((Bar....bie?))

Dravius groaned and said, "Ah, I don't care where I sleep, really." Swinging himself up, he stretched his arms over his head, the thin appendages shaking slightly with the strain. "I'll come along on the tour...." Seeing Raphael walk off, he shrugged, rolled his shoulders, and walked after. "Raphael, we need to leave. I do have some say in this Circus." He said, teasingly. "We've stayed for nearly a week. I think." He looked puzzled, then shook his head, blinking slightly.

"Anyways. Although this town is quite friendly, I think nearly everyone in town has seen our show at least once, and I don't feel like stitching myself up at two in the morning." Dravius grumped, crossing his arms, and for a moment, he seemed like a normal, rebellious teenager, not the co-owner of an enormous Circus. Reverting back to seemeing much older then he was, he looked down at Kioko and said, "What can you do? I'm fairly good at placing acts." Placing his hands behind his back, Dravius coughed into his elbow, brushing his white hair away from his face. It was odd to look at the Co-master's face in full, with his sightless, clouded, right eye, and his bright, intellegent left eye. It was also odd when he tried to make an ex
pression, as he right eyebrow was reluctant to raise, even slightly.

"And Raphael, we need a new van or two if we're taking all these new people." Dravius said, raising his one good eyebrow. "We're rapidly running out of space, due to the four others we picked up in Sumnorsville." Stretching again, he put two fingers through a large hole in the sleeve of his red and black shirt, and the other hand in the top pocket of his baggy cargo pants. There was a ma.ssive jingling of metal as he moved, and with each step, the bottom pockets on his pants thudded aginst the ground. His bare feet moved silently aginst the dusty ground as he yawned, shifting from foot to foot.

[[xD Not a Barbie Barbie. Like his cousins would let him play with girly dolls. (letting him run around in Em's clothes was a completely different matter.)]]

Spider's hand shot in the air, as if for permission to speak. "I don't mind sleeping outside!" He blurted helpfully. "Throw a tarp over a branch. I'll be okay." The truth was, was that Spider wasn't very keen on sharing. His cousins didn't give him very much, but what he did get was his own, and he'd never had to share anything before. And he thought it would be weird sharing a house-van that was roughly the size of the bathroom at home. Too closed in. He wouldn't know how to act around another person in such closed quarters. He'd rather avoid having to deal with it altogether and sleep in a tree.

"I can share with someone else, if no one minds.  I don't need much space anyway,"  Kioko supplied.  "What can I do?" Kioko supplied in response to Dravius' question.  "Um... well, it's easier to show you..."

Stepping a few feet away from the others, she rolled up the sleeves of her cloak and held out both hands a few inches apart.  Concentrating, Kioko created a small ball of flames between her palms, then spread her hands apart, allowing it to grow bigger.  The fireball melded into the shape of a small cat, then morphed into a bird, and finally a lily, all the while shifting between a rainbow of different colors.  

She ended the small display by clapping her hands together, extinguishing the flames.  "That's it.  I know, it's weird and not really much use to anyone."

((LOL, Grayvs. Barbie. xD))

Before Raphael had a chance to reply to Kioko, Dravius spoke, and the Ring Master looked over his shoulder at the white haired male, an amused ex
pression on his face. "I know," He laughed, placing a hand on the back of his head. "I wasn't planning on doing anything without running it past you first, oh great and noble partner~ Not to mention the rest of the Circus~ Besides, I'm not entirely sure I could handle another night myself. There's only so long I can go without needing an intermission,"

He dropped his hand, then glanced at the new faces with a thoughtful smile. It was true, of course, they we're going to need the extra space in order to house all these new people... He placed a finger over his lips as he looked between them. "I think we can manage," He said after a moment, dropping his hand. "Kioko or Fallow could always stay with Maya. Nylat is another possibility, if she's willing to share the space, and another van could always be constructed for the other two," He said, smiling at the white haired Kioko, the Shapeshifting Ariskye, the somewhat silent Chi and a nervous looking Fallow.

