Welcome to Gaia! ::

A bright orange Feien floated lazily into the shop. A string tied around his waist held a small vial with a swirling black mass in it. He smiled as his absently played with it, landing on the windowsill. He noticed many Feien in the shop now. He scanned the room half-heartedly, until he came upon one which he thought he knew...

"Ruya?" eek

Ruya whirled at the sound of Neruo's voice, smiling widely.

"Neruo? Hi! I haven't seen you in a while!"

She started in his direction, only to remember he hadn't seen her since she had grown. She stopped and twirled quickly for him before adding, rather unnecessarily, "I grew up!"

Sunil scooched out and peeked over the edge of the shelf again, recognizing Neruo's voice. Stupid feien. She shook her head at them and then retreated again. It seemed like someone was getting closer, but she was probably imagining it. Getting paranoid or something.

Neruo fluttered over to her, smiling. He finally landed near her and stood to his full height against her. Measley, he knew, but highly entertaining. He laughed aloud, seeing how short he was now.

"My my! The little lady has grown quite a bit! Where was I when this happened?" he chuckled. "Has Silva seen you, or am I the last to know?"

He detatched the vial from around his waist, handing it to Ruya. The purple swirls within the glass seemed to quicken their pace.

"I was out learning potion-concoction, and I made you this. It's a warping potion. I thought you might like the colors."

He smiled and waved to the other Feien, bowing politely.

Ruya sobered mildly at the mention of Silva, but kept smiling. It was good to see Neruo again.

"Silva has seen me, but you're hardly the last to know. You haven't been around much lately."

She reached out and took the potion he handed her gingerly before holding it up tot he light.

"It is very pretty Neruo, thank you. But what does it do?"

Ruya glanced apologetically over at Ava, realizing she had skipped out in the middle of a conversation. Hopefully the juvenile would be understanding.

Sunil scowled and pulled her head back into the shelf, looking behind her.

"Stop trying to sneak up on me." She hissed quietly, not wanting to look crazy when nothing happened.

Neruo laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, if you do intend to use it...just throw it against the floor, and the resulting smoke will transport you somewhere within a 10 yard radius. I made it myself."

He smiled to Ruya and floated over to one of the new Feien. She was white and red, he noticed, and he had never seen her before. He walked up to her, hand outstretched in greeting.

"Hello! I'm Neruo. You must be new. Enchante."

Sunil opened her mouth and then shut it as Quantel appeared out of the shadows. That was unexpected. As was the fact Quantel had clearly grown into a very beautiful adult. Sunil opened her mouth again, trying to force the words out.

"You're back."

Brilliant, she thought to herself. Quantel returns and all she can come up with is the obvious. She tried again.

"Hi."

Pure genius. Seriously. Sunil sighed and looked away, totally embarassed.

Ruya made her way back over to the windowsill to study the potion Neruo had given her. It was an interesting gift and would potentially be very useful in some situation. Sometime she would have to ask him about how he made it.

Neruo smiled. "Enchante. It's nothing bad. It's French for 'enchanted to meet you'. It's just a fancy was of saying 'hello'. I learned quite a bit while I was gone."

He took a lock of his hair and pulled it straight, letting it go and watching it boucne back into place. "I'm glad you like it." he said, "My hair, I mean. It's good to play with if you're bored."

He glanced at the two-toned Feien and offered her a hand in greeting as well.

"You have...different-colored eyes. My, I am observant, aren't I?" He chuckled, glad that she, too, was friendly. So many new faces to remember! He liked this very much. He folded his wings down again, watching Ruya out of the corner of his eye.

"When did you two arrive, and, are you related are something? Or just close friends? What element might you be?" He was startled suddenly by his rudeness. "Ahh...sorry. Playing sudden 20 questions with you. I'm just curious."

Neruo stretched, seeing that it was time to go. He bowed and thanked both Irisa and Ava for meeting with him, and floated towards the window. He stopped at Ruya, smiling up at her. His gray eyes shined a bit and he gave her a warm hug.

