Chance Meetings

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[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]"Jules! We're almost there!" The white haired girl was almost jumping up and down in excitement as they led their horse down the gravel road. Her fire orange eyes were bright, sparkling with happiness. Although they had been walking for a while, her energy hadn't waned. The dancer was wearing a long, light green dress, that seemed to float around her body. Despite having been travelling for a while, there didn't appear to be a spec of dirt on it.

She twirled again, stopping to have a look at her brother. Walking backwards, she pouted at him. "Can we hurry up a bit? I can't wait to see her again…" Without waiting for a response, Cordelia spun around again and began to skip. The wind seemed to pick up, blowing her hair and dress around wildly but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. If anything, it appeared to give her more energy and her laughter rang out through the trees.

They had been on the road for a few days now, having just left another small town. They, Cordelia and Julian, were travelling performers, who lived off the money they earned through performances and whatever they could find on their travels. With Cordelia's easy going nature, they made many friends who were more than happy to help them with whatever they needed. She had at least one friend in each town they revisited, and was always happy to see them. And most weren't exactly… Human, so to speak. Which included the one they were currently headed towards.

Vivian was a kitsune, a friend they had met a while ago. Cordelia had been out wandering, and had been enchanted by her tails the moment she had seen them. She had wanted to touch them, but hadn't exactly known whether it would be okay or not, so she struck a deal that she would perform for them in order to touch her tails. It worked, and the tails had been the softest thing she had ever felt.

While it was one of the main things Cordelia was looking forward to, it wasn't all. She wanted to hear stories of the kitsune, and make new friends. And she couldn't wait to get there, so she could do all those things. "Hurry up!" Soon enough, the town came into sight, and she let out a whoop of joy. "Race you there!"[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]Julian watched as his sister danced ahead, a soft smile on his face. He was leading the horse, as they had been unable to afford a car and it was hard enough to get petrol out in these small towns anyway. Most towns they went to had places for horses luckily, though he wondered if it would have been cheaper to get a car in the long run. Perhaps he would talk with Cordelia once they arrived, but he knew she was attached to Smokey, their grey horse. It would likely be a difficult conversation.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his own white hair. He was wearing travel clothes, preferring not to get his performance ones dirty, along with boots. While his feet were sore, he knew how much Cordelia wanted to get to the next town and so didn't complain. "Okay okay, we can hurry up a bit," he chuckled, nudging Smokey on a bit faster. The horse was carrying practically all their gear, which was most of Julian's instruments and Cordelia's fans. They could afford a break when they got into town.

As they continued on the road, the musician's mind began to wander. What pieces would he play for this town? They had already been here before, and so it had to be something new unless they specifically asked for a song. What instruments would he use? He needed to start composing more as well. The violin was his best instrument, and the one he had most songs for, but he needed to branch out.

Soon enough, the town came into sight, and he only laughed at the suggestion that they race. Cordelia took off like the wind, while he made sure that Smokey didn't injure himself on any sharp things that could possibly have been stuck into the ground. It would give his twin plenty of time in the spotlight, without him being there, which was just how he liked it. They would arrive soon enough.[/fieldbox]
 
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The sun had been just crossing over the horizon when Vivian left her home that morning, sneaking out at the crack of dawn to do her usual rounds around her territory. Despite being a six-tailed kitsune, she had always had a thing for checking her territory every morning and helping when it was needed. In the past she had helped injured people, humans and nonhumans alike, helped children find missing pets or their way home, helped weary travellers and even just helped injured animals, that's why the animals in the forest loved her so much.

By now the sun was high in the sky, shining down through the trees, while not everything around her was woodland and forest quite a bit of it was, her home also happened border a large amount of woodland which is where she was currently. Vivian was walking at a reasonable pace, sunlight that filtered through the trees caught her midnight black coat and made it shimmer, the tips of her six tails just barely brushed against the forest floor and the strange blue markings that covered her fox body would shimmer and pulsate occasionally as she walked. Her head was tilted back, mostly to keep the bird perched on her head still, but also to help her pick up any scents around her as she walked. She was on the look out, all of her scenes on high alert, but hopefully nothing would need to be dealt with as she had some friends that should be arriving today and she wanted to see them.
 
