The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

D8 don't die! I just...dunno what to do with my characters. :/ not at the moment, at any rate.

"A few days?" Selvai repeated. "It should be getting better by now, then." He followed Karene out of the bathroom, watching as she threw herself back onto the bed. "I will bring something for your stomach after breakfast, and before I go to check the wards." The magician smiled at Karene, shaking his head fondly. "No, I am confident you will be able to handle being on your own for as long as it takes for me to get breakfast. I will not take me all that long," he said, stepping out of the van and heading in the direction of the food van.

-----

"Well, appearantly, that whack job scientist wanted to use them as guinea pigs, and they wouldn't let her. So of course, they go through the trouble of tracking down family and attacking them." Jemis leaned heavily on Ark when he tugged on her arm, letting the younger man lead the way to his friend's. "People are nuts. And for the record, I wanted to head right for the circus because I don't want to drag too many people into this. In case those people tried to track me down after I got away from them, you know."

Thankfully, it didn't take all that long to reach Lillian's home, and Jemis sank into one of her chairs gratefully. The female magician shifted slightly as the doctor cleaned and dressed her wounds, trying not to smear blood onto the fabric of the chair. Jemis took the packet of pills with a grateful smile. "Thanks. And sorry, for bothering you with this." Popping out one of the pills, Jemis swallowed it with a drink of the tea Lillian had offered them. "Would it be alright if I borrow your phone for a moment?"

-----

Selvai had been making his way to a table with his breakfast when his cell phone began to ring. He took a seat, pulling it from his pocket and flipping it open. "Hello?"

"Hey, little brother. Wish I could say I just wanted to check in, but I ran into some trouble. Did you guys recently tick off some really crazy, really weird scientists recently? Because a woman with silver hair and a scalpel fetish tried to carve me up earlier today," Jemis explained, in a tired voice.

Selvai inhaled sharply, forgetting his plate of food as he stood. "What happened? Did she hurt you?"

"I'll heal, that's not important. This woman was unhinged, Selvai. You guys need to be careful, really careful. And probably warn anyone anyone outside the circus you're close to. They went through the trouble of tracking me down and attacking me in the middle of the street, these people are obviously pretty determined to ge even with your circus for whatever you guys did."

The magician made an impatient noise, beginning to pace back and forth next to the table. "In a moment. Jemis, where are you? How badly are you hurt?"

"I ran into a friend while I was escaping, I'm patched up and in a safe place, okay? Worry more about yourselves right now," Jemis told him.

Selvai sighed heavily, rubbing at his face with his free hand. "Alright. Just give me your word you will call me again, soon."

"I promise. And you, keep yourself safe, okay?"

"I will. Goodbye." Hanging up, Selvai headed for Raphael's table, taking a seat across from the circus master. "We have trouble. Jemis just called me, Ava and some others attacked her earlier. She escaped, but Jemis thinks she is targetting people close to us, outside of the circus," the magician explained, sighing as he rubbed his face.

Pffff. It figured. Karene knew full well Selvai wasn't likely to bypass his breakfast for her. Oh well. It would be unfair to keep him. Sighing in a mocking fashion, the caramel haired woman shrugged slightly before placing her hands behind her head, smiling slightly. "Maybe. Some tummy bugs last longer, though. I'm sure I'll be fine." She shrugged again, waving a hand as her husband left the van, then letting her head flop back onto the pillow. Well. May as well just relax here for a bit, right?

~~~

The amount of effort it took to keep her face somewhat impassive was really quite difficult, watching as Hare patronized Ava and her way of dealing with things. Neva shook her head slightly, padding over to the window and looking out of it, both ways up and down the street. She couldn't help but think it might be a good idea to hurry up and go looking for the woman... Surely she couldn't have got THAT far already.

Adam, who still stood with his arms crossed, watched Hare's actions without any real reaction. He was, admittedly, used to the tall male's constant need to keep to his time; But the fact that he had helped himself onto this "trip" meant he wasn't really in any position to keep them all to a certain schedule; Particularly one of his own. Allowing his gaze to watch Neva momentarily as the dark haired woman walked to the window, Adam sighed quietly as Hare smashed a hole in the wall.

He wasn't even going to attempt to calm the man. There was no point, he always followed his own time, rather than that of other people. The red-headed male turned back to Ava, just as Neva suddenly spoke from the window. "Hey." She said, her own gaze still focused beyond the buildings walls. "I know you wanted to go looking for a new target. But if we're fast enough, I think... We might be able to follow this one." She pointed out of the window, to small, barely noticeable drops of blood that trailed away from the window. "After all. A dead person can't talk."

~~~

Looking up when Selvai suddenly appeared out of nowhere, settling himself across the table, Raphael raised his eyebrows as the magician started to speak. "They did what?" He asked, seating himself as straight as he was able, eyes narrowing. "Jemis?" The blonde paused, before echoing Selvai's actions and placing a hand over his face.

"Ava?..." He murmered. "God damnit. I should've known they weren't likely to just... Drop everything." He sighed explosively, before looking sharply at the magician in front of him. "People close to us?" He repeated, before pushing himself to his feet as quick as he was able. "That's not good..." He murmered under his breath, perfectly aware of Ava and her... Unbalanced nature. And if she had people helping her... God damn.

