The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

Dravius had almost immediately shut up, clenching his jaw and his fists. He was trying his best not to hyperventilate, and to his credit was doing a rather good job. Good god, how short was he? The hems of his now entirely-too-loose pants were pooled around his ankles, almost eight inches worth of fabric there. The silver danb that had been around a finger of his left hand slipped off of his much-thinner digit, thumping softly against the ground.

Hearing his name, Dravius turned in place, an angry expression on his face. With the softer facial features, the effect was lessened somewhat, but hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Even with the decrease in height, Dravius still looked ready to rip anyone who came near in half.

The Co-Master's expression softened somewhat at the sight of Maya, then went right back to stunned anger at the amusement in her voice. She thought this was FUNNY? Dravius felt both the compulsion to cry and beat something up, and bent to pick up his ring off of the ground. The thing probably wouldn't even fit on his thumb at this point, and the thin leather bracelet he had on was hanging on for its dear life on his slim wrist.

Dravius felt like leaning away from Maya's hand, but intead flinched as her skin came in contact with his face. The skin arond the scars was much softer, and he had an angular face for a woman, with sharp cheekbones. Under the much-too-large clothing, he was still slim, but the thinness had been evened out with rather generous hips and small breasts, which Dravius now crossed his arms over. His black hair stopped halfway down his upper arms, with a subtle wave in it.

"Yeah." The one word was surprisingly smooth and velvety, and Dravius coughed slightly, looking slightly panicked. At a deep yell he turned his towards it, then said softly, "Sounds like it isn't just us." His voice was octaves above what it normally was, and it made the Co-Master uncomfortable to listen to himself. "I need....different clothes," he murmered, realising that he wouldn't be able to go anywhere with what he was wearing. Not that he had anything different to wear.

God damn, he'd probably have go ask Erik or something. And the little shit would probably get the biggest kick out of this. Dravius' expression had changed to one of pure frustration, and he crossed his arms tighter, shoing too long sleeve up far enough to see his hands.

Having put the slightly odd encounter with the young girl out of mind, Selvai was now sitting a few yards from his and Karene's van, reading through a book of spells. He was turnig the page when an unpleasent, almost painful sensation rolled through him, causing the magician to drop his book in his lap and curl up in surprise. The feeling passed after only a second, and, taking an unsteady breath, Selvai straightened slowly.

He realized immediately that something was quite right, going by the way his clothing was now hanging loosely off him. And, the fact that he seemed to have changed genders in the last few seconds. Hunh. Interesting. Selvai (very calmly) put down the spellbook he had been reading, (very calmly) stood up from his seat outside the van, and then began to (very calmly) have a minor freakout.

He was working his way up to a panic attack when he heard a shout from the inside of the van. The magician temporarily forgot about his own distress when an oddly familar looking man burst out of his and Karene's van. Holding his pants up with one hand while shuffling forward, Selvai was partly relieved, partly horrified to see the strange man was his wife. "I see I am not the only one who was affected, then," he said, wide-eyed. Taking a deep breath, Selvai ran his free hand through his hair, noticing how it had gotten several inches longer. The action caused his shirt to slip off one shoulder, and he tugged it back into place aggravatedly. "So. Any ideas as to what caused this?"

-----

Adriel blinked. She'd been having a conversation with Kioko, when the younger woman had gasped, doubled over, and somehow transformed into a man. The pyro was now taller than her, around six feet, with hair several inches shorter, just barely reaching the nape of her neck. It said something about life in the Majikus that the short haired woman didn't immediately scream, faint, or run away.

"Uh, Kioko," she began, then stopped. Going from the look on Kioko's face, she was much more stunned by this than Adriel was. "Are you okay?"

A strangled, squeaking noise and a nod were her answer.

"Okay. Has, um. Has anything like this happened to you before?"

Another squeak, this time with a head shake from the albino who was staring down at her chest in shock.

"Right... We should go find Raffy, let him know what's happened, then try and find out some way to switch you back," Adriel decided. Taking the young woman? Man? by the arm when she didn't seem to be inclined to move on her, Addie guided her toward the ring master's van. They were within sight of Dravius' van when she spotted the three people gathered there. Oh. Oh, wonderful.

"Well, that's some good news, I guess," she said sarcastically, patting Kioko's arm. "Looks like Raffy already nows about the genderswap fiasco." She pulled the pyro along with her, getting close enough to speak with the ring master. She sighed, looking the blonde over. "I guess I don't have to explain what's going on them?" Adriel asked, pointing to Kioko. "Just, please, tell me you guys know what's happened and whether we can reverse it. I think Kioko's a bit traumatized over here."

-----

When Erik had heard the loud shrieking, he'd been expecting some sort of attack on the circus, and had cautiously made his way in the direction of Dravius' van. Instead, he'd been surprised by the sight of who he guessed was both Raphael and Dravius, as women, and Kioko, as a man. After pinching himself to make sure we was awake, the shifter looked both the (wo)men over, and gave Kioko a glance, before speaking.

"Raffy, dear, although this is one of your better illusions, I feel I should be offended. You KNOW that genderswapping is my specialty. Honestly people, you all have your own tricks, you can leave mine alone, can't you?" he huffed, twirling around as he shifted into his female form. "I mean, your clothes are practically falling off of you," he said, pointing to Dravius.

Maya had still been trying to comprehend the Co-Master's new features before she realised he probably wasn't all that amused by this. Saying that, her own initial amusement was beginning to wear thin. After all, she didn't know whether or not this was... Well. Permenant. And that thought suddenly had her feeling increasingly concerned. She eventually dropped both hands, one of which made its way to hermouth as she pressed a knuckle against her lips, eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Dravius. Poor guy definately did not look comfortable. Not that she could blame him.

At Raphael's words, she looked quickly over at him. "The little girl?... You think she did this?" She asked, forcing her hand away from her mouth, and turning her gaze back to Dravius. She was still having some SERIOUS trouble trying to make sense of this.

The Ring-Master, looking thoughtful, nodded. "I think so. I only started feeling weird after she touched me. And things like this certainly don't happen on their own, whether or not you live in a Circus of freaks." The blonde sighed, as Maya looked at him again.

"Raphael?"

"Hm?"

"... What if this thing isn't... You know... On a time limit of some sort." The blonde's voice had gone from amused to increasingly concerned. It was still amusing, to some minor extent, but the thought of Dravius remaining like this was... It was... Well. It woul make things highly complicated, that was certain. She looked back at him when he spoke, frowning slightly. "You could.... Use some of mine." She offered hesitantly, unsure of how he'd take it. "I mean... You don't... Have to. They'd probably be more comfortable, though."

"I think it is." The Ring-Master replied to Maya's earlier enquiry, sighing. "If not... Then we'll have to go and find that little girl. I doubt she's gone too far. Many people have to be within a certain area for their abilities to work, with any luck, she'll be one of them. And, hopefully, she can reverse this if it doesn't do it itself." He gestured at his own, slender form. He was still struggling greatly to try and get himself in the mindset of this form. It just didn't feel right... Well. No surprise really, considering he'd been born male.

Sighing yet again, the Ring-Master jumped slightly when a new voice joined the throng, and Adriel stood there, with- Oh. Another one. He looked sightly exasperated at Kioko's shocked looking form. "Just how many of us did she get?" He asked, more to himself than anyone there. Maya was looknig at Kioko with raised eyebrows, her expression sympathetic. Kioko certainly seemed shaken enough by this... Not that she blamed her... She'd probably feel the exact same way if she'd ended up in that situation. The mere thought of it made her skin crawl. Not so much the thought of being a guy, but more... The thought of the actual physical change they'd endured.

"No, you really don't." Raphael said in reply to the short haired woman, sighing explosively and putting a hand over his face for a moment, before looknig through his fingers at Adriel. "Hm... Some little girl playing a practical joke, maybe?... As for whether it's reversible, it probably is. The problem is how to actually go about it." He dropped his hand, flinching slightly as Erik's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. He glanced over his shoulder at the red-head, eyes narrowing slightly. "And for what reason would I pull an illusion like this?" He asked, his voice eerily calm, peculiar in it's femanine state. "Trust me. We're not doing this for our entertainment."

