Nanashi was easily startled by the man who practically ran Hikari down and he very nearly jumped backwards at the sight of him. He was still extremely tired from the long walk and he was trying his best to make it to the palace without making them stop again so he could rest. He already felt bad enough for the first couple of times that they had to stop for him so he didn't want to cause any more hold ups, but it was probably apparent that he was getting worn out again since he staggered a little and bumped into LaRae when they came to the sudden stop and even took a few seconds to really get off of her. Honestly their short stop was probably a blessing in disguise for him since it gave him a few minutes to rest a bit. He glanced around to the others for a moment, noticing the way everyone else reacted. He was a little surprised with the way Hikari was talking to the poor guy...even if he had said something that came out the wrong way. From the sound of the crowd that had gone by on the other street, the guy hadn't been exaggerating too much. He noticed that Celestine was just standing there looking a little baffled and then merely shook his head and looked almost bored, and Kanone had a surprised look on his face for a few seconds, though he caught him snickering a little after Hikari had made the comeback at the man for his comment about her being the only girl that hadn't swooned at the sight of him today.

The man glanced back to the thunder dragon fro a moment when he started to get onto the young woman for being so snippy with him. "Oh...it's alright, I mean...I wasn't watching where I was going...," he said quietly as he raised his hands a little as if to just try to hold everyone off. He was well aware that it was his fault and that she was being so snippy...he wasn't sure that he blamed her, really. He knew his face probably couldn't get much more red than it was right now. All he really wanted to do was go hide for a while until the embarrassment at being such a klutz wore off. He offered the young dark dragon a weak smile when she spoke to him and then laughed weakly when she asked about the girls. "...Yes, I will be fine..." he said though he almost sounded a little unsure of that and he couldn't help a wary glance back toward the alleyway that he had come from, "I really wish they wouldn't get so riled up...."

Hikari glanced back to Kyran for a moment and then gave him a bit of an irritated look when he told her to give the guy a break before she just rolled her eyes a little and shook her head. She didn't even feel like going into an explanation about how much the people around here irritated her. He had irritated her more with his comment about the girls than with running her over in the first place...or maybe it was just the fact that the girls around here were that...crazy. Finally she took a deep breath and let it out slowly and heavily. "...Very well...I apologize," she forced herself to say. She knew she was being a bit harsh on him, but right now she just wasn't in the mood to give breaks...it didn't seem like she was getting too much of one though again, that wasn't his fault and she knew it. "....I didn't mean to bite."

The man turned his attention back to his fellow light dragon again quickly when she spoke again and then smiled warmly at her again. "...It's alright, really...," he insisted quietly, "I understand. I wouldn't be too thrilled if some random stranger ran me over and held my mouth either...." He chuckled softly since that was pretty much exactly what had happened, "I really am sorry... I never expected well...that... I mean..." He just shook his head a little and pushed his hand nervously back through his hair again, looking as if he was having a little trouble wording what he was trying to say without making an ass of himself again. "Ahem...Well...anyway, my name is Ellior...if that makes it any better," he said lightly.

Hikari sighed softly when he apologized yet again and shook her head a little. "It's fine, you can stop apologizing now..." she told him tiredly. She just crossed her arms lightly over her chest, really wishing that she could just get going since she didn't feel like standing here much longer. She tilted her head a little when he gave her his name and then looked him over again. "...Oh? Well, I guess that explains it then. You do have quite a fan club going..." She actually seemed a little surprised. She did recognize his name... He was the son of the previous Capitan of the guard whom Ishta had replaced after death, and his mother was a rather wealthy widow who always seemed to be trying to attach herself to the the most eligible bachelor with the highest status she could find at the moment. She didn't agree with his mother's politics at all, and she honestly couldn't stand the woman in the least, but she had never really met their son, nor had she ever had the care to do so since she assumed he was likely as stuffy and pig-headed as his mother...or at least that was how she made him sound. She could barely remember his father, but from what she remembered he had been a good man...perhaps he had taken more after him than his status-hungry mother. "Well, I guess you're not exactly what I was expecting."

Ellior blinked and then blushed again when she pieced together who he was and mentioned a 'fan club'. "Is that what you call that?" he asked half jokingly as he absently fiddled with the broken chain on his outfit as if he was trying to find a way to reattach it. He smiled a little when she said that he wasn't what she was expecting and then blushed a little more. "...I suppose that is a good thing?"

Kanone remained standing beside Nero, looking amused at first, though soon enough that had turned into a bit of confusion. "...I think we're missing something..." he said absently, though he still said it loud enough to easily be heard. He still didn't get who this guy was or why he was so popular. Sure, he was pretty good looking, even he had to admit that, but that...well most light dragons were pretty god looking from what he'd seen so far so he didn't see the huge attraction.

Hikari blinked and glanced back when Kanone spoke and then smiled weakly. "Oh...right...Sorry about that. Ellior is an actor...and to hear just about every single girl in the kingdom tell it, the greatest thing that's ever lived."

Ellior immediately felt his face flush deep red again and he actually tried to hide his face behind his hand a little. "Please, are you trying to embarrass me?" he asked weakly before he looked back shyly toward the wind dragon who spoke up. "...It's just a hobby, really... I'm not that good. I don't understand why anyone would be that impressed." He couldn't help but smile a little when the wind dragon started laughing at his obvious embarrassment and then shook his head a little.

Kyran stared over at Hikari for a moment after he had said what he had and was just kind of waiting to see how she took it. Of course she didn’t look too happy to hear what he had said and he could tell that she had to force that apology. He sighed softly and glanced away from her. She seemed really, really irritable ever since they left Kamaria’s… even more so then when they first started into the territory. He didn’t really think that it was possible for her to get like this in her territory. He knew she hadn’t really wanted to go anywhere near the palace if she could help it but this was a little crazy. He always thought that princesses were really fond of the people in their territory so he guessed he expected her to be a little nicer to some random person who accidently ran into her. He shrugged very faintly. Maybe she was just having a really off day. He continued to stand quietly where he was and he tuned back into what was being said just about the time the male light dragon was introducing himself. He didn’t recognize the name with good reason since he wasn’t a light dragon. He may have traveled a little between all of the clans but he’d never really spent enough time while working to look up entertainment, otherwise he might have been able to figure out the infatuation that hoard of girls had. He continued to listen without a word as the two went back and forth a little. He turned his head slightly when he heard Kanone speak up. He felt a little out of the loop as well but he would have probably asked Hikari about this Ellior after they had started walking again. Kanone’s little outburst saved him from having to ask later. He looked back to Hikari when she answered that Ellior was an actor and then he nodded his head slightly. That certainly did explain the girls chasing him then… well, if he was really as good as those girls gave him credit for. “Does that happen a lot?” He asked out of sheer curiosity without even really thinking before speaking. “The girls chasing you, I mean.” He added to clarify.

Reyes looked at the man a little skeptically when he said that he would be fine. The way he had answered, or rather the tone made him question how sure the guy was about his answer. He finally just shrugged lightly and let it go. No reason to pester him into giving an answer he was surer of. He tilted his head slightly when he heard him say that he wished they wouldn’t get so riled up. Given that he had glanced down the alley that he had come from he assumed that he had meant the girls that had been chasing him. He wasn’t sure what would make a bunch of girls chase him like they did. Sure this guy was pretty good looking for a light dragon but most of the light dragons that he had seen so far had been pretty, attractive even. Once he had given his name he still didn’t get what made the guy so popular. The name sounded okay but it wasn’t like it added to his attractiveness; in his eyes anyway. He really was kind of lost and was prepared to just leave it to ‘Light dragons were weird’ at least until Kanone had spoken up and gotten an answer out of Hikari. Ellior was an actor? Well, that answered everything in one word. Actors, if they were good were usually popular and if they were attractive and good… well… that would certainly result in a hoard of fan-crazed girls chasing said actor. He couldn’t help chuckling lightly after listening to Ellior and seeing just how reddened his face kept getting. “You must be pretty good to be getting so embarrassed.” He commented.

Nero didn’t particularly care about this guy who had run Hikari over. He was more interested in getting going then to continue standing here yapping away with the man. He didn’t care too much to be stuck standing like this, relatively in the open. Not to mention he would like to get out of the light and somewhere with plenty of shade, or preferably darkness. The shades he wore helped a lot with the brightness of the territory but he could still tell it was bright and that was enough to make his eyes itch a little though that may have just been his mind at work because the light didn’t penetrate the glasses enough to really bother his eyes. He sighed almost heavily when he heard Kanone speak up. ’Yes, lets drag this conversation on even longer.’ He thought absently as he glanced to Kanone for a moment. He really didn’t care to know anything about the guy and for all he cared the man could get mauled by the mass of girls so long as it didn’t interfere with them getting a move on. He glanced back towards the front of the group momentarily as Hikari was answering Kanone and then rolled his eyes a little. Lovely, he’s an actor… He scoffed quietly when he heard both Kyran and Reyes speak up. He really didn’t want to be stuck standing here too much longer and knowing Reyes he was bound to start asking a bunch of really stupid questions because the kid hadn’t ever been around an actor before. “Let’s ask his whole life story while we’re at it.” He muttered sounding rather irritated.

Kanone was a little surprised to learn that this guy was an actor, but he definitely looked a little more interested. He laughed softly as he was watching him blush, though he glanced over to Nero when he heard him muttering. He just half smiled and then reached over to pat him on the head before he dropped his hand back to his side again. "It's not that bad," he said quietly, "at least he's not giving you dirty looks." He could tell Nero wasn't very thrilled right now, but there wasn't a lot that could be done about it. Nero wasn't going to be thrilled through most of this leg of the trip...he had already gathered that much.

Ellior smiled weakly as he glanced back to the younger dark dragon again and then tilted his head again. "...I do not understand your logic, but...thank you...I suppose..." he said quietly, before glancing back to the thunder dragon. "Ah...well...not...not really... I mean...." He absently pushed his hand back through his hair again and then went back to fiddling with the broken chain on his shirt. "It's...only happened a couple of times.... I...guess I probably should have gone out the back when I left... I was in a bit of a hurry—Oh! Right... I'm sorry, I need to go. I'm supposed to be at the palace soon!"

Hikari seemed a little amused by half of the group's interest in Ellior's profession, and was almost a little amused by his answers. She blinked when he said that he had to be at the palace soon, and caught him before he could even give a proper goodbye. "For what?" she asked, looking more surprised than anything. Clearly, actors weren't commonly just invited up for no real reason, and she certainly wasn't expecting him. For obvious reasons she was pretty curious what kind of business he had there.

