Kanec smiled again, more to himself this time, his ears laid back in contentment. Not flat, nor pricked, just content, relaxed. He kept his arm over Disera's shoulders, and when she slid an arm around his waist, he laid his free hand on her's. He lstened intently to her reasons for not going into town, frowning slightly. "Well, you can stay here, it's fine by me. I'd hurry. But I'd love it if you could come with me." He lightly kissed her forehead before continuing. "But I understand if you don't want to, or can't."

~~

Nylat shrugged, flicking an ear. "It doesn't matter to me, really. Whatever you want to do." A pas.serby glanced at the hybrid with distaste and she laid her ears back and growled fiercely enough to scare a lion. The person hurried away, and Nylat huffed. "Idiots. Don't know a Circus member when they--Waitaminutewaitaminutewaitaminute. Stay here. I'll be right back." With that she got to her feet, circling around the bench a few times, before sitting herself on the other end, looking across the street. She growled in affirmative and hissed excitedly as she rushed across the street, nearly getting hit by a car. Not that it would have hurt her more than a few bruises and maybe a broken rib. She sniffed around. Sure, their scent would have remained, but still. She flicked her tail, prancing in excitement. More for having found out what it was about this place that made it feel familiar than for the event that'd happened here. Well, half of the reason. This particular spot, really. She shuddered at the memory.

Rain.

Eyeck.

"You're welcome!" Dravius grinned, folding the cloth and tossing it back inside, sliding the sutures into their own case. "I still feel kind of bad," He laughed quietly, tapping gently the lid of the wooden box with the tips of his fingers. It made a rather nice, clear thudding noise, the finished wood gleaming in the sunlight. The wood was smooth, but seemed to bear traces of dust, mostly around the edges. He wondered exactly how old it was, but just brushed any signs of age from it with his fingertips, watching the bits of dust scatter into the air.

"And I'm glad you like yours!" Dravius smiled again, only briefly this time, as he seemed to contemplate something, rubbing his hands togather, and looking at Maya from the corner of an eye. "Uhm." He coughed slightly, picking apart a bit of stuffing. "If...if your Mom's still alive...could...we go see her? Maybe tomorrow?" He looked not a bit hopeful, and began picking at his cuticles again, setting them oozing blood slightly. Seeming to notice what he had done, he stuffed his hands into each respective pocket, sighing heavily.

Dravius really did want to meet Maya's mother. She certainly sounded like an interesting person. He knew that Maya probably wouldn't agree, since she sounded so torn about her mother last time she had said anything about her. It was a little depressing that she hadn't felt she could trust anyone with the fact that her mother wwas still alive...

"You shouldn't, really," Maya responded to Dravius' comment regarding forgetting what day it was, holding the plushie butterfly at arms length and looking bemusedly at it's ex
pression. "I forgot too, and that's the first in a long time." She paused here, seeming to realise what she'd said, then blushed furiously and frowned at the butterfly as though it had been the toy's fault.

As was usual, the girl found a way of "trying" to hide her face by smushing it against the stuffed insect in her arms. She was almost relieved to hear Dravius talk about something completely unrelated. Maybe he hadn't noticed. Though she couldn't help but doubt that, the Co-Master rarely seemed to miss it.

She watched him drum his fingers on the box, face still pressed against the butterfly, before she managed to pull her face away long enough to throw him a smile. Shifting her arms, Maya positioned the plushie so that it rested under her chin, her eyes on Dravius. For some pecuilar reason, she was becoming just a tad nervous at his thoughtful ex
pression.

The wait, luckily enough, didn't last long at all, and the blonde's ex
pression became wide-eyed and slightly taken aback. She most certainly had not expected that. "W...What?" She asked, lowering the squishy slightly and furrowing her eyebrows at him. "I mean... Wait. Why?... I don't- I'm not... Uhm." Stopping short, the butterfly glanced townward.

