Ah, the smell of synthetics in the morning! It was the best smell Kingsley Frankfourth could imagine. Okay, he really hated making dolls. He did it, however, because he was good at it and it was all he knew. Family tradition was a pain in the backside. Like everyone before him, Kingsley woke up at five in the morning and to bed in the wee hours of the morning. Today was no different than the rest of them. He arose from his ratty bed, not bothering to make it, and headed straight into the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. He rarely brushed his long, dark brown hair since it was usually in a braid that ended in the middle of his back. Hair brushing just seemed like a waste of time. It was these small inconveniences that just made Kingsley a very rotten person, aside from the lack of sleep of course.

In only half an hour Kingsley was dressed in very costume-ish outfit, Victorian-era to go with the dolls. It was just another tradition, but he did seem to have that pale skin and long lashes that accentuated his deep blue eyes the color of sapphires. The day would seem to pass very slowly, especially since Kingsley really just hated people. Being a doll maker did tend to make him... anti-social. It was one of those things that just happened. It was now seven in the morning and the early-customers were starting to come in. In a very bored voice, Kingsley greeted them, "Good Morning. Welcome to Frankfouth's Dolls. Hope you enjoy our fine collection of hand-crafted porcelain dolls." Obviously, he wasn't very enthusiastic. Sometimes Kingsley thought he'd be better off living in a cave.

Later that night...
"I. Hate. Dolls!" He shouted, nearly knocking over the dolls he'd just painted the rest of their faces on. His dark blue eyes drifted over to the vault that his father had strictly said to never, under any circumstances, open. A devious smile crossed his sharply-structured face as he moved closer to the vault. The smile spread as Kingsley turned the tumbler this way and that, entering the combination. The smile was now just an out-right grin as he opened the door and stepped in, turning on an overhead light. He turned this way and that, looking at what the vault contained. "Doll parts? Are you kidding? What's so special about these?" He asked himself as he picked up several of the doll parts and examining them. Kingsley noticed there was something off about them. "Okay, these could be interesting." He muttered picking up a pair of eyes and a skull bow, then going back to his work area. It took several hours, but by two in the morning the dolls were complete and Kingsley was ready for some sleep. Tomorrow would be another longs day.

Later...
"Psst... hey! You... With the eyes. I know you can hear me." This was a rather strange little place. There were these massive looking dolls and clothing and sketches. "Where are we?" Ziara asked, flicking her eyes around cautiously. It had been a long time since she had been awoken. She flicked her eyes around carefully, since it felt like they would fall out if she wasn't cautious. Her eyes settled on a mirror and she climbed off the place she was sitting on. Now she could see that it was a work bench. The thought seemed strange but she shrugged it off. Trying to be as silent as possible, Ziara made her way over to the mirror and examined herself. "What the hell! I'm only three and a half feet tall!" She exclaimed, looking at the blonde ringlets that ended just below her shoulders and her amethyst eyes. "And I'm a doll... a porcelain doll! Where is the bastard who made us?! I will kill him with his freaking dolls!"

“Shut up, damn!” Atticus rubbed his head, feeling odd and out of place, somewhat heavy, as though made of wax. But what caught him immediately was his voice. It sounded… High. Feminine. He coughed, opening his eyes from what felt like a thousand-year slumber, nearly blinded by the light above him, and closed his eyes. Sitting up, he moved his fingers, looking at them through the spots of darkness that dotted his vision, seeing slender, delicate fingers and carefully-rounded nails coming from a slightly puffy black sleeve lined with white lace. Glancing around, Atticus looked for the source of the first voice, seeing her standing near a mirror. He could see himself, but was frozen in shock.

He was female. A female wax doll. Shivering in amazement, he raised one of his hands, but he could only call himself a her even as his mindset was his own. The mirror did not lie: Curly light brown hair, bright green, almost gem-like eyes. A black and white dress that seemed to come from the closet of a high-class Victorian-era woman. Though his body---or her body, as was all he could think about---was around four feet tall, but seemed to be a fully-developed adult woman. She stood, unsteady in heeled platform-based boots, constrained by the dress. “What happened to my body!?” Atticus’ voice rang out high. “The… doll maker. That bastard. I’ll…! I…” The threat was lost. He felt the tight curls of his female doll body, almost reaching his waist as they fell in a long pony tail and hid half his eyes in straight bangs.