Ellior's attention turned back to the girl when she asked, looking almsot surprised that she didn't already know why, but then he sighed heavily as his ears fell back a little. "...Oh...it's a long story..." he said simply, though his nearly depressed tone gave off the impression that he really just didn't want to talk about it. He offered her a slight smile and then shrugged a little. "...I really don't have time to explain properly, but if you really must know I'm sure you can...ask around. I'm sorry, I really have to go." He bowed deeply to the lot of them and then smiled. "It was...nice meeting all of you. Perhaps we will bump into each other again sometime."

"Oh...I'm sure we will..." Hikari responded simply with a weak smile. Considering where he was going later, she was sure they would run into one another again.

Ellior smiled again and nodded, "I hope so." He did enjoy talking more to people who weren't...acting crazed and obsessive. This girl's rather obvious disinterest in him was rather refreshing. He thought of asking her for her name, but he knew he needed to get going, and he would feel awkward asking for her name and no one else's, so he just raised a hand to wave. "Goodbye," He said quickly before he started to head off again, starting to practically jog in the same general direction that they were going in and then cut down another street, since there was another section of housing past the market...the more wealthy houses were of course stationed closer to the palace.

Hikari shook her head a little and sighed before crossing her arms again as she watched him hurry off. "...Well...now I'm the one missing something..." she said simply. She sighed and shook her head a little before she glanced back to the others. "...Well...come on..." she said simply, "Sorry about that..." she added as she started forward again. She was still wondering why he was going to the palace, but she knew she would find out sooner or later...since they were going to the same place.

Nero shot one of his meanest looking glares at Kanone when he patted his head and said that it wasn’t that bad, perhaps thankfully, his shades did block his eyes so it wasn’t likely that Kanone would have even caught the look that he was being given. He wouldn’t have minded nasty looks from the guy so long as they were moving. He could put up with that, people just looking at him weird or with mean hateful looks… but people acting out against him, or causing the entire group to stop over something so trivial and continue to keep him out in the light like this… well… it pissed him off. It probably wouldn’t have bothered him so much if light dragons didn’t feel the need to make everything a shade of white or some other bright color and of course anything crystallized that reflected light… what he wouldn’t give to break anything like that.

Reyes tilted his head slightly when Ellior said that he didn’t get his logic and thanked him anyway. He was pretty sure that what he had said was pretty simple… or at least he thought it was. If you weren’t a good actor then you likely wouldn’t get embarrassed when someone complimented you be it straight forward or in a roundabout way. Well, at least that was his logic since someone who was a poor actor would probably gobble up any compliments tossed their way. He kept his mouth shut this time and listened to Ellior after Kyran had asked him a question. Once the guy started to remember something and said that he needed to go, and to the palace of all places he glanced towards Hikari. His first thought being that if this actor were going to the palace she might know why but then again… how long had it been since she had been back in her own territory? Hearing Hikari ask Ellior ‘for what’ pretty much answered his question. Hikari didn’t know just like everyone else in the group. That was kind of sad… you would think that she would have heard something by now if the whole city knew, or most of the people and what about Kamaria? Did she know what this guy didn’t have the time to say? If she did… why didn’t she tell Hikari? He shook his head. He really didn’t need to be worrying over light dragon affairs… he was a dark dragon after all.

Kyran wasn’t sure whether or not he was surprised to hear Ellior’s answer about the question he had asked. As an actor who was good looking and apparently pretty good at acting he wouldn’t be surprised to see the guy with a rather affectionate fan club. He kind of wondered what made things change if it wasn’t normal for the girls to chase him like that. Maybe he only recently got popular enough to warrant a chasing? He shifted his glance slightly to Hikari, just as Reyes had when he heard Ellior say that he was in a hurry and he was supposed to be at the palace soon. That was a little surprising to hear and he hoped that Hikari would have some sort of answer. He was quite curious himself since he didn’t think it was usual for actors to visit palaces… well… except maybe on special occasions. He turned his eyes back to Ellior when Hikari obviously didn’t know why he was headed to the palace. He was a little disappointed to hear that Ellior didn’t have the time to tell Hikari why he was going to the palace of all places. He guessed they would, or well, Hikari would find out soon enough. He just kind of lifted his hand a little in a wave when the guy said goodbye and quickly started off. Well… that was weird. Having Hikari run over by an actor being chased by crazed fans and then finding out the same actor was going to the palace… and he’d just run over the princess and didn’t even recognize her. Well… no one really recognized her… but still… the guy was really in for it when he saw her again he was sure. He had a feeling a panic attack wouldn’t be too far off when it came to that guy. He looked back to Hikari when she said that now she was the one missing something and then nodded his head slightly. “…Yes …but you’ll get an answer soon enough.” He responded. He nodded his head slightly when she apologized and started forward again. He waited for Reyes to start following Hikari before he started again and of course the rest of the group would follow suit.

Kanone didn't say anything more to Nero when he glanced at him, just offered him another weak smile. He couldn't see Nero's eyes at all through his glasses, so of course he didn't catch the death glare...but he could almost imagine it. He shook his head a little and then sighed as he went back to listening to the exchange between the others. He tilted his head a bit after hearing that Ellior was going to the palace as well and was kind of waiting to hear a response as to why, but he was a little disappointed when they didn't get one at all. He didn't really expect Hikari to know why he would be going there, hell she hadn't been home in a little more than two months. He watched as Ellior hurried off and then chuckled softly when Hikari said that she was missing something now. "...Well, that was interesting...," he said simply as he started forward again once the others were getting a move on again. He still remained relatively close to Nero once they were moving again, as he had been since they had entered the more populated areas. At least there really weren't too many people out and about back here, so he wasn't too concerned about many dirty looks flying around.

Celestine resumed walking again once the others had gotten moving again and sighed softly, shaking his head a little. He wasn't entirely worried about Ellior, even though the guy seemed nice enough. He didn't care where he had to go later or any of that. He still wasn't entirely sure where they were going. He had been completely out of it for the grand revelation that Hikari was Princess Selenity, and he hadn't been around anyone who referred to her as such at least not while he was awake. He glanced around for a few moments and then sighed softly before glancing back to Kanone for a moment. "...Where are we going anyway?" he asked quietly, almost as if he didn't really want anyone else to hear the question. He knew any of the others were probably going to think he was stupid for having to ask, but he hadn't heard Reyes asking Hikari earlier since he wasn't paying much attention, he was just following everyone else.
Kanone glanced down to Celestine when he looked back and asked him where they were going. He looked a little confused for a moment and then smiled weakly. "Ahh...right, you missed it..." he said with a soft laugh. "...You'll see," he said with a wink. "I think I may want to see your expression when we get there."
Celestine just gave him a mildly irritated stare as one of his ears fell back a little before he just turned back around again and continued forward, shaking his head as he walked.

Hikari sighed softly when Kyran had said that she would get an answer soon enough. "Yes, I know..." she said with a soft sigh. "...Oh well...at least I can actually stand to be around him. I guess he's not as full of himself as I first thought. I can't stand people like that...." She shook her head again as she continued forward and glanced around slightly, noticing that they were finally leaving the market district. Up ahead was yet another housing district, though these houses were much larger with larger lawns and more levels to them. Clearly, this was the light clan's version of the upper class district. These houses were the closest and had the best view of the palace, which made it harder to get one of these houses. These were mostly the rick conceited people who wound up visiting the palace the most often. Again there were few people out as they were not taking the main road, but there were still a few people outside, though many of them didn't remain there for long once they passed. Just a little further up ahead there was a small group of about four well-dressed teenagers, appearing to rage anywhere from about sixteen to nineteen. They were just standing around while one was repainting the white fence that surrounded their house. They were a little too busy talking to take much notice of them at the moment, so Hikari just continued forward without worrying about them. They were going to have to pass them anyway unless they decided to run off somewhere before they got there.

Nero felt a lot better once they started moving again though it kind of felt like it took forever to get going again. He knew it hadn’t but he had been in a hurry to get going so his patience was already pretty nonexistent. He glanced over to Kanone briefly after he had heard him comment that ‘that’ was interesting. “…Not really.” He muttered quietly. He really didn’t care about the guy, nor did he care where he was going. He was just all around a little sour at the moment and really hoped they got to where they were going in a timely manner. Like usual he had taken to walking with his arms crossed over his chest. He glanced between Kanone and Celestine briefly once Celestine had turned back to ask Kanone about where they were going. He shook his head a little when Kanone didn’t answer him and mentioned that he thought he may want to see his expression when they got there. Since he hadn’t been asked he didn’t bother giving an answer either, Celestine would just have to wait and see. He wasn’t paying attention to anything in particular though he had taken a very brief notice to the teenagers when he noticed them but he just kind of wrote them off at first glance.

Kyran looked to Hikari when she said that she could actually stand to be around the guy and that she guessed he wasn’t as full of himself as she first thought. “Do you normally hang around with actors?” He asked half curiously. He didn’t entirely think Hikari would go for the type of crowd an actor could produce, be it fans or other actors and such but he could be wrong. She may very well have a completely different caliber of people she hung around with when she was the princess as compared to just being Hikari.

Kanone glanced to Nero again when he made the comment about it not really being interesting and then chuckled softly. "You wouldn't think a pink elephant doing a hand stand was interesting right now," he said simply as he shook his head. He glanced around briefly to admire some of the larger houses, but he didn't pay too much mind to them. They were a little too big for his tastes as far as something to live in, but they were nice to look at.

