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"Stop staring at my nose, please..." Sevilin commented with a weariness and agitation that suggested this may not have been the first time today he has warned his guardian about it. Oh sure, he tried to look subtle about it, creeping closer, coughing into his shoulder, or "viewing" the landscape behind Sevilin, but We`rika and subtle were like oil and water, they never mixed.

"Sorry!" His guardian jumped back in place, eyes now firmly glued to the road ahead. Sore from being so easily caught yet again, We`rika frowned, which only led to passersby crossing the streets to avoid him. Pffft, pricks.

"I'm going to notice every time, so you might as well stop," It didn't help that all of We`rika's staring was making him more self-conscious about it. A manicured finger picked at the edge of the pink band-aid placed across the bump in his nose anxiously.

"Well--" What to say? "At least tha' patch of hair is growin' back.... kinda good...?" Thankfully the sea fairy had enough hair to hide the chunk that was missing. It'd take a hell of a long time before it completely grew out again. "Hey! You could always get a mohawk and then th'patch'd fi' righ' in, yeah?" The terrible glare he received was enough to make him shrivel up on the sidewalk. "Ouch, Sev,"

"It's more than you deserve--Hey, look! That's it right there..." The little frei stopped floating and pointed in We`rika's direction to a narrow shop nestled between two brick buildings.

"Are you sure...?" The short man squinted at the lettering on the window (not like it was would help or anything since he couldn't read). They were looking for a colleague of Kyou's, one whom We`rika had met in the worst of situations, to finally fix Sevilin's hair. After the hectic few months they had lived through, it had understandably slipped We`rika's mind. And since Sevilin had a new injury, he assumed it would just be best to get another quick check-up along with this shampoo.

H'o man, Kyou's gonna think I'm a terrible guardian.

Trusting Sevilin's judgment, Werika climbed the three, small steps up to the glass door and opened it, hearing a familiar jingle above his head as he entered. "Uhhh..." We`rika began, eloquent as always. "Hello?"

"Oh, uh hey...!" was We`rika's awkward response. Even so, he took Jeremy's hand amiably, clasping his large calloused hand around the older man's. "I'm We`rika and that's--" He pointed behind him to his son, but the other raevan answered before he could finish. "Yeah--Oh! ********, hey I remember you! I found ya on th'stree'... or something. And--somethin' else...." We`rika needed to lay off the weed; his short term memory would thank him for it. "But, hey, glad ta see ya alive an' kickin', righ'?"

"............." He could only stand there in horror as he listened to his guardian make a fool of himself and thus Sevilin as well. Thankfully, he had a fellow raevan to distract him from the appalling manners his mom had. He was a bit surprised the horned raevan knew his name, but then again he was Sevilin; who didn't want to know him? The other man was clearly different than him, and the sea fairy had only seen one other frei who had this extra height. Somehow he couldn't picture Riv dying his hair white and gluing horns to his head. This one was also a lot more subdued personality wise. So Sevilin replied with a sheepish "Hello...!" and held a hand over his nose self-consciously.

"I, uhhh.... got in a fight with that Lulu girl..." The sea fairy was not going to tell this raevan about his hair, though. Some things were better left unsaid for the good of a man's pride. "It's no big deal. The bruises are almost gone..." His nose would never fit right again, but at least he could covere that up. "Were you at the pool party?"

Overhearing the conversation behind him, We`rika looked up at Jeremy with pleading eyes as he whispered quietly. "You're one of Kyou's friends righ'? Oh my god, I swear... I totally didn' do tha' to him! He, like, go' in this figh' with a girl and, well, they both did a number on each other. Boys will be boys, righ'? No harm done, ya know?" He couldn't allow Sevi to be taken just because of a stupid brawl that everyone was totally accusing him for! He hadn't even been there! How was he supposed to know his son would go berserk over one woman?! The huichol could still feel the punch he took to the eye after Alex found him. ********' b***h....

"Oh... really?" Well, he hadn't meant to play that angle, he just opened his mouth and out it cam.e Not that he complaining. If free things were being offered, you didn't object! Unless they were stolen goods, apparently that was a no-no with the police. "Thanks, man. I sure do apprecia'e i'. Hopefully it didn' cos' ya a small fortune. They--" He said, pointing to Sevilin and the other one. "--usually rack up some crazy a** bills when i' comes ta their health and such since mos' doctors dun know wha' ta do with 'em..." The raevans required special needs that challenged even veteran hospital staff. Hopefully this hair business wasn't anything too extreme to correct.

"So, was i'--Did those samples Tsu sen' ya help, or...?" We`rika could only pray they found some kind of cure to stop the excessive salt that poured out of his son. if not, he would have to live the rest of his life listening to his son wail every time a hair fell out. It wasn't an appetizing fate.

"You didn't miss much," Sevilin replied morosely, recalling how miserable he had been from start to finish. He wasn't sure how to explain it, especially since it was quite the chaotic blur in his mind. He remembered she had squirted him with fresh water and, now looking back on it, it seemed a bit childish what he did. She deserved it, of course, but... how could he tell this raevan with a straight face. He would probably come off as petty, but it had truly hurt him, what she had done. The red raevan's last words knocked him out of his brooding and he relented. It would probably feel good to just let it out.

"She--Well, it's... hard to explain.... I was having a bad day, I didn't want go in the first place, but he--" The little frei pointed to We`rika. "--made me, and then she just--she made me so mad!" Just thinking about it again made his water boil. "And then we got into a big fight... But it doesn't hurt anymore, so that's nice. My nose still has a bump in it, though..." His cherry-red lips pursed into a tight frown as he rubbed against the band-aid.