Okay. She'd been worried about bumping into her mother... But to actually go looking for her?... She wasn't sure. Dravius had said avoiding her would do no good, and yes, it probably wouldn't, but... Still. It wasn't like Maya didn't want to see her mom, but to have to go and present herself on the doorstep after eight years?... 

The girl's ex
pression wasn't quite so shocked, but she did now look slightly sad. Maybe... Maybe she should... That, of course, relied on whether or not she felt brave enough to force herself back to town tomorrow. Biting her bottom lip, she looked back towards Dravius. Wait. He'd said "we".

"We?" She asked, suddenly feeling a little better. She didn't quite understand why, the whole idea was still pretty scary, but if Dravius was there... Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. If her mom wasn't utterly terrified of the guy, anyway. Though somehow she doubted that. The entire thought, however, of Dravius being introduced to her mom, actually made her smile, if only slightly.  Shaking her head, she sighed, then stared hard at the floor for a moment before looking back at the Co-Master.

"... Alright." She replied, looking completely unsure about her answer, though she had to smile at him and his hopeless ex
pression. Why was he so fussed?... Still. "You owe me for this." She pouted, watching him for a moment, she exhaled gradually through her nose, then walked over and placed the butterfly plush on top of Dravius' wooden ink box. She stepped quickly onto the stiars of Dravius' van,increasing her height to just be a little under his.

With a little smile, Maya held her arms out for a moment, before sliding them around the Co-Masters neck, and looking him up and down. "Your covered in thread and fluff," She murmered, before laughing andraising her eyebrows. "Don't go sewing any more stuffed animals tomorrow." She added, bringing her face close to the Co-Masters

She could only stay there so long before she started giggling at him, and, still smiling, pulled Dravius forward a little so that she was able to get her lips to his. It was a kiss very similar to the one she had recieved shortly after telling him she loved him, though it lingered a little longer; Her arms still wrapped over his shoulders. Well. It wasn't like she could rely on him entirely for a Valentines kiss. It was Dravius, after all.

((Braindead for Raffy... o-o))

Dravius immediately felt bad when Maya began stammering at his question, and began to think that he should have just left the subject alone, and he became even more inwardly distressed when she looked sad. He put his hands in his lap, looking down at them with an uneasy ex
pression. He really did want to become aquainted with Mrs. Vielle, unless she wasn't married...

Dravius shook his head and looked sideways at Maya again, nodding at her monosyllable question, then grinning tenatively at her agreement. "Yay!" He said quietly, blinking hard when she closed the distance between them with zero warning. "Alright then," Was his original intention to say, but the fact that Maya's face was approximately an inch and a half from his own. "Uhm," Was the only thing he could manage beofre she pressed her face to his. Although he was unsure why, just before, she had started laughing.

Dravius wrapped his own arms around Maya's waist, and when she pulled away, he grinned, saying, "I won't make anything. But, as we were coming in, I heard soemthing about a Valentine's party. I wouldn't be surprised if Raphael is sitting in his van making garlands and paper heart to hang from trees." He laughed quietly, wrapping a hank of Maya's hair around his finger and sighing through his nose. 

"Well... Good. Because you really did make a mess of yourself," Maya snorted, laughing as she pulled one arm over Dravius' shoulder to brush more fluff off of his shirt. She figured he'd probably just rushed a little with the stuffed butterfly.

Replacing her arm around the Co-Masters neck, she smiled at him, raising her eyebrows at his party statement. "Party?" She repeated, looking a little surprised. It probably shouldn't have been so surprising, really. Raphael was always for seizing an oppurtunity. The girl, having still had her arms folded around Dravius' neck, laughed again, and hugged him, watching the Circus for a moment over his shoulder. This was only possible because of the extra height she'd gained standing on the vans stairs.

