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"Alright, love. We'll head back and drop off your bag and the kids in the vardo," Faolan said, indicating the cat and Ziazan, who was now poking its head up and wondering why there was a feline on its owner's shoulder. "Then we'll have a bite to eat, I'll show you around, and that should give us some time before I have to get ready for work."

Faolan chuckled, petting the cat. "I think Zia will survive. I'd be more worried about the cat." He took her bag from her, shouldering it easily, then held her hand, leading her back towards the carnival.

"Sure, if the cat likes playing with scarves. I more or less meant that Zia won't be little forever and woe be to those that picked on it when it was," Fao said, looking back at the little Essentic.

"Damn straight," Zia agreed before tucking itself back in the hood.

"Just hiding this time," Ziazan said from inside the hood.

Faolan just chuckled and shook his head, clearly bemused by his Essentic. With the cat on his shoulders and his lady at his side, he felt like things were definitely starting to look up for him. He led Ellandra through the streets back toward the fairgrounds Farstep had taken residence at for the while.

"Ah, home," Fao said, pausing a moment to breathe in the smells of the carnival. He looked at Ellandra. "Stay close, love. I don't want you getting lost in the crowd."

Dodging around performers either going to or coming from acts, side-stepping a rogue goat, and avoiding the clowns (those drunken bastards!) was all par for the course in a normal day in Farstep. Fao greeted people he knew, nodded politely to those he didn't, and managed to dodge a boot thrown at him by Keagan when they passed the old man's vardo. Yep, it was a typical day in the carnival.

After some walking and another avoidance of clowns (and possibly a caffeinated baboon), they arrived at a vardo similar to Keagan's, only painted black with silver accents. Fao smiled at Ellandra, clearly proud of his home, even if it was only a fourth the size of her apartment. He bounded up the stairs and opened the door, not even bothered by the fact it wasn't locked and went in, setting Ellandra's overnight bag on the table and letting the cat down on the bed.

"Home sweet vardo," he said, flopping down on the bed, Zia flying up from the jacket hood to perch on a dresser. Rags mewed and went to settle on the young man's stomach.

Faolan shrugged, idly rubbing Rags' ears. "I don't think he'd have thrown anything if he'd seen you with me. At least, I'd like to think he wouldn't." He held a hand up to Ellandra. "Here, come lay with my awhile before we go eat, okay? Give you some time to get used to the place."

Faolan stretched a bit, then relaxed, completely at home with Elle and Rags sharing the bed with him. He wasn't even bothered by the haphazard way his belongings had literally been tossed into the vardo (probably by his dad) when they'd been brought back from the tent. He nuzzled Ellandra's hair a bit, feeling quite at peace.

"Fao!" came a yell from just outside the open door. "Are you in there, you hellspawned b*****d?"

The young man sat up, pushing the cat off his stomach and tried to make it to the door before a woman not much younger than he came in. "Oh, hey, Marie. I was just, um, coming to let you in. Looks like the door was open. Hi. How are you?"

"Stow it, a*****e," the woman barked, glowering at him. "You managed to forget our date, didn't you? I waited four hours for you to show up last night. You had better have a good excuse."

"Does love at first sight count?" Fao asked, being answered with a hard slap across the face. "I'll take that as a no. I'd have been here, Marie, but I was unconscious at Elle's apartment across town."

The woman looked around Fao at Ellandra and scowled, the smacked Fao again. "You two-timing b*****d! Here I am, waiting on you all this time and you're off cheating on me with this one." She pointed at Ellandra, then smacked Fao again for good measure.

Faolan kept himself firmly between Marie and Ellandra, trying to avoid being slapped or worse by the angry woman. "To be fair, it's not cheating if we haven't even dated yet." He was slapped again a few more times and punched once or twice, too, before the woman finally left. He stepped to the door and called out. "See? This is why it never would've worked out. You're far too much woman for me." He ducked a rock hurled at his head and shut the door as a few more hit it from outside, then looked at Ellandra. "Never a dull moment."

Faolan leaned casually against the door, ignoring the thumps of a few more rocks hitting from outside. "People don't throw things at me that often, Elle. Marie's just mad. Honestly, this would've happened regardless. I was going to stand her up anyway. She scares the hell out of me. No idea why I agreed to go on a date." When the thumps finally stopped, he opened the door and peeked out, then shut the door and walked over to Elle. "I'm sorry for that. It's not something you're going to have to see anymore, unless you take up a habit of hitting me or hurling small objects at my head."

He moved some clothes out of the way and sat at the foot of the bed, resting his forearms on his knees. He was starting to wonder if this was a good idea to bring the girl here again. It'd never occurred to him before that some people might not be approving of the casual lifestyles led by those around the carnival. He looked up at the door, listening, but it seemed as if Angry Rock Lady had finally given up. Looking back at Elle, he gave a very shy smile. "Coast is clear if you want to get something to eat."