The Ring-Master rolled his eyes slightly, before looking between Kioko and Dravius. "Well. I think we better go look for this girl... Although it may wear off in time... I don't fancy remaining this way longer than I absoloutely have to, if I can help it. Of course... Dravius has a point. Some of us might want to change our clothes... We don't really know how long we'll be in this state, and we may, at the very least, want to be somewhat comfortable."

~~~

Karene had skidded to a stop outside the van, caught off guard momentarily by the appearance of her husband. All right... She'd expected SOMETHING to be wrong with him, sure, but that... Heck. This was just bizarre. Almost sputtering with shock, the magician fought to keep her emotions under control, forcing herself to take deep steady breaths as she watched Selvai.

Pff. Woman Selvai... No matter how befuddled she was at this moment in time, it was HIGHLY likely she was going to remember this. It wasn't something easily forgotten.

Shaking her head, she inhaled one last time before responding; Her voice peculiar in it's new tone. "No... You weren't. Quite obviously." She looked at her body. "I am having SERIOUS issues with this. This... Is wrong in so many ways. I don't even. UGH." She threw her hands in the air, then began to pace, staring at the ground. "There are SOME things I am SERIOUSLY having trouble getting used to being there." She grumbled, loudly, tugging lightly on the waist of her jeans in an attempt to shift them around somewhat.

When Selvai asked his question, she paced for only a moment more, before stopping in her tracks to level her hard green gaze at the female/male magician in front of her.

"... The only thing... That girl. She touched both of us. Didn't you feel it?" She said, returning to her pacing. "There was something seriously off about that... THE Problem is... How do we CURE it. I don't really want to spend the rest of my life as a MAN. No offence." She sighed, then sat heavily on the van steps. "This is madness." She started, cutting herself off to stare at the grass again.

After a moments pause, the caramel haired being looked up. "Hey. You think anyone else was effected?" She asked, suddenly pulling herself back to her feet. She looked Selvai up and down, then sighed. "We should... Probably go speak to someone about this... Maybe someone knows a cure... Or spell... Or whatever... And...You should... Probably wear something that won't fall when you walk. I can't imagine it's all that comfortable needing to stop every few steps to pull up your pants."

Dravius had tightened his newly-shrunk hands around his forearms, causing the material there to pull together and revealing exactly how thin his arms had become, leaving him with two handfuls of loose fabric. He was shifting from foot to foot and was completely unsatisfied with the width of his hips, and how they hitched upwards everytime he moved a leg.

The Co-Master let out a hiss of pure frustration when an in-shock Kioko was guided up to them. She was taller than him. No one was taller than him. Dravius let go of his shirtsleeves and turned his head towards Erik. Of course he was uneffected. At his snide comments, he let out a small growl, although the man was entirely right. He needed to get these pants sorted. He could feel them oozing down his hips, and took a moment to make sure they didn't slide completely off, and took a step towards Erik. "This isn't a joke, Erik. Make any jokes and I'll crack your jaw." if anything, Dravius' female voice was capable of injecting more vemon into his words than before, though it was still odd to hear it coming out of himself.

"Find the girl?" The young woman turned to Raphael with a despairing look. "She probably is fuckin'.....running around in a giant ball pit or whatever evil magical children do!" He threw his hands up, his sleeves pooling around the joints of his elbows, and turned on his heels, hitching the legs of his pants up in order to climb his van stairs.

This was STUPID. Even though he was angry, Dravius wasn't feeling any compulsion to break stuff in half. Which was a new thing. Sighing, he pulled off the over large trousers he had been wearing, and dug around before coming up with a pair of weird half-pants that belonged to Maya, and pulled them on. They were weird. And stupidly tight. Did women wear clothing this tight on purpose. Even through they were meant for a woman of smaller stature, they fit Dravius fine around his waist, and came to just above his knees.

With another angry exhalation, Dravius tugged off his shirt, then stared at himself. What did he do with these. Poking one side of his chest with a frustrated face, the Co-Master whacked his head against the wall gently and resigned himself to finding a bra.

WHY THE FUCK WERE THE HOOKS IN THE BACK. After nearly screaming with frustration, Dravius had resorted to fastening the tiny hook-and-eye joiners off of himself and slipping the entire wretched contraption over her head. The stupid wire from the garment was digging into his sides, and restricted his breathing somewhat, but he yanked on a tank top with more force than was necessary. It was, fortunately, made of some sort of magic material that was able to stretch to fit someone much taller than Maya. Cursing to himself, Dravius forwent any shoes and stepped outside his van, slamming the door angrily behind him.

"Are we gonna go on a fuckin' magic spirit quest to find a stupid little bitch or what." Dravius threw his arms up in the air. With the addition of breasts, the bullet wounds on his chest had moved, and were visible above the tank top. Both articles of clothing were dark, the half-pant....things black, and the top an ashy grey. He hadn't lost any of the swimmer's muscles in his transformation, and the muscles in his slim arms stood out in cords as he crossed them across his chest.

Kanec wheeled above the group for a second, noting that there were quite a few who were a bit...different. It was not too hard, however, to pick out Raphael, despite his changed appearance. Diving, he landed lightly on the Ring Master's shoulder, saying nothing but shifting his wings and putting his weight on his good leg. He watched the rest of the group with one eye, noting that the only ones that seemed affected other than him and Raphael were Kioko and Dravius. And, quite frankly, he planned on staying an animal for quite the while. Still, he guessed they should know he was affected as well. Not really wanting to say it out loud--because that would be acknowledging it--he flitted to the ground, shifting into a lion (now a lioness) as he landed. He laid his head on his paws, half-whining, half-growling before he stood and flicked his fur-tipped tail, appearing to be pouting.

~~

Nylat reached deep under the bed, grabbing Kylain by the scruff and dragging him out. In the three weeks that had passed, the pups had grown, nearly doubling in size. Also during that time, they'd opened their eyes and ever since then, were everywhere. Well, more Kylain. Tylia usually stayed out of trouble, unless her brother pushed her into it. Literally. It had happened a few times, and Nylat had woken up from a nap to her whimpering daughter. Evn now, Tylia was just sitting quietly where her mother had left her, looking around. Sometimes, Nylat worried about her. She was so quiet sometimes. And so much smaller than Kylain. As the hybrid returned to her smaller pup, she licked Tylia's head, and was answered by an affectionate snuggle. And then, not two minutes after she'd settled back down, Kylain cried out, having hit his head on the underside of the bed. Again.

"I honestly did not pay that much attention to her," Selvai admitted. He'd assumed the child was simply playing some sort of game, and had put the strange encounter out of mind. Probably not a good idea, in hindsight. "None taken, obviously I do not want to be woman for the rest of mine. So, as for a cure, we would likely need to find that child again. Since I do not make it a habit to keep gender changing spells around the van."

He shuffled over when Karene took a seat on the van steps, holding up the hems of his pants legs to keep from stepping on them. He placed one hand on her shoulder, feeling incredibly odd at how small his hands had become. "I am sure there is some way to reverse this. It may even wear off on its own. Or the girl may get bored and change us back," Selvai offered hopefully. Although he certainly wasn't going to just sit back and hope that happened.

At the mention of other members being affected, the stripe haired magician's eyebrows rose in alarm. "I did see her interacting with several other members... If she is responsible, it stands to reason that they would have changed as well. We need to let Raphael and Dravius know about this girl, so they can warn everyone to be on alert for her."

The now female Selvai plucked at the front of his shirt, frowning. Up till now, he'd been very careful to not think too hard about anything to do with clothing, specifically, having to wear women's clothing. "It really is not," Selvai muttered. Tugging his pants up, he stepped around Karene and into the van with what little dignity he could muster under the circumstances. He pulled open one of the dresser drawers holding his clothing before he realized, and slid it shut with more force than was necessary. The magician sighed, then called out the door to Karene. "It seems I will have to borrow some of your clothing, dear. Feel free to rifle through mine for anything you need."

Selvai picked out a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt from Karene's clothing, before hesitantly opening the drawer with her underthings. Good lord, why were there so many different ones? He discarded anything with a bow or lace on it, or overly complicated looking hooks, finally just taking a halter style sports bra, the kind that slip on over the head and struggling into it.

-----

"Mm. Careful you don't break a nail, darling," Erik called out to Dravius. From where he had moved, several feet away and behind Raphael. "I'd hate for you to ruin your manicur- Ow, DAMNIT Adriel!," the shifter glared at the short haired woman who had just smacked him rather hard in the back of the head.

"You're not helping," she hissed at him. Grabbing his upper arm, she pulled him away from the ring master. "Stop pissing off Dravius. I know saying stupid things comes easy to you, but you're just making things worse." She released the red head with stern look. "In fact, to be safe just stop talking all together for a while."

Erik huffed, flipping his hair over one shoulder. "Well fine. I'll just sit here like a rock, hmm?"

Ignoring Erik's sulk, she turned back to Kioko, frowning slightly. The pyro still seemed a bit shell shocked over the whole thing, poor thing. She nudged her gently. "Hey, are you doing alright?" Adriel asked, quite concerned with her reaction to the whole thing. She was being way too quite for Addie's peace of mind. She would almost have preferred the albino start throwing a fit like Dravius.

The question seemed to snap Kioko out of whatever funk she had sunk into, and she shook her head. "Yeah, not really. This whole thing is just... really weird and I'd really like to just find that little brat and have her undo all this." And then maybe yell at her. Or smack her around a bit. Or any other number of violent things that Kioko wouldn't normally entertain thoughts of.

"I guess that was a stupid question," Adriel admitted. "Right, so we need to find her. Do we just split up and search through the circus? Maybe have Zyano see if he can track her?" the dark haired woman asked Raphael. "There are a lot of people running around though, he might not be able to get her scent." She stopped suddenly as Kanec landed on Raphael's shoulder, then promptly went to ground and shifted forms. Adriel looked him over for a moment, then realized what it was that seemed off about his transformation. "Kanec? Did the weird little girl happen to get to you as well?"

"Yeah, well... I hadn't either." Karene grumbled, wishing silently she'd kept her face firmly away from that little girls' hands. Saying that, it wasn't like she could have guessed THIS would happen. Sighing, the magician snorted at her husband's following words, waving a hand. "Pity. We could really use one of those spells right now." She had found it slightly amusing that Selvai had needed to point out that he didn't keep gender-swapping spells, despite the fact she knew that anyway. She did, afterall, live in the van with him. "And maybe... Finding that girl would be easier, though. And probably faster. Somehow I don't think this is a short term thing, even if it will wear off itself. And I find that children seldom get bored that easy."

She nodded slightly, lips twitching somewhat as the once-male magician in front of her seemed to regard his clothes, before stepping out of his way as he headed into the van. Karene then leant her back against the outside of the van wall to assess her own clothes. Luckily, besides the obvious, her size hadn't changed that much. Besides gaining a little height, and becoming slightly more muscular, there seemed to be very little alteration. Luckily, she'd chosen to don a simple tee and jeans that morning, and both seemed to fit her quite well. The jeans, in her normal form, had been somewhat long, and her sudden increase in height had sorted that out quite nicely.

Exhaling through her nose, she laughed a short, quiet chuckle as Selvai's voice floated from within the door. "Feel free. This gives me something to use against you for, oh, probably the rest of your life." She laughed. "And I think I'm okay. But thanks." Karene, smiling in a bemused sort of way, stared at the earth beneath her feet. She waited a good while before she rolled her eyes, stepping into the van to check on her husband.

Pff. Figured he'd have trouble with the underwear. Snorting, the caramel haired woman (Now man) watched him until he'd struggled into the thing, before gesturing with a hand. "Come on. Let's go."