Raphael then turned his attention to Spider, an eyebrow raised. "Outside?... Are you sure?... We could always place you in a van of your own, you know, and of course there's the weather to consider... Oh," The Ring Master paused, then looked at Kioko and Spider. "To answer your previous questions, everyone here tends to do what they feel comfortable with," He said with a chuckle. "Some of us choose to perform, others choose to simply help out backstage. You'll always have your freedom of choice, and as such, your always welcome change your mind,"

He grinned at them, his eyes focusing on Kioko as the previously hooded girl demonstrated her ability. He blinked. "Your ability is a stunning one Kioko, and considering your present company, it's actually considered quite normal," He laughed. "You'd probably make an excellent performer, though that, of course, is your decision alone,"

He gave a florid little bow, then straightened and glanced at Dravius, his eyes devious and a smile playing on his face. "Why don't you show them what you can do, Dravius?... It always helps to see an ability somewhat freakier and slightly more disturbing than your own,"

~~~

Watching as Nylat padded away, Maya blinked, then shrugged and stood, glancing once more towards the vivid green of the canopy above with a content smile. After only a brief moment of watching the sunlight filter through the bristling leaves, she turned her face away from the trees and followed the hybrid's footsteps, easily catching up and matching the fox' pace.

She flared her wings a couple of times, the red pigment catching the sunlight before allowing them to simply fall as she crossed her arms, her violet eyes on Nylat as she walked. "So what is it you wanted, Nylat?" She asked, her voice soft and a small smile on her features.

Nylat flicked her tail, silent for a while as she took lengthened strides on her left, determined to stretch out her stiffness. She felt so much older than she was, stiffening up constantly. She didn't look at Maya, but rather kept her gaze on the ground, observing how the light splayed across the ground. She yawned again, exhausted. She closed her jaws with a snap, flicking an ear irritably.
"You are aware he's the only one who doesn't know, correct?"
She grinned back at Mayanna, as.suming she knew who she was talking about. If not, Nylat would have to beat it into her. The hybrid stopped and promptly sat, giving up on stretching her side. She didn't want to get too far from where they were set up. She was overly cautious nowadays.

Dravius sighed slightly through his nose and said, "Alright. I don't see why not." Reacheing behind a flap of cloth to the left of him, the co-owner of the Circus pulled a long, thin, black box, and, balancing it on one knee, and opened it to reveal all maner of sharp objects, the most prominent being two whisper thin, silver swords about four feet long each. Removing said swords, Dravius one in his left hand, pale fingers wrapping around the deep red grip. Taking several deep breaths, and after he had let out the last, he flipped the sword in his grip and slid it slowly into his abdomen, twisting the grip every now and then, to avoid damaging any major organs. The blade re-emerged to the left of his spine, and he released the blade, sliding the other in at a different angle. If you looked at the teenager from the back, there was about three inches of glistening wet metal protruding on either side of his spine.

Calmly, the co-master produced a handfull of needles from one of his pockets and started running them through his hand, and if you looked closely, they were threaded with dark brown. After a minute or so, Dravius held up the palm of his hand to reveal a dark brown star resting against the ivory of his hand. He quickly worked a finger inder the strting row of thread and pulled harshly, yanking all the needles and thread out of his hand and shaking the blood off.

After dropping the needles back into their place, Dravius produced a large lighter and a length of metal. After the metal was glowing red hot, Dravius tucked the lighter away and applied the length of metal to his cheek, and a sickening hiss broke out. Taking it away and dropping it back into the dark case, he pulled out a large ice pack and applied it to the burn, keeping the swelling down. The swords still resided in his stomach though, as he pulled the ice away from his face and picked up a suture and thread. Reaching his thin arms around, he slid the tip of the sword out of his back, stitching the wound before it even had time to bleed. Doing the smae in the front, he began on the other sword. "Ta-da." He said flatly, cleaning both blades with a red cloth.