"Right... I'd better make some inquiries. Enjoy your breakfast." He patted Selvai on the shoulder as he passed, leaving the food van looking both livid and concerned. Great.

~~~

Maya had still been worrying somewhat over her previous thoughts when she caught sight of Dravius, seemingly engrossed in the actions of a couple of ducks by the lakeside. She watched the animals for a quiet moment, turning her gaze back to her boyfriend when he answered her earlier question. It probably would have settled her mind, somewhat, if not for the fact the tall Co-Master seemed somewhat distracted. By ducks, no less.

The blonde rolled her eyes slightly, then went to watching the ducklings as they braved the water with hesitant moves, before watching Dravius write on his arm. Maya craned her neck slightly to read what he had written, before leaning back and looking at him with raised eyebrows. "What is that for?" She asked, looking just a little confused, and then blinking when the Co-Master planted a kiss on her cheek with a nuzzle.

"Pff... It is." She agreed, hugging her boyfriend fleetingly before standing and stretching her arms. "Come on." She said over her shoulder, smiling slightly. "Let's take a look around the shops." She suggested, glancing beyond the gates of the large park to the almost empty shopping streets beyond. Well. That last kiss was likely to be the best she was going to get today. "Okay?"

(((SORRY. THIS IS CRAP. I can't post properly when I haven't posted for a few days. o_o))

((HEY SELVAI NO ONE KNOWS WHERE TO GO BESIDES AVA, YOU DICK. So no Hare this post.))

Dravius got to his feet when prompted by Maya, let his arms swing bonelessly for a moment before striaghtening up, arching his back to the extreme until the vertebrae in his back released a series of pops. "I love the city. It's too quiet without all the cars and bikes and people." He remarked quietly, stepping around a large puddle to walk next to the young woman.

Holding the gate open for his companion, Dravius looked around the town. After being in so many they started to all look the same, and the true was certainly true for this one. Or maybe they'd been here before. Dravius had an issue with remembering where he'd been. He'd always find himself following his memories of a town only to wind up lost when it turned out he'd never been to that particular city before.

The young man usually ended up having to phone the circus and plead with someone to find him. And indure some good-natured teasing. He did have Maya with him this time. So she could phone if they still ended up lost. As they walked, Dravius noticed that the streets were relatively empty, and he had to keep skirting around puddles on the sidewalk. It was in rather poor condition, especially near the park, where the trees had pushed tree roots under the concrete. Around the small hills caused by the roots, the pavement had buckled and cracked.

Which Dravius only noticed when he nearly tripped over one said small hill and plowed through a shop window. As it was, he threw a hand out to catch himself, hand smacking against the window. He glanced into the shop, and saw a clerk apparently surprised by the loud noise, staring at the two of them outside his shop. Dravius mouthed "Sorry!" silently, then turned with a sheepish look towards Maya. "I feel sort of bad for scaring the guy." He chuckled, then glanced at the shop window once again.

Words painted in a swirling script proclaimed that it was a sweet shop, and Dravius knew that he would very much enjoy going inside. Although his sugar highs were not SUPER enjoyable for anyone else. Maybe if he didn't eat an obscene amount of candy. "Can we pop in here for a bit, May?" Dravius pointed to the door of the sweet shop, which had a sign bearing "Open" on it.


((WOW WHO SUCKS I SUCK YIPPEE))

((Selvai. Get your butt on here.))

"Pff. Random." Maya responded to Dravius' seemingly out-of-nowhere comment; Following beside him with her arms linked behind her back. She was still, despite her best efforts to ignore it, painfully aware of how uncovered her wings were, and it was making her more nervous than usual. "And I know you do." She agreed idly, stepping around a large puddle that had formed at the base of a tree. For some reason the day seemed to have just got more dull... She couldn't quite figure why, though. Maybe Dravius' seeming uninterest was rubbing off on her?... That's what it felt like, at any rate. Sighing quietly, the blonde shook her head, idly reminding herself to get something for Angel before they headed back.

The following silence of the Co-Master meant Maya unconsciously lapsed into her own silence, staring at the floor with an abstracted expression as she walked; Only pulled out of her reverie when the tall male next to her jolted forward. She looked up sharply in time to catch him hit the window, turning to look at the startled person on the side as the Co-Master righted himself.

"Yeah... I think anyone would get scared if they saw you all of a sudden." She teased in a half-hearted manner, a small smile on her face, though it lasted only a few seconds. She stared at Dravius for a moment when he mentioned the shop, then allowed her gaze to fall on the sign, blinking. "If you want to." She said, looking at the displays behid the glass. The butterfly couldn't quite help feeling this was a bad idea... Or at least it was if Dravius decided to buy some of this stuff. He tended to get a little unpredictable after too much chocolate... Or, anything sweet, really.

Stepping lightly into the shop, ignoring the clerks peculiar looks towards both her and the man who had startled him, Maya stopped herself in front of a rather large display of colourful boiled sweets, although it was somewhat difficult to keep her attention focused there. The sheer amount of choice and pattern in this store was enough to have you looking around for hours.

Looking over her shoulder, Maya raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend. "Did you want to look for something in particular?" She asked, turning back to the colourful display, arms once again locking behind her back, her wings seemingly to fit in perfectly with the bright, cheerful surroundings.

((*puts butt on forum*))

Selvai stood from the table himself as Raphael rose to leave, distantly acknowledging the circus master as he passed and patted him on the shoulder. The magician walked back to his waiting plate, staring at it for a moment before picking up the food and disposing of it. He didn't have much of an appetite left after the phone call from his sister.

The left the food van, heading back for the one he shared with Karene, detouring briefly to search out anti-nausea medication for Karene's stomach. Stepping inside, he placed the bottle on the night stand next the their bed, within Karene's reach. Toeing off his boots, the magician climbed into bed beisde the caramel haired woman, laying on his side and carefully looping one arm around her waist. Selvai sighed deeply, burying his face in Karene's hair. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked quietly.

-----

The silver haired woman began to shake with anger, taking a step towards Hare before regaining her composure. "What do you think I was doing up here, idiot? Playing teatime with the witch?" Ava spat. Thin lines of black were beginning to form on her skin, and the scientist turned away abruptly, picking up her favorite scalpel and running her fingers over the handle to calm herself. "Yes, she's sufficently wounded," she said snidely at the tall, top hat wearing man.

The silver haired woman snorted in derision at both Hare's outburst, and his insistance at hurrying things along. The man was obviously an amatuer when it came to taking revenge on someone. "Yes, make it quick, so they can't suffer? Put them out of their misery before they understand what misery truly is? You may as well hire some common street thug to shoot them!" Ava raged, breathing raggedly. The scientist pressed her free hand to her forehead, breathing deeply and taking a moment to compose herself.

She did turn her attention back to the window sill at Neva's words, eyes lighting up at the sight of the blood drops. The scientist delicately touched the tip of her indew finger to one of the still wet drops, a demented smile blossoming across her face. "Well, it looks like Neva is correct. We can't after the next taget yet. It seems as though we aren't quite done here." Ava lifted her finger, briefly showing the blood to the others before gathering up her tools and heading for the door. She looked back at Hare, throwing out one last parting shot. "Such a shame your bunnies aren't something useful, like perhaps bloodhounds. It's going to be difficult to track all these small drops of blood."

-----

"Excuse us, sir."

Erik turned toward the voice, his pleasant smile freezing when he saw the two uniformed police officers. "Ah. How may I help you today, officer?" he croaked, trying to recall if he'd been involved in any... misunderstandings recently that would have warranted a visited from law enforcement.

"We need to speak with whoever is in charge of this establishment," the taller of the two, a sandy haired man with a thin face told the shifter. His partner, short, blonde woman stood quietly to the side, raising her penciled in eyebrows when Erik tried smiling at her. He couldn't really blame her, his face probably looked as though he were having a stroke. "May I ask what this is about?" the red head asked carefully.

The pair shared a look. "I'm afraid we can't discuss that as of yet," the woman answered.

"Right, of course," Erik agreed nervously. 'Well, he should be here somewhere, so I'll just. Lead you to him," the shifter babbled, already edging away from the police and toward the center of the circus grounds.

He spotted the blond man as he was storming out of the food van, looking none too pleased, and Erik groaned quietly. "Raphael!" he called, hurrying toward the circus master and getting a few steps ahead of the pair of cops. "These police officers say they need to speak with you," he explained, then leaned in, and in a quieter voice continued, "Look, whatever they say, I didn't do anything this time, I swear."

((... This is proof that I must nag you CONSTANTLY to get a post. Selvai. Hurry up and post. *Stare* ))

Dravius trotted up the steps before Maya and held the door open for the woman, his mouth twitching upwards in a small smile. The grey day outside was casting a muted sort of light on the entire landscape, but the inside of this candy shop was bright and cheerful. When Maya stopped, he also paused in staring at the rows of confections behind glass cases. As she turned, Dravius took a few steps until he was directly behind her and took both of her hands in his, bringing them out from behind her back and holding them in both of his.

Gently, the young man turned Maya until he could stare quite seriously into her eyes, although his dark hair obscured part of his ruined eye. "Maya. I know I'm dense all the time, and I don't say this nearly enough, but I love you. So much." Without giving her a chance to respond, he wrapped his arms around the young woman, his height lifting her onto her toes a little bit as he embraced her. Dravius sighed and closed his eyes, offering a; "Sorry I'm such a hopeless guy." He laughed quietly, not letting go of her as they both stood in the chocolate-scented air.

Letting go of Maya, Dravius looked a bit sheepish and stuffed his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched upward a bit. Clearing his throat, he retrieved a plastic bag and scooped mostly random candy into it, although he steered very clear of anything that contained licorice. Ew. "Would you like anything, May?" Dravius turned his head towards Maya as he asked this, head tilted to the side.

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

Hare raised an eyebrow at Ava. She was even more unhinged than he. Or she was just worse at hiding it. Or a combination of the two. It didn't matter. Oh, good god, they were staying longer. How...tiresome. An odd calm had descended over Hare, and a curious sense of detchment had taken hold. He felt a bit like someone standing behind a pane of glass, looking into a scene that seemed absolutely chaotic.

The insult served to drag him back to the scene, though. Hare sneered at Ava, and said, "Oh, not useful? At least they didn't get set on fire by a woman being held by a giant snake. They managed to escape that particular fate." His glare was pointed, aimed at the spot where the woman had caught fire.

"Are you just planning to follow tiny blood droplets? What if she stops bleeding? Or gets in a taxi?" Hare asked, raising both eyebrows in a contrary fashion. "Well then we're all just sunk, aren't we."

Oop. Things seemed to be going downhill really rather fast; And Adam sighed quietly as Ava laid into Hare, and the latter responded with just as much subdued vehemence. The red head very rarely lost his temper, and although his current emotion couldn't really be called "anger", he closed his eyes in an obvious sign of irritation. This plan of Ava's was not likely to succeed at all if she and Hare didn't put aside their differences. Fighting amongst themselves would only weaken them.

Glancing out of the window, where Neva still stood with her eyes on the bickering duo, Adam let loose another sigh. "You should really focus on the task at hand." He said, looking between Ava and Hare with slightly raised brows, his gaze pausing on his the gentlemanly companion. "I know you're impatient. But this is Ava's plan. We are only assisting. If you wish, you can always return to the club and satisfy your need for keeping to a perfect time." He paused, then looked back at the window. "I don't believe this is something that can be timed in such a way, so it may be an idea to ignore your watch... For now, at least. You get easily annoyed at any lack of time keeping."

He shrugged slightly, as Neva glanced back at the blood droplets. Hare's last question had her frowning slightly. "It still might be a good idea to follow it." The lush bodied woman murmered. "The last thing any of us wants is for our escapee to let the Circus know what's happening. And, if she's in that much of a state, it's only natural she'd do so as soon as she is able."

"We may already be too late then." Adam said, arms crossed as he stepped after Ava. "And if so, there's little point chasing her now. We may as well do more damage elsewhere, while we have time remaining. If any at all."

"And if we don't?." Neva asked. "If the Circus knows about us now... Things have just got a lot more difficult. Chasing other family members may be pointless. For all we know, the Circus is warning them as we speak, and getting to them is another matter... They could be towns away."

Adam considered it. She had a point. If the woman had warned the Circus, the Circus was likely to be moving in order to protect anyone of any importance outside the grounds. And, by the time their little group got to any other town, Ava's planned targets may already be perfectly safe, or very well protected. The red head exhaled quietly, then looked at Ava stood in the doorway.

"Well. What do you want to do?... Neva may be right. We may be wasting our time now, looking for your other targets. Saying that, there's still a slim possibility this woman hasn't contacted the Circus... I suppose it depends..." He mused. "On what exactly is next in your plan after killing friends and family of the Circus."

