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The Older Woman
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
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"You'll be okay?" Tyler asked Chris as they pulled to a stop in front of Ze'zee's home. "Remember, Mom's got her cell--"

"I'm spending the night with Rory, Dad," Chris said. "It's the usual thing. Nothing's going to happen. Heck, even if the house caught on fire I'd still be alright."

"Good point," Tyler drawled. "Well go on. I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow. Around lunch or so, maybe a little earlier."

Chris grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before he climbed out of the car and headed for the front door of the house. His parents needed some alone time, which was fine with him. He stopped and rang the doorbell, sitting down to wait for someone to come to the door.

Chris spending the night had been prearranged. Unfortunately, or fortunately, something happened between when it happened to now. Aurora grew into a teenager. Now Zee felt that her daughter was old enough that she could watch Chris. There had been an emergency meeting for the orchestra that she had to go too.

So, the one to open the door was Rory. "Um, hey Chris!" she said, giving him a sheepish grin.

He paused, blinking, but his dad had already driven away once he saw the door open, so he couldn't go back and ask what in the hell he was supposed to do in this case. "You grew," he said finally, stupidly. She was taller than him now, when he was on all fours.

"Yeah... Um, want him to come back and get you? Mom had to take off too," she said, yet still stepped aside so he could enter. "I mean, I don't blame you for thinking this really, really odd and all."

Wow... she could totally look him in the eye without having to look up now! That was surprisingly cool.

"No, um, I mean... you're pretty," he said finally. "It's okay. It's not like I didn't see this coming. Um, can I come in?" So it had happened. He was a little kid compared to her. And she was his babysitter.

"Of course you can!" she said, letting him in with a grin. He thought she was pretty? Good! At least he wasn't that freaked out about her growing. But then, they had talked about it at the camping trip. "And I really thinking that can't ride on your back any more," she added, a bit remorsefully.

He walked in, looking around as if expecting everything else to have changed as well. "I could still lift you," he said, not thinking about it. "So your mom's not here?"

"There was some kinda emergency meeting, or something like that. She said she'd be back later," she said with a shrug, shutting the door behind him. Then she headed into the kitchen. "We can order pizza for dinner, too," she added.

"Veggie lovers?" he asked as he followed her. She looked good. Like those girls in magazines. She was cute and smelled good, and was older--

Dammit, he was going to be sooo irritated when Antony saw her.

"You still don't wanna try meats, huh?" she asked him. She was -so- getting a pepperoni for herself. And thoughts of seeing Antony like this hadn't even hit her yet. It was bound to happen, and he wouldn't have a reason to be irritated at her age, any more! He'd probably find some other reason, however.

"Um, I was thinking about having another band practice soon," he said as he watched her call the pizza place. "But you're gonna stand out now, and we're still kids while you're--"

"Ah, crap..." she replied, looking irritated about this. "You're right, I am going to be big, bigger than you, now. Well, maybe I should just go in the back? They it wont be so noticeable."

"I have to admit something," he said slowly. "I still haven't figured out how to sing right."

"What do you mean you haven't figured out how to sing right?" she asked, blinking at him. Then she took a seat at the kitchen table, leaning her elbows on it, and her chin in her hands as she waited for the answer. "You've always been able to sing well."

"Well is one thing, right is another," he said, sitting at the table and looking down. "I tried. I went in and tried using the piano, but my two voices couldn't ever sing the same note. I can't sing right. Not like they teach you to."

"Sing for me?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. It was as if she thought he had changed when she grew. Or maybe her hearing had changed?

"I don't know," he muttered. "I feel stupid. It was my idea, you know?"

She rolled her eyes at this. "Sing for me. Let me hear the way you feel the most comfortable singing. If it's good, then it's not you. You have two voices and singing lessons are made for people with one voice," she told him.

"Fiiiineee," he said. "But only a little bit." He felt more self conscious when singing for her now. She was a teenager. A grown woman! But he opened his mouth, starting to sing one of his favorite Hendrix songs.

"Remember, singing like you want too. And don't be nervous!" she told him, seeing and hearing that in his voice.

He stopped, making an irritated face, then tried again, his voice stronger this time.

"Oh, remember the mocking bird, my baby bun
He used to sing for his supper, baby
Yes he used to sing for his supper, babe
He used to sing so sweet
Since my baby left me he ain't sang for two long days

Oh, remember the blue-birds and the honey bees,
They used to sing for sunshine
They used to sing for the flowers
They used to sing so sweet
But since my baby left me they ain't sang in two long days

Hey pretty baby, come on back to me
Make ev'ry body as happy as can be

So, baby, if you'll please come home again you know I'll
Kiss you for my supper,
You know I'll kiss you for my dinner, yeah!
But, ah, if you don't come back you know I'll have to
Starve to death
'Cus I ain't had one kiss all day now."

And suddenly the words made a lot more sense to him. He flushed, stopping abruptly.

She smirked at him now. "See? You sing perfectly fine! Heck, you sing more than fine. No body here on Gaia sings like you do!" As far as she knew, anyway.

"Oh," he said. "It's not too bad?"

"Not at all," she told him seriously.

"Okay," he said. "Is the pizza here yet?" he asked, because suddenly the words "Kiss you" and Rory were seen in the same sentence and he didn't know what to think about it.

He was too young for her now. She probably realized he was just a kid.

She glanced at the clock, not having a clue what was going through his mind. If so, she'd enjoy it. "Na, not yet. It should be here in a few more minutes. So, what do you want to do tonight? Did you bring your Wii with you this time?" she asked him curiously.

Then got up to get them some drinks.

"Oh, yeah, yeah I did!" he said. grasping at the subject. "We can play Mario games after pizza, alright?"

"Good!" she said happily. "And I brought out my game cube, so we can play some good old Mario Cart," she told him. Then looked sheepish a moment. "Um, you don't think my growing is a bad thing, do you?"

"No!" he said, just as the doorbell rang. "That's probably the pizza guy," he said.

"I'll get it," she said, grabbing the money and heading for the front door. She couldn't help but grin at his reaction. It was more of a reaction when she had changed to being a child. Seriously, being a teen was starting out awesome!

She then opened the door. "Six pizza's, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, for um--" The pizza guy stopped, staring at her in shock before grinning. "Helllooooo there, um, my name is Jake--"

Then a demonic looking guy peered around her, his eyes glowing in the evening light. And he growled.

"Pizza! Here!" Jake said, shoving the pizza over and racing away.

She looked at the pizza boxes in shock. "So.. the pizza's free right??" she called out to the man who was running for his life. Then she went back in. "Pizza's here!" she told Chris with a grin.

He took it from her. "He didn't bug you, did he?" he asked as he carried them in one hand back to the table and put them on top. "I mean, he was kind of... sleazy."

"Well, he was odd," she told him, following him into the kitchen. "I've never had a pizza guy introduce himself to me before." Then she went to find the pepperoni pizzas. She separated the veggie lovers out for him, as well.

"He was--" He stopped, shaking his head. "Yeah, odd," he said simply before digging in.

Going Over
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
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Aurora looked up at the ship that was the home of her friend. Or rather, was -now- the home of her friend. Polly had been spending time on an island with her care-taker, Tock. Chris filled her in on what was going on, and now it was her turn to visit.

"Hey Polly! You around?!" she called out, looking for a way on the ship.

A large black teenager stepped into view on the ship deck. He was only wearing a flap of cloth around his waist, showing off a well developed chest. He didn't look too self conscious at all. "You're lookin' for Polly?" he asked. "You know her?"

"Yeah, I'm a friend of hers, Rory?" she replied, blinking at the nearly naked man. Eessh! Polly lived with some interesting people, huh? "Chris told me she's moved here, and I wanted to see her," she said.

"You got a swimsuit?" he asked. "Cuz it don't seem like she's coming out any time soon. Even for dinner."

"Really? Yeah, just give me a sec," the teenager said. Then she dashed away, all that was left of her was a blur. She had gotten much better with her speed since she grew, and was even faster than before.

After changing at home, she was back, in her bikini and running shoes, a bag over her shoulder with other clothes in it. "She's in the water, right? Thanks!"

He just blinked and shook his head, heading into the galley to put together kabobs for dinner. Maybe that would get Polly out of the water.

On the other side of the boat Tock was floating, his tail flicking back and forth once in a while to direct his movements. Polly was nowhere to be seen. But he knew exactly where she was. Not that he would tell her that. She was pouting. And testing her lung capacity, it seemed.

"HEY TOCK!" Rory yelled across the water as she got to the other side of the ship. She took off her shoes, putting her bag down, before she started to head into the water. "I'm lookin for Polly."

He looked at her blankly for a moment. "Rory?" he finally asked. He actually remembered her mother better, but that was because Rory hadn't been--been STACKED. He almost sank with the shock, but shook it off, catching himself. "Polly's underwater," he said dryly. "And has been for four minutes now."

"Four minutes?? How long can she hold her breath?" she asked a bit concerned. But if Tock wasn't freaking out, there wasn't a problem. She swam out to where he was, then started to tread water.