Hikari glanced back over to Kyran when he asked her if she normally hung around with actors. "Normally? No. I spend time with them occasionally, when I'm go to see a show, or at parties...but I don't normally 'hang around' anyone. For the most part,t he only people that I ever get a real chance to get close to are the people in the upper class, and to be perfectly honest..I can't stand most of them. All the majority of the older ones care about is their social standing, and the younger girls are all...annoying. All they ever talk about are the latest fashion crazes and hair styles...and that guy." She rolled her eyes a little and then huffed as she flattened out her ears a little. In other words...whatever she was seen wearing last. It really drove her insane that every person that had enough standing to be seen with her seemed to have no personality whatsoever. It was like being surrounded by giggling drones all of the time. "I guess it does without saying, I can only take that in small doses, that's why I spend most of my time cooped up in my room with a book." She was quiet for a moment and then sighed, "...I guess I was a little rough on him. The boys from this area are usually getting drooled over by the...lower and middle class girls, so most are pretty full of themselves.... I was already fully expecting him to be the same way considering.... I guess he's not so bad. He hasn't let it go to his head...yet." She sighed as they started past the group of teens, and caught bits and pieces of their conversation, though she was pretty sure she was the only one who understood it since they were not using the common language. Apparently the only painting the fence was getting poked fun at by his buddies for having to do servant work, she assumed as punishment for something since she knew that family had plenty of servants and that boy was a bit of a brat. The conversation died quickly when they did finally take more note of the larger group coming near them. They were of course used to seeing dragons from other clans wandering around, though perhaps not this far up, but it was likely Nero and Reyes who really threw them into silence. Hikari just sighed softly and continued past them without paying them much mind, though she did absently reach over to Reyes's arm and pull her a little closer since one of the boys did look a little hostile. She gave him a really dirty look that seemed to surprise him a little as she passed. The others were mostly just standing there with their mouths open, looking completely stunned. She guessed that was probably to be expected. She definitely appeared to be lower class at the moment in her miss-matched clothes and with the scars on her face since any higher class dragon could easily get that fixed, so someone 'like her' wandering through the upper class district with two dark dragons and a load of apparently common dragons from several other clans as well as what appeared to be two halfbreeds...was probably strange enough in itself without her being protective of the dark dragon walking near her.

Nero unfortunately had to agree with Kanone’s comment. He doubted he would find anything interesting right now. Though, if it was night and there wasn’t a need for his shades then he probably wouldn’t be so crabby and would probably find something at least a little interesting. He didn’t bother gracing Kanone’s silly comment with a response and just continued walking quietly.

Kyran listened quietly to Hikari while she spoke, a little surprised that a simple question like that had sparked a rather long response from her and one that didn’t sound entirely all that irritated and snippy like she had before. He didn’t know what it was like to be her and could only imagine what it must be like dealing with upper class people all of the time. Listening to her helped give him a slight understanding but that was about it. He had to deal with upper class people himself quite a bit but thankfully he never had to deal with them in large stints. He did his job and was able to get away from them at least until his job required him to be around those type of people again. He didn’t mind it so much really but maybe that was only because he was a guy and didn’t have to listen to the same things Hikari did and most of the time anything anyone really talked to him about was work related. “The guy may never let his looks and his talent go to his head.” He commented. “Not everyone is completely full of themselves and pig-headed.” He told her. “I think it just takes time to find the people who aren’t completely corrupt by their social standing.” He added. He supposed if you were of high social standing and were more like Hikari then the ‘giggling drones’ you probably wouldn’t make yourself stand out and you would probably be like Hikari in the fact that you wanted to isolate yourself from the people you didn’t care for.

Reyes was keeping quietly to himself while Hikari and Kyran were talking though he was paying attention to the conversation. He kind of agreed that not everyone was full of themselves just because they were upper class. Technically both he and Nero were upper class in their territory and he didn’t think of himself has full of himself. He was pretty approachable in his estimation and he would talk to just about anyone about anything. He lifted his eyes rather quickly and stared up at Hikari momentarily when she had grabbed his arm and pulled him a little closer. He of course wasn’t entirely sure what brought that on since he hadn’t been able to understand the conversation the teens were having as they passed but he had caught some of the looks but they didn’t entirely seen that they were that different than the ones they had already been getting. “…Something wrong?” He asked rather quietly.

Hikari sighed again softly when Kyran said that he may never let it go to his head. "That would be nice," she responded simply, "I hope that he doesn't. He seems like a nice guy. ...His father was...but his mother gets on my last nerve. She would do almost anything to raise her status; she was even trying to get to be my step mother... Thank the powers that be that never worked out...uhg..." She shuddered a little at the mere thought of having that for a step mother. After she pulled Reyes closer to her and heard her ask if something was wrong she glanced down to her again and smiled weakly. "No, not really.... I just know those boys...they're can be trouble makers, and they don't know who I am at the moment.... You're fine, I don't think they will bother you...I was just making sure." She kept her voice quiet as she explained, trying not to be loud enough for the group to hear her. She would rather keep it as no one knowing who she was right now, especially since it could blow her cover in the future. She just continued by them, hoping they didn't bother to try anything, though she did glance back as the group passed them, just to make sure that they were staying put, which they were. She checked back again once they were all past the group just to make sure that they were staying put and where planning to do anything to Nero as they passed. Once she was satisfied that they were just going to stand there gaping a little, she turned her attention back to the front again and continued forward.

The group by the fenced continued to stare for a few moments after the larger group had passed them. They were all stunned into silence at first, but as soon as they were just out of ear shot for whispered they started up again, still speaking int heir native tongue just in case.
"What the hell? Is that girl daffy? Why is she hanging out with a dark dragon?" one of the boys started.
"Look, that one doesn't have an arm band...think we should report him?" the other responded as he pointed toward the dark dragon in the back.
"I dunno... I wonder what they're doing here? That one is so creepy looking..." the girl muttered.
"Aww are you scared?" the boy who was supposed to be painting the fence replied.
"No!" she returned stubbornly, though it was clear that she was obviously very uneasy after seeing them.
The boy smirked a little and then stood up, dropping his brush to the ground. "Oh come on, what's the big deal? So his scales are black...oooh...spooky..." He put his hands on his hip for a moment and then looked after the group before he smirked again. "We can fix that problem." With that he reached down to the bucket of paint and picked it up.
"What are you doing!?" she girl asked quickly, but the boy was already running off after the group. As most light dragons were, he was a fast runner, and he closed the distance quickly and very quietly. At the last second he grabbed the bucket and jumped up a little, turning the whole bucket of sparkley white paint over the dark dragon's head, and then shoving the bucket down over his head and down onto his horns roughly, though not hard enough to puncture the bucket. "There, problem solved!" he called back to his buddies. The two males almost immediately burst out laughing hysterically, though the girl only stood there looking openly horrified for a few moments before she too started to laugh a little, though she was trying not to.

Kanone heard the guy approaching them moments before he actually got there, though just as he was turning to see what he was hearing, the bucket came down over Nero's head. Kanone whirled around on the boy and glowered at him, balling his hands into fists. "HEY!" he snapped at him, for once losing that usual care-free tone and sounding pretty pissed off. He didn't see the point in this, and he couldn't understand a damn work the guy was saying, but he still wouldn't have minded punching that smirk off of his face. Unfortunately...he didn't get a chance to.

Hikari heard the splash and was already in the process of turning around when Kanone shouted at the boy, and it didn't take her but a second to see what had happened. Her eyes narrowed and she balled up her hands into fists. She didn't even think about what she was doing, the next thing that she knew she was at the back of the group with her fist connecting with the boy's face as he turned back around to look at Kanone. She hit him hard enough to knock him down backwards, and left a few bleeding tooth prints on her knuckles, but she didn't seen to notice at all. She was too steamed to care how the others reacted to her actions, her focus was entirely on the jerk that was now holding his hand over his bleeding mouth. "JERK! SIMPLE, NARROW-MINDED JERK! HE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING TO YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" she yelled at him, not bothering to switch languages so that the others couldn't understand her. At least she got those others to stop laughing in a hurry. She looked like she would have loved nothing more than to hit the guy a few more times, but she kept her fists balled at her sides and her stance wide as her tail thrashed about behind her angrily. She knew for a fact that Nero hadn't bothered the boy, and it pissed her off that he would go and do something like that unprovoked, and with paint of all things. She hoped that the stuff hadn't gotten into Nero's eyes, and she already knew it was going to be hard to get off of him. If there was one thing that Hikari didn't tolerate at all, it was senseless prejudice acts like that.
"OW! What the hell, you crazy bitch, you nearly broke my jaw! What do you care anyway!?"
"GOOD! You deserved it!"

Kyran for the most part completely ignored the other light dragons while they were walking and well onto them passing them. He was giving Hikari his nearly undivided attention. He did still glance between her while she spoke and Reyes and then on occasion back towards the rest of the group. He was a little surprised to hear that Hikari knew of some of Ellior’s personal life though he wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or not. He nodded his head slightly when she spoke though the part about Ellior’s mother having tried to become her step mother made him just stare at her. For a woman concerned with status that sure was one hell of a high goal. He did chuckle just a little when she expressed relief at the woman’s attempts not working out and how glad she was. “I can imagine you would have done anything in your power to dissuade your father from a woman like that, especially since she sounds as if she might be everything you hate.” He commented quietly. He did give a very slight amount of attention to the other light dragons when Hikari spoke to Reyes, but it was mostly just a quick glance. He didn’t particularly think anyone would be stupid enough to try and mess with either Reyes or Nero but this wouldn’t be the first time he had been proven wrong.

Reyes nodded his head slightly when Hikari answered him and said that he was fine. He felt safe enough being with her and then of course there was Nero too. Anything that may ever happen to him he knew he had Nero who would keep an eye on him, oh and Shen too. Shen was like his failsafe, he was always there and watching out for him. God forbid anyone try to hurt him in this territory… Shen attacking a light dragon would be a terrible thing but… it would be in self defense, in a way. He didn’t bother looking at the boys Hikari had spoken about, mostly because he didn’t want to have his looking at them cause any strife and he would much rather be safe than sorry when it came to dealing with people labeled as trouble makers.

Nero most likely, on a good day, would have had the reflexes to respond to someone approaching him from the rear though in this instance he was having a really bad day… which was only made worse. He just barely noticed the person approaching from behind and wasn’t fast enough to do anything about it, the down side to that was that he couldn’t evade the bucket that he soon found over his head. He had of course stopped walking almost instantly though with the roughness that had been used upon forcing the bucket down over his head he had stumbled forward a step before starting to straighten himself up. He lowered his arms to his sides since they had come uncrossed when he stumbled and just kind of stood there without removing the bucket with the thought of ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ running through his head even while he heard a ruckus starting to ensue. He had caught Kanone yell and hadn’t removed the bucket before he heard someone else sounding awfully angry. He did finally lift his hands up to remove the bucket since he couldn’t very well stand there with it over his head all day, not to mention he couldn’t exactly breathe in paint. He slowly lifted the bucket up and off of his head before he started to hold it out towards Kanone. He was practically covered in paint; nearly head to toe and aside from it being white the worst part about it was that it was sparkly. Everything the bucket covered from his shoulders up was completely white, not a single patch of him remained its usual color. His shirt and arms were very much white themselves and that continued down to his pants, covering the top most part of them in the sparkly white paint. Thanks to the paint his already white horns looked like they probably belonged on a light dragon along with his tail, minus the tip of it which happened to be out of reach of the paint that fell from the bucket. His wings were also saved a little from the mess that came of the bucket. From where his wings sprouted from his back to about his shoulders were white, the rest thankfully seemed untainted by the sparkly whiteness. Unfortunately his boots didn’t fare well either… they may not have become solid white like the top of him but they still managed to gain a few white spots. His tail flicked behind him in irritation and he blew a breath out of his nose which resulted in a bubble of paint being blown and then popped. He lifted his hand slightly and tried to at least wipe his mouth and nose a bit so that he could breathe better and then reached for his glasses to slowly remove them. His glasses had protected him a little from the onslaught of paint but some still managed to get past. His eyebrows were now white, along with bits of his eyelids but it seemed the lower part of his eyes and uppermost part of his cheekbones had been saved, if that was even anything to be proud of. He couldn’t see a thing with the glasses on and certainly couldn’t see well with them removed, especially now that he had to deal with sparkly white paint so close to his eyes… He sighed heavily and started to turn slightly, wanting to at least see who had done this to him but it was near impossible. Now that he was freed from the bucket though he was grasping who had come to his defense so quickly and quite honestly was a little surprised to find that it was Hikari. Though he would have liked to have seen what was going on, or had gone on but it was just too bright for him and what he wouldn’t give to be able to see right now so that he could beat the crap out of whoever had done this to him. He was pissed but had sense enough to know he couldn’t do a thing while he couldn’t see.

