Lotsa Parties ( Current location: island ) Edit: Thread 4

"I won't" after saying this he walked into the water and swam away

Shrugging idly, Ruul began the trek back towards the cave. As he passed the broomstick and ropes again, he spotted Calcifer standing on the beach.

Once he drew nearer, it was clear Calcifer was still irritated. Ruul stepped up next to him. "Uhh..." He began. He wanted to say something to make it clear that he was on his side, but he wasn't quite sure what to say. "Have you found Aero?"

"She's swimming." Calcifer still had his arms crossed, standing stiffly, piercing crimson glowering at the salty ocean breeze that swirled around him.

Ruul followed his gaze and spotted Aero. He waved at her, hoping she would see him. His hand fell back to his side. He cleared his throat, "Hey Calcifer, I know you're at odds with Chaos and the others, and I want you to know that I'm on your side." He sighed, "But I'm the one that holds the group together, since I'm the oracle and all that. I'm the reason we're all here in the first place. So most of the time I won't be able to take sides. At least not openly. But I'll do what I can."

As Kairo walked back towards the beach he saw the distinct blue of Ruul's hair stood next to a sullen looking (at least that's what he thought he'd look like) Calcifer. The satchel on his shoulder was beginning to dig in as he got closer to the cave. Deciding that going to talk to Ruul and Calcifer would just prolong his pain, he headed straight for the cave.

"Uh..." He said as he entered, looking around at the group. "I bought some water and food for the trip. I don't know how long it's gonna be exactly though so I don't know if I got enough."

Chaos scratched his head "What's a... circus?" He asked, unable to recall anything under that name in his memory.

Hearing Chaos' question without any context made Kairo chuckle slightly.

"It's a group of people who travel around and perform tricks and entertain people," he replied. "Haven't you ever seen jugglers or clowns before?"

Calcifer didn't look at Ruul, but rather seemed to be talking to someone invisible in front of him. "Taking sides is implying we're at equal odds with one another... If you're supposed to be the leader here, stop taking the back seat and grow some balls."

Ruul's brows furrowed. Calcifer had a point. He'd been taking the back seat when he should have been in charge. As Oracle of Ages, it was his job to exercise wisdom.

"You know what?" he said, "You're absolutely right." He smiled wryly, "Chaos scares me a little, but you're right." He patted Calcifer's shoulder, "Thanks for knocking some sense into me."

The Gieru cringed at the unexpected touch and 'humph'ed. 'Sure took long enough for someone to listen to me.'

Ruul glanced back at the cave. He had a question for both Jillian and Kialo, but he supposed they could wait.

He stepped forward, "Don't suppose she'd mind if I joined her for a swim?" He promptly kicked off his boots and sloshed forward into the water.

Calcifer uncrossed his arms, his demeanor softening a bit, shrugging. "Why're you asking me?"

"What's juggling?" Reina asked as she pulled herself out of her curled up position. Very few travelers ever came through the forest, until recently that is, so Reina had never heard of a circus either.

Jillian was a little irked that her joke went over their heads but that was just the smartass in her.

Ruul shrugged and sloshed in deeper. Once he was deep enough, he dunked his head under and paddled off towards Aero.

He bobbed as he swam closer, head out of the water for a second, then under again as he swam forward. For some reason swimming felt easier for him when he was completely submerged.

Once he was close enough to Aero, he popped up to the surface and called out, "Hey there."

Aero's ears kept getting submerged in the water with the waves rocking around her. She stopped, treading, and wiped her eyes so she could see where the muffled voice came from. Oh. It was Ruul. She repressed a sigh, swimming towards him. "What?" He must've wanted something.

Ruul's eyebrows rose. "Nothing. Just thought you could use some company."

Kairo rolled his eyes at the others and looked at Jillian with an exasperated glance. Looking around the cave he picked out three fairly rounded pebbles.

"This," he said as he began tossing the stones in the air. "Is juggling." Surprising himself by managing to keep them in the air for more than a few seconds he looked back to Reina. The glance cost him his pride as one of the pebbles fell onto his head.

"A harlequin tried to stab me in the back once..." Chaos said, trying to recall anything fitting the circus description. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

Fist watched the juggling. "I'd like to know how to do that." she said, intrigued with the act

Reina giggled as the pebble hit Kairo on the head. "It does look really fun but whats it useful for?" She tried thinking of ways she would use it to fight or defend herself. "Doesn't seem like a good fighting method."

Jillian rolled her eyes. "What's the matter with you kid, you forgot what fun was?" She was starting to think Kairo was right about them bringing Reina along, it wasn't healthy for her.

Kairo smiled at Reina's giggle before frowning slightly. "It's not supposed to be useful," he replied as he rubbed at the small lump forming on his head. "It's just fun. Hey, Reina, what's that behind your ear?" he asked. He wasn't exactly a professional magician but this one was always popular with kids.

"Entertainment has its use on the battlefield" Fist said as she watched. "It helps lighten spirits and keep moral high." She then pulled out a deck of old cards from her bag "These always helped lighten the mood in my experience."

Kairo was glad that someone else in the group seemed to share his sense of fun. He grinned as he reached around behind Reina's ear and produced one of the pebbles he'd been juggling with earlier.

Reina gasped and rubbed her ear. "How'd you do that?" she asked and shook her head to ensure there were no more pebbles back there.

Jillian laughed, She was starting to warm up to Kairo. At least he was entertaining.

Kairo grinned again at Reina's surprise. "It's magic. It's used to entertain people, just like a circus." His small display of what little 'magic' he could perform had seemed to cheer Reina up a little. "It doesn't need to be practical, it's just for fun." and with yet another sleight of hand, he produced a second pebble from behind Reina's ear.

"No!" Reina gasped as she rubbed her ears again. "How did that get back there!" She kept her hands cupped around her ears and shook her head. "How many more do you have in there?"