Grey eyes staring blankly ahead, half of Athanasius's vision was blocked by hair that should have been white, the shoulder length stands hanging around his face in dirty clumps. How long had it been since he had thoroughly cleaned himself? Two weeks? Three? No doubt longer than that. Time meant nothing to him anymore. It was just a word that those who could die created in order to count how long they had left to live, granted their lives were not cut short by some catastrophe or another. From what he had seen firsthand, most individuals died of something other than old age. The number of children he had witnessed who had their life cut short was a number not even he could count to. Plague, accidents, war, and famine were but of a few ways he had observed death, and with all that humanity was building and creating, soon there would be even more ways for Death to rear it's head and claim it's victims. But at least they had something he could not have; they were able to die.

Death was something he wished for every day, but was not something he would ever pursue, no matter how badly he wanted to reach the end. It was a sense of duty that kept his feet, if not firmly, then at least planted, on the ground. Only a handful of perytons were still alive, the rest having been wiped out in a battle thousands of years ago. The few that now lived did everything to stay alive so their species would not be wiped out, but unlike most of the others, he had grown weary of watching the sun rise and fall. The beauty of the world had vanished long ago, so now all he did was wander the world in a state that was as close to dead as he would allow himself to get.

A smell caused him to life his head, his dirt caked hair falling away from a face that was that of a young male. He found it easier to appear young, especially when he needed something from a town (which he now did), but now was not the time to be running into another individual, especially one that was not human and would be able to smell that he was different. Although, the kitsune that he smelled no doubt could already smell him. He was doubtful she would know what he was--with his kind being so few, they were nothing but a thing of legends anymore--but that made it all the worse. He was not feeling up to answering question, not to mention he was in no state to do so. His clothes were as bad as the rest of his appearance and hung off his frame in tattered shreds.

Hoping by some miracle to avoid the unavoidable, he quickened his pace the best he could, his limp causing him to be slower than he liked. His right wing had been injured during the battle that wiped out most of his kind and had healed wrong, so now it was nothing but a dead weight that hung limply at his side. Even while in human form when the wings were not visible, it still caused him to walk in a way that compensated for the broken wing. The limp and pain it caused most days was something he had come to live with, it had become a part of him, but now he cursed the slowness of his pace, even though his speed no doubt had more to do with his lack of speed these past years than the limp his wing caused.

Nostrils flaring and ears listening to any sounds behind him, he was too distracted to notice the break in the trees up ahead. By the time he noticed it, it was too late since he was already crashing through the last bit of trees and onto a trail, nearly walking into a male, a female, and a horse. He gave the small group a 'deer in the headlights' look as he took a step back, but now he was sandwiched between them and the kitsune, this few seconds of distraction whisking away all hope that he would be able to escape the creature behind him.
 
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[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]
Having begun to whistle a happy tune, Cordelia missed the initial sound of something crashing through the trees. However the dancer stopped mid skip when something came barrelling out of the tree line, only to stop dead once it saw her and her brother. Immediately her face changed into something more caring, and she carefully approached the man.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Lost? Can we help?" Perhaps the barrage of questions may have been too much, but the white haired female was quite distressed at seeing the look on the other's face. The poor thing looked terrible, with tattered clothing and dirt caked hair. She shot a concerned glance to Julian, before slowly approaching the young male. "You don't look so great... Are you ill? On the run? I'm sure we can help, why don't you come out on the road a bit more? We don't bite," Well they wouldn't, so long as he didn't attack them. She only cared for his safety, but to many it could appear to be overbearing.

"I'm Cordelia, and this is Julian. What's your name?"
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[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]
Julian had been watching his twin skip about, and was jolted from his thoughts when he heard something come through the tree line. Smokey neighed, almost rearing up, but the male calmed her down before she threw off everything they owned. Peering around the horse to see what spooked her, his eyes widened at the sight.