LaRae hadn’t quite turned around to see what was going until after Hikari had started rushing back towards the back of the group. She had heard the splash but hadn’t quite equated it to something having to do with the group so of course she was stunned when she saw a bucket of paint had been dumped over Nero’s head. She was speechless, utterly speechless. That was the one person she wouldn’t dare think of doing something like that to and here some upper class idiot had done it. She wasn’t even sure how to respond to that other than stare quietly and try not to laugh when Nero did finally get the bucket off of his head and wind up blowing a paint bubble with his nose.

Kyran heard the splash and was turning around as well when Kanone yelled at the boy. He didn’t move into action like Hikari had, he was more stunned then anything and couldn’t believe someone had actually dumped a bucket of paint on Nero. He was still standing there just kind of dazed and staring at Nero while Hikari had already rushed back there and punched the guy in the face for what he had done. Of course after realizing that Hikari had punched him in the face he started back himself and with Reyes in tow. He paused only briefly to look at Nero before he returned his attention to Hikari. He of course noticed her hand sooner then she had and then sighed before looking to the boy who had caused all of the trouble. “She cares because you are interfering in special business.” He answered in an authoritative tone. “I assure you that one of your Elders has given this dark dragon in particular special permission to be in the territory.” He said as he motioned back to Nero and then started to pull out the document they had been given with all of the Elders signatures on it. “I can also assure you that this action is a disgrace to your own Elder and I’m sure if it doesn’t land you in some sort of trouble it will at least place a hefty fine on your head.” He paused. “Now, do I’m sure I don’t need to prove that your Elders signature is on this paper but if you insist on continuing to be the delinquent you are I will show you along with turn you over to the proper authorities at this time.” He stared down at the boy and waved the folded paper slightly. “Or… you can apologize to our friend here for what you have done and apologize to the young lady for your disrespectful mouth and we will call her violent outburst your only punishment.” He told him sternly. He was fairly certain that if he went to the light clans diplomats about this they wouldn’t be happy, especially since it was like a slap in the face to their own elder having some young kid dump paint all over a guest.

Reyes followed Kyran back to the back of the group and rushed right up to Nero though he didn’t get close enough to touch him. He may have been concerned about what had happened but he didn’t want to chance getting the white paint all over him as well. “Are you okay?” He asked rather quickly. He couldn’t believe just how much paint was in that bucket. His poor cousin could almost pass a light dragon this way. “…We’ll need to get you new shades…” He commented quietly upon seeing how covered they were with paint. Just by looking at them they looked almost impossible to clean off.

Nero had been trying to listen in to what Kyran was now having to say but seeing as Reyes had come over he turned his attention away from them and focused on Reyes. “…Yeah…” He paused. “I’m alright.” He answered and then sighed heavily again. It wasn’t like paint was going to kill him. It was just going to be a pain in the ass to clean off and he was likely to be finding paint in the worst places later.

Nanashi of course heard the commotion behind them as well, and he stopped as soon as he heard Kanone yell and actually sound angry at someone. That alone was enough of a surprise since in his experience Kanone really didn't get angry often. It took him a moment to register what the splash had been, though that was mostly because he was having a hard time believing that someone actually dumped a bucket of paint on Nero of all people. His ears fell back after he saw him removing the bucket from his head, and he actually had a nagging urge to go back there and ask him if he was alright himself, but of course he didn't move. He felt horrible for Nero, mostly because he could see something like that easily have happened to him. It wasn't uncommon for people to do things like that to him unprovoked, though he had never thought someone would be gutsy enough to do it while Nero was with the group. Needless to say, he found no humor in the situation, and he felt no desire to laugh. He wouldn't want anyone laughing at him. That occurrence also caused him to lose all confidence in what Kyran had told him before that no one would attack one of them while they were in the group. It didn't take long for his attention to shift over to Hikari again, and he was almost equally as surprised that she had been the one it hit the guy, especially since she was up at the front of the group just seconds before and she normally just seemed ready to resolve anything peacefully. Not to mention, the guy was from her own clan...so that was a little surprising in itself since he really hadn't been listening to the conversation between her and Kyran.

Celestine nearly startled at the sound of the splash and Kanone yelling. He whipped around quickly at the sound of it, thinking that something may have happened to him. It was a little surprising seeing Nero standing there with a bucket on his head, though he was even more shocked when he saw Hikari dive to his defense so quickly and actually punch the guy who pulled the prank right in the mouth. He just stared with wide eyes for a moment while she screamed at the guy. He almost felt sorry for the guy...Hikari could be a little scary when she was angry. She was making him uneasy and he wasn't even on the receiving end of that glare. He was a little relieved when Kyran stepped in and tried to be official. He wasn't so sure how it would go over with Hikari blowing up on the guy. After a moment he turned his attention back to Nero when Reyes had made her way back and asked if he was alright. He sighed softly in relief at hearing that he was okay. He didn't think that the paint would hurt him, but it could have easily gotten into his eyes, which apparently was a concern of Kanone's as well. He glanced back to Kanone as well for a moment while Nero was freeing himself from the bucket, and it wasn't hard to see that he was upset, though that wasn't surprising to him. Kanone always had been very protective of people he liked, and as much as he had been hanging around Nero, he thought it was safe to say that they were friends.

Kanone was a little taken aback when Hikari suddenly ran back there and hit the guy in the face after he yelled at him, though he really couldn't blame her for it. He would have loved to do it himself. He just blinked when she started yelling at the guy and then turned his attention back to Nero again when he pulled the bucket off of his head and held it out toward him. He automatically reached up to take it from him and just sighed heavily. He glanced to Reyes for a moment when she came up and asked Nero if he was alright after he got his glasses off. "...It didn't get into your eyes did it?" he asked in a worried tone. He knew the brightness was probably killing Nero without his glasses, but he couldn't tell if he was squinting that way because there was paint in his eyes or if it was just that uncomfortable. He glowered back toward the ass that had brought the bucket up here and practically threw it back at him, though he purposely missed and sent it sailing right past his legs where it bounced off of the ground behind him. After his hands were free he pulled his bag back around to the front and dug into the front pocket for a moment before he managed to find a scrap of blue cloth from the shirt he had been wearing when they fought Varun. The shirt had been ruined anyway, so he had just cut it up and kept the unstained pieces, assuming they would probably come in handy later for cleaning his weapon off. Of course he hadn't used any of them, and they were clean since he had at least tried to wash his shirt before he decided it was trashed. "Here," he offered, holding the fabric out to Nero as he shifted his pack back over his shoulder again.

The boy was still glaring daggers at the girl who punched him, a little amazed a commoner would have the nerve to lay a hand on him. His attention shifted tot he thunder dragon when he came up to them and started going on about the dark dragon having permission to be here and waving around papers. He narrowed his eyes at him when he told him to apologize to the dark dragon and the girl. "Like hell!" he snapped at him, as he lowered his bloody hand from his mouth, whish was quite clearly busted open and bleeding heavily enough to run down his chin. "Mind your own business. You really think anyone's going care? The murderer has no business being here!"

Hikari gritted her teeth and started to raise her arm again like she was ready to sock him a second time, but then kept her arm arm her side. "Forget it, Kyran." she growled irritably, "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone. First of all, Renard, it is not for you to decide who the elders do or do not allow into this territory nor is it tolerated for you to do as you wish to the people who are. Second, Nero has done nothing to you or anyone else here, you have no right to accuse him of something like that! Third, I care, and I assure you by the end of the day, so will you. I will report you to the proper authorities, and you can look forward to spending the night in a cell and scrubbing up every speck of that paint from the walkway tomorrow with a toothbrush!" Of course the whole point in keeping him overnight was to give that paint plenty of time to dry so it would be hell trying to get it up off of the walkway. "Maybe then you will think before you act like a fool and embarrass all of us! No wonder our clans hate each other with idiots like you roaming free!" She saw the boy opening his mouth as if he was about to make another smart remark and she raised her fist so quickly that he actually flinched, though she made no move to hit him. "Keep running your mouth," she threatened. All of his friends had already made themselves scarce, so he was pretty much on his own now, and she knew he knew it after glancing back over his shoulder to check for his friends. After that he backed up, suddenly giving her and Kyran very wary looks. He knew that he was in trouble, it was clear on his face, so he finally shut his mouth and started to back up before he turned and high tailed it. She didn't bother to go after him. She knew who he was, where he lived, and who he hung out with, so she was sure he wouldn't be hard to find when she sent someone to look for him. She let out her breath once he was gone and forced herself to relax her fists before she looked back over to Nero. "Nero, I am so sorry..." she said, her voice pulling a complete 180º from what it had been. Now she almost sounded like she wanted to just go hug him, though she made no move to do anything of the sort. She had a feeling she was the last person he would be wanting to have anything to do with for a while.

