The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

Karene had still had her arm in the air, her husbands reading material firmly in her grasp as he gaze switched between said husband and the terrible weather beyond the awning. "Eh." She started in response to Selvai's question, following the single word with a shrug.

"Haven't the foggiest. Not a clue. The storm idea sounds good though." She added with a great show of feigned enthusiasm. Unfortunately, she'd haflway forgotten about the book she was holding, and as such, was completely unprepared for the dark haired magicians sudden attempt at it. She blinked at his kiss, then frowned at him as he waved that book around.

"Pff. I can think of a few. Maybe I'll challenge you... Later." She threw him a whimsical smile, then stood herself up and stretched staring at the dark, scudding clouds above. There was a certain depth to those clouds that suggested this storm was likely to last a long, long while. The rest of the day at least.

Karene sighed, then looked down at her husband. "I don't know about you. But all of a sudden it's got really depressing out here. I think I'll probably read inside." The caramel haired woman exhaled through her nose quietly, crouched, and gently kissed her husband on the lips before straightening up, and disappearing through the vans open door.

~~~

Maya had to smile again at Dravius words; His obvious love for that little instrument evident all over his face. She watched his teasing of Angel with a slight roll of the eyes, laughing quietly when the Co-Master suddenly wrapped his arms around her. "Is that all?" She teased, sliding her arms around her boyfriends waist, still laughing slightly.

Needless to say, she had absoloutely no issues with the excessive snuggling. Not a single one, and she endured it with some enthusiasm.

"Pff. That'd be an idea." The blonde said as Dravius leant back, looking over at her tattered and somewhat over-loved giant plush. "Poor thing can only handle so many cuddles." She smiled at Angel, who, still sat wrapped in her towel, was somehow managing to slightly roll around. Snorting quietly, Maya shook her head then gently lifted Angel into her lap after the little girls dad had wiped her face. She managed to unravel the towel, throwing it over Dravius' head before standing, and walking to the window. One look outside showed absoloutely no let up in the storm, and the blonde sighed quietly before placing her daughter on the floor, and promptly bringing out the toybox.

It was going to be a long, very wet day.

~~~

The storm, it turned out, lasted the entire day, and most of that same night. The Circus awoke the next morning to a dull ,gray day, the vans shiny with the previous downpour, and the grass soft and puddled in places. Raphael had woken that morning to end up on his van steps, his entire aura that of someone who did not wish to be disturbed in any shape or form, his face deep in thought as he stared unseeingly at the sparkling water droplets that surrounded him.

Maya, who had spent most of the previous day entertaining Angel and avoiding the weather, had also woken early, though had chosen to stay in bed. One look out of the window revealed the uninviting day, and she had immediately stuffed her face into her pillow and pulled her blankets up to her chin. Angel, luckily, was still fast asleep.

After only another half hour or so, the blonde finally gave up on sleep, then sat up, running both hands through her hair before leaning back against the headboard, staring out of the window. She silently grumped around for a bit, the dull outside view somewhat affecting her mood, before finally getting herself out of bed. She dressed quickly in jeans, and a black, long sleeved, v-neck jumper. The blonde then retrieved the book she had got out yesterday, throwing herself back onto her bed on her blanket, then started reading; A small frown betraying her annoyance at the weather.

~~~

Well. This was pleasant. Stood around, waiting for someone. Of course, it was probably somewhat easier for Neva, having known about the appearance of the woman they were currently looking for. She glanced up and down the busy street, only pausing the motion to watch as Ava chose a particular direction, followed shortly by Adam.

Sighing through her nose, the dark haired, lushly bodied woman eventually followed after, dropping back just far enough to look at Hare with that same curious gaze she had watched him with upon their meeting. "So tell me." She said conversationally, her smooth voice liquid. "What exactly can you do?... Your friend over there seems to think you'll be useful in some way." She spoke lightly, no offence in her tone whatsoever. It was a genuine curiousity that had encouraged her to ask this tall, hulking man about his peculiarities.

At Ava's sudden decision to sit and wait, Adam sat himself with little to no hesitation. Well He hardly had that much of a choice. Ava knew who she was after... He was just along for the ride. Shaking his head and the waiters offer, he crossed his arms and allowed his eyes to wander, just as Neva stood herself by their table.

The short time that passed was uneventful, and the red-headed Adam took a moment or two to register his ex lovers words, his dark gray eyes narrowing when they caught sight of the black haired woman. "The magician?" He asked of no-one in particular, standing when the silver haired scientist did and following after her with a peculiar sort of look in his eyes. A look that quite clearly said he was paying far more attention to this than was strictly obvious.

He, like Ava and the others, stopped when the woman turned, one of his eybrows raising slightly at her words. Well. This would be challenging... At least, this woman certainly wasn't stupid. Probably just as well. Stupid people were no fun to kill.

Dropping his arms from where they had been crossed, he watched Ava's moves without a single switch in expression, Neva stood behind him with a similiar state of disinterest. The magicians sudden disappearance however, had the dark haired Neva glancing around. The voice that issued from behind had her looking over her shoulder, blowing a strand of black away from her eyes, frowning slightly at the sudden appearance of those somewhat lethal looking vines. Oh, well. She was going to be like that.

Before neva could do anything however, Adam had dipped a hand into his pocket. When it re-emerged, he was holding what seemed to be a number of cards. He looked through them almost negligently, before pulling one out of the pile and holding it in his hand. The front of it bore the likeness of what seemed to be a single flame.

He threw it, the image landing between their group and this woman, before it promptly exploded into an iridescent flame, the tongues of which almost instantly caught on the vines Jemis had conjured. Despite the vines being, quite obviously, fresh, living plants, the unnatural burning fire began to eat away at the green with surprising speed, obviosly controlled by far more than just the nature of flames as it directed itself with purpose towards this woman magician.

Hare followed the silver-haired scientist towards the cafe, his cane clicking softly on the concrete. At Neva's seemingly good natured question, a smirk overtook his face, and said softly, "Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it."

He tipped his hat to a few passing ladies who seemed to be in a good natured hurry, like any sane person. In the opposite regard, two young men were loitering on a street corner, obviously running obnoxiously late. With a calm nonchalance, Hare spun his cane around and swung the object hard enough to cause the silver rabbit to bury itself for a moment in one of the young men's leg. At the resulting yelp, the muscled man shot the young lout a look that could melt steel and sat down at the table.

Hare waved a hand and said in his smooth voice, "Tea, please. Earl Grey." to the waiter, after consulting his pocket watch, which hadn't budged one centimetre. Honestly. The thing could be so difficult sometimes. The tall man rolled his eyes at the offending timepiece, tightening his grip around it at Adam's words.

The older man's eyes followed the dark haired woman, the muscle in his jaw knotting as he stared at her meandering sort of walking. Not only capable of messing about with time, but seemingly in no hurry, either.

Hare couldn't contain a rather rude snicker at Ava's surprise, although he didn't whir around with the others, glancing over his shoulder at the magician, from under the brim of his hat. Turning his shoulders, a change had come over the man. His face seemed skull-like, and he was smiling wider than any one person should be able to.

The eyes of the rabbit in his cane were glinting, and the head cast in silver had assumed a grotesque grin. Suddenly, the mouth of the rabbit stretched open, and a black fog poured out, materialising into rabbits waist-high on the man, with silvery eyes directed towards the woman magician. Each of the three beasts hand slightly panting breaths that expelled a silvery liquid that beaded on the ground, forming itself into balls that rolled of their own accord. The liquid was obviously mercury, and generally wasn't too good for anyone's health.

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

Dravius, while easily distracted, had managed to get quite a bit done during the storm. Besides messing around with his harmonica for a long time, he scrounged up enough fabric to create another Brandon, slightly smaller than the original, and coloured silver and black, the monochromatic pallette not taking away from the friendliness of the stuffed butterfly.

Instead of hearts atop it's antennae the new butterfly sported silver squares, and Dravius looked at it with a certain amount of pride, smiling at the thing before he dropped it into Angel's crib, as his sewing went quite late into the night. The Co-Master then spent a significant amount of time just listening to the rain, leaned up against the headboard of his bed, eyes closed.

He loved the sound of rain, and Dravius let it lull him into a gentle sleep, still sat up against the wall, head set onto his chest. However, the young man was jolted out of sleep when Maya awoke, blinking slowly, his face scrunched up slightly.

Getting out of bed, and stretching out his rather stiff back, Dravius dressed in a clean pair of black pants, a t-shirt with a mechanical giraffe across the front, and a black cardigan with red and silver gears embroidered on the right side of the chest. The fabric of Dravius' outer garment was ridiculously soft, and he had stretched the sleeves out fo that they lay over his palms.

Noticing Maya's somewhat foul mood, Dravius got back onto the bed and gently wrapped his arms around her, tugging gently on a lock of her hair, then leaning back slightly. He was suddenly conscious of the fact that he could be quite childish, and a lookof concern flashed across his face as he sat up straighter, scooting towards the headboard on the bed.

"Seems gloomy, at best, right?" Dravius murmered, feeling more than a little bit sleepy as he snuggled with his girlfriend.

Jemis had hoped that, whoever these people were, they would have thought twice about trying to fight once she had begun to use magic against them. Or at least hesitated long enough for her to figure out what the hell they wanted with her.

The dark haired woman hurriedly danced backward as the flames conjured by the red head man sped along the vines, heading in her direction. With a whispered word and a sharp gesture downward with her hand, the flaming vines began to sink back into the ground. Another gesture, and the chips of concrete that had broken apart began to gather together, assembling themselves into three large scorpion creatures, which placed themselves between Jemis and the group, skittering back and forth and occasionally darting forward to snap their pincers at the rabbits Hare had brought forth.

She took another few steps backward, watching the balls of mercury as they rolled toward her, ready to cast another spell when they got too close. "Not much for talking are you. I'd like to know what I did, and to who, to warrant four people hunting me down and attacking me." The magician hurriedly forced up a wall of earth in front of the mercury, blocking it from proceeding any further toward her.

Ava walked closer, stopping behind and to the side of Adam. She dropped one hand into her pocket, fingering a capped syringe. "Alright. You want answers so badly, I suppose I can indulge you before you're dealt with. This has nothing to do with you directly, dear. Your little brother and his friends managed to escape from my labs, doing quite a bit of damage in the process, and pissing me off quite badly. So, you see, you're just collateral damage. Rather unfortunate for you, sadly."

It was amazing, really, how such a little thing like dull weather could put Maya in mood to match. Any normal person probably would have just ignored it, a slight disappointment, perhaps, but not much more. The blonde, on the other hand, had a particular aversion to this sort of weather. Again, it was, as Maya saw it, something to do with the butterfly in her. Butterflies, afterall, did not do well in wet weather, or dull weather. Give her a hot sunny day anytime. Still. She wasn't THAT bad when it came to bad weather. She did enjoy watching the rain from the safety of her van.

Sighing quietly, the blonde blew a strand of hair away from her eyes, which were still very much focused on the book in front of her. Her expression had mellowed somewhat in the few minutes she had been reading, and she managed to look at Dravius when he awoke with a slightly amused expression. "You know. You should probably make more of an effort to actually get into bed." She said, her amusement echoed in her tone of voice as she lowered her eyes to focus back on her reading material. "It's no wonder you're so stiff in a morning."

The blonde giggled quietly, then disappeared behind her book again as the Co-Master plodded off to go and get dressed. She had been quite engrossed in the story when her boyfriend returned, and only barely paid attention to his getting back on the bed until she felt his arms slide around her. The blonde threw a sidelong look at him, then promptly placed her book in her lap, snorting quietly at his words. "Yep. Probably an after effect of that storm last night. I'm surprised it wore itself out, to be honest... I was kind of expecting it to carry on through today."

Maya sighed, then stared for a few moments out of the window at the gloomy overcast sky, her somewhat blank look becoming faulty with a slight smile as Dravius' started his somewhat sudden snuggling. Pff. What was he doing.

Laughing quietly, the butterfly winged young women gently hit the Co-Master with her book, before eventually leaving it forgotten on the nearby bedside table in favour of pressing her face into Dravius' shoulder. "Tired?" She asked, noting the Co-Master's somewhat sluggish state. The blonde threw him a disarming sort of smile, sliding both of her arms around his neck before proceeding to kiss him.

Of course, it was only a few seconds in when Angel's excited squeal emerged from behind the colourful screen that obscured her cot from the rest of the room; And Maya pulled herself slightly away from Dravius to snort quietly. Pff. Talk about ruining a moment. "Perfect timing." She said with a roll of her eyes."I think she found your butterfly." She laughed, looking over her shoulder towards the screen where squeals were still emanating. The squeals eventually became muffled, and the blonde shook her head. Honestly, that child.

Pff-ing quietly, Maya gently removed her arms from her boyfriends neck, leaning herself back against the headboard before looking at him. "I was going to suggest heading into town today..." She said, staring at the window and sighing through her nose. "The weather's put a dampener on it for me, though." Sighing quietly, the blonde gently stretched her arms above her head, then threw another smile at Dravius. "I might change my mind if you're up for it later?" She added, leaning up slightly to kiss him again.