~~~

Raphael, heading to his van with a slight scowl on his face, had been seriously hoping that perhaps Selvai had misheard his sister... But no. Of course not. That was probably being just a little TOO hopeful about the whole thing... It wasn't likely at all that the magician had misheard anything... Which only meant more trouble... Specifically for people outside the Circus, if the blonde's assumption was correct.

Sighing quietly, the blonde reached out to open his van door, when a familiar voice caught his attention and he turned his head to look over his shoulder. His heart sank somewhat at the police tailing Erik's steps. Oh god, what now?

Sighing through his nose, the tall male allowed his hands to drop, frowning as Erik quickly laid to rest any possibility he was involved in any way. The blonde rolled his eyes slightly, then stared at the people in uniforms. "Officers." He greeted, leaning over to open his van door. "Please, come in." He invited, before flicking his head at Erik as a way of telling him to go find something useful to do. The tall blonde then stepped into his van, closing the door with a quiet snap behind him.

"What's the problem?"

~~~

Maya had been lost in thought, eyes noting the many shades of colour situated on the one rack in front of her. She idly wondered whether this sweets had been made here, or whether they'd been iimported from someplace, and had still been musing over her thoughts when she felt Dravius take hold of her hands; Pulling her around to look him straight in the face. Hm?

The butterfly really wasn't all that sure what she was expecting, and as her boyfriend started speaking, her look of confusion became slight concern. What was he talking about?... She hadn't mentioned anything about him being dense or... Anything..l. His following words only made her look more surprised, and she made a little noise to accompany that look when Dravius wrapped his arms around her. Pff. He certainly chose his moments.

Still...It wasn't often he surprised her like this, and his words had a pretty dramatic effect on the blonde, and she had to smile into his shoulder as she rested her own arms around his waist. And it was more than a little nice to hear him say it. "I didn't say anything." She smiled in reply. "But I know you do... And I forgive you." The blonde replied with a teasing lilt in her voice. "Well... For now. Maybe. You still owe me that kiss." She replied with a quiet laugh. This was always how it seemed to be, all this random apologising, and as Dravius pulled away from her, she looked at him with a subdued sort of gaze. "You say sorry an awful lot, though." The blonde said, watching as Dravius started on the sweets. "Uh... No, thanks. I'm okay."

Glancing around, Maya then headed for the door. "I'll wait for you outside." She said, pausing by the door for a moment before looking back at Dravius. "I love you too, you know." She said with a slight smile, then stepped outside and sat herself on a bench a little down the street, staring at the sparkling droplets on the nearby wooden arm; eyes lost in thought for a few moments. She eventually went to watching the sky, slowly clearing of cloud to reveal a bright, azure blue that promised a more cheerful day.

~~~

Karene had been rather enjoying herself, splayed out on her bed, now that her shaky tummy had calmed somewhat. The caramel haired woman had been almost ready to heft herself out of bed, though rejected that idea in favour of floating around on the duvet for a couple more minutes; Just as Selvai entered the van.

The magician watched him as he clambered onto the bed, lips twitching when he buried his face into her hair. "Mhm. Quite a bit. It doesn't seem to last too long. Maybe I'm improving, hm?" She murmered, wrapping her arms around her husbands neck and giving him a rather generous kiss. She pulled away long enough to grin at the stripe haired male, kissed him again for another moment or two, then lifted herself to rest on an elbow.

"Hey. Did you actually get anything to eat?" She asked, placing her chin in her palm. "You were awfully quick, you know.What did you do, wolf it down?" Laughing, she punched Selvai playfully in the arm, then went back to resting her arms over the man's shoulders; Snuggling into his chest with a contented sigh. "Uh. I was just about to get up too. I think I can manage staying here a little bit, though, seeing as you're here now." She murmered with a smile, moving her arms slightly to place them around her husbands waist. Well... She had no other plans today.

"Mm. I would hope so," Selvai murmured into Karene's hair. He shifted a bit when she moved, joining in the kiss with enthusiasm. When Karene pulled away a few minutes later, the magician smiled up at her warmly. "I brought some medicine, though, just in case. At least you will have it on hand if your stomach bothers you again."

