Keychain opened the door and beckoned her friends in. "I'll be right with you. I need to find Aqua right now." She only needed to turn around to see her friend looming over her.

Being so tall as she was, Aqua had to bend down to come into the entry way. Even then, she was slouching. Her brown hair was filled with flakes of white from the wall coating that had been put on earlier and she was responsible with trying to even it out. Dark blue eyes stared at the mud on Keychain's dress.

"Upstairs, now," she ordered. Pushing Keychain, she added in, "Jasper might be in the bathroom. You'll have to kick him out. My brother will take care of the dress. He has loads of experience since I use to be very messy."

Getting Keychain out of the way, Aqua stared at her guests. "Where are my manners? Come! Sit down, sit down. We have chairs and love seats in the living room." She waved her hand in the direction of the living room, seen from the entry way. "My name's Aqua, if you haven't already guessed that."

Abel had taken his cloack off at the door and was quite overjoyed by the house after all it looked like a plave he could get used to. "Hello my name is Abell it is a pleasure to meet you Aqua" Abell said trying to be as polite as possible. This is a nice house and I have a question how long have you guys lived here.

“Ahhhh haaaa…..”

Zeze placed the tip of her finger on her tongue, her emerald eyes glaring at the house now in sight. She was an odd sight, standing by herself in the rather muddy, summer baked road. Her messy red hair had been gelled and spiked by resin, giving it an odd gloss. But if the description of her oddity had ended there, she would’ve been at least considered partially normal. Half of her face had been recently tattooed, and it seemed that one half of her face was tan, while the other was purple.

She beamed at the warm welcome presented by a girl standing outside the open doorway. How convenient. Zeze had been hesitating upon whether to just barge inside or actually be civil and knock. Her foot had barely moved a centimeter when she felt a heavy thump on her shoulder. She grimaced, knowing that sensation all too well to be perfectly happy in mind.

“Ha..ha….”

She attempted a weak laugh – accompanied by a grimace – as she turned around. And what do you know? Sakiko.

The pale mage frowned, which wasn’t a big ordeal for her. Her face had already been slightly creased by unhappy lines tracing her forehead and cheeks. She was about to go into a lecture about bothering other people and wasting their precious time (learning the name of plants was far more important) when she heard a voice,

"Where are my manners? Come! Sit down, sit down. We have chairs and love seats in the living room." She waved her hand in the direction of the living room, seen from the entry way. "My name's Aqua, if you haven't already guessed that."

Zeze grinned and whooped at the same time, running inside the house. Before completely intruding, she swung by the doorway and winked,

“Don’t mind if I do, kind madam.”

Sakiko heaved a deep sigh and trudged in herself, rather curious at what she should find at a house with such….warm people. Taking a seat in the living room, she sat uneasily at the edge of the chair, her silvery eyes darting back and fro. You never knew where danger may appear any minute.

Aqua blinked her eyes at the energetic girl. "Er, right, make yourself at home." She went to the door, looking around for anyone else that might come in before closing it. Going to the living room, she shouted something incoherent. "Ah, I should have warned you guys, we just did this room. Actually, I just did. There might be white flakes all over the furniture."

She walked over to the curtains, pulling them open. Light shined in through the windows. "Ah, looks like the rain stopped. I bet it's going to be all humid now." Aqua smiled brightly. Before sitting down, she brushed off anything that could be on the chair. "It's nice to meet all of you. There's more people in this house. Jasper, Mitchy, and Keychain are upstairs. My brother and his friend who kindly let us stay at this house are still working. Actually, my brother is a merchant with only a stall, so he might be coming home soon."

"This house is very old. We're refurbishing it right now. As you can tell by the white washed walls." Aqua nodded her head to the walls. "So, um..." Aqua waved her hands at the two girls. "Who are you two?"

Aqua jumped to her feet, gasping. "Oh, how rude of me! Do you want any drinks?" She rushed out of the room, almost bumping into another member of the house.

Jasper grumbled something about being pushed out of the bathroom before sitting down. His bleach blond hair was still wet. The locks sagged into his gray eyes. He kept having to push them back away from his face. His clothing was rumbled and looks like he threw them on at the last minute.

"What are you doing!?" Aqua shouted, seeing Jasper sitting the couch. She placed the cups that she was carrying down on the table and stormed over to the boy.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he grumbled.

"Up, you're still wet!" She pulled at his shirt, forcing him up. "Wait until you're dry at least." He grumbled as he walked over to the window, looking out at the scenery. "Don't look so down being forced from the bathroom by muddy little Keychain."

"Oh, shut up."

OoC: Hello, stranger. XP It's nice to see you back, Sakiko.

OOC: hahahah sorry about the weather description... I edited to make it more...correct.... ^__^ Oh and I hope you're not offended by Sakiko's rather...erm, lack of civility. Its just her character.

