The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

Paul sighed to himself at the sight of one of the dullest cars he had ever seen. It was barely even metallic. Paul then pasted a pout onto his face, crossing his arms. Couldn't they get to the freak show in STYLE? Of course not. That would be too EAAASY. He poked the side of the van with one stiff finger, pouting even further. It looked TERRIBLE. AWFUL. Sighing, Paul resigned himself to a dull ride surrounded by people he hated.

At Ava's snap, Paul jerked back just a bit, his mouth falling open. Who did SHE think she was? The man's eyebrows furrowed, while his jaw was still slightly ajar in disbelief. His eyes then narrowed, and anger leeched slowly into his expression as his jaw clenched. The young man tilted his head to the side as the woman shoved herself inside the van. Paul's hands had tightened around the photograph inside them, crumpling the image on it. The young woman was almost unrecognizable, but Paul smushed it against the side of the car to flatten it out and restore it somewhat.

Paul ducked inside of the car with a slow anger still burning, leaning back in his seat with a petulant expression on his face. He was square in the middle of the three seats, and rolled his eyes at the appearance of Ava's precious cancer sticks. She was so goddamned tiresome. Paul leaned forward with a slight sneer, and snatched the slim item out of Ava's hand. "I know I promised to be quiet, honey, but no smoking in the car. Not all of us spew toxins, and some of us would like to keep it that way." He simpered at her, then leaned back in his seat.

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

Dravius was a bit confused at Maya's giggling. His way of speaking wasn't that weird. Or maybe it was? Whatever. He shrugged to himself, still smiling slightly. He had a tendancy to look a bit smarmy when he was spacing out a bit, and his smirk was bordering on smug at the moment. "The town is a great place. I mostly just sat in one spot and watched people go by, so I'd love to look around it more."

The Co-Master nodded a few times, almost to himself, then sniffed slightly. His nose was just a little bit runny today, and it was beginning to bother him. He then proceeded to snort in mock disbelief. "You are just all kinds of shooting me down today, Maya! I try and tell you you're drop dead gorgeous, and you insult me." Dravius huffed and gently tweaked Maya's nose in false annoyance.

Dravius burst out laughing along with his girlfriend, leaning back onto the palms of his hands as she stood, extremely tempted to poke Maya's belly as she lifted her arms, due to the fact that she also arched her back just a little bit. He grinned at her, then said, "Why, sure, if you don't mind..."

With those words, Dravius hopped to his feet, picked Maya up like she weighed nothing, and rushed into the surf up to his waist, at which point he lightly chucked Maya into the surf a few feet in front of him, laughing uproariously.

Penelope had been somewhat distracted, surveying their means of transportation, when the voices of her colleagues caused her to frown a little over her shoulder. Going by how their emotions were flaring, this was going to be an increasingly long trip. And the last thing they needed was any form of distraction, considering how much focus this little quest was likely to take.

Sighing quietly, the young girl turned back to the van, closing her eyes for a moment, before stepping into the van and seating herself near the front, eyes focused beyond the window. She had kept herself within speaking distance of Ava, in case the older woman should wish to discuss tactics further, although Pen had her own. It wasn't really a tactic... More of a... "First come first serve" kind of thing. Afterall... If one of those wanted freaks presented an opportunity to get caught, there was little point in making it more difficult for themselves by searching for their preferred prey.

Leaning her head lightly against the back of the chair, she listened in silence to Paul as he took it on himself to relieve Ava of one of her cigarettes, just as Fang seated himself a seat or so away from her. The girl waited a short moment, before looking back over at Ava.

"I think," She started, watching as their driver made his way to his seat, shortly switching on the engine in preperation to leave. "It would be smart to watch these... Freaks. First. We can locate each of the members that have been chosen... And perhaps take the first couple that provide the opportunity for a safe capture." She wasn't fussed about which... So long as they didn't get caught, it didn't really matter.