"As it turned out, I did not have that much of an appetite as I thought," Selvai continued. He considered, then, telling her about the phone call from Jemis, what his sister had said about her encounter with Ava and the scientist's plans. However, aside from trying to contact anyone they knew outside of the circus, there wasn't all that much that they could at the moment. And Karene was already dealing with an illness. He saw no reason to add more stress to that until absolutely necessary. "Mm. I am perfectly fine with staying in bed for as long as you wish," the striped haired man muttered, slowly stroking one hand down her back. He would tell her later, he decided.

-----

"Well, we aren't all so lucky to be able to stand back and have some woodland creatures fight for us," Ava snapped at Hare. She turned away, ignoring the rest of his taunts and absently rubbing the blood between her forefinger and thumb as she thought over both Adam and Neva's words. The scientist finally turned back to them, eyes clear of her previous rage. "You both make good points," she said to the red head and the other woman. "It's true that we may be able to catch some of the other targets off guard, if we were to leave right now and go after them. However, it's also possible that the circus has been alerted, and is moving to protect them. However," she said, smirking. "I doubt they'll be able to reach our wayward witch before us."

"We'll follow those as far as we can," Ava said rather calmly, gesturing in the direction of the window sill and the blood drops. "If we find her, we kill her, and anyone who's in the way. If, somehow, we lose the trail, we can always fall back on your suggestion, Adam, and head for another target. There's a chance we could reach one before the circus does, of course," the silver haired woman declared, heading out of the house and around to the window Jemis had climbed out of. It was fairly easy to find the beginning of the trail, a large spot of blood drops where the dark haired woman had presumely stopped after climbing down and before taking off. The rest of the trail was not as easy to follow, consisting of a drop or two every few feet, but it appeared that the magician had tried to head back toward the town. Ava walked along it for a moment, taking note of where each drop was before looking for the next one. The scientist stopped after a few yards, looking at her companions. "Well, shall we?"

"I do say sorry an awful lot, don't I. I-" Dravius had been on the verge of apologizing just for apologizing too much, and instead just shut his mouth and smiled. In truth he apologized because he felt a bit....useless ost of the time. He was terrible at any sort of romantic behaviour, and Maya could probably do a lot better. Well. In his opinion. Dravius just wanted to make sure that she was happy.

Tossing his bag of candy onto the counter, he raised an eyebrow at the clerk behind the counter, who was staring openly at Dravius' heavily scarred visage. After a few moments of the two staring at each other, the Co-Master cleared his throat uncomfortably and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The older woman serving as clerk jumped slightly at the sound and picked the plastic bag full of candies up.

After weighing the bag and offering a price, the woman very gingerly took a few bills from Dravius. She acted as if the well over six foot man in front of her was going to shatter like a dropped plate if treated too harshly, which caused Dravius to grin slightly, and turned on heel to exit the shop.

The sky had lightened almost a startling amount when Dravius opened the door, light streaming down, instead of the heavy, grey light that had been in it's place before. The cottony clouds had broken up and lightened in colour. The young man sat down next to Maya and plucked a chocolate sphere out of the bag of candies. Popping it into his mouth, he glanced up at the sky again, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

"Care to walk?" Dravius got to his feet. He offered a hand to her, smiling.

"Uh. I think I can manage without the medicine for the time being." Karene murmered, wriggling slightly at the contact on her back, before detaching her arms from around her husbands waist and stretching both above her head. "I'll take some if I start feeling unwell again, though.. Thanks for the thought." The caramel haired woman grinned, then leant over just enough to kiss Selvai quickly on the lips; Before pushing herself up and over him, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, well. You might have lost your appetite-" Karene started, quickly slipping on a pair of trainers and standing from the bed. "-But I could murder some pancakes right now." Quickly stretching, the woman looked over her shoulder. "You can come with me, if you want?... It might be an idea to go and visit Di, too. It's been a bit since we've spent any time with her."

Karene shrugged slightly, looking slightly thoughtful before smiling. "What do you say? Disera might think we've abandoned her." The magician laughed, before heading to the door and stepping outside. She was pleased to note the improvements, although she had to pause to watch as two police officers passed her and Selvai's van, heading out of the grounds.

What was all that about?

~~~

"So we go after the woman." Neva said once Ava had concluded her speech; Eyes falling onto the small, barely noticeable blood drops that decorated the windowsill of the old, rundown house the group currently occupied. They were only really noticeable because of the number of little red droplets, rather than the size. But the dark haired woman figured it would probably be easy enough to follow them... Unless of course, like Hare mentioned, Jemis happened to catch a taxi or something. Still, they didn't have much to lose by trying.

Pulling her eyes away from the window, she focused them back on the silver haired scientist. She had been about to ask a question when the woman left, and Neva simply shrugged before following Ava out of the building. The scientist seemed to pause to wait for the rest of them, though there was little need.

Neva and Adam were close on the womans heels, and presumably so was Hare; Considering that constant need he had to hurry things along.

"Tell me." Neva said suddenly, walking alongside Ava with her dark, sultry eyes focused on the sparse blood trail they followed. "What do you plan to do once we run out of options, dealing with the Circus' friends and family?... Surely you don't plan to attack the Circus itself?" The woman looked up, shrugging slightly as she did. Well. She'd been in the Circus itself. It was not likely they'd get very far if they stormed the place... There were a LOT of people there that could stand in their way. Not to mention the protective enchantments and everything else.

The question was not a random one, either. Neva coudln't quite remember Ava mentioning anything about what she wanted to do once she'd damaged the outside of the Circus to her satisfaction, and, as previously mentioned, she couldn't see the scientist blundering into the Circus just like that. The black haired woman couldn't see Ava simply halting her revenge anytime soon, either... So it only stood to reason she''d have another plan.

It was only a short time later that Neva paused, eyes on the sidewalk. The group had followed the blood droplets. Quite far. Despite the small number and size, it was clear that Ava had done quite a bit of damage to the escapee. Enough to keep her bleeding, at any rate. The droplets had led them to a quiet street, and as far as Neva could tell, they carried on down it, an unusual place to run to, definately.

~~~

Ark had been watching the street and surrounding area outside for a good while, seated on the roof of Lillian's house, his sun visor casting a shadow over his eyes. He had weedled the descriptions of the people who had attacked Jemis from said magician, so he knew what to look for. Initially, he wasn''t all that worried. As far as Jemis had been able to tell him, none of her attackers had any ability that meant they could follow after her, so with a bit of luck...

The blue-haired male cleared his throat, sighing quietly as he turned his head both ways up the street. It was then, of course, he caught sight of the group, and a sudden, niggling feeling began to make itself known. He kept his eyes firmly on the group until they paused, quite a distance away, before quickly making his way from the roof and entering the house.

"We need to go." He said in a tone that rang with urgency as he entered the room where Jemis sat. "Right now, would be good a time. It looks like they've managed to follow you here."

~~~

The visit with the police was brief. The people they really needed to see, unfortunately, were not really available, and it was with a definate dread that Raphael promised he'd let them know. The Ring-Master watched, pale faced, though resoloute, as the officers walked away, leaving the grounds with their shoulders emptied of their news.

"Have you not left yet?" The blonde asked of Erik, who still seemed to be floating around the van, looking like he needed something to do. That was easily rectified.. "It doesn't matter..." He sighed, sinking onto his stairs with his head in his hands. "I need you to find Kioko for me. Tell her I need to speak with her. Urgently. And-" The male looked up, an obscure sort of pain on his face. "When Dravius gets back. Tell him to see me also.. As soon as he's able."