"Might be fun, huh?" She asked, keeping her chin on the tall males shoulder. "We seem to having a lot of parties and vacations lately. I think Raphael tries too hard." She paused, then shrugged as well as she could in her current position, before pulling away from Dravius, keeping her arms around his neck. "Garlands and paper hearts?..." Maya asked, watching the Co-Master play with a strand of hair and smiling amusedly. "Your awfully fond of doing that," She smiled, still looking at the strand of hair.

Shaking her head, the young woman leant forward, kissing Dravius again before finally letting go of him and hopping off the stairs. She immediately retrieved the butterfly squishy and hugged it, smiling at the Co-Master over the red of the insects wings. 

"Oh. Hey." She said, dropping the plushie a little and pointing off in one direction. "Isn't that Florence?... I thought he was on vacation." Frowning slightly, Maya pulled her hand back and pressed the bottom half of her face against the plush before looking over her shoulder. "Maybe we should go see about this party, huh?" She smiled, actually looking a little excited about the idea.

Kanec glanced over at Disera when she twined her fingers with his, and gently squeezed her hand. He listened carefully to her response, nodding throughout. "I understand. Though eventually you're going to have to deal with normals whether you want to or not. Especially here in the Circus. But Selvai had understandable reasons for telling you to avoid them." He laid his ears back, sighing. They were coming upon the Circus now, just p*censored*ing the few vans that, currently vacant since their owners were elsewhere, where inhabited by those who liked to keep their vans further away. It was still a ways from the man body of the Circus, but Kanecc had liked the alone time he'd had with Disera. He was loathe to let it end. "But as I said, I could go into town myself if you can't. It's perfecly okay."

~~

Nylat, still grinning, glanced up at Kioko. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just excited that I finally figured out why this place is familiar. Though..." She was a bit frustrated then, and flicked an er up at Kioko's second comment. She shrugged. "It wouldn't have done me much harm, with my strength. But...it was a little reckless, I guess." She yawned, then sniffed again at the area surrouning her. It smelled lightly different, but the overall smell was the same, she grinned again. "It seems this is the town where we met Maya." In a lower, more spiteful tone, she added, "And Kanec, too. That thief."

"Oh, yes. Party." Dravius sounded somewhat less enthusiastic than Maya, and rolled his eyes at the propisition. "Raphael loves an excuse for a party..." He muttered something about a stupid...fun-loving little...he looked up again, shrugging at Maya's question. "It should be, at the very least....interesting. He coughed slightly, then grinned slightly and nodded at the girl's accusation, brushing his hair out of his pale face. "I do. Last time we had a party, I  think it was a birthday, he asked me to make all the hats and stuff. It was actually pretty fun, but...that's not the point." Dravius seemed to have a rare moment where he realized he was going off on a tangent, and stopped talking, relaxing his thin shoulders when Maya put her head on one.

Dravius looked towards where she was pointing, and grimaced slightly, then forming his ex
pression into a strained smile, said, "And who doesn't love Florence?" Standing as well, he couldn't help but feel just a little bit excitied at Maya's attitude, and nodded, half of his mouth twitching upwards. "Yeah, sure, why not?" He fished in a pocket, bringing out a paper heart folded into quarters, and grinned sheepishly, recalling Maya's comment.

Dravius never really liked parties. Too loud, too many people packed together around him...he shivered slightly, then striaghtened up out of his usual, slightly slouched posture, cracking a few joints in his back. He actually added a an inch or two to his tall frame, when he straightened up. He yawned hugely, eyes crinkling at the edges, although his bad eye never closed completely. "Mmmph," He grunted, watching Maya snuggle her gift. It made him smile crookedly, one sharp tooth glinting in the afternoon light.

((Post/bump. O_O))

Noting Dravius' less than enthusiatic response to what she could only as.sume was the idea of the party, Maya frowned at him over her plushie, the stuffed winged critter still held tightly to her chest. She then snorted in an amused manner.

"We don't have a lot of parties," She replied, shifting her arms slightly, smiling at the plush before looking back at Dravius. "And you know Raphael. He's only trying to give everyone a break. You included. Don't be so boring." She laughed, moving one arm to prod Dravius in the side, blinking as he went off on another subject.