Pausing, the young girl then glanced towards Paul, who was still looking somewhat iffed by Ava's earlier words. "I take it you're set on getting a hold of that albino?" She asked, knowing that speaking "strategies" with him probably wouldn't serve to do much, except put him to sleep, probably. She just hoped he wouldn't be as rash as David was likely to be.

~~~

"All right. That's settled then." Maya responded, smiling at Dravius and his agreement that they should visit the little village later. She had been highly looking forward to seeing the place. It certainly seemed pleasant enough from a distance at any rate.

The blonde had to laugh as Dravius went on to complain about her earlier reactions, pff-ing at him and waving a hand. "I am not shooting you down, dear sir." She replied, her laughter evident in her voice. "And I was certainly not insulting you. I did say you could flirt when you wanted to. The same goes for your compliments. Oh." The blonde paused for a minute, as though something had only just occured to her, then looked at Dravius with a huge smile. "And for the record, you're not so bad looking yourself."

Still laughing somewhat, the blonde threw a cheeky grin at her boyfriend, the expression cutting short when he stood up. Okay... His tone of voice obviously stated he had a COMPLETELY different idea to what she had been thinking; And of course, no sooner had this thought crossed her mind when Dravius quite promptly pulled her off the ground. She managed a noise of evident surprise, managing to get her eyes closed in time to hit the water.

It wasn't too bad. At least, she didn't swallow any and she managed to get her head above water before there was any real risk of it. Getting her feet set, the blonde then proceeded to try and brush her now soaking hair out of her face; Managing enough to stare hard at her boyfriend for a good minute, the expression partway amused. Of course, she had been trying to formulate some form of payback, although that was near impossible in this situation. There was no way in hell she'd manage to pick him up and throw him anywhere.

Snorting, the butterfly winged young woman lowered herself so that her shoulders were covered, before ducking her head underwater again in order to make it easier to get all her hair in one place. Re-emerging, the blonde ran a hand over her face, shaking the excess water away before snorting in Dravius direction.

"That's not what I had in mind." She stated, looking at him through one eye. "But, hey. Fine." She laughed. "Don't expect me to make myself so readily available for the rest of the day." Sniffing slightly, the blonde waded her way back towards her boyfriend, managing it in what could only be described as a sultry way. "In fact." She continued, reaching the Co-Master in time to place a hand firmly against his stomach; The fingers of which traced their way up towards his neck, coming to rest on his jaw. "You can throw all those snuggles out of the window~" Standing herself up slightly, the young woman breathed lightly in the male's ear as she continued. "And those make-outs, too."

She patted him quickly on the cheek, then promptly waded a few feet away, smiling at Dravius as she submerged herself up to her shoulders in lake water, surrounded with the swirling gold of her hair. She was still smiling slightly when she stuck her tongue out at him. "I might be persuaded to change my mind, though. Maybe." She giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

David followed silently, his mind formulating tons of plans as he barely listened to the others talk and argue. He held back a little, arms crossed behind his back. He had to really think this through. Getting her would be hard. He couldn't wrestle her into a cage, or even carry her dead weight, judging by the picture. So she'd have to be conscious and outsmarted. Both of which may be hard. He'd have to watch her for a while, and figure out a strategy. Sure, the others might think that his single-minded determination would be their downfall, but he thought that his would likely be the most successful. He wouldn't be winging it, and he was calm--most of the time. He'd be able to think it through. Unlike Paul, who was likely to just do whatever he wished when he wished.

Upon reaching the vehicle, he sighed and, saying nothing, he made his way into the furthest back seat, against the window. He then took another look at the picture, as if it would give him some ideas. His mind went through all of what he saw, as well as what he knew, and he was soon puzzled. Her mixed genes didn't co-operate well, meaning that her energy was burned quickly. It was hard for her to gain weight, even if she only ate and slept for weeks. Yet, in this picture, she seemed a little heavier than slim. Either her genes had finally gotten along, which was impossible, or...

Pups. David grinned widely to himself. That meant that there was at least another animal at that freak show, one she cared about. Even if she hadn't had her pups yet, he might just be able to get to her through other means. Hold the other randsom, say that he'd be fine if she came with him, then take them both. It was perfect.

He couldn't wait.

Dravius had been too busy laughing uproarously to consider that Maya might be mad about her impromtu soaking. He snorted slightly as he tried his best to stop laughing at Maya, but another round of huge peals of laughter made an appearance once the woman surfaced, looking bedraggled and more than a little bit annoyed. Dravius did his best to really, really, try to stop laughing at his girlfriend, placing a hand over his mouth to try and muffle the noise, not all that sucessfully.

The Co-Master cleared his throat as Maya resubmerged herself, still chuckling slightly. Running his hands through his still-wet hair to push it away from his face, Dravius crossed his arms over his bare chest and settled all of his weight onto one of his hips as she rearranged her sopping wet hair. With the amount of hair she possesed, and the fact that it was full of water, made Dravius think that it could put a strain on your neck. It certainly looked heavy.

Dravius' head tilted to the side as Maya lifted herself out of the water. For how irritated she had seemed before, the flip turn that just occured made him more than a little suspicious. He raised one eyebrow at her approach, surprisingly sexy for one who was soaking wet and had just been chucked into a lake.

