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"Where's the chicken?!" Aaron cried out to the large mansion, and the residents inside.

Hannah popped her head into the kitchen, looking at the agitated brunette boy. "Where's the huh?"

"The chicken, the one I was just seasoning, where did it go?"

"Beats me," Hannah shrugged, then turned to leave.

"Stop!"

She halted.

"Hannah, that chicken was for everybody. Now where is it?"

"I already TOLD you, I don't know. There are other people living here, ask them!" She called back, walking again.

Aaron put a hand to his headband which covered his forehead. He never took it off. No one was entirely sure why, and made many accusations to the reasoning for this unusual garment, but he never gave them any clues. They'd think what they wanted.

He opened his eye a little and noticed that the floor had a trail of chicken juice going to a hidden corner of the dining hall. He then knew exactly who it was. He stormed over, and peeking out of a curtain from a bottom cupboard was a black and purple tail. Aaron puffed up, then pulled open the curtain. There, the culprit had half a chicken in his paws. A good chunk was in his mouth.

"Ren!"

The dog got up fast and hit his head on the top of the cupboard. Tail between his legs, he eked by and started to run past him, leaving the mutilated chicken behind.

Aaron didn't notice the vibration in his pocket at first as he chased the dog to the stairs. "Dammit, Ren, now I'm going to have to make something else!... And you left a mess!" Aaron grumbled and picked up the phone. 'Meet me usual place asap i'm done.'

Aaron closed his eyes, knowing just what this entailed. He saw this coming subconsciously, but it still didn't ease his heart. He texted back 'k.'

"Hannah, order out!... And keep it less than $50 this time! I've gotta go out for a bit!"

Aaron pulled his coat up on his neck. It was only a little chilly, but Aaron wasn't a fan of the cold. He had his Lincoln parked in the second row of cars, and he stood in front of the rendezvous point, hopping up and down a bit to keep moving so that he could keep warm. He knew she'd be there any minute. He wasn't looking forward to the inevitable rant that was soon to follow.

Aaron was surprised. Of all the things he does for people, and admittedly he was taken advantage a lot, few people ever act grateful for it. When Lizz thanked him, his guard went down a little. Aw hell, he was even feeling pretty good about it. It just so happened that he knew exactly where Lizz could go.

"Um... Listen, Lizz... I've got a friend in Torusa named Irene. I might have mentioned her once or twice; we were friends before I moved here to Curtesia, and we still talk now and then. If I paid for your ship ticket, would you be willing to go to Torusa and look her up? She might know a place where you can stay. Who knows, maybe you can find a career in that bartering thing you talked about. It'd be a nice way to start fresh, and for humans, its a lot more easygoing."

"Haha, I'll try Lizz. But you know how much they've got me working at the mansion. I swear, I'm more of a butler than an heir. You better get to the dock then and fill out the paperwork before you get cold feet. Just... Promise you'll be careful. The government is a lot more strict than it is here." Aaron hugged back, though it was weak and mousey. Most of his hugs were. Even though he was quite tall he was also lanky, and one could imagine snapping him in half like a twig quite easily.

"Um... Also, tell Irene hi. Oh wait! Give her this for me." He took out an old napkin and a marker, then unfolded something from out of it. He carried this thing around with him everywhere, but today was the day for courage, and he was finally going to send it. Aaron wrote down the name of the place Irene went to school at, then he handed it to her, the other item concealed.

"This is all I know. I don't know where she lives or anything, though apparently her brother managed to secure a warehouse or something. It's been a long time since I talked to her last. This is for her." He then gave Lizz a laminated picture. The corners were worn, and though it seemed to be kept in excellent condition, it was bent and a tad warped.

"She's obviously a lot older, but she still has this necklace. She wears it all the time." He pointed to the girl with long straight hair that seemed to be only about eleven, and in the picture there was also a boy with brunette hair and green eyes. The boy didn't have a band on his forehead so it would be difficult to notice at first, but the young boy was Aaron. "You should be able to find her pretty easily. Can you give her the picture when you do?"

