The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

When the woman stepped back, presumably to open the door to the group outside, Raphael pulled himself away from the wall he had been stood against. He watched the door as it closed, then smiled only slightly when it opened again. He stepped over the threshold just as the woman chose to highlight his peculiar choice of words.

"Not that I say it often." He replied, glancing around the colourful hallway. "But, as of right now, we are kind of at her mercy." The blonde shrugged, coming to a stop in the room the woman had led them to. He watched as the older child left to go and find Lily, then seated himself on Dravius' other side, looking speculatively at their new host.

As was usual for the blonde Ring-Master, he had, initially, had thoughts of inviting Lily to stay with them .After all, that's what the Circus was there for. But, going by the look of her, Lily was well looked after. And the fact she had a home, and a carer, both of which seemed nice enough, made him fall back from his thoughts. He did not, if he could help it, take anyone from a life that was absoloutely fine for them.

"That's absoloutely fine. I do apologise for the intrusion." Raphael said suddenly, looking at a picture on the wall. He spent a few quiet moments looking at a number of them, before finally turning his gaze back to the girl who had opened the door. Karene and Selvai sat opposite the table to him; And the previously female magician was looking only slightly curious. She eventually turned her gaze to the children who remained in the room, noting idly that most of them seemed normal. She also wondered whether or not they actually were.

After a few more silent moments, Raphael, who had once again had had attention focused on the any pictures, looked back at the woman. "So, tell me." He started, face curious. "Do you get many visitors?" He asked, his tone indicating that he wasn't asking, in any way, about social visits. No, he was far more curious about the possibility that maybe they were not the only people Lily had decided to play this game with.

~~~

Angel was giggling madly, using both hands to try and fend off her mothers one as it strayed towards her tummy. Maya, smiling at her daughter's enthuastic response, glanced only quickly at Disera as she asked her question. She should have known that was going to happen... Although she wasn't quite sure why the shifter had a sudden interest in her fiance's whereabouts... He hadn''t been gone that long. Not to mention it wasn't that unusual Kanec went out someplace with the other guys.

Sighing quietly through her nose, Maya turned her attention back to her giggling daughter and gave herself up to keeping it quiet. There wasn't much point in it, after all. "Bit of that, I guess... There was a reason for it, though." She shrugged, then, peculiarly, giggled lightly under her breath at the thought of everyone who had been in that group. Sure, she was still slightly concerned about them finding a cure, but... Shrugging again, the blonde inhaled, then promptly gave Disera a short explanation.

"So..." She said once she'd reached the end of it. "They've gone looking for that girl." Maya threw the Shifter a slight smile, quickly reaching a hand over to pull grass out of Angel's little hands, which had come dangerously close to her open mouth.

"Ah... I can understand that." The blonde laughed. "And I guessed as much. Things like this usually take time to plan anyway." Leaning back on her hands, the young woman went back to keeping a close eye on Angel, who, after a minute or so rolling around in the grass, crawled quickly over to her mother and used the front of her mother's white dress to pull herself up again; Wobbling slightly.

Maya snorted, wrapping one arm around her wiggling baby. "This one is going to be walking very, very soon." She predicted, laughing. "At least, she will if she carries on pulling herself up like she does. I can only imagine they get more rebellious once they're able to move more freely, right?" Maya asked of Disera, laughing again as Angel fought to get her face as close to her mothers as possible.

((I'll... Post for Zyano next time. I don't exactly have a lot to go on. O_O))

As the group of visitors settled into chairs, the two children currently unoccupied sat down on the floor, the youngest one tilting his head to regard Kanec. It was a source of endless fascination to the small child that a giant kitty cat had set itself down under their table. He scooted forwards a few inches and studied Kanec with green-brown eyes, small arms wrapped around his knees.

The slightly older child had found a peice of paper and some coloured pencils, and was currently drawing a rather accurate picture of the young woman sat in the chair, tongue poking out slightly in her concentration. Meanwhile, the woman above the two children had placed her hands on the polished wood table. She turned her attention to the female magician at her question, hesitating slightly before answering, "Yes, just me and the kids. There's Lily, Miriam, Jack, Johnny and Thomas. And me." At the end of her list, the woman gestured to herself with a flick of her reddened hand.

The children under the table, Jack and Miriam, looked up slightly at their names, then went back to whatever they were doing. "Many visitors? I wouldn't say so. We get a few people associated with the government every so often, but not so much." She ran her eyes over the blonde, and then added, "Things get odd around here every so often, and we really can't be held responsible for what happens in the park." Chuckling slightly, the woman offered a hand and said, "I'm Kurt Romani. It's very nice to meet you all."

Two sets of small feet could be heard on wooden floors as Lily and the older boy, Thomas returned. Lily had a mischevious expression on her face and waved brightly at the group collected there. "Hi!" she said, brightly, waving one hand. "Lily. I've told you not to mess with people outside our family, right?" Kurt turned to the young girl with a stern look, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lily's face turned sheepish and she nodded slowly, staring at her feet. "They looked fun, though. I get bored just playing with you guys." The chid shifted from foot to foot, her lopsided pigtails moving slightly as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I even gave them a drawing of here so they could come over."

:< kanecshiftedintoacolliewhentheygotintotown.))

"Ah. That I can understand, I suppose." Raphael said thoughtfully, as the young woman replied to his earlier question. Well... If things happened in the park, then, he supposed, it stood to reason the authorities would be interested in this house, in particular. After all, kids did tend to be unruly; And a kid with an ability like Lily's could probably cause some real havoc.

He nodded, a small smile on his face as the teen continued. "Nice to meet you. I'm Raphael." He responded, briefly grasping the woman's hand. The appearance of Lily and the other child cut the Ring-Master off from saying anything else; And he offered what could only be a friendly smile at the girl with the peculiar ability. He sat quietly through Lily's slight scolding, then grinned openly.

"Nice to know you found us interesting." He laughed. "But... I think many of us would have appreciated it had you left us as we were." He snorted quietly, catching Karene's somewhat irritated look. The magician currently had her gaze on Lily, her eyes impatient. "I am curious, though, to know whether or not you're able to reverse this?" The blonde continued, gesturing at himself and the others sat around the table. "You see, not many of us are exactly... Comfortable with this." The Ring-Master threw a quick glance at Dravius and Kioko, as well as the others, before looking back at Kurt.

He had assumed, going by the girl's name, that perhaps she had also been under Lily's influence. The way the teen spoke of the constant, odd goings on also added to that assumption. Sure, he could be wrong, he supposed. But it was kind of hard to believe that Lily hadn't "played" with her family here before now.

Karene, who had watched the Ring-Master with continually ebbing patience, sighed quietly. She was seriously hoping Lily would be able to do something about this immediately. The thought of having to wait for this to wear off made her shudder slightly. She was still very much getting used to it.

~~~

Kylain's lagging behind had not been, in any way, a burden on Zyano. The giant furred hybrid was in no rush to run; Seeing as he had already satisfied that need earlier that day, and the fact that his son was talking the time to familiarize himself with the world was a good thing, after all.

Wagging his tail slightly as Kylain finally caught up, Zyano, who had stopped by a rather large patch of wildflowers, sat on his haunches. From here, he was clearly able to see the vans of the Circus, although they were tiny on the horizon, sitting just outside the nearby town. Pulling his gaze away, the hybrid pushed himself to all four paws, stooping slightly to brush his tongue over Kylain's little head, then promptly bounded off in the playful manner of a pup.

He stopped, crouched his front half low to the ground, and waited with a grin for his son to play along.

((That's all I could do.))