"It's so glad to see you again. Unfortunately, I must be off now, but feel free to drop in on us at any time. You're always welcome."

He waved at everyone who could see him and floated towards home.

Neruo floated into the shop, rustling his hair and landing on the nearest couch. He looked around, seeing the shop empty, and sat down. He pulled open his notebook and an empty vial and began to take notes. He set the vial next to him and absently played with his hair as he took notes.


Ava flew into the shop via an open window and landed on the nearest table, this time with no extra steps or flailing for balance. She was getting pretty good at her landings, which pleased her, she hated not being able to land properly.

She looked around the shop and thought it empty until her emerald eyes landed on a bright orange feien. She smiled to herself and took to the air again, heading in his direction. She landed a little bit back from him and walked the rest of the way, giving him a swift wave.

"Hi Neruo, I'm glad to see you."


Neruo looked up, not at all startled, and smiled. It was the white one again! Irisa's sister! Talon's daughter.

"How nice to see you again! How are you?"


Ava laced her fingers together in front of her and smiled down at Neruo, not exactly sure if he wanted company or not. He was reading, but then again, he wouldn't have greeted her if he didn't want company.

"I'm good," She said after a moment, sitting down in front of him and crossing her legs. "I haven't seen any new feien since that night I met you, but I don't really mind. How have you been?"


He set down the book a moment and looked at her, smiling.

"I've been very good, thank you. I just got back from lessons in alchemy and potion-making. I learned a great deal, which is why I gave Ruya that potion. I'm making more, too, and I'm reading these notes. The alchemist gave these to me."

He folded his wings and scooted over. "Would you like to sit down? I'd love some company."


Ava smiled and went over to the spot where Neruo had made room for her, sitting down next to him. She folded her wings in against her back and looked over at him, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap.

"What was that like?" She queried, tilting her head and absently examining his curly hair from where she sat. "I've never been anywhere other than around Rhia's house and here."


"It was...interesting, to say the least. Redix, the alchemist, was very nice to me. I love learning and helping people, so he helped me focus on making potions that heal. I'm trying to learn magic like that, too." He smiled and stretched, leaning back a bit. He blinked and looked at her.

"You must be very young to not have left the house yet. How young are you?" He chuckled. "I feel so old..."


"That does sound interesting," Ava nodded slightly, causing her spike of hair to bob up and down. "My bond, Rhia, she can heal things without potions. Though she's kind of... mean."

The black-haired feien trailed off for a moment, her brow furrowing as she thought about Rhia. She shook her head and put a smile upon her lips again, turning her emerald eyes over to Neruo. "She teases me, about alot of things, but I think deep down she does like me. At least a little. Anyways, I'm currently ten days old, I don't know if I'm the youngest out of my siblings or not. I haven't met Kookaberra yet, and I've never actually asked Raylan or Irisa when they were born."


"Ten days old? My, you're so young!" he said, patting her shoulder. "I'm almost four months old. I feel like an elder or something. But I'm glad I don't look that way."

He took out the book again and showed it to Ava. "You said that your bond heals people without a potion? That's amazing! My bond, Lu...she...umm...Well, nevermind. If Rhia gets too mean to you, or you need a place to stay, I'm sure Lu wouldn't mind at all. I like having company."

He traced his finger through the book. "Would you like to learn?"


Ava smiled at the comment about her age and the friendly pat on the shoulder he gave her. She was rather young compared to him, wasn't she?

"You're not that old," She pointed out, her voice slightly amused. "You're still a juvenile after all, just like me."

Her smile faltered slightly as he mentioned Rhia and that she was welcome to stay with them if her bond ever got too mean. What exactly did he mean by that? She could put up with Rhia's teasing, though it did hurt her feelings at times. Rhia would never actually hurt her... would she?