Cordelia asked most of the questions he had been thinking, though definitely in a more rushed way. He wasn't sure if the male was dangerous or not, but was confident in his sister to protect them both. She always kept her bladed fan by her side on the road, despite her happy nature. There were far too many bandits and thieves about. However, the young male that had seemingly run through the woods wasn't looking to be either of them.

"Shh, Del, you might be scaring him," he hissed to his twin, but the other appeared to have not heard him. Julian mentally facepalmed, knowing she was likely going to scare the male off. Smokey huffed, pulling at the reins as if she could sense something about the young male that they couldn't. Julian tried to calm her as much as he could, his eyes however focused on the male that had appeared from the trees.
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Vivian's nose twitched as she picked up the scent of another creature, clearly not human and also in pain, or at least distress. On instinct, she turned and began making her way in the direction of this person, only to momentarily pause when she felt them beginning to purposely get away from her. She was paused for a moment before lightly shaking her head to shoo away the bird and taking off after them, moving quickly and gracefully through the forest, jumping over stray logs and twisted roots as she followed her nose.

Vivian emerged from the forest shortly after Athan did, coming to a stop instantly and shaking herself off. Her fur shimmering in the sunlight, she let her dark blue orbs move to the three people. One was the creature she had been following, and he looked to be in terrible condition the poor thing, the other two people made her ears perk up and she yipped happily, beginning to walk towards them as she let her body return to its human form. Vivian was pretty, with long black hair and dark blue eyes, her hair was straight and flowed down her back, some of it falling down the front of her shoulders while her bangs fell to the left. She was also fully dressed and for once not naked upon transformation, or at least appeared to be dressed, she was just using her illusionary abilities to hide her naked self from prying eyes. Her ears and tails were also hidden, making her appear human. "Cordelia, Julian! It's lovely to see you two again, and you too Smokey." She gave the horse and soft smile before walking over to her two friends, giving each other of them a hug and kiss on the cheek before turning her attention to the horse and gently running a hand along Smokey's face when she reached the horse before leaning down to place a soft kiss on the animal's head. With that done, the Kitsune turned to face the other male, walking over to him slowly.

"Hello, my name is Vivian. You don't have to run from me, it's my job as the guardian of these lands to help anyone who is in need of my assistance. You have no reason to run, I only want to help. What might your name be?" Vivian's voice was soft and gentle as she spoke, dark blue eyes fixed on him as she did her job. This wasn't the first time Cordelia and Julian had come across her when she was 'working' so to say, and she doubted it would be the last, so they wouldn't be surprised that she wasn't paying too much attention to them.
 
Athanasius's eyes stayed wide and unfocused until the girl in front of him finished her first line of question, his features then dropping back to the deadened look he had before he started trying to run. The first few seconds he had spent trying to figure out what to do about this situation--the only answer being to take things as they came--then he began to focus on the two people in front of him, and while each question was heard, all were ignored in favor of wanting to learn what he could about those in front of him before the kitsune showed up.

Nostrils flaring, he could tell that both of them held a sort of power within them, but that was not what was now bothering him. He could smell that they were siblings, and while Cordelia was fine, there was something dark about her brother. His eyes locked on Julian, and he took a deep breath through his nose but was unable to pinpoint what it was about the male that separated him from even his sister. It wasn't as if it mattered, he wasn't planning on sticking around them long anyway.

The questions that were still unanswered were again put on hold as the kitsune appeared, and to her he did the same as with Cordelia and Julian; he took a deep breath through his nose in an attempt to learn more about her. She was unlike most kitsune he had met, there was more power to her. More power than what these two humans held, but he wasn't going to stake his life on that assessment. As with most everything about him, his skill to decipher the strength of an opponent had diminished.

Thanks to her knowing the other two, he was no longer trapped between them. Running crossed his mind, but he wouldn't get far if one of them decided to chase after him. If he wasn't lame, he could have ran circles around them. If his wing was healed, he could have flew away..