~~~

Well, well. This one was showing some skill. Adam wasn't really able to help the peculiar curiousity this dark haired woman had aroused. He had never seen a magician before. Sure, he knew they existed, but ever since he had left Ava's services he had paid little to no attention to people of a peculiar nature. It was possible, he supposed, that a few magicians had even made use of his club at some point, though without him really being interested enough to discover such a fact.

He watched the womans' responses to both his and Hare's moves, choosing to elibrately ignore her questions. It wasn't really his place to explain. Exhaling quietly through his nose, the red-headed male lifted a hand, causing his iridescent fire to twist quickly away from the vines as they sunk into the ground, before disappearing into a number of wisps that almost seemed to melt in the sunlight.

The magicians next move, he noted, was more to counter Hare's rabbits. Adam wasn't particularly bothered about actually killing this woman. Going by what his ex had told him, she would enjoy that particular job far more than he, and so he was more than willing to leave that up to her. He had already, however, dedicated himself to assisting her.

While Hare and the magician faced off with their peculiar summoned animals, the red-head turned his gaze towards Ava. "Do you think you can get to her quick enough if I manage to hold her down?" He asked, his naturally quiet voice carrying no further than Ava's ears. Without a response, however, there was already something peculiar happening to the bloodred tattoo situated on the tall male's chest. It may well have just been a trick of the light, but the hooded, vicious looking cobra looked almost as though it was moving.

Neva, who had decided to keep herself out of this for the time being (No doubt Adam and the muscular man could deal with her), stood only slightly behind Ava, watching everything unfold with narrowed eyes. The red-heads ability was peculiar, and rather interesting, as was Hare's. Admittedly, Hare's was probably a little more unusual... It wasn't often you saw someone as intimidating as he use rabbits offensively. Still, they'd see, she supposed.

The mercury emitted by the three rabbits quickly puddled at the base of the wall, coming together into one slightly shivering, metallic pool. The pool itself grew slowly as more unpleasant chemical joined it, the entire thing pulsating slightly. After a few moments of being thwarted by the wall, the liquid gave one last shake and ooed backwards towards Hare, puddling under the scorpions scuttling back and forth. Shivering up the limbs of the magical creatures, the mercury sank into the crevices in the inscect's armor.

Hare had a permanent smirk plastered on his face, and was standing with both hands on top of his cane, feet shoulder width apart. The rabbits were hulking shadows on either side of him, and suddenly two of them lunged forward, using shadowy back legs to drive their large bodies into the scorpions, sinking huge front teeth into the carapaces of the things.

Using a dark paw, each rabbit did it's best to pin the large and unfriendly looking barb atop each concrete beastie's tail, silvery chemical oozing in beaded streams.

The single rabbit that had stayed behind leaned back, front paws pulled up against it's chest. Suddenly it gave a violent shiver and stood, legs lengthening to become a sort of shadowy anthropamorphic rabbit, and it stood silent sentry, large ears stretching above any of the people gathered there. Instead of paws, the creature now had large hands tipped with even larger claws.

Hare gently tapped his cane on the concrete under his feet, and the two smaller rabbits sprung back, one landing with a slight stagger due to a run in with one of Jemis' scorpions, and stood lopsidedly, teeth bared. The man controlling the rabbits shot a glance at Ava, a look of angry disbeleif taking his smirk for a moment.

She was TALKING? Why on earth would she do that. Just kill the magician and GET ON WITH IT. Hare's eyes flashed, and one eyelid twitched, causing the lopsided rabbit to flicker with Hare's loss of concentration.

It took a huge amount of composure to keep all three shadow figures in existence, and the tall man closed his eyes for only a fraction of a second longer than a regular blink to mantain the trio. If the whore scientist would HURRY UP, MAYBE THEY COULD GET SOMETHING DONE.

Hare resisted the urge to look at any of his clocks, though he did tighten his grip on the cane, gritting his teeth. His face, though not round to begin with, seemed to have two deep shadows under his cheekbones, and around his eyes. It gave him the look of a rather serious skull, especially at the moment when he bared his teeth, noticing the concrete scorpions snapping near his feet. The rabbits all mimicked his expression, the lopsided one taking a snap at the nearest scorpion, large teeth clicking together audibly.

As a pincer once again came too close, the same rabbit lunged forward and clamped it's jaws around it, and wrenched the body part straight off of the thing, although half of one front tooth was lost in obtaining the claw.

The already half-ruined rabbit wasted no time in wrenching off the other pincer, though at that point Hare saw no point in maintaining the broken creature, letting it disappate into smoke, another oozing out of the cane's handle just as quickly, good as new.