"Mmmkay...." We`rika followed behind Jeremy. A victorious smile hung from ear to ear, knowing now Sevilin would finally be placated, at least for now. Lately, he had been just a ball of pissiness. Anything he said or did left his son lashing out, which, needless to say, was rather unusual for the calm Raevan. Sure, he had his moments of moodiness like any living thing, but it was getting a little extreme. The guardian would like to chalk it up to the teenage years, but did Raevans even grow the same way humans did?

Well, if his attitude continued much longer, he would have to ask Kyou because it was just a constant buzzkill. He missed the real Sev.


"Thanks..." The word came out a bit petulant, but when Lazarus put a warm hand on his cold shoulder, Sevilin smiled. A genuine smile that had been absent from his face lately. He followed along with the other Raevan, grateful that this journey seemed fruitful.

"My hair.... it's started to fall out..." Threading through a handful of it, a few follicles snapped off in his palm. "My beautiful hair..." He bemoaned as if someone had just killed his dog in front of him. "I've been leaking a lot of salt lately and.... it's ruining all my stuff..." His big owlish blue eyes looked up at Lazarus, looking for sympathy. He could get it fro We`rika, but he was his dad, it was implied and unwelcome right now. He didn't mean to push the man away, but just the smallest things lately would make him so irritated, which made him more irritated that his mood was being so easily affected. He wanted to be happy again.

"That's too bad," Sevilin replied, bringing his nails up for better inspection. They were without nail polish today and had been for quite a few weeks. "We`rika hasn't taken me to get my nails done in awhile..." The stiffness in his guardian's shoulders told Sevilin he had been overheard as planned. Apparently, We`rika wasn't secure enough in his masculinity to reveal his constant loitering at pink boutiques.

We`rika simply concentrated on Jeremy's instructions and tuned out his son's unnecessary barbs. His explanation wasn't anything surprising. We`rika had assumed this wasn't going to be a cure all.

"Well, is better than nothin'," The huichol reminded his ward with a crooked smile, grateful to Jeremy for being able to come up with any sort of solution, even if that solution could only be achieved by the sea fairy himself. We`rika was not looking forward to teaching him self-control. God knew he was lacking, and his raevan probably didn't even know what the word meant.

And this mention of powers was news to him. He wasn't shocked, no. The raevans were weird enough that lacking something as extraordinary as powers would have been a real surprise. They could fly, so they may as well be able to do other superhuman feats.

"Will he--" He stopped and turned to Sevilin instead. No one liked to be talked about when they were only two feet away. "Will you know how ta do tha'?" His only response from Sev was a shrug. "Grea'," We`rika remarked dryly. His brown eyes moved to Lazarus for silent support. The horned raevan was older, so hopefully raevans had enough in common that they could teach one another.

"Really? You'd do that?" Sevilin's plain expression brightened with hope that had been lost for the last few weeks. "Thanks," he mumbled almost shyly as his chin dipped closer to his chest. It had been a very long time since they had exchanged more than few words with each other. Truly, the sea fairy hadn't been sure the raevan would do it, but he appreciated it more than he would ever let on.

He checked his palms and found them slightly moist and rough from salt excretion to his dismay. Sevilin hoped it was only a matter getting it under control. If he could reverse this curse of ugliness, the little blue frei wasn't sure he could live with himself! The lamentation didn't last long, not when Jeremy came toward him. The raevan dropped his hands quickly like he had been caught biting his nails. He looked to We`rika and then at the older man who squatted down in front of him. "Thanks..." he replied quietly, just for Jeremy to hear.

We`rika, practically on the other side of the world as far as Sevilin was concerned, kept his mouth shut about Sevilin's mood. He'd ask when they didn't have an audience. Spectators were only encouraged when the sea fairy felt like showing off. Now was not one of those times. "It'll work ou'," the guardian finally announced, trying to get them on another topic. He didn't want to take up this man's whole day. "Thanks again fer yer help, Jeremy!"

"Y-Yeah," Sevilin agreed, smiling shyly but no less content. At least for now. Today he had an answer; tomorrow... Well, he would just have to hope. It was going to be difficult, the little raevan knew. He was used to being handed everything on a silver platter. Sevilin had grown accustomed to instant gratification. This was definitely going to be a learning experience, what with all this "waiting" and everything.

The things one has to suffer, the sea fairy reminded melodramatically.

"Augh, yeah... bath time..." It didn't take a genius to figure out who was going to be doing most of the work. We`rika gave his ward a glance out of the corner of his eyes, resignation slowly sliding into place as it always did. This boy, he realized, was going to be the death of him, nevermind the drugs.

"Dun worry, I'lla call ya if worse comes ta worse and he goes bald--"

"I am not going to go bald!" Sevilin screeched from the corner. We`rika's smile grew wolfish as his kid ate it up hook, line, and sinker. You'd think he'd get a clue after so long, but nope! It was wonderful. A troll's paradise.

"Well, we won' know 'til we try, righ'? S'half th'fun! C'mon, better find ou' sooner and no' later!" Giving Sevilin a hefty pat on the back, We`rika waved off the man and Lazarus as they headed for the door. Thank yous and promises to call were exchanged once more.

"Okay, I will!" Sevilin called back to Lazarus, holding him to that promise if he ever needed anything. Outside, the small shop, the blue frei held onto his new prescription shampoo and followed right behind We`rika. It wasn't until he ran right into his guardian that he noticed the man had stopped.

"What are you doing? Let's go!"

".... I dun remember where I parked."