"She was raised by a gatorman," he said. "How long do you think she can hold her breath?"

Just then Polly's water darkened red head came out of the water, gasping for breath. She breathed for a moment, obviously planning on going under again when she noticed Rory there. She blatantly ignored Tock. "Rory! Hi," she said with her familiar gigantic grin. Her feather bangs were clinging to her forehead, but they were drying with astonishing speed.

"A long time," Rory answered him, then turned to Polly. "Hey Polly! What's up?" she asked, swimming over to her friend.


Polly looked at her, suddenly remembering why she had been down earlier. "You grew up," she complained, heading for the ship to climb up the rope that hung over the side. There was a rope ladder, of course, but it only went down when Chloe was in the water. Everyone else just used the rope.

"Jake! I'm hungry!" she demanded as she pulled herself over the edge. "You comin'?" she asked over her shoulder.

Tock scowled at the blatant cold shoulder.

"Yep," Rory answered to both questions. She looked at the rope for a moment, then grabbed it. She started to pull herself up the rope awkwardly. She had done this will in school, she could do it now. Even if she was bigger. "And I'm faster too. It's great," she said.

"But--" Polly stopped, pouting for a moment before heading for the galley, where Jake was frying up food. She dropped down on the chair at the table, soaking wet in her green loin cloth swimsuit. She had another one, of course, but she didn't like it. She was still flat as a board, so no one complained.

"Food's going to take a bit longer," Jake said. "Why don't you show your friend around?"

"Fineee," Polly said, getting up again and heading for the rooms.

"Well, I'm glad you're at least around where we can easily find you now," Rory said as she followed the much smaller girl through the ship. Polly was bigger than before even if she was still small. "You grew too. You're going to school now, right? So I could see you around there too."

"Not really," Polly muttered as she led her way into the big room where half of the group slept. Her new bed was a triangle, sitting snug in the corner and filled with sand. She headed for it, sitting down and looking up at Rory. "I don't like school," she said. "It's boring. And only Chris is there, cuz you're too old an' Orli's too young."

Rory took a seat on the ground. A sand bed? Well ,that would help with the fire issues, now wouldn't it? "Well, this is true, which does suck. Most of my friends are too young now, to join me in classes. The only teenager I know is Antony."

"The blue haired guy that looks like he oughta walk the plank?" Polly asked, snarling to show her opinion of Antony. "That's worse than just havin' Chris. But--" She stopped, looking around daringly before leaning forward. "I got an idea."

"You do?" Rory asked, having found the description of Antony amusing. She leaned towards Polly to listen to this Idea of hers.

"When we was packin', back on the island," she said, standing and heading for the back of the room to pull up a plank. "I found this piece of paper," she said, holding it up. It looked blank. "I'm goin' back."

"Put... it's blank," Rory pointed out, looking at the paper.

Polly hesitated, then took it to the window, holding it up. "No it ain't, see?" she said as the light shone through the paper, revealing a map. "I'm goin' on a treasure hunt. An' I'm leavin' stupid Tock back here."

"A treasure hunt? You're not going alone are you?" Rory asked, proving just then that she was growing up and thinking of someone younger going off and doing something alone was bad. Had she still been a kid, she would have been all for it.

Not that she realized this.

"So?" Polly asked. "I'm j'st goin' home again," she said. "It's not like it's dangerous or anything. An' it'll be fun!"

"Right, so, is anyone else going on your treasure hunt?" she asked, sitting back on her hands.

She hesitated. "You wanna go?" she asked. "I bet Chris would go, too, right?"

"We might be able too. Now that I have other classes, I've got a lot more homework to do, which sucks so much.... Then there's band practice and stuff. But I could talk to him about it, and get back to you?" she then offered, not wanting to abandon her friend. "Or you could, when you see him in school again."

"Yeah," she said. In other words, no. Oh well. She folded the piece of paper and hid it again, being very careful to put the board back properly.

She had no idea that at that moment Tock was silently walking away from the door, his sneaking skills from childhood just as good now, if not better. Well, he should have expected something like this. She was his kid, after all.

The Hunt
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen, Rosemilk
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After heading back to grab what would more than like be neaded: a large tent, sleeping bags, matches and other nick-nacks that one took camping without taking a day to pack, Aurora headed for the door way to the island. Chris more than likely had gotten a hold of Tock and both would be heading there, probably with Polly. Well, she didn't want to miss out.

But when she got to the invisible door she saw Tock and Chris, but no Polly. It was oddly quiet between them and they seemed to just be staring at each other. It was the kinda staring at eachother that made her think one was going to do something to the other, and each knew it.

She was puzzled. "Hey guys! I got the camping things," Rory said, going up to them with the large bag of supplies. She seemed to have no problems carrying it.

Chris jerked first, looking over at Rory. "We're going," he told her before walking through the hole in the wall. His tail disappeared last and Tock finally spoke.

"I'm coming with you," the teenage gator man said. "But ladies first."

"Rory!"

The shopping mall crowds, none of whom were noticing anything out of the ordinary, parted as Wisp Darnell pushed her way through them; she wrapped her arm around Rory's arm, looking bewildered and woebegone, looking from the wall back to Rory with one distracted look at the teenage gator-man before looking back at Rory again. She seemed a little out of breath. "I saw you from the other side of the market," she said, a few bags hanging off one arm, "what's happening, Rory?! OMG please don't think I'm a bad friend, I love you and the wall just ate Chris, what."

She added a vague, "Hi," to Tock, which was accompanied by a slightly dimpled grin, but then she looked back at Aurora.

It took Rory half a moment to regester just who she was talking too, then her eyes widened in shock. "WISP! Look at you! You grew too!" she cheered, hugging her friend suddenly. She was now completely distracted from what they were supposed to be doing.

And she felt like the bad friend, having not gone to see one of her two best friends when she got older. She grinned sheepishly. "You are -not- a bad friend! Ever. Who ever said that was stupid." Then she took a breath. "You remember our younger friend, Polly? Well, she wanted to go off on a treasure hunt, back on the island where she lived with this guy," she pointed at the gator-man. "That's Tock, by the way. Tock, this is Wisp. Anyway, so, we can't let her go alone, since she's still little and--"

She stopped, remembering something and looked at Tock. "Where's Polly, anyway?"

"She's fine," Tock said. "She grew up on this island, you know. We could just let Chris hunt her and the boys down while the three of us get to know each--"

Chris's head came through the wall. "What's taking so long?" he demanded irritably. Then he looked at Tock, his gold eyes narrowed dangerously, as if he knew what the teen gator man had been doing already.

Wisp had faceplanted accidentally in Aurora's boobs, and had gotten the giggles for it. They untangled as they swapped a superheroine-ly high-five. "I know Polly, she's the cute redheaded kid," she exclaimed. "That's so superhero of you! That's rad. You're upholding to serve and protect, Ror."

She hugged her again emphatically before untangling. "How long are you guys going to be gone?" she said, "I'm so sad, I want to give you a million makeovers and go bikini-shopping with you, because WOW look at your boobs, I think they're bigger than Rel's and Rel has like, mammoth boobs -- Chris, you gotta look after Rory and Polly while you're there, okay?

"And Tock," she added, and she winked at him.

"Mammoth boobs?" Rory repeated, looking down at herself. She couldn't be that big! She shrugged if off quickly however, since it wasn't really her boobs that were the mammoth ones, and looked back a Wisp with a pout. "You mean, you don't want to come with us, running through the jungle?" she asked.

Then in a conspiratorial way, since she saw the winks thrown at Tock, she leaned down to whisper in her friend's ear: "Camping. One tent. If you don't come, I'll be abandoned. Do you really want that?" She nudged her friend.

"Oh," said her friend, "I want to come so hard!"

For some reason, Wisp's face fell, and she took Rory's hands in her own much smaller ones. "But oh man," she said dolefully, "I have a date, Ror. I have a date with NACHO GARCIA. Isn't that like the coolest thing ever in the whole entire world? What if I miss it? It's on Friday. Do you think we'll be done before Friday? What if we're not done before Friday? I don't want to cut anything short and I was planning on dyeing my hair and, omg, Nacho date, right?"

Rory's face was set and she did the math: date plus hair dye, plus shopping. It was -so hard- to miss the shopping! And she knew just how bad Wisp wanted that date. Then, unexpectedly, she grinned. "Tell you want, if we are not done by Friday morning, then I will run you right back to the door, and we will go shopping for your date and get your hair dyed and everything! Then I'll come back to continue the hunt."

"And if we are done by then... I'll do the shopping thing with you anyway!" she promised. "Does that sound good? And think of the adventure you could tell him about!"

They were totally ignoring the face that the boys were glaring at each other while they had girl-talk.

Wisp laughed out loud at that, and she playfully punched Aurora's arm. "LOL, like I want to talk," she said, which left Aurora to make up her own mind about exactly what the smaller blonde girl wanted to do on a date. It might've been something perfectly innocent. "We're going to go see a movie. Or something. Antony organised it. I owe him, like, for ever, right? But just let me text Mom and Jace and Iree, tell them where I'll be, you know? Hang on a sec."