"Oy, Clayton!" A coworker cried out, tossing a box his way. Clayton caught it no problem and set it down.

"Looks like there's anotha' boat headin' in." Clayton said.

"Hey, I think its a passenger vessel." His buddy replied.

"You think there' hot chicks in that boat?" Clayton mused.

"Even if there were, you ain't getting to any of them," his friend called, throwing another box his way, but harder.

Regardless, though with more effort, Clayton caught it. "What, you sayin' I can't nab me a chick?"

"Dude, you don't got the balls. You don't even TALK to girls."

"Oh yeah? Watch me! I'll pick a hot girl and convince her to stay at my place tonight."

"Puh, you do that and I'll give ya ten bucks and my tuna sandwich."

"Deal, man." Clayton shook hands with his friend, then kept an eye out for any hot girls. "What about that blond over there?"

"She's got an overbite man, no way."

"Hey, overbites are cute."

"Nu-uh. Choose someone else."

"Hm..." Clayton then spotted Lizz. They made split eye contact, and Clayton looked his way. "Her then."

"That fireball? She looks like a shrew... Heh, good luck."

Clayton didn't think she looked at all like a shrew. She was somewhere between 'nice girl' and 'easy.' She looked unsure. He was positive he'd win this bet. "Welcome aboard, ma'am. Need any help carryin' luggage?" He asked from the dock, well away from the water.

((Haha, that's alright. XP I did say their personalities were different. Back here, Clayton's kind of a douche, and sees women as inferior to men. To him, they're just complicated and seductive and he doesn't talk to them much. The only exception is his mom, who he thinks is like a superhero... But she's still a house wife. ))

'Damn, she was right.' "You may be boardin' off a ship, but yer boardin' ON to a new life here. Where do ya come from, ma'am? Can't imagine yer from one of tha islands." There were a lot of small countries and islands from there to Curtesia. Still, there were specific places in Curtesia where it would be fortunate to know where a person was from as well.

((By the by, Aaron is from Farswelter, Curtesia, so that's probably where Lizz is from too. ))

Clayton didn't know a whole lot about the political side of things, but he was almost positive she'd be a lot older if she was to have legally left Torusa. Though it was easy to get a passport from Curtesia to Torusa, it was neigh impossible to get a passport to leave Torusa. He should know; his parents may have raised Clayton in Curtesia, but they were originally from Torusa. They told him the story of how they had to get the passport... A million times. Clayton wanted to go back to Curtesia. He HATED Torusa; the whole damn continent. Still, he'd be damned if he so much as had to step foot off of safe, solid ground. "Yer accent. It's a Northern Curtesia accent. I bet yer from the coast somewhere 'round Farswelter." Clayton himself was from a little town about a five hour train ride away from Farswelter called Rowlynn.

It was obvious he was attracted to Lizz, but he didn't want to screw this up. All he had in his mind was that tuna sandwich and ten bucks. "But I guess if ya live here, then ya don't need a guide? I know all the back alleys and shortcuts, as well as all the good places ta eat and tha best places ta crash."

It didn't surprise him that's where she was from. It was the biggest, most populated city in Curtesia. So far as he knew, probably in the whole world.

"Have I given ya a reason ta think otherwise?" Clayton replied, leaning on a pole behind him. Truth be told, not many people noticed this right away, but he had dual colored eyes. His right eye was a blue color, but his left eye was a demonic-looking yellow color. It was something that used to cause him hell as a kid, but as he got older, people didn't seem to mind as much and, in fact, thought it was cool. There were a few people, however, that thought it was unnatural and that something must be wrong with him. To this day he wondered what people would point it out and what their reaction to it would be. He only hoped his hideously colored eye didn't give this girl a reason not to trust him. He offered his hand to her. "I'm Clayton."