((*eats overly short post* Dun make me sic Nylat on you Wolf. Nylat hates short posts almost as much as I do. And she's not a forgiving person. *shakes head*))

Nylat nodded to Raphael, seemingly distracted as she responded.
"No worries. I will explain everything later."
She had barely finished her sentence before she dashed off to Maya's van, where she had watched the girl go. She figured she was probably being a bit too attached or a bit annoying, but she worried. Just like she worried about...

She shook her head, clearing her mind as she trotted up to Maya, rubbing up against her legs in the fashion of a cat before laying at her feet, looking up with shining blue eyes.
"By the way, if you ever get tired of my hanging around, just let me know."
She purred, her tail flicking back and forth contently.

[[franknfurter. cla.ss sure is draining.

and that is weird Mychelle. DD:]]

As Spider rocked on his heels, he jumped a bit when Raphael spoke to him. "Oh. Uh. Well enough. I'm okay." He said, immediately fidgeting and wondering what happened to his courage. After all, it's not like he should find someone asking him how his day was utterly terrifying.  He wondered what the trigger was. Not noticing him there before? Maybe.

He blinked around at Kioko. "Oh." Already out? He hadn't seen her. Not that Spider had wandered far, in any case. "Well, I came to see both of you, anyway. Though I do want to talk to her... " Wandering around so early. How could she do it? "Maybe we could get breakfast again. And find something to do... I mean, I am used to doing nothing but... nothing gets an awful boring sometimes."

- - - 

Sh'Yama was sitting in a tree. A bit of a ways up there, too, and she had her hands clasped over her ears. Blast her impeccable hearing! This place was too noisy... so many people, and that robot and the musical instruments-- if she had wanted to hear music she would have brought her iPod, for crying out loud. Nice... soft jazz music... not this nonsense about circles and trees! 

Groaning miserably, she pried her eyes from the sky and looked down at the circus. Too many people... so much happening. When used to isolation and the cold, this place was a nightmare. And she was so hungry... Face blanching, she rocked backwards on the tree limb and then slowly made her climb down.

There was almost a feeling, a need to know who everyone was, but that was too much work and she couldn't go sorting out candidates for dinner when she had a new brother. Tugging her cloak around her tighter, she walked back out of the trees, her brow still slightly furrowed at her thoughts. 

She came around a van in time to see Selvai brushing hair in front of his face, what was that, a scar... some kind of mark-- Her steps didn't falter, but a look of slight surprise came over her face. Of course, this was only made evident by her narrowed eyes widening slightly. Magic... hmm. Her father had tried giving her a mark once. He very nearly lost his arm. Both of them, actually. Sh'Yama had been feeling quite spirited that evening. 

As she walked toward her own van, pleased to see Spider standing outside, she wondered what the strange-haired boy had done.

- - -

Zinc, meanwhile, had slunk off somewhere. And really who cares. 

Dravius yawned hugely on the steps of his van, rubbing his right shoudler and cracking his knuckles again, his large eyes hooded. Dravius seemed almost drowsy from the music, as he sat on the steps of his van, resting his chin in one hand, picking at a thread on his pants, his long fngers exploring the various holes in the threadbare garment. His blue eyes were sleepy as he twirled a thin iron bar in between his fingers, absent-mindedly using his tounge to pick at the scab where his lip had split, before shaking his head and getting to his feet.

"Mmmm.." Dravius hummed, rotating his neck with another yawn. "That song always makes me sleepy..." He said softly to the air, hopping into the gras.s. His high-toppped feet made a hollow thud as they hit the green, turning his shoulders one at a time.  Noticing a spot of dried blood near his wrist, he licked it off, his long tongue making quick work of the gore. Dravius usually smelt slightly of blood to regular humans, but for animals and those with heightened senses, Dravius smelled like he had killed something large and took a nap on the carcas.s.

His van stank even more, the scent nearly visible to all that could smell better than a human. The plus to a van that smelt like an open grave was that Dravius never had any pests in his van, although the strange scent attracted people after shows and during the day. Most people did take one look at the wicked nails on the wagon and turned the other way, but a few adventurous patrons ventured into the white-haired boy's wagon.