She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket, immediately tapping out a message. "I hope Mom doesn't mind me missing the school," she said, "it's in the service of superherohood."

Rory grinned, not about to make a comment on that. You never knew! Chris, sadly, was still to small, so... that sucked. He's grow, though, when his body was ready too!

The fact that they were skipping, she left alone. She had gone to school diligently till this stage, it was like she earned time off for good behavior, or something like that. Then, while her friend was texting away, she finally looked at the boys. They were still glaring. She put a hand on her hip. "So, who's going to help carry these things? They're not light."

"It's cool," said Wisp, still tapping, lifting the bags up and down without looking at them. "I'm tough."

"I'll get it," they both said at the same time, only to glower at each other in response. Dammit, Rory was HIS, Chris thought, jealous for real for the first time in his life, even though he wasn't thinking it through.

On the other hand, Tock was thinking that a teenage girl shouldn't be stuck with what was, despite his size, still a kid. So--wait--hot damn, TWO of them! He turned his dangerously toothy grin on Wisp. "You have anything you want to bring? I can carry it."

Little greenish sparkles momentarily danced their way around Wisp's head before she waved them away, giving a broad grin to Tock; it made the small blue star on her cheek crinkle a little, and she held out one of the bags. "Wow, you're really nice, I don't have much," she said, "good thing I brought my knapsack, right? Done!"

The message was over; obviously Wisp thought it better to not have an argument, and simply leave notice that she was going. "Okay, let's do it to it," she announced.

Rory forked over half her things to Chris. He was still a hell of a lot stronger, so she had the back pack of nick-nacks while handing off the heavier things to him. Having Chris jealous was... Interesting! She was glad, though, that Wisp would be around. She wasn't sure just how much of that she was going to be able to stand.

Thank God he wasn't a teenager yet! Visions of fights danced in her head. There would be property damage for sure, if Chris and Tock had an all out fight. Then she looked back at Wisp. "And now we go through the magic door," she said and stepped through the wall where the rest of Chris waited.

"And might I welcome all of you to my home island," Tock said as he stepped in last, waiting for the others to enter. "Home. Which is where I am the non acting captain of a pirate crew to the west of here."

Wisp put one hand up to squint at where he'd indicated, absolutely delighted with the surroundings; she had a grin on her face that stretched nearly from ear to ear. "But where's Polly?" she said. "Did she go off already? Are we the suckiest babysitters or something?"

It was kind of a worry.

"Apparently she started the treasure hunt without us," Rory drawled slightly. Then she looked to Tock again. He let Polly go off without even waiting for them to get there. Eesh! Even if she grew up there, she had Tock looking out for her! "Do you have any idea where she's headed? A direction, maybe?"

What she didn't realize was that Polly wasn't alone.

"You really think he has a say in what Polly's doing right now?" Chris demanded darkly. "He pissed her off. She ran away from home and now he's chasing her down. But he's gotten distracted by a couple of pretty faces, haven't you, Tock?"

"I said already," Tock snarled. "She grew up here. The only ones that'll have trouble on the island are you three!"

"I wouldn't say that," said Wisp, and the grin was still on her face. She was looking around at the jewel-bright colours of Neverland like a satisfied cat; she patted her pouch of Star Sprinkles to make sure it was still there, and the Rainbow of Light at her belt, and looked more and more smug. "You might not know this, but I'm actually a fully-fledged awesome superhero, and Chris and Rory are my sidekicks, right? This is rad chillies. So long as she's safe, I'm cool with that."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Eesh, I'm tough! Not like Chris, but I'm more resilient that others," she voiced. It was something she had noticed while in school, comparing herself to other kids. When she fell hard, her knees usually didn't get scrapped and bloody, nor did other parts of her. Chris probably hadn't realized this, and if he had, it probably didn't matter to him. She was still a girl.

"And I've been camping before, yatta yatta, stuff like that. I'm not little," she added, giving both boys a serious look.

Tock looked at Chris, opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, since obviously there wasn't going to be any problem with him being in the jungle. "Fine," he muttered. He turned, looking out at the trees and finally showing his worry. His little girl, who had only just grown, was out there with--with two idiot boys that knew the place, but were hut brats nonetheless.

"Dammit, she just grew the other day," he muttered, unaware it was aloud.

"Is she like your little sister or something, Tock?" said the blonde superheroine-apparent among them, kneeling down by a particularly vivid flower and leeching the colour out of it. "That's really cute. I kind of have a little sister -- well, Jace is now like, major league little compared to me. I wouldn't worry about HER, though."

Tock looked at her blankly, the concept of Polly being his sister so foreign that he couldn't come up with a reply.

"He's raising her," Chris said, looking around and picking a direction at random to go. He had no idea where the kids were, but there were a couple of broken limbs this way. "Like a dad. Cept he's younger."

"I'm her captain, not her dad," Tock muttered finally, although secretly the "dad" word worked fine for both of them.

"Guardian, dad, captain, call it what you will, but you are still like her parent. You look out for her and stuff," Rory said even if he knew that, following Chris. He was actually going some place and she was tried of just standing around. They did have a dead line, after all.

Then she looked at Wisp. "I wouldn't be worried about Jace being anywhere alone. With those metal legs of hers, all she had to do is kick something, and she'd rule," she commented with a grin.

Wisp's laughter was bright and ringing. "True, man, dat," she said, following after the others and tucking some incredibly orange star sprinkles into her pack. Wisp had a bad tendency towards weird, weird dialects. "OMG, she's been in such a bad mood lately, though -- ever since me and Iree grew. I think she feels left out, you know? I mean, I remember when I grew and Chris didn't, when we were little, and I was dev-a-stat-ed."

"I still haven't grown," Chris called over his shoulder. "Seems to be a new habit of being stuck a stage younger than you two."

"Wait... he's as old as you two?" Tock asked, distracted. They were heading for the mountain, but it was as good a starting place as any, he figured. What with the treasure hunt.

"Older than Rory," Chris muttered irritably.

"Yep, I'm the youngest out of them," Rory echoed. "But for some reason, I grew first this time," she shrugged it off, moving aside a branch as she walked on. Good thing her shoes were nice and broke in. There was going to be a lot of walking to do.

"And Jace is probably mad because everyone's going before her," she added then, looking back at Wisp.

"Yeah," said Wisp, "she doesn't like being left behind, and I guess it's like, even harder when me and Iree are both grown up and Iggy and Antony are both grown up, it's like Chris is the only one left -- does she talk to you about it, Chris? Because she's been like, out of the house 24-7."

Chris blinked. "Antony?" he finally asked. "What does Jace have to do with Antony?"

"Dude, Jace and Antony have been friends since the crib," said Wisp, puzzledly. "He's Mom's pet -- and, well, friends probably isn't right, more like rivals, though I think only Jace is like 'I am your rival!' and Antony is like 'uh okay.' They're always arguing and stuff. But they argue so much they're, like, pals."

"I'm a witness to that, too," Rory pipped in. "When he was giving those self defense things? Jace came in to challenge him and all. So yeah, I'd say they're rival-friends."

Chris snorted. "How anyone can be friends with that stuck up b*****d, I got no clue." Obviously he was still in a bad mood. "And you two," he added. "Stay away from that jerk, he's probably dating three girls already. If anyone could keep it organized, he could."

"Did anyone happen to actually SEE the map that Polly has?" Tock asked, bored with talk of people he didn't know and could care less about.

"Actually," Rory said, slowing down a moment as she really thought back to that day. "I did. She showed me the map for a moment, when she held it up to the sun. From what I remember..."

She crouched down and cleared a place on the jungle floor from the twigs and leaves and things that were there. Then took a twig and drew what she remembered of the map. Course, it wasn't very good. She didn't really study it. But it might give Tock an idea of where to head too.

Wisp leant over to watch her avidly. "Rory has the best memory," she boasted, as though Chris didn't know it and as though Tock cared any.

Tock looked at the map. Then looked at it again. "Are you SURE the X was over these trees right here?" he asked after a long, long time.

"Those are trees?" Chris asked. "Look like scribbles to me."

"Yeah, those are trees."

Rory gave Chris a small glare for that comment. "They're trees, thank you very much. Wisp has color, I don't." Then she back at Tock. "At least you know where to head now. Then she stood up, going to stand next to the other girl.

Boys!

"Well," said Wisp, "I thought they were trees," and both of them looked like slightly haughty teenagers; the slight blonde girl hugged her friend's arm reassuringly. "They were very abstract and inspired trees. Let's go."

Tock sighed, running a hand over his face. Now he knew exactly where and how he'd find his little girl.

Upside down and surrounded by fairies.

Deakon Family Christmas Party
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen, Rosemilk
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Deakon household was decked out for Christmas. There was even a manger scene in front of the house and a Santa Clause on the roof, complete with dayglow reindeer. Lights lit up everything, from the tree in the front yard to the various windows and railings around the house. This was what you got when you were married to a handyman, after all.

