[ http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...58/Michael.jpg Michael-^ & his tattoo -> http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...s_bideford.jpg ]

Ariel giggled nervously and hide behind Michael. 'Nothing, nothing.' She replied honestly. "You boys lookin' for a place to stay?" The lady asks as she walks towards them, stopping a few feet away so she didn't look like some sort of threat. She wasn't too old, had long waste length black hair, the same color eyes as Michael only dimmer and dressed like a female pirate. Michael simply nodded and kept Seth close to him. "If it isn't too much trouble." The lady makes a gesture for them to follow as she turned and headed back to her hut.

Michael glanced at Seth for approval in a way. He wanted to make sure he was okay with it as well.

[[ Aw, hes so adorable. <3 ]]

Seth's expression remained distant and cold. He found himself taking a step even closer to Michael, in case the two of them needed to break into a run yet again/ He knew it was probably inappropriate for him to act in such a way around a kind villager, but she was still a stranger and Seth didn't want Michael to get into anymore trouble. Seth found that he was slightly drawn to the color of the lady's eyes, not so much what she was wearing. "No, it isn't trouble at all." he said, intentionally tossing aside the matter of whether or not the boys 'needed' a place to stay. Seth didn't want to make anyone look vulnerably homeless.

[hee~ ^~^]

Michael gently took a hold of Seth's hand and started to follow the woman to her hut. Ariel followed suite.

Once inside Michael wasn't sure what to do. Ariel came out from behind the boys and stood near them. "Make yourselves at home." She thought a moment before looking at them. "My apologies, my name's Marcia."

Seth blushed a little when he felt Michael's hand in his, but he refrained from looking down. When they'd gotten inside Marcia's home, Seth found a liking to the way the homes were built. His house had been made mostly out of a crystal-like brick, so he never had the chance to understand what other living quarters were like. He smiled at the thought- Seth always used to smile around strangers, whether they were human or not.

"I'm Seth," he introduced himself boldly. "--and this is Michael."

"Seth and Michael." She repeated to herself to make sure she heard right. "What's this little trouble-maker's name?" Marcia glanced at Ariel with a kind smile then offered the boys a bowl of chicken stew with a spoon in it. Ariel huffed lightly before speaking for herself. 'Ariel.' She answered plainly. Michael carefully took the bowl into his hands after hesitating to let go of Seth's hand.

Seth's gaze turned to face Ariel in disbelief. She wasn't breaking anything or causing a commotion that was visible to the natural human eye, but.. 'She can see her.. So she's one of us..?' Seth was puzzled. He accepted the bowl and smiled when Michael let go of his hand. He continued to stand, though. 'I wonder.. What she can do.' he thought. He didn't bother asking if Marcia could see Ariel- it was obvious that the topic of seeing versus believing wasn't worth bringing up. Seth was hesitant on whether to ask if Marcia knew of their arrival beforehand. 'Michael did run off all of a sudden..'

Ariel shrugged when she saw Seth gaze at her. 'I told you I didn't do anything~.' She giggled. Michael went to sit in a chair about a foot from where they stood then took a spoonful of soup into his mouth. It was almost as good as his cooking, which made him wonder. She seemed to be expecting them, seeing how she had food ready and somehow knew they were 'in need' of shelter.

Seth stepped over to where Michael was and sat at the chair across from him. He followed Michael's example and gingerly tasted some of the soup. He rested his tableware afterwards and smiled. The room was strangely quiet except for Ariel's most recent comment and the ambient noises that always filled a typical home.

"How come this place is so quiet?" he finally asked Marcia. Seth didn't exactly mean the house itself- he knew it was quiet because it was eerie. 'But.. Why is everything else so silent?'

Marcia came out of the kitchen and sat on the couch near the boys. "After news of a good number of our villagers suddenly vanishing, mostly children, our village kind of just got all- grey." She answered simply. "We had one kid who 'ran away' eight years ago, his family didn't seem to mind much but the rest of us- our village chief exiled them for running him out." Michael just kept eating.

