Welcome to Gaia! ::

Carys grinned as Parvati ran past her to the elevators. She enjoyed watching the young lady’s energy, although she could only match it if she charged herself to a ridiculous degree. She guessed that the others would soon follow, and slowed her pace a little, arriving at the elevators only a few moments before Guyy arrived to take the larger bags from Ilia. She waited for the others to arrive, looking down the hallway. Her smile faded a little as her gaze fell on Caine.

Altough Carys was very pleased to see how happy Caine made Aya, she found that he made her nervous. While Caine had never been anything short of polite, she had caught him giving her odd, speculative looks, and she was almost certain that she would not have noticed unless he intended her to. Carys almost regretted that shielding had become easier, as she was much too polite to deliberately try and sense a fellow clan mate’s emotions. What little she got through her shields had an odd feel to it, almost as if she recognized him in some way. Perhaps one day she would have the courage to ask him about it, but she had yet to think of a polite way of doing so.

Carys very deliberately switched her thoughts to the trip ahead. She had been raised in Durem, and gone to college there, so the only traveling she had done was with the Shinigami. She was particularly looking forward to seeing Aekea, her mother’s home town. A thought occurred to her, and she turned towards Guyy, but waited for the others to arrive at the elevator before asking. “Do you think we could stop at the Records Office in Aekea? I’ve been trying to find records of my father, and that’s where my mother was living when he died. I’ve tried their online database, but haven’t gotten anywhere, so I’d like to try in person. I promise I’ll try to be quick…”

Jack's smile was broad and undefeatable as they raced up to the bus. Which was still empty. "Aww phooey." he pouted, eager to be under way now he had been helped fully awake. He scuffed around and turned to speak to Raven idly to pass the time. But when he saw him waiting with closed eyes he stopped and simply watched him for a moment.

Until he heard voices in the Library approaching quickly. He recognised them and dropped to one knee, using the cover of tying his laces to hide the pink cheeks that had risen as a result of that remembered kiss and almost being caught staring.

Guyy grinned over at Carys and chuckled at Kaori's smooth reply to her. He shook his head, obviously outnumbered by the girls three to one. He looked to Carys and nodded in confirmation. He would have allowed her a little time for such an important search anyway, but Ilia would be driving him batty about the robots the whole time.
"Gladly. I am sure we can arrange a little help for your research as well if it is needed." he smiled at her. "Fortunately I hear they keep their records in very good order over there, so it should not be a difficult task for you I hope."

He glanced up as they approached the bus. Raven was leaning against the bus waiting for them with Jack crouched and tying his shoelaces. Clearly he had been in a hurry. He hadn't even buttoned up his shirt yet and it caught the breeze, displaying just how wiry the small man was underneath it all. Guyy rolled his eyes. Typical lack of preparation. He'd probably only just gotten out of bed.

"It would seem so, Milady." he chuckled softly. "I would guess they practically ran up here, judging by Jack's heartrate." he smirked. Raven's, as it often was, was strong and regular and rhythmic. The man rarely seemed to work up a sweat unless he wanted to.

Parvati had ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors had opened, eagerly wanting to have a look at this 'bus'. Of course, Ilia's wrist was still in her clutches although when they reached the outside of the library, she had let go of the android.

"Wow!" she said as she approached the large vehicle, "look Ilia! the tires are almost as big as me!"

Parvati crouched and studied the black rounded object, probably thinking of the best way to take away those metal...things.

"Better catch her before she blows the entire bus away," Aya warned as she and Caine exited the library. Parvati was already pointing a finger at the tire, clearly gathering energy for a spell.

Caine was quick to react though and before Parvati knew it, she had been easily carried away from her object of interest and swung over her father's shoulder.

She laughed and happily waved at Ilia as Caine made his way over to where the rest were waiting. She was obviously enjoying her father's attention.

"Wheeeee!" she squeaked as Caine adjusted her position so that she was now sitting on his arm with both of her short legs lightly gripping his side. It was obvious by the way that Parvati was so relaxed that the girl trusted her father to not drop her.

Carys was relieved at Kaori’s response to her request, and smiled when Guyy nodded. She spent the short trip up to the main floor doing a mental inventory of the types of records she could look for, from a death certificate, to tax records. Her mother and father had only been engaged when he died, so there wouldn’t be a record of marriage. She hoped she could find something, as she was beginning to think that finding her father’s family was the key to figuring out how to control her powers.