“I don’t believe this. How could I have known this would happen!? One moment I was fighting an exorcist, the next I was forced into a deep sleep and trapped, now I’m a woman.” Atticus bowed her head, unable to take her eyes from the mirror. She had not noticed the other doll nearby. “How can I be a doll, but able to move, and breathe, and… blink!” She looked at the other one. “You! You’re the one who woke me up. Why did you have to threaten so loud!? I could have just slept this nightmare away.”

Ziara flicked her eyes to the other... doll. "Oh, shut up! You could be only six inches tall." Her hands ran over the smooth fabric of the dress, admiring how it fit. Then she shook her head. "Besides, I could have knocked your ass off the table." She said, slightly calming down. It was then that she realized he... she?.... was taller than her. "I'll kill him!" She shouted again, then realized that the doll maker could still be around. "Oh, he is so dead..." She muttered in a quieter voice. "He's got to be around here somewhere...." She whispered to herself, looking for where he could have gone.

Shouting roused Kingsley from his slumber and blinked several times before he heard it again and pulled on his robe before rushing downstairs to see what it was. He was still half asleep when he got to the bottom of the stairs, but he heard voices coming from the workshop and quickly burst through only to see the two dolls he'd made earlier... talking and moving. They seemed about as pleasant as Kingsley himself was, but that was because they had been the ones shouting. His mouth dropped open as he blinked a few times. "Oh my, Lord... I've gone insane. I've gone insane from sleep deprivation. Maybe I am asleep. No... I'm not asleep." He muttered to himself. "Great, you're awake. Erm, you two will now be in charge of.... keeping the work room... tidy." He said, deciding to take advantage of the situation. He wasn't too sure however, since both dolls seemed particularly mad at him.

“Dearie, I think you’re a little out of your element to be threatening me.” Atticus sighed. She had lost interest in trying to intimidate the other doll, being in the same situation but in different bodies. “I can’t believe that pervert decided to put me in a female doll.” She muttered. “This isn’t comfortable…” She pulled at her clothes, the sleeves cutting into her wrists. Sighing, Atticus sat on the side of the work table, dangling her legs and growling to herself. “I’ve never seen this before. I knew that family was odd. I knew it! But what could I have done…?”

She paused, looking up and finding a dark-haired man standing in the doorway. She was certain she had seen him before, when she was a… he. Dark hair, blue eyes, they both seemed almost identical to the one who had sealed his demon soul away. “You.” Atticus stood, wobbly on her feet. “You! You think you can waltz right in here and tell us what to do when you haven’t even told us what the hell you’re waking us for!? Of all the nerve.” She crossed her arms, rearranging the front of her dress. “Sick pervert and straightforward. Hm, goes hand-in-hand, I suppose.” She glanced at the other animated doll.

Kingsley blinked a few times before glaring at the dolls. "Well, I suppose I could just put you back to sleep, but then there would be no one to clean this place up. Aside from myself, but I have better things to do." He wasn't fazed by the angry tone or insulting manner, but rather by the fact that both dolls seemed to be alive. "Besides, I don't like dolls. Especially you, you little bug." He added, staring down at both of the one who'd spoken to him. His eyes darted to the other one for just a moment before he shook his head.

Ziara clenched her delicate hands into fists and shot daggers at the... human. "Oh, why I oughtta...! You couldn't have atleast made me taller?!?!" She was more angry about the height issue than anything. She went to stand beside Atticus to glare at the human some more. She was a tad too angry to speak and decided it would be a waste of time to try to show this human doll maker who was boss. So, she resorted to silent glaring with her hands on her waist.

Kingsley got a little uncomfortable under the glare of the doll eyes, but he didn't show it. Kingsley, being Kingsley, picked both dolls up by the collars of their dresses just behind the neck. He brought them up to his level, but away from his face, and glared back. "I'm bigger. That means you just do what I say. I woke you, so you do what I say. I won't be intimidated by two... dolls that I created. Especially a dude in a chick's body. You'll clean and what ever else I tell you, got that?" He sounded pretty peeved, but he was really just uncertain. Even Kingsley knew dolls just didn't move. Maybe there was a reason his father didn't want that vault open.