Dravius waved slightly to Spider and the others clustered together, trotting over with a drowsy smile on his face. "Ah, good morning," He murmered, scratching behind his ear. "Did everyone have a nice sleep?" His voice was thick and good natured, and he blinked several times, seeming more awake. Pulling a bit of blood-matted hair into his mouth, Draviusretied a shoe, looking at the madly fidgeting Spider. "Spider, how come you seem afraid of nearly everything?" He asked, not meanly, but with an honest note of curiosity in his voice.

<~>~<~>

Gemini got up from his position at his harp, stretching his dark-skinned fingers out so that the second joint of four snapped loudly. Cracking his knees second, Gem rubbed his palms together, muttering, "I have made an observation that none in this establishment are fond of me. In order to build trust, I do belive I shall take a different approach. Enough studies have been conducted, I do suppose I should try it out..." The male pushed his checkered glas.ses up on his thin nose, he took a deep breath and, with slight effort, softened and injected some warmth into his flat eyes, affixing a rather natural-looking smile to his face, his lips curling slightly.

Stepping out of the van, Gem squinted in the sunlight, his smile widening into a full grin, his eyebrows rising in a perfect study of emotion. His emotion was actually a little too perfect if you looked close enough, an underlying flatness to the warmth in the glowing eyes. Stopping in front of Mayanna's wagon, his closed his eyes gently and took another deep breath, pushing the off-white sleeves of his button-down shirt, revealing scars almost identical to Dravius, although they extended farther, clawing their way up his elbows.

Some of the cuts were still red, pushing up under a leather cuff with a red metal ring residing on the front, with a unknown language carved into the leather around the ring. Raising a hand, Gem changed the cheerful ex
pression on his face to that of someone apologetic, his thin brows curving down above his glowing eyes.  Knocking gently, Gem said, "Urhm, Mayanna?" When Gem forced some emotion into his voice, it sounded extrordinairily similar to Dravius's, in pitch and mannerisms.

((Poor Zinc.  Wanders off somewhere and no one cares.  And yeah, it's pretty freaky.  I guess she has to change her name now.  And, Grayvs.  Your siggy is scaring me *shudders*))

"Sounds good," Kioko replied with a smile.  "Just give me a moment."  She walked inside a few feet, picking up her shoes from where they were scattered across the floor and yanking them on before picking up her cloak from the cot.  Shaking it out, she swung it around her neck and fastened it.

"Okay, I'm ready."  She walked outside to stand beside Spider.  "Maybe we'll run into Yama at the food van.  And after breakfast the three of us could find something to do together.  Like take a walk?  Or see if we could help out around the Circus.  I agree with you, just sitting around does get pretty boring."

((Attack of the double posts!! D8))

Slowly but surely, the members of the Circus were waking, and the bustle of the Circus grounds had a kind of morning laxity to it, despite the increasing numbers. Raphael, still stood outside his van, allowed his eyes to simply follow the members as they moved, reading more into the situation than most other people would be capable of doing. Well, he'd been running this place 7 years, and was bound to adapt to the life of such a hectic nature. Being able to deduce when something was wrong, obvious or not, was a skill that was more than just a little useful to have.

With a sigh, the Ring Master turned his gaze towards where Nylat had headed, before straightening himself up and crossing his arms. He glanced only once at the main tent, watching as as.signed members dealt with the cleaning and preparation for yet another show. He figured eventually he was going to have to forego a week of performances in order to give the Circus a leisurely break; It was, afterall, long overdue, and the events of the last 3 days had definately provided a valid reason to close the Circus for a while. A small, amused smile touched his lips as he thought about it. It would probably prove beneficial in the long run. The idea, however, had to be run by Dravius first... As far as Raphael was concerned, the white haired Co-Master had just as much control over this place as he did, and no decisions were ever made without the younger males consent.

