Her eyes glued to Break, Kioko had barely paid attention to who was gathering around her until Spider moved in front of her, partially blocking her view of the creepy man.  She snapped back to reality and forced herself to calm down as she looked around at everyone there.  Spider, Yama, and Julian stood around her, while Raphael and Dravius had stepped forward to deal with Break.  

"You're not alone here.  So calm down!"  Kioko mentally scolded herself.  Taking deep breaths, she forced herself to relax until the warm tingling in her palms faded away.  No need to become anxious and lose control over this.  Raphael and Dravius looked as though they were more than willing to deal with Break, if it came to that.

She scooted closer to Spider when Break began speaking to him in that creepy, unnerving way of his.  His voice made her shudder, and she reached for Spiders' hand, giving it a quick, reas.suring squeeze before tucking her arms into the sleeves of her cloak.  Hugging her arms across her chest, Kioko watched Break intently, as though he were a wild animal ready to attack. 

His eyes on Break and Raphael, Julian barely seemed to notice the arrival of Yama and Spider, though it didn't entirely pas.s his notice. He glanced sideways at the siblings just as Spider took a stance in front of Kioko, noticing the look on Dravius' face. Poor kid, but there really was no avoiding it. Either Dravius could get himself out of this, or Raphael was likely to take violent steps... Either way, it would end here. He smiled reas.suringly at Kioko and the others, though Yama seemed completely unphazed.

He sighed through his nose quietly, his dark blue eyes focusing on the Ring Master and the unwelcome guest; Managing to pull his hands away from the daggers on his belt, he slipped them into the pockets of his black leather coat. If it really came down to it, he would get involved, with or without Raphael's permission, though he as.sumed the blonde would have no issues with it. He sighed again, just as Dravius stepped forward, a somewhat surprised ex
pression crossing the Sword Masters face. He hadn't expected him to face Break now... Then again... He supposed it didn't matter... It was bound to happen eventually...

~~~

The Ring Master shrugged, his stormy eyes on Break. "Mm. He doesn't belong to anyone, his choice to stay with me was his and his alone. He could have, at any point in the last seven years, returned to you," He snorted, then with a great show of fake thoughtfulness, brought a finger to his lips.

"Yeah. Sorry," He said, smiling at Break, no warmth in the ex
pression. "I don't think I can do that. I told you already, no-one is likely to let you leave with him peacefully. Even if I asked them not to," He grinned. "They're awfully stubborn, sometimes~" His ex
pression became unreadable again... It was very likely that what he had just said was true. The members of this Circus were not likely to listen to him if it meant allowing Break to quite literally take the Co-Master from under their noses. Such bonds wouldn't allow them to.

Raphael dropped his arms with a shrug, then started slightly at Dravius' voice. His ex
pression became instantly serious as he looked at the younger owner. Sure... Leaving Dravius to try this way first would most likely prevent any harm to the other members, but if he so much as failed to fight Breaks will, things would undoubtedly get violent. With a fleeting, and somewhat concerned smile, Raphael returned his gaze to Break, speaking quietly to Dravius.

"You don't have to do this, you know... It's less dangerous, of course, but if you fail that won't matter," He glanced sideways at the Co-Master, his gray eyes blazing. Whatever Dravius chose to do, Raphael wouldn't stop him. Whatever happened now, or after, would depend entirely on the white haired kid.

~~~

Despite her inner turmoil, Maya turned her head to watch the entire scene with Break, suddenly seeming to realise just how dangerous this situation was turning out to be. Everything seemed to click into place. Break had control of Dravius?... The thought was more than just a little unnerving for the butterfly winged teenager.

She glanced worriedly at Nylat, noticing without meaning to that she was probably just a little too close to Break for comfort. She glanced over her shoulder, as.sessing the drop from the van roof. If her wings had not being soaked, she'd have been able to quite literally lower herself to the ground with them. Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option.