Nero turned his head slightly and glanced over at Kanone as best as he could. Even without the paint he couldn’t really see all that well so the paint only made it worse. He could only judge were exactly people were by listening to them so it was practically like being clinically blind… well, with the exception that everything he could see through his eyes was too fuzzy to make out properly. “No, not in them… thankfully.” He answered quietly. The paint very easily could still get into his eyes if he weren’t careful. He of course wasn’t going to touch the paint on his eyelids while his hands were still covered in it. He thought the best bet would be to just wait for it to dry and then scrub it off. At least that way it wasn’t going to get anywhere because he moved it. He tried to listen in on Hikari and Kyran while they were both addressing the teen that had done this to him but his attention shifted back to Kanone when he said ‘Here’. He stood there and just kind of stared at what he was sure was Kanone. He couldn’t see what he was saying ‘Here’ to so he wasn’t sure what he wanted. “…Here what?” He asked and sighed heavily.

Reyes sighed quietly when Kanone had held out fabric to Nero and Nero said ‘here what’. He knew that meant Nero couldn’t see it but he knew that before the paint. Without their shades it really was difficult for them to see in places this bright and the paint only made it worse since something bright and sparkly was even closer to his eyes. He reached over without a word and took the fabric from Kanone. “Unfortunately… he can’t even see that…” He told him quietly. He was pretty sure Nero would be too embarrassed to admit that but he had no problem admitting it for him. He looked back to Nero and sighed quietly. “Kneel down. It’s a cloth to clean your face some.” He told him and waited for his cousin to comply. As it was it would be difficult for Nero to clean his face anyway. Both of his hands were covered in paint that likely wasn’t dry yet and he’d be trying to wipe paint from his face, it’d be much easier for someone else to do it for him and it had to be done without his asking because he wasn’t going to ask. As soon as Nero had knelt down so that he could reach his face he stepped a little closer and moved one hand to his chin to tilt his head up just a little and then took the other with the cloth and started to dab at the paint on his eyelids and slowly work his way at getting most of the face wiped off of excess paint that hadn’t dried completely.

Kyran gave an exasperated sigh upon hearing what the teen had to say. He was angry with the guy for what he did to Nero so of course hearing that type of a response from him only made him annoyed. He had offered the kid a pretty good exchange for what he had done, especially since he knew the punishments could be a lot worse. The kid likely wouldn’t even be moving right now if Nero hadn’t been unable to see, so really… apologizing wasn’t that bad of an option and frankly the kid had no pride to hold onto if he was able to disgrace his own elder like this so easily. He was fully prepared to speak to the teen again but held off since Hikari had told him to forget it. He then proceeded to slip the document back into his pocket and make sure it was secure while he listened to Hikari lay into the guy. Goodness was this guy going to hate things later… upsetting his own Princess like this was a terrible thing to do but then again he didn’t even know who he was dealing with. He sighed after listening to most of everything and shook his head very slightly when Hikari had raised her fist and threatened him. She was so violent when she was this angry and here he had tried to defuse the situation as diplomatically as possible. He watched as the guy finally took off. What a mess this had become… but at least one way or the other the guy was going to get what was coming to him. He looked back to Nero when Hikari turned her attention on him and shook his head a little. Nero was going to be spending a lot of time in a bath considering the amount of paint and how that was going to come out his hair he had no idea. He shifted his attention slightly from Nero back to Hikari and reached down to lift up the hand she had used to punch the young man. “How’re you going to explain this?” He asked since she obviously had teeth marks in her hand. “…I’m not sure if I’m happier you punched him in Nero’s place…” He commented. “You hit him pretty hard; not that he didn’t deserve it… but look at your hand.”

Nero sighed quietly while he was knelt down and letting Reyes try and clean up his face a little. He would have liked to have done it himself and not have to be knelt here letting his girlish cousin clean him up but he couldn’t very well do it himself covered in paint and perhaps this was better than having Kanone clean his face. His ears twitched slightly when he heard Hikari and the change in tone. He didn’t hear as clearly as he could have and he was pretty sure that meant he had paint in his ears but he did hear her. “…It wasn’t your fault.” He responded in a monotone voice.

Kanone sighed in relief when Nero said that he didn't have paint in his eyes. "...That's good..." he commented quietly. His ears laid back after he had offered the cloth to his apparently blind buddy and he sighed heavily as he shook his head a little. He was about ready to just walk over, warn him, and start wiping down his face himself, but Reyes was a little quick to grab the cloth from him. "...Yeah, I kinda gathered that..." he responded dully when she explained that Nero couldn't even see what he was offering him. He let her take the cloth and then watched as Nero knelt down and started getting cleaned off before he glanced after the guy after he had started running off and then huffed as he crossed his arms. He still looked like he wouldn't mind chasing him down and whopping him in the head a few times himself, but of course he knew better than that so he didn't move.

Hikari was just glad to be rid of the ignorant jerk...mostly because the longer he stood there the worst she wanted to shove her boot up his ass. She just wasn't in the mood to be kind and diplomatic. If he had the guts to do and say the things he did, there was no way she was just letting him off with a hit to the face that could be healed back to perfection in a matter of minutes and a fake apology. She knew that it wasn't her fault that it happened, but it was still embarrassing to her. It wasn't just the elder he was disgracing with his apparent disregard for the judgments of the officials, it was her as well. She was even more aghast that he had openly called Nero and Reyes murderers right...well...in ear shot. "...Even still, I apologize for his actions. He was way out of line and he will be dealt with." She really wanted to add on a nice 'see, you should have listened to me' but she didn't think he really needed that right now. She blinked when Kyran took her hand and held it up, asking how she was going to explain 'this'. "What?" she asked before she took notice of the bleeding marks on her hand. "...Oh." She sighed heavily when he went on and then shook her head a little as she pulled her hand back. Now that her attention had been drawn to it, that did sting pretty badly and she absently covered it with her other hand and started to rub it a little. She was almost surprised that she didn't have a whole tooth embedded in her hand the way it stung. "...Depends on who asks, I guess." she said simply, "Don't worry about it. He's lucky I didn't knock out his teeth." Then again, he was bleeding an awful lot...she very well could have. She turned her attention back to Nero and sighed softly. "When you're ready let's go. Maybe we can get you cleaned up before all of that dries." She knew she was going to have to find him some new glasses, but maybe she could have some made that didn't look so...girly. She was also going t have to find him something else to wear. There was no getting the paint out of his clothes.

Nero continued to stay knelt patiently while Reyes was working at cleaning him up a little. He heard Hikari insist on apologizing for the idiot who dumped paint on him and sighed quietly. He wasn’t going to argue with her about her wanting to apologize but he was just kind of tossing it out. The apology didn’t really mean anything coming from her, not that he would have accepted it from the one who had dumped the bucket on him anyway. He stayed quiet the rest of the time that Reyes was cleaning his face. He wanted to get moving again even more so now then he had before but he knew walking now was going to be harder. He kept his eyes shut while Reyes was working but he had been holding onto his shades. He wished paint could be cleaned off of them easily because now that he was sightless he wasn’t going to be able to see where he was walking. That was going to be such a pain in the tail. When Reyes finally finished and told him that he could stand up again he did but continued to keep his eyes shut anyway. He still had paint dried to his skin where Reyes had been wiping but at least he didn’t have to worry about wet paint dripping into his eyes now. He sighed heavily. “…We can go whenever you want.” He said to Hikari. He didn’t want to be the reason they were still standing here even if they probably wouldn’t be mad at him for delaying them.

Kyran watched her when she finally noticed the marks on her hand and then shook his head a little when she said that it depends on who asked. “I’m not that worried about it.” He told her quietly. “Well, so long as your hand is alright.” He added. Her hand still looked intact though he guessed it might hurt a little later, maybe even bruise or swell. “…I’m a little surprised you didn’t do more damage to the guy, personally.” He paused briefly. “You looked pretty pissed off... well… as did a couple others.” He said as he glanced towards Kanone. He certainly had sounded pissed before and throwing the bucket was the closest he could have gotten to actually taking his frustration out on him without actually hitting him.

Hikari sighed softly and nodded a little at Kyran. "My hand is fine," she assured him, "Or it will be..." She tilted her head a little when Kyran said that he was surprised that she didn't do more damage to him and then shook her head a little when he said that she looked pretty pissed. "...I am," she said shortly, "That is exactly what i was talking about." She was of course referring to the upper class boys who were all so full of themselves they seemed to think they could do no wrong in the eyes of anyone. She sighed again and shook her head a little before glancing to Kanone when he said that others had looked pretty pissed off as well. He half smiled a little before she glanced back to to Nero and then nodded a little. "Alright," she said quietly. She looked at his glasses and then glanced over to Kanone, who seemed to get what she was about to ask him before she even opened her mouth. She knew someone was going to have to help him get around since he clearly couldn't see where he was going with his eyes closed.

Kanone was just standing there with his arms crossed, still looking a little miffed. He glanced over to Kyran when he caught him saying something about a couple of others looking pretty pissed and then sighed softly. Once Nero was standing again and said that they could go whenever he glanced at him, noticing that he hadn't opened his eyes. He caught Hikari look at him and uncrossed his arms, waving a hand before he put a hand on Nero's shoulder. "Sure, I'll drive," he said simply, though the statement didn't have as much humor in it as it usually would have. He still sounded pretty irritated, as he was. He didn't really care if he touched Nero. The paint would wash off, and besides...he had only been a foot away when he was doused, so the splashing paint had already gotten him a little as well, mostly on his pants legs and his left arm where it splashed off of Nero.

Hikari nodded a little. "Well, we're almost there... The steps going inside will probably be the trickiest part. I will see what I can do about getting you some glasses that you won't be too embarrassed to wear...." She still felt the urge to continue apologizing to him up and down for the awful behavior of her subjects, but she knew it was almost pointless. She wouldn't feel much better had it been her no matter who was apologizing, so she didn't waste her breath. "...Let's go..." she said with a heavy sigh as she turned to start back toward the front of the group, slowly. She didn't bother to try to get Nero or Reyes to walk with her this time. She was trying not to let the group get that spread out again, so hopefully nothing else would happen before they got there.

Kanone just stood beside Nero and waited for everyone to get moving before giving his shoulder a gentle nudge to let him know that he had room to walk now. "...Come on," he said quietly, keeping his hand on his arm lightly just so he would have some sense of where he was going...hopefully.

Kyran sighed quietly when Hikari clarified that she was still pissed. She seemed to pretty much be in a bad mood all the time, or at least since they left Kamaria’s. He hoped it was going to get better soon. If it didn’t he half expected more people to be on the receiving end of her foul mood. He wasn’t really sure what to say to her since it didn’t seem like there was anything that could be said that would make her just relax. He waited until she started moving again and started for the front of the group. He followed after her though he did glance back to Nero once. He was glad they weren’t too much further off and at least this hadn’t happened to Nero before this or else he would have had even longer to go without his sight.