Still smiling somewhat, Raphael headed away from his van towards where Spider and the others were, noting the timely arrival of Kioko. "Good morning," He said in her direction, unlocking his crossed arms and giving her a cheery little wave. He then looked at Dravius, his ex
pression still faintly amused as he slipped a hand into a pocket. "When you get the time, I want to talk to you," He said with a grin, turning back to Kioko and Spider, noting the latter's nervous disposition. He didn't feel the need to point it out, seeing as Dravius had done so already, but he knew anyway that Circus life could be just a little overwhelming, and this Circus in particular harboured any number of imposing hurdles. Well, he could hardly blame the kid.

 ~~~

Maya had been in the process of peeling an orange when Nylat approached, causing the swarming butterflies to scatter in a cloud of flickering colour, eventually coming to settle once they had adjusted to the hybrids appearance. The little orange butterfly who resided on the girls head, however, simply turned to fix Nylat with a curious gaze as she brushed against Maya's legs.

Pausing in the middle of seperating orange segments with her good hand, the butterfly winged Circus member watched Nylat in silence, her ex
pression impas.sive until the fox spoke. "Don't say that. I could never get bored of your company," She replied, her voice somewhat flat and a wan, fleeting smile touching her lips. "I don't think I'd do too well without it, at the moment," She murmered in a very straightforward manner, returning to her orange with seemingly little interest. Unfortunately for her, she found being that being angry took quite a bit of effort, and the underlying emotions were beginning to show despite her best efforts to quell them.

Maya showed no outward sign of hearing the knock, but the somewhat familair voice caused her to glance sharply sideways, almost expecting to see Dravius, her eyes narrowing as soon as they landed on Gem. What the hell was this?... It wasn't enough he had to impose last night, but now he'd turned to impersonating?... The very idea offended the butterfly greatly, all things considered, and she deliberatly shifted so that she didn't have to look him in the face. Well... Her anger had suddenly become pretty much effortless.

"What do you want?" She asked flatly, in a tone rarely used. It sounded unnatural and out of place, and her usually soft, flowing voice had an uncharacteristic edge to it.

~~~

Walking steadily, Julian kept his eyes forward and his hands in his jacket pockets, not bothering to check whether or not Wolf had indeed, followed. He was pretty sure if she'd meant what she'd said, he wouldn't need to check, she would follow without any other form of prompting. They were still quite a ways from the Circus when Julian stopped suddenly, a flicker in the corner of his sharp vision causing him to glance over to his right.

There, on one of the thicker boughs of an huge oak, sat a girl with black and red hair, holding a laptop on her legs. He raised an eyebrow. Hmm... How unusual. He exhaled in an agitated manner... There seemed to be no end to the interruptions today. He glanced once at Wolf over his shoulder, then back towards the girl in the tree, his voice carrying easily through the still air as he spoke.

"Excuse my intrusion," He said bluntly. "But what are you doing?" It wasn't a question of his curiosity, more to decipher whether or not this girl had some ulterior motive for being so close to the Circus. Of course, she could just be pas.sing, or taking part in some obscure leasurely task, but it wasn't everyday you came across someone with a laptop, seated between the branches of an oak tree.

Gem waved weakly, tilting his head and saying softly, "Uhm, I came to apologize." Biting his lip, he rubbed his upper arm and took off and polished his glas.ses, imitating being rather confused. Gem was rather good at this, but he could only really do it well for a short amount of time. It did require a bit of thought and effort...

Coughing slightly, Gem shifted his weight from foot to foot, staring at his black canvas sneakers that were spattered with varying colors of paint and bits of melted metal. Gem looked extremely nervous, his thin brows curved over his glowing green eyes, his lips tugged down only slightly, unsnapping the buttons on his leather cuff and re-attaching it again, his extra-jointed fingers twirling the silver attachmments on the bracelet.

"Uhm, you don't have to let me in, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Bye," Gem said slowly, turning and relaxing his face, re-affixing his slightly cheerful ex
pression before trotting over to the group of people milling about, smiling crookedly, waving and saying, "Hello," Giving a close-eyed smile, scratching the inside of one arm.

