"I can drive," Shadow hummed quietly. "I need someone to hold the map and make sure I'm not wandering off on the wrong path, however. Who would like to be in charge of that?" If he was going to drive, which he didn't do often...that meant he wouldn't be wearing his mask. He had not removed it in front of Gian since he had been here.

But, the moment after he spoke, he reached behind his head and undid the clasps, pulling the mask off of his face. There were quite a few reasons why he usually wore that mask around strangers...one was that he tended to attract a lot of attention to himself because of his looks. He was, well...downright gorgeous. He distracted people...sometimes even the freaks themselves.

Alfie was not fazed by Shadow's looks--he'd been with the show far too long to react. "I can't read a map to save my life...someone has to go switch Léan from the aquarium to his smaller tank, too..." Alfie knew deep down that even though Léan seemed nonviolent with Gian around...if Gian even tried to touch him, things would go bad. Usually Shadow himself would switch the volatile merman from tank to tank, but if he was driving, he had to get used to the van's controls...he couldn't waste time.

Alfie had no lower body strength, due to his not having legs, so heavy lifting was out of the question for him. He cast a plain look in Kratos' direction, asking him without even speaking if he would take care of Léan.

Kratos, like Alfie, wasn't all that fazed by the Ringleader's beauty. Well, he was just a tad but that didn't have him turning to look or gaze at him for too long. "Fine," the man grunted as he uncrossed his arms and gave Alfie a look that could pass off as a condescending gaze, "In exchange for that, I'm not having you sleep in the van. Your snoring wakes me up."

"Then, I'll take the map," Hebs said as his eyes stuck glued to Shadow's handsome face. He always hated that whenever Shadow took off his mask. Why he had to look that good and blessed with the heavens... it's preposterous. "Just hit my head, though, whenever I look at you too long, Shadow." There was a look of distaste on the snake boy's face. "I don't know what kind of charm you keep on using to us. Look, even Gian's staring at you."

It was hard. It was very hard to tear his gaze away from the Ringleader's face. That, and it was his first time to see the man's face without the mask. Surprise, of course, was evident on his face and he looked pretty much like some guy who'd just seen his crush pass by and couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I-I'm sorry..." Gian started, looking very much flustered, "Sh-Shadow, could you put on your mask first and take it out only when you're about to get behind the wheel?" Now that he knew what was behind that mask, he definitely wouldn't mind having to gaze at him for the longest of hours but he wouldn't be able to do his job well and that would prove to be annoying for the freak members, he was sure.

Alfie looked at Kratos like he was offended. "I do NOT snore! ...Well, uh...perhaps a bit. Hey, I don't snore if I have those--what are they...oh, Breathe-Right strips? I think that's what they're called. If you get me some of those, I won't snore. I also won't be up to irritate you."

Alfie liked to sleep on long trips. He did snore at a bloodcurdling volume. Those strips were the only thing that kept him from snoring at night. Those things worked.

The naga grinned and stretched his arms high up above his head. "I know you and fish-boy really get along, Kratos, but make sure he isn't in an irritable mood. He bites." Alfie shuddered slightly, remembering the last time he had accidentally invaded the merman's space...he had lunged out of the tank and sank his shark-like teeth into his arm. He wouldn't let go, either, until Shadow forced him to.

"Ah--my apologies." Shadow, instead of putting his mask back on, turned away from them all and chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm not using any of my charm...that's, ah...one of the reasons I have a mask on most of the time. I can't drive very well with it on. Perhaps it would be better if I wore sunglasses?" His eyes certainly had a strong effect on people--having them out of the way would lessen the effect of his looks. "I don't own any sunglasses...but I'm sure someone here does."

Kratos snorted. He rarely laughed. That was the most one could get from a laugh anyway. "You're a kid if you need those. Hebs, give him some." When he saw the snake-boy rummage in his bag and hand what Kratos had requested to Alfie, he nodded and went to help Gian with the tanks.

Gian felt that little relief when Shadow had turned away from all of them. He got to tear his gaze away and went to help Kratos with the tanks. "Hebs has," he replied for Hebs who, yet again, rummaged into his bag for the said sunglasses. He saw Hebs hand it over to the Ringleader and he smiled apologetically at the frowning snake-man. "And, I guess we're set."