She grimaced slightly. Dropping off the side probably wasn't such a good idea, with a still numb arm she was likely to injure herself further, and climbing down the front was impossible without being seen by Break. With a supressed shudder, she deduced staying right where she was was probably the safest option... Despite how uncomfortable it was. With only the smallest of movements, she placed a hand on Nylats head. Well... She wasn't alone, atleast...

Nylat, having been completely calmed down until Break had shown up, had again gone into an all-out aggression. Her tail was bushed up and her ears were flat. The rare occurence of her unsheathed claws was present, and her eyes were as fierce as her snake-like hiss. Watching him from the top of her van, she was one the edge, only staying on because she had dug her claws into the thin metal in anger. Unlike the situation with Alto, she would kill Break without hesitation. Given the chance, that is.

Nearly jumping out of her skin when Dravius suddenly showed up, the hybrid sighed. His appearance could be both good, and bad. If Break had the chance...The hybrid laid her ears back more--if even possible. Her tail flicked back and forth in annoyance, but she calmed a bit when Maya laid her hand on her head. Nylat smiled a bit, before returning her attention to Break, crouching closer to the van and unhooking one set of claws from the metal. She debated on attacking him right then in there--her loathing of bloody claws could be dismissed this once, but she doubted Raphael really wanted to resort to violence so fast, no matter how much he hated Break.

If it came to violence, there ran the risk of one of them--other than the attacked--getting hurt. And if she knew Raphael, which she did, he'd try to avoid any casualties at all costs. Trying to supress her instincts to kill him where he stood, she sheathed her claws, backing up a few steps. Her hiss faded a bit into a deep growl and her fur lie a bit flat. But she was still ready to kill. She was always prepared, whether she was performing or lazing about, she was always on her guard.

((No, Nylat is not part snake. There is a breed of cat that has a snake-like hiss. And since it has tabby stripes, and is half wild cat, I've decided what breed Nylat's housecat part is. <3))

Break looked at Raphael with contempt, his face contorted into an ex
pression of pure malice, mixed with hatred and an urge to kill. "I do believe he belongs to me." He spat, leaning down so his face was only a few inches from the ringmaster's. "I found him, and after giving him to you to watch, you've not only broken him, his heart is as soft and breakable as a bone."

Break snarled deeply, his face becoming less human-looking by the second. "And Wolfe, dear, come." Break said the last word with such force it seemed to hang in the air with unspeakable compulsion surrounding it like fog. Holding out a long hand, his beckoned with one finger, his purple eyes connecting and drilling into Dravius's.

The boy in question gulped, his eyes wide at the command. As Break stared into Dravius's eyes, a soundless command rang in his ears, and he lifted a hand, seeming to be about to take Break's. The purple-clothed man smiled sharply, until Dravius raised his hand further and with one move, slapped Break hard with a handful of metal scraps from his pockets.

"There's no chance in hell I'll come with you, Xerxes," Dravius growled venomusly, as Break reeled, picking thin metal rods out of the space near his right eye, snarling. Xerxes drew up to his full height, hooking his hand into a claw as he entangle them in Dravius's hair, lifting him off his feet by the white roots of Dravius's locks.

Dravius's face stayed hardened until Break brought his face closer to him, blanching slightly as Break's tongue flicked out near his ear, leaving a drop of dark blue spit hanging from the metal ring there. "Have it your way, you ungreatful little..." Break seemed unable to continue as he dropped Dravius, turning with a sweep. "I will force your precious Circus into ruin, Wolfe, and hunt you down myself." The last words out of Break's mouth seemed to morph into a hiss as he strode away, still jingling.

Raphael, without even so much as blinking, remained where he was when Break decided to invade his personal space. His blonde hair shaded his eyes, and his lips were smiling, only slightly, in an unamused sort of way. He really didn't have the heart to tell the taller male just how Dravius' change had, most likely, only made him stronger. Love, of any kind, was a powerful thing.

When Break moved over to Dravius, Raphael dropped the smile, his eyes glancing sideways. He made no move, at all, to intervene. He'd only do that if Dravius failed. After a few tense moments, Dravius made his move, causing Raphael to smile in a genuine way, closing his eyes. Well... That was it, he'd broken from Break's grip. Naturally, however, the Ring Master knew better than to as.sume it had ended.