<~>~<~>

Dravius smiled and said, "Well, I've got time now, I can talk." Yawning, he jumped as Gem trotted up next to him, and he looked confused at the perfect ex
pression that resided on the man's face. Raising an eyebrow at the shorter male, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "And how many studies did this take?" He asked softly, nodding at the held up six fingers. "Well, at least you're trying..." Dravius muttered, crossing his arms with a gaurded ex
pression.

Dravius breathed in the thick scent of breakfast drifting across the grounds, inhaling deeply. "Mmmm, sausage." He murmered, closing his eyes and sighing through his nose. "I need breakfast..." He said to no-one, rubbing his bad eye meditatively. Twisting his bck to try and crack it again, he sighed when unsuccessful. The sun was high up, twisting heat into all that stood or sat, lay beneath it. Rolling up the sleeves of his red stitched shirt to his elbows, he inhaled deeply again, reveling in the scents of food that swam through the air like really fat and slow fish.

Wolf bit her tongue in frustration and in order to keep her silence. Her fingers twtiched and she opened her mind slightly. Colors flooded into her mind, but she closed her mental fist slightly and the colors dimmed. She could see Julian dimmly and another girl. She sniffed the air and winced as the girl's smell burned her nose slightly. It was sharp and highly distinctive. She had no other choice. She carefully oepned her mind, careful to keep her mind from entering Julian's thoughts, and she peeked into the girl's mind. She quickly realized the girl was named Tara and she was no more than 16 years old. She realized a few other things, such as her amazing memory and she dug a little deeper.

(( Need a little help Fox. What should she find that shocks her into silence? ))

[[it's supposed to scare you Mychelle... haha. Maybe I could change the quote though...

and yeah. jeez. poor Zinc. there is no place for him for he is too fabulous...]] 

"... Good Morning, Mister Dravius." Spider said, still unsettled as he watched Dravius walk up. Spider stared blankly at him, his hands pausing for a second, before he reached up and started chewing on his fingernails, and looked back at Kioko. He didn't answer him. He'd told him before. But something else tugged at his brain. Like there was something... wrong. Perhaps something horribly wrong with himself. But he only got these weird feelings of unease while around everyone else.

And not everyone else... Kioko didn't, nor did Maya-- and he hadn't seen her since the first day... Sh'Yama wasn't scary... much. Zinc didn't scare him, and he knew that he could be scary if he wanted to. There was a reason, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Maybe he could ask Sh'Yama... or maybe they all don't like spiders and he could somehow sense it with his spider-senses. The fact that Dravius seemed to always reek of death definetely set him on edge, anyway. Maybe that was it. Or maybe he was just scared of boys. But then, Julian didn't scare him much either... 

"I wonder where everyone keeps buying cloaks." He said, mostly to himself. "My cousins have them, and I know some others... but you know I don't think that cloaks are a staple for the modern age." He said, matter-of-factly. "And yes, a walk would be nice... I don't know if they actually have anything for us to do." he was aware Raphael was standing nearby, but forgot for a second that maybe he shouldn't say such things around the Owner and the Co-Owner.

His eyes expertly pa.ssed over Gemini, refusing to acknowlede his appearance, and he looked toward the food van. "Oh, there's Yama." He said, waving enthusiastically at the approaching woman, managing a smile. 

 - - - 

Sh'Yama's snarl disappeared as she waved back at Spider, but slowly reappeared as she stared at Dravius. Who was that, again? Disgusting. Ugh. She didn't feel as hungry anymore. Abruptly she stopped near Spider, and, quite bluntly stated "When's the last time you had a bath?" As she looked down at Dravius. 

Unlike Spider, she had noticed Gemini, and she wondered vaguely who he was and why he looked so funny. His act didn't sway her in the slightest, and she wondered why he was going through all the trouble. Sh'Yama looked at everyone in turn, realizing for a moment that she hadn't said anything in polite greeting. "Good day." She said, her eyebrow slanting upwards. 

"I'm hungry, it has come to my attention that I haven't eaten in... about twenty-six hours and I really hate feeling so... very... hungry." Her eyes glazed over slightly as she considered sticking that Andrew man from yesterday on a rotisserie, but quickly shook it out of her head. "Who is going to breakfast?" 