"Maybe I will come over sometime, just for a visit." Ava cleared her throat to rid her voice of the slight quaver it held before looking over to study the book Neruo held. She decided it would be best not to comment on his reaction to Rhia being able to heal others without potions...

"I think I would like to learn, yes. Will you teach me some things?"



"I'd love to have you over for a visit sometime! No Feien has seen my house yet, or met my bond. I'm sure Lu would love to see you, especially with your colors. She's an artist, so I can imagine her clucking over your every beck and call."

He chuckled again, enjoying her company. Her voice did waver, and he heard it, but didn't want to disturb her by asking about it. He rather liked her company, and didn't want to ruin in by asking unnecessary things.

"I'll teach you whatever you'd like, as long as I know it's safe..."

He looked down a moment, thinking. "I wonder what it's like to be an...adult."


"I don't think I would really need anything if I came for a visit," She smiled, feeling a little awkward at the prospect of someone actually doing what she asked. "I don't really know a whole lot about, well, alot of things. But I think I'd like to learn about the healing stuff you mentioned. Rhia is really good at it, though she doesn't need any help, I'd like to be able to heal things like she can."

Unlike her bond, Ava found the idea of healing to be useful to others, not just herself, but she would never admit that out loud. Her ears perked a bit at Neruo's last statement. She looked over at him and thought about it for a moment, "Well, I'd like to think that it's better than being a child. You'll be an adult for a longer period of time than you will a child, so it would be nice if it was enjoyable."

She gave the slightly taller feien a lopsided grin, her green eyes sparkling, "Plus, when I get older maybe I won't be the shortest feien out of the ones I know."


"It would certainly be interesting to be an adult," he said, "and it's funny how I'm now shorter than Ruya, when I was taller than her but a week or so ago. It's funny, I think." He stood, stretching to his full...short height. He found it amusing, and smiled down at Ava. She didn't seem short, but he never really paid that much attention to it.

"Do you have any hobbies, or are you still exploring the world? I don't remember much about my first month being...born..."


"You'll most likely be taller than her again, when you grow up." Ava looked up at him and blinked a few times, her fingers idly playing with one another. Her brow creased slightly as she thought about what he said.

"Well, I haven't really found anything that I like yet. But like you said, it's probably because I'm still so new," She shrugged lightly. "I like listening to Rhia sing, she has a very pretty voice, though I think she would be mad if she knew I listened to her. I don't think that counts as a hobby though."


Neruo thought a moment. "You should experiment. Try as many new things as possible. That's how I found my love of potion-concoction. I just...tried everything I could. There's no hurry, though, really. Sometimes it's just nice to sit...and do nothing."

He sat down again and laid back, his arms behind his head. "Your bond sings? Lu can't do that. I asked her once, and she refused. Maybe she's bad? I didn't want to ask." He tugged at one of his curls.

"I should practice more calligraphy one of these days..."


Ava unfolded her hands and placed them slightly behind her body, leaning back on them and turning her head to look down at Neruo.

"Yes, she's very good at it." Ava looked down at his markings for a moment. "I tried singing once, but I was so horrible I embarrassed myself, even though I was alone."

She smiled and looked back up as he played with his hair. She felt the urge to reach up and play with her own hair, the hair that stuck up and never stayed down, but she didn't want to draw attention to it. She was still rather touchy about that.

"Calligraphy, that's like different styles of writing, isn't it?" She frowned slightly before brightening, "Rhia can write in a few different styles, though she likes cursive the best. She's really good at writing in cursive, she writes like that in this diary that we keep. I'd like to learn to write in cursive, do you know how?"


Neruo smiled. "I'm sure you're very good at singing, even though you may not think so. I personally have never tried, nor do I want to. It seems like so much work...but the end result is very beautiful."

He looked around the shop for a quill and paper. Seeing some on a desk, he went to fetch it. Floating back to her, he set down the quill and paper.