A large red stripe rested on his cheek, the pointed end of the already subsiding burn resting near his bad eye. As Dravius still had his shirt pulled up from stitching his wounds, there was all manner of scars, large and small, including four rather large bulletholes to the left of his heart, arranged in a lopsided diamond. Around where he had the slightly weeping sword inscisions, were dozens of others, and the clucked his tounge as he wrapped his hand in white gauze. Raising his hand to examine the wrappings, his loose sleeve slipped down, revealing many very old scars, raised slightly against the ivory of the boy's skin.

As his blue eyes scrutinized his palm, he shook his head and began to chew on his lip ring again, shaking his sleeve down. "Hope that didn't scar you for life, kiddos." He fished a long, iron nail out of his pockets, tossing it into the air and catching it again, then began spinning it between his fingers, as a regular teenager would a standard wooden pencil. Sighing through his nose again, he put a finger to his weeping wounds, swiping it across the thin stitches, then put the red finger to his lips, licking the blood off his first finger, then stretched and yawned.

"No," Spider said hastily. "I am not deserving of a vehicle of my own. And that's what the tarp's for. The weather." his hand dropped to his side and he watched Kioko, forgetting about what he was going to say. Poor management, he thought mildly as he watched the dancing flames. Shouldn't let them do whatever they want.

Spider turned his eyes on Dravius after Raphaels suggestion, and made a small squeaking noise. Oh no no no, he did NOT want to watch. Nonono... He immediately turned around and slapped his hands over his eyes. After a second, he decided that that wasn't working, because though he couldn't see anything-- he could hear... and the sound made him feel like he was either going to faint or upset his stomach. Or both. He clamped his hands over his ears. Just because you can't feeling anything does not constitute abusing yourself for the amusement of others!

This would be something Sera would find funny. He'd laugh. Funniest thing ever. Spider wasn't going to voice his opinions on what other people did-- whether he disagreed with it or not-- but just don't go poking yourself full of holes while he was in the vicinity. That would be all he'd ask. But he couldn't ask that, because he was preoccupied trying not to gurgle and heave all over the ground. That would be rude, he thought, even given the situation.

((Pfft. Dravius. xD <33))

Raphael watched the Co-Master with very little surprise, though admittedly, the way Dravius could go about administering those swords with little hesitation still made him want to look in the opposite direction at times. "You know, Dravius," He said with a quiet snort. "I love you like a brother, but that act of yours still makes me overly conscious of my morality," He shuddered slightly, then glanced at the new group, moving forward to kneel in front of Chi as the girl seemed to collapse.

"Are you alright?..." He asked in a soft tone, holding out a hand to girl before looking up at the others. "I apologise. You'll all be somewhat happy to know that Dravius' ability is probably the hardest to get used to," A small chuckle escaped his lips, before he glanced over his shoulder at the Co-Master, an eyebrow raised. Anyone who knew Dravius for a certain amount of time could have detected his mood in that tone of voice, and anyone smart enough would not leave it get worse... Well. Usually... Most of them tended to get out of his way before it got that far.

"Dravius," He said shortly. "Do me a favour and get some sleep would you?... Hell knows you need it," The Ring Master, despite his light hearted tone of voice, was feeling slightly concerned. Dravius had his moments, naturally, but considering what the white haired male had been through the past 8 months leaving him was probably a bad idea. The Ring Master sighed quietly, then turned back to Chi and the others. "Alright guys. Let's get your accomodation sorted,"