"Oh?" Disera said idly, stretching her wings as she listened to Maya begin to explain the sudden genderswap brought on the meetings with the little girl. The shifter's eyebrows rose in disbelief, and when the blonde finished, she was silent for a long moment. "Well," Disera finally said after a long moment. "I hope they managed to get switched back. It's going to be incredibly awkward if both me and Kanec are wearing dresses at the wedding ceremony. Although I would have liked to see the guys dealing with this. I can't imagine Dravius took the whole thing too well, hunh?" she asked, throwing a smirk at Maya.

The blue skinned woman had to dart forward and stop Leo from smearing the remains of the weed on his face as Angel headed to her mom. She smiled when the young child managed to get her feet under her. "Pff, you'd imagine right." Disera began gently rubbing the remains of the yellow weed off her sons face, using her tails to gently restrain the squirming boy. "You can ask Kanec when he gets back from turning into a real boy again."

-----

Selvai smiled gently at the children as they were introduced. He allowed the ring master to introduce himself before speaking himself. "And I am Selvai. This is a very unique home you have here, Kurt. Did the children help you in picking the colors?" he asked sociably. It probably seemed odd to be attempting small talk, considering the reason the group had come to this place. But, it certainly couldn't hurt, since Lily seemed amiable enough, and the other children appeared to be preoccupied with either drawing or trying to play with Kanec under the table.

Hearing Karene's quiet sigh, he slid one hand over her's, squeezing it in reassurance when he felt her shudder. Leaning over, he spoke quietly into her ear. "Do not worry. She has not said she cannot change us back."

Across the table, Kioko laced her fingers together on top of the table, leaning on them as Raphael spoke. She jiggled her leg nervously under the table, snorting quietly when the blonde mentioned them being uncomfortable with the transformation. "Being uncomfortable would be an improvement," she said, although without any bite in her voice. "I'm now seven inches taller then I should be. I had to borrow this shirt and pants so I could move without ripping my clothes apart like the Hulk."

((... I don't even. xD That took you ten hours. And it's not finished.))

Kurt had leaned back in her chair, hands settled in her lap and a slighty peeved expression hovering on her face. She couldn't believe that Lily had not only wreaked havoc once again, but had done something to people not even from this town. It was one thing to mess around with people from their little family, but it was another thing entirely to ruin other people's days. Lily was going to catch some deep scolding when the other people were gone.

Lily had been shuffling her feet back and forth in anticipation from what would likely be harsh words from the blonde stranger, a worried expression on her small face. At the unexpected laugh, her head shot up and she regarded Raphael with a slightly suspicious look.

At the RingMaster's question, she went back to hopping gently from foot to foot, an apologetic expression on her face. "Kinda. I can kinda." She shrugged uncertainly, then took a few steps towards the blonde woman. "I can't do it right now." Tugging on the hem of her dress, the eight year old added, "I can make it that it takes shorter, though." She looked apologetic and frightened all at once. Lily really just didn't want to be yelled at, and she didn't like the looks of the angry faces of the others. At Kioko's words, she giggled slightly at the Hulk comment, her small face lighting up for a moment. She had just wanted to have a little FUN. Was that so bad. And Thomas was so boring.

As Lily tried to explain herself, Kurt had taken a phone out of her pants pocket and typed a quick message. A quick thump sounded from the second floor and some muffled words. Kurt rolled his eyes, and turned his attention to the stairs, where an eighteen year old boy was slouching into view. He was around six feet tall and had a bored expression on his face. Stepping into the kitchen, he raised an eyebrow at the scene there, then his gaze went to Kurt, whose expression could only be described as furious.

"Thomas, have a seat, please." Kurt tapped the table with one finger, then said, "This is Thomas. Thomas, say hello." Kurt's eyes had become hooded, and a lazily furious expression had taken residence on her face. The teenaged boy's face was sheepish, and he slunk around the table to sit hunched over. "Hey." Thomas waved a bit, running a hand through his reddish-brown hair, cut short and vaguely curly.

Maya had had to laugh as Disera finally spoke after the moment of thoughtful silence she'd slipped into at the conclusion of the blonde's tale. "Just because he's a woman doesn't mean he can't wear a suit." She snorted, still half wrestling with her wriggling daughter before lifting her so that she sat snugly in the crook of one arm. At the mention of Dravius' name, the little girl began a tirade of "da", trying with all her will to clamber over her mothers shoulder.

Maya shifted Angel slightly, then looked back at Disera; Speaking over the string of da's issuing from the little mouth right by her ear. "Pff. Naturally not." She replied amusedly. "I don't thiink his pride took it all that well either. Poor guy. The others seemed to manage a little better... Except maybe Kioko... She was somewhat subdued about it. And Karene looked iritable. Not that I can really blame any of them."

The blonde sighed, turning back to her still wriggling and gurgling little girl. She smiled slightly at the blue shifter's answer to her question. "I'm not all that surprised." She laughed, trying to settle Angel in her arms. "Uh. I can only imagine all that running around I'm going to have to do with this one." The blonde snorted, lips twitching as Angel continued to call for her dad, trying to lift a little leg over her other's arm. "Or maybe I'll let Dravius do that. Chances are, after all that spoiling he's being doing the past few week, Angel is likely to just follow after him all day."

The blonde laughed again, snuggling her cheek on her daughters dark curls fondly. She made a funny sort of noise in her throat at Disera' final comment, glancing skyward. The sun was well on it's way to setting, and a deep orange glow had pervaded the grounds, casting long dark shadows where the vans resided. The Circus tent could be seen just in front of the van site; Members readying it in preparation for the night's performances.