~~~

Maya had been keeping herself amused, while waiting for Dravius to finish in the candy store, by eyeing the small, sparkling droplets that resided on the arm of her bench. She found that even moving her head slightly caused the colours in those little pearls to shimmer and alter, and with the sudden flare in sunlight, the colours had became instantly more vivid. She had been rather enjoying the simple experience when she heard the door to the store open; Looking over in time to catch the Co-Master striding forward.

"What are you grinning at?" She asked with a smile at the sight of the tall male's amused face as he seated himself next to her. "Don't tell me you've already inhaled too much sugar." The blonde laughed, raising her eyebrows. She turned her gaze back to the water droplets mere seconds before Dravius stood, and she turned to look at him, staring at his outstretched hand for a second.

"You just sat down." Maya laughed. "But fine." She snorted, taking hold of the Co-Masters hand and pulling herself to her feet. She then promptly stole Dravius' bag of candies, rummaging around in it for a second or two, before handing it back to the tall male next to her, popping the stolen sweet into her mouth. The butterfly gave her boyfriend an innocent smile. Mostly feigned. Then the young woman skipped forward a couple of steps before falling back and walking beside the tall male, holding onto his hand again.

"Well?" She said, swallowing the candy, and looking idly at the passing shops before stealing another sweet. "Did you have someplace in mind?"

HEY SELVAI. POST. *Spams Yahoo*

Ava glanced over at Neva, then turned her attention back to the trail of blood. It seemed as though the scientist was not going to answer the dark haired woman's questions, until she finally spoke a few moments later. "You're right, I don't intend to attack the circus directly. With just the four of us, that would be incredibly foolish, not to mention it's likely we would be wiped out before we even made any headway into the grounds. In fact, we'd need many more people than we currently do if we want to launch any sort of attack on their encampment."

The silver haired woman suddenly smiled, a cold, cruel expression. "It's lucky then, that the Majikus usually sets up near those towns full of normal people, then. A few unsolved, gruesome murders, some "evidence" pointing toward the circus, a few rumors, and those sheep will be ready and willing to march on them with torches and pitchforks. And if not, I'm sure you can convince the local law enforcement of how dangerous the freak show is. The males, anyway."

The silver haired woman had continued tracking the blood drops down the side street, giving the homes a look of disinterest as she passed. The trail appeared to be leading toward a small house near the end of the street, and the female scientist headed that way. The garage attached to the house suddenly opened, a small vehicle slowly backing down the driveway, and Ava quickened her pace, pulling ahead of the others. When Jemis appeared in the backseat, the silver haired women screeched in anger, flat out running toward the car. "She's getting away!" she at the other three. "Hurry up and go after her!"

-----

Jemis had slumped back into the overstuffed chair after hanging up with Selvai, trying to doze. The dark haired woman sighed, shifting as she tried to get comfortable with the bandages under her clothes. She'd nearly fallen asleep when Ark rushed into the room, and the blue haired man's frantic words caused her to jerk back awake, wincing a bit at the movement. "Crap," she muttered, pushing herself up. "This is why I didn't want to stop."

"Kay, go get Lillian and ask her if she has a car, we need to get out of here quick," Jemis told him, gingerly leaning down to should her pack. "And, she should pack herself a bag, I don't think she should stay here since those people were able to track me down."

The car was a small, four door affair, old but in surprisingly good shape, aside from the faded paint job. Jemis had laid sideways on the backseat, knees drawn up and head resting on her pack. Ark had taken the passenger seat, with Lillian behind the wheel. The dark haired magicain sighed as they pulled out of the garage, sitting up to speak with the other woman. "Head north out of town, I'll tell you where to go from there," she instructed. Her eyes flicked briefly to the rearview mirror, and widened in shock when she spotted Ava and the others, heading down the street and toward Lillian's home. "Crap, they're getting closer. Drive, Lillian, quick!"

-----

"Whoa, sorry, Raff. I was just curious as to what was going on, dear. It's not often a pair of cops decide to visit us." The shifter watched the blond worriedly as the man sank down onto his van steps, about to ask what had gotten the circus master so upset, when he wa told to go and find Kioko. "Right. I'll get right on that," Erik replied, casting a worried look back at Raphael as he walked away.

He found the pyro hanging out in front of her van, having a conversation with Adriel. The two women broke off their talk as he approached, looking up at the red head as he waved cheerily. "Hello, dears. Snowflake, Raffy asked me to come and find you, appearantly there's something he wants to see you about in his van."

The white haired woman rolled her eyes at the old nickname, standing up from her van steps. "Did he say what it was about?"

"Mmm, only that it was urgent, dear."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll go see what's going on. I guess I'll talk with you again later, Addie." So saying, the pyro waved to the dark haired woman before heading in the direction of the ring master's van. Erik smiled at Kioko until the latter turned away, then he allowed himself to frown.

"Alright, now that she's gone, what's happening?" Adriel asked, crossing her arms as she took in the expression on Erik's face.

"I have no idea," the shifter sighed. "A pair of police officers showed up, spoke to Raffy, left, and then he asked me to send Kioko his way and do the same with Dravius when he gets back. You don't happen to know when that will be, do you?"

"Sorry, no," Adriel shook her head, then looked at Kioko's retreating back. "I'm going to go with Kioko and see if everything's okay. You just wait for Dravius and Maya to get back." It only took a few moments to catch up with the white haired girl, and Adriel walked beside her in silence until they reached the van belonging to Raphael. Frowning at the sight of him on the steps, head in his hands, Kioko exchanged a concerned look with Addie before stepping forward. "Hey, Raphael. Erik said you needed to see me?"

-----

Uhhh Selvaiiiii what happened to editing.

And Dravvy. Post.

I won't be able to post properly soon. o_o

Bleh. There goes my motivation.

((FFFFF I'm so sorry, guys, I've been really swamped with school. -Facedown on ground-))

Hare had followed the group out of the house, keeping his thoughts to himself and a blank look on his face. His eyes were focused on something far away, and a small smile tugged his lips up into alost a bemused expression. He was actually finding it distracting, the throbbing pain that resided just behind his eyes. Pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, he glanced at a particular house at the grinding noise of a garage door, the noise abrasive to his current headache.

The fact that the car seemed to hold Jemis and two other people cause Hare to curl his lip and snarl to himself, hands curling into fists. Shadows seemed to draw themselves onto his face in thick lines, underscoring his cheekbones and settling into his eyesockets. The hollows of his temples darkened, and with a clearing of his throat the jaw of his canehead creaked open, rabbits materialsing, and with a slightly pained expression on Hare's part grew in size, shuddering slightly.

Although Ava had gotten a headstart, the muscular man's creations eaisly passed her with lengthened strides. The largest of the three gained steadily on the car, panting heavily. Each pant expelled a smooth silver wave of mercury, and the dark fur around it's feet was stained a gleaming silver. Reaching out a paw, the rabbit only managed to claw the liscence plate off of the car with a hiss of frustration, stumbling slightly, and falling beind the car. The rabbits themselves were now at least as high as Hare's waist, not including their ears.

The recently-thwarted rabbits gave a frustrated growl that didn't really suit a bunny. This was also executed by Hare, who was currently stuck to the spot he began, concentrating through the other of all headaches, hands tight around his cane. Every time he even thought about moving, the smallest summoned creature would flicker and stumble on the pavement, taking a moment to recover itself. Thus, Hare was unable to move an inch, and the car really needed to stop. Of course the people who were in a sensible amount of hurry were the ones he was supposed to capture then hold for murder.

Typical, really.

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

((Hey Maya I really don't....I just...town is BOOOOOORING. I'll edit in something shit if you want.))