~~~

During the quiet moment in which Nylat waited to speak, Maya had returned to watching the bristling canopy above, her eyes on a couple of fluttering butterflies, not that it was unusual... The creatures usually followed her around, peforming creative little dances in mid-air.She smiled at them, just as Nylat finally spoke.

Jumping, the violet eyed Mayanna looked sharply at Nylat. "What?"... She blinked, realisation hitting her like a wave. "W-wait..." She murmured. "... Oh no." She flailed her arms, a blush evident on her face. "N-nylat... you-you know?..." She froze for a moment... "Wait. What do you mean, the "only" one?..."

With a jolt, she shook her head, then resumed her flailing. "Oh no no... It's not... I mean... Uh..." She said face torn between utter shock at Nylat's words, and despair at the knowledge. Great. This was all she needed... Like Raphael and Julian didn't get at her enough for it.

((I am practically rolling on the floor laughing. XD))

Nylat let out a bark-like laugh, grinning.
"Apparently not. That changes this conversation a bit."
She flicked her tail over her feet, tilting her head in her usual manner.
"Well, as you now know, he is the only one who doesn't know, aside from the newer members. And to tell the truth, I've known for a while now, though I'm not sure how long anyone else has known. But don't worry, I won't spill, though I can't guarentee no one else will."
She grinned, now resuming her calm composure.
"I think you ought to tell him before anyone else does. Not now, of course. Wait for a better time. Everyone's stressed at the moment."
Nylat flicked her tail back and forth like a metronome. She opened her jaws in another yawn, her eyes dusky and dull, lacking their usual spark.
"And a great deal of us are tired, if I'm anything to judge by."

Dravius grunted and raised his tall frame from where he had folded it on the bleachers, sticking his hands in his pockets. His one good eye was stormy, which was usually a warning for the members of the ircus to get out of the Co-owner's way. When he had a lack of sleep, Dravius just got plain mean, and considering he hadn't slept in approximately a week, it was just a matter of time before he sank into a rather black mood. He looked down at Spider, with the boy practically curled into a small ball on the dusty floor, and sat back on his haunches, his bare feet in front of the boy's face. "You gonna lose whatever meal you had last?" He asked, his wrists resting on his knees. His long, pale white fingers were dipped in red at the ends, except for the index finger of his left hand, which was the one he had just cleaned.

Without waiting for an answer, Dravius lifted himself up, rolling his shoulders and moving out of the tent, jingling and clanking as he went. As he wasn't looking where he was going as he emerged from the tent, nearly collided with the shorter than him by nearly ten inches Mayanna, pulling himself back as he gently brushed ainst her arm. "Sorry, May." He said simply, which at this point, was an exeptionally polite response from him.

Yawning hugely, Dravius sat on the soft gras.s, the green blades sticking up past his eyes. Closing his one good eye, Dravius heaved an enormous sigh of happiness and drifted off to sleep, his slight snoring stirring the emerald plants that rose up all around him. His scarred eye didn't close all the way, so a half-moon slice of white could be seen between the pale skin and the still-dark eyelashes. A slight smile was set upon his lips as he slept, one arm thrown out to the side, his hair in even more dissarray than usual.

He struck an odd picture against the bright gras.s, his white hair rising against the deep green, and his skin covered by the feathery plants.  Withing the first minute or so, Dravius managed to wriggle out of most of his shirt, revealing a mess of scars, bruises, and tiny peices of window, including the recent, strak black stitches on wither side of his stomach. Murmuring slightly, Dravius smiled again, then rolled over, pressing his face into the cool green bed. He was a lot calmer in his sleep, not to mention he actually looked his age, just liek some ordinary boy who went to school, dreamed about girls, and not an owner of a Circus that had been taking in the unwanted for over six years.

Ariskye had watched Dravius stick himself with a look of pure disgust on her face and her pupils slowly faded into her crimson irises.. Her nose had wrinkled up and so had her upper lip, causing her canines to show. Shifting her head, her black hair fell into place and covered her crimson eyes from watching. And even when Dravius was done, she didn't respond to him either before the white-haired boy talked to Spider. Slipping her hands into pants pockets, she glanced at Raphael when the man spoke and the pupils instantly faded away. She didn't mind sharing... Just as long as she had enough space to move around and not be cramped.

Kanec, unlike most of the members around him, had been almost completely unaffected by Dravius's act. The shifter flared his wings slightly before shifting into a tiger, padding over to sit beside Raphael, his black-and-white tail flicking over his paws as he regarded the group with cold, slitted, green eyes. He flicked an ear, silent and statue-like otherwise. He was rare to talk when it was not needed. He spent alot of time thinking. He let his gaze linger on Fallow for a second. There was something about her now. The way she stood a bit more comfortably, maybe the way she actually seemed interested, that made him believe she had changed her mind and was staying. She managed to catch sight of him watcching her, and he quickly turned away, instead looking at the others in the group. He'd have to find out their abilities. Then he could figure out if one would share with him.

~~~

Fallow was quite disgusted with Dravius's way of displaying his ability, but she had seen much, much worse. Like, cats killed and turned inside out. Growing up alone, and sometimes on the streets was the cause of that. So, she merely turned her head away, waiting until she caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing back, she saw Kanec shifting into a white tiger in one fluid movement, not even hesitating. She glanced around, and looked back at Kanec to see him watching her with great interest. She took a half a step back, and he looked away, observing the rest of the group.