The young man tilted his head even more, making a "chhhhwhat!" noise as Maya made her rather strict announcements. "I JUST cleared my schedule for you, and now you've ruined it." He stamped his foot once as Maya patted him on the cheek, pouting like a spoilt child. At Maya's finger wiggling, Dravius waded out a few feet past her to be able to lower himself into the water more comfortably, keeping his eyes above the water. He stayed there for a bit, fixing Maya with his slightly unever stare, then raising one eyebrow slowly at Maya.

Ava had just climbed lit up her cigarette and climbed into the front seat of the vehicle when Paul leaned forward and snatched the cigarette from her hand. Hissing through her teeth, the silver haired women took a moment to calm herself before turning around in her seat to speak to the rude young man.

"Paul," she began, in a even, controlled tone. "If you were truly THAT concerned about what goes into your body, I highly doubt you would have agreed to become an experimental test subject for money." So saying, Ava reached over, plucked the still lit cigarette from Paul's hand, and extinguished it on the back of said hand, making sure not to break or otherwise damage the smoke. "And since I know the sort of things that test subjects are exposed to, you'll excuse me for not caring if I offend your delicate sensibilities." Raising the cigarette to her lips, Ava produced a silver zippo style lighter from the pocket of her dress pants, flicking it open and re-lighting the cigarette with a flick of her thumb.

"However, I will roll down the window for you, you poor fragile thing," she said mockingly, pressing the automatic button on the armrest attached to the inside of the van door. Taking a long drag on her cigarette, Ava exhaled slowly, aiming for the open window. She looked back at Paul with a spiteful smile. "Is that better, dear?"

-----

"Old habits, you know," the magician offered, smiling weakly at his wife. "When you spend an entire year with someone, protecting and teaching them, you get attached." Selvai leaned in slightly when Karene wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Hm. We could always find that out, if you want," he teased.

"Right. I will meet you later, then," Selvai said, relunctantly. He looked over his shoulder at the pair of shifters, who had already gone inside, then back to her. "A walk sounds lovely... We could pack a picnic lunch and find a secluded spot along the lakeshore," he offered. "If you want to, of course." He stepped into the door of the food van, gently moving out of the circle of her arms. "After I eat, that is."

-----

Having stashed the medical kit and thrown out the used gloves and wipes, Adriel washed her hands and headed in the direction of the food van, getting there as Selvai and Karene seperated. She walked through the door right after the magician, following him to the food line and grabbing a plate. "Mornin', Selvai," she greeted as she picked out a few items from the table and adding them to her plate.

"Good afternoon, Adriel," he replied, picking up his own breakfast. "How are you today?"

"Had to deal with Erik, but other than that, I'm okay," Adriel said.
"Ah, I see," the magician replied. They both stepped away from the food line at the same time, Selvai headed toward Disera and Kanec, and Adriel looking over the tables of people already sat in the van. "You are welcome to eat with us, if you wish," Selvai told her, seeing her looking for a seat.

"That's okay, but thanks anyway," the brunette said, spotting Raphael at one of the tables. "I'll see you later," Adriel said with a wave, taking her tray of food over to the Circus Master's table and sliding into the seat opposite the blond. "Hey, Raphael," she said, smiling at him as she picked up an orange from her plate and began to peel it.

Maya had been watching Dravius with a careful gaze, her expression still amused as she kept herself more or less submerged in the lake. The water, once you got over the initial shock of cold, was pleasantly cool in the mid-afternoon heat, and the blonde allowed herself to bask in it as she kept her eye on the Co-Master.

She had still been smiling somewhat, up until the point the dark-haired male waded past her, to settle in a slightly deeper area of the lake. What?... Was he serious?... She had just been outrageously and so obviously flirting with him, and he was still being evasive?

The blonde wasn't entirely sure whether he was messing around or had genuinely missed her advances. Again. She returned his stare with her own raised brow, then promptly sighed through her nose; Watching the ripple of lake water in front of her face with a slightly detached look.

Pff. Shouldn't have expected all that much. Sure... It WAS Dravius, and yes, she knew he'd had problems with this sort of thing... But it had been five years. Why was it still so hard to get anything through to him, for him to understand her without her needing to be THAT blunt about it?... Short of actually telling him it was their five year anniversary and a little bit of affection wouldn't go amiss, she coudln't really do much else. And yet he still completely missed the point. Despite the fact she had been incredibly obvious about it.

Sighing again, the blonde shifted herself around slightly; Her gaze still on her boyfriend. She gave him a peculiar sort of look, a wry, half hearted smile on her face. "From now on," She started, her tone resigned, "I'll just ask you to kiss me... Or, you know. I'll get you a sign or something."

Well. No point being seductive or flirty or any of that if he wasn't going to respond or even notice when she tried. It wouldn't get her anywhere... And there was nothing to be gained from such actions or words if the Co-Master never noticed any of it. The blonde let out another quiet exhale, her expression as resigned as her voice, turning her eyes to water of the lake. It was all pretty pointless.

Pff-ing at herself, Maya quickly allowed her head to slip under the water again, before she surfaced; This time standing herself in the lake so that the water came up only to her ribs. She wiped off the excess water, her gaze back on Dravius for a moment before she shook her head a little and headed back to the shore; Seating herself cross-legged on her towel, her still wet hair glinting in the sunlight as she attempted to distract herself with the nearby cherries.