((Pfffffff it's 'kay. Be nice if you told us, though. xD And oh god does this mean we have to wait til every weekend for a post from you. D;! *Stickprod* And no, that's okay. I can... Do something with nothing. O_O Also. This has taken me FIVE HOURS. I NEVER take this long. D; Uhuuuuuuh.*Rant*))

~~~

"Huh... I see."

Well. That made sense. Sort of. Neva had been expecting something else, though. Something more... Drastic?... Bloody?... Ava's plans to murder innocents and blame the Circus was a good one, she supposed. It would certainly cause the Circus no end of grief... But Neva had truly thought Ava would have wanted to deal with certain members in more violent ways... All things considered. Still. It wasn't her idea. She was simply following along.

Shrugging mentally, the dark haired woman nodded. "Of course. I thought you might have been more direct, however. With certain people, at any rate." The woman had been glancing around, sparing only the fleetest of glances at each house lining the neat street. It was only the scientist's screeching tone that forced Neva's sultry eyed gaze to the last house; Just as a car sped off down the road, having seemingly emerged from the adjoining garage. She could only guess that their escapee was in that vehicle, seeing as she hadn't actually seen the woman and Ava's reaction quite clearly stated there was something of some real importance in relation to that car.

Unfortunately, she could do little more than watch as the vehicle left. She had particular ability that would assist in this situation at all; Unless the driver was male, perhaps... But no. The vehicle was a little too far for that to work right now anyway.

The dark haired woman stood, as Hare made the first attempt to answer Ava's demands; His summoned creatures making after the fleeing car with a surprising amount of speed. Adam, who had walked the entire way in silence, had watched his companions actions before seeming to move himself. His shoved up the left sleeve of his white shirt, revealing a tribal style black tattoo, that depicting an eastern dragon; winding around his wrist. The ink seemed to shimmer, before the form quite literally moved, writhing across the tall male's skin, disappearing up his arm. A dark, blotched shadow began to form between his feet, before the dragon, now far, far larger than it had been printed on his wrist, rose out of the ground in the wake of that shadow.

With a surprising amount of the speed, the huge, shadow like creature shot forward after Hare's rabbits, casting an echoing shadow beneath it as it bolted for the car, intent on tearing the metal object apart.

Ark had been staring into the wing mirror; Cold blue eyes focused on the group down the street. Lillian, sat next to him in the drivers side; Had put her foot down as soon as she had cleared the garage at Jemis' prompting; Asking no questions or even showiing any sign of real surprise. The blue haired male next to her continued to keep his vigil, letting out a quiet hiss as Hare's rabbits caught the back of the car.

"This is WAY too close!" He growled, winding down the window and leaning his head out, hair blowing into his face as he stared down the chasing rabbits and the quickly gaining dragon. "God. Damn." He spat between his teeth; thrusting one hand out towards the chasing monsters; Palm bared. There was a quiet crunching noise; And then an almighty crash as, suddenly, the ground behind the speeding car split, a gigantic wall of ice shooting straight up from the earth, shortly followed by a shocking crash and an enraged bellow as the giant dragon like creature smashed straight into the wall; And returning to it's ink like state, splashing the street with a shocking deluge of black. It slithered back towards an irritated Adam with a peculiar slowness.

The red-head stared at the sheer wall. He made his way quickly to one side of the ice wall; Only to note that the car was nowhere in sight. "Well. Looks like we'll have to move ahead." He looked at Ava. "Well?"

"It won't hold them forever." Ark panted, as the car shot down a relatively empty country road; Pulling himself back in the car and slumping in his seat. Dragging up so much water from so deep underground took an awful lot of effort. "Let's not stop until we absolouely have to..." He added, voice weary, pulling his sunvisor down so that it covered his eyes. The sunlight suddenly hurt. "Jemis. Do you know where this Circus is right now?... It might be the safest place for you."

~~~

The rest of the town's visit passed without much incident, Maya trailing around the place, looking at shops, doing the usual. It was only on her way back to the Circus she actually started to think, trailing slightly behind Dravius, managing to avoid the still present puddles that resided on the field just before the Circus grounds. Needless to say, nothing really all that romantic had happened; And considering it was Dravius, that was normal.

Perfectly. And it was really rather disappointing. Maya couldn't quite help feeling this way; Which these days seemed to be more often than not. Flirting rarely worked with Dravius, and expecting anything from him was usually pointless... She knew that too well. It was all pointless. Pointless to even try. The blonde sighed quietly through her nose. These plans never worked. Why bother?... She was always left like this anyway. Sorely disappointed.

Sighing again, the blonde paused, watching Dravius' retreating back. Her face was unreadable, though her thoughts still buzzed. She might have been thinking about this too much. Possibly... But that didn't matter. Eventually, she'd end up giving up altogether, and then what?. She loved Dravius, of course she did... But it only led to being let down.