IC:

Sakiko narrowed her eyes slightly, surveying the rather hectic "family" with annoyance and disdain. Being a wanderer with few she considered "friends" and even fewer (she wasn't even sure if there were any existing at the moment) she considered to be loved by her. To see a group of people she would've never imagined to be together, living, was not possible to her and therefore a nuisance.

"Name's Zapheta. But call me Zeze, if you please."

The redhead smiled widely, displaying her set of pearly white teeth. She wrapped a muscled arm around Sakiko and continued,

"This here gal is called Sakiko, but I suppose you can call her Saki."

The pale faced girl shrugged the burden off of her shoulder.

"No, you may not call me anything of that manner."

Just as the last word was being pronounced, she felt a speck of wet water drops on her cheeks. With a scowl, she wiped it away and turned towards the source. As she was about to yell, "What are you?!" Aqua shouted something along that line, cutting Sakiko off. Zeze took no notice that anything had happened, or even that Jasper had appeared, and grabbed a cup that had been set on the table.

She sipped carefully,

"Whoa, this stuff is good. What do you call this?"

Suddenly, her face brightened.

"Oh, did you say that there are more people in the room? Keychain! Mitchy! Jasper!!"

She shouted the names, as if demanding them to come down this instant. Sakiko crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes. She muttered,

"You do realize that you are intruding in the first place? And to so boldly call their names as if you were the master of this house...besides, Jasper is already here."

She threw her chin towards the direction of the window where the young man was standing to dry himself.

Abel had been whatching which a smile on his face after the girl Sakkiko had walked into the room. He was wondering what was taking Keychain so long. He got a drink and took a sip every few minutes. "Hello Sakkiko" Abell said.

OoC: It's okay, it's okay. For both things. This topic is actually a continuation of "Rain Kissed".

IC: "Keychain is most likely washing up, maybe even soaking that ruined dress of hers," responded Aqua to Zeze's shouting. "Oh, and the juice is something Keychain made. I don't know what it is, actually. You'll have to ask her. She's the cook around here. When I cook, I burn things. Even water!" Aqua laughed at her own joke, shaking her head. "Mitchy is a small little girl who just went to bed. She mostly will still be sleeping."

Jasper gazed around the room. "Can't I sit down? It's only my hair is wet. It's because of Keychain that I had to get out of the bathroom."

"Move and I twist your arm," threatened Aqua. "Besides, you can go back to pampering yourself once Keychain gets out of the bathroom. Though you might have to wait a while, she did have a lot of mud in her hair. And her hair is long."

"Yeah, I know," grumbled Jasper. He gazed at Sakiko. "Do you have people problems?"

"Jasper! That's not what you ask a person!" scorned Aqua.

Abel felt like he was being igonored. Not that he cared much considering he didn't know very many of these people so he was trying to figure things out and so far he had only been able to tell that Sakkiko was not a people person. Abel decided to sit their in silence unless talked to.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Um, what's your name again?" Aqua grinned widely, meaning that her question was a joke. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I know your name. It's not hard for me to forget a name. Abel, are you waiting for Keychain? You don't seem to be talking all too much."

"Which is what one person should be doing right now. Not talking," said Jasper.

Aqua glowered darkly. A door upstairs opened with a loud squeak. "Oh, that sounds like the bathroom door. Go see if Keychain is out." She pushed Jasper until he went up the stairs himself.

"Now," Aqua said, turning to everyone again. "If anyone is hungry, usually you need to ask Keychain about all that. Or my brother, but it looks like he's not going to be home until the time when Keychain is suppose to go work at the Inn."

Coming down the stairs, Keychain gasped. "That's what I left to go do! Oh, Aqua, what am I going to do now? Already I'm late!" She rubbed her ashy red hair wildly with her towel. Her bright, blue eyes darted around the room, landing on Sakiko and Zeze. "Were they there when I went to take a shower?"

"I told you to quit that job. And yes, they came in the door after Abel did when he arrived with you." Aqua stretched out on the nearest couch, her legs dangling off the edge.

"How have things been for you guys so far?" Keychain questioned her guests. "How have you been, Abel?" she asked her friend who escorted her home.

Abel had a small grin on his face when Keychain came out of the shower. "Keychain i'm doing quite well but however i do have a question "What inn do you work at and is there a big reason because um i think it's Aqua thinks you should quit so anybody want to shed some light on this." Abel said this with the most serious of looks dericted at keychain.

People problem...? Hm, perhaps she did have something like that.

Then, of course, she didn't really care. Sakiko considered casting some sort of spell at the annoying little brat named Jasper, but then changed her mind. She was not here to create a war of any kind, and besides, she was at someone's home. The least she could do was keep silence.

Zeze grinned cheerily as Keychain made her way down. She could tell upon first glance that she was a good...kind of person. By that time, she remembered Aqua mentioning food.