~~~

Zyano had spent most of the morning and the afternoon hunting, managing to cover an awful lot of ground around the lake. The woodland that resided on the opposite shore of the Circus stretched all the way around one side of the mass expanse of water, so it took very little time for the sand furred creature to make his way over to it. It was a shame, really... He couldn't have brought Nylat out here... But of course, she wasn't willing to go anywhere with the pups being newborn.

Still. At least he could take a rabbit back for her. He'd managed to get a hold of a decent few, and despite his mate's protests earlier that day; He was planning on taking one or two back. As far as he had been aware, she hadn't eaten since having the pups, and he highly doubted that going without was really doing her much good. Yes. She might refuse. But that was to be expected. It was Nylat, after all, and Zyano had grown rather accustomed to her stubborn nature.

Gently grasping two dark furred rabbits in his jaws, he turned himself towards the direction of the lake, making easy and swift progress through the fallen leaves and twigs of the woodland floor. Once reaching the lake, the hybrid then set off at a steady run, following the shore and directing himself towards the pinpricks of the Circus vans on the other side, allowing himself to get his paws wet on the way down. His muscles bunched and stretched as he ran along the sandy shore, his cheetah-esque build allowing him to build up quite a decent a speed.

It didn't take too long at his pace to reach the settlement, and slowed himself to a speedy trot as he approached Nylat's van, pausing only when he noticed the slightly open door, before nosing his way inside. He paused again when he caught sight of Kioko, before padding over to Nylat and placing the rabbits just by the bed.

"Hello, Kioko." He greeted, sitting himself down and watching the pyro as she handled one of the pups. He had no problems whatsoever with her holding them. Laying his gaze on Nylat, he gestured with his head towards his kill. "I brought those for you." He stated, matter of fact, laying his head on his front paws. "You should eat something. Now or later." He stared at his mate for a moment, before turning back to Kioko. "And how have you been?" He asked, his long tail sweeping the floor in one swift motion. "I haven't had much oppurtunity to speak with you recently."

~~~

"Naturally." Karene replied, responding to Selvai's words regarding Disera. "And pff. More than a year now, right?" She laughed, tightening her arms slightly and smiling openly at her husband. She had to pause at the Magician's following words, knitting her eyebrows together in a slightly shrewd expression. "Really now. Hm. Maybe we'll have to discuss this a little later, hm?"

Snorting quietly, the caramel haired woman smiled at the evident reluctance in Selvai's voice, nodding feetingly. "Sure. Although, if you're eating in there, you might not be hungry enough for a picnic. We can always forego that, though. You don't need a basket full of food in order to take a walk. And of course I want to. Didn't I mention this in the first place?" She laughed, lowering her arms as her husband decided then to head into the food van. "All right." She added as a parting statement, before throwing the male and an oncoming Adriel a quick wave; Eventually turning to head in the general direction of her own van.

