[[OMG PUDAO]]

"So, do you like swords then?" Shan asked him, smiling back. At least he was no longer upset about the blood ordeal at the moment. He had mentioned swords, so that would most likely be what she would be making.

Phineas wracked his brain. Could he use a sword? He'd never had to. Somehow he didn't think he could handle one. He swallowed another bite of steak before speaking. "I need to think of it..." An idea was swimming around in his head, as if put there by someone else. It was a sort of weapon, but he didn't have to hold it. Maybe it had a blade. He had to find a way to explain it...

((I think I'll be doing some drawing to come up with something... XD something like this?))

[[Oh that's cool! ... every time you post a picture of him, I want to draw him XD
I has no time ;_;

Hey, you changed your hair! XD]]]

Shan kept silent to let him think. He seemd to be halfway done with an idea, as if all he needed to do was to get it to leave his brain through his mouth. She was quite interested in what he would come up with.

((I tend to want to draw most when I'm most busy with finals ^_^''
Yeah, I change the hair to fit the outfit, until they get a hair that I like enough to keep forever ^_^))

Phineas's eyes sparked with an idea. He looked around for something, didn't find it. His eyes fell on the goblet of blood. He pulled it towards himself and dipped his finger in it, then drew on the tabletop with the organic ink:

It felt strange to draw with such squishy fingers. His claws had allowed for much finer lines. He'd have to get used to the bluntness of humanity.
"Um... like this, yes?" He looked up at Shan.

[[darn, I'm at school so I can't see the image DX I'll edit this post when I get home if no one posts after me >w<;

why is it that we have the need to draw at the wrong moments? XD ]]

((because... because... I have no idea. The mind craves an outlet for nonschool ideas when it is absorbed in schoolwork, perhaps?))

Demitra was listening to Shan and Phineas's conversation and she tilted her head to see the painting that Phineas had just made. She wasn't positive that she knew what it was, but it looked like some sort of blade attached to his arm. She guessed that would be better for him than a sword, with all the swinging and stuff.

Shan smiled. "I think I can do that," she said, standing up abruptly. She set the keys down on the table. "Four keys, four rooms, choose among yourselves who sleeps with whom if I don't get back by the time you're finished eating. I don't think you want to be near Layla for longer than you need to. All the rooms are upstairs." She then pointed to the wooden stairs that were a little too close to Layla's counter. "The keys have the numbers of the rooms on them. They're all close to each other. Yuki, stay with Phineas." And with that, she left them.

Yuki had time only to nod. He looked at Phineas and waved, staring at his hands.

[[LOL I think that's it *craves*]]

Phineas smiled at Shan as she left and waved back to Yuki. He looked down at his drawing on the table and added a few more curlicues, eating his steak with the other hand. Given enough time, he would cover the whole thing with pictograms of his recent adventures, making it a sort of extension of his lair.

Yuki looked at what Phineas was doing, curious. The smell of blood was not strong enough to deter him from his curiosity, and he had finished anyway.

Phineas felt the boy's eyes on him and blushed. He didn't know why he felt uncomfortable to have someone watch him draw. He wasn't ashamed, or embarassed by his art, but being watched in the creation of it made him feel as if his mind and soul were naked to attack. He blotted out the drawing he had begun and finished his second steak instead.

Yuki realized he had been staring a bit too hard and turned his gaze towards the table, as if trying to see through it. "Mama sure ran out really fast," he said, remembering how she had not given anyone time to object to her decision. She usually wasn't very decisive at home, but she seemed to be at the moment. Usually, she was more introverted.

"Maybe she does not want to be around scary smiley lady, yes?" Phineas reasoned. He chewed the last bite thoughtfully. "Or... hey, how does she making weapons?" The idea had just hit him. "And what room did she go to? She forgot to say!"

"I don't want to be around the lady either, Yuki said smiling. Yuki had never seen his mother make a weapon before, but he knew how she made them. "Mama makes weapons with magic," he began. "It is one of the reasons the weapons of angels are lighter than other weapons. The magic not only creates the weapon, it helps keep it strong and light."

"Ohh... where does she get the magic? Does it take a lot of it?" He was thinking of magic as some sort of metal.

Yuki smiled. "Magic is not something you touch, it is something that comes from within, like a dragon's fire," Yuki explained. "A magic-used doesn't run out of magic, but magic requires energy, so if one person uses it too much, they get tired."

"Ah!" He translated the word into something sweet-sounding in draconic, looking enlightened. "Your mama must be a very special lady, to be able to use it, yes? She is! Of course she is!" He remembered the wings and gave a short laugh as everything fell into place for him.

Yuki's smile broadened. "Yes, she's quite a special lady," Yuki agreed. "She's also quite old, so she's had a lot of time to practice doing many different things, like learning to fight with different weapons, and also how to play instruments and create things."

"She is old?" Phineas looked shocked.

((time to go catch the bus home form work... ^_^'))

[[That accursed bus! XD]]

Yuki gave a short nod. "Oh yes. It's one of the reasons she's so strong. She isn't as old as the Dreamweaver, but her age goes well into four-digit numbers." He paused. "I'm not sure if she would want me to tell you this, but she never told me not to..."

Too busy stuffing his face while waiting for an answer from Ani, Ari simply needed time to chew his food thoroughly, swallow, and gasp for air before he was able to say something in reply to her. "Ah, please then," he said with a small smile, "I do beg of you - go easy on me. It's not my specialty, simply a skill that I've learned and needs honing. I prefer longer ranged weapons. And also... I'm afraid I haven't had much time to perfect any art with weapons." He added the last phrase almost as an after thought as phrases of the two boys' conversation drifted over.

Well into the four digits... now that's not something you heard of everyday. She looks so young... he thought wistfully, suddenly feeling very small. "Yuki, how old are you?"

((omg thank god you guys haven't gone too far. I was in NYC the last three days without internet!))

[[OH! NYC is one of the places I wish I could go~ >w<; How was it?]]

"I'm seven years old," Yuki replied. And while he was at it, he added. "Mother's six.. uh.. thousand. Six-thousand thirty-eight." He'd blurted it out without meaning to; talking about his own age had made it easier. Still, his cheeks were quite red now.

Woah, Demitra thought in her head when Yuki blurted out his mother's age. She knew Shan was extremely old, but it was still hard to believe since she looked as young as Demitra was herself. But she smiled at Yuki's red cheeks. "So, you're about half my age then, eh?" She stated it more than asked. After saying that, though, she realized she was one of the younger ones there. She shrugged an awkward feeling away and started to play with the rest of her food.

"Yes miss," Yuki said, nodding subtly. "I'm one of those that actually looks their age still." He fiddled with his fork, not really intending to do anything with it. He knew his mother was not really taking long to come back, but it sure felt that way.

((x_X what did I miss? Sorry I was busy today at a field trip))