At Breaks little declaration, he frowned slightly. He was really going to have to deal with him, one of these days... But for now... With a relieved shake of the head, he turned to Dravius as Break dissapeared from sight. "That was awfully well done," He said, his eyes looking in the direction Break had left. "Seems we won't be able to end it without actually fighting him though... I was kind of expecting it, I guess," His voice sounded a little worried, before he actually laughed, hitting Dravius on the shoulder. "I think we can worry about that later though," There was something in his voice however, that didn't quite ring true.

~~~

Keeping her hand on Nylat's head, Maya's eyes followed the entire scene, her ex
pression becoming increasingly worried. When Break finally left, and Raphael seemed to laugh, she sighed, looking at the hybrid beside her, shuddering at the memory of Breaks touch.

She didn't feel the need to say anything... What could she say, afterall?... She'd had no idea Dravius had been in such a position, and Breaks final words were causing a gnawing worry to creep into existance. She looked back at the two, her eyes focusing on the white haired Co-Master, an obvious concern and worry on her face.

How could she not have known?... Honest to god, he'd had a hell of a time... She felt angry with herself for not knowing, and being too caught up in her own emotions to notice in the first place... With a sigh, she turned her back to the two of them, unable to look at Dravius any longer, sat on the van roof and facing the sky. The weather, by now, had settled, the rain had stopped, though she continued to worry. Things seemed to have just gone downhill since Break showed up... And it wouldn't improve... Not unless something was done.

With another shudder at the thought of Break, she lifted her knees, resting her chin on one of them and looking out towards the fields behind, her violet eyes lost.

Andrew sighed, everything over quicker than he had started. He had watched the whole situation calmly, keeping a careful detachment from the people standing a few feet in front of him. If a battle had broken out he couldn't help but wonder who would have won, and who the loser would be.

His facial ex
pression was blank. Half lidded eyes and his lips drawn into a line straight line above his chin. If anything you could say he looked bored, and maybe see that he was in a bit of a weakened state. He felt sick and wondered if he had eaten too much, he usually didn't eat three pancakes and that could be considered a big portion for him, threatening to make him sick.

He watched everyone in front of him a while longer, everyone not daring to move though the threat was gone, Dravius had succeed in his personal battle and the tension was slowly melting away. He watched Yama specifically, her reaction the most amusing of the group that accompanied her.  

"Nnn." Dravius grunted, pulling small pieces of metal out of his hand "I don't really believe you, Raphael," The boy said skeptically, wiping his hand on the hem of his shirt. "Although that did feel rather good." He smiled breifly, his sharp teeth flashing. He followed Zinc with his eyes, down to Spider, and he tilted his head, asking, "Are you alright?" He seemed genuinely concerned, blinking his one good eye quickly.

Spider seemed utterly terrified, even more so than his usual ex
pression, and as Zinc went over to tug the boy's shirt away from his face, Dravius caught a muttering about a chainsaw, and he said quietly, "I'd help with that..." Romoving the last thin bar from his palm, he yawned slightly, taking another pair of drumsticks from a pocket on the side of his leg, tapping out a rather cheerful rhythm on the side of Nyalt's van.

Putting a foot on the side of Nylat's van, Dravius flipped upside down to land next to Maya, asking, "Do you need help to get down? I know your arm's still numb." Holding out a hand, he smiled slightly, leaning back, glancing back to make sure he didn't set a hand on the deep furrows Nylat had made in the top of her van. "At least it isn't still raining, eh?" He said.

Dravius was breathing as though he had gone through some sort of effort, which he had, at least mentally. His shoulder muscles were trembling, tensed into near knots. Although his face was steady, the hand that he was holding out didn't stay in one place for long, coughing slightly.

Kioko relaxed noticeably once Break had disappeared, her shoulders slumping as she let out a deep breath.  Even though she knew from his parting declaration that Break would continue to haras.s the Circus and its’ members until he got what he wanted, she tried to put his statement out of mind.  The various animalistic growls and threats and shrieking of metal were more pleasant to listen to than the vile words Break had spoken during the confrontation.  Focusing on his bile would do nothing but make her a nervous wreck, and Kioko was determined to stay calm as she learned her way around the Circus.

Watching Dravius as he climbed the side of the van, Kioko realized Maya and Nylat had been perched on top of it during the confrontation.  “I guess that’s where the growling came from,” Kioko thought as she looked at Nylat.  She’d been so focused on Break that she hadn’t noticed either of them until everything was over.

And now that everyone was calming down, the pink haired man had approached Spider, pulling his sweater away from his face and scolding him like a child.  It made her wonder if he was also a relative of Spiders’, although they certainly didn’t look anything alike.

With a yawn, Julian leaned against the nearest van, his hands still in his pockets and his eyes as.sessing the weather. He felt himself smile at Yama's violent proclomation, as.suming she probably meant every word of it. Now that would be an interesting meeting...

He'd watched the entire confrontation with Break without the slightest trace of emotion, besides the flickering smile at Dravius' success. Seemed Raphael didn't need to worry about that particular issue anymore. Glancing over towards the Ring Master, however, caused Julian to backtrack on his thoughts. The blonde haired male, on the contrary, was looking increasingly worried; His eyes focused on where Break had headed.

Pushing himself away from the van, Julian glanced at Spider, Kioko, Yama and Zinc, his eyes stopping on Kioko. "I think it's about time we found you a van," He said quietly, looking at Spider. "You and your sister also, if you wish," The quicker they got away from this scene, the better. Besides, these new kids wouldn't be able to stay in the food van should the weather turn again, though if the siblings wished to bypas.s the offer, he wouldn't push. His gaze finally fell on Zinc. "I'm not entirely sure what we should do about you," He added in a somewhat forward manner, an eyebrow raised.