~~~

Aha.

Perfect. This place was brilliant. To say there was a change in the Circus' members moods since getting here was an understatement. Everyone, it seemed, was benefiting from the break of the usual show business bustle, taking advantage of the long days and late nights. Which was just as well, considering it had taken enough planning to get the Circus out here. Still, it was worth it for the members happiness.

Raphael, who had spent pretty much the entire morning conversing with other members in food van, had finally decided to take a moment to himself, idly looking over a sheet of paper that contained the organised show times for when the Circus was back in business. In fact, most of his social visits that morning had been to deduce which members wished to take part in those shows, as well as figuring the times out for each of them.

The blonde had been somewhat lost in thought when a voice caused him to look up from the sheet. "Why, hello." He greeted Adriel with a grin, placing the paper flat on the table and leaning back in his chair slightly to regard the young woman. He momentarily glanced past her towards the other members in the van, before pulling his gaze back in her direction. "And how're you this fine day?" He asked with a flourish, smiling slightly at another passing member who threw him a wave. "Enjoying the area?"

Kioko wriggled over a small bit, making sure there was room for Zyano next to Nylat. "Hi, Zyano," she greeted, avoiding looking at the dead rabbits as much as she could. The pyro knew her friends regularly ate raw meat, including things they had hunted themselves. Still it was a big difference from a raw steak in the food van and a dead bunny that had just been brought in.

"I've been good," Kioko answered the larger hybrid. "I came by to check on Nylat while you were out. And to say congratulations, you two. I just wish you'd told us a little sooner. I know you don't need a lot of things like a human with a new baby would, but I'd still like to have gotten you guys something for the pups. Maybe a new blanket or something like that."

Someone post please. ;(

*Facefloor*

*picks up from floor*

I can't post yet ;(

((>:| Okay, guys. Ninjas are now illegal. :< No-one's allowed to post unless they're online on Yahoo.

I get lonely. ;~;))

I wasn't asking YOU, Selvai. I know you can't. ;(

It's one of the other two I meant.

And fine Ny. You post. ;(

Paul had been pouting in the back seat, the lit cigarette held loosely in his long fingers. He actually was going to put it out on the car's leather seats when Ava straight up snatched it out of his hands, and proceeded to put it out on his skin. This provoked a "Hnnnnfffffff" noise out of Paul, who closed one eye and then cleared his throat violently.

"You." Paul paused a second, while shaking his burned hand back and forth in an attempt to stop the burning sensation. "You are a bitch." Paul pouted deeply at Ava, his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to be out of responses, and just kept waving his hand faster and faster. It really did hurt quite a bit. Although, it wasn't bleeding, which was straight shit.

Paul stared at the circular burn that made it's bright red impression on the back of his hand. He glared at Ava and replied, "Yes, it is. We don't all have to smell like a factory when we arrive." He placed the back of his hand to his mouth and sucked on the fresh wound gently. He then produced a bag from under some seat, covered with different pins and buttons with snarky sayings and pictures on them, and searched through it, sulkily silent.

He soon resurfaced with an MP3 player and a bright yellow bandage, which he stuck on his cigarette burn with an angry look. Then he turned some sort of music on, moving his head gently to the music, notes leaking out of the headphones as he looked out of the window.

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

Nylat smiled at Kioko's comment, about to respond when Zyano returned. In response to his demanding request, she nodded. "Later." She'd caught Kioko's uneasiness, and moved as little as she had to to move the rabbits under the bed without disturbing the pup too much. She settled back down, her ears flicked back in amusement at Kioko. "Oh, no need to get us anything. Honestly. Don't worry yourself. As for telling anyone, we really didn't tell many. Partly because of the craziness, and because I didn't know they'd be around so soon." She licked the head of the little girl, careful not to wake her. She tilted her head at Zyano, her ears twitching ever so slightly. "You know, we still have yet to name them."

I'll post once Dravvy edits. <3

... Or when Selvai posts. Whichever comes first.