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

Dravius yelped quietly at being hit, though it really had no effect, aside from making a muffled "whump" noise against the cloth of his cardigan. At the sudden kiss, Dravius turned his head in order to reciprocate, although he let out a giggle instead at Angel's spectacularly terrible timing. "I'd say that she certainly did. Maybe now poor Brandon can get a rest." Speaking of, the young man picked up the threadbare plush and gave it a quick hug.

"Hopefully she doesn't smother herself." Dravius remarked with a chuckle, offering Brandon to Maya, smiling and saying, "Sure. Damp weather doesn't dampen my mood, most of the time. Just makes me a little bit sleepy." He rolled his head from side to side on the headboard in a drowsy fashion, his eyes half-lidded, but content.

Getting to his feet, he poked his head behind the screen in front of Angel's bed to check that she hadn't suffocated in the slightly patchwork mass that was the new butterfly. "I do believe it should be Robert the butterfly. Or, really, Bob. Bob the butterfly." Dravius nodded, looking over his shoulder and nodding once.

"Bob and Brandon. They can be butterfly buddies." Dravius remarked, not really noticing all the alliteration that was drifting through the van, smiling crookedly regardless. "Town should be good. We'll bring a kitty umbrella this time. So you and Angel don't get soaked if it rains."

((Because Selvai has done another disappearing act. O_O))

"Mhm. Maybe now I'll get my poor Brandon back." Maya murmered with a quiet laugh as Dravius' hugged the five year old, large plush, sitting herself a little straighter on the bed so that she was able to lean her arms over her now crossed legs. The blonde smiled, throwing a quick look in the direction of her daughters cot at the Co-Masters mention of her smothering herself, before taking Brandon when he offered it to her.

Wrapping her arms around the plush, the butterfly shrugged slightly, still smiling somewhat. "She's managed quite well so far." The blonde giggled, looking effectionately at the giant stuffed butterfly sitting sedately on her legs. When Dravius chose that moment to remove himself from the bed, the blonde gave a somewhat dramatic sigh and tragic look, holding the threadbare Brandon to her cheek and nuzzling him; Seeing, of course, as her boyfriend had pretty much just left the vicinity and narrowed down her options somewhat.

She snorted, lifting the plush away from her face at the Co-Master's sudden suggestion, before breaking into laughter. The tall male's following words earned him a slight nod. "All right." Maya replied, trying to rein in her laughter a little. "And pff. I'll let you hold that umbrella, then. It suits you far more than it suits me."

The blonde threw her boyfriend a quick, teasing grin, then promptly hopped off the bed, gently placing Brandon where she had been sat just seconds before. She padded over to Dravius, sliding her arms around his waist once she had reached him and leaning her cheek against the side of his chest, watching the black and white butterfly in Angel's cot. Angel herself was currently hidden underneath it, giggling and squealing, one little lilac wing visible among the mass of monochromatic colour.

"I really don't understand how she always ends up like that." The blonde giggled, keeping her cheek pressed firmly to the soft material of Dravius' cardigan. "Hey." She said, looking up at Dravius without losing contact on his chest. "How about you and me spend the morning together?" She asked. "After breakfast?... I don't think we've so much as taken a walk since... Well. Three week ago." The blonde turned her gaze back to Angel's cot, refraining from touching the area on her abdomen that now housed the barely noticeable scar. Shaking her head, the blonde smiled, directing the expression back to the Co-Master.

"Of course~ If you're much too busy," She started, leaning into the cot to fish out her daughter from under the newly named Bob before padding over to the wardrobe. "I can always leave you to your boring Co-Masterly duties and spend the morning with this little cutie instead." She laughed, nuzzling her face into her daughter's, which elicited a giggle from the little girl as Maya started rifling through for some clothes for the still giggling butterfly baby.

She eventually pulled out a little lilac jumper and dark pants, before settling herself on the bed and promptly dressing Angel. "Well?" She asked of Dravius, smiling absently as the dark haired baby fought valiantly to keep her footsie pajamas on. "What do you think?"

"It's a real talent, isn't it?" Dravius chuckled, shoving the sleeves of his sweater up past his elbows, in the hope that they'd stay there, perched above the bends of his arms. He glanced down at Maya as she ased her question, turning his head to the side in order to get all of her face into his view.

A slightly rueful chuckle followed Maya's words, and he said quietly, "Yeah, and that walk ended so well last time. Hopefully we don't meet a psychotic scientist this time. It sounds lovely, though." Dravius grinned at Maya, sitting down on the floor as she rifled through the wardrobe.

"Don't worry, I'll always be willing to forsake any and all responsibilities to spend time with you," The Co-Master said in a mock serious tone. One of his sleeves had already decided it didn't like being shoved up and had slithered down to his wrist. The creases from being pushed up still showed on the soft fabric.

Snickering slightly at Angel's resistance to being dressed, he leaned forward to tug on one of the feet of her pajamas. Looking up at Maya, Dravius smiled crookedly and answered, "That sounds great. As long as it doesn't start raining. " He looked concerned for a moment and stood, shoving his rebellious sleeve up again. Bending at the waist, Dravius picked up a pair of black cnvas sneakers, slipping on a pair of bright red socks before them.

Once Angel had been dressed, the young man stifled a yawn and said, "Let;s get something to eat, then." Opening the door to the van, Dravius hopped down onto the ground, forgoing the stairs. Glancing behind him to make sure Maya was following, he danced around puddles on his way to the food van. The small holes on either side of his shoes didn't help with keeping his feet dry, but he did a fairly good job of it.

The breakfast van was fairly uncrowded, and Dravius pulled up a chair to a table, deciding that he wasn't very hungry. Although in all likelihood he'd end up stealing food from Maya.

Jemis watched, slightly distressed, as her scorpions were attacked and dismantled, leaving only one. The remaining creature struggled forward against the mercury that had sunk into its joints, feebly clacking its pincers and snappping its tail at the tall man. The female magician gave up trying to force it forward, instead concentrating her efforts on gathering enough energy to counter whatever trick these people came up with next.

"You know, that sounds like something you should have taken up with him and his friends, instead of wasting time tracking me down. I haven't even seen my brother in weeks." Jemis forced her attention away from the Mad Hatter wannabe and to the other three. The dark haired woman was watching the whole struggle without offering to get involved herself, instead seeming more interested in what Bunny man was doing. Meanwhile, the scientist and red haired man seemed to be having a conversation, which unfortunately Jemis was unable to overhear. Damnit. Bracing herself, Jemis cursed herself for not teleporting away when she had the chance, instead of trying to confront all four of these people on her own.

Ava met Adam's gaze with a smile, leaning closer than was strictly necessary to answer him. "Of course. I only need a window of opportunity, you know that, dear," she whispered against his ear. Pulling back, she looked at Jemis with a chilling smile, fingering the syringe in her pocket.

This was, Neva had to admit, taking slightly longer than she would have liked. The dark haired, lush bodied woman still stood a little bit apart from the three facing off against the magician, quite happy to leave them to deal with it. Well. It wasn't like she could do much against a magician, anyhow. Sure, she could quite easily hold her own in a fight, but when it came to magic... It just wasn't something she understood, nor counter.

Exhaling through her nose, she watched the dark haired magicians' scorpions get torn apart by Hare's peculiar familiars, lips twitching slightly at the woman's situation. Deary me. She certainly had got herself stuck in it.

Adam, still stood a short distance away from the battling Hare, had his eyes focused solely on the magician. He had not often dealt with people who could use magic, at least, not in a confrontational way, so he was more than willing to allow Ava to deal with this woman the way she wished. He was only here to provide assistance. Glancing sideways at the scientist as she leant in to respond to his question, the red-head made a mental note to speak to Ava about this constant need she had of being in his personal space. Later. Possibly tonight.

Turning his eyes back to Jemis, Adam rolled his shoulders slightly, the cobra on his chest almost seeming to pulse as he stood there. With a peculiarly delibrate slowness, the blood-red reptile quite suddenly began to move across the tall male's slightly tanned skin, transitioning from tattoo into a real, slithering serpent, which came to rest with an angry hiss around Adam's shoulders. The yellow eyed cobra then began to lower itself to the floor, using it's summoners body as a pole, tongue flickering.

Once reaching the floor it began s stately pace towards the magician, meandering it's way between Hare's rabbits and the last remaining scorpion; The reptiles size almost seeming to increase as it moved. This, of course, proved to be far more than just show, as by the time the red serpent reached Jemis, it quite literally towered over her, standing, raised, a good ten foot tall. The reptiles hissed again, then struck, lunging forward as fast as lightening, it's long, slender body falling to surround the magician.