Inside was just as festive, with decorations and gigantic Christmas trees in the front room and hallway. There were presents under both. Chris, in his newfound teenageness, was looking a bit uncomfortable in a dress shirt (sleeves cut out, of course) and a tie. He scowled as Antony sidled up next to him with a soft drink in his hand.

"They made me get you a present," Chris muttered.

"Yes? I got you one as well, if it makes you feel better," Antony said calmly.

"I read it already," Chris told him.

"You did?"

"Woulda been a waste of money just to give it to you."

"I see."

"It was a whole ten bucks," Chris added with a perfectly straight face. "So I read it twice."

"You do realize that you're not supposed to tell the giftee that sort of thing, don't you?" Antony asked just as mildly as could be.

Chris finally looked at him, grinning wickedly. "Yeah, I know."

The doorbell rang then. Both Ze and Rory waited for there to be an answer with food in a hand, or in a bag, gifts under hand, and fiddles over their shoulders. Only one of them looked the most uncomfortible in the snow, even with how bundled up she was.

"I hate the snow," Ze'zee complained, stomping her feet to keep them warm. Even her long tail was wrapped up! "Zard is a tropical planet, you know. We never -got- snow. You wanted white ground all around you, you went to the beaches."

Aurora couldn't help but snicker at her mom. "You know, I am a teenager now, mom. Can't we go visit grandma and grandpa some time?" How totally cool would it be to go to -another planet-?? That was just awesome.

Ze looked slightly more uncomfortable for a moment. "Well, I'll have to see about it with work," she stalled.

"Uh huh...."

The door opened a few seconds later, Chris scowling slightly over his shoulder. "It's freezing out there, why do I gotta be the one to open the door?" he demanded of his mother. "Make the blue boy, he's good with cold!"

"Antony doesn't live here!" Missy called from inside the house. "And be polite!"

Both ladies stared at the teenager that opened the door. Then one of the two exploded.

"CHRIS! You grew and you didn't even bother to call me a tell me?!" Rory demanded, still standing on the door step. "Or come over?!" Never mind she didn't tell him when she became a teen. Partly because she knew he was coming over that day... but still! He should have at least -told- her!

He jerked, a look of "Oh s**t" crossing his face as he slowly turned towards her. "Ah, Rory, ah, well, y'see, there was this--and the clothing and--you--" He stopped, rubbing the back of his head with a gigantic hand. "You look real pretty."

Antony started laughing behind him, loud enough for even Rory to hear. "Shut it," Chris snarled over his shoulder, flushing purple.

"Hmph!" Rory was not to be persuaded with flattery this time. She looked away from him, nose in the air. "See if I give you your gift right away now," she muttered.

"Well," Ze said, having been fighting from laughing out loud in front of them both. "Are you going to let us freeze out here? Or are you going to let us in?" she asked with a grin.

"Oh! Right!" he said, moving out of the way quickly. "Sorry, yeah, um... Merry Christmas?" he offered, looking more like a kicked puppy than a badass monster of a teen as he glanced over at Rory. He was in such deep s**t.

"Yes, Merry Christmas," Ze'zee said, hurrying in quickly. The house was warm, and outside was cold. She so didn't like the cold!

Rory followed in after him, but didn't look at Chris. "Merry Christmas," she echoed. Then went for Missy immediately. "Hello Mrs. Deakon," she said with a brighter grin. "Mom and I brought food, as well. Finger food things."

"Oh thank you, Rory! Ze!" Missy said happily. "Why don't I put those on the buffet table while you give Chris your coats? There's only Shade and Antony here so far, but more people will be showing up soon enough."

"So you should get what food you want now, before Chris eats it all," Antony said a bit dryly. "Merry Christmas, Aurora, Ms. Ze'zee," he added politely.

Missy was right; it was rare that Beatrix wasn't punctual or on time -- Irelia Torstenn had been excused from the gathering on account of another girl's birthday party, but Jacoba Darnell and Wisp Darnell were both there in front of their bandage-eyed blonde of a mother. In fact, it was a little odd to now see that both of them were taller than her -- Wisp a few centimetres, and Jace a couple inches, the tallest of them all at what was still a fairly measly 5'5".

They were all three wearing scarves -- Bea's pale blue, Wisp's rainbow, Jace's orange -- and a fairly automatic "Merry Christmas," came out from all of them, though Jace's seemed to be "merry damn Christmas." Wisp was holding a box, but when she looked in the house, she dropped it entirely as her mouth formed a hello! to her beloved Missy. In a flash of brown skin and red hair, Jace reached out and caught it on her metal foot: but Wisp was already zooming past, brushing Aurora on the shoulder, and jumping wholesale onto a very teenaged Chris' back.

"OH MY GOD," she bellowed, "IT HAPPENED I AM THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD."

"Damn, Mrs. Deakon," said Jace. "What'd you feed him?"

"Be nice," said her mother, and -- "Happy returns of the season, Melissa."

Rory blinked as the colorful rainbow of a friend whoosed by and jumped on Chris. She gave a sigh and a shake of the head, though she was still highly miffed at Chris. And being so, she turned to the others.

And did a double take. "JACE! You grew too? Awesome!"

"Hey!" Chris said, irritated as he glared at Rory for that. Sure Wisp was on his back, but he wasn't bothered in the least by that part. "How come Jace is Awesome and I'm in the dog house?" he demanded irritably. "That's totally not fair."

It was equally not fair in the way that Jace swaggered next to Rory and judiciously swatted her on the butt; winked at Chris, not Rory, though she made a gunshot ch-ch in the back of her throat at the tall green-eyed girl. "Suck it down, man," she said, and folded her arms.

Wisp was apparently just thrilled that she could go back to treating her childhood friend like a jungle gym; she looked happy and content, little blue sparkles winking in and out around her head. At least she was wearing jeans for once; jeans and -- what appeared to be a leotard, arm-and-leg-warmers, the leotard painted with a snowman saying YO. "You're in the doghouse?" she said, and: "Hey, you should be in the doghouse! Did you tell Rory or me? No you did not. Seriously you and Rory should be all sucking face, not -- "

"Wisp!" Rory squeaked, cheeks going red. Then she shook her head quickly, getting back on the topic and wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders. She was taller, so she was more leaning to the side. "Jace's awesomeness extends beyond the need to tell. Unlike you, who's supposed to be one of my best friends! And you didn't tell Wisp either??"

"It just happened this morning!" he protested. "And it was a busy day!" Now he was in the doghouse with both of them! Dammit!

"You have to admit, it is a bit hard to deal with the first day," Antony said, sticking up for Chris and getting a glowering look for his trouble.

The redhead punched Rory's shoulder in a light, familiar way -- she liked Aurora; Aurora was uncomplicated -- before making her way over to Antony instead. Jace did not look that festive: she was wearing a brown hoodie and the ripped jean shorts she loved, though apparently when she hadn't been looking Wisp had furtively drawn snowflakes on her back in bright yellow. She leant herself with her elbow up on Antony's shoulder instead, and apparently didn't deign to play grab-a** with him.

"Should've thought of that before," she said, "chicks get weird about that stuff, man. Sup, Mantony."

Wisp clambered down from Christian's back, patted his arm, but then stuck out her tongue to show that she was on Rory's side. She marched over to her friend and stuck her arm through hers, looping it through tightly. ""Well, Miss Rory," she said, "let's go and get some buffet, yo!"

Rory just glanced when Jace abandoned her for Antony, then turned her attention back on Chris, arm in arm with Wisp. She took her arm, though, away, placing her hands on her hips and marched up to him.

"So, you just turned today? Is that true?" she asked him seriously. Then deflated with a sigh before looking back at Wisp. "Should I forgive him?"

Chris waited impatiently for Wisp's answer.

Antony slid a hand around Jace's waist, resting a hand on her hip. "They have some six different flavors of soda," he told her casually. "As well as food enough that Chris hasn't eaten all of it. Want to go get some before Chris gets to it?"

"Bea!" Missy said, finally coming out of the front room. "Please, give Chris your coat and come on in! All of you do that, actually," she added. "He's learning to be a gentleman now, or I'll have to beat it into him."

Wisp turned Rory around in obvious super-secret powwow, voice low as she brushed her pink-streaked hair out of her face. "Yeah, forgive him," she whispered, "but don't be too like, 'oh I forgive you everything!', be more like, 'okay I guess I can forgive you THIS TIME,' just so that he knows he can't mess you around. Even if you're like 'oh Chris you are such a hottie,' which he totally is, except he's like my kid brother so it's not like I'm all, 'woo!'."

Beatrix was taking off her coat, and consented to give it to Chris; she was smiling, though it was a wry Dr. Darnell smile. "I can't imagine you beating anyone into anything," she told Missy, "but I can well believe -- hullo, Antony; and congratulations on growing, Christian."

"Six types of soda," Jace was saying, and she was already fiddling with the tie of Antony's ponytail. "God, the excitement. Let's go get some food before Chris stuffs his huge fat a** -- sorry, Chris, you're like the size of a house, man, I'm kind of nearly worried about my ability to try to beat you up. -- C'mon, man, I'll let you pour me some Coke if you're a good girl." (Antony did not look like a good girl.)