~~~

Like Karene, besides the change in height, Raphael's size had also changed very little. Sure, his pants were a little long, but his shirt wasn't too bad. A little loose, maybe, but not too bad. He managed quite well walking around as he was, and as such, decided to stay with what he was wearing. With a bit of luck, they wouldn't remain this way for long, anyway.

Sighing quietly, the Ring-Master found a momentary amusement with a lock of blonde hair that had fallen over his shoulder, before he turned back to look at Dravius as the Co-Master vented in Erik's direction, then shrugged at the Co-Masters words directed at him. "Yep. Find the girl. Or, you know. We could wait... I don't care too much for that idea, though."

He watched Dravius disappear into his van, throwing a slightly reassuring smile at the somewhat worried-faced Maya.

The blonde, butterfly winged young woman had watched Dravius' carefully, noting all the danger signs of his quickly rising temper; Most likely made ten times more obvious thanks to Erik's input. As the Co-Master entered the van, she stared at the door for a minute before turning back to the others, snorting quietly as Adriel chose to deal with the red-headed shifter. She then focused her gaze on Kioko, as the shorter haired woman accompanying her attempted to get the albino out of her shocked state. As Kioko spoke, however, Maya breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Well... At least she wasn't taking it TOO badly.

"It won't be permenant." She said, smiling slightly. "There'll be a way out of this."

Raphael nodded from where he stood, then looked at Adriel. "That'd be the quicker way-" He started, as a slam from behind Maya caused the Ring-Master to cut his sentence short, and the butterfly to jump somewhat out of surprise.

Dravius had returned, looking angrier than he had when he'd walked into the van, and now wearing a few of Maya's own garments. It really added a whole new view on the things. Seeing your boyfriend. As a woman. Wearing your clothes. It was just... Really rather strange. And somewhat backwards. Inhaling quietly, Maya quickly shook her head, wincing slightly at the Co-Masters rather harsh language. Not that she hadn't heard it all before... But she was far more used to it in his male form. Somehow, Dravius himself just seemed far too... Well. Dravius-like, for his femanine body. She almost reached out a reassuring hand to him, then seemed to decide better of it. The Co-Master seemed really uncomfortable with this... And her gesture might not quite cut it... Especially seeing as he seemed so caught up in his own situation.

"As I was saying." Raphael said, staring at Dravius before looking back at Adriel. "We'll do it that way. Split and search. Looking for Zyano might take longer than looking for this girl. If any of you find her, try not to scare her too much." He threw a pointed look at the Co-Master here. "We need her to change us back, not flee in terror."

Sighing, the Ring-Master frowned slightly when Kanec appeared, settling his form on the blonde''s shoulder before making his way to the earth. It was almost an instant thing that both Raphael and Maya noted Kanec's physical change, even in his animal form, but neither could mention it before Adriel did.

"She got quite a few of you, huh?" Maya asked, crouching slightly to touch Kanec on the head with a gentle movement of her fingers. "I wonder if there's anyone else?"