Seth sat in the quiet silence for a while. He thought about making a playable instrument out of anything to create some kind of noise. Seth didn't mind quietness, but there was a time and place for everything. If things got dull around more than one other person, Seth always had to check and make sure he wasn't going deaf."Hm.." Seth thought aloud as he looked at Michael.

*~*~"'Because I didn't drag your half-dead butt out of the woods to have you worry about my feelings you idiot!'"~*~*

An urge to start questioning Ariel about her find in the forest crept into Seth's mind, but he didn't want to upset her or cause any problems. "Ah, I suppose staying quiet won't help if there's mysterious vanishings when the only difference between existing and not existing is whether others know you're there at the moment, no?" Seth commented lightheartedly.

Marcia nods and smirks at his comment. "Exactly." She confirmed. "Our chief should be returning any moment now if you boys don't mind meeting him- your little friend can too but I'm not if he has that ability." She says with a light smirk. "I think I'll pass. Meeting village chiefs isn't exactly my forte." Michael responds rather quickly. Marcia chuckles quietly. "Sorry sweetie, the chief likes to keep a head count. Plus, he can answer any questions you have." Ariel blinks a few times and glances at Michael. '?'

[[ I cracked up at Ariel's comment >o<! ]]

Seth was just about to 'fall' into the conversation and state something about going in place of Michael to meet the chief when Marcia continued with something about a head count. Seth frowned a little- he liked meeting strangers, but he hated being 'tracked on a radar.' He sighed and finished his soup in a few moments of silence. A small, extremely faint red alarm started to go off in Seth's mind. He narrowed his eyes at the table in front of him. 'She did know we were coming.' he declared to himself. 'Or else Michael could have pretended like he wasn't even here- Jesus, the chief probably knew we were soon to arrive..'

[ lolz! >3< ]

Marcia looks at both of them before sighing and placing a hand on her forehead. "Michael, I know for a fact you were born into this village- your arm is proof." Michael just about fell out of his seat after finishing his soup, but managed not to. 'How in blazes does she know about my arm?! Aw man- what have I gotten us into?' "Now before you three go and get the wrong idea, or worse, we're not a threat to any of you- I promise you that much with my life." Marcia says.

[last post for night <3 night-night ^-^]

[[ Nightnight ^^' ]]

Seth felt bitter on the inside. He wanted to stand up and break something, and he had no idea why. 'This is so unlike me..' He fought the strange impulses that jumped up out of nowhere and kept his mouth shut for the better of the world. He buried his face in his hands to block out the leftover light in the hut, occasionally shifting in pain. He concentrated hard on the ambient sounds around him, steadily filling his head with memories that drowned out Marcia's voice.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

[ yume-chan, was there supposed to be a flash back after the *~*~*~*~*? ]

[[ Nu~ it's just for the effect of Seth zoning out and recalling every memory he had that wasn't tied to any sort of negative emotion. ^^' ]]

[ohhh, gotcha~ my replies might be a little slow 'cause i'm doing three things at once to match my nerves ><']

Marcia sat back in the couch and said nothing more. She got up a few minutes later to collect the empty bowls before going into the kitchen and washing them. "I'm not trying to cause any problems... Forgive me for my behavior." She says quietly in soft voice. Michael rested his head on his arms.

[[ >x< ah, okee- whatchya mean by 'match my nerves'? ]]

Seth remained deathly silent- hardly breathing at all due to his built up fury- until he could hear Marcia in another room. He peered through his fingers and, upon seeing Michael, felt a million times better. He smiled a little in relief and folded his arms together on the table's edge. "It'll be over soon, I guess." he said. He couldn't tell if it was positive or negative.

[ my nerves are shot because of something that happen- and to keep myself from having an anxiety attack, i keep myself busy with about a thousand other things :\ ]

Michael kept his head down as he thought hard about the situation.