"Hnh. I hope they'll be back soon." Maya murmered, hugging the now quiet Angel. "It'll be dark before long... And the show opens in a couple of hours."

~~~

Kinda?... That didn't sound TOO bad. It didn't sound too positive, though, either. Raphael raised his eyebrows, his elbows resting lightly on the large table in front of him and his eyes focused on the little girl who had so abruptly altered most of the people in this room.

"Oh?" Was his only response, his expression never changing as the girl continued to speak. Ah. Well. At least he got one thing right. It seemed that this affliction was timed, going by Lily's explanation. Of course, the news that she couldn't change them back immediately was somewhat disheartening.

"Huh." Placing his knuckles in front of his lips, the blonde then nodded his head slightly. "All right. Well. I think it best if you make it shorter. Probably as soon as you can." He said, smiling encouragingly at the girl.

Karene, who had been listening with rapt attention, flared her nostrils.She couldn't change them back?... And she had the freaking nerve to do this to them anyway. Almost growling slightly, the caramel haired magician cut off the sound as Selvai spoke to her. "She can't change us back." She responded, gritting her teeth slightly and not bothering to keep her voice down. It was peculiar how irritated she had suddenly become. "At least not right now."

She gave Lily a hard eyed stare, then sighed, trying her best to expel her anger in that motion. "All right." She said, leaning forward slightly, face slightly less grim. "Just HOW short can you make this transformation?" She asked of the girl, eye narrowing. She sincerely hoped it would only be something like an hour, at the most. If it was any longer, she was likely to lose the control she currently had on her temper.

Raphael had watched Karene with a stangely calm gaze, before catching sight of Kurt on the phone, then looking up when the young male entered. Okay... What was all this about?... He nodded fleetingly in Thomas' direction, then turned back to Kurt. It had seemed as though she had called this guy in here... For whatever reason...

Shaking his head, the blonde turned his gaze back to Lily. As of right now, getting this thing reversed was his priority, and going by Karene's steely gaze, so was hers.

Lily had been looking rather hopefully at Raphael, but shrank away from the group as Karene spoke angrily, hunching her shoulders and looking as if she was going to burst into tears. Her bottom lip trembled minutely as she stared at the group, twisting the hem of her little pink dress faster and faster.

As Karene asked a question of her, the little girl took a shaky breath and answered, "F-few hours I guess." Her voice was trembling, and she seemed terrified of the man speaking with a fair bit of barely controlled anger. Thomas, from across the table raised one eyebrow at the group's discomfort, then piped up, "Lily, last time you turned me into a woman you claimed you couldn't do better than a week, you brat." He snorted to himself, then directed his words to Karene. "Pardon, you need to calm down. She's eight. She wanted to play. Please be gentle."

Dravius, who had been sitting in anxious silence, running his hands through the ponytail running past his shoulders. He gave th young man across the table a disbelieving look. What on earth was he thinking. Must be some sort of stupid. Even though she was just a little kid, the Co-Master felt the need to scream at the child, and was drumming a hands on the table in extreme annoyance. The muscles in his jaw were clenched tightly, and were starting to twitch slightly with the strain. If he could feel any pain, the muscles in his jaw would be aching fiercely, but Dravius kept them corded and strained.

Kurt had made a small, "Hn!" noise at Thomas' words, and leaned over to smack him on the shoudler. "Thomas Romani." She said shortly, an angry expression on her face, although she halfway agreed with him. The man was being a little harsh on the small child, and Lily looked so frightened Kurt had been considering getting up so she wouldn't voice her opinion. "I didn't tell you to come down here to be rude."

Thomas scoffed, and then murmered, "I apologize." Clearing his throat, he turned his attention to the woman with the face tattoo, who could only be the man he had seen before. "I was looking for an apprenticeship." Thomas had an oddly formal way of speaking, and was sitting with his head tilted to the side.

The young woman sighed and got up from her chair, shooing the other two children out of the room, then sighed through her nose. "Please, please excuse dear Thomas' poor timing. Lily really can't do too much better than a few hours, honestly. Please don't be too angry with her." Kurt patted Lily on the head, trying to reassure her, and faced down the two aggravated Circus members with a hard stare.

Dravius glanced away after a moment, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I still don't understand how you let her run around like that." Dravius' voice was flat and oozing irritation. He narrowed his eyes slightly at Kurt, his arms crossed over his chest.

Thomas, who had been sitting with a bored expression on his face, tapping a rhythm onto the table, was shooting glances at Selvai, then back at the table. The small family had been to the circus a couple nights before, and had been struck by the presumed geniuneness of the acts. The unusual collection of children and teenagers had been long standing in the town, and Thomas was getting tired of the same old town.

"You know, that may be one of the weirdest sentences I've heard in a while," Disera chuckled at Maya's mention of female Kanec in a suit. Getting the last of the weed off Lionel's face, she let go of the toddler, wiping her fingers clean on the hem of her dress as he went for the blocks. "And hopefully it won't still be an issue by the time the wedding comes around."

Disera stopped Leo putting one of the blocks in his mouth, looking over at Maya as she continued talking. "That sounds like how they'd all react. Except I imagined Dravius having a fit and breaking whatever happened to be close at hand." The shifter smirked suddenly, leaning over close to the blonde. "So, what did they look like? I bet Selvai made for an odd looking woman, right?"

Disera stood up and pulled Lionel back onto her lap when the toddler began to wander too far away. Wrapping her arms around the wriggling child, she rested her chin gently on top of his head as Maya spoke about chasing after Angel once the little girl started walking. "Just think of it as having really random bouts of exercise throughout the day," she suggested jokingly. The shifter chuckled a bit when Maya mentioned Angel chasing after Dravius. "Pff. Good plan. He spoils her rotten, he can deal with the consequences."

"Surely they won't be much longer," Disera murmured uncertainly. Hopefully, anyway. She had no idea how long it would take the group to deal with the young girl, or for her to reverse what had been done to them. Luckily there was still a few hours till they had to worry about the night's performance, considering that three of the performers were currently out in the town trying to reverse what had been done to them.

-----

Kioko's mouth dropped open when Lily admitted to not being able to switch them back immediately. Sucking in a breath, she closed it with a click of teeth. The pyro shut her eyes and tried to calm down. Although, at the moment, she wanted to either scream or cry. But since Karene was obviously aggravated, and Dravius seemed about to crack a tooth from clenching his jaw so tight, doing anything like that would probably just cause Lily to finally start crying, and that was the last thing she wanted. She settled for clasping her hands tightly together in front of her while taking deep breaths. "Well, it'll wear off eventually, so that's something, I guess. Right guys?"

Across the table, Selvai frowned at Thomas when he spoke to Karene about frightening the young girl. "I apologize if Lily is upset, however, this has been a rather unsettling experience for all of us. I believe, given the circumstance, that Karene has managed to hold onto her temper rather admirably," he told the young man.

The magician looked at him curiously as he continued speaking, addressing Selvai specifically about an apprenticeship. He hadn't missed the fact that the young man was addressing him alone out of everyone at the table, nor the fact he kept stealing glances at the magician. "And what exactly is it were you hoping to apprentice in, Thomas?" he asked cautiously.

Oh, great. Perfect. This was all she needed. Karene sighed heavily through her nose, staring at the nervous Lily with little or no sympathy. She eventually sighed again, leaning back lightly in her chair and staring at the wood of the table in front of her. She threw only the most brief of glances at the girl as she replied to the magicians earlier question; And Karene promptly closed her eyes and sighed again. Loudly.

A few hours. A FEW?... Seriously?... What the- Grumbling under her breath, Karene placed a hand on her face, then droppd it onto the table. Stupid little girls and their stupid little games. Absoloutely wonderful. Looking up towards Raphael; The blonde of whom was still trying to smile reassuringly at Lily, the magician had managed to see the light of the situation. At least it wasn't a few days.

When the male sat at the nd of the table spoke up, the one they called Thomas, Karene glanced sideways at him, before turning to glare at him openly. Calm down?... CALM. DOWN?... She hadn't even really got worked up, what the heck was this idiot talking about. And who gave a damn if she wanted to play. You didn't just let your little brats run around altering people. The young man's words angered Karene more than even Lily had. She hadn't even raised her voice, and here he was chiding her.

"Maybe you should keep a closer eye on your family members." She suggested in a deceptively calm voice. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell me to calm down. I haven't exactly lost my temper yet." The magician had considered placing a good amount of stress on that last word, but had decided to just say it as it was. The magician managed a quick look at Dravius, who at the moment seemed to be on her wavelength about this whole thing. At least SOMEONE didn't mistake a question for a death threat.

She sighed, yet again, as Kurt spoke to Thomas, only looking over at him for a second at his apology, before raising an eyebrow at his following statement... And why was he telling Selvai this. On top of that, that Kurt person was looking at them with an unnerving gaze. One which Karene returned quite calmly with slightly raised brows. Well. He should keep a closer eye on his little brood then, shouldn't he?... Naturally she silently agreed with the Co-Master's spoke words.

It was about then Raphael let loose a sigh, leaning back in his own chair. He then smiled slightly at his irritated members. "Let's just drop it." He suggested, before looking over at Lily. "I think it might be best if you do what you can right now. The quicker you do that, the quicker we can all get out of your hair." He looked at Kurt as the last words left his mouth, throwing a glance at his members, then smiling expectantly at Lily. "Don't worry. You don't need to be scared. Just do what you can."

~~~

"I can imagine." Maya laughed, watching Lionel once his mother had let go of him. The little boy went almost immediately to sieze his blocks, and the blonde had watched him do so with an amused face. It was quite surprising how similar Angel and Leo were when it came to their blocks.

"Huh." She looked back towards Disera when the shifter spoke. "Actually... I think Dravius managed rather well." She giggled. "He didn't exactly look comfortable... But he didn't break anything. At least, nothing I could see."

At Disera's sudden movement, Maya blinked, then giggled again. "Actually... They looked exactly the same... Besides the gender thing. If you just... Imagine them in opposite bodies, you're probably really close." She shrugged. "That's the best way I can explain it. Besides the obvious physical differences... Nothing really changed that much."