Ava balanced her cigarette in the car's small ashtray while she buckled her seatbelt, then smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt before picking it up again. The scientist ignored Paul's insults from the backseat, flicking ashes out of the window instead of responding. She'd heard far more creative insults from her research subjects. And they were usually strapped to a table, being injected with various substances, or being dissected while doing it. Sometimes all three at once.

She half listened to Penelope's opinion on how to best capture the targets while waiting for the van to start. "That sounds like as a good a plan as any, although we shouldn't count too heavily on one or more of them being caught away from the others... Perhaps by observing them we'll be able to discern some sort of weakness we can exploit for each of them." Ava tapped one manicured nail against the photo on top of the stack, the one of the family of shapeshifters. "And if not, well, James is hardly the sort to care about a few casualties, as long as none of them are our targets. That's what we brought you and Fang along for, after all."

-----

Kioko carefully placed the male pup back beside of Nylat, smoothing out the fur on his head with gentle fingers. "Yeah, but I'd still have wanted to do something for you guys. Maybe a small party if you didn't want a baby shower." The pyro rearranged her limbs, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin on them as she continued watching Ny and the pups. "I can understand that. I guess. The entire circus would have been swarming the two of you with congratulations if they'd known beforehand." At the mention of names, Kioko smiled widely at Nylat and Zyano. "You know, Kioko's a really nice name for a girl," she said innocently. "Not that I'm trying to influence your decision or anything. But if you two need suggestions, it is a nice name."

Man.

This whole was getting stale, pretty quickly. This whole... Friction thing. Still, it was probably only Paul's involvement that was irritating Penelope slightly; His entire presence was irritating, if truth be told. Although, admittedly, the dark haired girl found it somewhat amusing that the young man was having his manners chewed over by Ava. The two of them often bantered this way, being so different and having such contrasting opinions.

When Paul finally decided to stuff his ears with music, Pen took this as a sign of temporary peace. He probably would say little else on the way to the Circus. She idly listened to Ava speak to her, directing her dark eyed gaze towards the older woman as their designated driver stepped into the drivers seat and turned on the engine.

"Yes." She agreed. Well. That was what she had suggested, earlier. Watching the group would be highly beneficial... Of course. It was the "watching and waiting" that probably wouldn't go down too well with the split haired male or the scientist hell bent on getting his dog back.Although David would probaly manage slightly better than Paul.

"I don't think... James minds too much about the state of our targets... So long as they can still move and breathe. And no doubt we will find weaknesses. Of course... Fang could probably get a hold of a couple of members before anyone realised what was happening. But that would risk alerting the others. Watching for a while is probably our best bet." Leaning back in her seat, the dakr haired girl directed her gaze outside the van window; The scenery flying by now that the driver had set off.

It had been somewhat unnoticable before... But the driver clad in black looked rather peculiar; If you could say you could see him properly. He certainly look human enough... When you gazed at him directly. But beyond that direct view it was almost like seeing a shadow. A shadow that flickered continually at the very edge of your vision. If it had been anyone else, very few probably would have made an issue of it; But Penelope knew exactly what this was. She threw a sharp gaze in Fang's direction, the male of whom was looking idly out of the window.

It was about this very moment when directly ahead of the van, what seemed to be an insubstantial tear appeared; The little mar on the landscape eventually expanding into what looked like some kind of portal; Beyond of which was nothing but pitch blackness.

Ah.

Well. That was smart. Heading to the Circus in this fashion meant there would be very little for any potential members to follow should they try to come after their missing friends. As the van entered the open portal, Pen immediately glanced out of the window just as the tear glued itself shut behind them. The world they had entered was nightmare-ish, to say the least, although Penelope highly doubted this was the worst of it.

The van throttled over what looked like an ebony strip, the "road" of which wound between sheer walls of spitting flame; Emerging from somewhere far below the road. Everything else was almost black; The colour, however, constantly shifted, giving the sense of a horrifying presence somewhere in the darkness ahead of them and around them.

This. This was Fang's world. Lucky for them. The tall, quiet male was probably keeping most of the horrors away. But... It was still helpful, despite even Pen's sudden uneasiness of being in this place. Only Fang ever saw it's true face... Having being the one to create it. But their travelling time was cut hugely by taking a shortcut through his realm, and, as mentioned previously... No-one would be able to follow them. No tracks would be left.