-*-*-*-*-*-"We had one kid who 'ran away' eight years ago, his family didn't seem to mind much but the rest of us- our village chief exiled them for running him out." -- "Michael, I know for a fact you were born into this village- your arm is proof."-*-*-*-*-*-

'It's got nothing do to with my arm, she must've of known my parents or something- but how? I don't remember running from this village- heck I don't even remember what village I lived in so really, I don't have any place in calling' anybody a liar at this point...' He thought to himself, his eyes slowly closing as he confirmed in his head that she really wasn't a threat.

[[ Mm... I think I understand. I was really shattered, too, a long time ago- if that relates at all.. ^^;; 'Almost killed a kid by sheer freak accident (thank god the ER was close) and was out of balance for months afterwards- even after my parents finally found out and nearly killed me too for it. ]]

Seth's eyes, as gray as they were, seemed to become even less colored as his gaze fell away from Michael. He could tell exactly which puzzle pieces were put together, yet somehow Seth couldn't place his finger on how Michael was so bothered by them. He got the feeling that, just maybe, Michael wasn't really happy living on his own due to his cloudy past. 'Whatever happens,' he promised himself- words he would have said directly in front of Michael if the mood wasn't so down-under- 'I'll stay here by your side.'

[ this happened just a few hours ago, think of the fight between ren alice and nariko only with grown-ups and minus the whole stabby part, twice in five minutes >< ]

Ariel hovered by him and poked him lightly, getting the boy to lift his head, she smiled a little too brightly on purpose and he chuckled lightly before glancing at Seth and smirking his usual comforting smirk- if that made since. Ariel than hovered off to be by Marcia and watch her curiously as the older woman washed dishes.

[[ Auw, .-. That was icky- are you going to be alright? ]]

Out of the corner of his eye, Seth noticed Ariel go over towards Michael. His eyes widened in astonishment when he recognized that same expression across Michael's face. "M-" he started to say, but stopped shortly and shook his head. "Ah, Miss Marcia, when will your chief get here?" Seth asked. He wanted to get out of the hut- 'If I get one more house taken down in a single day,' he thought uneasily. If Michael weren't someone of such high importance, Seth would have told everyone that he wanted to go for a walk if he needed to be freed. 'But, I can't just walk out anymore..'

[ *nods* i'll be alright <3 ]

Marcia finished the last few dishes and dries her hands before she hears her name. She glances at Seth. "He should be here any minute." She answers as she walks out of the kitchen. "I told him to swing by here he arrived." There was a light knock and she went to open the door. "-and here he is." She added.

The chief was dressed like any modern-day chief plus a staff with an unusual blue rock of some-sort. "Evening Marcia." He said plainly before coming inside with her approval. "Welcome back Chief Lazarus." Marcia said quietly, the chief nodded and walked towards the boys.

Michael stood out of respect and bowed lightly before standing straight again. "Pleasure to meet you, sir." He said casually.

Seth quickly scanned the chief upon his arrival like he would a book to check for anything suspicious. He followed Michael's manner and also bowed to show a type of respect for those in charge, though he didn't say anything. He returned to sit at his seat and 'watch the fireworks.' Seth was curious to learn and understand all the same. He usually kept the information for the sake of knowing, but Seth enjoyed analyzing just as much.

The chief examined the two boys much like how Seth looked upon himself, before glancing at the woman. "Marcia, you are aware of the situation at hand aren't you? We've had too many children gone missing within the passed year." She nods lightly. "But these boys aren't children, chief. I'm sure you understand what they're going through. Right?" The chief sighs and looks at the boys. "It was nice meeting you boys, make yourselves comfortable in our little back-washed town." He says before turning to leave.

"Hold on, we have a few questions for you." Michael speaks, causing the chief to pause then turn and look at them before taking a seat. "What is it you wish to know?" Michael glances at Seth for a moment then back at the chief. Ariel hovers behind Seth and Michael. 'He doesn't seem to see me, at all.' She say quietly and mainly to herself.