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It was a miracle if Kitten had ever seen one - Vanyel willingly, and almost excitedly, going to the park instead of the library. Granted, there was a book under the girl's arm, as there always was, but at least this book wasn't full of boring facts. No, THIS book had plot and twists and characters and although Vanyel had been quite hesitant to begin reading through the "mindless" pages, the girl was now quite absorbed with the characters and it would only be a matter of time before the book would be finished and Vanyel would make her way back to the less than cheerful library.

Kitten, spotting a few people she recognized, told Vanyel where she'd be and how long they'd be staying at the park. Though the girl was old enough by now to do the things she wanted on her own time, the two had agreed to more or less "stick together" though this little adventure. More so, Kitten had begun missing seeing her daughter all the time as she had when Vanyel'd been little more than waist high on her. She didn't tell Vanyel this, for feel of getting a lecture about 'how life works.'

Vanyel wandered for a bit, fingers tracing over the edge of the pages of the book she simply couldn't wait to start. After a bit she'd pause somewhere about the 'middle' of the park so she could scope out the best possible reading area. It took her a bit, twisting and turning awkwardly as if she couldn't simply pick up her feet and swivel properly. Without warning, once her head had turned back front-row-center, she noticed there was quite suddenly a boy in front of her, that had been no where in sight when she'd been casting about her curious glances. He wasn't all that short for his age, a plain but elegant attire, black hair, and little flecks of red all about the place. The boy looked grumpy, but more so seemed to be watching her with a gaze that was quite "disapproving".

"Ehm...can I help you?" Vanyel asked tentatively. Most children just look grumpy, as Vanyel had come to the conclusion long ago, but this one looked like he was directly upset about something and it was quite possibly entirely her fault.

The boy scoffed, rolling dark eyes in their frames of red. "Obviously not. You can't even seem to help yourself. Standing there looking like a stork without a home. Though perhaps stork is the wrong word, for those creatures are at least somewhat appealing to the eye." Orpheus looked over his shoulder slightly, where apparently Qadir had also found comfort in talking to the same group Kitten had recently joined. "You'll give us all a bad name you know, if you keep acting weird." The way the boy said us just seemed to radiate secrets, and it wasn't too hard to figure out the secret had to do with the peculiar nature of the two.

Vanyel's lips turned poutish at Orpheus' words, and it was the best she could do not to be rude and reply. There would have been little to insult the boy with however, all for his immaculate appearance as such. Perhaps mock the little red marks around his eyes? To what purpose? So that he might attack her own unique markings? Pass. Vanyel wasn't much of one to get into a fight with another anyway. Let them be as they want to.

Fingers traced once more along the edge of her book as she thought to herself, before she simply smiled and shrugged at his words, "You belong in a book somewhere kid," was all she said, letting him infer either his own insults or compliments from her words. Hopefully the jab at his youngster status would be the real kicker in her reply. Anything else would not be said however, as a sweet voice filled the air and both the scent babies would turn to look at the ancient Goddess clad woman before them.

"Hello Kaoru," Orpheus replied without batting an eye, turning back to Vanyel with a snort. He's live much longer than her whether he was younger at this point in time or not. Jabs at his age were little more than thinly veiled attempts at insult which failed miserably. Orpheus was more mature than the girl any day of course. As for a book character - of course he'd be the dashing prince that everyone loved and took care of. Well, that wasn't too far from the truth.

Vanyel would smile warmly at the other girl, though her eyes twinkled with happiness for sight of a scent baby that was no longer a baby. And a girl to top it off. Besides books, it was the next thing in line that made Vanyel happy as a clam. "How nice to see you again," the girl replied with a slight blush. She'd had forgotten the other's name, but at least Orpheus had supplied it for her. "What are you doing out at the park on such a lovely day? Are you here with your mother?" Vanyel asked, leaning to the side a bit to peer at the growing group of adults who would likely not even notice if their child had disappeared.

"Don't be so insensitive stork," Orpheus replied with a bit of a waspish tone to his voice, frowning with that disapproving stare once more in her direction.

Name calling was, in all honesty, a rare thing for Orpheus, but he was still a child after all (much to his personal distaste, for how dare Kaoru grow up before him while he'd so very clearly been in existence for a considerably longer amount of time than she) and so it was not so completely unheard of for him to take unkindly to new people. Especially to new people that made their little race of scent creatures look like loons. "Qadir likes to come here when he's missing Crystal," the boy replied with a slight lift to his shoulders that could almost have passed unseen. "It's been hard on him..." Orpheus seemed to feel the need to add, actually allowing a hint of concern into his voice as he spoke. Of course it would be considerably harder for Kaoru and Crystal's family, the recent events had no doubt been equally as harming for the older vampire.