Carys followed Guyy and Kaori out of the library, blushing a little as the breeze blew Jack’s shirt around, and quickly forcing her eyes away. She always felt a little flustered in his presence, even knowing that he was already spoken for. She hoped it didn’t show too badly. In her effort to avoid looking at Jack, she spotted Parvati pointing at one of the wheels and was vastly relieved when Caine picked her up before she could do anything to it.

When Guyy poked his head out of the bus, Carys started forward quickly. Her bag was heavier then it looked because of the number of books she felt it necessary to bring on an all day trip, and she was eager to set it down. She held the strap with one hand, making sure it did not fall off her shoulder, and used the other to hold the rail as she made her way up the steps, smiling at Ilia as she came into view. She made her way to the first available seat, and took out a novel for the trip before placing her bag on the luggage rack and sitting down in the seat closest to the window.

Jack caught the words, despite the fact they were nearly obscured entirely by Guyy's cheerful enthusiasm as he hung out the bus door. He retreated from the bag with a stolen muffin with delight, already nibbling on the fluffy, sweet treat. Raven moved away to get settled on the bus as Jack picked at his breakfast. It seemed almost as if Kaori had anticipated two of them being hungry for some reason. He blushed for a moment, stepping up onto the vehicle with his finger firmly stuck in his mouth, covered in chocolate from the chocolate chips.

He glanced around. Ilia was bouncing on the back seat in excitement. Carys was sitting by a window with a book in her lap already. He gave her a cheerful grin as he passed by, cakey prize in his palm. Guyy was fussing about doing something with the driver's seat and Raven was almost reclined comfortably, unscrewing the thermos Kaori had given him. A sweet smell filled the bus the instant the top came off. Jack looked on with interest and settled himself in the seat in front of him, hanging over the back of it and enjoying his breakfast.
"Wassat?" he asked curiously, mouth full of muffin.

Guyy meanwhile stepped back to allow everyone to climb on and get comfortable. He busied himself checking everything was in order with the bus itself. He'd never hired one before, and he certainly had never driven one. Nor was he about to start (though he flicked through the assorted paperwork with a confused grimace). He looked up and saw Jack's butt as he dangled over the back of a seat.
"Oi, Jack! Didn't you say you'd bring us a discrete driver from the Den?"

The driver in question was rushing through the streets as fast as he could. He was late, he knew it. Mister Corvi would be so upset at him if he was too late! He skidded round a corner, almost knocking over a postman with hurried apologies. There, he could see it! That had to be it! A slightly battered old bus sat outside one of the grandest buildings he had ever seen. The name confirmed it, the Shinigami Library. It was an odd name for a library and he had no idea what it meant. It was probably the name of the guy who founded it or some old scholar or something.

There were people on board, and a few lingering outside. He rushed towards them and eventually managed to bring himself to a stop, panting heavily and leaning over to catch his breath.
"Sorry... car broke... ran here... Esteban. Bus driver, hello!" he panted, holding his hand out in greeting to the nearest person who looked like they might be able to tell him what was going on.

Jack blinked and turned around. He frowned. He should have been here already. His red hair danced as he looked out all of the windows for a glimpse of his car. There he was, running here by the looks of things. Jack swallowed his mouthful and pointed at the young, dark man with the scar on his forehead.
"There he is!" he grinned, waving out the window as he came to a stop outside. "Hullo Esty!"

Kaori's sapphires glanced in the direction of the bus as a man rushed towards them. It was almost as though she was looking through the bus at him directly, she knew him vaguely but the excited chatter inside the bus spilled to her ears as he arrived. Kaori was smiling at the poor guy as he caught his breath doubled over. "Should have called! We would have come for you." she shook her head amused and giggled. "Hello Esteban," her eyes were alight with laughter, this morning was proving to be more fun than she had imagined already. "Pleasure to have you with us! We're just loading up the bus."


"Hn?" was Kaori's hopes answered? She turned, to the library her body still parallel to the bus. Something flickered on the edge of her perception but then became quite solid as Caira rushed from the elevator to the open doors. Kaori was already smiling cheerfully when a worried Caira popped up in front of her asking to spare ten minutes for her friends.
Kaori lifted her brow impressed with either Kyvan's or Dev's unspoken technical prowess and yet she was amused all the same. It had to be that they managed to disconnect the alarm because Ilia had sent it to all rooms and the little bot.. hadn't even mentioned a technical malfunction with any of the screens. Either that or Kyvan and Dev... were very solid sleepers.