Rory whole-heartedly took that advice, turning back to Chris with a serious look on her face. He was a hottie now, though. That was like a bonus! "Alright. I suppose I can't forgive you -this time-," she told him, poking him in the chest. He was like a rock, took. "But don't forget to tell me again, got it? Got it."

Then she held out a large, circle shaped present, that looked like it was a pain in the butt to wrap. "And because you are forgiven, you can have your gift."

Jace looked at him, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter, and she grinned herself; took a paper plate and started judiciously piling up her plate, his laughter at the situation a little infectious. "Yeah," she said, sotto voce. "The boy is looking at a lifetime of being henpecked."

Chris probably wouldn't mind.

The little blonde, however, clapped her hands together, and she had shone like a lantern when Chris had leant down and kissed her best friend on the cheek. The operation was obviously going into a success. She leant forward to dape her knuckles together on Rory's, the little star on her cheek crinkling as she smiled. "Yessss," she said.

Rory was still stunned by this act (and in front on others). It was one thing to give a boy a kiss; it was something else to be kissed by a HOTTIE. Then she gave a slightly stupid grin at Wisp in return, blushing. "Yeaahh, anyway. You are awesome. Thanks! Now, we'd better do like your sis and Antony and get some food things. I got you a gift too."

"That's not the only thing," Antony admitted quietly as he made his plate. "He stands by me waiting for people to show up and tells me that he read my present. Twice. Because otherwise it'd be a waste of ten bucks."

Chris took his time putting the coats away, waiting for his flush to go away. He felt like a little kid in a teen's body. It sucked. But finally he headed back in, knowing his parents would yell at him if he didn't.

"Welcome," Tyler said as he saw all of them. "We're going to eat first, then exchange gifts, if you've brought them. Chris decided the order of events." Which was said a bit dryly.

"Chris is kind of a d**k in private," admitted Jace, with absolutely no sign of censorious or even disapproving. In fact, it sounded like something she liked about the youngest Deakon, something to slightly admire. Anyone who hung around with Wisp and Rory had to have some kind of personality secret to cope with it. "Pass those meatball things, wench. Damn, I love Chris' mom's cooking."

Her mother had sat down next to Tyler and the other adults; "Wisp, go and get the bag out of the car before we eat," she said, Thwomp hovering around near her shoulder. "I thought you were going to bring it in."

"Whoops, moment of suckage," announced her youngest, who darted out after Beatrix dangled her keys at her -- all really overly tight jeans and her retro 80s leotard top revealing that it was pretty much backless. Someone would have to tell Beatrix eventually that Wisp dressed like the cast of Dirty Dancing by way of youthful pole dancer.

"Hurry or you're going to freeze!" Rory teased her friend, but didn't offer to go back out. Instead, she was getting herself some food too.

"Missy, I hope you don't mind, but I did bring my fiddle, if you want some kinds of old fashioned music going on," Ze said with a grin. She had taken a seat with the other adults as well, having already grabbed some food.

"Oh, I don't want you to feel like you have to work!" Missy said. "But if you'd like to play a song or two after we unwrap presents you know I'm not going to stop you," she added with a grin. "I'm so glad you both could make it here tonight! Chris was so nervous earlier."

Then she frowned ever so slightly as she caught sight of Wisp running out the door. She would have to do something about that outfit, she thought with an inward sigh.

"It's because he hates me," Antony said cheerfully. "It's rather entertaining--" then he stopped as Rory got there. He would rather she not hear that conversation.

Chris came in with the present, placing it under the tree with the others before heading for the table as well.

Wisp came back in with pink cheeks -- matched her lipgloss -- and a large plastic bag full of lumpy objects. "Ho ho ho," she said, "Merry Christmas," and knelt down to start unpacking them briskly underneath the tree.

Plate finally piled high with food (it wasn't like Beatrix was an awful cook, but the fact was that Missy was a very good one) Jace collapsed down in her chair: "You can sit on my knee," she offered to Antony, guffawing at her offer.

"I'd say that sounds more than a little uncomfortable," said her mother, "considering what your knee is like."

"It's Antony. He likes suffering that way."

"I'm certain he doesn't," said her mother(and his faux-aunt -- did that make Jace his cousin?) wryly. "I apologise for her, as ever, Antony."

Rory was a little bothered by the fact the talking that had been going on stopped when she got to the table to get food. Then she shrugged it off as being a little edgy after Chris kissed her. Her plate also piled high with food, she took a seat on a cushioned foot stool. Just because she could.

"Mom had be bring my violin as well," she told Missy, then looked to where Wisp was coming in again. "What you get me, Wisp??"

"That wont be a problem, since I like to play," Ze assured her.

Chris sat in the chair behind Rory, starting in on his new plate of food without a thought. "Oh dear," Missy said. "He's probably finished off all the salmon balls again, Wisp, would you mind helping me get some more from the kitchen?"

Chris looked up, swallowing loudly. "There were only ten left," he said a bit guiltily.

"And had there been twelve you would have done the same thing," she teased as she stood and headed for the kitchen.

"Hee, I'm not telling you until you open it," the blonde informed her best friend, swinging around behind Missy as she followed her into the kitchen. "Otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise. I think it's pretty awesome, though. -- Are you and your mom going to play the violin? Say yes! Please please please! I've never heard you and your mom play together, that'd be rad chillies..." Then she disappeared behind the older woman.

"See, now look what you did," Jace said wearily to Rory. "She's all excited now. She'll pee on the carpet."

Testament to how much Beatrix had mellowed out that she only said: "We'll cover the floor with newspapers where she's sitting."

Rory choked, then started to laugh at that. It was sooo wrong to laugh at your best friend being made fun of, but she couldn't help it! Then she elbowed Chris's knee. "You shouldn't take so many, even if you like them. We're guests. You have to leave some for those of us who -don't- get your mom's cooking all the time."

Then she pouted, looking at her two rolls. "I was hoping to get more later..."

"It's not much, but we'll do it," Ze'zee said, then winked at Jace. "So, you might want to find that newspaper."

Antony was sitting on the armrest of Jace's chair, balancing his plate as if he did this sort of thing daily. "Don't worry, Aunt Beatrix. I'm quite used to it by now, I'm afraid," he said. "So how long have you two been going out?" he asked Chris, only a bit evilly.

Chris jerked, swallowing loudly at the question and forgetting to reply to Rory's jibe. "Huh?" he asked. One moment he had been hanging out with his best friend, eating his favorite non baked snack, the next he was put on stand by the blue boy. Not fair!

"Going out," Antony repeated. "As in dating. I thought she didn't know you were a teenager yet, but it seems that doesn't seem to matter. That kiss back there--"

"I knew this would happen, of course," Missy said as she bustled around the kitchen, getting the supplies out of the fridge. "Which is why I only made a few dozen up front. We're going to have to make more now, I hope you don't mind?" she added to Wisp. "But that'll give us time for a little girl talk!"

"I love girl talk!" said Wisp blithely, and she did, and she loved watching Missy make food: would probably attempt to help as well, but mostly just pass things, make conversation and look cute, since Wisp was not the world's most incredible cook. She grinned, lighting up -- Jace was forced to admit that Wisp was really pretty, but maybe crazy did that to a person. She followed Mrs. Deakon back into the kitchen.

"Unless you're not dating," she added, already catching on to Antony's pretty a*****e-ish and therefore hilarious line of conversation. She popped a meatball in her mouth. "Because, damn, I know like six guys who'd snap Rory up like that. Hey, I don't think you're too bad-lookin' either, sugar britches." (Aurora was probably going to kill her, but it was all in the name of lulz.)

Rory was secretly game. If she could get Chris to admit to something like that, or at least -ask- her, then it was all for the good. "Really? Is that why guys keep walking into poles when I jog past them in PE?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in a not-so-innocent fashion.

At least she had learned how to control her speed, so when she said jog, that was more like a normal person's run. Her type or running, no one else would beable to really get a good look at her. She would have been a blurr.

A murderous expression crossed Chris's face, both at the pole comment and at Antony and Jace bringing this up so soon after he had grown. "We aren't dating," he muttered. "What about you two?" he added. "Since you seem to be so... close." It was easy enough to change the subject.

Antony just smiled, mildly. "Oh, we're not dating," he said simply. He took a drink of his pop, still enjoying this situation. It was revenge for the Christmas present comment and he was mature enough to know it, while being immature enough to do it. "But Jace is Jace and Rory is... Rory," he added. "And you DID kiss her."

Chris let out a rumbling growl.

"You know, Wisp, you've grown to be such a beautiful young woman," Missy started out as she started to cook. "Have I told you that yet?"

"Chris, that's gay, dude," said Jace, sounding a little disturbed at his implication that she and Antony were dating. But then she changed the subject as well: "I think everyone's pretty much expecting Chris and Ror to date, right? It's like how every tard at school kind of expected Riley and Iggy to get together, which just proves their lives are boring-a**." (Everyone except Wisp, that was.)