"Calligraphy is a fancy way of writing. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's fun to do. If you like drawing, all you have to do is make a huge capital letter..." He demonstrated with a large capital 'A'. "...and make lots of pretty swirls and designs around it." Though choppy, Neruo smiled while he was inking more strange designs around the letter. He thought it was fun.

He then picked up another blank sheet of paper and handed the quill to Ava. "You go ahead and try. Cursive isn't exactly the same, but I don't know how to do that yet. Lu writes in a strange combination of cursive and print. I'll have to show it to you sometime."


Ava watched intently as Neruo drew the letter 'A' and then added designs to and around it. Her smile widened slightly as she watched him and he commented on her singing. It was just a polite thing to say, he had never actually heard her sing, but it still made her feel better.

She blinked and looked up at him as he handed her the paper and the quill. She accepted them both from him, but she didn't write on them right away. She knew how to write of course, it was just she had never tried any type of writing other than normal block letters. She set the piece of paper down in front of her and rolled the quill in her hand for a moment.

"I'm not sure if I know how to do what you did," She said, not exactly wanting to write anything in front of someone else. Neruo's writing was slightly crude, yes, but it was very beautiful just the same. She knew hers would be ugly beyond all reason, completely hideous next to his. "I've... I've drawn a flower before. I know that's not writing, but I thought it was fairly good. If calligraphy is kind of a cross between writing and drawing, maybe I should get better at that before trying to write the way you do."


"Well, I say, do whatever's most comfortable for you. It's not good to force yourself to do anything. It's wasted effort and energy, too. Sometimes I just like to lie around the house. I'm sometimes very lazy. But I like it."

He crossed his legs and fiddled with his hair. He was beginning to consider her a friend, and he liked it. He loved meeting new people, and was excited to tell Lu about her.

"Your sister is very nice, too, like you. Do you have any other siblings?"


Ava turned to look up at him for a moment before looking back down at the paper and quill in her hands. She pursed her lips for a moment and then looked back up at the orange feien, "Would it be alright if I tried to draw you?"

She knew it was a rather odd request, with having just met him a day or so ago. But after much trepidation she had shown her drawing of the flower to her bond, and Rhia had seemed very surprised at just how good it was. Maybe she could draw Neruo, that would be nice.

"I have three siblings," She said, turning her body so she fully faced the other feien. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but this way he couldn't see the paper she would be drawing on - whether it was him or something else. She drew her legs up towards her chest and laid the paper on her thighs as she continued, "Kookaberra and Irisa are my sisters, and Raylan is my brother. Irisa is very nice, and from what I saw so was Raylan. I haven't met Kookaberra yet, but I'm sure she's very nice as well."


He chuckled, trying to sit still. "I don't mind if you draw me at all. I like to paint, myself, but...it really doesn't look like much of anything. Lu calls it 'impressionism'. Maybe that's a fancy word for 'crappy?"

He tried to imagine siblings...and a family. "I have Lu and many roommates, but no siblings. I'm very glad they're nice to you. I'd feel bad if they weren't...And I did not know you had so many siblings! I'd like to meet them sometime!"

His orange wings fluttered a bit, one orange feather popping out of its place, landing near Neruo's leg. He shrugged.


Ava watched the feather flutter to the ground for a moment before turning her eyes back to Neruo. "No one lives in Rhia's house except for me, though she has two friends that visit every now and then. And I'm sure you'll get to meet all my siblings sometime."

She smiled, amusement dancing in her emerald eyes as she turned them towards the paper and drew an experimental line along the top, testing to see how fast the ink flowed from the quill. She studied Neruo for a moment and set the quill to work on the paper, pausing and looking up at him every so often to study something. "Tell me about your bond and the roommates you have, it must be neat to live with alot of people."


"You aren't lonely?" he asked quietly. He shrugged, figuring that some people wouldn't like a house as...lively as his. He thought of all the creatures and children he shared a home with.