Exhaling through her nose, Maya started walking again, sidestepping puddles and looking at the ground as she moved. Well. Whatever. She should probably just stop trying. At least that way, the butterfly figured, she wouldn't expect anything. Letting out an explosive breath of exasperation, the blonde pressed both of her palms against her eyes; Before allowing her arms to fall to her sides. It was only then she realised she hadn't got anything for Angel... Another time, maybe.

~~~

"Oh. Hey, Kioko." Raphael greeted with a tight smile, pushing himself to his feet and standing on his lowest stair; His expression faltering only slightly at the sight of Adriel. He hadn't expected her to be here at all, although it might prove to be a wise idea. Kioko, he figured, would probably need the support.

The Ring-Master sighed quietly, then stepped lightly up the stairs, opening the door and allowing Kioko to enter. The blnode watched the young woman as she headed into his van, then turned his grey eyed gaze to Adriel. "You might as well come in." He said quietly. "She's probably going to need someone with her." Running a hand over his eyes for a moment, Raphael then stepped into his van after Kioko; Settling himself on his desk and leveling a grave sort of the look at the two. He didn't want to do this. Of course he didn't. But he had no choice. Besides... It was probably better coming from him than the police... Although that would be little consolation for the Albino.

"I'm sorry." He started, his voice as grave as his expression. He delivered the news as gently as he was able; The only way he was able to even try to soften the blow slightly. Although, in truth, nothing could have softened what he had told her, no matter how gently he revealed it. The news of the death of her mother would never have been easy on her... Even with Kioko's rocky past with her parents. They were still her parents, after all.

((There Dravvy. You can post for Dravvy now. Selvai will only take forever. o_o))

The town had been just like any other they went through. They really did run together. Like...Dravius didn't know, when you washed a whole bunch of paintbrushes at the same time? Shrugging mentally, he turned around at an explosive sigh from Maya, dancing around a puddle to stand by her side.

"Are you alright?" A concerned look had come over the young man, and he put a hand on Maya's shoulder, tilting his head to the side. The tall man leaned over slightly in order to more easily meet his girlfriend's eyes. Studying her face for a second and finding nothing inherently worrying, other than a slightly exasperated expression, he straightened up again.

Dravius smiled slightly, the crooked expression still tinged with a smidgen of worry. Maya seemed to be rather frustrated with soemthing, and Dravius had an itching feeling that that something was him. Continuing back towards the circus, he palced an arm around Maya's hip and walked next to her in silence, doing his best to avoid puddles.

"I wonder where Raphael's at." Dravius mused out loud, looking around the circus for his friend, standing on tiptoes as if that would actually help him see any farther. The door to his buddy's van was sealed shut, so the Co-Master figured he would knock, just in case Raphael was in there.

Rapping hard on the door, Dravius called out in a cheerful sort of voice, "'re you shut up inside doing paperwork again on such a lovely day?"

"It was no problem." Selvai scooted himself up to lean against the headboard when Karene moved, watching the dark haired woman as she pushed herself off the bed and began putting on shoes. He returned the brief kiss before standing himself. "I will go with you. Perhaps my appetite will return by the time we reach the food van."

"It would be nice to see Disera, and Lionel," Selvai agreed. "Perhaps we could invite them to eat with us?" the magician suggested. He threw a curious look at the pair of cops as they passed by, placing one hand protectively against Karene's back. "Let's go see what Disera is doing, shall we?"

After a few short knocks, the van door was answered by Disera, holding a squirming Lionel on hip. "Oh, hey guys," she said, slightly surprised. "What's up?"

"Karene suggested we come visit you," Selvai explained. "I hope this is not a bad time?"

"Nah, I'm just dealing with a hyper toddler." Disera shifted Leo's weight in her arms, as the young boy leaned forward with a happy "'Rene!", grabbing for Karene. "Seems Leo missed you," she chuckled, stepping out of the van and closing the door behind her. "Do you want to hold him?" the shifter asked the caramel haired woman, offering the eager toddler to her.

-----

Kioko stepped into the circus master's van, an uneasy feeling settling into her stomach. She took a seat in one of the chairs, dimly aware of Adriel coming to stand next to her. The albino watched Rapahel's face intently, fingers clenching and unclenching in her lap as she tried to understand what the blond man was saying.

Oh, no. No no no nononono. Kioko collapsed forward, head bowed over her knees, shaking as she tried to draw in breath. She was dimly aware of Addie kneeling beside her, saying something in a low, urgent tone as the short haired woman placed a hand on her back.

Well, crap. Adriel hurriedly moved to Kioko's side, gently rubbing circles into the younger woman's back as she spoke to her in a soothing tone. "Kioko, you have to breath, you're hyperventilating," she told her. "Come on, deep breaths," Adriel said, gently coaxing the pyro to sit up.

"I-I don't... Why?" the white haired girl said plaintively, breaths now coming in hitching sobs.

"I don't know, sweetie," Adriel answered quietly, looking at Raphael for support. She had little experience as to what to do in this kind of situation, and the dark haired woman found herself wishing Maya was there to take the lead. The butterfly had known Kioko for far longer than Adriel, after all. "I'm so sorry," she offered. She was interrupted from any further condolences by Dravius' loud and inappropriately cheerful (considering what was happening on this side of the door) voice outside the van. Addie winced, noticing the way Kioko had flinched. "Hey," she said, taking one of the albino's hands in hers. "Do you want to go back to your van? I'll walk with you. I doubt you want to talk with alot of people right now," she offered.

-----

Jemis kept her eyes fixed on the attacking creatures, turned around in the backseat with her knees in the seat. As the tall man's rabbit swiped at the car's bumper, Jemis yelped in surprise, scooting backward and nearly falling into the floor. The female magician watched in horrified fascination as Adam's own creature overtook the rabbit, only to crash loudly into the ice barrier Ark had managed to throw up between them.

She held herself tensely for the next few minutes, only allowing herself to slump back into the seats once they were out of sight of the group. "Gah. I am so sorry about this, Lillian," Jemia apologized to the older woman. Exhaling heavily, the black haired woman raised both palms to her face, rubbing at her eyes. "Yeah. I'll give you directions," she said tiredly in response to Ark's question.

The trip back was relatively short; Probably due to Maya being mostly lost in thought, although she was definately awake enough to avoid stepping onto marshy ground. Her eyes had been trained on the earth as she walked, so it was relatively easy for her to pay heed to where she was putting her feet anyway.

Even when arriving at the grounds, the blonde still seemed somewhat lost in thought, slender fingers running idly across her bottom lip; The whites of the nails putting slight pressure on the soft flesh there. "Hm, what?" The butterfly asked suddenly, dragging her eyes away from the ground to look at Dravius when he dropped back next to her.

"I'm fine." She lied, looking back at the glittering grass. She was really no good at lying, truth be told; But it wasn't likely Dravius would notice, and she didn't feel like telling him how she felt. Doing that would only lead to a conversation she'd had many times with him before, and she really felt she couldn't handle that again right now. Dravius' sudden walking embrace didn't really elicit any other reaction out of her either; The blonde only sighing quietly through her nose, idly listening to the Co-Master's sudden want to find Raphael for whatever reason.

Maya had, initially, hoped to go someplace by herself for a little bit. Mope around, and all that; Once she'd retrieved Angel. Of course, Raphael was still looking after the little girl, so the blonde willingly went along with Dravius; Glancing up only when he knocked on the door of the Ring-Masters van.

~~~

"Sure. Why not." Karene replied to Selvai's suggestion for Disera and Leo to join them for something to eat; Watching the progress of the police as they disappeared into the distance. She was still idly wondering what had warranted such a visit when she took off after her husband, walking with her hands in her pockets as the two headed for Disera's van.

The sight of the shifter and her toddler pushed the peculiar visitors out of Karene's mind; And the magician smiled warmly at Leo's somewhat enthusiastic greeting. "Well." The caramel haired woman laughed, taking the squirming toddler from her mother. "I missed you too."

The magician spent a couple of minutes cooing over the little boy, before gesturing for the food van. "Want to join us for something to eat?" Karene asked, resting Lionel gently on a hip. "I might not actually eat anything, mind... But it'll be nice to just talk for a bit. Won't it, little man?" The magician chuckled, playing with Leo's hair. Stepping aside to allow Disera to get down her stairs; The caramel haired woman headed straight for the food van, making herself comfortable at a clear table once the small group had reached it.