"Ah, right. Keychain, is there any food to be spotted in this neck of the woods?"

Sakiko narrowed her eyes, knowing Zeze to be a huge fatty and able to consume large amounts of food at beastly rates. She secretly hoped that Keychain would reply that she had no food to be seen, as then that would save her at least her two month ration.

She glanced at Abel, who had begun to speak. She had noticed his presence, but didn't really take the care to question him or carry on a civilized dialogue. Because, as everyone knew, she indeed did have a people problem.

Zeze nodded at Abel's questions.

"Yeah, I want to come help you out at work or sumthin' later. Sounds interesting."

"Right now I only have a few baskets of berries that I picked not long ago that will be saved for dinner and dessert." Keychain patted her hands on her lilac dress, matching the color of the ribbon that held her long, ashy red hair away from her face. Though her bangs were framed against her face, too long to keep in front but too short to be held back. "And I work at the Cuckoo Inn."

"Night shift," added Aqua.

She glared at her best friend, silencing her. "It's basically why they want me to quit. I stay up more than half the night, mostly doing nothing, but still staying up the night. I sleep in during the day, but it's sometimes hard since Mitchy clings to me during the time she's awake."

"Which is why Keychain has to quit more than ever. That young girl must have some deranged thought that Keychain is either her older sister that cares for her all the time or her mother." Aqua stopped talking when Keychain came over and hit her on the head with a pan. "What was that for!?"

"Shut up," she said. "My job pays, you should be happy."

"Well, so does Darren's and that guy's." Aqua eyed the pan uneasily. "What is his name again?"

"Alexander, if you must know." Keychain saw the cups of juice. "Oh, I see that you like my juice. It's boiled berries that has been cooled down and a bit of sugar added in." She walked into the kitchen, shouting behind her, "If anyone wants to go and see if Alexander and Darren are coming, it would help out! They should have some food with them today!"

"Keychain since I have no need of a living place I could take your job and pay you the wages." Abel said with a hint of remorse in his voice for the girl who was helping her friends keep a house and get fed. in response to Keychains question Abel said "Where is Darren i will go and find him.

Zeze stood up and walked outside without another word. Food? Why, she would stand outside if it was freezing cold if there was any food to be had. The bard leaned against the wall, her green eyes wide and open.

Sakiko raised her eyebrows at Keychain's lengthy and complicated description of how to make the juice. Curious, she glanced at the others and took a quick sip herself. The sugar sweet traveled down her throat, giving her warmth. The mage shrugged her approval and continued to consume the juice.

She peered at Abel curiously. She shook her head slightly, wondering if he was infatuated with Keychain or something of that sort. Why else would he sacrifice his energy and time in such an amiable manner? It was true altruism indeed.

"There is nothing wrong with me working. I came late in the job, that's why I got the night shift. I actually work less and get paid more. And Darren should be on the streets, close to the house with Alexander. They're both merchants, but Alexander owns his own store while Darren has only a small, pitiful stall." Keychain's hands worked quickly with slicing the watermelon. She placed the sliced fruit in the bowl filled with other sweet fruits.

Aqua glanced out the window. "I see my brother."

That instant Darren oepend up the door, going to the kitchen instantly to help out Keychain. Alexander stopped in the sight of Zeze, staring at her curiously. A smile burst on his face. "It's so good to see you again! Why, don't act like a stranger all time, come over more often!"

"You've never met her!" Aqua shouted from the living room. "If you must know, there are three guests here. The one you're talking to Zeze. Sakiko and Abel are out here, in the living room with me."

"Oh," Alexander said blankly, blinking his brown eyes. "Well, good meeting you." He gave Zeze a pat on the shoulder before going into the kitchen.

Darren walked out to go to the living room. He examined everyone in the room before turning to his sister. "Aqua, where's Mitchy?"

"Sleeping," responded Aqua. She didn't even look up at him, just glanced down at her fingernails like there was something impressive about them.

"How long ago did she go to bed?" he asked.

"Three hours top," once again, Aqua replied.

"And Jasper is where?" Darren inquired.

"Upstairs, most likely pampering himself like a girl," Aqua said, laughing at her joke. Darren took off his heavy boots before padding up the stairs. Most likely to wake up Mitchy and get Jasper to come down.

"We all know he does that to try and impress Keychain!" Alexander shouted from the kitchen. "Ow! Why did you hit me with the pan, Keychain!? It was a joke, a joke!"

Aqua looked at Abel, and then Sakiko. "Watch when Mitchy wakes up. She's a hyper little girl. She won't sit down unless told by Keychain. And that's another thing, she only listens to Keychain. Mitchy has some freaky admiration for Keychain ever since she eavesdropped on a conversation I was having with someone about my friend." Aqua stretched out, plunking her feet on the table. Her feet were protected in the same kind of boots that her brother had, only her shoes looked two sizes too big for her.