~~~

Raphael lifted his arms and locked his hands behind his head, watching Dravius remove the small metal splinters with a quiet laugh. It wasn't enough that the kid had to override Breaks' will, but he had to actually go and cause physical damage to the guy; Not that Raphael was complaining.

When Dravius spoke about not entirely believing the Ring Master's word, he shrugged, the smile on his face slipping, if only slightly. Well, there was no point having everyone else worry... The Circus had enough on it's plate without the Ring Master voicing his thoughts. He watched Dravius leave with another chuckle, then turned his eyes to the fields beyond the camp of the Circus.

Alright. He knew Break wouldn't give up quite so easily, but that last statement had caused the Ring Master a nagging concern. It wasn't so much the Circus, should Break attempt to do what he did last time, Raphael would simply have to take measures to hide the place, which wasn't impossible. No... What concerned him was just how far Break would go, and the thoughts had him seriously considering hunting the guy down there and then... It would atleast put an end to the risk of having any of the Circus members injured or worse.

And it would save them a lot of trouble in the long run, afterall. With a sigh, the Ring Master turned and walked back towards the crowd by Julian, his face somber. It didn't really matter... Finding Break would have proved to be an issue, so it seemed he had no choice but to wait for the guy to return, and when he did... It would be their last meeting. Raphael would not let him get away again, not on his life.

~~~

Wincing at the sound created by Nylat, Maya scooted away from the jagged cuts in the metal, crossing her arms and huffing. Eventually, she sighed, placing his head onto her crossed arms. She was more than just a little tired, and now that Break had left, it allowed her to relax, if only a little. She wanted more than anything to simply go for a walk, the current surroundings gave her too much to think about.

With another sigh, she readied herself to move, just as Dravius, naturally, showed up with such suddenness that she jolted into Nylat. God damnit. "Will you stop doing that?... You'd think you were delibrately trying to give me a heart attack," She grumbled with a small frown, wrapping her arms around her knees again and inhaling deeply while trying to avoid looking at him.

She did, however, glance at his hand, a frown on her face... He really needed to stop doing this to her. Talk about making it harder... Despite her want to keep herself distant however, she almost reached out to him, pausing only when she saw the obvious strain he was under. Dropping her hand, she pushed herself to her feet, keeping her eyes on the Co-Masters hand. She eventually, after a short, silent battle with herself, looked him in the face, her eyes concerned and sad. "You should take better care of yourself," She murmered, looking away and rooting around in a pocket, eventually pulling out a small piece of material. Gently taking Dravius' slightly trembling and bleeding hand, she placed the cloth on his palm and folded his fingers over it.

She opened her mouth, almost as though to speak, before pursing her lips and shaking her head, again, avoiding Dravius' eyes. "... I'm sorry," She whispered, releasing his hand from hers. She didn't even truly know why she was apologising, but that last scenerio and its possibilties had merely amplified how she felt, and she had the sudden desire to say something to the Co-Master; Though she may have been apologising for giving him something else to think about, on top of everything so far. Dravius could easily have been lost to them, could easily have fallen into Breaks hands, and that one thought had scared her... More than even Break himself. The thought of losing him entirely was unbearable.

Figuring she probably wouldn't be able to hold it together too much longer, she brushed past him to the front of the van, pausing only once to glance over her shoulder at him, her ex
pression still pained and a wan smile on her face. "And thankyou," She said, quietly.

Lowering herself, she managed to slip onto the front of the van, and from there to the ground, not bothering to look over her shoulder as she headed off across the fields again, in desperate need of that walk.

Nylat, barely fazed when Maya jolted into her, became increasingly worried. It was her nature--worry for those she cares about. She watched the scene unfold, and carefully lowered herself to the van. Even as Maya left, the hybrid was oddly peaceful and quiet. She'd let Maya have some time to think before she followed her. Flicking her tail, she glanced at Dravius.
"I'm sorry....I shouldn't have acted as I had."