Wisp was happily in the kitchen, or else that comment would have started to make her very flustered; she blushed at a compliment from the woman she considered to be probably the most beautiful woman found anywhere, and always had done ever since she was small: Missy was beautiful. It was undeniable. "Do you really think so?" she said, a little hopefully. "You're not just all, oh that's Wisp I better tell her she's cute, because hey Rory is so gorgeous she might feel bad. I mean I think I'm pretty cute, you know? But beautiful's like, the b-word, it's huge."

Rory was very wisely not jumping on Chris about dating. She wanted him too a lot. A whole heck of a lot, but this was his first day, so she was going to have a bit of mercy on him. "Wait.. you mean Iggy's got, or might have a girlfriend?" she asked, going on to a whole new conversation.

Basically, she wanted to know for Wisp's sake.

Antony sighed. "Lord I hope not," he muttered. He would rather have Iggy dating Wisp. He didn't like Riley, he never had. She rubbed him wrong for some reason. It was shocking that Jace didn't, to be honest.

Chris's attention was on Jace. "Jace... you're a girl," he said finally. How was it gay if she was a chick? That completely baffled him and distracted him from being teased about Rory. But Antony had a point, a betraying thought said in the back of his head. Rory was... Rory.

"You're a very beautiful girl," Missy repeated, giving the girl a "MOTHER" look. "Would I lie to you about something like that? But there is one little problem, honey, and I really think we should discuss it now before it gets worse."

Terror immediately awoke in Wisp's breast, and she looked at Missy with a slight deer-in-the-headlights expression. What was wrong? Did she have a zit? Didn't Missy like her hair? She could streak it different colours; she was planning on it, anyway. Was she getting fat? Was it the fact that she didn't have huge boobs like Irelia? She swallowed -- she had to remember she was a superhero -- and calmed down, managing to croak out a tiny, "Yes?"

"Damn, boy," her sister was complaining at Chris, "I don't point out that you're a big-a** black demon dude." After this baffling statement, stealing a meatball from Antony's plate and popping it into her mouth before he could steal it back, she added: "And nah, Ror, Iggy doesn't have a girlfriend -- Wisp keeps trying but I don't think he notices she has boobs. What, you want him?"

Thankfully Zee, Tyler and Beatrix were all apparently involved in adult conversation, rather than listening in on the who-dates-who.

"Nope," Rory answered, poping a meatball of her own in her mouth before going on. "As a best friend to Wisp, I wanted to know if he had someone else. But since he hasn't clued in to all of this yet, the answer would be no."

It was all to easy to not look at Chris, with the way they were sitting. At least that worked out! She then gave Antony and Jace a very curious look. In some twisted, messed up way, they'd be interesting together. Together-together, and not just friends.

Chris shrugged. "Don't have to, I've got mirrors," he said simply. "And trouble going through doors. And the little problem when I was a kid with ripping arms off of chairs. Kinda hard to forget what I am."

Antony had a disturbing image of Chris ripping off other types of arms. It was a bit too easy to picture, so he decided to change the subject. "These aren't really meatballs, are they?" he asked, curiously. "Since you're vegetarians, right?"

"Yeah," Chris said. "So some of them are fish, and some of them are mushroom. I like the fish the best." And he promptly tried to steal one of Rory's. Which was flirting, but Antony didn't mention it.

"Oh, Wisp, it's not the end of the world!" Missy said, seeing that look on her face. "It's just, well, honey, do you really have to wear such revealing clothes?"

"They're not meatballs," Jace said, "they're cheatballs. God I am hilarious." (She then proceeded to crack up at her own joke, though she was a little amazed at how Missy managed to make fake meat taste as good as real meat. She hadn't even noticed.)

The tiny blonde looked up at Missy with a blank expression, as though not quite sure what she meant. She looked down at her clothes: tight jeans, wicked-cool leotard that was totally hot, leg warmers, arm warmers. The chunky necklace of blue beads Irelia had given her for Christmas. Then it hit. "Oh," she said, puzzled, "oh -- oh, Missy, I'm like, reclaiming my sexuality, right? I'm all hitting a blow for womankind. I'm like, I am so proud of my femininity. I have to dress this way, right? I'm a rebel!"

But she added a little doubtfully: "It looks like I'm being rebellious, right, Missy?"

"My fish-meat ball," Rory said, quickly stabbing said meat ball that Chris was trying to steal and popping it in her mouth. In doing so, however, she left a salmon roll open for grabs.

With her attention on Chris, she couldn't laugh, or snicker, at Jace (or her joke).

He grabbed the salmon roll, popping it into his mouth with a triumphant air. "I like the salmon rolls better, anyway," he teased her.

"Even if they're not meat, they're a million times better than anything anyone in my family can make," Antony drawled, guarding his own plate now that people were stealing. "A household of bachelors doesn't make for great fare."

"Wisp, do you really think that femininity is tied up in showing off your body?" Missy asked softly as she rolled the balls. "Don't you think that there are some much more important factors? Such as your thoughts and beliefs and actions? Do I seem less feminine when I wear more modest clothes?"

It was better than M.B.'s cooking too, even if they lived in a house of bachelorettes. But M.B. wasn't bad. She was a dab hand at stuff like grilled cheese. She just wasn't Missy, who was a kind of domestic goddess. "So did you get that notice home for sex ed.," Jace said. "I can't believe they have to notify your 'rents on that kind of grab-a**."

Wisp tilted her head, obviously troubled. "No," she said, "but you always look gorgeous, that's different, right? I'm more -- I have to make a statement! Like -- do I really look skanky," she finally said, doleful. "I just like wearing bright colours and skinny jeans and things. And rainbow bracelets. And side ponytails."

Rory gave Chris a dirty look for stealing her salmon roll. "That was mine, ya know." Her mom wasn't Missy either, with the cooking, but it was also good. At least both of them could read a recipe and go from there. And hopefully not burn anything. Then her attention turned to Jace once more. "That sex ed class? Yeah... why'd they have to go off and do that?"

It was embarrassing, on a level, after all.

"It sucks," Chris muttered, flushing again. "It's gonna be worse now that I'm older. Dad already told me the basics, so why does that hippy chick gotta go over it?"

"I doubt it can get worse, to be truthful," Antony said with a sigh, agreeing with Chris on this one fact. Lindy wasn't his favorite teacher by any means.

"None of those things are bad," Missy said. "Used in moderation, that is. Wisp, you're a sweet, funny, adorable girl. You should make people focus on that fact instead of your body alone. There's so much you have to share, you know?"

"I dunno, guess it's required for teens," said Jace, immediately bored and finishing off the rest of her food in case her friend thought he needed to steal some back. Antony probably wouldn't. He was honourable that way. Wouldn't steal your cheatballs. "Least it'll be more interesting than normal health. I mean, it'll probably be funny-a**, right?"

All would be redeemed if Ms. Lindy somehow made it funny-a**.

"Do you really think so?" said Wisp, who looked entirely discombobulated. "I mean, if you think -- I mean, I'll try, Missy." She still looked a little woebegone. She also looked doubtful, as though she maybe thought people didn't really ever focus on Wisp being sweet, funny or adorable.

"I guess we have no choice but to find out," Rory added with a shrug. School was pretty awful that way. Just when you were getting the hang, and doing well in all other classes, they had to throw something new into it all.

Rory finished off her food and looked towards the kitchen. Now, where was Mrs. Deakon and those other salmon rolls?

"I know you'll do great," Missy said, handing her a plate of the food and kissing her cheek. "Because I believe in you, Wisp. Now go take these out there before Chris suddenly decides to eat everyone else's."

*not useable, for plot

An Invitation
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
----------------------------------------------------------
There weren't any zards on Gaia, other than one. Shade knew it, she knew it, and they both knew that zards didn't tend to leave their home planet unless there was a reason. Which was why he was standing in front of Rory's house, wearing his long black leather trenchcoat and drinking a hot chocolate as he waited for someone to answer the door.

He had gotten his vacation. They were going to Zard.

"If you're looking for Rory, she's already out," Ze answered the door, then blinked at Shade. Then grinned at him, stepping aside. "Shade! I didn't expect you to stop by. Come in before you freeze!" she told him.

She was from Zard and as such, when winter hit, thought that everyone shouldn't suffer this kind of cold.

"It's not that bad out," he said with a slight grin as he stepped in. "And no, I wasn't looking for Rory. Although it has something to do with her, too. I wanted to talk to you, first."

Well, that got her curious. She closed the door against the cold, then offered to take his coat. "Oh? What about?" she asked curiously. "Also, do you want anything else warm to eat or drink?"

"No, I'm fine," he said, slipping off his coat and handing it to her. "Is there a place where we can talk without being interrupted if Rory gets home too soon?"

That got her to lift a brow. "Well, um, my music room," she offered, starting to lead him that way. "Is something wrong? Rory didn't do anything, did she?"

"Nope, not at all," he said as he followed her, grabbing a chair when they were inside. "You see, I'm taking a week off from work the week after next. I promised Antony that I would take him on vacation, show him another planet. It's going to be a blast, because that week is the week that--"

"Really? Well, that sounds like fun!" she said, interrupting him with a grin as her mind thought it over. School was out for the holidays, too, and going on vacation, someplace warm, would be fun! "Where do you plan on going?"