Nylat smiled up at Maya, joy bright in her eyes. She flicked her tail settling into a nice laying down position on her side. Until Gem showed up. Whithin the span on a milisecond, she was on her feet growling. What did she have to do, rip this guy's throat out? But before she could put the threat to words, Maya handled in, and he headed off. The hybrid, now content again, flopped back onto her side, heaving a sigh.
"Next time he bothers you, let me know."
To accentuate this point, she unsheathed a paw full of claws, licking a bit of meat out of it that had managed to remain.

~~

Tara, upon hearing someone's voice, hurriedly shut the laptop. She was frustrated more than worried about the message. She'd recieved the message three times in the past two days. It was the same person. Who--she was unsure. But it was getting annoying. She looked down, and was about to reply, when another girl, acting quite oddly, seemed to wince a bit. Tara glanced at her eyes, taking in the dull color of them. She was blind. The girl, with a rather swift motion, tucked the laptop under her right arm and grabbed the limb with her left. She swung down and set her laptop down at her feet, holding her right as another wave of pain ran through it. It normally wasn't this often. And though this one was more hurtful than the last, she held back the few tears that wanted to spring free, the unshed tears shining in her eyes as she offered her left hand to Julian.
"I've come to join the Circus. You see, I have an odd ability, and I watched one of your shows about 6 years ago. Having the memory I do, I thought I'd come by here and request to accompany you. At least until I reach a place of better liking. I am Tara by the way, and I take it you are Julian?"
She felt a slight disturbance in her mind, but dismissed it as just the worry about the message. The pain in her arm was still there, and it took all of her willpower not to let the tears of pain slip through. Under the bandages, though unseen, the pain hopscotched up and down her arm.

((Pff. Be creative, but run it by me first. Tara has quite the extensive memory. If I wasn't worried about borderline powerplaying, I would have her somewhat sense Wolf's mind in her own.))

Taking his eyes away from Spider, Raphael watched Dravius for a moment, not having much time to reply to the kids comment before Gem showed up, harbouring a somewhat unnatural ex
pression. It just didn't look right. "You know, I find "observing" business somewhat unsettling," He murmered, just loud enough for the Co-Master to hear.

He shrugged, then laughed quietly as Dravius started talking about food, glancing towards the general direction of the food van. "Tell you what," He said in an amused tone of voice. "Let's eat first. It's not an important matter, so it can wait,"

He paused to listen to Spider's little speech regarding the cloaks, replying to his previous comment with a slight smile. "We could always find something for you to do, if you wish?... You may prefer that walk though,"

At that moment, Sh'Yama's appeared. The Ring Master inclined his head in greeting when she addressed them, his ex
pression still cheerful, before replying to the womans question with slight grin. "All of us here, I believe," He said warmly, glancing at the as.sembled members, before gesturing towards the van. "Shall we?"

While Maya kept her vision clear of Gem, she did listen to him, willing or not, and frowned deeply at the guys apology. It wasn't so much his apology, as the fact that he sounded like Dravius, and quite frankly, she could do without any more apologies. Hell, if either one of them saw fit to say "sorry," one last time, she was likely to hit them.

The idea made her feel a tad better, until she realised just how futile that act was. Hitting Dravius was a pointless expedition, if he couldn't feel it, it wouldn't accomplish anything; As for Gem, well... She didn't really want to get close enough for physical contact... The entire issue made her feel slightly more surly. "Moron," She grumbled under her breath, unsure of just whom the statement was directed at.