Atticus took the most offense to how the man referred to her. She shot her small hands out, grasping at nothing but air because she was too small to reach his throat and she knew it. Leaving no other option, she bared her teeth and growled angrily. As much as she tried, Atticus’ demon-based powers were out of his reach in this female body, and he could not summon his shadows or weather-based power. Trying with all her might to control her legs and feet, she tried to kick out, but her joints were still stiff and her feet heavy under the weight of her shoes.

What silenced her was the threat of going back to sleep. Atticus, both her male and female sides, wanted only to be awake, to see how long truly his soul had been asleep. But she hated having to be referred to as a woman, a female, and as a doll. She could feel who she really was, a man, a demon, with powers feared by humans. The proposition was obvious, and if Ziara would not speak first, she would.

Going limp, she sighed. “Fine.” She growled. “I’ll… do whatever. But I’m not cleaning the bathrooms.” She glared at Kingsley, a burning stare in her bright green eyes.

Ziara looked between Atticus and... this doll maker person... this Kingsley. Then her eyes softened when she looked at how hurt Atticus looked. She sighed and shook her head, not believing she was about to give into the demands of this... this... lower life-form. Of course she couldn't talk, she was a doll. Her eyes blinked a few times as she straightened the bow on her head to her liking before she spoke. "Yeah, fine. I'll clean the workshop, but like Atticus don't expect me to scrub any bathrooms cause it just isn't going to happen. And don't threaten us like that again. Just cause I'm smaller doesn't mean I won't shove one of these other dolls up your butt." She said, shifting in his grasp.

Kingsley nodded and set bot doll back down on the work table. "Good. You can start in the morning. Don't touch anything that looks like it shouldn't be touched until I tell you what you can do." He said, watching the one with the bow stalk off. He sort of wanted to apologize to the one that had been referred to as Atticus, but he was too... cold to do that. "I'll see you both later. Don't even think about leaving this room." He said, leaving to go back to sleep. Kingsley had a feeling that tomorrow might not be a good day for business so he quickly put a sign on the door stating that the store was closed due to an emergency and to check back the next day before continuing his way upstairs to sleep.

Atticus gasped and straightened her collar to keep it from digging into her when she was set down. Leaping from the work table, she went to the door and tested it. She didn’t consider it locked, but didn’t try to open it. Her mind was swimming with her original figure, her male form, accompanied by an endless stream of threats she could have shot at Kingsley when he was still there. She stomped her foot. “Great. We’re nothing but maids now! I mean… It would have been easier if I could be a butler, or something similar, but no.”

When the door opened again, she jumped and turned, taking her eyes off the other doll. Instead of the man she had come to hate in less than a moment, it was a teenage girl. She looked sleepy, as though she had just woken up, with glittering brown eyes and brown hair that managed to reach below her waist. Her light blue nightgown was wrinkled with the movement of her sleep. “H-hello?” She squinted her eyes against the light in the room, finally lying eyes on the dolls. “Oh, there you are.” She nodded to them. “I thought I heard something.”

Atticus gave the girl a look. It was as though she had come into a public room and found two friends waiting there for her. “Er… Do you know us…?”

“No, but I’ve seen people come through the place a lot.” The girl came in, leaning against the wall to speak easily. “They helped a bit, then moved on. I’m Sophie, Kingsley’s sister.”

Ziara was off sulking in the corner. "Oh, pipe down will you. It could be worse and you know it." She said, brushing some wrinkles out of her dark purple dress. Her eyes flitted around, looking over the place. "At least the place isn't filthy or... eugh..." Her eyes flicked to the opening door. She immediately looked the girl over. The girl was definitely nicer than Kingsley, but she was still related to him. That just automatically mean that Ziara hated her. It wasn't anything too personal, but relatives tended to have similarities somewhere.

