Sakiko stared as if dismayed at the wall decorations. Flowers? And they’re moving too. Must be some kind of spell… it would be useful to learn it later. It’s actually a little nice, I suppose…But I’m so tired… She headed over to the bed, and immediately grimaced. She noticed that certain people had certain scents, and she wasn’t sure if she liked the smell of the bed. It wasn’t that it was unpleasant, but unfamiliar to her.

-------

“Get out of the kitchen? You’re not a friendly one, are ya?”

She rubbed Darren’s head playfully with a wink.

“Sure, Head Chief. I will wait somewhere else. It’d be nice if someone could give me a tour of the home, doncha think? Abel, what do you say? You haven’t been saying much. Wouldn’t it be fun?” She leaned in to whisper,

“Say yes, ‘k?”

((OOC: Had to edit...))

Zeze turned towards Keychain just as she was saying this, when she overheard something about a burning house. She shook her head sadly.

"Why does everyone seem to suffer from burning houses? I'm sorry, little one. But I can relate...it can be very..."

Before she got to say another word, she was somehow hit with a flying book from an invisible source.

Abel instently felt horrible for making her remember that night. Abel instently closed his eyes and tried to think of ways to make her feel better none came to mind. Abel did the thing he always did when he was upset he put his hands behind his head and latched his fingers together and sat there thinking. When Zeze asked him a question "Okay i guess I could try." Abel then decided he would dee if she really just wanted a tour. He stood up with a jolt when a flying book hit Zeze.

Keychain looked from Zeze to Abel. Realization dawned on her face. "Oh, you think it was a bad thing? Getting my house burned down was the greatest thing in the whole for me! There were so many restrictions. No one could even use magic. I used it once and if it wasn't for me being so young, I would have been kicked out then. After that, the people kept a sharp eye on me. I couldn't use magic, so it just started to build up inside me. My body started to shake because of it. Now look at me!" She held her hands up. "No shaking!"

"I didn't like it either. I guess I was looking for an escape. Keychain gave it to me." Aqua stretched out next to Jasper, who looked like he was about to pass out. Aqua, getting distracted by him, kept trying to keep him up.

Seeing the book, Keychain looked down at Mitchy. She had her book in her hands still. "I wonder where that came from," she commented.

'You are going to tell me that you don't miss that place at all you didn't have any friends you miss? before awaiting a reply he asked Zeze " Do you still want the tour " Abel was still pondering where the book came from.

Zeze rubbed her head, wincing as she felt a rather large bump starting to form on her skull. She looked up, already knowing what and who had done it.

Sakiko stood on the stairs, staring at the small gathering with a dark look clouding her face. She looked pale and incredibly angry, and Zeze knew exactly why. She good- naturedly gave a small laugh, and turned to Keychain and Abel.

"Hahahahahha......haha..ha.... sometimes I say too much. That was unexpected, Keychain, darling. Who gave you that name? One of those horrible people at that horrible house that was horribly burnt down? It's rather unusual...and my tongue gets tired just saying it. You kinda have to flick your tongue up, just so.."

She demonstrated, as she said the word, "chain". Zeze smiled and shouted,

"So, I think I'll just call you Key-Key! Doesn't that sound so elite?"

Sakiko sighed, and turned back towards the room. Zeze also heaved a sigh, and turned to Abel.

"I dunno about the tour anymore... Saki can just pop outta nowhere...you know? You witnessed that, eh?"

"Why is Sakkiko like that i was kinda looking forward to the tour even tring to get to know you better." Abel just sat back down on the couch and wondered what Keychains full house looked like.

"Aw, poor sweetie."

Zeze sat on the couch with Abel, and put an arm around his shoulder. She winked at him cheerily and tapped her chin.

"Hnnn....what about me is there worth knowing? Ehm...ah, yes, I have thirteen piercings in total, and most of them are on my ear."

She turned her head slightly, displaying her many jewels studded into her flesh.

"And see this tattoo here?"

She traced her finger along half of her face.

"It's supposed to be a dragon, but the guy messed up. I gave him a beating worthy of Din's name for that."

Zeze muttered the last few words, her head nodding slightly. And before you knew what was going on, she was already fast asleep.

"Pheraphs we should give her the entire couch so she can sleep." Abel said looking at Keychain and wondering how she could go to sleep while talking Abel stood up and tried to move her body around to where she would be comftorable and wondering if they should wake her and Sakkiko up when the food gets done.

Keychain stood up. She balanced Mitchy on her hip. "No," Keychain mumbled, "I don't miss it at all. Besides my mother and brother, I had nothing to look forward there." She danced on her toes. "The tour of the house can be done after supper."

Alexander waved to Aqua and Jasper, who was still asleep. "Aqua, Jasper, come on, I need help with getting the extra tables from downstairs. We're eating outside today. There's no room in the kitchen for all of us." Aqua stood up while Jasper collapsed on the couch, a small snore coming from his throat.

Looking at the sleeping people, Keychain commented, "Everyone must be tired today." She placed Mitchy down on the ground. Keychain looked at Abel. "Do you think we should get blankets for them?"

"Yeah but Sakkiko has some right Abel glanced at the stairs because she scares me now if you would show me where the blankets are." Abel waited for Keychain to show him as he took off his bandana revailing his recently dyed white hair.

"Yeah, the guest room has a ton of blankets, from what I remember. I decorated every bedroom in this house." Keychain pulled her dress up, stepping on the stairs. "They're upstairs, but try to be quiet. I don't want to disturb Sakiko much." She walked up the stairs quietly so much like a cat.