Since every other option would have been a wasted effort, Athan stayed where he was, regarding the three of them through nearly lifeless eyes before focusing on Vivian and Cordelia. "I am called Athanasius." His voice was as dead as his eyes. "The only help you can give me is to allow me to work for the few items I am in need of." He watched Vivian for a few seconds longer. A guardian of the land. Was being a guardian of anything worth it? The better question was, was anything worth it? Perhaps to those that had their number of living years laid out before them, but for those who were seemingly immortal, how could anything be?

Something pricked the back of his mind, and his gaze shifted to Julian, once again trying to figure the male out.
 
[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]
Cordelia's attention was stolen by the arrival of an old friend. With an excited squeal, she waved at the kitsune. "Vivian! Hi! How are you? It's been so long!" She hugged the kitsune tightly, as if to make up for all the time they had been away. Luckily she wasn't extremely strong, but it nonetheless showed how much she missed her.

Pulling away, she turned back to stare curiously at the stranger. "Athanasius? What a nice name? What does it mean?" She hopped a little closer, tilting her head to the side. "Items? What kind of items do you need? I'm sure we can help you out, we have plenty of stuff!" She stated, smiling brightly.

"Maybe a shower too... Hey Vivian, is there a river nearby? We could head there to get him washed off..." She glanced back over to her friend, knowing that the kitsune knew the area far better than she did. Turning her attention back to Athanasius, she frowned lightly. "Are you okay? Being chased by anyone?" Stepping closer, she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. The other didn't look okay, not with that kind of lifelessness in his eyes. The dancer wondered what he had been through.
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[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]
Julian smiled when he saw Vivian, glad to see a familiar face. He hugged her back lightly, and Smokey neighed softly, tail flicking happily. Come on. Just kill them. Julian forced his expression not to change, as the voice in the back of his mind continued to taunt him. His eyes however flickered darkly, already his good mood lessening by the second.

Turning away as his sister began to grill the stranger once again, he tried to talk Casper down. The asshole came up at the worst times, though he supposed he was always there. Shut up. Not now. Why not now? Now is always the time. Just let me take over, and I can do all the dirty work. He's a stranger, and look at him. He might try to hurt everyone here. Just let me kill him. You know you want to. Shut up. Julian tried to ignore the demon in his head as he turned back around, forcing a smile.

Casper wasn't happy about being ignored, pushing against the boundaries he was trapped in. The dark feeling surrounding the male twin grew darker, Casper's words turning into animalistic growls instead. Julian took a deep breath, trying to focus on what was in front of him. He noticed the stranger, Athansius' gaze on him and quickly averted his eyes to the ground. Did he know something or other? Julian hoped not. Please stop. Just for now. That only appeared to enrage the demon more, and the musician winced in response.
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Vivian listened intently to Athanasius as he spoke, her nose working quickly to try and decipher what he might be and the best way to help. She couldn't pin his scent down but after a moment she gave up and just shook her head slightly. "We are all more than willing to help with whatever you may need. Cordelia, would you show him to my home? You know the way." Vivian's eyes moved over to Julian, sensing the growing anger and darkness. She knew of Casper, she had sensed the demon when the first met and while she hadn't been able to help then she might be able to help now.

Vivian walked over to walk alongside Julian, beginning to walk in the direction of her home which wasn't too far from here and was by the road anyway. "Is Casper causing too many problems? I can sense the anger, I might not of been able to help last time but I might habe something that could help strengthen your control when he's being particularly troubling." She reached a hand to place it gently on Julian's shoulder. Her eyes moving from him to watch Athan and Cordelia, she was always on high alert when strange people were around her friends, even if they were injured. She would easily be able to defend Cordelia even from this distance.
 
Looking away from Julian was not something he wanted to do, but when he heard Cordelia move closer to him, Athanasius turned his head in her direction, the movement almost robotic. Her swarm of questions bounced off him like rain on an umbrella, leaving only a small amount of residue -- enough to remember the basis of her words but not enough to be able to quote her word by word. And some he let wash off him completely, such as if he was fine and if someone was chasing him. It was yes to both, and neither were important now, so he forgot all about ever being asked.