"Zard," he said simply. "Which is why I came here. I want to invite you and Rory to come with us."

"Zard? You mean, my home Zard??" Which was a stupid question. There was only one Zard, after all. Her face lit up all at once. "That would be sooo nice! Except... I've been saving up the money to go there, but I don't have enough..."

"I'm an ancient dragon," he said, leaning back in the chair and taking another drink of his hot chocolate. "I can get us there with... well, it's not really magic, but it's a hell of a lot faster than spaceships. But it's not just you and Rory I was planning on taking. There's a Hellspawn concert on Zard that week."

"And you want Chris to meet him," she said, seeing where that was going and grinning to herself. "Well, if Rory's going, Chris will probably go too. Um, as a way of paying you back for this, we can stay at my parent's house. They've been wanting to meet Rory in the flesh, not just on a vid screen."

She didn't know ancient dragons did, but she wasn't going to ask either. There were just to many thing out there in the universe to worry about them all.

"So, you're coming with us?" he asked. He hadn't told Antony about this, but he doubted the boy would care.

This was his last hurrah before he went on to college, after all. He wondered if he could get Jace to go...

"The week after next, right? I can call my parents and get everything with them worked out. Where do you want to meet up at?" she asked him, clearly she'd have to get the time off, but there was plenty saved up, and most people were out, anyway. Now was a good time for a vacation.

"Hmm," he said, thinking about it. "Here would work fine. Your front room, I think. I'll need some space and that should do just fine. Er... you might bring out a chair or a stepping stool."

"Really? Why?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "How does this work?"

He lifted a hand, drawing it through the air then sticking his hand through the hole that was created. He rummaged around in the hole, a strange rip in the fabric of space. It was as if his hand had disappeared completely. "Stupid--" he muttered, sticking his arm in further. "Oh, here it is," he said, pulling his hand out of the space pocket. "Cookies," he told her, holding up the small bag. "From my house on Vega."

It was like a very messed up version of the Mary Poppins' bag. Your hand went into someplace is shouldn't, and vanished. "Right. Okay then. So, I'll have a stool or a chair ready, when the time comes. When are you telling Antony? Should I tell Rory?"

"Antony knows. This is his last hurrah before he starts looking for a college, but don't tell him I know it," he said a bit dryly. "But he doesn't know we're taking a few others with us. I doubt he'll mind, though."

"Ahh, I get it now. He knows about it, just thinks it's just going to be the two of you. Alright," she smiled approvingly. So Antony was going off to college? Rory was going to have to seriously think about that one soon too.

"So Saturday the 13th," he said. "Around noon?"

"Okay, we'll be ready then," she promised. This was going to be fun. She was going to get to see her home, and her parents again. Truth be told, she had been homesick, and wanting to go back there. Now she could!

Welcome to Zard
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
----------------------------------------------------------
"Welcome to Air Shade," Shade said to the group standing in Ze'zee's front yard. He noticed Antony and Chris looking at each other with a hint of amusement. "Some of you might not have expected others--"

"I expected him," Chris said. "Just wasn't looking forward to it."

"Thank you so much for the token of friendship, Christian," Antony drawled. He got a shamelessly toothy grin in reply.

"And others might still be wondering how we plan on getting to another planet by standing in your front yard," Shade went on. Behind him was a short ladder, waiting for him to walk up it.

"Yeah, actually," Aurora bluntly said. She didn't get the demo that her mother had, and thus didn't get it as well. Beside her were her bags; guitar and violin cases as well. She was so eager to see her grandparents in the flesh for the first time that she didn't even notice the looks.

More like, she was ignoring the looks that they always gave each other.

Ze'zee was doing a last minute check of the bags and her list, making sure nothing was missing.

"I," Shade said grandly, "happen to be an Ancient Dragon with the ability to open rifts to other worlds, or to anywhere, to be honest. And since transporting Chris would cost far too much in food checks alone, I thought the trip should be as short as possible."

He leaned down, touching the air with a finger and slitting through it as he walked up the steps. There, where there had been nothing, was now a rift that showed strange sights on the other side. "One at a time, please, no jostling, make sure all your things are--oh, forget it, just step on through."

Antony went first, walking through it as if he had done it a million times. Chris, on the other hand, just looked at the rift blankly.

"Woah, no way!" Rory grinned at the little rip and watched Antony walk away, into it, and on the other side. She walked around it a moment, just to make sure and saw nothing more than the normal other side of the yard. She then went back to gather up her things.

"Shade, any time you want a place to stay at Zard, let me know and I'll tell my parents," Ze said, walking through with her things.

"Come on, Chris. It's not going to bite you," Rory teased him, heading for the rift as well. Frankly, she didn't know if it would or not, but that didn't seem to matter to her.

Chris looked at Shade, his mind going to exactly where Shade hadn't wanted it to go. "You're dangerous," the starmaker said simply.

"Yeah," Shade admitted. "But you've known me all your life."

"Yeah," Chris said, and walked through the rift, stepping onto Zard. Shade stepped behind him and the rift disappeared, leaving a faint sense of energy before it was gone entirely.

"Wow, so this is Zard?" Rory said as she looked around the alien planet. Aside from the people walking around that looked like her mom and the heat, it didn't seem.. that different. There was definitely an air of 'difference' however. Like you just took a road trip someplace else, only without the cramped car ride. And it was.... warm. Very warm.

Ze'zee inhaled deeply, letting out a content sigh. "Home. I've missed the Zard heat! No more stupid snow!" she said happily, her thick, lizard tail gave a small swish as she looked around to get her barrings.

They got several second glances, even third glances, but Shade didn't seem to be bothered by that. It was only when two teenage zards noticed Chris that there was trouble. "It's ACHERON!!" the bellowed, racing towards them. Then they stopped. "Dude... weren't you a lot bigger?"

"He's not Acheron," Shade said. "He's just a kid."

Chris blinked.

"He's Christian," Rory added, looking at the boys just a little oddly. So this Acheron guy was supposed to be bigger? Did that mean that Chris would just keep on growing? Well, he was just a teenager....

"Hey, kids, can you tell me what street we're on?" Ze'zee asked the kids, deciding to use them to get more of an idea. She thought things looked familiar, however, she just wanted to make sure.

"We're on Posterly, lady," the kids said, looking at Chris again, as if he would grow suddenly and turn into their hero.

"Not too far from your parents', right?" Shade offered. "I figured we'd move in and go see the sights. The real entertainment doesn't begin until tomorrow, after all."

"Thanks," Ze said then looked at Shade. "Yep, right on target. That makes it a lot easier." She pulled out her cell to call her parents while leading them to their destination.

"What entertainment?" Rory asked, keeping close to Chris as they went.

His tail whipped back and forth with irritation as he noticed so many people staring at him. Well, at least they weren't running away screaming, he thought in order to try and calm himself. No, they were just comparing him to someone a million times cooler than him.

He wasn't sure which was worse.

"The mating day festivities," Shade said. "Fighting, eating, gaming, it's all there!" he added cheerfully. "And thanks to Chris and you being starmakers we won't have any trouble at all getting in!"

"Re--"

"What?!" Ze choked, looking back at Shade. "What do you mean the mating day festivities?? It's that time of year??"

"Mom...?" Rory asked, lifting a brow at her mom. She hadn't seen her this kind of panicked from her mom, ever. It was... odd.

"Why else would anyone come to Zard?" Shade asked. "It's a party like no other! If it wasn't for this, we'd all be on Carn, enjoying the carnival."

"I did like the carnival," Antony said mildly. "And I bet even Chris could fit on the rides because of the bear men."

"But there's a Hellspawn concert here," Chris said. "I want to see it."

Ze gave a small groan. She so didn't realize that this what -that time-. The time when those who were looking for a mate would go and watch others strut their stuff and-- She wasn't going to go with them. She couldn't. If she showed too much attention in anything, someone might get the wrong idea. She already had one bad fling! She didn't need something else!

"You okay?" Rory asked her mom, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just surprised that I forgot, that's all," Ze said with a sigh. "Anyway, I'd better call the parents to let them know." Again, she brought up the phone, dialing it.

"Yeah..." Rory turned her attention to the other conversation then. She was worried about her mom... but what could she do to fix it. "The Carn fair?"

"We can go on Saturday, if you want," Shade said. "The concert will be on Friday, and it won't be much trouble just to rift over to Carn for a day of fun. But we should get back Sunday to recover for school."

Antony was shockingly quiet. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to the conversation, really. It was more like he was thinking of something a million miles away.

Chris glanced at him, then back at Ze'zee. Something was weird here. "You mean they're all flirting with each other?"

"Something like that," Ze answered him. "It's like a talent show. Showing off your skills and what you're good at to attract attention. Think of it like some birds, flashing their feathers to attract others."

Rory blinked at this idea. Was that what her mom was worried? Attracting someone? She didn't see why she should worry. Her mom was awesome! And talented and skilled and could cook-- She was also a teenager, so what was holding her mom back? Maybe they needed to just take her there and force her to check out others!