At the mention of Selvai's new appearance, the blonde smiled, looking down at Angel; Who had been getting steadily quieter and was now dozing lightly with her little face pressed into the crook of Maya's arm. Pff. It was amazing how quickly she lost her energy. Shifting her baby slightly so that the little girl wasn't almost smothering herself, Maya nodded. "He did." She replied, lips twitching. "I highly doubt he would have looked nearly as peculiar if he'd been born a woman. It's the getting used to it, I suppose."

Angel, still slightly dozing, began making little discontented noises, which eventually escalated into quiet snuffling. Maya lightly ran her slender fingers through the dark strands of her daughters hair, the motion of which paused any possibility of the girl outright crying. The blonde murmered at the little girl in a soothing fashion, looking up when Disera's movement caught her attention. She laughed quietly as the blue-skinned creature sat herself back down. "He can." She agreed.

Maya gently bounced Angel on her arm, then sighed quietly. "I don't know. I know Raphael needs to be back in time... I'm not sure whether Dravius is performing tonight though." The blonde paused, looking slightly thoughtful. "Although... If he returns as a woman he might not take part anyway... His act tends to have him showing quite a bit of body. I wonder whether he'd actually be comfortable doing that as he is right now." Somehow, she doubted it.

Sighing quietly, she shrugged again, then glanced at her daughter. "I don't suppose worrying too much about it will help." She said,stroking her little girl's hair out of her eyes. "I should probably get ready to put this one to sleep though. And then maybe have an early night myself, seeing as I'm not performing tonight." She glanced skyward, noting the suns continuing descent. "Hm. A bath sounds nice, too." She smiled idly, then laughed quietly. "Well, Disera. Thanks for looking after Angel for me." She said, pushing herself to her feet and brushing down the front of her dress with her spare hand. "It was nice talking to you for a bit. I'll probably see you some time tomorrow. Keep an eye on this one." She laughed, gesturing towards Leo, and managing to lean over enough to ruffle his hair.

Thomas leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his messy hair for a moment as the man across the table from him only became more agitated. He had a neutral expression on his face as she spoke to him, but internally he was becoing more and more worked up himself. A slight narrowing of his eyes was the only sign that he was affected at all. He crossed one leg over the other and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black, well-fitting jacket, which was open to show a dark green t-shirt.

At the stripe-haired woman's near-apology, Thomas returned his attention to her, his head tilted to the side slightly. She certainly seemed more friendly than the others at that point. Especially the darker haired one, who was glaring at him as if it would burn a hole in his head.

Avoiding Dravius' gaze, Thomas flicked a look towards Raphael, then waited a few moments for the older woman to stop speaking. "Magic. I've had a few teachers, but none of them stayed long." His voice was soft, and he had leaned forward slightly in his chair, forearms resting on the edge of the wooden table.

Lily scuffed one foot on the floor, her head snapping up for a moment at the sharp click of Kioko's teeth. At Raphael's words, softer than the ones spoken by most of the others, Lily smiled slightly, then took a few steps forward, wrapping both her small hands around one of Raphael's, concentrating for a few moments. In those moments, faint red strands threaded out of Raphael's skin and skittered away onto Lily's hands. Letting go of Raphael, Lily glanced at the ground and muttered, "Kay you're done."

Scooting over to Kioko, Lily held both hands out in an offer, looking anxious. She really wasn't looking forward to going near either of the enraged looking duo, one of which was trying to kill Thomas with her stare. She shifted from foot to foot and did her best to smile at the white-haired man, reaching out to repeat the process, more red light snaking from Kioko's pale skin.

With a deep sense of reluctance, Lily shuffled over to Karene and Dravius, staring at the ground, then noticed the dog huddled under the table. "Do I need to work on the doggy, too?" She tilted her head, still keeping her distance from both the man and the woman sitting at the table.

"Yeah, I can't see the families in the audience being too pleased about him stripping off clothing when he's a women, even if he doesn't actually take off that much clothing. But now that you've brought it up, I wonder if Kanec or Kioko will be in the show tonight. It isn't as though they need to take anything off for their acts... But they might be too uncomfortable to do anything as well," Disera mused.

"True, true. It's not like we can do anything ourselves," the shifter agreed. "And, alright. I suppose it is getting a bit late for the kids here. I'll probably head in myself, tidy up a bit while I wait for Kanec to come back." Disera gathered Leo's blocks up with one hand, holding onto the little boy with the other. "It was no problem. She's a sweet kid, the most trouble she causes is when her and Lionel go after the same block." She pushed herself to her feet, smiling when Maya ruffled Leo's hair. "I'll see you then. And goodnight."

-----

Kioko held out her hand to Lily, trying to smile reassuringly at the nervous child. She held herself very still as the red lines traveled from her hand and into Lily's. Once the young girl let go, she held her hand up and inspected it, wiggling her fingers a bit before placing it back on the table. "Thank you, Lily." Kioko was still fairly upset about the whole thing, especially having to wait to be turned back to normal. But, the girl had sped it up the process from a week to a few hours, so she could at least be nice to her. Besides, Karene and Dravius still looked angry enough for all of them.

-----

Selvai shifted closer to the table, watching Thomas curiously. It wasn't that he was opposed to the idea of taking on a s tudent. But it wasn't as simple as just bringing the young man back to the circus with them. For one thing, there was no guarantee of him having the extra time to devote to teaching Thomas. And then there was the issue of finding something for him to do back at the Majikus. Anyone staying would have to contribute somehow. Plus, Karene didn't seem to be overly fond of him. All of that was irrelevent, however, considering the decision of whether or not to allow the young man to come with them was Raphael's to make, not his.

The magician glanced over at the ring master, catching his eye for a moment before speaking to Thomas. "I see." Selvai took a moment to think over his words carefully before he responded. "Thomas, I appreciate your desire to learn. However, if you are asking me to become your teacher, I should tell you the decision would not be entirely mine. I cannot stay here with you, and the decision for you to travel with the Majikus would be up to Raphael and Dravius." He paused for a moment. "I am sorry. I doubt those are the words you wanted to hear."

Kanec was silent the whole time, and mostly uninterested in the conversation. He was a bit frustrated by the fact that he'd not be himself for a few more hours, but not so much as Dravius or Karene. After all, it was only a few hours. When Lily questioned about him, he nodded. "Yes, please." He swished his tail a couple of times, a bit impatient, but not going to let it show too much. Deciding it might make it easier on Lily to get to him, he stood and padded out from under the table, sitting down beside Raphael.


FAILPOSTBECAUSEIHAVENOTHINGTOSAY. :/ *hatesthefailpost*))

This air here was rediculous. And tense. Although Karene had to silently conclude that that was probably the result of those people here who were obviously more outwardly irritated by their current situation. Mainly her, and Dravius. Kioko was a little more reserved about it, but if you knew her, it was pretty easy to see. Sighing quietly through her nose, the caramel haired woman only paid scant attention to the conversation around her, although she had to look quickly over at Thomas at his revalation.

Magic?... He wanted to learn magic?... And moreover, he wanted Selvai to teach him? At least that's certainly how it seemed. Karene had to hold back a number of retorts. Needless to say her first impressions of this guy were not helping her judgement, nor was the heightened irritation of her current mood. But still. The Circus was not there for people to just skip into whenever they felt like it. And it certainly was not a school. Of course, Selvai staying here was absoloutely out of the question, so she had only been able to assume that coming with the Circus is what he wanted.

Raphael, who had still had most of his attention riveted on Kurt and Lily, looked over at Thomas when Karene did. His expression, though, was impassive at the young man's suggestion. It was somewhat unorthodox, he thought. He eventually turned his slightly smiling face back towards the little pigtailed girl when she took a hold of his hand. He watched the peculiar change in his skin with curiosity, "Thank you." He ginned, watching as Lily dealt with Kioko, before pausing. "That would be best." The blonde nodded at her question about Kanec. Well... They couldn't well forget about him, could they?