"That is about as much of a window of opportunity as I can give you." Adam said in his quiet, flowing voice, eyes narrowed as he watched the giant snake strike again and again in the dark haired womans direction. "You might want to make use of it."

~~~

"I certainly hope not." Maya murmered, still very much trying to wrestle Angel out of her pajamas, the little girl of which was squealing and twisting this way and that, trying her utmost best to make her mothers attempts difficult by clinging onto her hands.

"Pff." The blonde laughed, finally managing to get her daughter still enough to change her. "Gee. It's nice to know you're so willing to put everything aside for me." She responded to Dravius' obviously mocking tone, sticking out her tongue playfully at him as she straightened out Angel's little lilac jumper. "Huh. That's okay. With any luck, it will have rained itself out yesterday. If not, we'll have to take shelter under a tree or something."

Smiling, Maya lifted Angel in to her arms before standing herself from the bed. Angel, having finally got bored of trying to fight with her mother, had gone on to watching her dad, looking as wide eyed as usual. "Dah," She said rather seriously as Dravius left the van, shortly followed by Maya. The trip to the food van consisted of a lot of "Dah-ing" on Angel's part, though she quieted once they'd sat themselves down, her mother having retrieved waffles and a bottle of milk on the way past the serving counter.

Maya sat, settling Angel in her lap and handing the little girl the bottle, before looking over at the Co-Master. "We should walk around the outskirts of town or something. I mean... Those fields are more like bogs at the moment. It'd be drier." The blonde smiled at him, then began helping herself to waffles; Being sure to leave the plate in Dravius' reach. Just in case, naturally.

It was a short while after both Maya and Angel had finished breakfast when Raphael entered the van, stretching and looking highly bothered by something. The butterfly winged young woman smiled. "Morning." She greeted a little over-brightly as the Ring-Master walked over to their table. The tall male gave her a funny sort of look, then collapsed into a chair, sighing dramatically.

"I take it she told you." He said bluntly, to a quiet giggle from Maya.

"Naturally." She replied. "What's up with you, anyway?" She asked, although she already had an inkling.

"Nothing." The Ring-Master sighed, then looked at Dravius and Angel. "Do you realise just how much she looks like you?" He asked with a slight smile, by way of greeting, leaning over to let Angel hold onto his fingers for a few moments.

Maya snorted quietly, then threw the Ring-Master an innocent smile. "Hey. Do you fancy looking after Angel for a couple of hours?"

"I don't see why not." The blonde male replied, trying to retrieve his finger from the butterfly baby's grasp. "It's not like I'm doing anything but moping this morning anyway."

"Is what Adriel told you bothering you that much?"

"Pretty much. I'm just not sure whether it's a good or bad bothered yet."

"That makes no sense, Raph."

"I know. That happens to be why I'm struggling with it." The blonde male shrugged, then leant back in his chair as Maya stood herself up to lift Angel onto his lap. "You don't mind?" She asked.

"Not at all. I seem to be getting quite experienced with babysitting. You enjoy yourselves." Raphael replied with a genuine smile, still trying to disentangle the little girl from his fingers. Maya watched the Ring-Master for a moment, before exhaling quietly through her nose. She then looked at Dravius, smiling. "Shall we?... Or is there anything you need to take care of first?"

Hare's rabbits had all been gathering themselves to dismantle the last scorpion when it ceased all movement, looking a bit like a cheap theme park automaton whose gears had stuck. The tall man snorted and flicked his head upwards, adjusting his stance and allowing the two rather ordinary rabbits to disperse, keeping the oddly large one around. It shifted on it's paws, exhaling a steamy breath into the air. Which was odd, since the air was quite warm to begin with.

The muscled man didn't bat an eyes as Adam's tattoo began writhing off of the man's chest, although he did shoot a look at the monstrous rabbit, who had started up a low growl, silver eyes fixed on the magicican. It was also bouncing from foot to foot, undoubtably in a hurry to get something done. A creature after Hare's own heart. Well. It didn't actually have a personality of it's own, but that was beside the point.

Hare allowed himself to relax a bit, his shoulders lowering fractionally, and his fet planted firmly in a regular width apart. He glanced at Ava and Adam standing near each other, an ugly sneer coming over his skull-like face. It twisted his handsome features and made him look almost otherworldly. Next to him, the large rabbit turned it's huge head from side to side, trotting over to the snake-wrapped woman with a bouncing step as the snake struck, following only a second or two behind.

The rabbit, whom Hare had affectionately dubbed Lapin a long time ago took a moment to snuffle the air with an unfittingly cute button nose, baring giant teeth. "Tch." Hare made an odd noise, gesturing towards himself with one hand. "Cannot kill her. Even though it'd be faster." Hare's voice had an undercurrent of buzzing, like every word caused the air around him to vibrate audibly.

Lapin's large ears rose and he trotted back, still growling in a distinctly un-fluffy bunny fashion. It crouched like a shadow behind Hare, silvery eyes poking out from behind the man's top hat. Hare was growing tired of this. Why not just kill the stupid woman and then kill everyone in the town. So much time saved. They'd all do something bad at some point, right? Get the punishment out of the way.

Punishment was one of the few things Hare enjoyed taking his time on. The sublime sound of bones breaking. The dulcet tones of an unhurried demise. Mmmm.

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

Dravius frowned slightly at the distance the waffles currently were from his hands, looking up at Maya's suggestion. Manuevering himself closer to the table, he stretched out a hand and hooked a finger onto the edge of the plate, flicking it towards himself and stealing a bit of waffle as he did so, slipping it into his mouth with a rather triumphant look.

"That sounds like a plan, then." The young man nodded and leaned back in his chair, truely deciding that he didn 't care for any food this morning, chatting as the two girls ate, balancing his chair on two legs as he did so. Dravius' long legs were stretched out under the table, crossed at the ankles and still slightly soggy when Raphael entered.

Dravius was immediately struck by the look on his friend's face, and brought his chair down to rest in it's normal position, eyebrows furrowed. His face relaxed at Raphael's first words, trying his best to keep from chuckling. "Well, we are related." He grinned, pointing at Angel.

"In just a second, May. I want to say something first." Dravius stood up and put his "serious face" on, staring at Raphael. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Now I'm not the only one who had to be told. Apparently everyone but me and you knew this one." He then shrugged and turned, saying, "Thanks for watching Angel~". He took Maya's hand and promptly exited the van, grinning crookedly.

The dark haired magician stumbled backward as the snake reared up in front of her. When it begun to loop itself around her body, Jemis shouted in alarm, throwing a small, blueish white flame at the side of the creature. It battered against the red scales, accomplishing very little besides causing the giant snake to hiss angrily and tighten its hold on her body.

Ava held herself back from immediately engaging the magician, waiting for Adam's conjured snake to even the odds before she got involved. "Of course. I appreciate it, dear," she replied. The silver haired woman seperated from Adam's side and hurried forward, although she was carefully to steer clear of Hare and his single remaining rabbit as she went. The scientist picked her way through the mess of cracked sidewalk and burnt vines, withdrawing the syringe of sedative from her pocket as she got closer to Jemis.

She peered through the coils holding the female magic user in place, meeting her defiant look with a dark smirk. Ava uncapped the syringe and quickly injected Jemis in her arm, moving out of reach as she replaced the plastic cap and placed the empty needle back into her pocket. She looked back up at Jemis, intending to get in one last remark before the drugs took effect, when a bright, blue light flared, and a searing heat spread across her upper chest. The scientist screamed in surprise, losing her cool and slapping at her burning shirt in a panic.

It only took a few seconds to put out the small flames, and Ava glared at Jemis where the magician was trapped in the snakes coils. The dark haired magician answered her glare with a openly mocking smirk, before the drugs took their toll, and she slumped unconscious in the snakes grasp. Seething, Ava made a show of brushing off and straightening her burnt blouse, before turning back to Adam. "It's done," she snarled. "Let's get her off the street and deal with her in private. I want to take my time with this one."

-----

Selvai was awokened by a sliver of early morning sunlight that worked its way through a gap in the curtains, falling across his eyelids. The magician flung one arm over his face before rolling over and sitting up. He rubbed one hand across his eyes, smiling sleepily at Karene. "Good morning," he yawned, sliding off the bed and walking over to the dresser. He picked out an armful of clothes, then disappeard into the bathroom.

He re-emerged a few minutes later, fully dressed and looking much more awake. Selvai wandered back to the dresser, snagging a hair clip from the top. "Are you feeling any better today?" he asked as he pulled his hair back and out secured it with the clip. "If you are still not well, you can stay in bed, and I shall see if the food van has something that will be easy on your stomach, like soup," he suggested. Stepping into his boots, the stripe haired man cracked open the van door, peering out at the damp circus ground before closing it. "On the upside, the weather seems to be improving. It is a bit damp right at the moment, but it appears as though the sun will break through the clouds later. I will go and check the wards after breakfast."

Maya had watched, with a peculiarly abstracted expression, as Dravius spoke directly to Raphael, the blonde of whom was still wrestling with a giggling Angel. Glancing quickly out of the window, the butterfly winged young woman noted the slowly lightening shades of cloud, a section of it permeated with a bright, warm yellow. The sun looked very much as though it was trying to break through, and, with a bit of luck, it would eventually manage to do so.

Maya turned her attention back to the people in the van, raising an eyebrow at the Co-Master's words, a motion echoed by Raphael's look of slight confusion. Before either the Ring-Master or the butterfly could ask about it, however, Maya was instantly led out of the van by a grinning Dravius.

Raphael watched them leave, then shook his head. He had absoloutely no clue what Dravius had meant by that last statement, though he was prevented from thinking about it all that much when Angel started trying to clamber over his arm. He managed to settle the little girl back on his lap, then sighed, smiling slightly at the indignant look on Angel's face. "Well. What am I going to do with you, hm?"