Chris looked at Rory, his mind jumping straight to the most important part according to him. "I don't like this idea," he muttered simply. And moved a bit closer to Rory with a dark, forbidding expression on his face.

"Trust me, kid, nobody's going to try and steal your girl," Shade said, patting him on the shoulder. "Everyone knows what a starmaker female looks like by now. If they don't, I'm sure you're more than enough to clue them in."

"She's not--"

"So, we'll be able to meet these other starmakers?" Rory cut in, before Chris could deny it. She wasn't about to give him the chance to do that.

"Besides, Chris, Zard's typically never go for anyone outside the race. You all look way to weird," Ze told them seriously. "So, you don't have to worry about someone thinking you're taking 'special' interest in them, or them taking 'special' interest in you."

"Not like Ze!" Shade said, grinning at her. "Ze's prime mate material around here. Bright healthy colors, just the right age, good body, yeah, she's going to be... appreciated." Then he grinned at Rory, not giving Ze the chance to reply. "We sure are. It's yet another reason I brought you two with us!"

"So we could meet him, or so you could?" Chris asked.

"Both!" Shade said.

Kidnapping Chris
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
----------------------------------------------------------
"Are you not speaking to me again?" Ash asked in amusement as their touring ship landed on Zard. "Look," he said, his deep, two toned voice drawling through the air. "I told you, I only tapped the b*****d. I should have done worse when I caught him eyeing your a**."

Acheron, or Ash, was a gigantic, full grown starmaker, and had been for over a thousand years. He was famous the galaxy over as the lead singer of the band "Hellspawn" and revered on some planets as a god. But even with all that, he was still screwed royally when his wife was mad at him.

"You do realize that a lot of people eye my a**, right?" Seren replied, arms crossed and looking away from him. She too was a full grown starmaker. She was tall and sexy, leather wearing as well. It would be no wonder why people would stair at her a**.

That didn't mean who could beat them all up, or anything. They couldn't do anything to her. For one, she wouldn't let them. For another... . they'd have to catch her first.

"Yeah, but they don't usually take pic--" Then he stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly as he felt the energy on the planet. There was something weird about it, but-- "You feel that?" he asked. "That's a starmaker signal. Two of them. Just..." He took a drag off of his smoke, concentrating. "Weird."

Yeah, that was deep and insightful, he thought with a hint of self disgust. But it wasn't him that usually did the thinking, anyway.

"Yeah.. they are odd," Seren said letting him get away with the change of topic... for now. But it had gotten her attention too. "Like there's something off about them, even if they are starmaker..."

Then she grinned, walking over to Ash and wrapping her arms around on of his large arms. "And they're young!"

He grinned at her. "I want to meet'em," he told her, taking another drag off of his smoke. "But if I go out there I'll just get way too much attention. You, though, if you change your outfit, can get away with it, probably." He looked at her.

"But I like my leather," Seren pouted at him. It wouldn't have too much effect, however. There was a wicked look in her eye. "But... if I have too... I'll change. I want to meet them too. Where?" she asked, wondering where they should be brought.

"Bring'em here," he said. "We're not going to a hotel, anyway, the beds are never big enough. But get the boy, first," he said. "If they're mated, the last thing you want is a pissed off starmaker male around, even if you are faster than him. The place would be destroyed before they managed to pay us for the concert."

"I was already planning on going after the boy first," she promised him with a wink, and pulled away. "Now, how am I going to get a young, male starmaker to follow a stranger?" she asked him almost innocent.

"A sexy, beautiful woman like you?" he asked. "Food, of course."

She choked and started to laugh at that, even if she should be insulted. She wasn't at all.

"Because if he's mated, or close to it, your sexy bod won't mean s**t, honey," he said bluntly. "Now get going, we don't have all day. Well, we do, but I want to get some practice in sooner or later."

"Yes yes," she said, waving it off. "I'll figure out something good and get him here. Then I'll get the girl." And she turned, heading off for their rooms to get changed. Well! Two young starmakers! On Zard, of all the places.

This was going to be an interesting trip after all!

The afternoon found Chris sitting out in front of a music store, a new mp3 player in his hand, the music from all the starmaker males he could find playing in his ears. He had spent half of his allowance for the past year on that alone, but he was a happy boy. Besides, his dad had said something about a summer job at a construction site if he wanted it.

Construction workers got paid well.

The others were still inside, looking and listening to all the many styles of music to be found on Zard. Usually he would have been in there as well, but he was a man on a mission.

He wasn't the only one on a mission. Seren been hunting him down in the city, large box of sweets carried in her arms. She was wearing jeans and a halter top, her hair up in a ponytail. There wasn't much she had that wouldn't be sexy... Ah well, she had the sweets, after all.

Now all she needed to do was get him. She walked past him, sweets in a large box in hand.

His eyes followed the box of sweets, automatically, then fell on the little tail that she had, his mind jumping to conclusions. Without a thought he got to his feet, shoving the mp3 player into his vest pocket and chasing after her. "Hey!" he called out, feeling like a little boy all of a sudden. "Hey, um--"

"Hmm?" Seren looked over her shoulder at him. This might be easier than she thought! Then she grinned at him. "I'm off to a baking comp. They're in need to tasters... do you want to join?"

"Baking comp?" he repeated, still feeling like a little boy in facing a full grown female starmaker. "Yeah!" he said. "I'm Christian," he added, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"I'm Seren," she said, not taking his hand. Hers were full. Then she continued to walk in such a way that invited him to follow. "You new here?" she asked conversationally.

Now where was the female starmaker?

"I'm on vacation with a couple of friends," he said, walking alongside her, much like a puppy. "Um, I hate to sound stupid, but aren't you Acheron's lady? There's a poster with you on it in that store back there--"

She rolled her eyes. Yep, this so wasn't working. "Yes, actually. We want to meet you. See, there aren't many starmakers, but we kinda... sense each other," she told him seriously. "And you are the youngest one I've ever met!"

He snorted. "I'm a starmaker, and not, I guess," he admitted, forgetting completely about the people he had left behind. "See, I came from a cabbage on a planet called Gaia. I figure that somehow they must have found some information about you guys and injected it into the computer thing."

"Me and Rory, I guess, cuz she's a bit like you."

"Rory huh?" she asked, leading him towards the ship and offering him a cup cake for his good following. So that must be the female. She wondered if they were mated yet..?

But what bothered here was that someone injected cabbages with information about the--"Wait, cabbages??" she asked him in shock.

He popped it into his mouth, tugging the paper off of it with a practiced movement, and swallowing it whole. "Yeah, it's um... well, why I'm probably not a real starmaker," he admitted. He had been thinking about it for a while. "I don't think I'm going to be as big as a real one, either."

"There's a difference from being real and being pure starmaker," she told him seriously, handing him another cup cake. "You--"

"HEY!" The shout made Seren pause and look back. There, a good bit away from them was a slightly haggered looking Rory. She had been looking for Chris since he went missing from the music store. She had wanted to show him something and came out to get him, finding him not there.

So, she had been running around, trying to find Chris. When she did, she saw him taking cup cakes from one very sexy looking lady. To say she was jealous was an understatement.

Chris sighed. "I'm busted, huh," he muttered. "I was going to share, I swear!" he called to Rory. "You can have this one!"

Talking to beautiful ladies happened on a daily basis, after all. He had no clue she was jealous.

Rory closed the gab between herself and the other two quickly, standing beside Chris and giving a glare at the other lady. It almost irritated her how she didn't even look surprised at the speed. Then she looked at Chris. "It's not about sharing. Where are you going? And why with her? You didn't tell any of us, you know and--"

Seren was trying not to laugh at this situation and had to look away. Of course the 'little girl' didn't surprise her with speed: she was much faster. But she did notice something about it. That speed was missing the light that made it possible for a female starmaker to travel.

"It's a baking competition," Chris told her. "I'm going to be a taste tester. That or she's luring me with sweets to come with her," he added, obviously unconcerned. "Never thought I'd be kidnapped at this age. Actually, never thought I'd be kidnapped at all. And if you're not gonna eat it," he added, tossing the cupcake in his mouth happily.

"Chhrriiiisss," Ror started to complain only to stop as cup cakes where shoved towards them both. She looked up at the female.

"I'm Seren, a starmaker. Yes, actually, I was 'kidnapping you'. The best way to do that was with food," she admitted shamelessly.

"She's Acheron's lady!" Chris said, grabbing the offered cupcake happily. "She's pretty, huh? Well, I get the feeling that all starmaker ladies are. Probably makes up for the ugly as hell males."

"Yep, we are and I figure it's to make up for your males as well," Seren added, then started to lead both away.

Rory, not wanting Chris to go alone, started to follow as well. She took on of the cup cakes. They did look well. "Are we.. are we all fast, as well?" she asked reluctantly.

"Yep. We're fast. Very, very fast," Selen said, enjoying this. They were so cute!

"That's cool," Chris said, mouth full of treats. "Real cool."