"The extra blankets are in my closet," she whispered. Going down the hall until getting to the last door, Keychain opened the door. The room was decorated to have one giant, orange flower positioned on each wall. The background was colored blue. Rain moved over the flowers, making it look like a rainy day. Black out curtains were pulled away from the open window. The floor next to it looked wet. Her bed had been pushed into the corner, making her room look bigger than what it really was. A thick, pink blanket rested on top. A small, delicate teddy bear rested on the pillow.

Keychain opened the closet door. Three dresses were pushed into the corner while blankets were stacked on the top shelf. Pouting, Keychain stared at it. Even though she had grown, she was still too short. "Abel, can I have a little help here?" she questioned, hoping he was there behind her.

"Yeah" Abel regained his train of thought after he started paying attention to Keychain's room he reached and grabbed the blankets pulling them down as for some reason his mind wondered if he would ever have a chance with Keychain. "Here are some of the blankets." He gave her half of the blankets.

Sakiko's eyes were half closed when she heard a murmur of voices. She immediately snapped them open, being too wary and careful for her own good. Climbing herself out of the comfortable bed, she began to investigate. Steps as light as whispers, she was lithe and flexible. So being around Arrika did do me a little good. Hmph. The pale Mage saw an open door, an inside, a room.

Sakiko watched as Abel and Keychain began to talk. She almost felt a smile lingering at her lips. Could they possibly be in love...? Not wanting to interfere, she was about to turn back when she felt a small tap on her shoulder. A current of electricity seemed to run through her body in shock, and it took all those years of training not to scream in surprise.

Zeze. *sigh*

The Bard smiled sweetly at the scene, and muttered quietly,

"Makes you want to toss flower petals at them, doncha think?"

The Mage shook her head in disapproval. She gave Zeze a look that read, Weren't you asleep? The Bard opened her mouth in genuine surprise. She whispered, "How'd ya know?" Sakiko rolled her eyes and murmured, "How long do you think it has been since I have know you?" Zeze grinned and replied, "Nah, I was just pretending to be sleeping. Didn't know what to say anymore." She turned back to peek at Abel and Keychain.

"Looks like Key-Key's all grown up."

"You sound like you're her mother or something. Don't be so patronizing, you little monkey."

Zeze shrugged, her emerald eyes lost in the scene. Sakiko turned away and walked back towards the bedroom. She leaned back on the bedpost, her silvery eyes cast down. It hadn't seemed so long ago when she was lost in her own...if you could call it, innocent...love.

The Bard leaned against the wall and fished through her large, baggy pocket. When her fingers came across a small, miniature harp, her face lit up as if to say a silent "ah-ha!". Zeze began to strum on the delicate strings with her expert nails, her face taking on a dreamy look. The melody was sweet and light, floating through the air in heavenly strums. She began to murmur,

A life to live, one day to die
what else to see but thy face divine?
upon hearing a small sigh
escape your lips as red as wine...

Zeze grinned mischievously, winking at Abel and Key-Key.

Keychain glanced out into the hallway. She glowered at the sight of the two. She went to mumble about how Zeze was awake when she froze. Quickly, she looked from Abel to the two girls. Realization struck Keychain hard. Her face turned bright red. Her hands started to fumble around the blankets. Keychain needed to chat with Aqua, soon.

"Well, Z-zeze's awake," she mumbled, her eyes lingering on the carpet. "The most we'll need is two blankets, for Jasper. Here, how about these two?" She pulled two from her arms, knocking the rest on the ground. "That can't be good." Keychain, very embarrassed at the moment, handed the two blankets to Abel. "I'll be right back."

She rushed out of the room. Keychain moved past Zeze and Sakiko without a glance at them. Going down the stairs, she looked for her closest friend. She had to go outside.

Aqua and Alexander had just finished placing both tables outside. Seeing Keychain's red face, Aqua pushed Alexander inside. Looking smug, Aqua stared at her red faced friend.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" snapped Keychain.

"So you found out?" questioned Aqua, smiling playfully. She saw Keychain's face become even more red. She got on one of the tables, crossed her legs, and stared at her friend. "Well, at least it didn't take three months like it did with the last boy. What was his name again?"

"Randy, but that doesn't matter!" Keychain gripped her hair, looking lost. "I'm not good at these kinds of situations."

"Of course not," agreed Aqua. "You've never been in a relationship before. How could you be good?"

Keychain scowled. "You're not helping out."

"How am I suppose to, Key? Something like that seems so . . . your way." Keychain looked like she was in despair. Aqua got off the table and pulled her friend into a hug. "Hey, it's going to be alright. Just don't ignore the boy, alright? Unlike Randy, I think Abel deserves a chance. He's not constantly hitting on you, is he?"

A smile played at Keychain's lips. "I liked it that one time when you punched Randy for getting too close to me."

"I never liked that guy."

Keychain shook her head. "Oh, and Zeze is calling me Key-Key."

"That sounds like something you would name a cat," commented Aqua. "Now, go tell everyone that the food is ready, but we need the chairs to be pulled outside. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," mumbled Keychain. She went inside to do exactly that.

"Mabye she dosen't want to go out. I'm an idiot!" Abel said this while he was picking up the blankets she dropped and putting them in the proper place then picking up the two blankets and walking downstairs while muttering "What did I do wrong."