Nero just kind of turned his head in Kanone’s direction when he felt him put his hand on his shoulder and say that he would drive. It didn’t take much to understand what was meant by that and of course he just stood there silently without a word. He wished that he could object to having someone help him navigate but considering he was somewhere he had never been before it was going to be a little hard to just listen and move where he needed to without having some trouble. Not to mention that there were people here who didn’t like his clan so he wouldn’t be that surprised to see more trouble sprout from the fact that he couldn’t see therefore. He turned his head towards Hikari when he heard her when he heard her say that they were almost there. That was a relief at the very least. He was also a little relieved to hear that she would see about getting him some glasses that he wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear. He would almost rather walk around without his sight then have to wear the same glasses that Reyes had happily taken from him. He continued to stand where he was until Kanone had given him a nudge and told him to ‘come on’. He started forward then without too much hesitation. He was pretty good at moving in a straight line even without his eyes so he didn’t think there would too much to worry about so long as he was told which ways to go and when there was a need to step up or down, or so have you.

Kanone just followed quietly after the others while Hikari led the way again. For once, he really didn't say much, and tried to focus more on where he was going since he had someone depending on his directions. He was sure to warn Nero whenever there was a raise in the walking path, and almsot absently grabbed onto his arm whenever he though the was going to stumble, though he didn't hold on for too long. He did try to lighten the mood a little after a few moments by looking over at Nero and chuckling softly. "...You know...you do look a little funny, especially when you're blowing bubbles," he commented with a smile. He gave Nero's shoulder a gentle squeeze, just so he would know he wasn't making fun of him...he just wasn't lying. He did look pretty funny all white and sparkly, and it had been a little hard not to want to laugh just a little. He didn't think that what had happened was funny at all, but seeing someone standing there with a bucket over their head and covered in paint couldn't not be a little humorous. Not long after he had spoken Hikari decided to take them down another walkway so he slipped his hand under Nero's arm and gave him a little tug to the right. "This way," he told him as he tried to help him get lined up and going in the right direction again. It wasn't long before he saw the palace some into full view, and he couldn't help bust stare a little. The place was still a good distance ahead of them, but it was fully visible now. The entire thing almost reminded him one one massive crystal structure with doors, windows, and towers carved into it. It easily towered above all of the other buildings, and was surrounded by a large stone wall with a large decorative silver gate that could be closed to block off the pathway to the palace. Two guards stood in front of the gate, one to each side of the opening. "...Whoa...holy hell...," he muttered quietly, "wish you could see this...."

Hikari tried her best to speed up the pace a bit, continuing down the path they were on before she had to veer back onto the main road since that was the only...proper entrance to the palace. Luckily, there really weren't many people about in this area at the time being except for a few servants who were a little too preoccupied with what they were doing to pay the group too much mind. Once the palace gates came into view she sighed heavily and walked up to the guards, who almost immediately moved to stop her. She merely raised her hand to her forehead and pushed her bangs from her face. "Let us pass," she said simply, "They are all with me."
With her brief exposure of her gem and short explanation, the guards tensed, both looking concerned.
"Princess!"
"Selenity!" the both of them explained simultaneously, seeming equally surprised and alarmed. They glanced at one another for half a second, both looking as if they had about 500 questions to ask, rather than delay her they bowed and moved out of the way, returning to their posts by the gate, though they were both looking the group over almost warily, as if they hoped that they weren't going to get in trouble for allowing them inside.

Celestine was finally at least getting an idea of where they were going once they were back on the main stretch and the palace came into view. He couldn't help but stare in wide-eyed amazement at the size of the place. Not to mention, it was rather pretty, even if it was a little hard to look at for too long. His attention was drawn to the guards when Hikari started to show them something, though his mouth fell open when he heard the one refer to her as princess and the other by a completely different name. "What?" He stared at her back for a moment before shooting at glance back to Kanone, who almost immediately started laughing. He felt his face go red then and he just ducked his head a little. So that was what he'd meant about enjoying his reaction later. I'm going to kill him...

Kanone had pulled Nero to a stop when the guards blocked Hikari's path, and was busy admiring the palace until he head Celestine's confused 'what' and saw the gaping expressing on his face when he looked back to him for confirmation. He couldn't help but start laughing then. Celestine was normally Mr. Know-It-All, so seeing him look so shocked and confused was pretty much priceless. He shook his head after a moment and then gently nudged Nero's shoulder again so he could start moving once Hikari started past the guards. "Nearly there..." He told him in a tone that still sounded as if he was trying to suppress his laughter. He glanced up again to look at the front of the palace and then groaned when he saw it. "Oh great...stairs...lots of stairs...." he muttered. It looked like they were going to have to climb two flights just to get to the front doors.

Nero put almost all of his attention on walking once they had gotten moving again. It was far more important now than it had ever been to make sure he didn't fall or anything. The last thing he wanted was to be blind and trip or fall because he couldn't see where he was going. He also didn't want to be any trouble to Kanone since he had to help him navigate. Of course he did his very best not to be a nuisance. He wished this hadn't happened at all but since it had he kind of wished that it had been something not nearly as bad as paint... anything white but paint that wasn't going to come off easy. He sighed quietly. It was most likely outdoor paint too which meant water wasn't supposed to affect it easily. He turned his head very slightly when he heard Kanone finally speak up and make a comment. He just shook his head a little at Kanone's attempt of humor. "...You'll have to reenact it for me." He responded. "It's kind of hard to understand what you're talking about from my point of view." He paused. "I'm sure we can find some more white paint." He teased. He wasn't quite as upset about this as he expected to be, or well, he hadn't stayed upset. Perhaps the shock of hearing that Hikari had come to his defense and punched a guy so hard she had marks in her hand did away with whatever anger he had built up. He still didn't like the fact that he had to be lead around but he didn't fight Kanone about it. There was no point in that especially since he couldn't very well lead himself anywhere right now except maybe into the stone wall of a random house, or over a fence if that hit him first. He didn't have too much trouble maneuvering around, he thought. A stumble here and there, faint swaying every once in a while but nothing too bad. Had he actually tripped or fallen it most likely would have been bad since he wasn't really hesitating with his steps. He was fully confident every time his foot went down so a fall could have been bad. He kept his eyes shut the whole walk but did turn his head towards Kanone when he heard him speak again, this time to say that he wished he could see this. He shook his head almost instantly but the motion was so small it could have gone unnoticed. "...Glad I can't..." He commented in a hushed tone. He didn't exactly want to see the palace up close. He had seen it in the distance and already knew that it was going to be hellish on his eyes.

Kyran followed rather silently as Hikari lead the way and he kept turning his head back to check on Nero and Reyes. He couldn't be sure that anything would happen again but he kind of doubted it considering how much closer they were getting to the palace. Reyes had decided to stick a little closer to Nero this time rather then walk up front with him and Hikari which he guessed was fine. He wasn't awestruck like some of the others when they came upon the palace. He had been in the territory before so seeing the palace wasn't exactly anything new to him, well, except perhaps being this close and actually heading inside. He wasn't that surprised to see the guards wanting to give Hikari time, at least until she showed them the gem on her forehead. He couldn't believe that most people couldn't recognize her without seeing that gem. It was kind of sad in his opinion but for her it was better since she could do unnoticed in public that way.

Reyes glanced between Celestine and Kanone when he heard the brief exchange, if you could even call it that. The laughing is probably what really drew in his attention. He had been looking at the palace, or at least trying to get a good look. The glasses he had on helped but he could still tell the palace was bright, possibly reflective and that bothered his eyes a little. "You didn't know?" He asked looking at Celestine. "...I thought everyone knew, I mean... even I knew... or well, I was told the other day." He added quietly.

Aamori unlike LaRae wasn't gawking at the palace nor it's size. She had seen palaces before in her own territory though they were nothing like this. This was certainly a lot prettier than what she was used to seeing and she supposed the look did suit the light clan. She was rather impressed with the exterior and was sure the inside was going to be just as pretty.

Nero shook his head lightly when he heard Celestine and then Kanone start laughing. He didn't exactly need to see Celestine's face to guess what it looked like. He would probably be a bit pissed off himself if someone knew something like this and was keeping it from him just for laughs. He didn't start moving again until Kanone had given him the go ahead. Part of him was kind of happy he wasn't having to take in the actual arrival here, it was a little easier not having to see guards or the like. He half smirked after hearing Kanone groan and mutter about the stairs. "...She did forewarn about the stairs." He told him. "I should be able to handle stairs, I'm not at a complete loss without my eyes." He paused. "When we reach them just give me a moment to feel them out and judge their distance from one another." He told him quietly. He was fairly certain he could handle the stairs, even if it did sound like it would be harder than walking itself. Stairs were repetitive and usually completely equal in size and shape so he figured he could get up them alright so long as he knew where they started, when they stopped and about how many they were... oh and if they turned or anything. Or maybe he was thinking too highly of himself, he wouldn't know until he actually got to try.

Kanone hadn't been having trouble with Nero while they were walking, but he had just been trying to make sure that if he tripped he was able to catch him. Thankfully, he didn't have to try, but he wouldn't have minded either way. He knew that Nero couldn't help that he couldn't see and for now he was just glad he was actually letting him help him without giving him hell. He grinned a little when Nero said that he would have to reenact for him. "Oh come on...is it that hard to picture a grumpy looking guy with a bucket on his head?" he asked with a soft laugh, "I don't think I could play you very well. I would say to try it on Cel, but he may kill you if it gets in his feathers." He chuckled when Celestine shot him a dirty look. He smiled a little when Nero said that he was glad that he couldn't see the palace once they had reached it. "...Haha oh yeah...well, maybe at night," he said simply, "...It's something." Clearly he was pretty impressed with the thing, not that he had really seen any palace up-close and personal before. Once they had started inside he glanced to Nero again after he had made the comment about the stairs. "Yeah I know...but I was picturing like...a few steps, not two flights." He sighed softly and then continued forward, "Alright...just be careful. If you go down, I'd rather not come with you," he said with a soft laugh, "They don't look very soft." He still had his hand on Nero's shoulder, and was starting to think he may adhere to him pretty soon. His hand was sticky, as was Neros' shoulder. As soon as the got to the stairs, he gently pulled him to a stop, "Okay, they're right in front of you," he informed him. He reached over to take a hold of Nero's arm carefully, trying to hold on in a way that wouldn't interfere with his balance. "Just in case."