"I'm Ziara. He's Atticus, well... she's Atticus. Whatever... you get the point." Ziara made the point of introducing them both, just to be somewhat polite. "What's up with your brother? Has he always been like that or is he just exceptionally asshole-ish for us?" Ziara asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Sophie smiled at Ziara and Atticus. She seemed kind, much more so than her brother. “Don’t mind King. He’s just bothered. Our family’s been doll makers for four hundred years, but he doesn’t like it. We didn’t have a nice childhood growing up; our parents wanted us to follow them, but King didn’t like making dolls. He practiced with clay and wax, and he was really very good. Actually… Atticus…” She nodded to her, unsure whether to call the doll a ‘her’ or ‘him’. “You’re made of wax. Our dad said never to use certain parts for a doll, the ones that were kept in the vault, but I guess… He did. I mean, I never knew why.”

Atticus squinted at her. “What do you mean, we were put in these bodies just because your idiot brother used ‘forbidden’ doll parts!?”

“No! I mean…” Sophie scratched her head and ran her hand through her hair. “I mean, before our family decided to go into doll making, they used to be exorcists. They would find and banish demons into certain things, maybe relics or items, and keep them. I guess… King was curious.”

Atticus had fallen silent with her mouth slightly open. The word that echoed in her head, reaching the demon within, was exorcist.

Ziara shot an unbelieving look at Sophie and shook her head. "Well that boy has a thing or to coming to him if he doesn't straighten up." She muttered, looking off into the far corners of the room. Her ears perked up at the mention of Kingsley's dislike of doll making from an early age, deciding it would be useful to tug on his childhood pain. A thought occurred to her after she made her not so life-changing decision. "So... how come he's making dolls? Couldn't he just... not?" She asked, wondering why exactly Kingsley made himself such a miserable person. Of course she usually thrived off of the misery of others, but when she was the one causing it.

Exorcist? She just said exorcist... What the hell?! Ziara's temper flared a bit as she yelled, "So you're family is just the whole damn reason that we're like this?!?!?!?! From the beginning to now!? I cannot believe this! Not that you aren't nice and all. I'm sure some of your family must have been extremely lovely, but... ERRG!" After a moment she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening them again. "My sincerest apologies."

Meanwhile....
Kingsley tossed and turned in his sleep, dreaming about being killed by all the dolls he had ever created. After waking up with his heart pounding so hard he was afraid it would leap right out of his chest, he got up and closed and locked his bedroom door. This was only meant to provide him some peace of mind. "Stupid dolls..." He muttered as he burrowed back under his covers and drifted back to sleep.

Atticus shook her head at Ziara’s voice. “Yes, it’s the guild of exorcists who sealed me, and sealed Ziara into doll parts and crosses and books! Oh, all this humility comes from your ancestors.” She looked at the ground. Generally undaunted by oddities in the world, it was weighing on Atticus’ mind. She would never get used to the body he was in. But his scattered thoughts were interrupted by Sophie speaking again:

“It’s not King’s fault, I don’t think. He was always pushed by our parents. I wasn’t the healthiest girl in the world, so they were always careful around me, but when our parents died and left us with this huge store, he didn’t know anything outside of dolls. So he hates it, but it’s what he makes of himself.” She looked to Atticus. “I’m not sure what my ancestors did back then, but I’ll say sorry to both of you for your predicament.” She rubbed her arm. “Back then, demons were feared for what they were, and good exorcists were hard to come by.”

Atticus glanced at Ziara. She could see some plan forming, something mean or evil, perhaps for Kingsley, that appeared around the time Sophie mentioned his childhood. She shook her head; She would not bother him by dragging up his past. Be her female doll or male demon, she had no interest in emotionally damaging someone who was already obviously damaged. Instead, she preferred physically damaging them. Certainly Kingsley deserved a good pounding, but she feared he was the only one who knew how they could become their demon selves again, if it were even possible.

Ziara shook her head and started muttering unintelligibly. She was a fairly decent person when she wasn't yelling or causing misery, but the current circumstances made her just outright mad. She took a deep breath and sighed. She actually liked Sophie, which was a shock. " 'Snot your fault. It's your brother's." It seemed like Ziara was developing a weak spot for Sophie, maybe they would be friends. Of course, Ziara hoped she wouldn't be a doll forever.

"So... he isn't as... asshole-ish as he seems?" Ziara asked, finding it kind of hard to believe. It wasn't like she just made judgments automatically, but that's all Kingsley had presented of himself. She shook her head, changing her mind. "Nevermind. It won't make a difference."