She eventually turned to watch Florence again as the Co-Master commented, then she went and hit the tall male in the stomach with the plushie. "Stop being so negative, Mr Wolfe. Your such a grouch sometimes," She laughed, now holding the stuffed butterfly with one hand, still watching the Dark clown's steps.

Maya looked back at Dravius in time to catch his slightly upturned lips, then raised her eyebrows at the paper heart. "What's that for?" She asked, folding her arms around the soft toy again. Noticing the tall male's shiver, she shrugged. She knew him well enough to guess what he might be thinking about. Of course, the current conversation provided a hint.

"You know... It probably won't be that bad." She smiled. "It's a Valentine's party, not a high school reunion. And if it gets too busy for you, well-" She gestured to the field with an arm. "You could always... I don't know. Go for a walk?... There's enough space, or even go sit in your van. I don't think it'll be that rowdy though." She was still smiling at him when she caught site of his smile, and went wide-eyed. "What?"

Blinking, Maya quickly shook her head, then grabbed Dravius by the wrist and started walking towards Raphael's van, her ex
pression happy.

It didn't take long to reach the Ring-Masters van, and on closer inspection, Maya deduced the blonde haired Illusionist wasn't actually around. Pouting slightly, she let go of Dravius' hand, catching sight of a member carrying what seemed to be a round table. "Oh. Look." She murmered, setting off around Raphael's van at a fast sprint. From here, the buttrfly could easily see what was clearly a set up for the party.

There were only 3 or 4 small round tables, as well as a long buffet table and an old style machine. Probably for music. Not far from there, situated in the middle of the large open space, was a huge pile of wood. Most likely bonfire material. The main tent was much closer to town, and nowhere near this set up. The bonfire had been placed to the side of the actual Circus settlement, meaning there was a lot of space and spare field around it, spare the couple of nearby trees.

Raphael was stood not far from the to-be inferno, another member next to him, throwing wood onto the growing pile. It was a very plain set up admittedly, but that wasn;t a bad thing. If members wanted to head down here, then they could. It was entirely their choice.

Maya, smiling openly over her shoulder at the Co-Master, before sprinting off towards Raphael, her arms outstretched and her golden hair flying behind her. She came to a somewhat abrupt stop beside the Ring-Master.

"Hi Raph." She greeted cheerfully, picking up a couple of sticks and throwing them onto the pile. 

The Ring-Master watched her with an amused face. "What's got into you?" He asked, waving farewell to the other member as he headed off for more wood. The butterfly shrugged, then wrapped her arms firmly around the plush she still carried as she threw him a smile.

"Nothing," She said, looking ridiculously happy for some bizarre reason. There was probably more to it than that, Raphael as.sumed, but didn't bother to ask. Everything was more or less done here, all they had to do now, was wait until dusk.

Nylat nodded, and glanced up at the fox plush. She gently took it in her mouth, mumbling around it. "Yep. We met Maya here. She was terrified of me and Dravvy at first. It's quite humourous to think about it now." At the mention of Kanec, she growled through the plush. "Yea. Him. He's always spited me. Trying to stay even. Eyeck. I save him, and he thinks he has to repay me by killing that wolf? I woulda survived. No doubt someone woulda found me." Stormy-faced, she cmpletely forgot about Kioko, walking to the street corner before remembering about the pyro, and turning to face her, jerking her head toward the Circus. "Well, coming?"

~~

Kanec was pleased by Disera's answer, his ears pricking. He was slightly caught off-guard, however, when Disera kissed him. He hugged her as she did so, returning the kiss. He, too, didn't take notice of Selvai until he spoke, and only returned his glare, ears laid back, hugging Disera slightly tighter. He released her when she backed away, watching her go before Selvai approached. His ears were still laid back and he was not calm in his responses. "I understand. And would never think of playing her a fool." At the concequence, Kanec laughed a bit. "And whenever that reality was no longer altered, you'd best watch out. Because I wouldn't be the only one going after you. Julian wouldn't be too happy, I believe. As for the phobia, it wouldn't be too hard. I'm already terrified of one thing with fur."