~~~

"What exactly was all that about?" Maya asked, throwing a glance back towards the food van as her boyfriend headed off across the grounds, wrapping both of her arms around one of his. "Because,, you know... I don't think anyone knew about any of that... As far as I know, Adriel hasn't really spoken to anyone about it except me before she told Raph." The blonde paused. "Unless I misunderstood what you meant."

Smiling slightly, Maya shrugged, leaning her cheek on the Co-Master's upper arm. She watched the ground as they walked, careful to place her feet where it was definately more dry. The sky was still overcast, although it had lightened considerably, and showed promising signs of breaking up and dispersing.

"Hey." Maya said suddenly. "Have you heard anything from your parents, lately?" She asked, pulling her head away from her boyfriends arm to look at him. "I mean... It doesn't seem like they stayed here all that long. I was just wondering whether they'd been in touch with you since they left."

She shrugged. "Just curious." Smiling, she nuzzled the Co-Masters arm. "Also. What should we do?" The blonde asked, sidestepping a puddle and bumping into Dravius in the process. "Oops. Sorry." She laughed, looking off towards town. "Did you want to go into town, then?... Or just take a walk someplace?... Because I'm quite happy to do either. So long as I get a kiss out of it." The blonde smiled, prodding Dravius playfully in the ribs.

~~~

Rabbits. Neva was still having trouble getting used to the fact that Hare was actually using rabbits. To look at him, it certainly did not give that sort of an impression. Still. They were certainly accomplishing something, fluffy bunnies or not.

The dakr haired woman chose that moment to step closer to the trio, positioning herself between Adam and Hare, watching with a peculiar smile as Adam's gigantic crimson cobra restrained Jemis in a surprisingly short space of time. She stepped away only slightly as Hare's giant rabbit settled itself behind it's master, only pulling her gaze away from the muscular man when she caught Ava's movement in the corner of her eye.

The scientist coldly applied her drugs to the immobile magician, a motion of which would have had a better visual effect if Ava hadn't suddenly caught on fire. Neva had almost attempted to assist the woman, although it seemed she was quite able to do so herself, looking absoloutely furious one she had managed to exstingish the flames within a matter of seconds. The giant snake holding Jemis hissed and tightened slightly at the magicians casting, tail flicking.

Adam, who had watched with narrowed eyes, followed Ava's steps and came to a stop next to the magician as he stared at the now unconscious Jemis. He gave his furious ex only a fleeting look, then turned his gaze back to their captive. "Of course." He answered calmly to Ava's snarled words, grasping the magician as the cobra holding her unfurled itself.

The tall red-head hefted Jemis over one of his shoulders, as his blood red cobra, now it's normal size, draped itself over his other shoulder, tongue flickering in the magicians direction. "Lead the way."

Hare, with his stoic expression and threatening stance, couldn't help a snicker escaping when Ava promptly caught on fire, the rabbit behind him seeming to grin, although it's face couldn't quite form a smile properly. Hare did in fact do his best to disguise it with a clearing of his throat, his gloved hand in front of his smirking lips. As Jemis abruptly went limp, the muscled man allowed his shoulders to drop a few inches, the rabbit behind him collapsing into itself and becoming insubstantial. Hare then relaxed his grip on the cane in his hands, the lapin face once again with it's mouth shut.

The tall man made no offer to help with the unconcious woman, his eyes lazily hooded. This was going to drag on, wasn't it. Hare sighed through his nose, feeling a headache blooming just behind his eyes from sustaining the rabbits. He pinched the brindge of his nose with an annoyed "Hnnnn." He checked his wristwatch, exasperated at the hands stubbornly twitching at "Teatime". Good lord, these days it was always teatime. Shaking the sleeve of his dress shirt back over the timepiece, he followed the others, eyeing the snake on Adam's shoulder. Hare was not fond of snakes, truth to be told. Especially that one.

Looking from left to right, Hare tugged his pocketwatch out of his waistcoat. Oh. Of course. Instead of running a bit behind, they were now "Dangerously Close to Missing it Entirely". The cover of the watch was then snapped shut with an irritated click. Hare's face had lost it's skull-like look, but his skin was pale, and shadows showed in half circles under his eyes. With another clearing of his throat, Hare removed his top hat, revealing dark, slicked back hair, which he ran a hand through. "Can we please get on with this, ladies? I take it we have more places to go." His expression seemed to add inaudibly, "Although this is all a waste of time. Just kill her and be done with it."

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

Dravius shrugged in a vague sort of fashion as a sort of response to Maya, taking much less care where he placed his cloth shoes, the feet inside becoming soaked in a number of steps that could be counted with less than two digits. And once they were soaked, there wasn't any use in trying to avoid puddles, now was there. The young man glanced up at the sky absently, draping an arm over Maya's shoulders.

At the mention of his parents, a slightly pained look came over Dravius' face, and he looked a bit sheepish. "Uh. No." The second word was only said after a moment of hesitation, and he followed it with a crooked, bright smile, although it seemed brittle. In truth there was a box of letters under a floorboard in the van half full of letters, and quickly filling up further.

The things contained inside the letters that were sent to him were basically one sided conversations, as if his mother and father had written out every word as they were speaking, with no forethought in the words. The handwriting on each bounced back and forth from a messy scrawl to the elegant curls of his mother's writing. Dravius was entirely unsure on how to respond to them, and his parents just kept sending them. They never asked why he didn't respond, and he had no idea how they kept making it to the circus.

So he had just stuffed them under a floorboard after reading them and let them sit. It was nice to hear about whatever happened with his parents, even though his father often didn't make sense. One particular letter stood out, wherin his only contribution was, "Many toasters cannot go up to eleven. When you find one that does, hold it close, and never let it go."

Dravius was jolted out of his distracted thinking when Maya stumbled into him, and he smiled a little more geniunely. Maya had pushed him gently, and in the middle of his stride, so he stumbled a bit to the side and straight into a puddle to keep from falling over. "Town sounds nice, uhm?" He leaned down while walking to peck a kiss on her forehead, and remarked, "You really won't need to work very hard for that kisses. Or hugs. Or snuggles."

Ava hissed in displeasure at Hare. What the hell was he so upset about? All he'd done was stand there and send his little bunnies out to do his dirty work. She'd been SET ON FIRE. The scientist glared at the top hat wearing man as she stalked past him, doing as Adam suggested and leading them to the place she'd secured for the next part of her plan.

The safehouse, such as it was, had once been a two story home, set on the outskirts of the small town. Time and neglect had led to most of the windows being broken, and caused the roof to sag and leak. Not that any of that mattered to Ava. She'd chosen the location specifically because of that fact, so that no concerned owners would come by to check on the property while they were there.

The inside was mostly empty, except for the rusted metal bedframe which Ava had demanded Adam and Hare drag to one of the back rooms of the house. It was pushed upright against a wall, with the unconscious magician tied to the top bar by her wrists. The silver haired scientist began to lay out the few tools she had brought with her on the window sill, carefully flicking shards of glass out of the way. Satisfied, she picked up a small syringe and walked over to Jemis, smirking as she injected the drug into the magicians arm.

The dark haired woman woke up with a small moan, lifting her head and looking at Ava blearily. "Welcome back," the scientist said mockingly, and Jemis' expression quickly snapped from confusion to anger. "I know this is the part where you beg me to let you go, but I feel as though I should save us both the effort and tell you, that no, unfortunately I won't be allowing you to go free." Smirking, she turned to pick up a scalpel from the window sill.

"Right now I'd settle for you taking a breath mint, if you're going to continue breathing in my face like that," Jemis retorted. "Lady, are you a smoker, or do you just go around licking the ashtrays?"

"Shut up!" Ava screamed, whirling around and brandishing the scalpel in Jemis' direction. "I'm holding your life in my hands, so you'd do well to shut the hell up!" she screamed at the smirking magician. She turned away, breathing hard. After a few minutes, Ava turned back to Jemis, a disturbing smile on her face. "Actually. I take that back. Don't shut up. I want to see how loudly you can scream."

-----

"Damnit!" Ava swore, throwing her scalpel across the room. The blade hit the wall and bounced off, clattering on the bare floor. She stalked back to where Jemis hung limply from the frame. The magician's shirt had been slashed down the front, and left in tatters. Long, bloody gashes covered her torso, the blood dripping down onto the floor and into her jeans. Grabbing her jaw with one hand, Ava jerked Jemis' head up until she could look the magician in the eye. "Why. Won't. You. Scream!"

Jemis took a ragged breath, looking the scientist in the eye as she spoke. "Because. I'm not going to give you what you want. Also-" The magician lashed out suddenly with both legs, looping them around Ava's waist and pulling her flush against her. A quick, gasped out word, a strange, jerking sensation, and Jemis found herself free, and the stunned scientist tied to the rusty frame in her place. She tore off what was left of her shirt and stuffed it into the silver haired woman's mouth before she could scream for the others.

The shaken magician leaned against the wall, trying to steady herself. She cocked an ear toward the door, in case the woman's companions overheard her muffled screaming and struggling with the bed frame and decided to check in on them. Satisfied that no one was coming, Jemis stumbled over to the corner where her pack had been dropped and forgotten, wincing as she bent to pick it up. The magician carefully pulled on a long sleeved, black jacket, hissing in pain when the material came in contact with the cuts on her stomach and chest. She hated to get blood all over the jacket, but at least it wouldn't show against the dark fabric. There wasn't all that much she could do about the stains on her jeans, however, and she wasn't about to stop her escape long enough to change into a clean pair.

Jemis eyed the surgical instruments that lay along the window sill, before raising one hand and shoving all of them to the floor, enjoying the glare from Ava the action earned her. Pausing with one hand on the window, she looked back at the scientist one last time. "Well, Smoky, I'll be going now. I'll be sure to stop by a phone and send in an anonymous tip for the police to check this place out, before I head to my brother's and warn everyone about you crazy-ass bastards." Smirking, the magician gingerly climbed out of the window and headed back in the direction of the town, putting as much distance between herself and the house as possible.

"Pff. Don't speak if you're not going to make sense then." Maya laughed, shoving Dravius with an elbow in response to his shrug, still managing to avoid the larger puddles and mushy ground with light feet. as she walked. She had just skipped over another small mass of water when the Co-Master replied to her earlier question; And the blonde looked at him with slightly raised brows.

It didn't really make sense that his parents hadn't kept in touch... Not after years of having their son missing and then finding him again. That just didn't sit right at all... And if they really hadn't bothered to keep in touch, well... Maya couldn't quite stop herself feeling somewhat disappointed in them, and Dravius' nonplussed smile only made her sigh. You'd think that someone who originally cared about their kid would exercise enough effort to keep in contact; And the blonde found herself watching the ground with a slight frown, immersed in her thoughts.

She looked up only when the Co-Master spoke again, smiling slightly. "All right." She agreed, following Dravius' steps towards the town. The sky, the butterfly noted, was quickly brightening, and the town just across the fields suddenly lightened considerably when the sun broke through the clouds, casting it's light on the stones and windows of the buildings. The grass glittered with thousands of tiny water droplets, and the puddles here and there reflected the newly revealed sunlight with stark intensity.

The unrealistic, almost dreamy scene had Maya slightly distracted again, and it took her a moment to catch what Dravius said, although his quick kiss to the forehead seemed to register quite quickly. Once she realised, however, the blonde gave her boyfriend a long, steady sort of look, then gave a quiet snort of laughter as she idly remembered their anniversary those few weeks ago. "My previous experiences tell me otherwise." She disagreed, rolling her eyes, her laughter still playing on her lips. "Your attention is somewhat hard to attract, usually. Especially when it comes to that sort of thing."

The blonde elbowed the Co-Master in teasing, then turned her attention to their surroundings once they entered the town. It looked like a quiet little place, and, despite it's wet stones, it looked incredibly welcoming. The street they had ended up on was clearly a market street, lined with stalls and shops that all had visitors, although only few. "Hey." Maya said suddenly, pointing across to the street to what looked like a large, open park. There was a small lake clearly visible amongst the greenery, and a few buildings that seemed to provide food and refreshments. The place probably would have been spectacular if it hadn't been so wet. Still. The wan sunlight made the place sparkle.

"Let's go have a look." She suggested with a smile, tightening her arms slightly around Dravius' and pulling him gently towards the park. "I should probably start working for that kiss now, huh?" She laughed.