His eyes which had been staring into Cordelia's moved over to Vivian when the kitsune began to speak. When she was done, he watched her walk over to Julian, and again he found himself watching the man, and wondering. The darkness was more evident now, and he didn't like it. He wished he could hear what Vivian was saying to him for he was certain those words would be enough to answer his question.

Knowing it would be no use to move closer, he turned his attention to Cordelia, deciding to get the question-and-answer game out of the way while they walked, his movements anything but smooth as he hobbled along the road. "My name means 'immortal', and I refuse to take for free like some beggar." A spark of life entered his eyes, a glimpse of the man he used to be, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "I need clothes, and I will work for them until both the person and myself are satisfied that the debt has been repaid." If that was too hard for any of these three to understand, then he would seek out someone else who was more willing to work with him.
 
[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]
"Of course Vivi! Come along now, Athan," she said lightly. She walked beside the stranger, her curious eyes roaming his figure to try and understand more about him. The dancer noted the limp, planning on asking as soon as she was able to talk. Was he like Vivian? A strange creature with a human form? So many questions, and she hoped they would be answered when the time came.

"Immortal? That's so cool! Are you immortal?" Cordelia exclaimed excitedly. "Great! You can help me by being my private audience!" She grinned. "I have stage fright, so having a private audience really helps! Then I'll help you! Win win?" She waited a bit for Smokey to catch up, taking the reins and checking through some bags for clothes.

Looking back at the stranger, she tried to size him up. It was likely that Julian's clothes would be too small for him, so perhaps she would have to make some for him. Though she wasn't the best at making clothes, she would definitely try her best.
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[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]
The pain in his head was growing, as Casper seemingly lost his shit. Julian closed his eyes, sighing to himself before noticing the kitsune and opening them once again. He's just... An asshole... I wish he would just stop..." What the fuck did you just say? When I get out, I'm going to gut you like a fucking fish. Yeah sure. If you get out. Julian groaned aloud.

"You can sense the anger...? I would love the help, any I can get," Julian admitted, staring at the ground. He didn't want to admit that he was struggling in his own head, unable to get rid of the demon. Casper was very not happy at the idea there was something to keep him contained, and he let Julian know. Another wince was seen.

Pressing a hand to his head, the musician sighed softly. "At least music still calms him. No idea why though. Guess I'm lucky he won't hurt Del either. I just wish he would stop..." Fuck you. You're the one that trapped me. You're the one that got trapped. Don't blame me for being weak. Why you little shit... The twin knew he probably shouldn't engage with the demon, but he had dealt with him so much it was hard not to. The pain that came afterwards probably wasn't worth it though. "Anything to help with the pain?"
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Vivian kept her eyes on Julian as he spoke, frowning at seeing the male in pain. When he asked for something that would help with the pain she nodded and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small bottle with a single leaf in it that was a turquoise color. She opened the small bottle and took the leaf out before passing it to Julian. "Chew on that, it should help with the pain." It didn't taste too nice, but it would help with the pain. Vivian turned to face forward and sped up her walking, hoping to get to her home.

The kitsune lived in a nice wood cabin, it wasn't too far from the road but wasn't too far into the forest and had a little gravel path leading to it. She walked quickly into her home, telling the performing twins to let Smokey stay in the front yard as it was big enough for the horse (she had laid out a large bucket filled with water and another bucket filled with various things for the horse to eat once it arrived) and for the rest of them to sit in the living room whilst she went to get everything to help Athan and Julian. She left them in her living room, which was nicely but simply decorated. She had no TV, and the most detail in this room came from the many pictures and paintings hung on the wall. Several had writing on them that wasn't English or any other 'human' language, and a few showed Vivian as she grew up along with the few friends, one showing her with a male. Vivian looked to be about fifteen in that picture.