"Well, there are so many, it's hard to keep track of everyone. There're five Fae-creatures, Patience, Jung, Faustus, Hikaru...so many creatures. It's very...active over at my place, but it's not angry or sad. It's happy, and I like it that way. Lu tries hard to keep track of everyone, but there are so many..." He chuckled at the thought of Lu trying to serve dinner to everyone at the house.


Ava stopped what seemed to be swift, erratic strokes of the quill on the paper and she looked blankly up at Neruo. Lonely? She thought about that for a moment and blinked a few times, realizing that what he said had triggered something inside of her. Was she lonely...

Neruo had a caring bond, at least from what he had said, and he had a house full of happy roommates, friends. People that cared for him and worried about him if something happened or if he was gone. She didn't have anyone like that. Sure, she had Rhia, but she couldn't really share things with her bond, she knew the demoness cared for her, in her own strange way... but it wasn't the same.

Yes, she was lonely. Very lonely. But she decided not to say anything to the curly-haired feien. Instead, she put the smile on her face again and lowered the quill away from the paper when she noticed her hand was trembling slightly. "It must be really fun to have so many people living with you. I'm sure you're never lonely, but having so many people in the house all at once, don't you get in each others way at times?"


"Oh yes, we get into each other's way many times, but I'm glad that most, if not all, of my roommates are good-natured about it. Lu's a spazz sometimes, but she means well. Is Rhia a human? Lu isn't, but she still tries her best to provide for everyone. I think she'd really like for you to pose for her sometimes. She's practicing painting like I am, but she uses oils..."

He caught himself rambling on again. He watched Ava silently for a moment, then smiled. "You're always welcome, but it may be odd for you to have so much activity in one place. I share a room with the quieter ones, so I do have somewhat of a retreat..."


"I'd be happy to pose for your bond sometime," Ava murmured softly as she lowered her eyes back to the sketch she had started, hoping she didn't seem too distant or troubled at the moment. Neruo was very nice, and she liked him already, she hoped she wasn't being bothersome or boring. Her hand set the quill to work on the paper again, when she was sure it was steady and wouldn't ruin what she was creating.

"I believe Rhia is a demon of some kind," She said absently, focusing her attention on the sketch, perhaps more so than was necessary. "She doesn't like to talk about herself a whole lot, but she's very exotic looking. It's hard to describe her, but she has a tail, and some horns. Her ears are really long and floppy, and she has fangs and wings."

Ava frowned for a moment and stilled her hand, "Come to think of it, she always wears these really big, black sunglasses. I've never seen her eyes before, I wonder what color they are..."


Neruo thought a moment. Lu didn't look too strange, but he wasn't sure what to classify a mancubus as, exactly. "She sounds very interesting. She has wings like yours? Lu is a mancubus, she says. I'm not sure if that is a demon or not. I haven't asked..."

He folded his wings in thought, but tried to minimize movement for her. He looked thoughtfully at her wings, wondering if leathery wings were better for flying.

"Lu has a pair of horns, too, but they are like a ram's. No tail, though. She has grey eyes, and doesn't wear much clothing. She says she feels like a 'slut' sometimes, but she says clothing irritates her skin. I'd still like to see Rhia sometime. Maybe I could paint her? Or you?"


The tip of Ava's tongue stuck out between her lips, near the corner of her mouth, as she continued to scribble maddeningly onto the paper. She paused for a moment to look back up at Neruo, studying his wings for a moment before starting the motions all over again.

"Mm.. no, her wings are more like yours, with feathers, only they're black and white. Though they're very big, she can't open them all the way unless she's flying." She looked up again and a small giggle escaped her lips before she could stop it, "Rhia says that alot about the way she dresses too. It's kind of funny, but I shouldn't laugh, she gets angry very easily. Her horns are black, and her tail is black too, with a triangle shape on the end. She has alot of piercings, in her ears and her lip, and she has one on her eyebrow. She has some others... but she doesn't want me to talk about those."