Atticus had crossed her arms and sat on a nearby stool. She hated being short, it was something new for her feet not to reach the floor. Absent-mindedly, she smoothed down the folds in her dress. Sophie was certainly not her brother, and Atticus was not one to penalize someone simply for the way their relations acted. “I suppose.” She said. “I suppose I can deal with the idiot. I mean, I’ll deal with him to a point.”

Sophie smiled at Atticus, and glanced toward Ziara. “Well, don’t try to beat him down with how our home life was before. I know it’s not his fault for who he is, it’s just from the way we were raised. I don’t suppose it’ll make a difference, no, but… well, just don’t assume it’s how he always was.” She turned to the door. “I have to get back to bed.” She added. “School’s tomorrow.” Opening the door, slipping out, she whispered “Good night.” before closing it slowly.

Ziara sighed, pulling on one of her curls. She decided to atleast walk around the workshop. "I'll forgive him, when he proves himself useful to me." She said under her breath, admiring a few of the dolls that were waiting to be put on the store shelves. They were very... lifelike. She could see why Kingsley did his job, but it didn't excuse his behavior. "I wish I was back to my demon self so I could at least scare or knock some manners into the boy." Violence and yelling used to be Ziara's specialties, but now she had to be careful about the violence part since her porcelain skin was very delicate. "Good night, Sophie." She whispered after the door was closed.

Her eyes flicked over to an area with cleaning supplies so she decided to get to cleaning by sweeping and dusting and scrubbing and cleaning up trash. She whistled a rather cheery tune as she went about her chores. Ziara was sensible for the most part. She'd have to do all this anyway, so she might as well start. "Okay, so if this is all we have to do, then it won't be so bad. Except for the short part, but that's workable... right?" She said, not really speaking to Atticus. She was actually speaking her thoughts out loud without realizing. The workshop wasn't too messy so that would be easy. She didn't know what the rest of the place looked like and she had a feeling that they would end up being the cleaners of the entire building. Her eyes flicked up to the clock. It felt like mere minutes since they had woken up, but it had in fact been several hours. "Atti, they'll be getting up soon." Ziara said, not really looking up from what she was doing since she was almost done.

Atticus wandered the area of the work room that had the most flooring visible, learning the ways of the new body he had been forced into. “I wish I were back in my own time.” She muttered. “Back in my body, in my time, doing what I always did. Ah, that was the life… Quiet, undaunted… Not harming anyone, but the exorcists just can’t leave it at that!” She had nodded to Sophie when she closed the door, rearranging her dress and trying to pull it a little farther below the knees. “What a creep.” She said, mostly to herself, referring to Kingsley.

Looking back at Ziara, she noted only one set of cleaning supplies in the room, and Ziara had taken it over. Taking time for herself, Atticus decided to stretch her joints, getting used to her doll body a bit more, questioning her new anatomy and not particularly liking it. Ziara was talking, but it seemed more to herself. “Seems like there’s more to this than meets the eye.” She said. “I’m pretty sure, that is.” She shook her head, the loosely curled hair flipping around her.

Atti… The name seemed so… female. Yet it was an abbreviation of Atticus’ real name. “Atti…? Atti…” She smiled. “All right, that isn’t bad. Saves me having to think up some other name.” She looked up, all along the walls, spying the clock Ziara had obviously noticed. “Yes, it seems pretty early. I wonder where we’ll start…” She put a hand to her chin, thinking. The place must be huge, for being owned for so many generations.

Ziara dusted her hands off after putting the cleaning supplies back, then looked around to examine her handiwork. She nodded once she was satisfied and went back beside Atticus. "Hm, probably the store since it looked like it was right out that door. I could be wrong. I usually am." She said with a shrug. "It has a nice ring to it right?" She asked with a short laugh. "You're welcome, Atti."

Kingsley awoke at the same time even though he really didn't need too. He took things slower than usual, deciding to make himself look at least half-way decent. However, he opted not to wear the Victorian wear and instead wore slightly baggy black jeans and a blue shirt with grey sneakers that were a little worn out, but were decent enough. "I hope they didn't destroy the workshop." He muttered before noticing the time. He gently knocked on Sophie's door and spoke in a gently tone. "Soph? It's time to wake up. Breakfast will be ready in ten." Then he was in their small kitchen making scrambled eggs and bacon with biscuits and gravy. He set the two plates down on the table along with two glasses of orange juice and a mug of coffee for himself.