Vivian returned after a few moment and passed Julian a small bowl filled with a lovely smelling soup, telling him to drink it. It would help with his mental barrier so Casper wouldn't be able to slip free so easily. Then the Kitsune walked over to Athan, setting down a bowl filled with warm water and putting a washcloth into it. She currently had some stone dissolving in the water, the stone would help heal any wounds the male might have. As for his clothes... "Cordelia, would you go upstairs a get some clothes out of storage for me? It's the fourth door to the right, I should have some clothes that will fit Athanasius in there, in the fourth drawer from the top in the oak wood drawer." She smiled at the female and then turned to Athan once more. "Will you allow me to clean you, or would you rather some privacy to clean yourself?"
 
Taking a slow breath through his nose, Athan let it out before answering. "No, I am not immortal." He might as well be, though. He had been impaled, burned, buried, and shaken like a rag doll by a raging river. One time he went to the coldest area of the planet he could think of and walked until he could not take another step. He fell asleep with the cold stabbing needles into him and woke feeling numb. While he was unable to die from the cold, it still had an effect on his body. He could not walk well after that, and time blurred until one day a group of people found him. By the time he was able to move the next morning, he was gone, not wanting to be questioned about his lack of injuries.

The trade offer Cordelia brought up was not to his liking, but he decided to keep quiet and discuss this with whoever was providing him with what he needed. He had a feeling it was not going to be the dancer who gave him the most help, and this was proven correct when they reached Vivian's place. It would be the kitsune that he would be discussing the debt with. That was fine with him, for maybe she would give him more satisfactory work than watching a performance.

Athanasius stared silently ahead while waiting for Vivian to return, and when she did he found himself staring at Julian and the bowl he was given. If he was going to be staying here with them, even for a short time, then he was adamant on figuring the male out. Something wasn't right about the guy, and he would not hesitate to kill him in order to protect himself or anyone else.

He was jarred out of his slowly darkening thoughts by the kitsune placing a bowl next to him. Leaning in close to it, he sucked in a deep breath through his nose before turning his head to Vivian. "I have no injuries, and I am capable of cleaning myself." Grabbing the bowl, he stood up and made his way outside, setting the bowl while he stood on the ground next to it. After removing his shirt, he grabbed the cloth and wrung it out above his head. He did this once more before beginning to gently wipe the dirt from his skin. While he was unable to get his back, his face, arms and chest were clean. His hair was slightly better, but he would need more water than he had to get all the dirt -now mud- out of it.
 
[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]
"Oh," the dancer replied, sounding just slightly disappointed. He had such an interesting name... But then again, hers didn't mean much either. Still, there was something about the stranger that she couldn't sense. It didn't make her uneasy, if anything, she felt sad. But she couldn't explain why either.

Soon enough, they reached Vivian's place and Cordelia's mood instantly brightened. She pet Smokey before heading inside, knowing her brother would take care of unsaddling the horse of all their possessions. Smokey deserved some treats for carrying their stuff all the way here. While her brother did that, she headed inside.

"Your home is as nice as I remember!" She exclaimed happily, almost bouncing on her feet as she looked around. She wandered over to the pictures, admiring them as she stared. "Who's this?" She asked the kitsune, pointing to the male in one of the photos.

When her twin came inside, they made eye contact, seemingly communicating with one another. They couldn't talk telepathically no, but they knew each other well enough to understand the slight glance they gave each other. You okay? I'm fine. Cordelia flashed a smile at Julian, before glancing over to their host. "Of course!" With a bound, she headed upstairs to grab the clothes.
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[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]
Julian took the leaf gratefully, popping it into his mouth and began to chew. While he cringed at the taste, his headache began to relieve and Casper began to sound more quiet. "Thank you," he smiled appreciatively, glad that he was friends with someone like her. The twins often forgot about painkillers, and didn't buy them whenever they could despite how much they could've helped the musician.

Casper kept up the insults as they neared Vivian's home, but Julian chose to ignore him. He didn't have time to deal with an unhappy demon, especially one that had gotten itself trapped in the first place. Once they arrived, Julian sighed in relief and set to work on relieving Smokey of all their belongings. He had done well, and neighed happily once he was free and began to munch on the goodies their host had left out. Giving him a nice rub, the musician headed inside.