"Of course. Make sure to grab a snack on the way up from the kitchen for the lot of you." she nodded, "And only ten minutes! A second later and we'll be gone! Go on.. quickly!" she encouraged with a delighted giggle waving her off, she'd be having to stall the bus a little while it seemed. "Looks like you've got ten minutes to settle in and greet everyone Esteban! Can I get you a water or something?" she offered before turning to catch Guyy's attention in the bus, yet stood to one side of the open door to leave everyone access to get on the bus.

"Oro, Milove!" she smiled cheerfully up at him, "Caira's rounding up Kyvan and Dev. Ten minutes."

Ahh.. the beautiful sweet aroma of French Vanilla coffee floated from the thermos in his hands but there wasn't the heat that was normally associated with the smooth beverage. It was ice cold with tiny particles of ice chunks that had been mixed throughout creating a sweet, coffee slushie. A perfect treat to wake one up on such a hot morning. He pulled the straws out of the bag and placed them inside, a blue and a green. He sipped from the blue one with a sly smirk.

Esteban had shown and Jack greeted the masseuse cheerfully, if Esty was here this was certainly going to be an interesting day, but the distraction afforded the blond a stolen sip of the delicious beverage until his attention returned.

"This.." he sipped again, "... is a french vanilla ice cap." he sipped again and grinned relishing the stuff, there was really quite a lot, they'd both get their fill of it. "Here... try it." he relented and offered Jack access to the precious thermos while stealing a carrot muffin for himself from the bag. There was even a couple selections of fruit within as well. It was at this moment.. as he pulled the muffin top from the base and bit into it, that he really appreciated Kaori's thoughtfulness and smiled softly. "mm... good." he muttered around the muffin.

Her voice came from the door announcing that Caira and was rounding up Kyvan and Dev and needed ten minutes, that was fine with him, he was comfortably settled with his breakfast.

Aya didn't say anything. The priestess only offered a polite nod to the man before she entered, making sure to stay away from Master Guyy as much as possible. It was so early in the morning. He had just woken up a few minutes ago. It'd be a shame if he went back to sleep because of a minor mishap. The priestess took the seat somewhere in the middle so she could keep an eye on both the kids at the back as well as the adults up front. Goddess knew, some of the adults behaved like they children themselves. It was endearing but it sure didn't make her job easy.

Caine had put Parvati down a few seconds ago and had let her jump into the bus where she madly searched for her robot friend. It was after his daughter disappeared into the transport (presumably to bother everyone inside with her mindless chatter) that the bus driver, Esteban managed to reach their side. Caine eyed the man with interest. Who in their right mind would want to drive around with a bunch of magical and positively dangerous beings? Did he have a death wish?

"Pleasure to meet you Sir Esteban," Caine spoke with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Did Guyy always inspire this much fear in people? He honestly wasn't afraid of the snake man. In fact, the Sidhe was looking forward to having a few drinks with him once he finally got settled in.

As soon as Aya entered the bus, he followed, easily carrying their bags. He arranged the bags in the luggage racks and made Aya move so that she would be by the window. He sat down beside his beloved taking the seat that was near the aisle. Even though Aya was quite deadly in her own right, he still couldn't help but be protective of her. She was beautiful and elegant and even though she may not know it, he knew that there were several men who were lusting after her. And Caine absolutely refused to share his lover in that way. So he felt that he was quite justified with his protectiveness.

To Aya however, it merely meant that he was being possessive again. She didn't mind just as long as he kept it within minimal levels.

The moment Parvati had been let down, she had run past Mr. Silly and looked around the bus, her eyes shining with excitement. She spotted Ilia bouncing on the back seat and she ran towards her friend with speed that would have been impossible to muster for a girl her age. As she passed by Jack and Raven she waved at them and bid them a hello.

"Hello Birdy Boys!" she said in a voice that was loud enough to be heard throughout the bus before she passed them and joined Ilia in the back. She too bounced with excitement.

"I wonder if we can make this thing fly?" she asked her friend, clearly very serious in her question no matter how absurd it may have sounded.