Her voice was soft, but shaky, and she quickly glanced away. It was not common for Nylat to actually admit she was wrong, and she wouldn't be caught dead saying it around anyone but who deserved it. She was just glad Kanec wasn't around.

~~

Kanec, having completely bypas.sed the incident by wandering the Circus out of boredom, had shifted into a horse. A black draft horse, to be specific. As he trotted around, he kept his concentration on people's conversations, trying to find somewhere to go, someone to talk to. But even if he had found something interesting to do, he was lost in his thoughts, so he wouldn't have noticed.

~~

Fallow, too, was wandering aimlessly around. She was meeting people, and giving herself a tour. It wasn't very interesting, with no one to talk to. She did, however, catch sight of a few people she recognized. But what really caught her eye was a black draft horse trotting along. Never having noticed a horse before, she merely as.sumed it was Kanec, and continued on her way.

((Fail for Kanec and Fallow, but they're being neglected. *snuggles Nylat*))

((Is that an in progress post? Pfft. xD o_O Ah well, I'll wait. G'night. :D))

[[PEOPLE ARE DRIVING ME INSANE. BE BACK AFTER I KILL THEM ALL.

edit: kay I'm back. but man. short post.]]

Yama's composure was mostly under control, and she crossed her arms as she listened to Julian. It was at this point she noticed Zinc, and gave him little more than a disapproving glance, as she reached out a long arm and, grabbing him by the hair, jerked him away from Spider. She ignored his wail of protest as he fell backward into the mud and moved into his recently vacated spot in front of Spider.

"You have a van available? If payment is required in getting a new one, I can provide that." She said easily, speaking for Spider. "Though I would not mind sleeping outside." She added, with a wave of the hand. Spider looked up at her in mild surprise, and then giggled. Yama flushed in sudden embarra.ssment and looked down at Spider, wondering what was so funny.

Zinc whined faintly at Yama, standing up out of the wet ground and wiping mud off of the back of his pants. Sniffing in hurt, he rubbed the back of his head and complained about hair damage. For once he found himself be addressed by someone who wasn't ridiculously annoying, and Zinc looked at Julian. He raised an eyebrow in response. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, pursing his lips.

"Say the word and I'm gone." He snapped his fingers in emphasis. "Unless you mean where I’ll be sleeping, in which case..." He paused and very deliberately looked Julian over. As he did this he was pondering over what Dravius had said about helping with the chainsaw, and smiled faintly. "Got a closet?"

((Excellent! You go, Grayvs! >D And Ima get all your characters involved, Nylat. >3))

Watching with no change of ex
pression, Julian pulled his eyes away from Zinc, now residing on the floor, to Yama. "I don't think that'll be neccas.sary. There should be a couple of empty vans available," He glanced over his shoulder at the vans, pinpointing the ones he knew to be empty. "And if you wish to sleep outside, fine. The vans will be there if you need them though,"

He turned back and sighed, then raised an eyebrow at Zinc. A closet?... It was a good thing no-one here was "normal", otherwise this guy may have been seen as having some sort of mental issue, not that Julian was really all that interested. He shrugged lightly in response, his voice taking on a tone that almost seemed to state such a request was not unusual. It wasn't delibrate. "Probably. I'm sure one of the lead vans that carry most of the equipment will have a closet someplace,"

Julian loosened another dagger, before looking at Kioko, then back at Yama and the others. "Follow me," He said, turning and heading off towards where the empty vans were situated. Unlike the occupied vans, these ones had no personality to them, and they were, in all sense of the word, bare. Naturally, of course, the members who were handed the vans eventually placed their own mark on it. You only had to look at the van to get a sense of the person within.

Pausing just outside one of them, he frowned slightly and glanced back towards Kioko. Raphael and Dravius usually placed new members together, or with an older member, simply because it made their transition into the Circus easier. "Perhaps, Kioko, you wouldn't mind sharing with Yama?..." He glanced between the two of them. Seemed like a sound arrangement, if Yama wished to stay outside, she could, and Kioko wouldn't be entirely alone. He then looked at both Zinc and Spider. "And there's likely to be a closet in Spiders van," He added. He didn't particularly mind what they chose to do.