"Who knows. No doubt the little girl remembers who she got." Raphael shrugged, then spent a moment looking at Kanec contemplatively, as an idea came to him. "Hm. Kanec. Do you think you could... I don't know... Take the form of a bloodhound, or something similar?" He asked, thin brows raised slightly. "Seeing as you're here... Maybe you can pick up the girls scent?... Most of us here have been touched by her, so it shouldn't be too hard to distinguish her scent from the others. It'll make this whole goose chase a whole lot easier."

~~~

Stretching his paws, Zyano gave an almighty yawn, before flopping back onto the bed in the van he shared with his mate and quickly growing pups. He had spent most of the morning hunting, and had returned to the van with a mouthful of fresh meat, eating most of it in short order, before taking a nap in the early afternoon sun that filtered through the vans window.

The peculiar noises made by shocked members of the Circus had gone mostly unnoticed, partly because he had only half heard them, and partly because he was still half asleep. It was the scuffling noises from his rebellious son that roused him, though he refused to open his eyes, listening with a slight flick of the ear as Nylat dealt with the energetic pup. At the second round of scuffling, Zyano growled softly, opening an eye before releasing another huge yawn, stepping off the bed to focus his stern gaze on Kylain.

He then looked over at Nylat. "Would you mind if I took him out for a run?" He asked, using a paw to scoop Kylain out from under the bed. "He needs to burn up some of this energy." Zyano licked his muzzle once, then focused his warm amber eyes on Tylia. "You can both come along, if you'd like?..." He asked of his mate. "We can take a quick lap of the nearby wood. Or maybe you can both lay in the sun for a while, while we do the running." He grinned, tail sweeping the smooth wooden floor.

Dravius' combination of extreme anxiety and anger was rapidly pushing him closer to completely freaking out, and with some difficulty, he clenched his hands into fists until his nails dug into his skin, taking in a deep breath through his nose.

Flicking his eyes to the side, he noticed Maya's uncomfortable expression, and crossed his arms rather defensively over his chest. He returned Raphael's comments with a withering glare. His blue eyes were exactly the same as before, glittering with barely contained rage. Dravius turned his attention to Kanec as the man descended. Huh. Well. Kids did the darndest things, didn't they.

Dravius had directed is frustration at Erik, leveling an icy gaze at the red haired man. The woman hadn't bothered to take the bracelet off of his wrist, and it still hung, far too large for his arm, looking disporpotionate on his wrist.

Standing uneasily, Dravius took a second to consider everything. His center of balance was much different, and he shifted from foot to foot to try and make sense of it. It was probably the breasts that was throwing everything off. They were way heavier than he would have thought, and he frowned deeply, his delicate brows knitting together.

The young woman glanced over at Maya once again, noting the almost pained expression the other was wearing. Dravius debated whether or not to get any closer to Maya. Deciding to edge a few steps closer to her, and reach out a hand to touch her shoulder. The woman offered a thin smile, still just as crooked as it was before. Sticking his hands in the pockets of his shorts, then looking up at Raphael. They were about the same height at this point, and the two inches Kioko now had on him was completely unsettling.

Kioko seemed rather angry, actually. The fact that she was still wearing clothing meant for a five foot five woman made for a sight, and Dravius sighed through his nose. His anger had turned into some sort of annoyance, although he still felt as if he was teetering at the verge of a giant breakdown.

Selvai heard Karene's snort from behind him, and threw a pout at the other magician from over hhis shoulder. "This is not easy, you know. It's not as though I have much experience putting on women's clothing." Frowning, he tugged at the bra once more. "Are they supposed to be this uncomfortable?" he asked. Giving up on trying to make it fit better, Selvai shimmied out of his over large clothes and pulled on the pants and shirt he'd picked from Karene's clothing. Luckily, he was fairly close to Karen's size as a woman, and they were only slightly snug on him.

"Alright," he sighed. Bracing himself for the inevitable stares and jokes, the magician slouched out of the van. Pulling his hair back, Selvai began to dig in his pocket for a hair tie, before remembering that he wasn't wearing his own pants, and stopped. Tugging at the shirt hem with an embaressed cough, he looked over at Karene. "Well. Would you rather try to find this girl on our own, or go tell Raphael and Dravius what has happened? Although, they may already know, considering how many other people she touched. I highly doubt this sudden change has gone unnoticed for this long."

-----

Kioko listened to the ring master detailing their plan to search for the little girl half-heartedly. The clothing she was wearing was really not designed to accomodate someone suddenly growing seven inches and switching genders, and it was too tight to be comfortable anymore. "Before we do anything, I need some clothes that actually fit," she said, gesturing to her jeans and shirt, both of which had rode up several inches. "This shirt is so small now I can barely breath," she complained.

"I can help with that!" Erik said excitedly. Before the pyro could protest he grabbed her by the arm, dragging Kioko off in the direction of his van. "Oh calm down, I have all sorts of clothes, I'm sure I can find something to fit you," he said when the white haired man started struggling. "Do you want to go around looking like the incredible Hulk until that little kid is found?"

"Shut up," Kioko muttered, although she stopped trying to pull her arm away from the shifter.

"Here we are," he said in a singsong voice once they reached his van. Pulling Kioko inside, he pulled open a wardrobe, shuffling through the clothes hanging inside and occasionally holding up a shirt or pair of pants against the disgruntled pyro, then tossing them aside. He finally settled on a dark red, button up shirt, and faded pair of blue jeans. "These should do. You can go ahead and change in the bathroom while I clean this up," he said, gesturing to the pile of clothes.

Shooting Erik a dark look, Kioko took the clothes into the bathroom, stepping out again after a few minutes. Perched on the edge of the bed, Erik clapped his hands, smirking at her. "Much better! You don't look so shabby now."

Kioko glared, smacking him in the face with a pair of balled up jeans. "I'm going to hit you, very hard in a second."

They rejoined the group, Kioko with a scowl on her face and occasionally tugging at her clothing. Adriel threw a small smile at the young woman. "We'll find her as soon as we can, Kioko. Don't worry, you'll be back to yourself and this whole experience will just be a bad memory," she said. The short haired woman turned back to Raphael. "Alright, do you still want to split up then? Or do we all just follow Kanec's nose?"

"Pff. Aha. I know you're not used to it. But all that struggling you were doing certainly wouldn't have made it any easier." Karene snorted, lips twitching. "And no. They're actually SUPPOSED to be comfortable. Unless you've put it on wrong, in which case, it won't be." Laughing quietly, the caramel haired man stepped lightly out of the van door, jumping the last step before glancing around the general vicinity. "They're probably a little tighter on you, though. You're not exactly the same size as female me in that form."

Karene shrugged, then started walking in the direction of the Ring-Master's van, noting that, despite the number of people in the Circus, only a few seemed to be somewhat surprised by her and her husbands change. Chances were most of them already knew, one way or the other. And even those who didn't, not all of them found it THAT strange. Such was life in the Majikus. And then of course there were those who didn't even realise who they were. Oh well.

"We're probably better off going and finding the others." The magician replied to her husband's earlier question, rolling a shoulder slightly; The slight tightness in her shirt making her feel somewhat restricted. It wasn't too tight though, at least, not uncomfortably, hence the reason she hadn't bothered to change it before they left the van. "It might be easier to find that girl if we have people helping us... Besides, if we're not the only ones affected, like you say, there's no point looking for her on our own."

Sighing quietly, Karene shrugged again, slipping her hands into her pockets as she walked.

~~~

At Kioko's somewhat sudden declaration of needing to change clothes, Raphael nodded lightly in her direction, glad that the albino had recovered enough to rejoin the rest of them here. And, again, it meant that she wasn't being too heavily affected. Using a couple of his slender fingers, the blonde Ring-Master gently shoved a few strands of blonde behind his right ear, before focusing his gaze on the peculiarly femanine shape of his wrist. Huh. Who knew how different a woman's body could be?

Afterall. They were all still human, but the changes Raphael had endured had opened his eyes to those minor differences that divided the genders. He didn't particularly feel any different, besides the obvious losses and additions; But he was noticing all the little things that had completely stripped him of any masculinity. Everything about him now was... Delicate. And that was definately new.

Shaking his wrist quickly to break his gaze, he slid both of his hands into the slightly baggy pockets of his trousers, watching with a slightly raised brow as Erik dragged Kioko off to get her outfitted in more comfortable clothing.

Maya had also watched the red-headed shifter and the albino pyro, once she had straightened herself from stroking the soft fur of Kanec's neck, strangely quiet until a hesitant touch on her shoulder brought her gaze a little closer to home; Focusing on Dravius with a question in her eyes. Pff. Peculiar how his expression remained exactly the same as it always had been, even when formed on his new, femanine features. The blonde was still for a moment, then returned the Co-Master's smile in a reassuring sort of way. It was only when Erik dragged Kioko off that she moved her gaze from her boyfriend.

She eventually looked back over at Raphael. "Do you have any idea where she might be, this girl?" She asked, flaring her wings a little.

"No idea." The Ring-Master replied. "Probably still in the Circus some place. If Kanec decides to change shape and help us that way, it won't matter. We'll find her quicker no matter where she is." The butterfly nodded in response, then went to staring at the ground. It was only a few minutes later when Kioko returned with Erik, and then the blonde had to focus her gaze on Adriel as the short haired woman spoke up.

Raphael seemed to spend only a couple of seconds in silence, before using a finger to rub behind an ear. "I still think Kanec is our best option. Also... It might be easier to stay together... If we split up and find the girl, then we're going to have to keep her interested long enough to keep her with us until we find each other again, and that might actually take up more time. If we're all in one place, though... We only have to go looking for her." He paused, then sighed. "It might be a good idea if only us affected go looking for her, too. We want to do our best not to scare her off."