The teen hopped off from the back of the van to start collecting the bags of everyone to put them in, too, the van. "Should we head out?"


[[ We can fastforward to them arriving to the place? XD ]]

((XD Sure! You want to do that? It'd probably be at a condominium, so they can fit everyone in one place.))

The ocean smelled good. Gian had to give it to Shadow. He knew very well what kind of place they'd all be fitting in well. The tank, though, was a little hard to bring up but they'd managed and Gian smiled. He was out in the balcony, enjoying the fresh air with his hands on the rails. Hebs was beside him, looking very much pleased by the view. "It's higher than the last time," Hebs commented as he put his hand out to see the sun setting in between his fingers, "It's perfect, though."

Gian had to agree and he turned to look over his shoulder to see what everyone was up to. Kratos was seated by the tank of Léan's, looking rather exhausted with his head tilted back to rest on the cool glass of the said tank.

Léan and Kratos always seemed to get along, at least somewhat. The two had similar personalities, and they were both oddly quiet. The merman was much more relaxed than he usually was when they traveled--Shadow had chosen a place that was secluded from everything else. They even had their own private beach.

Perfect, considering Léan was already dying to get into the water. The fins behind his ears were twitching with excitement. He was resting his head on the side of the tank as well, close to Kratos'. He appeared to be content.

Shadow was just brining up the last of the luggage--one of Léan's crates of fish. Léan eyed them for a moment and then looked away, back out towards the ocean. He could even smell it--he was accustomed to the tank water, which was salt water, but he was eager to get back into the ocean for once...

Gian noticed that. The fins of Léan's ears anyway that were twitching with excitement. He smiled slightly and walked back into the room to make way of the said crate so Shadow could put it down. "We could head out and swim, right?" he asked Shadow as he looked up at him with his eyebrows raised just a tad. He was excited. He's never went to the ocean and honestly, this trip had been a long one. It'd be nice to feel the sea water for once instead of a swimming pool or the water from the faucet in Alfie's tub.

"I'll come along," Hebs said with a grin as he followed in after Gian, too, and turned to look at the merman, "You want to swim, too, Léan?"

"I want to go, too!" Alfie wailed, excitedly. He could swim much like Léan could...he just couldn't breathe underwater. He swam a lot like a sea snake did. He just didn't get to swim that often...really, the only place he'd swam in besides the ocean was the aquarium, to clean it...and that hadn't been a pleasant experience.

Léan nodded vigorously, and then looked towards Shadow unsurely. He did not like being picked up out of his tank. He usually only let Shadow and sometimes Kratos take him out and carry him without retaliation. Shadow was still carting the crate around--he was going to go and shove the fish in the freezer.

Hebs chuckled and he grinned at Alfie's wail, which Kratos reacted negatively to. The man glared at Alfie. "What are you snake, a dog?" he asked as he slowly got up to his feet. "I'll go on first!" the snake boy said as he patted Alfie's shoulder along the way and went on ahead. Apparently, he was already ready to swim with his swim shorts left on him when he'd shed his shirt.

"Who'll carry him out?" he asked as he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Gian watched with his hands tucked into his pockets. He didn't want to be bitten or hurt in the process of bringing the merman to the ocean. "I'll watch out for him," was all he could offer with a smile. He was going to bring his knife just in case something does happen.


[[ We should definitely have Gian save Léan's life. XD During the trip. ]]

((He's not used to the ocean...hm, what shall we have happen to him? He's not even used to currents.))

The very mention of being carried, even though it had been implied, seemed to dampen Léan's mood a tad. His tail swished back and forth slightly and he glanced around for Shadow again. Since the man was still shoving fish into the freezer--well, gently shoving fish into the freezer anyway, his hands were full for the moment.

Alfie was not wearing a shirt. He immediately slithered out, at maximum speed, to catch up with Hebs. "You wait for me! I'm going to be the second one in!" He seemed so eager, really--he was rarely so active unless he was truly excited about something.

It wasn't hard to see that. At least, to Kratos, Léan's sudden shift in mood wasn't hard to notice. "I also don't like it either so don't bite off my arm," he gave Léan a warning look, "You won't be alive when you do." Gian moved to help Shadow first before he headed out to join them. It seems Kratos was going to take care of bringing him first. Hebs and Alfie might be able to hold him off for a few minutes. The boy arranged the fishes well so they'd fit in the freezer. He'd also put the ingredients that needed to be in the fridge from what Hebs had packed.