She settled Leo in her lap; Then looked at Disera. "This one must have been giving you some right trouble this morning." She laughed, trying to keep Leo still. "I really don't get how people so small have so much energy to spare. But anyway. How've you been?"

~~~

Raphael had expected this. Pretty much. Although he supposed it could have been a lot worse. Saying that... The shock would most likely delay the most painful part for the albino for a while. The Ring-Master's expression was sympathetic, as he watched Adriel do her best to comfort the younger woman; Returning her look with one of helplessness. His job wasn't yet finished.

Running a hand quickly over his face, the blonde made a move to go and join Kioko and Adriel on the other side of the room when a knock at the door caused him to stop for a moment. Dravius' voice made him sigh inwardly. God damn his timing. Stepping over to the door, Raphael paused to glance over his shoulder as Adriel suggested she take Kioko out of the van, before opening the door.

Maya noted immediately the look on the Ring-Master's face; As the blonde man stepped aside to allow Adriel to pass by with a distraught looking Kioko. The butterfly winged young woman almost forgot her own thoughts at the sight of the distressed albino. Before she was even able to ask what was wrong, Raphael spoke.

"Come inside." Was all he said, in a strangely neutral, detached sort of voice, before turning and heading back into his van. Maya took one startled, slightly concerned glance at Dravius, then followed the Ring-Master, frowning slightly.

"Raphael, what-"

"I've had a bit of distressing news." The Ring-Master started, stepping over to close the door behind Dravius, before returning to his desk. He quickly rephrased what he had said to Kioko; Pausing for a while after, staring hard at the wood of his desk. "Thing is..." He continued, his voice eerily clear after the silence. "Kioko's mother wasn't the only one they found."

There was another short, following silence, Maya sat on the edge of Raphael's bed, looking more than just a little bit alarmed. It was a good while before she managed to turn her gaze to the Ring-Masters back. "... The... other one..." She murmered, quietly.

Raphael made a sound, as though about to speak; Although he seemed to cut himself off, his eyes still focused firmly on the desk in front of him. Maya quite clearly saw the tall blonde close his eyes, his head dropping a fraction before he said in a tight voice-

"Xavier Wolfe."

Dravius steped back as the door opened, any cheerfulness leaving his face at the sight of the teary albino. Just as he opened his mouth to offer either reassurance or a question, Raphael brought his attention back to the blonde. The tone in his friend's voice made Dravius uneasy, and he clenched his hands then slwoly unfurled his fingers, an expression of anxiety.

Dravius had leaned his long frame against the wall of the van to listen, his hands in his pockets. His eyebrows had furrowed and a stormy look had come over his face. Kioko's mother hadn't seemed like a responsible parent, nor a particularly kind one, but that didn't make the news any less unsettling.

At Raphael's half announcement, the young man pulled one of his hands on his pockets and immediately started gnawing on the skin around his nails and on the sides of his fingers, tugging off shreds of flesh.

When the name was resolutely said, seeming to hang in the air with a heaviness that words shouldn't possess, Dravius dug his teeth into the side of his thumb, taking the digit away from his mouth with the skin still clenched in between his teeth. The finger began bleeding straight off, and Dravius tucked it into the fist he had formed, his face blank.

The muscles in his arms were trembling minutely, one hand in a fist and the other in his pocket. The breath he had been taking in had since caught in his throat, and Dravius felt as if he were choking. He opened his mouth slightly and then shut it again, unsure of what he wanted to say. Making an effort to clear his throat, Dravius took a deep breath, then ran his hands through his hair, still without any particular expression on his face.

Eventually, the Co-Master just let his knees bend, gradually, until he slid down the wall and was sitting on the floor of the van. "Wh...Who?" Dravius managed to spit the word out after a false start, heels of hands pressed into his eyes, and the one word slightly muffled by his forearms, which were inches from his face. With his shoulders rounded, and knees bent until they wouldn't go any farther, he looked devastated, but under his hands his eyes were wide open.

The rest of Dravius' face was relaxed, mouth open an inch or two, and breathing shallowly, as if he had just run somewhere.

((What the hell, Selvai. You posted for Kioko, Selvai and Di in about two hours... And it takes you EIGHT to post just for Jemis?... And WHERE IS AVA OH MY GOD. I just can't leave you to post on your own.

Well. You may as well post Ava seperately now.))

Whatever Maya had been expecting to come out of Raphael's mouth, it most certainly wasn't that. He must have made some sort of mistake, surely... Xavier wasnt nearly stupid enough to get himself murdered... Right? The blonde had remained sat on the Ring-Master's bed, hands folded in her lap; Her violet eyes surveying the tall male's rigid back as he stood with his face resoloutely towards his desk. Her expression was both disbelieving and slightly dazed, as she pulled her gaze away from Raphael to stare hard at the wooden floor of his van, her thoughts almost sluggish. Poor Kioko... And now this...

It took perhaps a minute or so for the information to catch up in her mind, and with a despairing sigh the butterfly covered her face with her hands; Dropping them after only a moment once realising she had entered the van with Dravius. She quickly looked over towards the Co-Master in time to catch him sliding to the floor. Anyone who didn't know Dravius may not have noted his agitated, grieving state; He was usually rather hard to read, even in the most emotionally draining of situations, but both Maya and Raphael had known him far longer than just anyone.

The blonde, naturally, was sat beside the Co-Master within the space of seconds, one hand resting consolingly on the tall male's forearm. She chose not to say anything to him. He wasn't the sort to speak of his emotions and right now... She didn't particularly want to push him into it. Besides... She was struggling with the news herself, and she wanted answers.

She had no chance to ask them though, as she was a little preoccupied with Dravius; And the male in question chose that moment to state his own.

Raphael, still stood by his desk, turned to face his two visitors. It had not got easy the second time around. Not even slightly. If anything, it had been worse. Dravius had been close to Xavier, despite only knowing him five years... And being close to the Co-Master himself... Well. Raphael hadn't wanted to put him through this... Him or Kioko.

"That." He started, his voice still tight, though clear. "Is unknown. The... Authorities... could tell me nothing. They're looking into it, naturally..." The blonde paused, brows furrowed as he watched Dravius carefully. His primary concern was how Dravius was dealing with this, and, going by Maya's concerned expression, so was she. It was no wonder, really... Considering how the C-Master had dealt with being beaten five years ago... Locking himself away for eight month. This, of course... Was far worse than simply being attacked, and the Ring-Master worried greatly about his oldest friends mental state and ability to cope with this.

"That;s not all, is it?" Maya asked, keeping her eyes on Dravius. She had taken note of the Ring-Master's tone of voice. As though he hadn't quite voiced everything that was on his mind.

"Hm... I have my own suspicions." The blonde man replied, sighing through his nose as Maya looked at him; Mirroring his own concern for Dravius' welfare. He decided not to bother keeping it to himself. After all... He was going to have to do something about this.. And soon.

"We... That is, Selvai... He got a phone call earlier today. From Jemis." The Ring-Master exhaled, sliding his hands into his pockets. "She'd been attacked."

"You think it's the same person?"

"... Yes. It's a little too much of a convenience otherwise." Raphael shook his head quickly. "I have... No proof. But... The person she was faced with definately has a reason to do this to us. Some of us... More than others. And considering both fatalities and Jemis have a connection to the Circus... It fits."

The silence that followed the blonde man's words ended in a sigh. "From what I gather... The person leading the attack on Jemis was Ava-" Maya's blood ran cold at the name. "-though it seems she wasn't alone."

That should have been expected. Ava certainly had enough reason to hate them... But this... This... Maya had to spend a great deal of will to ignore the prickling that had started up around the scar on her abdomen; The result of her last contact with that crazy scientist. "But... She can't... I mean." The blonde's voice had lost it's clarity; The fear in her tone evident, if only barely. "How did she know... About them?" She managed to ask. "And... What about others?" A sudden image of her own mother laying dead someplace made her breath catch in her throat.

"That... I don't know. I really don't." Raphael replied, standing himself straight. "As for others... I can't... Protect them all. There are far too many people to consider... Ex members... Family, friends. It would be impossible to prevent this happening again, if what we believe is true. And the Authorities aren't likely to be able to do anything... They wouldn't stand a chance, anyway. Not against Ava,"

"So what... What do we do?" Maya asked quietly, her hand still resting on Dravius' arm.

Raphael didn't answer immediately; His gray eyes narrowed as he stared out of his van window. "I don't know." The blonde started, looking hard at the floor. "My only solution... Is to deal with it ourselves. If it proves to be Ava."

"What?" Maya said suddenly, her gaze snapping to the Ring-Master. "You can't be serious!"

"We might not have a choice... As I said. The police won't be able to do anything... And unless we do something... More people will die. I could probably convince the authorities to let us handle it. Most people don't usually like dealing with things they don't understand." Which wouldn't prove to be much of a problem anyway... Despite the fact that many wouldn't trust the Circus as far as they could throw it, Raphael knew a few officers who trusted him enough to listen should he tell them of the situation. Especially if they knew they stood little chance. He didn't particularly want to consider any of this... But what choice did he have.

((Selvai where are you.))