Atticus, or as Ziara called her, Atti, went to the door in impatience and looked in the crack between the door and jamb, but saw only a dull light that probably belonged to a faraway source. “Never saw any of this new light before.” She said, referring to the bulb that still shined on the workshop table. “I wish I knew how much time changed.” She turned back around, leaning against the door with her hands behind her back. “Maybe What’s-his-name will tell us.”

Sophie was awakened by her brother’s quiet voice, and was almost immediately wide awake. Through her thin curtain, she could see the sky between high buildings, very faintly tinted with blue. She was a morning person, certainly, and jumped out of bed, tugging the covers back up and smoothing them down. With a moment’s stretch, she stepped across the room and opened the window, then hurried to her dresser and pulled out her clothes for the school day, a gray-base sweater, black vest, red ribbon, and gray skirt. While others at her school disliked the uniforms, she especially liked them. Dressing quickly in the near-dark, she made sure to clean up her nightclothes and throw them in the hamper beside the door, walking in stocking-feet to join her brother.

Ziara sighed and shook her head. Her eyes flicked to Atticus and she rolled her amethyst eyes. "Well, the girl said their family had been making dolls for four hundred years, right?" She paused, thinking. Then she continued without waiting for a response. "Then it's been at least four hundred years since the parts he used for us look... not too old." She shrugged a little bit. "Obviously we aren't as up to times on the... technology." She muttered, looking up at the light bulb. "But I doubt Kingsley will tell us anything. He doesn't like us, remember?"

Kingsley looked up from his coffee when Sophie walked in. "Good morning." He said, looking back at his coffee. "Did you sleep alright? Feeling okay?" He asked, slightly concerned. Then he looked up at her and smiled. (Ooc: *Le GASP!* He smiled!) "Guess who's taking his favorite sister to school today because he needs to buy underwear that doesn't have little pink hearts on it like his sister likes to buy for him?" He said in a faux-enthusiastic tone.

“But dolls existed longer than that. They could have had some doll parts lying around, and decided to throw us into those, and when they started making dolls, they could have transferred our souls into the parts they made afterward.” Atticus pulled at her hair, accidentally letting it out of its pony tail. “Damn it.” She tried to gather it all up again, but had slight difficulty at first. “Technology.” She muttered. “It must’ve really leapt ahead in four hundred plus years. If King doesn’t want me breaking everything he loves, he’ll catch us up on what’s what.” She finally gathered her hair at the back of her head, tying it securely again.

Sophie sat across from Kingsley with a sunny smile. “Aww, big brother. I thought you liked the hearts patterns!” She knew otherwise, but her cheery disposition would not allow for many negative emotions. Sniffing the air, she went to collect some breakfast. “So we won’t have the shop open today?” She asked, returning to the table and sitting. “I saw the sign on the window.”

Ziara shook her head and sighed again. "I said at least four hundred years, meaning that's the minimum amount of time." She corrected, rolling her eyes. "Obviously dolls have existed longer than that because I had my own dolls before... this." She motioned to their doll forms. "Hm, so... you'd destroy Sophie? That's a little harsh don't you think?" She said with a slight knowing smile.

Kingsley rolled his eyes and sarcastically replied, "Obviously I do, but aren't rainbow unicorns sooooooooo much prettier?" Then he cleared his throat before nibbling on some bacon. His eyes flicked to Sophie for a moment before he shoveled some food into his mouth. Kingsley didn't really have the best table manners, but... once you got past all that he made some kick-ass eggs. "Er, yeah. The store's gonna be closed today. We've got some, erm, house guests who will be doing a few... chores while we're gone." He answered just before he put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher for later. "I'll be back in a minute. Be ready to leave by then." He said, heading into the workshop and looking at the two dolls... or whatever they were. He noticed that the workshop was... pretty damn spotless actually. Okay, there were a few things that he thought needed improvement, but considering last night's exchange he'd accept that. "Kissing up I see? Well, that won't get you anywhere. Okay, I don't have the time to talk to you right now but I'm going to trust you to let you roam around the building today. I'll be gone until lunch time, which is around noon. Don't touch anything that looks like it shouldn't be touched. There's stuff in the hall closet that can be used to clean. Just sweep the store area. And I have the key to anything you shouldn't be in so don't even think about it because it will only open with the key." He instructed, staying just long enough to see if they had any questions or whatever.