At the Ring-Master's last words, Maya nodded, then smiled slightly. "I can't... Really go anyway. I left Angel with Disera... And... She should probably know about this, huh?" She said, stoking Kanec for a last time on his snout. She then looked at Dravius over her shoulder. "Good luck." She smiled, throwing another at everyone else, before padding off towards the blue-skinned shifter's van.

Well. Raphael had had a point. Besides, it was probably about time she went to see Disera and her daughter. Weaving quickly through the vans, the blonde, butterfly winged young woman paused for a moment outside the Shifter's van, before knocking lightly. She wasn't quite sure whether or not Disera had gone anywhere with the kids, but this was certainly the first place to try look for her.

Kanec nodded silently at Adriel's question, flicking his ears back. Hearing the others' voices...he was really loathe to speak. He was silent for a while, letting Maya pet his head. He did hear Raphael's request, but chose not to currently fufill it, as he was quite content at the moment. But when Maya left, to go see Disera and tell her about this, he almost stopped her, extending a paw after her before sighing and laying his ears flat. Slightly discouraged, he then chose to finally shift into a bloodhound, frowning slightly. This was going to be...very interesting...once Disera found out. One way or another. Either way, he suspected it was best she HADN'T seen him before he joined up with the others. Sniffing, he growled slightly. "No worries about getting her scent. I wouldn't forget it in a lifetime, after this." He winced at the fact that his voice was several pitches higher than normal. SEVERAL.

~~

Nylat watched her mate deal with Kylain, her ears drooping from the effort it took to keep him in line. She nodded. "You can take him out for a run. Just...keep an eye on him. No doubt he'll try and wander off." Kylain hopped a bit, his tail wagging. Nylat smiled, then shook her head. "No, I think we'll stay here. I have no energy for a run, and laying in the sun will be nice." Tylia then yawned, furtherconvincing Nylat to stay back.

Dravius had been slightly reassured at Maya's return of his smile, and flicked his head to the side to rid his vision of a lock of black hair. He gently stretched the leather bracelet around his wrist, then scraped his hair up into a ponytailm using the cord to keep it up. With the hair pulled up and away from his face, the earrings that he wore were on display, and looked odd now, the silver hoops looking feminine at this point.

His jawline was softer as well, although the muscles stood out in it as he clenched his teeth together. Dravius nodded softly at Raphael's words, though his expression contained a hint of panic when Raphael stated only the affected members would be hauling themselves around. Dravius was about to put up some sort of protest but was cut short by Maya's agreement, then turned his annoyance in a hopefully reassuring smile, and waved one hand. "Kay...bye...thanks..." Each word he spoke got a little bit softer, until they trailed off to nothing.

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

The little girl was, in fact still in the Circus. She noted with more than a little bit of satisfaction that the people affected had gathered in one place. They all looked more than a little bit uncomfortable, and she clapped her hands and giggled, grinning. Most of them looked pretty silly, although they weren't very humorous just standing there, chatting. The small child thought for a second, then a mischevious smile spread over her face. Tilting her pigtailed head to the side, she put a look of concentration on her face, and dissolved slowly into the air.

She reappeared in front of Raphael and stuck her tongue out, tugging on the hem of her bright pink dress. "My name's Lily!" She laughed once more then dissolved once again. Dravius, as soon as the girl had appeared, had made a slightly strangled noise and balled his hands into fists. He tried his best to grab the girl just as she dissolved, then cursed loudly.

"What the fuck was that?" Dravius said shrilly, stomping one foot on the ground. He was getting increasingly frustrated, and his pale cheeks had a slight flush to them. His thin brows were knit together, and he felt like punching through a window. "Well, where'd she go NOW?" The girl reappeared behind him and he whirled, staring at her. Lily giggled mischeviously and pointed at the town, then proceeded to disappear once again. "Oh, that's SUPER. REALLY SUPER." Dravius threw up his hands and sighed explosively.

((Small post because SOMEONE logged off five minutes after I got on. ;( ))

Raphael exhaled, nodding with obvious relief at Kanec's decision to try and sniff this girl out; Paying little heed to the bloodhound's voice change. The Ring-Master himself, of course, was dealing with his own peculiarity, and Kioko and Dravius both also had revealed this change.

The Ring-Master quickly threw a glance at Dravius, who had been looking somewhat disheartened by Maya's sudden departure, before turning his gaze back to the group in time to catch someone else's appearance. It took him a moment or two to recognise them as Karene and Selvai, and exhaled in an over-dramatic way as it dawned on him that they too had been touched.

"Is there ANYONE else?" He asked, more of himself than the group around him. He didn't particularly want to leave anyone who had been afflicted behind. It would only make things far more difficult when it came to finding that child.

Karene had been assessing the others there with a moments shocked pause, her gaze in the middle of eyeing Kioko's male form and Dravius' female one when she spoke. "Nope. At least, not as far as I'm aware." She shrugged, her resonant voice added to her physical differences. "Most of the members who saw us pass seemed to know you guys were here... I think if anyone else was affected they'd have shown up by now."

"My, my." Raphael sighed. "News travels fast."

"It always does here." Karene snorted. "Loving the look. Suits you."

"Are you being funny?"

"Completely serious." The caramel haired male gave a wicked sort of grin; As Raphael, a pout on his femanine face, looked at Selvai. He had no chance to greet the magician before a sudden, peculiar feeling forced him to return his gaze to the small open area in front of him; Eyebrows raised at the sudden appearance of that devious little girl. Well. At least SOMEONE was enjoying themselves.

