Family Reunion (Liza, Jula and Aero)

"Must be what he had me measured for earlier today..." she muttered delicately pulling open the package. The expression on her face was priceless and if it wasn't going to bring anyone running in thinking she was in trouble, she'd have screamed. There was more than one reason for this and she felt as though she wanted to parade about the house in it all day. "I can't believe he had this made for me...! If this is simple I shudder to think what his idea of expensive is." She was half peeved at him for spending so much on the garment, and half excited for the fact he went to the trouble of having it made at all. She remembered Alec being sad and put garment and package on the nearest chair. "Why did you look at me like that when I asked about a room? I won't be staying too long, and this is safer than any other place in the city. That and rooms with few obstacles make for a better place for me to practice, less to run into or trip over."

The room she'd used could be rearranged for practice, that was true. "It seems like something's bothering you, Alec, what is it? You know how much this means to me to find out I have family that cares for me, even if I 'am' a bastard. I was also hoping to find out about the other side of my family, the Xerceis, while I'm in town. I'm so sorry that I won't be leaving with you and Geronimo, but this might be my only opportunity to find out 'anything'. I can't pass it up." Years of not knowing anything about her heritage and thinking so poorly of herself because of it was going to stop in that city, she'd be an unfortunate damned soul if she let this slip through her fingers. "I'm not trying to sound angry at you, I know you're just concerned, but I don't plan on staying here forever."

"I don't intend to stay long. I don't intend to make any plans to marry Russell either. Why he insisted on bringing him here and threatening him is beyond me. Marriage only brings trouble from my experiences so likely enough I'll never tie the knot." Not likely she'd ever have another sweetheart after Russell either, but being alone seemed to suit her well enough. "I like my freedom too much to settle down, and I suppose I'll always be like that. Not like father should worry over it anyway; I'm just his bastard and he has Rose to carry on the family line." She fully intended to set the record straight with Zold before she left, and knowing she was considered a spinster anyway she didn't really care.

"Having your support is a real gift, Alec. Nice to know someone values my happiness in this house. Father seems to want me married as badly as he wants Geronimo out of his home. I'm tempted to ask if you'd stay, but I know you'd rather leave and not come back here ever again." She'd miss him terribly, not so much Geronimo seeing as they'd grown apart over the years, but she'd miss Alec. Now how to get Russell out of this predicament she'd caused. . .That would take an honest miracle, quite literally she'd have to come out and explain absolutely everything. She folded up the gift her father had put so much money into and put it back in the package. "I guess I'll go upstairs and spend a little time exercising. If there's anything about father you think I should know don't hesitate to interrupt me." With that it was back up those horrifying stairs. Why were there so many in that house?!

"I guess I'll just have to get used to being wanted. It's a new feeling to me outside the circus. I'm used to only being valued for how good I am at my job, not my worth as a person. Rose asked me about that earlier and lectured me on how I shouldn't think badly of myself. Tch, what would she know about that? You're welcome to come upstairs with me if you like." All she'd be doing was stretching and going over some simple dance steps. "How did you ever survive dealing with Rose in all your time here? I can't be in the same room with her for five minutes."

Getting upstairs to her room was just about a marathon in and of itself. "I can't really understand why people need houses this big. I mean this could easily be a bed and breakfast it's so big. Does father have company over often? If so then I'll need to hide or disguise myself as a maid. I'm terrified of him introducing me to any of his contemporaries. I'm not so sure I'd feel comfortable dealing with all those stuffed shirts. Why did you start working for Zold to start with...? If you don't like him all that much why did you go into business together, or is that just how everything works in Kaionar?"

"The last thing that man wants is to see me after what just happened to him because of me. I'm sure he's probably a lot happier being off with Rose and not dealing with the idea of marriage. I'll tell you this I don't think he's used to the idea of a serious monogamous relationship, period. I'd go so far as to say if you asked him directly and he didn't fear for his life, he'd outright say no to marrying me." She didn't sound hurt or depressed, she had no business feeling bad if he simply didn't see her that way. "I guess if I were truly honest, I don't expect to get married at all. I'm not exactly the kind of woman to settle down." She tied up the loose part of her shirt and began walking about on her hands, something she'd picked up from the acrobats and was dying to perfect.