Penelope then chose to pull her eyes away from the window, focusing somewhere on the back of the seat in front of her, arms crossed loosely over her chest. Hopefully they'd get there sooner than later.

~~~

"Very well." Zyano murmered in response to Nylat, watching as she quietly shoved his freshly caught rabbits out of Kioko's view. He turned his gaze back to the mentioned pyro as his mate addressed her; Smiling amusedly. "Nylat is right. There is very little we would have needed for them... They're not exactly human children." He flicked an ear at her, his expression still slightly amused as he stood himself up and stretched.

He paused to watch the new mother, before looking slightly baffled at her last words. Names?... It hadn't even really crossed his mind. Sitting back on his haunches, the sand furred hybrid spent a minute or so looking at the smooth, wooden floor of the van, only raising his gaze when Kioko spoke again.

"I don't quite think a party is our sort of style." He laughed quietly, giving the pyro a quick, and very wet, lick on the cheek in thanks. She was trying a little too hard, but it was incredibly thoughtful of her nevertheless. He had to laugh again at her suggestion. "Indeed. Might cause some issues when we try to call her though, once she is old enough to listen; Especially if you happen to be stood nearby."

Zyano paused, then turned his amber gaze back to Nylat, tail sweeping the floor in a single motion. "Do you have ideas?" He asked, referring to naming the pups. He certainly didn't have any himself.

Y'know, Dravius was actually becoming a little uncomfortable. He was TERRIBLE at returning advances. He realised that Maya was flirting with him, but his complete lack of tact didn't really tell him how to respond. He really did think that "HEY FANCY A SHAG" was probably not romantic. At all. In fact, it might get him killed.

The Co-Master sighed internally as Maya seemed to just give up, looking a little bit sad as she did so. Dravius pouted under the surface of the water, his eyebrows curving upwards in an apologetic expression. He slipped his head underneath the water just before the young woman near him did, staying under for quite a bit longer with his eyes open, studying the gently waving weeds a few feet away. When his chest started seeming a bit constricted, he surfaced, coughing slightly.

Maya had gotten out of the water while Dravius had been choking on lake water, and Dravius ran his fingers through the front of his hair to pull it away from his face. The Co-Master rose to his feet and waded out of the water, shaking his head to try and dry his hair. He then wanlked over to Maya, his expression slightly sorry.

Dravius sat down next to his girlfriend, and gently put his hand around her chin, turning her face towards his, and gently kissed her on the lips, leaning forwards slightly, and tilting his head to the side as he did so. He murmered, "I'm sorry. I got your hints, I'm just bad at responding."

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Paul had leaned back in his seat, sliding down a few inches into a huge slouch. The young man picked through his bag to find an unfinished Rubik's Cube, spinning the different sections with a bored impatience. This car ride was so loooong. And the scenery was so boring. Paul spun the cube again, moving a step towards making all the faces their respective colours.

At least they seemed to be going pretty fast. Paul smushed his face against the window as they kicked into overdrive, although the speed they were now moving almost seemed improbable. Also now it was dark. Why was it dark. Paul frowned deeply, then unsmushed his face from the window and pulled one earbud out, letting it dangle against his soft gray cardigan.

Paul had once again unbuttoned the two large fastenings on the front of his sweater, which had managed to maintain its relative state of being closed over his abdomen, which shifted as he sat up abruptly, the end of the white cord not in his ear swinging. "What in the hell is happening. I don't recall our route going through the valley of the damned." He tapped on the window with the corner of his cube, frowning deeply at the scenery.

"PENNY. PENNY. Where are we." Paul twisted in place and stared at the young girl, looking dubious. "Because I feel like this was an unplanned detour and our driver is see-through, and I'm not super well-equipped to deal with it. LIKE AT ALL." Paul spiked the cube into the floor of the car, his eyebrows furrowed.

Maya had seemed slightly pre-occupied for the last couple of minutes; Placing the small pips from every eaten cherry onto a nearby tissue. She had watched Dravius' approach with a passive face, yet another cherry stalk potruding from between her closed lips. The pip was removed to be placed with the others as the Co-Master seated himself next to her, about to speak to him when the contact of his hand prevented any form of speech.

She managed a muffled "hm?", before the Co-Master pressed his lips to hers; Blinking once before the male pulled away. The blonde had to sigh quietly as he spoke, patting him lightly on the arm in response. "It's okay." She started, raising her eyebrows at him, her expression still halfway resigned. "I just... Thought you'd be all right with this. And that, by the way, was a perfectly good response. I'm not asking for the world." She smiled slightly.

The blonde snorted quietly then, gently shoving away the now half empty tub of cherries, though being sure to get a hold of a last one. "I'm not angry, or anything." Maya added, looking back at Dravius with a slightly concerned face. She hadn't really meant to make him feel bad, and going by his expression he was... Though she probably should have expected it. "I just... I don't know... It's like a form of rejection, I guess... But not exactly. It's kind of hard to explain." The blonde paused, focusing her gaze on the rippling edge of the lake. She felt like she had to explain in order to alleviate his mood a little, however. That, and she was hoping to try and make him understand.

"I know you had trouble with this sort of thing. I've been with you long enough to know that much. I guess I just thought five years of being with me might have had you used to it... Enough practice." She threw a smile at him. "And there really is no point me acting that way if I get no response out of it. You know?... Bit of a pointless venture." She brandished the cherry she held at him, before placing it in her mouth. She'd finished eating it before she continued, her voice sounding a little hesitant. "... And it kind of feels like... You don't notice me in such a way that you'd realise I was flirting with you. Like I'm not quite attractive enough for you to respond easily enough. And that you're... Still not used to this relationship thing... Even after so long."

She paused, a long, quiet pause, before she looked at her boyfriend with what could only be described as a slightly pained expression; As though she had just failed hugely with something. "I did say it was hard to explain." She muttered, literally faceplanting onto his arm. She grumbled for a minute, before pulling away and inhaling slowly through her nose. Eventually flopping onto her back, eyeing a single floating cloud in the huge expanse of azure above her.