About this time, Karene had still been throwing distracted looks at Thomas, and a slightly more incredulous and disapproving one at her husband. She eventually settled with just glancing around the room; Her expression as impassive as Raphael's had been. The approach of Lily caused the magician to look at her. Despite her annoyance, which was more directed at Thomas and his stupidly subtle suggestion, the woman managed a thin smile. She was sincerely hoping Lily would hurry up with this. She was starting to get slightly impatient. She was also started to get somewhat irritated with Selvai for even CONSIDERING teaching that kid.

The Ring-Master, meanwhile, had gone back to looking at Thomas. Selvai's words in the young man's direction raised the blonde's eyebrows. Huh. Raphael didn't particularly wish to pull Thomas away from here. This life, the blonde surmised, was perfectly fine for him. Those who initally joined the Circus joined because they had nowhere else to go. Letting someone in just because wasn't how Raphael did things. He sighed through his nose.

"It's most unusual to even consider it." Raphael said, looking quickly at Kurt then returning his gaze to Thomas. "I would rather not have people uproot their lives to join us if I can help it. You, like many of our audiences, see only one side of us. The side of the Circus."

"The Majikus is not your ordinary Circus. We provide for those who need it. And believe me, many of them have come from far worse situations than you are currently in. There are many magicians in the world, far more than there are people like us." The Ring-Master then pulled a slightly pained expression. "It is difficult for me to accept you just like that. You don't need us. Not really. Not like so many others do."

He sighed again, quickly glanced out of the nearby window, then looked at Dravius, eyes questioning. Well. He wasn't exactly the only one in charge. He did feel somewhat uncomfortable about the idea though. The Circus existed for far more than people's entertainment. And yet, this man was seemingly assuming they might accept anyone. That, unfortunately, was not quite how it worked.

~~~

"Huh... I don't think it actually matters that much if they choose not to perform." Maya said, wrapping both arms around Angel. The little girl had become quite suddenly in a somewhat vagrant lock of golden hair that fell over her mother's smooth shoulder, and she was promptly pulling on it; Maya wincing slightly with every tug. "I mean... If need be, there are plenty of performers who can take their places." The woman shrugged, eventually managing to prise her little girl's fingers away from her hair.

At Disera's own suggestion, Maya smiled. She then laughed a little at the shifter's following words. "Yeah. I know that." She agreed, looking down at Angel with a grin. "That happens quite a lot, I've noticed." Giggling slightly, the blonde shifted her daughter, then nodded quickly at Disera. "Okay." She threw the shifter a quick wave, then turned, and headed off back across the quickly darkening grounds.

Upon reaching her and Dravius' van, she slipped quickly inside, placing the gurgling Angel in her crib. Angel, as was usually the case when put in her crib while she was awake, stuck her face between the bars. Maya immediately managed to get the little girl's attention by placing Brandon in the crib with her, padding over to quickly turn on the bedside lamp, creating a warm, hazy glow in the deep red of the van's main area before being sure to lock the van door. Dravius had his own key, so she didn't paticularly have to worry about him.

Stretching somewhat luxuriously, the blonde headed quickly into the bathroom, leaving the door open; Setting the taps on the bath before pausing to glance fleetingly at the mirror in the room. Like the main area, the bathroom was decorated in a deep shade of red, as well as white. And the small lamp in that room cast a similar, hazy glow through it's deep red shade.

Frowning somewhat, the blonde very gently brought up the hem of her dress, pausing for a minute to look at the small rectangular dressing that covered her injury from three weeks prior. Gently removing that, she pressed the area with a couple of slender fingers. The injury was noticeable only by the thin red line that now existed there... Jeez. To think it had looked so much worse a couple of week ago. Shaking her head, Maya rather quickly undressed, then stepped into the bath, which seemed to consist more of bubbles than water.

Sighing quietly as she slipped under the warm water, the blonde made sure her hair remained out of the bath; The waves of which fell over the back in a waterfall of gold. The sheer amount of bubbles almost seemed to glitter in the slight, weak light of the little lamp in the room. The blonde tilted her head slightly, listening for any sounds of discontent from her daughter in the next room through the open door. Clearly, however, Angel was still engaged on the one sided wrestling match she had initiated with the giant plush.

Smiling slightly to herself, Maya allowed her eyes to close, the water soothing on her healed injury. Well. There was no better way to spend a free night, right?

Lily had been reassured slightly by Karene's smile, watery as it was, and stepped forward bashfully, wrapping her small hands around the man's, her small face scrunched up in concentration. She then stepped back with her eyes on her feet. Bending down to bring her face about level with Kanecs. Sighing slightly, she placed her little mitts on top of the collie's head. She seemed to be getting a little fatigued with all she was doing, and she tilted her head to the side as red threads coiled out of the dog's fur and onto her skin.

Lastly, she moved on to Dravius, who was looking down at the child with an expression that bordered on outright hostility. He was feeling irritated with this whole situtation, but his face softened slightly at the look on Lily's small face. She quicky grabbed the Co-Master's hand and let go as soon as she was able, scuttling over to Kurt's chair to stand next to it.

Kurt had been regarding proceedings with a neutral expression, her arms crossed over her chest. She offered a warm smile to Lily, then frowned slightly at the little girl's extremely lopsided pigtails. The young woman took both hair ties out of the blonde mop, then put them back in with a few deft twists of her fingers. Satisfied with the much neater updo, she got to her feet and said softly, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm going to get something to eat and drink. You're all welcome to stay as long as you want. Don't mind the kids running around."

The young woman bowed her head slightly and turned on her heel, walking quickly around a corner into what could only be the kitchen. Kurt let out an explosive sigh as she reached the slab of granite in the middle of it, leaning on it with an irritated expression. She quickly debated whether or not to just stay in the kitchen for the duration of the guests stay, settling on stalling as long as she could.

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

Thomas had been sitting with a hopeful expression on his feace as he posed his question, regarding the people sitting across the table from him. He had, for the most part, ignored Lily's running about, and his thin eyebrows furrowed at Selvai's answer, but his face reamined otherwise impassive. In truth he was sighing deeply internally. The prospects didn't seem too good, although he probably didn't pick a very opportune time to ask this at all.

The teenager's facial muscles tightened slightly at Raphael's words, his eyes becoming slightly distant. He turned his ever-so-slightly glassy gaze to Dravius', who had been sitting slumped down in his seat like a moody teenager, arms crossed over his chest and his face brooding. At Raphael's glance towards him, he sat up a bit straighter, then said, "I don't know about it. You're not exactly in a situation where we need to pull you out. You seem like you've got it pretty good. But, at a risk of sounding like a jerk, we don't really need magicians. It's great or whatever that you wanna get better, but y'know, it's partly up to Selvai, too." He shrugged and slumped deeper in his seat. At this point he just wanted to leave this stupid multi-coloured house

Well. Things seemed to be turning out just dandy. At least, things were certainly brightening up a little as Lily continued her work, reversing the ability she'd placed on Karene, Kanec, and lastly, Dravius. Raphael had watched the girl, smiling all the while.

Kurt's sudden decision to leave made the Ring-Master's smile dilute slightly, though the blonde immediately held up a hand in a response. "Ah... Thanks." He started, throwing a glance out of the nearby window. "We appreciate the offer. But its rather late for us to stay, I'm afraid." He smiled slightly. "Unfortunately, our shows aren't yet over." The blonde glanced towards the window again, noting the hour by the darkness that was slowly beginning to enfold the street outside. They'd probably have more than enough time to get back to the Circus, but Raphael didn't wish to outdo his stay here. Besides, they had only come to sort out this little problem.

Exhaling through his nose, the Ring-Master threw another smile at Lily, before focusing his eyes on Dravius; The Co-Master of which was addressing Thomas. He couldn't help but agree. The Circus needed no other magicians... It still didn't stop him feeling slightly bad about turning the young man down, though... Sighing out loud, the blonde watched Dravius as the dark haired woman slumped in his seat, before shaking his head slightly and standing. He placed the chair back under the table, then gave Thomas one last, thoughtful look. A sudden thought had occured to him.

"Hm... If you insist on wanting Selvai to teach you, Thomas, provided he is willing to... And providing you are absoloutely positive this is what you want to do... Come and find me tomorrow, and we'll talk then." He said, pausing. "... I don't think... You need to stay permanently if you decide you wish to join us. Teaching doesn't last a lifetime. If, as I mentioned before, Selvai is willing to teach you, it might be an idea to have you with us for a set period of time." The blonde shrugged. "A few months, perhaps? Enough time to get you a foothold."

Well. It seemed logical to offer this at least. Many people never stayed in the Circus permenantly anyhow, and once Thomas had learned what he wanted, he'd most likely move on, like so many of the other previous members. Sure... He didn't need the Circus. But at the same time, he didn't need to stay, either.

Raphael's expression suddenly became slightly more serious then, his grey eyes boring into the young man sat at the table. "I ask of you, though." He said in a tone of voice that could not be ignored. "That you think this through thoroughly. Your life here seems well enough. Don't throw it away just because it's not to your taste, or because it bores you. Many people regret such choices." He shrugged, then smiled again. "You could probably find a few magicians in your town right here. Just... Think about it. Carefully."

Karene, who had been smiling ever so slightly at Lily (Thanks to finally having this darn thing shortened.) turned to stare incredulously at Raphael. Was he being serious?... He was going to let this guy join?... Or... No. That isn't what it sounded like... The Ring-Master had not offered a home for Thomas at the Majikus. He'd offered only a few months of teaching on Selvai's behalf. The magician blinked her eyes, then sighed. Great. Perfect. Fab. Well... At least it wasn't a permanent deal...

She sighed again, listening to the blonde's last words regarding Thomas' decision. Her eyes almost automatically searched the room around her; The bright colours, and many drawings of the children who lived here. Surely, surely, Thomas would miss this life should he choose to leave it, even for a few months?,... The memories were usually what halted people when it came to decisions like this. Most people in the Majikus had not had that choice... This young man, however, did. By telling him that, Raphael had essentially highlighted exactly what Thomas would be giving up in his persuit of a teacher... Or at least... The persuit of a teacher who lived in a travelling Circus. A teacher found in the town, would provide no such issues.

Sighing quietly, Karene watched in silence as Raphael approached Lily, crouching slightly to smile at the girl.

"Thank you very much." He said, ruffling the little blonde's hair. "For helping us out." Throwing her a last grin, he then spoke through the doorway that led to the kitchen. "Thank you for allowing us in here. We'll see ourselves out." Stepping away from the door, Raphael gestured to the rest of them, then headed for the door.

Once outside, he took a huge breath.

"Well. That was fun." Karene grumbled, following the blonde out of the doorway. "Was it wise to give Thomas that choice?" She asked suddenly, following as Raphael walked back towards the general direction of the Circus.

"Who knows." The blonde said evasively. "I'm hoping he makes the right choice and stays. His life will be better lived here... Finding a magician is not that hard if you're willing to look. Still... A few months won't hurt. Not if he really wishes to do this. But we'll see tomorrow." He sighed. "I really didn't want to give him the option."

"Then why did you?"

The blonde shrugged. "Everyone deserves a choice."

"... Raphael. I don't understand you at all."

"I know."