He watched her disappear, frowning at the Co-Masters question before the girl reappeared just as quickly, providing them with some form of clue. Or direction, was probably a better word for it. The Ring-Master watched her vanish again, then looked at Dravius. "Well. Not like we have much choice. Looks like we're going to town."

~~~

A quick search of the Circus showed no other affected members, and it was only a half hour or so later before Raphael led the group out of the field where the Circus resided, heading towards town. It took only ten minutes, f that, to get there, and the blonde Ring-Master ran a hand through his hair as he glanced about the relatively empty street they'd ended up on.

"Well?" Karene asked suddenly from where she stood, green eyes directed towards another, slightly busier street. "What do we do now?"

"Not sure." Raphael replied, crossing his slim arms. "We had originally planned to have Kanec lead us to the girl. But her disappearing act means she won't leave a straightforward scent trail... At least not one we can follow. You'll only be able to find her by scent if she happens to be nearby." He directed his last words at the shifter, smiling slightly.

"All right." The caramel haired male frowned, throwing a quick glance at Kanec before turning back to the street. "What do we do in the meantime?... It'll take way, WAY too long to walk around this entire town looking for a devious little girl."

Raphael glanced over his shoulder, then shrugged before looking back towards the ditance in front of him. "She's playing a game." He said, his tone thoughtful and musing. "It only stands to reason she'll eventually decide to give us more clues. Maybe our best chance is to just play along with her."

"And if that isn't what she's doing?"

"Then... I suppose we'll just have to hope we get lucky."

Dravius had the sudden urge to scream in frustration, or at the very least shriek loudly, but managed to compose himself with a deep breath through his nose and then clearing his throat. A look of mild horror plastered itself to his face at Raphael's announcement. He expected the troupe of uncomfortable, awkward looking men and women to just go marching into town like some happy go lucky children's parade?

Nope.

Nope.

Not going anywhere. Nope.

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

Dravius' following Raphael was more of a storm, than anything, but he managed not to trip over himself while doing it, and quickly lost the energy to do it as the group walked to the town, contenting himself with walking with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had stolen one of Maya's sweatshirts that was too large for his girlfriend, but managed to be the right size for him. It was a bright red that stood out against his skin, and had a smattering of white flowers near the pockets.

The Co-Master was grumbling to himself as he walked, most of it language that wasn't socially acceptable, a dark look on his face. He hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention as he trailed slightly behind the others, but eventually shut up when everyone came to a stop. He stared down at the canvas shoes he had put on, the bright white of the shoes standing out against the grey of the concrete.

"I for one, hate games," Dravius grouched. The young woman crossed his arms tighter over his chest as a group of men approached, their slightly unsteady step revealing the fact that they were inebrieated. It was a bit early for it, but they didn't seem to care. All of them were taller than Dravius, which only made his mood worsen.

As they stumbled closer, Dravius stepped closer to Kioko and Raphael, grabbing the fabric of the Ringmaster's shirt as they completely ignored the wild animal with the small group, and one of them gave a scummy smile to Raphael.

"Hell'o, li'l lady..." The man slurred slightly, reaching out a hand to pat the Ringmaster on the shoulder, only to have his hand slapped away by Dravius. "YOU STEP RIGHT THE FUCK BACK, BUDDY." Dravius was visibly seething, and pointed one thin finger in the tipsy man's face. "You better go on your way before I make you eat all of your own teeth." If this guy was stupid enough to come over, Dravius was more than happy to take out all of his frustration on the man.

"So, before you all get hurt, you just need...to..." Dravius trailed off, looking past the three men at Lily, who had appeared with a folded peice of construction paper in her hand. Waving it for a moment, she pulled her disappearing act once again. The paper fluttered to the concrete as the child dissolved, the off-white sheet folded in half. "I fuckin' hate kids...." Dravius grumbled, almost distractedly.

The man whose face was still being threatened by Dravius' long fingernails smirked and said, "Woah, Blondie. Don't gotta get your butch-ass girlfriend involved." He chuckled slightly and smiled at the still-enraged Co-Master. "We're down with just watchin'. What d'you say to us buyin' you and your lady friends some drinks. You can leave the guys to take care of themselves, right?" The leader of the band of slightly drunk men gestured at the men in the group.

Well. This was just dandy. Perfect. Stuck in town, in the body of a man, looking for a devious little girl who had thought, for some peculiarly stupid reason, it would be INCREDIBLY funny to put them all in this situation. Pretty stupid freaking situation if you asked Karene.

She exhaled loudly, frowning heavily at their surroundings. Raphael's words had done nothing to ease the slight concern that had entered her consciousness at the thought of trying to find this kid. After all, towns, even small ones, were really rather large. And it was likely to take a very, VERY long time should they all have to scour the entire place. The Ring-Master's tone of voice clearly revealed that he had no plan for this... Which, in truth, Karene couldn't blame him for. Where exactly did you start looking for a child who could simply disappear at will?

Sighing, she stuffed her hands into her pockets, watching the Ring-Master as he checked out the area. The approach of the three men made her raise her eyebrows, a move mimicked by the blonde in front of her.

Raphael wasn't particularly bothered or even intimidated; If it came down to it, he could get them all out of this quite easily. Saying that. It was highly unlikely he'd need to. For one, there were far more of them, plus a lioness. These men obviously had completely missed everything in front of them.

At Dravius' sudden flare, the Ring-Mastr threw his Co-Master a slightly warning sort of look. Well. It wasn't really a warning. More just one of caution and care. He didn't want Dravius doing something that would attract too much attention to them, and considering the dark haired male's current situation, his irritation was probably close to boiling point. The blnode barely had time to string a few words together when the appearance of the little girl caught his attention, and his focus became directed on the piece of paper she'd left behind.

He eventually did turn his gaze back to the men, however, when he was addressed, sighing quietly through his nose. He then plastered an over friendly smile on his face, a sharp contrast to his cold, unamused gaze, before wrapping an arm around Dravius' shoulders, and his other around Kioko's. "Thanks for the offer." He said placatingly. "But we happen to have business elsewhere, and we're really in a hurry, I'm sure you understand. Perhaps another time."

Raphael then promptly pulled Dravius and Kioko over towards where the little girl had dropped her paper. Karene followed shortly behind, throwing a sort of subtle, threatening gaze at the three men as she passed. Surely no-one was stupid enough to start up a conflict with them, considering their numbers. She came to a stop shortly behind Raphael, Dravius and Kioko. "Well?... What's on the sheet?"

Kanec had followed along, now a bit frustrated at the additional trouble this all proved, now that the girl could be anywhere without leaving a trace. Even still, he'd taken up her scent, in case he came across it while they were in town. He'd been quiet, padding along with long, smooth strides, until they stopped, at which point he glanced around. He'd not noticed the men until Dravius's response and, even after Raphael started away, the lioness added a growling hiss in for good measure. Once out of the view of the men, he shifted into a collie, shaking out his fur. A little less noticeable, for when they came upon people who were actually sober. He sniffed at the paper, nosing it open.

*coughneedapostforzyanocough*))

Kioko scooted closer to Dravius when the co-master stepped next to her and Rapahel, standing on the side not covered by the blonde. She threw a sneer at the drunks, resting her hand on Dravius' shoulder as one of the men got too close and was slapped away by the black haired woman.

She glared at the little girl when she appeared for a moment behind the group of men, eyes fixed on the piece of paper she had dropped. Grrreat. Figures the little monster would want to play scavenger hunt. Well, they wouldn't be able to look at it anyway until they got rid of these drunken losers.

Okay, THAT was going too far. Enraged, Kioko stepped in front of both Dravius and Raphael when the creep started trying to proposition her friends, using her newly gained height to loom over the drunk. She was stopped from threatening or setting them on fire by Raphael grabbing both her and Dravius and dragging them past the men and over to the sidewalk where the paper lay.

Selvai joined them in staring at the paper, standing beside Karene. He looked once over his shoulder at the men, stepping closer to his wife when he saw they had not yet moved from the spot. "Does it say anything useful?" he asked, ignoring the leer one of the men had throw at him.

-----

Disera peeked out of the door, opening it all the way when she saw Maya on the other side. "Hey, Butterfly," she said cheerily, scooping up Angel from where she had made a beeline for the open door. "I suppose you came for this one, then." The shifter snuggled the little girl briefly before placing her across from Lionel on a blanket spread out on the floor. The little boy plucked a block from the pile spread across the blanket and offered it to Angel while Disera moved a few stuffed animals from a chair and tossed them onto the bed. "Come on in, then."

Dravius' forward momentum was cut off abruptly by Raphael's arm, and he let out a frustrated grunt, trying his best to take a swing at the three men. "I will use your heads for basketballs-nnnnnnnn!" He eventually turned and followed Raphael, grumbling to himself. He pulled up one shoulder of his sweatshirt which had slipped off, looking extrordinarily enraged.

The Co-Master bent quickly and swept up the folded peice of paper, jerking it open with a snap of paper. On it was a drawing of a two story house coloured with yellow crayon, a birght purple door making it stand out. The only slightly-misspelled "My howse" was written next to it in red, with a large arrow pointing to it. Dravius sighed to himself and said, "I can only assume we're supposed to find this. I hope it's actually this colour, 'cause it should stick out, then."

He held up the sheet of paper for eneryone's veiwing pleasure, one thin eyebrow raised. Dravius offered the crayon drawing to Selvai, then looked around the streets. "Well, we seem to be in the downtown. Maybe show it to people and figure out where it is?" An idea struck Dravius, and he called, "Hey, asshats. You seen a yellow house with a purple door?" The three men, who had been looking more than a little confused at their blunt rejection, looked over at the group and nodded, one pointing over his left shoulder and saying, "Yeah. Fuckin' weirdos. No adults. Just...Like...six kids. Which explains the dumb colour." He snorted and led his friends away, probably looking for women to take advantage of.

"Yeah, good. Alright. We have a general direction." Dravius clapped his hands once and pointed the smae way as the man had, feeling a little bit better now that they had a direction. The fact that there was a forseeable end to this made him feel a little less nervous, and he tucked a strand of slightly wavy hair that had escaped his ponytail behind his ear, contenting himself to tugging on his hoop earring while waiting for everyone to set off.

((Sorry, sorry. Forgot.))

Zyano had been in the middle of wrestling Kylian back out from under the bed when Nylat responded to his earlier comments, and he threw her a grin; Placing one giant paw gently on his son's tail so that the little rebel couldn't wind up under the wooden frame again.

"He won't leave my sight." The hyrid replied, using his snout to nudge Kylain in the general direction of the door. "And all right." Glancing quickly over his shoulder, Zyano nodded simply at Nylat's choice to stay behind, before padding out of the door, being sure that his son was following. He made his way across a couple of fields, heading for a small, open area before slipping into a trot, then a run. He ran for only a few feet, before stopping and turning to wag his tail slightly at Kylain.

He then turned, and padded at a gentle speed across the rolling expanse of grassland; Keeping his pace slow enough so that his son would be able to follow.