She pursed her lips together and set a serious look on her face again, turning her attention back to the sketch. She was pleased at the progress it showed, though it wasn't near completion, it was beginning to look like Neruo. Or at least his head and the tops of his wings. "I wouldn't mind if you painted me, but I think Rhia wouldn't want a portrait of her drawn. She's not a very social person, I think that's why she lives in the middle of a forest."

Ava shrugged slightly, her hand now slowing and shortening the strokes she made on the paper, "I've never heard of a mancubus before, Rhia once mentioned an incubus she knew a long time ago, though she didn't say how long ago she knew him. Are they similar?"


Neruo turned his head a moment and studied his own wings. Feathers, like his, she said...he wondered if she could fly well with such large wings. He himself could not fly quickly, though he wished he could. That would take practice, and he decided then that he needed to do so.

"Well, I'll do my best to paint a good portrait of you. No guarantees, though." He couldn't help it, but his mouth became a lopsided grin. The thought of him trying to paint something recognizable was entertaining, to say the least.

"Incubus? Lu said her father was an incubus. I don't know much about her mother, though, except that she was some sort of demoness. She doesn't know that I know this, but...She goes out at night every once in a while to...Ahh, well how's that picture coming?"

He didn't want to scare her. She seemed so innocent and sweet. He didnt want to tell her how his bond went out and consumed someone every week or so...


Ava's bright eyes flickered up to Neruo for a moment as he didn't finish the thought. Perhaps he thought her oblivious, being so young. She wouldn't blame him really, she would have no clue as to how demons acted... if her bond hadn't been one.

"Yes, Rhia was grinning when she mentioned her friend, she said that though they weren't really close emotionally, they were very close physically." Ava shifted positions, seeming to be a little uncomfortable. "From what I've learned, Rhia's race of demon has long since been extinct. She's the last of her kind, and I think that might be a good thing."

She stopped drawing for a moment and looked up at him, smiling a little. "Don't get me wrong, I do like her, it's just she can be very... violent at times. She eats meat, raw, sometimes I don't even know what species it's from. And she has a friend who comes over every other day or so." Ava's throat closed for a moment and her eyes seem to lose focus, "She thinks I don't notice, I guess, or maybe she thinks it doesn't bother me. She feeds off him, I've seen it happen before. Sometimes... sometimes I'm actually afraid of her. I stay up some nights thinking about it, of her, what she's capable of doing. What she might do to me someday if I push her too far..."

She blinked a few times and her emerald eyes focused on him again. She tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a explosive sigh. Why on earth had she just told him all that? She had never been so open with someone before, not even her father or siblings. This almost scared her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking to you about this. I-I'm done with your head and shoulders, I'm sketching out your wings at the moment. Would you like to see?"


He watched her as she spoke, thinking he saw her tremble a bit. He felt a pang of guilt swhen she explained how frightening her bond was. He felt lucky, too, to have a bond with a sense of justice and morals as Lu did.

"I'm so sorry you have to live like that...Lu and Rhia are different, yet...they are quite alike..." He trailed off, looking into the table thoughtfully. Though Lu was a mancubus, and she did consume people on a fairly regular basis, she only attacked criminals and the scum of society. She would never hurt anyone else.

"If you ever need to, you can stay with us. I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you."

He stood up and walked over to her, hoping to lighten the mood. He bent over to look at the picture over her shoulder. He clapped, delighted.

"MUCH better than I could've done! You're amazing! It must come naturally, to have a drawing be so realistic..."


"You've said that already, at least once." Ava stated softly, referring towards the offer to stay at Neruo's home if she ever needed to. Despite her current unease she was able to find a genuine smile for the brightly colored feien and she shrugged her shoulders a bit, not wanting to talk anymore about Rhia at the moment. "I will though. Thank you."

She felt a light warmth creep into her cheeks as he clapped and commented on her drawing. She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling happily. "You really think it's good? I didn't think my drawings were, but maybe that's just because I was the one who drew them. When I'm finished with it I'd like to take it home with me to color in, I'll show you the colored version when I'm done. I should be able to finish sketching it out now though."