A quick glance, making eye contact with his sister, before going and sitting down on one of the couches inside. Making sure to distance himself from the stranger, he kept quiet while he waited for the kitsune. Once she returned, along with a bowl of something, he smiled shyly before taking it. Casper seemed to know that it was something bad for him, and began to screech in annoyance to try and distract or anger Julian enough to make him drop it. The twin didn't bat an eye, but the dark feeling around him seemed to grow even more.

Bringing the bowl up to his lips, he was acutely aware of a certain someone staring at him. Trying not to look, he took a few sips while trying to hide the blush that was now rapidly heating up his cheeks. Bringing the bowl down, he stared at the liquid inside and inhaled deeply, sighing softly at the smell. Casper seemed to quiet down, as whatever was in the soup had begun to work. Soon enough, the stranger headed outside to clean himself and the musician relaxed. Wanting to find some way to repay their host for her kindness, Julian looked up at her. "Would you like me to play you one of my new pieces?" He asked, before taking another sip.
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Vivian had smiled at Cordelia's compliments to her home, but tensed up when she pointed out the male in a photo with her. She didn't respond to it, instead giving a smile as the female headed upstairs. The kitsune made her way back into the kitchen to grab two buckets and filled them with water, she then carried the items outside and set them down by Athanasius. "Here, that one bowl won't nearly be enough." She looked down at the already filty water and sighed, turning to head back inside. Vivian allowed all six of her tails to become visible, two long fox ears becoming visible on her head as well. Her eyes glowed and she walked back into the living room, taking a seat and fixing her gaze on Julian.

"That would be greatly appreciated, Julian. You're music is always lovely." Now that she had nothing else to tend to she would happily listen to his music, because she did enjoy it a lot.
 
Athanasius turned his head down to look at the water then up to the kitsune, but she was already heading through the door so he didn't get a chance to thank her. It wasn't too important since he could do that once he was done, so he picked up the buckets and moved farther away from the house, not wanting to soak the ground near the porch. Being farther away from the house also gave him a better sense of privacy. His current appearance didn't bother him, and he didn't take into consideration respect for others, but he preferred to not be around others.

Kneeling down, he bent his head and let his hair sink into the water. One hand followed the hair and began to help work the clumps of mud and other debris out of it. He ended up doing this for a few minutes, also attempting to work some of the knots out, and once he was done the first bucket of water was a muddy brown, some leaves and small sticks floating in it. His hair was the opposite and was finally starting to look white.

Grabbing the second bucket, he lifted it above his head and slowly began to pour the water out. He would stop every so often to wring his hair out and get some more dirt out, and once the water was nearly gone his hair started to wring out clean. Just to be thorough, he dumped the rest of it over his head. He then stood there for another minute and wrung what he could of the water out of his hair, but it still clung to his face and dripped little drops down his body.

After dumping out the water in the second bucket, he brought both to the house and set them on the porch next to the door before grabbing the bowl and dropping the cloth into it and moving back to the door. Due to his soaking figure, he stood half naked in the doorway. Julian was singing and he did not want to interrupt, so instead of speaking, he fixed his eyes on the male that he just managed to see from his position and continued with his staring from earlier. The darkness he sensed from the male was no longer as intense.
 
[fieldbox=Cordelia Sinclair, #8ae261, solid]
Cordelia didn't seem to notice the way the kitsune tensed, instead happily going along her way. Once she had grabbed the clothes, she headed downstairs to find the other two. Once she spotted Vivian, she smiled and went to pass along the clothes to her so that she could give them to the stranger. After doing that, the dancer glanced towards her brother curiously.

"You're gonna play them something? Want me to sing along?" She offered, more than happy to lend her voice. There wasn't enough room for one of her full performances, despite wanting to put on a show for her hosts. She smiled brightly, her eyes glancing over to the kitsune, noting the way she let her tails show.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox=Julian Sinclair, #36c3e2, solid]
Julian smiled back at his sister with a shake of his head. "No it's fine, I'd be happy to do a solo performance," he replied, before getting up to grab his violin. His sister nodded and sat down on the couch, her hands folded neatly in her lap except her legs were bouncing up and down in excitement.