“However the hell many years!” Atticus tugged at her hair, making sure it would stay back. “You know… well, you should know I don’t focus on less-detailed words and phrases…” She paused. “Wait… You had dolls…?” Shaking her head, she crossed her arms again at Ziara’s comment. “I would never break the girl. You can’t break a person… well, emotionally, maybe, but otherwise, only bones can be broken. But I like the girl, why would I break her? I meant everything technological he has.”

Sophie only grinned at the sarcasm in Kingsley’s voice. She was used to him and all his quirks, both good and bad. As she bit into a biscuit, her brother mentioned house guests. She knew the ‘house guests’ were the two she had met earlier in the night, but decided not to say anything about it so early. Instead, she nodded as Kingsley stood to take care of something he didn’t specify. But she was used to that as well, and stood to take her plate to the dishwasher as well. Dusting her hands, she went to find her shoes and bag.

Atticus scoffed at Kingsley’s words. “We’re not kissing up. Well, I‘m not, because I don‘t know where you‘ve been. We were too damn bored sitting around here. So go do your little jobs in town and we’ll make sure the place is all beautiful by the time you get back.”

Ziara made an offended sound, although she didn't know exactly why she was offended. "Yes, I had dolls. I am actually a girl so... there." She said, sounding very childish. It had been silent until Kingsley had come in, since she had decided not to talk to Atticus. The good old silent treatment always seemed to work. "Okay, well... I was kissing up... kinda. Figured we had to do it anyway." She said, tugging again at her curls. "Shut-up, Atti. We've got more to lose than he does." Apparently the way around Ziara's silent treatment was to make her snap at you.

Kingsley gritted his teeth, but didn't make any rash movements. "I've been asleep, because us human people do that or we get rather testy. I'm considering just sticking you in the fireplace to rid myself of an extra problem, little bug." He said, deciding not to actually say what he wanted to say. He sighed and shook his head. He decided to attempt to be nice so he took a deep breath then said, "Need anything while I'm out? When I come back we can talk?" Kingsley was rather unsure of this decision, but what ever.

Atticus made a face at Ziara. He knew many girls who never carried or cared about dolls anyway, but he decided not to mention it. He knew the signs of the ‘silent act’ and it never really bothered her. In fact, she preferred the silence to having to talk. She hated talking. Atticus only glanced at Kingsley to reply when he came in, and smiled with Ziara made the comment toward her, but nearly snapped in half when Kingsley tried to be nicer.

“I don’t have anything to lose but a life!” She said at last. “And I don’t care. Stick me in a fire, in a lake, hang me up!” She clenched her hands and glared at Kingsley. “You’ve degraded me enough already, I don’t need this!” Gritting her teeth, she let out a long, shaky breath. “I’m going to sweep.” She stalked past Kingsley and out the open door. She muttered to herself. ’Just because we’re in doll bodies doesn’t mean we can’t feel tired. Or… or hungry, or angry, or sad, or anything like that. Pffh, Kings must not be too educated on the anatomy of a demon doll…’

Kingsley shrugged and nodded a "farewell" to Ziara before he went to meet his sister by the door. It wasn't like it was his fault he ended up as a girl, well, it really was but how was Kingsley supposed to know that one was a boy. He hadn't meant the fire threat. Kingsley couldn't bring himself to destroy his wax doll... especially the ones who talk now.. and breathed... and well... whatever they did. He really did want to chat with them when he got back, but now he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. "Ready to go?" He asked Sophie, not really looking at her but rather at the angry doll who was sweeping.

Ziara watched as Atticus left, then Kingsley. She shrugged and let out a puff of air before she found some window cleaner and began to clean a few windows and other glass surfaces. At least Kingsley wouldn't be out too long, and he had tried to be nice. Ziara sighed, looking at Atti. "Hey, Atti? You know he didn't mean it right? I mean he was trying to be nice afterwards. And he wants to talk. Remember, Sophie said not to assume about him? Maybe he isn't as bad as he seems, yeah?" She said, trying to sound a bit more optimistic than she actually was.