"Yes...sorry." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just...really concerned. That's all."

He kneeled down beside her, smiling. "Yes! It's very good! You're very talented, I think. I can't draw well enough to do anything even close to that. I do impressionistic work - stuff that, if you stand far enough away, looks like something. Close up, it's just masses of color. That's me, though. Too lazy to do detail."


Ava smiled and nodded her head, her cowlick bobbing up and down as she did so. "Yes, I understand what you mean. I guess drawing came naturally for me, I think I have a really good perception of proportions and shading, things like that."

She looked back down at the sketch and shrugged a little, "I've been gone for awhile, Rhia might get mad if I stay out for too long. Will you be back here later? I'd like to finish my sketch, but I think I should go back home before she comes looking for me. Do these belong to anyone?" She indicated the paper and the quill she held in her hand, raising one eyebrow.

"If not, I'd like to take them with me. I think I can work on it a little while I'm at home, but I'll need to see you again before I start on your body or something major like that." She played with the quill for a moment before looking back up to her friend. "Maybe I can come visit you soon? That way I can meet your bond and work on the sketch some more. Do you think you could write me up directions to your house?"


Neruo nodded. Home sounded good as well. He took up the quill and paper, assuming that someone left it there. "I don't see why you couldn't take these with you. If there's any dispute, I can give them my quill and paper. No big deal."

He stood up and unfolded his wings, scratching them in places. "I'd love for you to come over. You see that clump of trees over there?" He pointed out the nearest window to the group of trees but a mile or so from the shop. "We live right through there. Not too far from here at all. Of course, it seems far to me, since I'm pretty slow."

He chuckled again, extending his hand to shake Ava's. "It was very nice to talk to you! I'd love to see you again sometime."


"If anyone notices them missing, just tell me. I don't want to cause trouble, I'll promptly return them both to their rightful owner." Ava smiled and nodded a little, "I like the quill, it's very pretty. It's the same color as Rhia's hair... or at least half of it."

She toyed with the crimson hued quill for a moment before studying the cluster of trees the taller feien pointed out. She grinned slightly as he commented on his speed. "I doubt you're slower than I am."

She reached over and firmly grasped the hand he extended, shaking it up and down once before letting go. "I guess I have a souvenir now, more or less. I'll put the quill and the paper to good use. It was very nice seeing you again, I think it's safe to say you're my first friend outside my family. I'll stop by your house sometime, is there any specific day that would be best for you? I'm rather anxious to get the sketch finished. Or is it better this way-" She held the paper up again to show him the drawing she had done and frowned slightly, "-just your head and shoulders and the tops of your wings? I guess it's what's called a bust at the moment."


He smiled. "I think I am the slowest, actually, and a bust is fine. Whatever you like best, I'll be very happy with." He bowed to her again, and floated to the window, waving.

"I must be off now. Wouldn't want to worry Lu. Goodbye!"


Ava smiled and nodded, watching him fly off and giving him a short wave.

"Goodbye, and thank you." Though she spoke too softly for him to hear, she didn't think it mattered either way. She looked back down at the sketch and smiled, very pleased with it. He was right, she was good. Clutching the paper in one hand and the quill in the other, she took to the air and flew out the same window Neruo had a moment ago.

An orange-haired Feien, still clad in his Halloween "costume", floated into the shop. His costume consisted of a decently-stitched balck shirt with an orange pumpkin in the center. Around the pumpkin, in orange letters, it read "This IS my costume".

Neruo's orange wings stretched as he floated down to the couch arm, looking aroudn for that ilucive roster Irisa was talking to him about...

Neruo turned about, hearing the voice of the Feien he was thinking of while planting his nose firmly into the roster she told him about. A couple of new Feien had emerged since last he checked.

He smiled and greeted her with a polite bow. He looked down at his shirt, saying, "Yes. Lu somehow managed to sit still long enough to make something for me. I'm too lazy to take it off, though. I'm getting kind of...attached to it."