~~~

The morning had been an early one for Karene; The magician being up and out of bed during the early hours of the morning. The illness of the day before had returned in full force, and the caramel haired woman had suffered siilently for a good hour or two before returning to bed; Careful not to wake her sleeping husband. She had slipped back into sleep pretty quickly, and only awoke when Selvai did, grumbling quietly at his morning greeting and pressing her face into her pillow.

"Morning." She managed, throwing him only a fleeting glance as he clambered out of bed. She immediately went back to her pillow, keeping herself as still as possible to not irritate her stomach, despite how pointless that venture probably was. "Mm. Not really." Karene answered to her husbands question, keeping her eyes firmly shut. When Selvai put forward his suggestion, the female magician sighed, gently lifting herself up onto her elbows, looking at the man blearily.

Well. There was probably no point trying to get back to sleep. She probably wouldn't be able to manage it now, anyway. Sitting herself up, Karene ran a hand through the caramel strands above her eyes, then shook her head. "No, thanks." She replied, stretching her arms and letting out a sigh. "I'm not even sure I could handle soup right now. I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of hours." She threw an encouraging smile in her husbands direction, then sighed again through her nose. "Ugh." She grumbled, looking out of the window. "Something at least." She snorted, before pulling herself out of bed; Proceeding to get herself dressed before flopping back into a nearby chair.