Celestine glanced over to Reyes for a moment when she commented about him not knowing about this. "I was unconscious for half of the day yesterday, remember?" he muttered under his breath, "I didn't even know I had a halfbreed at my throat, let alone little details like that. Someone, doesn't like to tell me anything." He gave Kanone another mildly irritated glare and then huffed as he started up the stairs after the others, branching off to the side a little, since he didn't particularly like the idea of walking directly behind someone...just in case they happened to fall. The stairs were a good ten feet across, so there was plenty of room for him to have a little section where no one was in front of him. At least they were easy to climb since they were all about a foot wide and didn't vary until one for to the landing, where there was about four feet of flat surface before it continued up to another set of stairs. Like most things around here, the stairs were white, and appeared to be some sort of marble that had not been polished to be smooth. There were banisters to either side of the massive stairs that were smoothed out and almost looked like some sort of glass. The doors at the top were large and painted white with decorative gold borders and swirling designs branching inward. He could also see a sign similar to the one on Reyes's arm band on the door, only it was gold rather than silver; the crescent moon overlapping a sun.

Nanashi was rather awestruck by the craftsmanship of the palace, though of course he was a little overly nervous about going inside. He had edged a little closer to LaRae when the guards stopped Hikari, and then started walking again almost stiffly. Unfortunately, he was starting to find continuing forward to be difficult, especially since the pace had picked up a bit from what it had been after Nero was covered. He was light headed and his legs were starting to feel a little rubbery from standing for so long. Since they had gotten into the city he hadn't wanted to take a break, and now that Nero was covered in paint he definitely wasn't about to call for a time out. He almost groaned when he saw the palace steps, but he kept quiet for now. He really hoped that they weren't as tall as they looked... Once they reached them, he stood there for a moment before edging over closer to the railing so that he could hold onto that. The last thing he wanted to do was slip and fall on the stairs and take LaRae down with him again, so he didn't even bother holding onto her at all. Climbing the stairs in itself was hell on him. He took them slowly, all the while clinging to the railing. As he neared the first landing, he tripped on one of the steps and stumbled forward since he barely had the strength left to raise his foot high enough to clear the step. Once he was on the landing, he tried to stand against the rail long enough to catch his breath but found himself sitting on the marble with his legs folded up under him before he even had time to register that he was falling. He didn't even bother to try to get back up at the moment, just closed his eyes and sat there gasping for breath. He felt like he had just run all this way and scaled a mountain more than one set of stairs. It might not have been so hard if he had rested before he attempted them, but he didn't want to hold anyone up, especially now that Nero had paint drying on him. The walking pace had picked up after that incident as well, which was a little tiring in itself. He just hoped that KYran knew what he was talking about when he said that he would have a place to rest...he was going to need it soon. He was already so dizzy he didn't know if he could make it to the top of these stairs, but he didn't want to ask anyone for help. If he fell, he didn't want to take anyone with him and cause them to get hurt...again.

Hikari continued past the guards and up the walkway to the stairs, which she immediately started to ascend. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment, and she knew the others were looking out for one another, so she would just wait for them at the top. It didn't take her very long to get there, and she turned around as soon as she was to see how everyone else was fairing. Her ears laid back a little when she realized she had kind of run off and left half of the group. Nanashi was sitting down, Nero and Kanone shad barely gotten anywhere... At least Celestine wasn't all that far from the top. She glanced toward Kyran and then started to move off to the side a little before starting to head back down the stairs a little. "Is he alright?" she called down to LaRae since she was naturally the closest one to Nanashi. She of course felt a little worse now. She had completely forgotten that he wasn't in the shape to be trying to keep up with her. She was just still upset over what happened to Nero and hoping she could get him here to clean up before the paint was too hard to get off of him.

Nero smiled very very faintly after Kanone had said that Celestine may kill him if he tried to dump a bucket of paint on him. "Unfortunately I don't agree." He paused. "I think he would likely hurt you for giving me the idea." He told him quietly. He nodded his head slightly when he commented about maybe seeing the palace at night. That sounded better than laying eyes on it now and he was bound to see it sooner or later. He shook his head a little after Kanone had said that he was picturing a couple steps, not two flights of them. "She did say that the stairs were going to be the trickiest part... how could a few of stairs possibly tricky?" He wasn't sure he expected two flights of stairs but he had expected a little more than a few. "Don't worry if you wind up going down the stairs it'll be because I pushed you, not because I took you with me." He joked but sounded rather serious. Once he had been pulled to a stop and told that the stairs were right in front of him he nodded a little and started to reach his one hand out looking the railing. He paused though and looked back towards Kanone when he grabbed his arm. "...And here I thought you said you didn't want to go down with me." He said and then started to lift his foot up to feel the first step. He probably looked silly running his foot all over the step but it was going to help him climb them without the use of his eyes. After he was satisfied he stepped up and then started to feel the second step. He followed that process for another step or two before he grew more confident and started up them without having to feel them. He was a pretty good judge of distance even without his eyes, so long as things didn't change too much. He continued to keep his one hand on the railing as he climbed the stairs at a somewhat slow pace.

Reyes' ears laid back slightly when Celestine muttered what he had. "...You've been around the girl a lot longer then just yesterday..." He said quietly and then hushed himself. He didn't really want to get into an arguement with Celestine and honestly it didn't seem like it would take that much since he appeared pretty upset about Kanone keeping this news from him just for kicks. He didn't waste much time taking to the stairs. He didn't have anything to hold him back and since Celestine seemed just a little moody he kept a little away from him though he did glance back several times along the way to check on Nero.

LaRae continued to stick close to Nanashi which was usual though she wouldn't have had to anyway because he did a good enough job of staying close to her. She kept a pretty close eye on him though while they walked because she was worried about him. They had practically rolled him right out of bed and onto his feet for this trek and she was wondering when it was finally going to be too much for him to handle. He may not have held onto her when he started up the stairs but she did stay relatively close to him. She could have reached out and grabbed him if he started to fall or something. She also kept with his pace just to be safe. The last thing she wanted was for him to take a fall and her not be there to try and stop it from happening. When they finally reached the landing and he went down she stared down at him with a look of concern. It hadn't surprised her, she had expected him to go down eventually but she was surprised that he had managed to last this long. She didn't bother asking if he was alright, it was kind of obvious that he was worn out. "...Just rest, we've got time to finish the rest of the stairs." She told him quietly before turning and looking up the rest of the stairs. She glanced back down at Nanashi for a moment after Hikari had asked if he was alright and then looked back up the stairs at her. "I think so, he just looks really worn out." She called in return. They hadn't stopped to give him a break in quite a while so of course he was tired.

Kyran kept a decent pace with Hikari as she climbed the stairs but hadn't been right on her tail even though he could have been easily. He saw no need to rush to the top though he did reach the top not too long after she had. He had paused at the landing however to look back on the others and then again here, especially after Hikari had called down to LaRae. "...We should have stopped somewhere along the way..." He commented quietly, mostly to himself. He looked back to Hikari and then sighed quietly. "...How much further before he can actually rest?" He asked. "I may be able to carry him if he can't make it on his own right now."

Kanone smiled a little when he actually caught Nero smiling a bit at his comment. "Well, he may do both," he responded when he said that Celestine would probably hurt him for giving the idea to him in the first place. He laughed weakly and responded with a shrug that Nero couldn’t even see when he asked how a few steps could be tricky. "I dunno, I've never tried to climb them with my eyes closed," he responded lightly. His ears flattened a little when Nero said that if he went down the stairs it would be because he pushed it. "Awww...I love you, too, man...geez," he whined. He let Nero look for the railing and then get a feel for the steps before he started up with him. He smirked a bit at his comment about not wanting to so down with him. "I said I didn't want to...I didn't say I wouldn't," he responded with a smile. He let Nero take the steps at whatever pace he chase and just watched as he neared the landing. "Two more steps to the landing," he informed him before they got there. "Okay," he guided him forward about three steps and then stopped him in front of the steps. "Okay, start climbing," he said lightly, "They're the same as the last ones..." He glanced over to Nanashi briefly, though he was on the others side of the steps, but he couldn't really stop at the moment to do anything. Right now he was trying to get Nero up the stairs without landing him on his face.

Celestine just sighed heavily when Reyes said that he had been around her a lot longer than yesterday. "Do you think she would bother telling me that?" he responded simply. He knew he was probably being unfair, Reyes hadn't been around long enough to know who spend the most time around who, but right now...he was just too irritated to care. He shook his head a little as he continued up the steps and then glanced back once he got to the top and noticed Hikari going to check on Nanashi. He turned back and sighed softly when he spotted him kneeling there and then shook his head a little. He would have gone back to help if he though he could without tumbling all the way back down the stairs again.

Nanashi didn't have much of a choice but to listen to LaRae at the moment. He was sure if he tried to get up, he would just fall on his ass, or off the steps, and his legs were starting to feel like they were rooted to the ground. No matter how deeply he inhaled, he still felt like he wasn't getting enough air, which was starting to worry him a little, even though he knew it was just because he had a low blood count right now. He hated the fact that he couldn't even make it up the stairs, no matter how good of an excuse he had. That was just going to make more work for someone else if he couldn't do it himself, and again he was feeling like the group would be better off just leaving him behind somewhere. Why he was chosen for this mission, he still didn't know. It seemed to him all he was good for was getting hurt and slowing them down. He knew his face was red, though he wasn't sure if it was more from embarrassment of exertion, but either way he tried to keep his head down so that he could hide behind his choppy hair the beast that he was able. He wanted to just tell everyone that he was fine and to go on, but he didn't even have the breath for it right this second. He knew he was going to have to get up again soon if he didn't want someone trying to carry him, but right now he didn't feel like trying to get up unless he saw Kyran coming his way.

Hikari sighed softly when LaRae called back that Nanashi was just really worn out. She guessed that was to be expected. Her attention turned to Kyran when she heard him talking to himself and then she sighed again. "I know...I forgot," she said honestly, "I wish he would have said something...." Then again, expecting Nanashi to speak up for himself and tell everyone he needed a break was probably expecting a little much from him, especially since he didn't even want to break when she was telling him to. She thought for a moment and then sighed, "Well...up the rest of these stairs, inside, through the foyer, down the hall, up another two levels, and then to one of the bedrooms..." The castle was taller than it was wide, so there were a lot of stairs, and all of the bedrooms were on the upper levels. Mostly it was meant to be convenient to guests who weren't staying the night so that they wouldn't have to go up so many stairs to get to simply places such as the dining area, and things of that nature, but it was a huge inconvenience when someone was in Nanashi's condition and didn't need to be on stairs at all. Of course here, it was rare for anyone to be in that condition for long. There was also the clinic on the ground floor...there were beds down there, albeit they were more like cots and not very comfortable. They were only there to have something to lay on while you were being worked on, but she doubted Nanashi would enjoy being left down there with the healers.