Kratos held out his arms and turned to look at the merman. "Come on."


[[ The current brings him to the deeper part of the sea? XD ]]

((I could see that happening...maybe he'll see a shark, which he, unbeknownst to everyone but Shadow, has a big fear of...*plots* *evil smirk*))

"Thank you for the help..." Shadow had about four more fish to fit into the freezer. He'd made sure to bring smaller-size tuna so there would be room in the freezer for other things. It was hard, shoving all those fish into the back of the freezer...but he had to make room for everything else. He relied on Gian to make sure everything was nice and organized.

Léan pressed himself to the back of the tank for a moment, looking unhappy but not too upset. At least it was Kratos and not someone else...if Kratos jostled him, he was sure to bite. He'd bitten him in the past--thankfully, the man had been too surprised by it to even think about using his powers to harm him. He slid up to the top of the tank and managed to get himself about halfway over the top before it started to wobble. That was a sign that he needed help the rest of the way out of the tank.

[[ Aha. I can imagine Gian carelessly coming to save him. -.- Since he's responsible for Léan. =D ]]

Gian nodded at the gratitude and smiled. "You're welcome." He did organize it without being told. He supposed it had come with the habit of arranging things with Hebs both in his room, in the kitchen and even in the storage tent.

The wobbling honestly amused Kratos and he made sure to keep his powers on hold so he wouldn't kill the merman in the process. Picking him up by his waist, he used his feet to keep the tank steady and his upper body strength to pull him out. Gian was in awe at what he'd seen and he watched Kratos take Léan into a hold, which greatly resembled that of a lover's one. "Now stay still or you'll have to crawl to the sea. I don't care."

Once the two had disappeared, Gian turned to look back at Shadow. "Léan... he doesn't want anybody but you and Kratos carrying him?" he asked as he managed to tuck in the last of the things Hebs had packed and fitted in all the tuna. Shutting the fridge's door, he wiped his hands on his pants and got up to his feet again.

Hebs was already in the sea and had swam a little further away from the shoreline. He was laughing at his fellow snake man, who was more mutated than he was and swam to where he was to grab ahold of his tail and play with him.

(("I'll save you!" *heads out* *sees giant-ass shark* *flees with a chicken merman in tow* X3))

Léan's tail automatically curled around Kratos so he could keep himself steady. His arms immediately went around him for support, as well. The tip of his tail flicked back and forth slowly, nervously. He did not like being held. It made him embarrassed, for one thing, and he hated to show much emotion of any kind around other people. Plus, at least to Shadow's knowledge, he had not been touched by a human besides Shadow in a mildly affectionate manner in years.

"I'm afraid my tailfin will not stay still. I'll be staying still, however," he hummed, resting his head awkwardly against the other male. The split fins at the end of his tail were slowly flicking back and forth and curling and uncurling, something he couldn't really control out of water.

Shadow flashed a smile in their direction before they vanished out the door. "Oh, no. Usually he doesn't even want Kratos carrying him. But since I'm busy, well...he doesn't have a choice. Alfie cannot carry him...and he doesn't trust you enough to let you carry him, let alone touch him. Léan and I have a special sort of bond, you could say. I saved his life."

Alfie squealed when Hebs grabbed his tail and he whipped around, using the other boy's hold to tug himself closer. He tried to sweep his legs out from under him.

[[ A lame-ass saving style. Yes. :rofl: That just made my day. ]]

Kratos didn't like it one bit but he just grunted as a reply. Though the merman was beautiful and he honestly liked how he fitted in his arms, he knew better than to try and make a move on Léan. His fascination of him, at least, didn't surpass his control yet. "Good," he mumbled as he adjusted him a little in his arms. He had a problem with the tail moving like that. He was human, after all, and his grip on something scaley and slimy was kind of hard to do.

There was also that one thing he hated whenever he'd carry the merman: getting wounds because of his scales.