"All right." She agreed to her husbands last words,tying her hair back into it's usual ponytail. "You do that. I'll probably... I don't know. Catch up with you later?... I might just sit around here all morning." The woman shrugged, then paused, a peculiar look coming over her face. It took about a split second for Karene to bolt from the chair, very nearly slamming the bathroom door behind her after she entered, quiet retching sounds following the sudden silence. Ugh. Perfect.

~~~

Adam, following after the disgruntled Ava, paid little heed to his surroundings as he walked. Most of his attention was focused on the scientist in front of him, and their destination. The house, he figured, could probably serve their purposes despite the sheer state of the place, and he placed the unconcious magician where Ava had wanted her before leaving the room.

He knew full well what the silver haired woman was capable of, and, although he wasn't squeamish about such things, having been used to her approaches; Decided that he could amuse himself elsewhere while his ex satisfied that bloodlust that constantly seemed to follow her around. The magicians earlier actions, naturally, will have just intensified that feeling within the scientist.

The red-head had situated himself outside the building, keeping an eye out and handling his venomous, red scaled cobra with an almost lazy indifference. The dark haired woman, Neva, was also sat outside, taking a peculiar interest in Hare. Well. The tall male often gained such interest from people, when he wasn't constantly scaring them off with his talk of clocks and time, whch in truth, was most people. Neva wasn't so much bothered by his peculiarities as intrigued.

"So what exactly made you choose rabbits?" The lush bodied woman had asked, sat on the floor with her legs crossed, one slender hand under her chin. "Or is that the form your little beasties have always taken?"

Adam watched the two for a quiet moment, then turned to look down the other end of the street. This one, he noted, was more than just a little abandoned. It seemed that there were almost no people in this general area, which, when you looked at the state of the place, was really no surprise. Ava really had planned everything so well in advance. Speaking of the scientist...

Adam glanced upwards, his eyes focusing a window of the second floor house they currently occupied. She certainly was taking her time. Not that he had any problem with that. The magician probably had what was coming to her, afterall... No. His issue was more what Hare was likely to do if he was kept waiting just a little too long. Exhaling through his nose, the red-headed male turned and headed inside, the cobra settling itself back onto his shoulders. He made his way swiftly towards where Ava and her captive were, no hesitance in his moves. Well. He was used to seeing severely torn apart people.

Just before he reached the door, the cobra around his neck let out a blood curdling hiss of anger, and the red-head shot a look at the reptile before opening the door to Ava's room. His eyes immediately fell on the trapped scientist, eyes narrowing as he stepped over to her, breaking the binds that held the woman and then looking towards the window and sharp implements that lay everywhere. "Are you all right?" He asked in his strangely calm tone of voice, the snake around his neck hissing and spitting in quiet irritation. There was a quiet pause, before Adam walked over to the window and glanced out onto the street below.

"We may want to take more direct action now." He murmered. "She was a dangerous one to get away, no?" He leant away from the window, his narrowed eyes falling back onto his silver haired ex lover. "Well. What now?."

Hare had followed his "companions" to the ramshackle house silently, managing to look both tired and buzzing to get going at the same time. It was with a lack of enthusiasm that Hare moved the frame to the bed, bored with this whole business. Although he always enjoyed a light bit of torture, and watching it was a lovely accompaniment to teatime, Ava was just so sluggish. And she closed the room off to everyone. Hare sighed in irritation at the closed door in front of him, rolling his eyes at the faint, rather hysterical yelling emenating from inside the dingy room.

The tall man looked at the dirty pavement beneath his feet with disgust, shuddering at what it would do to the clothing he was wearing, so instead he chose to stand just in front of the building to the side of the door, a few inches away from the dilapidated and grimy wall behind his back. Hare couldn't help but notice Neva's gaze on him, and promptly stared straight ahead.

After all, staring at someone was rude.

Hare had actually closed his eyes halfway in the sunlight, and was feeling quite drowsy in the warm light, however his back stayed ramrod straight, and his shoulders squared. To move the bedframe, the man had removed his white gloves, which now had their fingers dangling out of his trousers pocket, as if they were waving.

As time dragged on, and the shouting, mostly done be an irate Ava continued, Hare could feel a muscle jumping in his face under his right eye, and his jaw was clenched tightly. There weren't even any screams. Was she honestly still just TOYING with the magician? Good lord. Hare's large hands tightened around the top of his cane gradually, until he was gripping the rabbit's head with enough force to imprint it's features into his skin.

At Neva's voice, Hare blinked and looked startled for a second, then turned his head to slowly regard the woman. "Just the way it is, Miss. They've been laughed at before, seeing as they are 'fluffy bunnies'. Not many could still laugh without their throats intact, however." A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, and he twitched his head to follow Adam as he rushed inside, following at a slightly less hurried pace.

Oh. This was verging on hilarious. Hare was outright grinning, although his eyes were still stone cold. The lady scientist managed to get herself tied to the bedframe. By someone she was supposed to be murdering. Oh ho. Hare cleared his throat and controlled his grin, limiting it to a faint smile. "Someone should have just killed the magician, saved some time." Hare's voice was slightly sing-song, a triumphant note in the rich tones.

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

"Hey. Just because I miss some stuff doesn't mean I don't like giving kisses." Dravius pouted slightly, curving his eyebrows in a mock hurt expression. The surrounding area was glittery in the dim sunlight, and with each step he took, Dravius enjoyed the hundreds of tiny water droplets that clung to the rubber part in the front of each shoe, beading together on the smooth surface.

At Maya's gentle tugging, Dravius subjected to being pulled towards the park in an indifferent sort of way, looking mockingly insulted by Maya's comments, "Well, if you put it that way, you'd better work hard, or else you're gettin' nothing." He tugged gently on a lock of wavy hair playfully, smiling crookedly.

As they entered the park, Dravius gasped in slight surprise as his head brushed the leaves of a tree branch, sending cold water dawn the back of his neck. He rubbed the skin there, where goosbumps had cropped up. "Being tall is such a drag sometimes," he grumbled, half-jokingly.

Spotting a bench just near the small lake's edge, Dravius did his best to brush the wooden surface clear of any and all leftover rain before sitting down, staring out over the calm water. With the almost complete lack of wind, the lake looked like a pool of glass, aside from the disruptive ripple around the edge of it.

"Hopefully this walk proceeds a little smoother than they usually do, yeah?" Dravius chuckled to himself, brushing some water out of his hair, watching it fall past his good eye and make small wet spots on his pants. The walks that the two took didn't exactly have a history of going well, but their surroundings now were peaceful and sleepy, the soft splishing of water nearly the only sound.

"Some stuff?" Maya repeated incredulously, laughing lightly at the Co-Master. "Are you serious?... Dravius, you miss absoloutely everything that I throw at you. And I never said you didn't like kisses." The blonde rolled her eyes, her face amused and a small smile playing on her lips. Honestly. She shook her head lightly at the glittering floor as she walked, keeping hold of Dravius' forearm with both of hers, and pressing her cheek lightly against the tall man's upper arm.

"Oh, please." Maya laughed suddenly, pulling her head away from Dravius to look at him with a delibrate, disbelieving sort of look; Although the expression was slightly off balance due to the blonde's initial amusement. "I should be used to it by now. Since when do I NOT work hard for a kiss?... It's like trying to pry a kiss from a brick wall with you, most of the time." She batted at him as he tugged on a lock of hair, pff-ing under her breath with a giggle. "Sometimes I work hard and get nothing for it anyway." She teased, breaking into laughter when the Co-Master managed to give himself a shower, although she had to cut it off somewhat to quickly step out from under the now raining branch, courtesy of her boyfriend.

"Pff. Try having wings like mine." The blonde suggested at Dravius' slight complaint, flaring the limbs slightly out of habit before pulling them more firmly against her spine, her smile still in place. It was only then, of course, she'd realised she'd actually headed into town without her cloak, or any other form of cover. As such, her wings were on full display, although being folded lessened their appearance somewhat, and that fact that there were very few people around made the blonde feel a little more comfortable about the whole thing.

"And I like your tall-ness." She murmered suddenly as an aftethought. "It comes in useful when you want someone intimidating around." Maya giggled, flopping onto the bench next to Dravius, looking at him as he spoke. Her smile dropped somewhat at his words, and she sighed quietly, sitting with her back pressed against the bench; Her gaze focusing on the still, silent water of the sparkling lake.

"Don't try too hard to jinx it." The butterfly said quietly, smiling at him slightly before going back to her silent contemplation. Well. He certainly had a point. And it wasn't like that last attempt was any exception. Hell. Someone could have been killed. Shuddering somewhat, Maya sighed quietly through her nose, then leant over slightly to slide her arms around the Co-Masters waist, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "We seem to have terrible look with this sort of thing, huh. Maybe we should just stay at home."

The blonde paused, then lifted herself away from the Co-Master to sigh explosively, leaning back against the bench. "Now I feel depressed." She frowned, unintentionally holding a hand over her torso. After a silent few seconds, she shook her head, then looked back towards the Co-Master with a slightly worried face. "You don't think they've got any chance of coming back, right?" She asked, genuinely concerned about the idea. After all, it certainly wasn't like Raphael and the others had left those scientists in a position where they couldn't continue their job, or, possibly... Want revenge for the way their subjects had evaded them... And they had, somehow, managed to find the Circus once before... It was always possible, right?...

~~~

The day had been a boring one. The norm, Ark supposed, making his steady way through the busy market street. Stalls seemed to stand absoloutely everywhere, with people milling around in large groups, both browsing and buying and just generally enjoying the sunny day. The tall male made his way through the crowd with surprising agility, mostly nondescript amongst all the other people besides his bright, ice blue hair, the tips of which were deepest black. He donned a plain, gray hoodie and jeans; As well as a gray sun visor that set his blue eyes in shadow, and sat amongst his bright blue locks.

The young man had a boyish, yet reserved sort of look about his face, and was constantly casting glances about as though looking for something. Sighing quietly through his nose, Ark quickly stepped out of the crowd and made his way down the street, keeping himself close to the walls of the nearby buildings.

Exhaling quietly, the young man quickly stepped out of the way of an oncoming group of people, taking refuge in a nearby alley before deciding to take that route and avoid all the other people milling around out on the street. Within half an hour, he had left the busy, bustling market far behind, and strolled lazily down a somewhat empty street. It was about halfway down this one he caught sight of a shambling figure, and he paused to watch the approach with a wary gaze.As soon as he caught sight of the womans face, however, he bolted forward.

"Jemis?" He asked, reaching out to steady the magician, looking with concern at the injuries she sustained. "What the hell happened to you?"

Jemis had managed to hobble back into town, making sure to take paths that would keep anyone from seeing her. It would probably have been smarter to alert someone, and seek medical attention for the wounds the silver haired woman had inflicted on her. However, that would undoubtably lead to questions, and being detained, and right now she would rather get as far away from the place as possible, and find and warn Selvai and the other members of the circus.

She hugged her pack in front of her chest, making sure to keep her jacket closed and head down to avoid drawing attention to herself. The magician was slowly heading in what she hoped was the direction of the bus station, when a sudden voice caused her to stop short. Jemis winced in pain when the blue haired young man touched her, the pack slipping out of her hands and hitting the ground.

"Oh. Hi, Ark," she said once she gathered her breath. She glanced down at her stomach where the jacket had shifted when he grabbed her, showing her bloody sports bra and the gashes which had begun to bleed again. "I ran into some crazies that had a bone to pick with my brother," the magician explained, tugging the jacket closed with one hand. Sighing, Jemis leaned into Ark, closing her eyes for a moment. "Kid, I hate to drag you into this, but I'm not really in any shape to help myself at the moment. I need to find Selvai and the rest of the Majikus and warn them about those people who grabbed me. But first we have to get away from this town before they manage to find me again, and I'm in no shape to teleport."

-----

"Alright," Selvai moved to kiss Karene goodbye, when the dark haired woman rushed into the bathroom. The striped haired man grimaced at the sounds of her being sick, waiting for her to finish then pushing open the bathroom door.

"I am beginning to be concerned about this stomach bug of yours," he said, taking a glass from the sink and filling it with cold water. "Here." He offered it to her, using his free hand to gently rub her back. "Perhaps I should bring you back some medicine for your stomach. How many days does this make now?"