Nero huffed quietly when he heard Kanone say that he had never tried to climb stairs with his eyes closed. "You should try it, it may actually benefit you." He told him. "I've actually done a bit of training without the use of my eyes... but simple things like direction can be difficult no matter who you are." Obviously after today he was starting to feel like he could use a little more training without his eyes since he had had to accept some help with something as simple as navigating a city. He shook his head lightly, holding back a small urge to smile at Kanone's whine. He nodded his head a little when he heard Kanone tell him how many more steps before the landing. He was a little off when he hit the landing and didn't have to worry about the stairs right then. Part of him still wanted to lift his foot up for another but there weren't any right away. He gave another nod of his head when Kanone said to start climbing and that these stairs were the same as the last ones. He started to reach out for the railing again and found it a little faster than he had before. He also checked the steps again though not nearly as thoroughly as he had before. He just wanted to make sure they were indeed the same as before because he wouldn't have been surprised to find that they were slightly different. After checking the steps momentarily he wasted little time getting up them. He had already taken one flight with ease though it had been slow, but he still managed so this wasn't goint to be too much of a problem.

Reyes didn't bother saying anything else to Celestine for the time being. He was smart enough to know he shouldn't push the matter any unless he really wanted to get on his nerves. He was trying to stay on everyone's good side, especially his. He reached the top of the stairs about the same time that Celestine had and turned back again to check on Nero, though he caught sight of Nanashi as well. This group sure was a mess right now. Nero couldn't get around well on his own at the moment and Nanashi couldn't even travel the distance they had without becoming worn out. He understood why the guy was so tired but even still it was kind of sad.

LaRae continued to stay where she was and stared down at Nanashi. She did glance back to Hikari once after she had answered her and then looked back to Nanashi. She sighed softly and wondered how long he could sit there like that before he could get up again. She didn't really want to make him move until he was able to himself but he couldn't really sit here on the steps by himself until he was good enough to move. "...Do you think you could make it up the rest of the steps with my help?" She asked. "I know I can't carry you... but you could lean on me." She told him quietly. She doubted he wanted to be carried again and leaning on her and being held up was a little less embarrassing but she wasn't sure if he could even handle that.

Kyran sighed and crossed his arms loosely. "Unfortunately Nanashi rarely speaks up and we did have Nero and Reyes to think about too." He said quietly. He stared at Hikari for a moment with slightly wide eyes when she answered him on how much further there was to go. "There's no way he can do two more levels of stairs on top of this one he has left." He said almost instantly. He just didn't see Nanashi managing on his own. He mulled over the idea of carrying him and couldn't really think of anything else. He figured Nanashi didn't like it but there weren't many options available. He sighed again quietly and then uncrossed his arms. "...Well, he'll need to be helped if not carried..." He said before starting down a couple of the steps.

Kanone half smiled and then shrugged a little. "Hm...yeah... I'll get right on that," he said playfully when Nero told him he should try it. "You'll make a lovely cushion when we both go rolling down the stairs backwards." He shook his head a little and then sighed, "Well, at least you weren't on your own. Then I would have really felt bad for you. I still can't believe the little prick did that...." Once they hit the second landing, he allowed Nero to get a feel for the stairs again and then fell in step behind him again once he started up. "And...three...two....one...don't step," he said simply. "Or do, but you might fall on your face," he added with a smile. He sighed softly as he glanced back toward Nanashi again for a moment and then tilted his head a little, trying to see what they were going to do about him. "...Hold up, Nanashi fell out on the steps...," he said with a soft sigh.

Nanashi was slowly starting to breath a little easier, but he was still gasping a little, and his throat felt almost raw from inhaling so deeply. He really did feel like he had been running for some ungodly long distance. Once LaRae started to speak he raised his head weakly to look at her and shook his head a little. "...I...I th-think...I can...make it...," he responded breathlessly, "...I....just...need a...a minute...." He didn't even offer to try to stand yet, at least not until he happened to glance Kyran coming down the steps again. He already knew what that meant.... As soon as he spotted him, he pulled one knee up, though every moment felt like he was trying to wade through mud. He pushed against his knee as he tried to get to his feet again. It took him a bit of effort, but he finally managed to get to his feet. Unfortunately, his legs protested the strain of holding his weight by trembling to badly that he staggered back against the railing and had to latch onto it with both hands to keep from toppling forward after connecting with it. He was afraid to let go of the rail once he had it, mostly before he had a feeling if he did his legs would just fold with him again. He did try to let go of the railing with at least one hand about the time that Kyran actually got to him. "...I'm...f-fine..." he tried to tell him before he even got the chance to say anything.

Hikari sighed again heavily. This was going to be such a long day.... "I know," she responded dryly. She just blinked at Kyran when she caught him staring at her that way and then spoke right up saying that Nanashi couldn't make it. "...Yeah, I didn't think so...," she responded with another sigh. "...Unfortunately, I didn't build the place...all of the bedrooms are on the fourth level or in towers," she explained shortly. She only nodded a little when he said that he was going to need to be helped or carried and then watched as he started down the stairs again. She had a feeling that Nanashi wasn't going to like this, especially since she say him trying to get up as soon as Kyran got into his view, but what options did they have? He clearly wasn't going to be able to keep walking himself, and they couldn't wait on the stairs all day....

Nero shook his head a little. "I didn't mean right this minute. Besides, you'd just open your eyes anyway once you felt something go wrong." He told him. One needed practice with a blindfold in his opinion before trying something where they had to keep their eyes shut themselves. It was just too easy to crack open your eyes to see what was going on when you felt something off. He sighed quietly when Kanone mentioned the prick that did this to him. "The little prick, as you put it... should be glad I wasn't alone." He commented. Had he been alone he would have kicked that guys ass as soon as he could get a little sight. He would have dealt with the brightness and the blurred images just to be able to land a couple clean hits on the guy. "I still wouldn't mind hunting him down myself..." He said and then sighed again. He knew better then to go picking a fight over this in the light territory. There was only so much that document Kyran had could protect him from and it certainly wasn't able to protect him from his own stupidity. He felt a bit of relief once he finally got to stop again, assuming he was done with the stairs for now. He did glance back, for what good it did, when he heard Kanone say that Nanashi had fallen out on the steps. "...That's not a surprise." He said instantly though his initial thought wasn't to say that because Nanashi had been hurt like he had and was still recovering but because Nanashi was weak in general. He just didn't expect that much from the guy and he wasn't surprised that much anymore when he couldn't continue. Actually... it was almost a given anymore that Nanashi had to be carried somewhere so it was almost like he had just become a new ornament for Kyran... since that was the only person who ever really ended up carrying him.

LaRae stared at Nanashi when he finally answered and felt terrible. She hated to see him push himself when he really didn't look like he had it in him. She nodded anyway and continued to stay where she was. Even if he hadn't taken her up on her offer to help him she could once he was up if he looked like he really needed it. She figured he would need all the help he could get, especially if he was breathing like this after just the first set of the stairs. She startled very slightly when Nanashi started trying to get to his feet and had so much trouble with it. She hadn't even seen what caused him to get up like that when he said he needed a minute, at least until Kyran had gotten closer. She turned her eyes back to Nanashi when she heard him say that he was fine and then sighed quietly. "...Nanashi..." She mumbled. He wasn't fine and everyone knew it. If she could have carried him she would have... if she could have done it without embarrassing him or making him feel bad, she would have. Unfortunately she couldn't and there wasn't any way to make him feel okay about being carried but she was glad that Kyran had come back, obviously to help him. "...Just let him help you..." She finally added quietly. She didn't want to see him struggling with the stairs and she certainly didn't want to see him fall and really hurt himself.

Kyran didn't hurry down the steps but he still managed them at a dence pace considering his long legs. Once he reached the landing and got closer to Nanashi he sighed hearing him say that he was fine. "Of course you are." He said as he shook his head a little. Nanashi didn't look fine, nor did he sound it and he had to have known that... he didn't think Nanashi was an idiot after all. He continued to stand where he was without getting any closer to Nanashi. "There's still a ways to go, Nanashi." He paused. "This flight of stairs and then two others... on top of the walking to get to and from." He told him. "Once we get you to a bed you can crash, just like I said." He paused. "But at this rate you'll never make it all the way there on your own, so just accept the help."

Kanone shook his head a little when Nero said that he would just open his eyes when he felt something go wrong. "Yeah, probably," he agreed easily. He couldn't really deny it, he was too used to be able to see where he was going to do much without his eyes. He laughed weakly when Nero commented about wishing that he could hunt down the guy himself. "...Well...as much as I wouldn't blame you, I wouldn't advise it, though I guess you already knew that." He couldn't blame Nero for wanting to lay that guy out, really...but even he knew it would be really bad for Nero if he tried. He sighed again softly when Nero's response to Nanashi falling was that it wasn't a surprise. "...Well, he can't help it...," he said quietly, "He still made it pretty far considering. I doubt I could have walked that far if it was me in his shoes." He was at least trying to give Nanashi some credit. Kanone knew that he was a wuss when it came to being in pain or not feeling well, and Nanashi hadn't complained at all today about anything...except having to stop everyone so he could rest.

Nanashi glanced over to LaRae when she said his name and then laid his ears back a little after hearing her tell him to just let Kyran help him. As far as he was concerned, Kyran had helped him enough. If he couldn't make it to wherever he needed to be on his own, he could just stay outside on the steps. Unfortunately, he knew that wasn't going to sit with anyone else. His eyes wandered back to Kyran again when he spoke to him and one could practically see the urge to groan loudly on his face when Kyran told him how much further there was to go, but he remained silent. His ears laid back a little more and he shot a brief glance up the steps in Nero's general direction before letting out a heavy sigh. His eyes met Kyran's again for a moment before they dropped to the ground and a look of total defeat crossed his face. "....Fine..." he agreed so quietly the two of them might have trouble hearing him. He knew it wouldn't be right to hold everyone just just because he didn't feel like being embarrassed again. Maybe he would get used to this eventually...though he really hoped that he didn't have to. He hadn't felt up to par in weeks, and every time he got close, something else happened. He knew he couldn't keep going if there was still that much distance to cover, and he also knew it would be pointless to try. He was frustrated with himself, and it was probably obvious considering that after he agreed to help he was practically glaring at his own feet as if cursing them for not cooperating with him.