"I've heard that," he said with a nod as he started to unbutton his shirt to use a part of it to wipe the sweat forming on his forehead, "It's nice to share something special with someone." Flashing the Ringleader a handsome smile, his fingers continued to unbutton his shirt. "I'll go on then since we're finished. You should join us in the water... just try and stay away from me though."

Of course, he was talking about the man's unexplainable beauty. "I don't think I can swim well with your mask off." The boy's cheeks flushed a little and he scratched his cheek lightly with his index finger before he went on to follow after everyone.

Hebs laughed but that was countered when the other had swept his legs out from under him. He almost drowned but all was good when he'd climbed up behind Alfie to head lock him and splash him some water in his face.

If Kratos wanted to make a move on Léan, it was probably wise to consult Shadow first. Léan had, ever since Kratos joined the group, expressed interests in the looks of the people around him. Shadow, of course, was one of the people he complimented...he would only compliment Shadow directly, and no one else. Alfie was good-looking despite his mutations, but his personality turned the merman off. Hebs did not annoy him as much. Shadow oftentimes annoyed him as well with how perverted he acted, especially around Alfie. He was not used to Gian yet, so naturally he did not care for him yet.

Kratos, to Shadow's knowledge, was the only one of the group that Léan was not terribly nasty to, at times. Shadow suspected that this meant something...but he wasn't going to bring it up by himself. He would let one of them bring it up to him.

Shadow smiled at Gian. The sunglasses were still in place...thankfully, it seemed his eyes were a big part of his looks and the effect was no longer strong at all. His eyes, after all, were wild and feral like a wolf's eyes. "Ha...I will try. The effect will be stronger the longer you avoid it. You have to become desensitized to it at some point."

Alfie snorted, getting water in his nose, and splashed Hebs back. He was having a grand old time, it seemed--though, he had fun no matter what was going on.

Kratos never did bother the merman if he remembered right and that must've accounted for something at least. And, despite his good looks, he was pretty much closed off to the world, including his freak family. The male always did like being alone.

"Here," the male said as he'd stepped into the water in his boots and slowly and carefully set the merman down. He gave him a little smile and stood back up straight to look out into the sea. Hebs and Alfie were having fun. That was good. "I'll head back to sleep." He looked back down at Léan and reached out to brush a few strands of hair from the beautiful merman's face. Realizing what he'd done, he quickly retrieved his hand and left without another word.

"That... doesn't sound good at all," was the last comment Gian had said before he'd left the room and shed off his shirt to leave him in his shorts. He was going on his swim trunks, because Hebs had picked it out for him one day. Upon reaching the sea, he dropped his clothes further away from the shore line and dove into the sea once it was deep enough. The water felt good on his stressed out body, indeed.

Hebs fell off from Alfie when water got into his eyes and he kept his head up in the surface with his feet. "Oh, hey, Gian and Léan's joined us," he said with a bright smile as he waved towards them.

Léan was a tad frightened of affection. Of course, only Shadow knew this. He had been terribly abused by his past owners...Shadow had rescued him. In truth, he had come a long way from what he'd been like when Shadow had first brought him home. He was thirty times as sociable as he had been back then.

When he was set down in the water, every muscle in Léan's body seemed to relax. By nature, merpeople were much more comfortable in the ocean. He was so used to captivity, though, that he was not fit to live in the ocean. He wouldn't survive having to hunt for his own food, outrun prey, and fight other merpeople for territory.

He was about to quietly thank Kratos when the man brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. To say the least, this left Léan in a state of fuzzy, confused shock...this lasted only a second. His tail suddenly started to swish back and forth again. "...What, not going to join me?" he called to the retreating man, puzzled. They were on vacation...Kratos slept all the time back home, so why did he want to sleep, now?

...The key word was 'me.' He mentioned nothing about Alfie or Hebs...perhaps he wanted quiet company?

"Mm-hm...I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you are going to have to get used to it. I usually don't wear my mask at all at home--I've just been wearing it to keep the effects away from you." Shadow was wearing his trunks, as well. He was going to go in with them, even though he was tired from driving. He was hoping that everyone would want to swim today.

Alfie poked his head up out of the water, spitting a steady stream of it out of his mouth. "Wonder if Cranky's going to stay," he hummed, watching Kratos start to retreat.