Julian grabbed his instrument, taking it out of the case and beginning to tune. It only took moments, as perfect pitch and years of practice came in handy. Once he was ready, he glanced around briefly before pressing the bow to the strings and beginning to play.

He had chosen one of his more recent compositions. It was mournful, with hints of regret and frustration woven into the piece. It began to tell a tale; a story of loss and anger, as if the person behind it would never be forgiven. As the music began to slowly lift itself up, out of the darkness and despair it had been weaving, Julian caught a glimpse of the stranger out of the corner of his eye. He tried not to focus on it, instead closing his eyes and putting everything he had into his music.

It was an unfinished composition, but with his music, Julian was more than confident to improvise. Cordelia was in tears, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. The musician had blocked out everything except the music; his fingers were moving with a mind of their own, note after note plucking each and every heart string.

The mood lifted, as if the person had finally found someone else to love. It began to get softer and softer, the key changing to something happier, before finally finishing on a soft, peaceful note. Cordelia burst into applause, tears still streaming down her face. Not bad. Casper's comments were rare, but Julian smiled gratefully that he wasn't trying to attack his mind again. However once he glanced over to his other audience, he hesitated, unsure whether or not he was supposed to bow.
[/fieldbox]
 
Vivian relaxed completely as the second of the twins joined them and Julian began playing shortly after. Her body stated relaxed and she let her eyes close and head tilted back in order to truely appreciate the music. It was beautiful... no, wait, it was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Vivian could feel the emotion in her soul and it made her tails curl and swish. She stayed silent and still beaides that, only opening her eyes once Julian had finished his piece. Her lips formed a small smile and she stood up. "That was absolutely stunning, Julian. Thank you for sharing that wonderful piece with us." She walked over to give the male a hug as a sign of appreciation before gathering the clothes Cordelia had brought for their guest. She carried them over to the male.

"Here, you may get dressed in any of the rooms upstairs that do not have closed doors." She explained simply, handing him the clothes and then walking back over to her couch and taking a seat, also crossing her legs. She let her tails stretched out and gestured for Cordelia to play with them should she wish.
 
The music swirled around the air around him, but unlike most pieces he heard the past 300 hundred years or so, there was something about this one that caused it to begin to lodge inside of him. His childhood had been spent laughing and singing with his brothers, and because of that he spent an uncountable number of years after the war actively avoiding any sort of music. It was hard going, and as the world moved on, it became even harder to avoid. He learned to tune the noises out, but not this time. Much to his dismay, it was puncturing holes through the wall he had built, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Eyes taking on a haunted look, he told his feet to turn and run, and he barely registered when they instead did the opposite. He took a few steps into the house, forgetting all about not wanting to drip water onto the floor. The memories he pushed away for so long were slowly clawing their way back towards the surface. He didn't want to remember any of them: not the horror of the gore ridden land after the battle, not the happiness and love that used to come from being around his brothers, not the pain of seeing the broke and bloody figure of-

NO!

The music began to change, and just like that, the spell was broken. Whatever look that had come over Athan's face at the near memories slowly began to fade. His clenched fists began to relax, and the wall around himself was whole once more. The happy music that came from the violin became nothing but background noise, and he was back to staring at Julian with a dead but wondering eyes.

When the music stopped, he only looked away from the other male when the clothes were brought to him. Taking the clothes, he gave a small bow of his head and finally noticed the water that was dripping onto the floor. "Forgive me. I will clean up my mess as soon as I am more presentable." Athan turned away from Vivian and made his way up the stairs. He found a bathroom to dress in so he could dry off before dressing. After he was done, he looked into the mirror, not recognizing the reflection staring back at him. Even after all these years, his subconscious mind could not comprehend the sudden change he went through after the war. The person staring back at him was only recognizable in looks.

One minute passed, then two, and when it finally hit the third minute mark, he looked away from the half a stranger in the mirror and made his way back downstairs to the others. The towel was draped over his shoulder since he had to clean up his mess if it had not already been, and he still had to thank Vivian and work out a way to repay her.
 
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