~~~

Pausing just long enough to watch Julian deal with the new people, Raphael sighed dramatically. My god... You'd have thought after one roadblock he'd be given enough time to prepare for a second one.  He ran a hand through his soaking hair, glancing once at his clothes, which were also dripping water. With another sigh, he started walking, heading towards his own brightly coloured van.

He stopped however, when he spotted Kanec, his eyebrows furrowing. Crap... He'd forgotten about the issue with him and Nylat. With a split second thought, he diverted and walked towards the black horse. "Kanec," He said as way of greeting. "Your looking a little lost," He added, with a slight smile, leaning against the closest van and crossing his arms.

~~~

Having been paying little to no attention to where she was going, Maya didn't notice Fallows presence until she quite literally walked into her. Wincing slightly at the shock from her injured wrist on impact, she blinked.

"Ah. I'm sorry," She said quickly, holding out her uninjured hand should Fallow completely lose her balance. She sighed quietly, then moved back once she was sure the younger girl was fine, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Your one of the new people, am I right?... Fallow, I believe?" She smiled, an ex
pression that was only halfway genuine, seeing as her ex
pression was so obviously torn. She was nothing if not welcoming to the newer members of the Circus, despite her own painful issues.

She glanced across the field, noting Julian and the others quite a ways away. "You havn't been as.signed a van yet?" She asked on a whim, looking back towards the girl.

Kioko followed the others as Julian led them to the empty vans, her worn out sneakers occasionally sliding in the mud and wet gr*censored*.  The bottom edge of her cloak and the hem of her pants were already dirty from mud splashing onto them and she'd have to ask one of the Circus members about where she could wash them later.  The procession stopped beside one of the vans and Julian addressed the four of them. 

"I don't mind sharing a van with Yama, if it's alright with her, of course,"  Kioko responded to his question.  After all that had happened in the short time since she'd joined with the Circus, sharing a space with someone else couldn't possibly be all that bad.  And Yama was Spiders' sister, after all.  How unpleasant could she possibly be?

((Almost 8 a.m. here.  And I haven't slept at ALL tonight >~<))