Gian blinked when he'd seen Kratos going their way and he raised his eyebrows a tad. "Are you not going to-"

"Sleep," was all he'd said, "Wake me up for dinner." Kratos gave a little nod to Shadow and he disappeared back into the room. This definitely made Gian frown in slight confusion. Kratos usually kept to himself, true, but shouldn't he, at least, loosen up now that they were having this vacation?

"Thank you... I guess," he said as a reply to Shadow telling him that he was wearing that mask to keep the effects away from him. With him wearing the sunglasses, it at least kept some of the staring at a low. "And, I'm afraid I'm not going to get used to it. You really are good-looking." Gian floated for a second or two and then swam back to the shore. He got to where Léan was but made sure he'd put distance between the both of them.

"How does it feel now you're back in the ocean?" he asked him with a bright smile, obviously excited to hear how Léan was going to reply to that. After all, they'd had one of the conversations where it involved Léan missing the ocean and he'd asked Shadow because of that particular reason.

"Good." Léan was looking rather puzzled, for some reason. For right now he was just basking in the shallows. He would venture out into deeper water once he got comfortable with the feel of the ocean water around him. Plus, what Kratos had just done had totally confused him.

Once he saw that Shadow was easing his way into the water--he'd left his sunglasses near the shore--he immediately swam in his direction, sticking by him closely. He was much more fluid in open water, but he certainly wasn't used to it. Shadow did not mind the closeness--he instead worked on urging the merman into deeper water. "Go on, don't cling to me. Go have fun with the others. And don't bite anyone. You know as well as I do what happens if there's blood in the water."

Shadow did not have to speak twice. Léan backed off, though it was unwilling. He gradually drifted out towards deeper water and he avoided everyone else, for the most part. He was underwater, drifting around the rocks and being careful of rip-tides and the like.

"You know," Hebs started as he gave Alfie a look, "Calling Kratos like that's rude. He's just... like that all the time." The snake man splashed water at Alfie again and went off to swim towards Gian who was currently watching Shadow and the merman. Hebs could very well see, though, that Gian had become entranced again with Shadow's beauty.

"I know," he said, "He can really be annoying without the mask." Slapping Gian's back none too gently seemed to do the trick. It had Gian's gaze snapping back to Hebs and as he was rubbing at the red mark left on his back, he pursed his lips a little. "Thank you... though," he said, his cheeks coloring just a tad as he got back into the sea.

The two swam towards where Alfie was and agreed to splash water at him. Together. Talk about teamwork.

"Whaaaat? Cranky's a good nickname for him," Alfie accused, attempting to dodge Hebs' splash but failing miserably. By the time he'd rubbed the water out of his eyes, he saw that Gian and Hebs had agreed to team up and splash the utter hell out of him. He did what he did best, naturally--he tried to flee, using his tail like an oar and trying to outswim them.

Shadow took his time getting into the water. He wasn't going to stay in for very long, considering that he wanted to take a nap--long drives always wore him out. But, he would enjoy the time he was in. He eventually laid back and floated around the deeper shallows on his back.

Léan stayed underwater, exploring the rocks and such beneath the ocean. He managed to find a few pretty shells for his tank, and he kept them with him. However, he was wandering too far away from the shore...he was not paying attention to what was above him and he didn't notice when the sounds of splashing and the sight of feet and a snake-like tail above him had vanished.

Gian and Hebs laughed at Alfie as he swam away and Hebs, in particular, went after him. Gian, on the other hand, noticed that Léan was nowhere in sight. It made him worry and he frowned a tad. Swimming back and towards Shadow who was floating, he made sure not to splash the man's face and stayed there stunned, yet again, at his beauty.

It took time for him to finally speak.

"Sh-Shadow," he started as his gaze stuck on the man's beautiful face and especially those eyes, "Where's Léan?"

"...Hm?" Shadow opened his eyes. He had been relaxing, but now he was suddenly alert. He tipped over so he could float and scan the ocean floor quite easily. "...Ah, not again," he hummed, reaching up to brush a few of his soaked azure bangs out of his face. "He must have lost track of time and his position, and went a little farther out to sea. When he's on the ocean floor, he doesn't pay much attention to what's above him. He's far too used to being in a tank."

He paused, suddenly. "...Do you want to go and fetch him? He should be easy to spot. It hasn't been long...he couldn't have gone far."