-----

Ava ripped the gag out of her mouth as soon as Adam released her, stomping over to the window Jemis had climbed out of. "I'm fine," she growled, digging her nails into the wooden frame as she looked at the instruments strewn over the dirty floor. This was UNACCEPTABLE. Not only had the witch tied her up, she'd gotten her tools filthy. Seething, the silver haired woman began to gather up the instruments from the floor.

She whirled around, snarling at Hare's remarks. "You. Just. Shut up. I can't think while you're talking." Ava leaned on the window, head down and breathing heavily. "Alright. Alright," she said after a few moments. "She'll be headed toward her friends, to try and warn them. So unless we can somehow find and stop her, they're going to know about us soon. We need to make our next strike soon." The scientist turned back to the group, looking more composed, except for the wild look about her eyes. "We're going after the next target. Quickly, before they can warn her." Ava threw a nasty glare at Hare. "Unless you and your bunnies have anymore smart remarks to add to the conversation?"

"Your... Brother?" Ark asked, keeping a firm hold of Jemis' arm as he stared incredulously at her. "Selvai?... And they took it out on you?" The blue haired young man frowned, eyeing the various cuts on the magicians' skin where they were clearly visible, sighing through his nose. His blue eyes were narrowed, his brows knit together; The shadow cast by his sun visor setting the top half of his face in shade, giving him a particularly stern sort of look.

The young man quickly shook his head. "Hold on a second. What exactly has Selvai done to warrant this?" He asked, his tone of voice dark, although he had to quirk an eyebrow at Jemis' use of the word "Kid". Honestly. He wasn't really that much younger than her, at the age of 22. It was probably habit, though, he supposed. She had, after all, known him a rather long time.

Exhaling explosively, the blue-haired young man shook his head. "No. We're not going anywhere. Not until we sort you out. You're not exactly in any fit state to travel, and that Majikus Circus you're talking about has a reputation for moving around quite a lot, from what I've heard. It could be a good distance away." Pausing, Ark lifted his head to glance up and down the street, his eyes wary and on alert, before he gently tugged on Jemis' arm. "Come on. I have a friend not far from here. I'll ask her to take a look at you, and possibly if we can have the use of her phone. It'd be far, far quicker to contact Selvai that way than go trailing after this Circus."

It was only ten minutes or so later when Ark and Jemis finally arrived outside a neat little house on the outskirts of the town. The brunette who lived there turned out to be a rather comptetent doctor, and dealt with the female magicians injuries with precision and care, offering her two visitors refreshments once she had finished tending to Jemis' wounds.

"Thanks, Lillian... And, sorry to impose on you. Again."

"Ah... It's okay." The woman replied with a smile, waving away the young mans' thanks with a hand. She was a middle aged, somewhat ordinary looking woman, with a kindly face and a slightly plump build. "I'm glad your friend here is okay. Luckily, most of those injuries weren't all that severe... Despite how painful they may have been." Lillian quickly dipped into a nearby bag, before holding out a small packet of pills. "Just keep these on you, and take them when you need them. They're just painkillers." Still smiling, Lillian then gave Jemis one last look over, as Ark sat gnawing on his knuckles, his worried eyes focused on the window. Well. This was all awfully exciting...

~~~

"Oh, pfsh." Karene snorted, holding her head in her hands, managing to sit rather sedately on the edge of the bathtub despite her current disposition. Quite suddenly she had felt like falling right back into bed. Throwing up quite often did that to people, she'd noticed. There was always so much unintentional effort involved in throwing up ones guts.

Sighing, the caramel haired woman looked up as Selvai handed the glass to her, taking it from him with a quiet "thanks" and swallowing a mouthful of the soothing liquid. "Mhm." She murmered around the mouthful of water. "A few days?... It doesn't matter. Once I've been sick, I start improving. I'll be fine." She said, batting a hand at her husband and taking another mouthful of cold water as he gently rubbed her back. "And... I guess?"

The woman paused, then turned her green eyed gaze to Selvai, her face slightly more pale than was normal. "Aren't you supposed to be going to eat breakfast right about now?... You didn't have to follow me in here, you know. I won't keel over. I promise." The magician snorted, sighing quietly and trying to ignore the tight, knot like feeling in her stomach. "I'll be fine. Honestly. I'm sure it'll pass. It usually does as the day wears on." The woman took another quick gulp of water, before standing herself from the tub and emptying the rest of the glass down the sink. Depositing it next to the tap, Karene then slid past Selvai to head back into the vans main compartment, flopping back onto the bed.

"Uhh." She mumbled, exhaling through her nose and laying back on the bed. "Go on, Selvai." She said suddenly, waving a hand. "Go have yourself some breakfast. I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here when you get back. Unless-" Karene hefted herself onto her elbows, and gave the magician a sly, amused sort of look. "You really just don't want to leave me on my own as I am." She laughed, flopping back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. Ugh. This sucked.

... WHERE. IS. EVERYONE.

Dravius relaxed on the still slightly-damp bench, crossing one leg over the other and staring at the surface of the lake. There were a few ducks waddling along the shore, looking content in a ducky sort of way, two brown duck ladies and a green-headed duck gentleman. A little ducky family. Of ducks.

Maybe Dravius was more tired than he thought.

The young man shook his head, pushing the hair back from his face. When he felt Maya lean into him, Dravius moved his gaze away from the ducks and down to her face. Aw. He hadn't meant to depress her at all. Now he was depressed. Because she was depressed. As this thought ran through his head, his eyebrows curved upwards into one of undiluted concern. "Come back? I wouldn't think so. I would...hope not." He cleared his throat, still looking vaguely worried. It wouldn't be good if they came back.

But, if they marched into the circus, they would also be mincemeat in a matter of seconds. Which would be good. Dravius sighed through his nose, turning his attention to the much less worrying duck family. They had begun to swim about in the shallows, like the happy little duckies that they indeed were.

Good lord there were ducklings. Although he hadn't seen them before, they were indeed there, fluffy and yellow, standing slightly stranded on the shore. As Dravius watched, one edged into the smooth lake and began swimming around nervously, moving it's head in jerky little movements, followed by it's siblings.

"They are definitely not coming back. And that is that." Dravius nodded firmly once, making a concious effort to ignore the fluffy ducklings that were paddling about just out of his line of sight. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he tugged out a pen, scribbling down, "Look up how duck families work" absently on his hand, then looking up. Leaning over, Dravius kissed Maya on the cheek, nuzzling her for a moment, saying, "This place is quite pretty. Even being right on the outskirts of a town."

Even though he preferred the bustle of the city to the peace of nature, Dravius could still appreciate it. Although when he stayed in a quiet place for too long, he could feel himself becoming stir crazy, and was likely to play some obnoxiously loud music, and sing off key.

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

Hare's eyebrows rose slightly at Ava's vehement outburst, raising his hands to chest level, with his palms face outwards, towards the furious scientist. He then said smoothly, "She'll probably have to stop for medical attention, won't she? Unless you weren't even efficient enough to wound her before she tied you to a bed." His voice was heavily patronizing, and the tall man tapped the end of his cane against the floor in an irritating rhythm.

"I'm all for getting on with this quickly. Please, elaborate on your next would-be victim. Hopefully you'll find a stronger bedframe this time. Or, you know, a sense of urgency." Hare's words were becoming sharper, and he could feel the muscle in his face twitching again. With a grunt, the tall man gripped his cane in the middle of the straight black stick, swinging it until it made contact with the wall, the rabbit head breaking a hole in the wall with no effort.

Clearing his throat, Hare yanked the cane from the wall with a jerk of his arm. "I apologize for that outburst." His face was much calmer, and his words sounded less like an irritated psyopaths and more like a classy gentleman's. "I sometimes need to let off a bit of steam. My sincerest apologies." Clearing his throat once again, Hare replaced his hat and tugged his gloves on, looking for all the world like a gentleman getting ready for a spot of traveling.

"Shall we set out, then?" Hare's face had a vacant half-smile, not reaching his eyes at all, which seemed absolutely furious. But a gentleman must always be composed. At all times. No matter how infuriating the situation. Or the people involved in the situation. What time was it. Goddamn it it was still FUCKING TEATIME. Despite his best efforts to keep calm, one of the muscles underneath Hare's eyebrows began jumping, pulling his eyebrow out of his placid facade repeatedly. Hare wrapped one hand around his pocketwatch and began squeezing as hard as he could, feeling the metal bite into his hand through the glove. He needed to go someplace.

Someplace productive. Someplace where people had a concept of EFFICIENCY. And it GODDAMN wasn't here. Hare could hear his own heartbeat accelerate in his ears, the rebellious muscle in his face twitching ever faster.

Oh my god where are you all.

There's...really kinda no reason for me to post....so
...yeah..........

I'll just go.. start a post now...

Omg Ny you're alive. O_O And pff. You're the one who stopped posting. ;<
And yes, Selvai, do.
Meanwhile. I am going to go die in some quiet, dark corner. 'Kay thanks.