~~~

The trip back to the Circus was short, and Raphael paused within the midst of the vans, staring out at the tent which was now alight in the darkness with winking colours. The lights on the vast cast weak, hazy glows that gave the field they resided in a golden touch. "If those of you who are performing tonight feel uncomfortable about doing so." He started, looking over his shoulder with a grin. "Feel free to take the night off. I'll get other performers to fill in for you."

Chuckling under his breath, the Ring-Master stretched his arms, then promptly headed off towards the tent in the next field over.

Karene watched him leave, then snorted. "I'm glad I'm not a performer at all." She stated, before looking curiously at Selvai. She hadn't spoken much at all since walking back up from town. "Hey." She said, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Would you actually take on a student?" She asked, her tone genuinely curious, and at the same time, somewhat hesitant. "I mean... How would you find the time to be able to do such a thing?... Teaching magic isn't easy... At least... Not unless that kid has some real talent."

Her face darkened slightly, and then she promptly stepped off, walking towards where her own and Disera's van were located, grumbling under her breath.

Selvai stayed silent for the rest of their stay, paying close attention to Raphael's words to Thomas without interrupting. There wasn't all that much he could have added anyway. The Majikus was, as he had pointed out, there for those who had no other place for them. Thomas' situation, compared to most of those at the circus, was actually rather idealic. The magician did raise an eyebrow at Dravius' seemingly disinterested take on the whole thing, though it was likely due to the stress of the sudden genderchange affecting his attitude.

He joined the others in saying their goodbyes, then headed back to the circus, gathering his thoughts while he walked. Selvai hadn't missed Karene's reactions to both his words to Thomas and Raphael's offer, and he knew she was less than thrilled with the young man's inquiry, and the fact that Selvai hadn't immediately refused him.

The magician braced himself as Karene spoke. Well, she wasn't angry as he had been expecting. Still, she wasn't happy either, since she had immediately walked away without waiting for his answer. Sighing, he rubbed at one of the lines near his temple, waiting a few moments before following her to the van. "So, I take it you do not think I should have offered to take on Thomas as an apprentice," he said carefully as he stepped inside.

Taking a seat, Selvai tried not to fidget as he continued speaking. "I am not opposed to teaching someone who is willing to learn. Whether or not he actually chooses to come with us, of course. He may think it over and decide not to leave his home here." Although, the magician had to admit that seemed unlikely, it was always possible. "As for talent, Thomas mentioned having had other teachers before. I doubt he would have found someone to teach him unless he had some sort of ability with magic." Selvai paused for a moment. "Either that, or he is very stubborn," he said with a small grin. "We will find out tomorrow, providing he shows up."

-----

Kioko shook her head at Raphael's offer to take the night off. "Thank you for the offer, but I need to work off some stress right now. Since I already feel like setting something on fire, I might as well entertain the crowd while I'm doing it." She paused, frowning as she took in her borrowed clothing. "But, I need to go find something to wear. I can't really fit into my normal performing clothes right now. I guess I'll have to ask Erik to borrow an outfit again." So saying, she took off, heading towards the shapeshifter's van.

Thomas had been sitting in a rather poised fashion, his fae betraying nothing, hands flat on the table in front of him. He listened calmly to the words spoken, then bowed his head quickly, a slight smile twitching at the corners of his lips, as if he couldn't decide whether or not to smile. The young man tilted his head to the side at Raphael's more serious expression, studying the blonde woman's face. He then nodded once and got to his feet, saying softly, "Thank you, and have a lovely day. Night. Evening." He looked mildly amused at this point, his hands tucked inside the pockets of his jacket, then waving a hand as the group left. Lily said, in a soft voice, "Bye. Sorry."

As the door closed gently behind the group, Thomas relaxed his face, his expression turning into one of extreme irritation. The young man snorted and climbed the stairs to his house, his footfalls a bit harder than was strictly neccessary.

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

Dravius' way of walking down the street could be described as storming, with his hands stuffed his his pockets and his eyebrows knitted together. He flicked his gaze over to Raphael and Karene, who were having something that could be alled an argument, in a pinch, but wasn't nearly conflicting enough. Sighing through his nose, Dravius continued on towards the circus, managing not to trip over his own feet or do anything similarly embarrassing, and looked over at Raphael for a moment at his offer.