At his final statement, Kanec nodded, seeiming determined, talking to Selvai's retreating back. "Of course I'll ask her. And I'll watch after her. I've been around people my whole life, what could go wrong?"

((EVERYTHING, Kanec. EVERYTHING.))

Dravius didn't react at all when smacked in the torso, rather pouting slightly and saying, "I'm only a grouch when it comes to someone who has broken into my van several times." He huffed, rubbing a hand through the front of his hair. "Nothing, I just have a lot of odds and ends in my pockets," He shrugged, rubbing briefly at a spot just next to the bridge of his nose, scrubbing off some dirt or something akin to it.

"We wouldn't ever go to a high school reunion, considering neither of us actually went to a high school at any point." Dravius pointed out, smiling slightly. "I suppose. It's not like Raph to have anyplace indoors to throw a party, so I'll be alright," He added after a moment, blinking slowly in thought. He started when Maya wrapped her fingers around his wrist, bending slightly as he was dragged along. He looked confused when Maya set off at a dead run towards Raphael, following at a somewhat slower pace, more of a lope than anything.

The obvious set up for a party made Dravius' brow crease a bit, but he forced a smile and looked at Raphael chucking small logs into a pit. "Oh boy..." He muttered, coughing slightly. He watched the other member leave, nodding in acknowledgement, and nudging a large rock with his toe. "This is for Valentine's, yuh?" He asked his friend, raising an eyebrow. "Should be...fun," He murmered, with as little enthusiasm that had ever been heard while describing a party.

 ((CRAP POST. But only because I lost my first one and had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. *Rages*))

After a moment of throwing sticks into the fire, Maya eventually got to her feet and smiled at Raphael again, who smiled in return and asked, "What?" The butterfly shrugged in response, then went to look at Dravius as she heard him complain. Well. Sort of. His tone hinted that, anyway.

"You know." She said, smiling slightly and nuzzling her chin on the soft material of the butterfly. "If it bothers you that much, just don't go. No-ones forcing you." She continued, before looking at Raphael. "Come to think of it. What made you come up with this idea anyway?"

"Oh. It wasn't me." Raphael laughed. "I just had to let them have their way or I might have been mobbed"

"They?"

"They." The ring-master pointed. Some distance away, closer to the vans, was a group of young, very pretty women, with varying shades of hair. They we're chatting animatedly when they caught sight of Raphael pointing at them, before their attention quickly swerved to Maya. Within seconds, thesmall group had made their way over, bustling around a slightly wide-eyed Maya and smiling openly.

After a minute of bustling and quick conversation, the girls evenntually managed to start pulling the butterfly gently in the direction they'd just come. "Uhm... I'll be right back," Maya smiled over her shoulder, before joining the group some distance away. As pretty as those girls had been, Maya easily outshone them, and was easy to see among them with her blazing wings and long golden hair. She was talking to them just as animatedly as they had been talking to each other. It was easy to tell the group absoloutely adored her.

"I bet they missed her." Raphael said with a laugh, pulling his eyes away from the girls. "It's been a while since she performed with any of them." Well. It was true.   Maya performed on her own most of the time, though she did also do acts where she wasn't alone. That group consisted of her own group of dancers, who performecd with her on occasion.

Pulling his eyes away from the group, the Ring-Master looked at Dravius for a moment, then turned his back and went to watching the pile of wood again. "You know." He said, scratching a temple. "You still havent  told me what's going on with you and her. It seems a little more than nothing." He added with a shrug, linking his arms behind his head, looking at Dravius amusedly.

((FATE WILL BE TEMPTED. Maybe. If I get bored.))