Shifting, she glanced over her shoulder when Gem left, breathing an obvious sigh of relief, before standing up and looking at Nylat. She didn't reply, she didn't feel up to speaking much at the moment. With one swift movement, she flared her wings and beat them once, lending her height enough to land silently on her van roof. She flopped into a sitting position, her vivid wings falling to each side, then methodically starting to tug at the bandage that tightly bound her splint in an irritated manner.

~~~

No matter what this girl tried to hide, it didn't pas.s Julian's notice. His ability lent him incredible sight, and seeing pain was an easy thing, really. He took the girls hand in his own, before glancing once at wolf, then quite delibrately continuing on his way towards the Circus. "Yes, my name is Julian. You'd better come with me then, Tara. We'll have to find someone to tend to your arm,"

((Julians is a crap post. Oh well. 8D))

(( Lol alright. how about seeing her parents treat her like that when she was 10 years old. Then also seeing something of a glimpse of her past when she was 5? I won't explain what she sees then, but she'll react as if something she had seen scared, or hurt her. ))

Wolf listened to the two, but their voices were far off as she went through the girls mind. She told the truth, even as she said it the emory of the circus popped up. She pushed it aside, not needing to see it. She made her body walk with Julian and Tara, but anyone who was watching her would notice that her eyes seemed duller than usual, as if she wasn't entirely there.

Tara managed to tug her arm loose, wincing a bit as the pain, though duller, shot up it again.
"Oh, there's nothing anyone can do about my arm. Not at this point. It's far too late for that."
She debated on explaining, but decided not to do so unless pushed. It was a soft topic for her, and she'd rather not explain at the moment. She swiftly picked up her laptop, the worn glove giving enough grip so that it wouldn't slip. She tucked it under her arm and pulled her phone from her pocket, speaking as she turned off the Wifi.
"I would, however, like to speak with Raphael..."
She looked up, a slight doubtful tone to her voice.
"If he's still Ringmaster, that is."
She wasn't saying it in a rude way. Things happened. There was the chance--though slim--that he wasn't.

~~

Nylat, glancing up, sighed, and stood, slowly hefting her bulk off the ground. She padded over to the hood of the van, leaping up onto it before joining Maya on the roof. There, she laid down next to her, dropping her head onto the roff between her paws. She heaved a sigh, glancing up at Maya before laying a paw on her arm with well intentions.
"You sure that's a good choice?"
She flicked her ears, whining a bit in worry.

Having been lost in her thoughts, again, Maya only barely noticed Nylat following her onto the van roof, and looked at the hybrid with raised eyebrows when she felt that paw on her arm. She sighed, eyebrows furrowing, her gaze on the fox. "I wasn't going to take it off," She frowned, "I'm not that stupid,"

She grumbled a bit, then sighed again, flopping back so that she lay on the van roof, eyes on the sky. Her glinting hair was splayed, and her wings flared. "What's wrong with me?" She asked, more to herself than Nylat. It was a statement that highlighted her own inability to keep control of her emotion. This was stupid, the whole thing was stupid. The fact Maya could get absoloutely no hold over it just meant it was probably going to keep bothering her.

Stupid... She hadn't realised just how much energy being so emotional could take out of a person. With another grumble, she lifted one arm and laid it across her face, obscuring her eyes. The butterfly who had been so sedately perched on her head had taken off, only to land on Nylat.

"Ah, you get used to it after a bit," Dravius shrugged in reponse to Raphael, loking alittle taken aback at Sh'Yama's cutting question. "Uhm, Last night, after the show. Why, do I stink? Nylat's told me I have, but do I really?" He sniffed his shirt, shrugging and crossing his arms. "Ah well. If it bugs you, I could stand farther away." He offered, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, hello, Ny." He brushed a few fingers across the top of Nylat's head, a small movement and an even smaller touch. "Where'd Julian go?" Dravius asked suddenly, looking around the Circus.

Running his fingers through his newly-cropped hair, Dravius yawned, his bad eye not closing completely, instead leaving a slit of blue and white, his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks. The co-owner looked towards the food van, his nostrils flaring at the ever- increasing scent of food. "I usually miss breakfast, I guess everyone's running a little later today."

With effort, Maya moved her arm from her face, watching Nylat when the hybrid jumped from her van, pouting at her words. What?... She wasn't going to go anywhere, and she didn't need babysitting, either. "Alright," She said, more for Nylat's security then her own, before placing her arm where it had been before, over her eyes.

~~~

Raphael snorted quietly at Dravius' comment regarding Gem and his studies. "Oh, really?... I'm finding it somewhat difficult at the moment," He shuddered. "The whole idea seems too intrusive to just ignore," Yawning, he got caught in the middle of it with a laugh at the Co-Masters answer to Yama's question. "I don't think we need to worry about julian," He added, grinning.

