing at him and pulling her hand away long enough to cross her arms in a huffy manner - One that wasn''t entirely genuine, of course.

The butterfly winged young woman dropped the act as soon as Dravius kissed her on the head, and she turned to look at him just in time to get a face-full of water droplets. Maya elbowed the Co-Master sharply in the side in response, giggling quietly before attempting to push Dravius over sideways into the water.

Failing that, the blonde snorted - Should have figured, really, the man wasn;t that easy to move - Before she decided to take another approach. Maya then practically threw herself at him in a kind of tackling hug, arms around his shoulders, pushing with all the strength of her legs in one swift move to flop him over onto his back in the shallows of the lake.

Giggling, the blonde facesmushed her boyfriends shoulder, before pulling away long enough to look at him amusedly, her hands either side of his shoulders, holding herself above him. "You can't even fall over properly." She laughed, referring to the obvious fact that only the brutest of force would move Dravius anywhere other than where he wanted to go. She stared at him for a minute, then her expression became teasing and a little too playful. "Oops. I think I got your hair wet again." She said, trying not to laugh.

Erik fought a strong urge to facepalm at Otto's shrug. "Riiight. You can't recall how you got a gaping wound to the back of your head. Of course." The shifter dropped his hands from the mess of matted hair. "Well, are you hurt anywhere else? Not that'd you actually SAY anything of course, not when you could just stand there and glare at me instead," he complained.

The red head sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, just go sit on the steps there, so Addie won't yell at me when she gets back, okay?" Grabbing one of the german's sleeves, he pulled him over to the van steps and forced him down onto the middle one. "And stay there. You have no idea how hard that women can hit- Oh, there she is. Hello, Adriel," Erik said sweetly.

The short haired women shoved the first aid kit at Erik as she stepped closer to the van and Otto. "Here, hold this idiot." Opening the case, she dug around for a moment before pulling out a pair of latex gloves and several antiseptic wipes. "Let's get it cleaned first, alright? Then I can see if it needs stitches or not."

-----

"Pffft. Of course that's what gets you up and moving," Disera snorted, smacking him lightly with one of her tails. The female shifter stood, picking up Lionel from the pile of toys he was amusing himself with. "Well come on, Selvai and Karene are waiting for us," she told him, stepping outside.

-----

"I simply wanted what was best for Disera and Lionel," the magician explained, matching Karene's amused expression with one of his own. "I will admit to having a slightly higher opinion of Kanec now." Selvai threaded his fingers through the belt loops on Karene's jeans as she wrapped her arms around him, tugging her closer as she spoke. "And our situation was far different," he said loftily. "We did not have children beforehand."

Exhaling gently through his nose, Selvai leaned down until his forehead was resting against hers. "Mmm. Of course. It would be rude of us not to take advantage of this time off, since Raphael went through the trouble of arranging it." He smiled back at her. "Any ideas as to how the two of us could spend our time off?" He straightened as Disera stepped out of the van carrying Lionel, and followed by Kanec. "And good morning to you, Kanec. Shall we go?" he asked, letting go of Karene and heading in the direction of the food van.

"Yes, finally," Disera answered, shifting Lionel to one hip and taking Kanec's hand with her free hand. "Breakfast time~," she called out in a sing-song tone as she pulled him along after Selvai.