Nylat huffed at her comment about Maya being scared of them, barking a laugh around the plush. "Oh, she was definantly cared of us. Dunno why." At her query about how the two were when they were younger, Nylat stopped, sitting down. She set the plush at her feet before answering. "Hm. This is a tough one. I'll try and remember, but I was young, naive, and had a whole different view on things. I was more inclined to hate people, as I had just es--nevermind. You didn't ask about me. But I'll warn you--my opinion of how they were might not seem completely accurate. It would be best to ask Raphael or one of the other older members who haven't changed as much as I. Also, being human, they're more likely to give an accurate deion. I used to determine a person by smell and sight rather than feelings."

Sghing, she glanced up at the sky a moment before continuing. "Well, let's start with Maya. She's easier to decribe. She was very easily frightened, and actually, had been fleeing some rather nasty bullies when she--quite literally--ran into us. Raphael actually had to practically drag me and Dravius away. We were just short of murderous. Horrible to be treated unfairly. It took her a while to warm up to me and Dravvy, probably because of his own personality, and my, well, natural difference, but look where we are now, hm?"

"As for Dravius. Eh. He's harder. He was sorta a wild child, having spent most of his life with Break. Eyeck. I hate even thinking about him." She bristled. "Of course, I hadn't known that about him before. It was only later I found out. I may not be the best tracker, but I never forget a scent. No matter how long it's been. Anyways. Dravius was a bit crazy, but he's a great deal calmer now. And not as likely to hurt himself as he had been. He was so reckless it was insane."

She picked up the stuffed toy ad continued walking, flicking her tail. "So, Kioko, did I explain well?"

~~

Kanec nodded at Selvai's statement, ears back, taking note of what he said. H would have replied, ut it was then that Disera approached. He watched Selai go, then shrugged to himself. If he still wanted to talk, there was always later. The shifter glanced at Disera, smiling at her questions. "No, I'm fine. He wasn't too bad. No need to bother Karene. And he was teasing you about it?" As she took his hand, he let himself be dragged away, giving her a curious look when she stopped. "No, no. I'm fine eating before."

Dravius waved non-committedly as Maya was whisked away, eyes slightly hooded. Those girls just moved around in amob most of the time, and geting just one alone was almost inpossible. They also tended to look alike if you stared at the group too long. Dravius smirked quietly, one eyebreow slightly raised.

He turned his head towards Raphael as the other male spoke, arms crossed in front of his chest. Dravius shifted his weight from foot to foot, simply nodding in reply to Rapahel's remarks. It was understandable that they'd drag her away to talk. Girl's, for some reason, liked to hang about in little pockets, having their own "private" conversations. He half-rolled his eyes, then twisted his face back to look at Raphael again. "It is precisely nothing, actually." He shrugged, arms still crossed.

"It's really not much, although plenty of other people were making a rather large deal about it." Dravius added,  flicking a stray piece of hair out of his vision. It was about half black, half white at this point, and cut diagonally, obscuringhalf his bad eye. It was, in his opinion, quite ridiculous the stink some people were making of him and Maya, and to be honest, any more fuss would make him geniunely angry. He huffed, then seemed to remember he was not by himself. He sat down in one of the chairs by the small tables, leaning back on two legs. "And how did we come by the idea of a party?" He asked, then hopped up, and said, "Oh, almost forgot. Maya's mom lives in this town." He nodded, then added, "She told us that she wasn't alive, but I guess she is." He shrugged, then sat back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Raphael watched Dravius carefully, his ex
pression never changing and his thoughts remaining very much on the same line they had been earlier. He knew for a fact something was going on, but clearly the Co-Master wasn't willing to voice it. Perhaps he was mistaken?... Dravius and Maya had always been close, what with growing up together. Maybe there was really nothing in it after all.

Shrugging, he stretched his back, glancing at the pile of wood behind him, before returning his gaze to the black and white haired boy. He noted the agitation, which strangely enough, made him change his view again.