His eyes however, landed on Nylat, her very aura causing the Ring Master to raise his eyebrows as Dravius greeted the hybrid. He lifted a hand, scratching the back of his head with a finger, before shrugging. "Sure, Nylat," His voice was wary, well... Nylat definately didn't seem happy.

He glanced skyward, then looked at Dravius. "Stop staring at the van and go eat, come and find me afterwards," He then glanced over his shoulder at Spider, Kioko and Yama, a cheerful smile on his face. "Please exuse me, enjoy your breakfast, and your walk, if that is what you choose to do,"

With a bow, he nodded at Nylat, then headed off across the field towards his van, pausing just beyond the door and turning to sit, his hands linked under his chin and his gray eyes penetrating. "Alright, Nylat, what is it?"

~~~

At Tara's words, Julian stopped and looked over his shoulder, his eyes questioning. Oh?... He didn't entirely understand, but he saw quite clearly she didn't  particularly want to talk about it. Lucky for her, Julian wasn't one to pry. 

He sighed through his nose, closing his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, he glanced in the general direction of Wolf, noticing her daydreaming state, but again, refusing to ask. At the mention of Raphael, Julian merely nodded. "He is, and alright," He turned on his heel, and started walking again.

"Good morning, Mister Raphael," the white haired girl answered with a wave of her own.  

"Oh.  You know, I never really thought about it that way," Kioko looked down at her own cloak when Spider brought up the subject, playing with the worn hem absently.  "I guess they would be hard to find, since not many people wear them.  But my parents just gave this one to me a few years ago.  It didn't occur to me to ask where they bought it at."  She dropped the edge of the crimson fabric and looked back up at him.

"Alright, then," she smiled warmly at him.  "So we'll go for a walk after we eat.  You and me and Yama, if she feels like it."  Spider seemed to be more tense than usual this morning.  Maybe if they could get away from the crowd of the Circus for a bit, he could relax.  Kioko hoped so, anyway.  

"Ah, Good day, Yama.  And, yeah, food sounds really good right now," she replied to Raphael's question.

 ------------------------------

"It would seem I am just in time, then," Selvai spoke as he appeared next the group.  "I hope this isn't rude of me, Kioko, but I had hoped I could have breakfast with you and your friends this morning.  I haven't had an opportunity to introduce myself to many of the other members yet, and I must confess I feel a bit lost here," the magician told them with a self deprecating smile.

Out of the corner of his eye, Selvai noticed the tall woman who had crossed his path as he left his van that morning.  The surprised look on her face as she had pas.sed by hadn't escaped his attention, nor had her unusual appearance.  It appeared she had recognized the mark on his face.  Not surprising, considering she was a creature of magic.  A magical amalgamation of some kind, like the Spider boy over there, he surmised.  Probably created by the same sorcerer, if the similar looks where anything to go by. 

His mouthed twisted slightly at the thought of it.  Combining creatures to bring a new one into existence wasn't unheard of among the magical world, but Selvai had never seen the appeal in it.  He'd been witness to the failed results too many times for his liking.  Twisted, pitiful creatures which had to be put out of their misery when the combination didn't take, or the magic wasn't strong enough to make it work.  Spider and this Yama girl were quite lucky whoever created them had been experienced enough to make it work.

His train of thought was interrupted when a large, blue raven landed on his left shoulder.  "Good morning, Diresa," he greeted his companion.  "Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't sleep at all after you woke me up." the creature complained.  "And then you have the gall to leave for breakfast without telling me," she squawked in outrage.

"My apologies," he told her gently.  "I had thought you would want to sleep in, but it appears I was wrong.  Will you forgive me?"  he asked with a half smile.

"Find me food, and it's all forgotten," Diresa responded.

"Of course.  We were about to have breakfast, as it happens."  Noticing the looks from the others, Selvai hurriedly introduced his companion.  "Everyone, this is Diresa.  She's my traveling companion."

((o_O))