"Rose seems to spend a lot of time with books, so likely enough she knows more than any of us could imagine. So long as she learns to be polite with me I'll learn to like her, hopefully. Until such a time I'll stick to hanging about with you and father and learning about this place, since last time I was here Russell tried to kill me in Baldasarre's apothecary shop. That was when he was still an assassin mind you, but I was willing to castrate him when he came at me with a dagger. He soon gave all that up and came on the road with us as a performer."

The horse Dragon really, really did want to eavesdrop. but he wanted Rose to trust and respect him too (because she didn't, right now) so he was trying to stay a respectful distance away, and that pained him.

Oh... where to put him. Rose didn't think about that. She rubbed the back of her neck as she though, furrowing her brows a bit. "Uhm... Well, probably dad's basement, so that the other people in Kaionar won't kill him. It's very roomy, and that way Dad could just reverse him there. That's where he does his experiments. It's probably the safest bet." She gave a sad little sigh. But she perked up again when he mentioned Silence and the secrecy. "Thank you again. I really do want Silence to think the best of me. I think that once Fredrick is human again, she'll see that I'm not just spoiled and selfish. Though..." Hmm. she wouldn't know how to explain how Fredrick became a half-spider to begin with. Maybe she'll just say that somebody else cursed him and 'true love's kiss' made him human again. "I'll come up with something that doesn't paint Father in a bad light. You work on getting him here and I'll think of something." She gave a girlish giggle as she let her stoic mask melt away. "Thanks again."

Alec raised an eyebrow again. "Interesting way to meet a friend. I'm shocked you two became close companions after that, whether marriage in the future or not. Heavens, I'm surprised you still talk to the man. I suppose that's where I would draw the line on forgiveness though, if a person tried to kill me or not. But, that's just me; I wouldn't want to push my line onto you at all." He gave a light shrug. "Marriage isn't what everybody wants in life. There's nothing wrong with you wanting to stay unmarried, regardless of what Zold may say. He's just a man of tradition. But I think he'll agree in time, as long as he knows you're happy. It's a change from this society, you know; women being able to take care of themselves. I'm sure Zold just wants to make sure you're well cared for, and not starving. In this city, that almost always means marriage to a rich man. Women aren't really given other options here."

for a little bit, he considered Evelyn. Of course he wanted Evelyn to be married, too... he didn't want her to go around pretending to be a boy forever. He had hoped that when she had reached the age when she became a woman rather than a girl, that she would cast aside her boyish ways. Would she want to marry, to be taken care of? Or did she want to live a man's life forever, and become apprenticed to somebody? That seemed like the much more shaky of lives... He sort of sighed as he came out of his thoughts. "I suppose if I had it my way, little Evelyn would be married to a rich man too. I hate to compare myself to Zold ever... it's a hard mind-set to get pulled out of."

"I make my own darn money and if men can't handle that then to Hades with them!" With that she returned to a normal standing position and set her hands on her hips. "Now if you can tell me the name of one man my age who wouldn't mind me traveling with a circus point me in the general direction, since that sort of man's a rarity." With a sly smirk and a wink she went back to trying to perfect her hand-walking and looked over at him. "It's a good thing I don't plan on living here or marry some rich man who'll want to lock me up like some kind of animal." She certainly wouldn't marry anyone born and bred in Kaionar. Period.

"Meh, Rusty's still sort of walking the line of being an assassin versus being a tightrope walker. In other news Geronimo and I have grown apart somewhat. We're not nearly as close as we used to be. She called me "Revena" for pity's sake! She's the one who gave me the name 'Silence' in the first place! I could've done so much worse than yanking on her ear and kicking her into the kitchen." She stood up again and decided her arms were falling asleep, enough hand-standing for today. She calmed herself down before looking at Alec and glancing out the window. "Is that a dragon or a horse I just saw go around the side of the house? Not like it essentially matters but I'd love to see it up close." She had no idea that Horse Dragons actually existed, but she'd be in for a surprise.