Over where the girls were situated, Maya had finally found a small pocket of time to get herself free of the small group, sighing quietly as she made her way back towards the Masters of the Circus.  She got within range in time to hear Dravius' words, looking a little put out at what he seemed to conclude. Nothing, hm?... Is that really what he thought of this? It was nothing?... She understood his want to probably keep things to himself, but was it really so bad to admit it to the one guy he was closest to in the Circus?... And to say it that way. It was almost believable to think it was nothing.

Exhaling slowly through her nose, Maya jumped slightly when she heard Raphael address her, and turned to look at him, looking not nearly as cheerful as she had earlier.

"Finally manage to get away?" He asked, smiling slightly and looking over the blondes head to watch the group as they continued to chatter. "How did it go?"

"Hu-What?... Oh." Maya paused, then tightened her arms slightly around her plush and laid her chin on it, smiling a little. "It wasn't so bad. I kinda got a little lost after the first couple of sentences though. They do talk pretty fast." She shrugged, then buried the bottom half of her face against the butterfly, looking abstractedly at the logs belonging to tonights fire.

Raphael watched her for a moment, then shook his head. Going by her reaction, what Dravius had just said hadn;t gone down well, which kinda just settled his suspicions pretty much in stone. He turned back to Dravius, looking slightly surprised at the males last words. "Really now?" He asked, sliding his hands into his pockets and looking back towards Maya.

The butterfly had still been staring at the logs, but threw a disgruntled glance at Dravius before sighing. "Mm..." She agreed quietly, dropping her arms and holding the plush by one wing. "I'm sorry... I lied to you. It's... It's just-"

"It's alright." Raphael waved a hand, then smiled. "I as.sumed as much. Your story didn't really match up when you were eleven. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time someone here has done that, for whatever reason."

The blonde girl looked slightly surprised, then smiled slightly and exhaled through her nose. "I'm just... Going to my van for a bit. I'll be back whenever." She said, forcing an over cheerful smile before stepping past the Ring-Master, avoiding Dravius' gaze. She made her way quickly back towards the vans, frowning slightly. Honestly, what the Co-Master had said was probably a harmless statement, though she couldn't quite convince herself to feel better. Staring at the plush in her hands, she idly wondered whether Dravius actually wanted any of this at all... Or whether, maybe... She was just an inconvenience to him. Something that simply got in the way. It had all happened so fast... Maybe he was doubting his feelings?...

Having had more or less all her attention on the butterfly, she looked up barely in time to stop herself slamming into Selvai, and jumped a good foot in the air before pretty much squishing the life out of the plushy. "Oh... I'm... Sorry, Selvai... I didn't see you." She said somewhat breathlessly, still actually looking a little down-hearted despite being scared out of her skin. "Are you okay?" She asked, getting herself under control and folding the plush under one arm.

Back at the to-be fire, Raphael was looking thoughtful, having watched Maya leave with a strange sort of ex
pression. "Alright then." Had been his only reply to the girls words, before he smiled back at Dravius. Everything seemed to have clicked into place pretty much. "So nothing?... Aight." He replied, rubbing a shoulder.

"Of course. You know I don't believe you anyway. Naturally. You know me very well." Raphael laughed, walking as though he was going to pas.s Dravius, but pausing once he reached the Co-Masters chair,placing a hand on the backrest.

"I know it's probably annoying. This attention you seem to be getting for whatever it is that could possible require so much attention. But there's a lot of excitement surrounding this. Maya is a well loved member of the Circus, as are you, as scary as you are." The ring master let loose a genuinely warm smile. "They're bound to be curious. Two years, after all, is a very long time to love someone. No doubt the fact that the person in question finally knows himself is why everyone is so interested, considering they all knew long before you did. It's been a very long running epsiode."He laughed quietly, then hit Dravius gently on the head before he walked away, waving a hand in farewell. Well. He still had a party to organise.