~~~

Maya had, while waiting for Disera, been idly wondering how to tell the blue skinned shifter that her fiance was currently a woman. She eventually concluded that there was probably no instant need to tell her... Unless, you know... It turned out to be a permenant thing... But somehow the blonde doubted that. And, as such, she decided that it wasn't really that much of an important topic. If Disera wanted to know where Kanec was, then... She'd have to explain it. But for right now... Well.

The young woman sighed to herself, sincerely hoping Raphael and the others would be able to find that child and have this reversed. When the door behind her opened, she threw Disera a greeting smile, stepping into the van just in time to catch the shifter stopping Angel from fleeing the van.

"Kind of." She laughed, watching as Disera placed her daughter on the blankket with Lionel. "I also came for the company. I've had very little to do these past fews days... Not being able to practice for the performances and such." The blonde idly rubbed her fingers over the area where her old injury resided, feeling the slight raise of the dressing underneath her white dress. "I swear, I'm going to go crazy if no-one lets me do anything soon."

Shrugging slightly, Maya sat herself in the chair Disera had cleared out, leaning her elbows on her knees as she watched Angel promptly try to fit an entire block that Leo had given to her in her mouth. Needless to say, there was absoloutely no danger of her being succesful in that venture. The blonde chuckled under her breath, then looked up at Disera. "How are you, anyway?... I hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble?" She asked, gesturing towards the little dark haired girl, who about then decided the block just wasn't good enough, and dropped it back on the pile with a giggle.

~~~

As the small group came to a stop by the mysterious piece of paper the girl had dropped, Karene simply looked at it with raised brows. Really?... This was how that little girl was going to play it? Cryptic clues and written riddles?... Great. Perfect. That's all they needed. To spend a couple of hours, or possibly more, running around after a child who had forced them all into this. She sighed, her expression mirrored by the Ring-Master, who stood looking only slightly curious at the paper as Kanec approached it first.

Raphael had no time to reach for the thing himself before Dravius picked it up, turning it so that everyone could see. "My house?" The blonde said, looking momentarily confused, before his expression became thoughtful. "Yeah... Finding a house that colour would be easier... But let's face it. That could be anywhere... And considering the size of this town..." He shrugged. He certainly didn't fancy having to trawl this ENTIRE place for one house. Even if it was brightly coloured and stuck out like a sore thumb. Finding it would still be a serious issue.

As Dravius quite suddenly addressed the men some distance away, the Ring-Master raised his eyebrows at their response. "Well. It would seem luck is on our side." He stated as the men walked away, turning to look at the Co-Master as the dark haired woman gestured in the mentioned direction. He couldn't help wondering though, how six kids living on their own had been ignored. Surely the authorities would have done something about it?...

Unless, of course, one of those children had an ability that prevented it in some way... Or maybe one of them was actually old enough to look after the others?... The latter certainly seemed more probable. Finding one person with an ability was rare enough, nevermind two or more.

Shaking his head, the Ring-Master exhaled through his nose. "All right. Seeing as it's all we've got... Let's go pay a visit to this house." And with that, he stepped in the indicated direction, hands in his pockets.

Only a surprisingly short amount of time was spent wandering, as it was rather easy to spot the bright yellow house some distance away; Once the group had managed to locate the same street. It was a rather wide avenue, dotted with large trees. A rather large park resided on one side, which meant there were actually very few houses around. The house they were looking for stood to one side of the park, half hidden by a small clump of trees that cast shadows over the bright paint.

"It's pretty neat for something run by kids." Karene said, frowning slightly at the building. "How do they live on their own anyway... Surely someone's noticed this?"

Raphael shrugged, then padded up towards the purple door. "I really don't know. I thought about that myself." He answered, staring at the painted wood. "But I guess we're about to find out." With that said, the blonde Ring-Master raised his knuckles, then neatly rapped them against the wood.

Selvai took the crayon drawing from Dravius, holding it open and out toward the center of their groups so everyone could see it. Kioko leaned over to get a look, bracing her hand on Dravius's shoulder. The pyro raised her eyebrows at the sight of a child's drawing of a brightly colored house, and the scribbling beside it. "That's it?" she asked in disbelief. "That girl works her weird ability on us, and leaves a drawing pointing right to her house? What, is she inviting us for a tea party or something?"

The magician patted Kioko on the shoulder in sympathy. "Well, she is rather young, it is likely she sees this all as a game," Selvai told her as they followed Raphael and Dravius.

Standing in front of the colorful house, Kioko crossed her arms, staring at it with a raised eyebrow. As the ring master knocked on the door, she moved close enough to be able to look inside when the door was opened. "Not to tempt fate or anything, but what if this kid doesn't want to change us back?"

-----

"Well, feel free to stay as long as you like," the shifter told her, settling cross legged on the floor next to Leo. She straightened the block tower he was building, eyes flicking down to where the butterfly was rubbing her stomach as she listened to Maya. From what Kanec had told her of the people that had taken the circus members, the blonde was lucky to have gotten off with a minor wound, not that the shifter was going to say anything about it.

"Sounds a bit like me when I was expecting this one," she chuckled, ruffling the little boy's hair affectionately. "Towards the end I was ready to climb the walls out of boredom. At least you don't have nearly that long to wait till you're able to come back." She watched Lionel knock the stack of blocks over with a giggle, snorting in amusement as she helped her son gather them back up. "I'm good, just waiting for Kanec to dome back from where ever he took himself off to. You didn't seem him on your way here, by any chance did you? Last I saw he was on the roof, but he was gone when I stepped oout to talk to him a few minutes ago."

"Pff. Angel's been no trouble, aside from trying to make a break for it whenever the door opens." Disera watched the little girl lose interest in the block she had been chewing on, and dig through the pile for a completely different one. "You know, if you need something to do, we could take these two outside and let them wear themselves out on the grass. Angel seems to want out, going by how her jailbreak attempts."

Dravius shrugged to himself at Raphael's remarks about the house full of children, his hands stuck in the pockets of his coat. Clearing his throat, he followed the others, kicking a rock in front of him most of the way. The two-story yellow house stuck out on the street, with a slightly brown lawn surrounding it, the bright yellow of the paint washing out the plants below it.

The Co-Master took one hand out of his pocket to brush more hair behind his ears, making a snall noise of annoyance. Long hair was extremely irritating. All it did was get in the way. Turning his head, he noticed the park next to the house contained more than a few children, on such a temperate day.

With the shee amount of people who tried to approach the door, Dravius had to do a little bit of manuvering to get into a position where he could see the door clearly and not get hit by it if it turned out to swing outwards.

At Adriel's well-placed comment, Dravius shot her a rather hostile look and said, "Well, then we'll just have to figure something out. Won't we." At the knocking on the door, the young woman turned her head back towards the door expectantly.

Within one minute of the knocking, a slight click was heard, and a small hatch in the door was opened. An eye that was completely black gazed out for a second, glittering coldly. A scuffling could be heard, along with several happy voices, behind the door. Staring harder at the group there, the skin above the black eye pulled downwards. Upon closer inspection, the owner of the face had no eyebrows, whether by choice or not unclear.

Following another loud click, the door opened inwards a few inches, held shut by a chain that ran across the brightly painted wood. There was a bit of a person visible behind it, the skin a bit redder than a normal person's, with freckles spotting every visible inch of skin. The possesor of the eyes was clearly female, a head with light brown hair tilted to the side. "What d'you want, huh?'

((FINE. I'LL do it ALL. ;( ))

Raphael had been watching the purple door with uneeded concentration, keeping his gaze on the wood as Adriel asked her question. He had vividly remembered saying that only the people who were affected should head into town looking for this girl; To minimise the chance of scaring her off. Clearly, however, Adriel had somehow managed to pass his notice and sneak into town with them.

"No idea... I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Worrying about it now won't accomplish anything." He glanced only fleetingly over his shoulder at the short haired woman and Dravius' snappy response just as the hatch in the door opened. The Ring-Master returned the dark eyed gaze with slight curiousity, taking a step ack when the young woman chose to open the door to them.

Karene had kept her distance; Not so much out of concern, but more to keep the area around the door from getting overly crowded. She wasn't even remotely interested about what lay behind that door; Her only real interest being finding a way back into her original body. As such, her eyes had been focusing on the nearby park, up until the point the click of the door caught her attention, raising her eyebrows slightly as Raphael quite suddenly took the piece of paper from Selvai's hands.

The Ring-Master didn't even move his eyes from the door as he held the paper outward so that the woman behind the door could see it. "We followed directions." He said, straight to the point. "I believe you have a little girl here with a rather interesting ability?... All we ask is an audience with her. You see, she seems to have put us all in a bit of an awkward situation. We're just hoping for a solution."

There was no trace of amusement or even warm greeting on the Ring-Master's face. He had the distinct impression that perhaps this woman wasnt one for over friendly greetings or over the top humour; And as such probably dealt better with a "matter of fact" attitude. Besides. Raphael was sincerely hoping this person wouldn't be difficult. He didn't particularly want to have to find another way in to this bright yellow house.