"Grumpy or not I can handle just about anything." she replied as she walked downstairs with him. "Besides I've not seen father when he's grumpy so I don't have much of a basis to go by." The creature itself was magnificent, but did inherently look angry no matter what was going on around it. "Hell's bells." she said with an awed look on her face. Her jaw could've hit the grass and kept on going. "I've never seen a dragon like that before." Recently she'd seen quite a few dragons in her recent travels, but never one with the front end of a horse. "And you said his name is Zaffar, correct? I assume the nickname 'Zaffy' was what Rose calls him."

The garden was a little shy of breathtaking, in fact it didn't really do much but depress her. "Father doesn't have much insight into gardening does he? I'd almost say he did this to keep his neighbors from asking questions about the back of his property. Then again he does seem to be a rather private man, and keeping people out of his life appears to be near the top of the list." The eeriness of the entire property was starting to set in, but she tried to put that in the back of her mind as she dared to take a step toward Zaffar.

Alec grinned and hid a chuckle. "Rose is respectful enough to him. I don't know. He just looks like a Zaffy to me. But he definitely prefers Zaffar. You'll get along better if you don't call him Zaffy, I learned the hard way." Alec didn't make much of a comment about the gardening - it wasn't really his style either, but as far as he was concerned, the Garden matched the same dreariness he felt around the house. Being a guest, though, made the whole place feel a bit nicer.

Zaffar looked up slowly at the two guests. Oh, great, Alec and some other person. Still, at least it was a little company. After he picked his head up, he then rested it on his arms, crossed in front of him. "Alec" He greeted a little tiredly. "I rather thought you had found other human things to do. I'd say it's good to see you back, but... well. You know." He rolled his eyes up towards the girl. "You're a new face, though. Who might you be?"

The Dragon had some what a lazy feel about him, like a kid who had run out of things to do on their summer vacation. He didn't seem to have much regard for Alec, but Alec didn't seem to mind that at all.

It was tough not to be alarmed at Zaffar, but eventually she swallowed her nerves and forced her hands to stop quivering. "Revena, my name is Revena. I'm Zold's eldest daughter. Your name is Zaffar, yes?" 'Please don't leave me alone with him Alec, pleeeeeease.' She wasn't so very at ease with this one because he somewhat reminded her of the one she had so many issues with. "You seem bored, do you ever get to do anything around here besides lay around?" She felt sort of bad for him being almost like a prisoner here. "Must be pretty bad if father doesn't let you get out and do anything." She sat on the lawn in front of him and studied him closely. "Care to tell me a little about yourself?" She was intrigued by this dragon and he seemed to be in need of diversion before he lost his sanity. "Is everything always so quiet around here, I can understand why you would be bereft of entertainment. Rose is not so very amusing to be around and father's rather busy with who knows what to do with magic and politics, must get lonely."

"I'm not sure if you mean my mother or Rose's. See my mother didn't leave, she was kidnapped and never managed to find her way back. I grew up not knowing my real father until just a few days ago, and it's been a culture shock this whole time." If he wanted to know about her then alright, but where to start...? "W-Well I'm twenty years old, I travel with a circus, Rose dislikes me, and I have a general fear of dragons. It takes me a while to warm up to them on an individual basis." She looked away from him for a moment and tried to relax more. "I wouldn't really know about having a close friendship with anyone like you have with father, it must be nice." Once it was apparent that she wasn't in any danger, she quieted down and ceased fidgeting with her sleeves. "I guess if you count this fluffy white cat that's taken up with me I have a friendship like that, but it's not quite the same."

Remembering her mother and the idea that Zold scared her made her laugh. "I am quite sure now that you are mistaken about my mother. There wasn't much that truly scared her and she thought the world of father. Would likely think just as highly of you, being so close to him and all." In a small moment of affection, she lay back on the lawn and admired the sky. "Don't suppose you'd really wish to hang about with me today, would you Zaffar? I promise I won't put ribbons and bows all over you like some little girl who fancies herself a hair stylist."