Guyy stepped back just a little as Aya passed, sensing she was still a little not in control of her own unique traits. And seeing as he was still absorbing as much sun as possible so early in the morning, he was as delicate as she was right now. Even that little cold would be enough to upset his system until he warmed up a bit more.

He laughed softly at Esteban, revelling in the way he was obviously nervous about the whole thing. But he'd do his best not to tease the poor fellow too much. Maybe just a little. He gave his hand a very firm shake as Kaori slipped away to retrieve a bottle of water for the man. He released him as Caine turned to greet him in kind, and he could sense a little bit of playful amusement in Aya's lover as he regarded their choice of driver. If nothing else, Jack had hired someone who should provide amusement.

Esteban's head flicked from one to the other, taking in as much as possible. What on earth could be the purpose of such an odd assortment of beings? The elegant, long haired woman greeted him with refinement and stepped aboard. He was sure that the area warmed up when she left. The other man was clearly not exactly normal. He had a little bit of a predatory nature... and yet... somehow Esteban warmed to him instantly. He even blushed a little when he actually spoke to him, returning his greeting with a polite nod.

And there were children? He couldn't decide whether this was encouraging or ghastly. What if they were sacrifices, or some kind of portable lunch? He had heard that some colonies of vampires kept youngsters alive among them and trained them to give up blood on demand without complaint. Was that the case here? No, that young girl was far too energetic for that. No doubt they were some horrible demons that merely looked like children. The blond one had a very unsettling way of looking at people, as if she was recording everything she saw.

He found himself almost glad when the man also climbed aboard and the woman returned, despite the stories he knew of her. Really, she should have been one of the most terrifying there, but she smiled encouragingly and the drink she brought was cold and refreshing. Nothing but plain old bottled water, nothing strange at all. And he hadn't dropped dead when their fingers had brushed, which was nice. He took a swig of the cool liquid. Surely Jack wouldn't have brought him here if there was anything to be scared of, right?

Unless he was one of them too. He and Raven were a little... unusual.

Ilia bounced happily, staring out of the window at the unfamiliar man and memorising him intently. So he'd be the driver? Shame, she wanted a go at making the bus move too! He looked a little nervous actually, glancing up at her fearfully as she stared out the window at him. She heard Parvarti greeting Jack and Raven and she giggled, turning away from the glass and grinning up at her. What a funny name to give them!
"Hee, Birdy Boys!" she laughed quietly.

Her friend hopped onto the seat, playing with its springiness just like she did. The pair of them bounced up and down with energetic excitement. Parvarti was probably one of the few organic children that could almost match the little robot for stamina and energy.
"Fly?!" she gasped, thinking about it. "That would be so cool! Whoosh!" she laughed, holding her hands up in delight.

Jack sipped at the drink a little more before holding it out over the back of the chair. He'd keep hold of it while Raven ate his muffin. He licked his lips, they really had been spoiled. His head turned as the little girl raced past to join her friend at the back, cocking his head with bemusement at the title she'd gifted on them. He laughed softly at Raven's reaction, as straight and as refined as ever.

He looked out the window as he remarked on Esty's suitability as a driver for this particular task, noting the way the little masseuse was practically trembling with fright. "Maybe I should have warned him, you think?" he pondered. But then he might not have come along at all. "Oh he'll be fine! We're both here to keep an eye on him, and he really is a good driver, I swear it!" he grinned widely.

His eyes widened and he looked shocked. "I hadn't thought of that!" he gasped, eyeing Raven with his wide emeralds. "I don't want to lose my masseuse, again!" he whined, looking utterly distraught. He knew he'd never find one as good ever again. He'd have to keep it a secret then, it was one thing sharing him (and what Esty taught him) with Raven but it would be another if he never came back. He didn't want that.

"Yeah, he's doing a lot better now. I was pretty frightened when... hn. He's got a bit of a scar still. All my fault." Jack sighed, relaxing just a little. That was one reason he was bringing him along anyway, he was paying him overtime for this.

Guyy let Esteban recover a little, thanks to the drink kindly brought to him by Kaori before he spoke again. He glanced around, wondering how long the others would take to get ready and rush up here. Time enough, he supposed.
"Come on then, you may as well make yourself comfortable. And don't worry, we don't bite." he grinned, unintentionally showing off his fangs for a moment as he herded the frightened little man up the stairs and towards the front of the bus