~~~

((*Gigglesnort* Poor, poor Paul. *Patpat*))

Penelope had still had her gaze fixed firmly on the seat in front of her; Arms crossed and thoughts mulling over the groups impending mission. She had been blinking in a lazy manner, attention elsewhere, when Paul's suddenly restrained voice boomed over from the back seat.

The girl glanced over her shoulder, keeping a firm hold on her amusement at the split-haired male's tone of voice. He clearly hadn't been expecting this... So saying, neither had she. But Paul nor anyone else had ever really had the chance to enter Fang's realm before. It probably would be a little bit of a shock.

"How am I supposed to know?" She responded with half-truth, glancing quickly out of the window before sitting around so that her back pressed against the cool glass. "It probably was planned. I certainly hadn't known of it, however." She paused, then continued, a peculiar smile on her face. "Then you should adjust. Quickly. Unless you'd prefer to step off the bus and walk the rest of the way. Fang might feel generous enough to keep this road open until you get there."

Fang, who had remained sat with his eyes forward, threw only the fleetest of looks at Pen as his name was mentioned; turning his attention back to where it had previously been situated pretty quickly. The girl was now openly looking only slightly amused, dark eyes focused over the back of her seat and in Paul's direction.

"Just ignore it." She suggested, noting his agitated state. "At least it's not as boring for you, right?... Our travelling time has probably been cut quite a bit. Also, this route prevents anyone from following us without difficulty. It's all for the best, I'm sure." She threw him an innocent smile, then turned her attention back to the view in front of her. She had purposely decided not to mention that she felt somewhat uncomfortable about this, too. There was no fun in riling him up if it turned out her own feelings about it were similar.

I was gonna post, but when I texted my mom and came back, my post was gone.

Then edit, Ny.

And where is everyone. 8<

You guys are never on when I am |:

David, lost in thought, did not notice much until Paul said something, at which point a glance out the window frightened him, though he didn't show much of it, just a mild discomfort. "So...where are we, exactly?" He hadn't really been paying too much to Pen's explanation, and he kinda figured she'd get frustrated, but what he did hear, he understood none of.

~~

Nylat smiled at Kioko. "As lovely as the name is, I wouldn't want to be yelling at you when I'm berating her. To Zyano, she said "I have had a few ideas. I was thinking Tylia and Kylain, the number-names of two whom I knew in my childhood. They were very kind, and I wish to honor them." She flicked her tail over the pups, nosing them softly.

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|:

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I'm not asking you to post ever again.

Well. I couldn't remember and I was tired. ))