"I think I'm gonna go sleep or something. I really don't feel much like stabbing myself right now." Dravius shrugged in a vague sort of way and pulled the leather band out of his hair, running a hand through it to sweep it back from his face. "See you guys." He waved, and headed towards his van. After discovering it was locked, he reached into his pocket to fish out a key. When he was putting on the pants earlier, he had discovered that the keyring he usually carried around had no chance of fitting in the pockets of what he was wearing.

So he had instead pulled the key to his van off of the ring, and he inserted it into the keyhole and opened the door cautiously. The soft light emenating from the small lamp let Dravius know that at least one person was inside, and he shut the door behind him, turning the key in it's lock again. He poked his head around the screen in the van, seeing Angel doing her best to rip Brandon to shreds. He laughed softly, fishing the giant butterfly out of the young girl's crib, and then examining the seams on it. "Good lord, Ange. Poor Brandon's gonna fall apart at this rate. I'll have to make you a new one." He grinned at the small girl and returned the butterfly to her, ruffling her hair for a moment.

Turning his head, Dravius noticed the door to the bathroom open, and called gently, "Hey, I'm back." He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, leaning against it gently. "It went alright. I'm stuck like this for a few more hours, but it's not...permanent." It was still odd for Dravius to hear his own voice as high as it was now, and had the constant compulsion to clear his throat, to try and get it back to normal.

Kanec, upon leaving the house, shifted into a red-tailed hawk and climbed into the sky, angling to the circus, but flying slowly. He floated along the air currents and, in short, returned a good while after the others. He headed directly for his and Disera's van, shifting into a white tiger just as he landed on the roof, his paws making a soft thud. He hopped off, then opened the door to the van, padding inside and managing to shut it quietly behind him. "I'm home," he called softly, not really wanting to speak up.

"I don't know." Karene sighed, still walking, shoving her hands into her pockets harder than was strictly necassary. She threw a glance over her shoulder, her expression peculiarly neutral considering her earlier irritation. The darkness was balanced by the small lights outside the door of each van; Casting a short area of glowy warmth around each doorway.

The magician sighed, then shook her head somewhat. "My perceptions might be a little warped... I suppose." She said, her tone not quite agreeing with her words. "I don't like him." Shrugging, the caramel haired woman continued to walk, before pausing outside her and Selvai's van, staring at the door for a moment.

"Probably a first impressions thing. But they do say that's important." She turned her green eyed gaze to her husband as he entered the van, then, after only a moment pause, she stepped in after him; Locking the door behind her. She seated herself on the bed, crossing her legs under her and watching Selvai; Her gaze direct as she listened to his words.

"Huh." She snorted. "I hope he doesn't. He can find a teacher anywhere... And besides. Where will you have time to teach him?... You have a job here that tends to take a lot of your time. Not to mention. Disera, should she need you to babysit. I hardly doubt you want Lionel walking around while you and some wannabe magician fling spells at eachother."

The magician inhaled deeply then, exhaling in similar measure. Karene didn't quite understand her own irrational feelings, though she still silently hoped Thomas didn't show. It wasn't exactly a life or death situation for him. Sighing explosively, the magician quickly stepped from the bed, then promptly changed into her nightwear. Because of her slight change in build and height, the pants and top she donned proved not to fit too badly, and she promptly fell onto the bed without bothering to get under the covers. "I guess it's your choice, though." She shrugged. "I might feel better about the whole thing when I'm back in my own body. We'll see."

~~~

The time Maya had decided to spend on herself was, surprisingly, rather short; As she had been debating for the last ten minutes or so whether or not to cut her bath short. It wasn't out of any want, naturally so, but more due to the fact that Angel's gurgling and noises from the next room over had gotten somewhat hyper. Angel was clearly enjoiyng herself too much, and that might lead to a difficult time trying to get the baby to sleep.

Sighing inwardly, the blonde stared at the bubbles under her chin with a little pout, lifting her head only at the sound of the door unclocking. She listened to the following footsteps, and then to the voice that was strange and yet familiar.

Angel, in the next room over, had responded to that voice with a look of pure surprise; Considering her father had pretty much just stolen her toy of choice at that moment in time. She "Bah'd" at him indignantly, lifting herself up using the cot sides to try and get to Brandon. She watched her dad put him back in the cot, then promptly threw herself on it, tugging somewhat roughly on one of the plush bugs legs.

Dravius' sudden appearance in bathroom doorway caused Maya to look over her shoulder, seeing as her back was currently towards the door. She rolled onto her side, looking at the Co-Master with slightly furrowed brows, lifting one arm lightly out of the soapy water to place it on the cold bath side. "That's a good thing, right?" She replied with an encouraging smile, a slight sense of relief allowing her to relax her muscles somewhat. "It's better than waiting a few days. Or longer. It could be worse."

Sighing quietly, the blonde leant back in the bath again, pausing. "Hey. Did you take Brandon off Angel?" She asked suddenly, noting that her daughters giggling had not subsided in the slightest. Probably not. Pff-ing quietly, the blonde smiled at Dravius. "Seeing as your here now, you can calm Angel down for me. There's a bottle of milk in the fridge, just... Take her out of that cot and away from Brandon." She laughed. "I'm not quite ready to get out of the bath yet."

~~~ Time skip. 8D ~~~

The next morning dawned bright, but not overly sunny. The sky was overcast with white clouds, and a few member had already awoken to tidy the performance tent from the night before. Karene had also woken early, her mood suddenly escalating with the discovery that she had, pretty much, returned to normal. She managed to keep herself from making too much noise, or waking Selvai from where he slept in the bed.