Vanyel didn't seem very phased by the boy's reaction - as rudeness so very rarely went anywhere with her. Best to ignore it until they decided to show her the same respect she'd already shown them. "Not often actually. I prefer to read in the library, as it's a considerably better atmosphere to get lost in a book. However, Kitten so heavily insisted that I spend a day out in the sun. She's afraid I'll become whiter than a ghost and that visitors to the library will see me as a ghost haunting the place and not a girl that spends too much time indoors." The smile on the girl's lips as she talked showed that, despite the negative effects the library might have on her, just talking about the subject could put her in a delightful mood.

It would certainly not escape Orpheus the difference in one of his rare friends when she acted as distant as the moon, and so he would stare at her with a grumpy disposition. After a moment he would cross his arms with a soft "hmph" and turning his head to observe Qadir for a moment. They both knew what little they could do for Crystal, but whether she'd want the help was something beyond them both, and of course what with Qadir's little handicap it would be no small feat with anything else factored in. And so they continued to refrain from bringing it up while Qadir's nightmares grew worse every night.

Vanyel gave a quiet laugh and lifted up a little flashlight, clicking it a few times before tucking it back under her arm. "I've come well prepared," she said with a smile before pointing around at the scattered lights that gave the park a not-so-eerie feeling, "And I have these for help if I should need, though it does get terribly crowded around them when it gets darker."

The girl's mindless chatter was growing irritating for Orpheus, and he bristled slightly at the orange girl's complete inability to grasp how out of it Kaoru was. She was always the thing that brought him out of his grumpy moods, and it was a true testament to her good nature that she did not pale in comparison to Crystal's own compassionate ways. Orpheus scuffed the dirt with his toe and sulked instead of joining in the meaningless conversation.

Vanyel had just opened her mouth to reply with gratitude at the other teen's offering, though she did have Kitten to keep her company if she so desired it. Perhaps another time, when there wasn't a book to be interested in, the two of them could spend better time together. A sleep over perhaps - something Kitten had deviously been attempting to plan behind her daughter's back, but being consistently foiled at every turn by the citrus girl herself. The dark haired boy interrupted all those thoughts however when he, without warning, pointed in a very accusative manner at the pomegranate girl.

"I don't care what the excuse is. I forbid you to grow any further while I remain as such a child!" he declared irritably, as if to pass off his grumpy nature on the girl's instead of the other, less laughable reasons. Arms would settle once more over his chest, unhappy eyes staring up at the taller woman with the slightest of pouts upon his lips. For perhaps the first time in his existence, he looked quite like the child he was supposed to be. The cirtus girl really had nothing to say, simply staring between the two of them. In part she wanted to hug the boy and comfort him, but seeing as to how he'd no sooner apologized for his rude behavior or the stork comment, she resigned to simply let the two of them work everything out on their own.

The citrus scent was more than aware that this wasn't her place to interfere, and to be honest she had all the patience in the world. Reading a book wasn't a speedy process (well, not for most people at least), and so she had simply developed the ability to not feel the need to bother with the things going on without her for any reason. Feet were shifted after a moment, and she'd look around for a place to sit while the other two worked though...whatever it was they were working though. A sulking boy and a teenage girl. Not something that interested Vanyel enough to stick around and eavesdrop. Motioning lightly with a hand while she caught Kaoru's eyes, she motioned to a spot nearby where she intended to read. The spot was well within a good range, and the intention was that whenever they'd worked it out they could grab her attention back up easily.

Orpheus looked away when Kaoru knelt in front of him, attempting to pretend to be uninterested with her light apologies. Of course he was not uninterested, and his nose crinkled slightly in a near failed attempt to keep his face from cracking into a smile. As if Kaoru could keep herself from growing by sheer will. No one had any clue where the scent children had come from, or what governed their growing patterns. His nose crinkled against his cheeks once more and he'd let out a sigh as she finished, attempting to regain himself and pretend as if her apologies had quite simply bored him. "I forgive you for now. But I dare to hope that such a slight against me will never again be done on your behalf. I would expect it from others...but certainly I had never expected you to join with those....those rebels," he finished with a sniff.

Without much of any warning, Orpheus turned and reached out for Kaoru, wrapping his arms over her shoulders with careful attention given to the attempt to keep the possibility of fingers knotting within her hair to a minimum. He'd bury his face against the crook of her neck, nuzzling at her soft curls for a moment as the expression on his face, which he always prided himself on controlling, was slipping quickly. Granted, anyone else who had Orpheus' face against their neck should probably start worrying, but no doubt Kaoru knew better than to worry about such a thing from her friend.