He floated over to her. "Learned any new magic yet?"

"Magic?"

There was a bright voice from somewhere near the cash register; a small Feien unfolded, from what looked to be either night-tanning or a nap, pale-grey with leathery bat-wings cloaked around the slim shoulders.

"Sorry to interrupt," he apologized, smooth as butter, trying and failing to smooth down the medusa-locks of whiteblue hair trailing around his shoulders like a cloud. "God, I must have fallen asleep, how ignominious. Quelle horreur."

Neruo turned a head, laying eyes upon another Feien he'd never seen before. This one was...gray. He giggled, his curls bobbing rhythmically.

"Ca va? It's the only French I know." he said.

"Parlez-vous Francais," the new Feien said joyfully, watching them both, "and that's all I know, really, so don't believe for one second that I am at all cultured."

He stood, stretching, mass of hair shivering behind him as he worked out the kinks in his neck. "Do you know, you're the first Feien I've ever met? Two at once, too. What an amazing thing, darlings."

The wings unfolded; he alighted down near them, fussily trying to make his hair sit again and all in vain. "Irisa. Like the flower. And you, pumpkin?"

"If by spells you mean...Well, no. Now that I think about it, I haven't really gotten anything for a while. Although, I have to admit, I've been deviating from the spell sort of track and gone into alchemy. I guess that would explain why I haven't learned anything in a while. I suppose I should read up on that, since I may need it in the future..."

He turned to the exotic Feien, forgetting to introduce himself. "I'm Neruo, by the way. Pleasure to meet you."

"Neruo." He obviously committed them both to memory. "Irisa. Neruo. I'm much obliged to make your acquaintance. Forgive my manners, I don't know where my head's at today."

The new Feien smiled, very white, and his grey eyes were piercing on them both. "My name's Cascati. Do call me Casca, it seems nicer that way."

Neruo bowed to Casca as well, liking the way his hair turned from white to blue. He wondered if that was a mutation as well.

"Pleased to meet you, Casca. Are you new? I mean, were you summoned recently?"

Cascati laughed, folding his wings over his shoulders again; though if it was for warming was another matter, since the air around the pale Feien was particularly crisp.

"Don't stop your idle chat for me, honey-love. I love idle chats. Like Neruo's noticed - I must be so gauche - I'm very new. Barely unwrapped, sweethearts, so I hope I don't seem all country-mouse to you."

His eyes roamed over them both, hungry for detail; he devoured in Irisa's dark hair and bicoloured eyes, Neruo's tangled orange curls, the shape of them standing together. "Were you talking shop? Magic?"

Neruo nodded. "Yes. Irisa wants to learn lots of magic, as far as I can tell. I myself don't particularly care much. I prefer alchemy. But I would like to learn some healing spells or other white magic, just in case. You never know."

He folded his wings, blinking at the pattern covering Casca's pale body. Another mutation, perhaps?

"Consider yourselves far, far more ahead than I am with the bibbidy-bobbity-boo," Cascati admitted, lazily, one finger tracing circles in the air. "I don't feel at all magical yet, though considering I live in the house with His Royal Summoning-ness it's no wonder I feel particularly mundane in comparison. I'm sure he's a perfect dear, though."

Heat. Earth and cold. That would be something to remember. The Ice Feien opened his mouth to comment when two other voices startled him out of his reverie; he focused on Nero and Div, drinking them in with the same intensity he had given Irisa and Neruo, squinting as if they were not quite in focus.

"Do I know you?" he asked, slow and sweet. "You seem... Familiar, though I'd never forget those faces."

Neruo waved to his friend and bowed politely to the "queen".

He sighed. "I must be going. Sorry, but...Lu said to be back by a certain time. Very nice to meet you, Casca, and it was very good to see you again, Irisa and Nero. But I musy be off. Goodbye!"

As he floated out the window, he waved to the "queen"...