Stepping outside, the magician stretched her arms above her head, then sighed and glanced around. Going by the slightly shiny look of the grass, it had rained some point during the night. Shaking her head, Karene then proceeded towards the food van, hands in her jean pockets and a small smile on her face.

~~~

The morning had also been an even earlier one for Maya; Who had awoken at about three in the morning to the crying and snuffling of the her daughter in the cot. She had, after untangling herself from the duvet, walked over to the cot and gently pulled Angel out of it, retrieving a pacifier from a nearby table as she passed. She had then situated herself in a cozy chair, sitting sideways and laying her legs over the arm, murmuring quietly to the baby in her arms. Angel, wet faced and still snuffling, quieted after only a few minutes, lulled back into a doze when Maya started humming a quiet, soothing tune.

It only took another few minutes for the blonde herself to slip back into sleep, her head resting slightly against the soft back of the large chair she sat in. Angel was laid on Maya's chest with her little head resting just underneath her mother's chin, the only sound being Angel's quiet sucking, the pacifier in her mouth bobbing slightly with the sound; One little hand clinging to the front of Maya's silk nightwear.

Dravius had put on a pair of sweat pants and one of his t-shirts before clambering into bed the night before, curling up on his side, facing away from Maya. He managed to pass out fairly quickly, burrowing into the covers with a contented sigh. His sleep was unusually deep, and was only roused by Angel's snuffling across the van. However, when he felt the mattress shift with Maya's rising, he simply rolled onto his other side and drifted off back to sleep. He had assumed that she would return to the bed shortly, and when he awoke an hour later, he sat straight up in bed, looking around in slight surprise.

His face was once again masculine, and he ran his hands through his hair, catching sight of the two girls sitting across the room dozing, and he smiled sleepily. Dravius swung his feet out of the bed until they touched the floor, and rubbed one of his eyes, yawning slightly. His hair stuck up in every which direction, and he pushed himself up, stretching his arms and legs with a sight grunt.

The young man crossed the floor to Maya and Angel, and gently lifted the small child from the woman, careful not to disturb either one, settling the former in her crib. He tucked Angel in slowly, then straightened up, turning his attention back to Maya.

Just as gently, Dravius gathered Maya into his arms and bore her back to the bed, settling her down under the covers, then sliding in himself, burying his face in her hair and murmering, "Guess who's back to normal?" He grinned, the dim light in the van not much to see by. Dravius tugged gently on a lock of Maya's hair, his voice slightly muzzy with sleep. He was halfway between wanting to get up and walk around and fall back to sleep. The Co-Master wrapped one bare arm around Maya and nuzzled her gently, yawning quietly.

"Should we get up, or what? 'S kinda early." Dravius rubbed his bad eye, then scratched behind one ear, blinking slowly in the dim light. His voice was kept soft, as he glanced over at the clock sitting on a bedside table, whose hands were pointing irresolutely at five fifteen. He sat up halfway, propping the top half of his body up on his elbows.

Disera glanced up from her book when she heard the thump on the roof, putting it aside and getting up to unlock the van door. Scooping up Lionel from where he had been playing with his blocks on the floor, she settled the boy in his crib as Kanec entered in his tiger form. Smiling a bit at the sheepish tone of his voice, Disera knelt to pick up the blocks and place them in their box. "Welcome home. Did you guys manage to get yourselves turned back to normal?" she asked.

-----

"True, I cannot imagine the circumstances endeared him to you. Or Dravius, for that matter." Selvai began to prepare for bed himself, changing into a loose fitting shirt and pair of shorts. He quirked an eyebrow at Karene as she voiced her concerns. "I did not plan to have him throwing spells at anyone, but if it were to come up, I would make sure that it would take place on a day when I was not watching Lionel. As for the issue of time, I believe I can work around my schedule to teach him. Perhaps occasionally have him come along and observe while I put up the wards around the circus grounds, to see how it's done." Curling up with her on the bed, the magician met her shrug with one of his own. "Sleep on it. Maybe you will like him better in the morning. Or at least find him tolerable."

Maya had been quite content where she was, snuggled up on the cozy chair in the corner of the dimly lit van, her snoozing daughter cuddled up on her chest. She probably wouldn't have minded staying there for the duration of the night, a certain someone else in the van, however, had other ideas. The butterfly winged woman barely took notice of the absence of her little girl's slight weight on her upper body; Having still been well gone in sleep. She did notice, although only fleetingly, when Dravius decided to remove her from the chair.

She shifted only slightly, trying to keep herself in a state of dozing; Somewhat unsure whether or not she was actually being moved or whether she was dreaming. Opening her eyes slightly, she caught the movement of the wall, and, realising she was being moved, grumbled quietly when the Co-Master deposited her onto the bed.

Being more than prepared to get herself straight back off to sleep, it took a moment or two for her to register what he was saying. She opened one eye to stare groggily at him, then, with a small smile on her face, closed her eye and stretched luxuriously under the duvet; Arms stretched above her head.

"Why, nice to see you again." She said drowsily in response, opening her eyes to smile at the male next to her and rolling over so that she could snuggle up to him. His gentle nuzzling made her giggle somewhat, and the blonde shuffled herself a little further under her blanket in preperation to sleep. Of course, it was about this time Dravius hefted himself onto his elbows, and Maya stared sleepily at him before looking over her shoulder at the clock.

"Uhh." She almost whispered, turning back to Dravius and using an arm to pull him back down onto the mattress after hitting him lightly on the arm. "It's stupid early..." She murmered quietly, closing her eyes and settling her head on the Co-Masters shoulder, one arm splayed over his chest. It took perhaps only a few seconds for the blonde to fall asleep again, her gentle breathing mimicking the rhythm of Dravius' rising chest.

~~~

It was a good couple of hours later when Maya finally forced herself into full wakefullness, although she still pulled herself away from Dravius hesitantly. Sitting herself up, she ran a hand over her face, then looked over towards the screen where the little girl was still quiet. Probably still sleeping. Sighing through her nose, the blonde then looked at Dravius; Pausing only for a moment before flinging herself onto him, smiling as she crossed her arms over his chest.

"Morning, handsome." She grinned. "Must have been quite an experience for you yesterday, huh." She laughed quietly, patting the Co-Masters cheek. "I suppose we should get up." She mused, laying her head on her arms for a moment, before lifting it to rest her chin there, smiling at Dravius. "You can bathe Angel this morning." She laughed quietly, pulling herself up just enough to kiss him, before throwing off her covers and jumping out of bed. She took note of the overcast sky outside, stepping over to the window to look outside with a peculiar expression. It didn't exactly look all that cheerful out there.

With a sigh, the blonde headed to the wardrobe, rooting around in it with a slight frown on her face.

~~~

Karene, having reached the food van, entered with a quiet yawn before getting herself a cup of coffee. She had chosen to forego breakfast, having felt somewhat ill since rising; Probably something to do with that ridiculous situation yesterday. God only knew how something like that might mess up your bodily functions. Snorting quietly, the magician took a quick drink from her mug, leaning back in her chair and burying her face in the book she had brought with her from the van.

She had been reading perhaps half an hour before she eventually seemed to get bored of the words on the page, and placed the book on the table in front of her with a quiet thump. After a quiet moment of deliberation, Karene pushed herself to her feet, retrieved her book, and headed back out of the food van; Directing her steps back to hers. It took little time, and the magician entered as quietly as she was able, replacing the book on it's shelf before raising an eyebrow at the still sleeping Selvai. She shouldn't have been surprised, really... She had got up way early this morning.

Sighing quietly, the caramel haired woman shrugged to herself, before heading back outside. The sky was still overcast, and the magician eventually stepped off in order to go and check over the protective spells she had in effect.

Dravius had drifted back into a doze at Maya's refusal to get up, pressing his face into Maya's hair with a contented noise. He had been hovering between falling into a deeper sleep and hopping out of bed, and instead stayed still, his arm gently around the young woman in the bed with him. As she pulled away a small, almost inaudible noise of displeasure, opening one eye to see her peering across the van.

When Maya threw herself onto him, Dravius couldn't stop a chuckle, opening his other eye, although the overall effect wasn't much, since he opened his bad eye. Smiling, he answered her first statement with a murmered, "And hello to you, beautiful." He propped himself up on his elbows with Maya still draped over him, pecking a kiss onto the woman's forehead, then yawning quietly. "Oh, I'm honored for the priviledge", he snorted at being told he "could" bathe Angel. At the removal of Maya's weight from his upper body, he sat all the way up, his spine rounded and his elbows on his upper legs. The t-shirt he was wearing had a collar that was once normal, but for one reason or another had become stretched beyond recognition.

With the stretching, the collar had slipped down own shoulder, exposing half of one collarbone, and an equal amount of his upper arm. Yawning again, he got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head, arching his back until he heard more than a few cracks, then rolling his neck from side to side. Dravius then crossed the van and poked his head around the screen, spotting his small girl still asleep, snuggled up against the giant butterfly that was one of her favorite toys. With as much prescision as one man could muster, he slid the large plush out from under the child, examining the reather thread-bare insect.

Crossing the van back to his bed, the Co-Master sat down and pulled a long needle and thin thread out of the bedside table, repairing a few rips and weak seams that were evident on the tattered butterfly. It was held together by force of will and a whole lot of renewed stitching. "I just need to make another Brandon at some point," Dravius murmered, tugging gently on one of the heart-tipped antennae.

Dravius then proceeded to throw on a rather plain outfit, consisting of a blue shirt with white stars ringing the collar, and dark jeans. "Looks like it's gonna rain, doesn't it?" He peered outside at the cloudy sky, squinting slightly. He rummaged around to come up with a collapsable umbrella, with a quiet, "Ah ha!" of victory. "Here we are." The umbrella was a rather lovely white specimen printed all over with kittens in different colours. "You can head out for breakfast if you're hungry, I'll give Angel a bath and catch up."