~~~

"Thank you."

Maya smiled, still seated rather sedately in the chair Disera had cleared of stuffed toys, slipping into a quiet laugh at the blue skinned Shifter's words. She thought it slightly amusing that Di spoke as though Maya had never been in the situation of having a baby. "I do know." She laughed. "I suppose I should be lucky this injury won't keep me out of action as long as being pregnant did. Or at least, like you say, near the end of it."

Shaking her head slightly, the blonde watched with an amused face when Angel had decided to find herself a new block; Only to end up trying to stuff that one in her mouth too. Eventually, the little dark haired baby made her way over to her mother, using the edge of the chair to pull herself up to a wobbly standing position. She held out the block, and "bah'd" at her mother until Maya finally lifted the little girl off the floor; Settling Angel in the crook of one arm.

The blonde, smiling at her daughter, looked over at Disera when she asked her question. Well, of course THAT just figured. She should really keep her thoughts to herself. Pff-ing quietly, the blonde shrugged. Guess it was unavoidable.

"I did... He was with Raphael, Dravius and a few others. Uh. I think they headed in to town." She paused, fighting mentally with herself as to whether or not reveal the issue... Well. There was no reason why not, she supposed. She shrugged, then sighed, cut off from adding anything to her earlier words when Disera decided to speak about Angel.

Maya pff'd again, snuggling her cheek onto the dark, wavy curls of her daughters hair, smiling slightly. "That's good to know." She laughed. "Ae likes being outside. A lot." The blonde brushed strands of black away from Angel's forehead, giving her a quick kiss on the newly revealed skin before nodding. "All right. That sounds like an idea." Wrapping her arms around her baby, Maya gently pushed herself to her feet, using one leg to open the door to Disera's van wide enough to slip through it.

She gently lowered Angel onto the lush green grass a few feet away from the side of Disera's van, before promptly lowering herself next to her daughter. The little girl, once she had been set free, let out a little squeal of delight, managing to completely lose interest in her block. She dropped the little square of wood, and began to dig her little fingers into the bright green blades of plant, very nearly getting some of it into her mouth before Maya managed to stop her.

"Hey." Maya said suddenly with a smile, looking over at Disera as she wrestled with Angel using only one hand. "Have you started on your wedding plans yet?... How's it going?"

The woman behind the door shifted slightly at the paper, sticking a hand and part of an arm throught the small opening in the door. With one continuous motion, she grabbed the paper and twisted her arm to bring it inside the house. The skin between her non-existant eyebrows furrowed, and she paused to flick some hair behind one shoulder.

As Raphael explained the situation, the young woman pulled back, shutting the door. With a click of a lock being removed, she opened the door once more, looking half stern and half curious. Blinking slowly with her reather unsettling eyes, the girl tucked the sheet of construction paper into her pocket and glanced behind her.

The girl herself looked to be around sixteen, and assembled behind her were more children of various ages, four in total. One of them looked nearly ideantical to the woman who had answered the door, with hair cut shorter, looking ten or eleven. The other two children looked normal enough, a boy and a girl, respectively around four and eight. Lily was nowhere to be seen, and the oldest there said in a thoughtful way, "I've never heard anyone ask for an 'audience' with an eight year old." a slight smile was tugging at the woman's lips, and her dark glittering eyes had softened somewhat.

"Come in." She bowed her head slightly and opened the door far enough to allow entrance, and turned to walk farther into the house. Off the to side of the door lay a large staircase, leading to the upstairs. Dravius followed the woman, staring at the walls in the house, no two painted the same colour. As the red girl walked through the house to an open sitting area dominated by a large table, the other children followed her like a line of baby ducks, talking quietly to each other. Taking a seat at the table, the young woman touched the shoulder of the ten year old, saying softly, "Go and find Lily, yeah?"

The child scampered off, disappearing into a side room. "Please, have a seat." The woman gestured to other chairs around the solid table, crossing her legs at the ankles. Dravius sat gently rather far away from the woman, still inspecting the house. On the walls were dozens of children's drawings, ranging from scribbles to rather well done pictures of people and plants. "We'll just have to wait for Sarah to find Lily, I'm afraid," the woman tilted her head to the side almost contemplatively, studying the group there.

Kanec was about to offer to fly above and find the house when Dravius decided to address the drunks. Wonderful idea. They probably didn't know up from down. Still, he followed, trotting along. Upon reaching the house, he held back toward the back of the group. Best to let them deal with it. Anyways, he was sure that any kids in there would likely end up attacking him because he was so fluffy. And he preferred to delay that as long as possible. As such, he didn't see the woman until she opened the door completely. He eyed her cautiously, but followed the group in, his steps light. This was...surely an odd house. Very colorful. Flicking his tail, he sat under the table, then laid down, his head on his paws. Great. They had to wait.

~~

As her mate and son left, Nylat gently pushed Tylia to the door, and the two laid out on the open grass, the pup quickly asleep in the warm sun. Her mother was not far behind her. Kylain, however, went along with his father, obviously excited by the prospect of leaving a five-foot radius of the van. He tried his hardest to keep up with Zyano, catching up when Zyano stopped, and dropping behind when he ran ahead. All the while, he took in scents and sights and sounds, often causing him to catch up a bit slower.

((Omg Raffy fine *edits Addie out of post*))

"Hunh. Alright," Disera replied to Maya's answer as to where Kanec was. "Any specific reason they all went together?" the shifter asked, lifting Lionel off the blanket. "Or was this some spur of the moment thing?" She picked up a few of the blocks for the little boy and followed Maya outside, sitting Leo down close to Angel. The toddler immediately joined Angel in pulling up grass and weeds and Disera snorted, piling the forgotten blocks nearby.

Disera sat down with Maya on the grass, leaving a few feet between herself and the butterfly so that she could stretch her wings without smacking the blonde. "Well, I had started thinking about it, but then all that craziness happened a few weeks ago, and I sort of put them out of mind for awhile." The shifter leaned back slightly on her elbows, watching as Lionel ripped up a dandelion and smushed it with his hand. "Kanec's not much help, of course. I think the only thing that's been decided for sure is that I'm asking Karene to be my matron of honor. But, we have plenty of time. It's not as though we're getting married right away."

-----

Selvai fell back a few feet after Raphael took the paper from him. The space around the front door was already rather crowded, and unlike the others, he wasn't in a hurry to crowd inside. He highly doubted it would make a difference in the matter of being changed back, anyway. As the ring master spoke to the woman, he went to stand with Karene, waiting patiently until the young woman opened the door.

The magician trailed after the others, offering a smile to the four children inside. He situated himself near where Kanec had hidden under the table, waiting for Karene to take a seat before sitting down himself. Kioko, who had sat next to Dravius, and was glancing around the walls at the drawings pinned there. "This is.. a nice place," she offered. "Is it just you and those children living here?"