Elementals

"That is clearly one favorite spot we share," Sol agreed. She quickly glanced back at the calendar on the fridge. "How about Saturday? Two days from now, gives my, ah, friends a chance for another shopping trip and whatever." Suddenly Sol heard creaking upstairs, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Okay, you'll have to go now. I'm not exactly supposed to be up late and my dad wouldn't like me talking to who he would consider a stranger, in a window, at night. So I'll see ya in a few days."

Iris nodded, "Alright, seems like a plan. But wait, at the same time?" She asked quietly and quickly.

Zero waited until they left and considered standing. No, what a ridiculouss idea. It appeared she was tied against a pole. She felt around and winced when she found a piece of rust sticking out. Perfect. She ran the rope against it, making good time. By the time she was free, footsteps were echoing in the dark. She scrambled around, looking for an exit. She saw light peeking through a crack, the door. She slung it open, darting outside. She must have not been out for long, for the sun was only starting to peek through the clouds. She ran full speed down the empty streets, pursuers at her heels. King breathed in the brisk morning air. They were raiding the local store before business came. He and Cosmo jumped when they heard crashing and several trash cans being overturned. They both whipped around, shocked at the sight. A girl, about their age, was struggling with aprehendors. "Help!" Please!" She cried before a hand clampedd over her mouth. King snapped out of the spell, jumping forward and prying one of them away, Cosmo the other. They had to help their fellow criminal, of course.

"Let's say about three in the afternoon," Sol suggsted. Then she yawned. "Well, we both have to go now. I achieved my tired state. G' night."

"Got it. I'll see you on Saturday then," Iris nodded. "Goodnight," she said quietly. Iris looked at her surroundings and dashed around the corner of the house and down the street to the park. She was unaware of this neighborhood. As soon as she got to the park, she quietly ran down to her street, then to her house. Up onto the porch, then got her keys out that were clipped onto one of her belt loops. The door was unlocked and Iris slipped in and closed the door as quietly as she could, then locked the door. She turned, and her father was sitting on the couch, who was watching Iris. Crap, she thought, and prepared for the yelling.

Sol shut and locked the window, grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen counter, and ate it while she went upstairs to her room, making the least amount of noise as she could. She quickly brushed her teeth in the bathroom and went to her room, hoping she hadn't woken up either of the "men" in the house - Sol really didn't see Nox as a man - and she quickly changed into her polkadot pajamas and crashed on her bed, immediately falling asleep and luckily getting no nightmares this time.

Iris's pushed her bangs out of her face and stood there, staring at her father while he stared at her. He was dressed, as if about to leave. Iris had guessed that he was going to come looking for her if she didn't return soon. "Iris... I thought we agreed no more sneaking out, is Ruby back?" He asked sternly. "No," she replied quickly but quietly. "Even if she was back, I wouldn't go anywhere near her. I just needed to get out of the house for a moment." Iris explained and hoped it would be enough to persuade her father not to punish her. "I promise you I wasn't do anything." There was a moment of silence. After the event that happened about a year ago, Iris's father had become more serious. "You know I worry. What if something were to happen to you?" He asked. "I understand you'd be worried, but I can take care of myself, I promise you that. I've been more precautious since then," Iris said, and her father knew what she was referring to. There was another moment of silence. "Don't let me catch you out of the house again or I won't let you leave the house for a while," he walked over to the kitchen counter and hung his car keys on the wall, "I mean it. Now get to bed. Don't speak of this to your mother or brother." Iris nodded and watched her dad walk up the stairs and she followed. As he slipped into his room, Iris slipped into her room, then to her bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth then slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank top and climbed into bed. Iris could already see the dark sky turning blue. Was I really out that long? She asked herself. Within a few minutes, she was sound asleep.

(Sorry xD watching Oz The Great and powerful.) King and Cosmo had managed to knock out the aprehendors, though Cosmo had a cut to show for it. King helped the stranger off the ground. "What'd you do to piss THEM off? He chuckled. Zero moved her goggles to her head. "I don't know...I cant remember anything." She hesitated. She didn't have to give everything away to strangers. In the process of him helping her up, Zero noticed five familiar harddrives hanging from his neck. "You're the one that robbed my apartment!" She yelled suddenly. King realized it was a bad idea to wear stolen merchandise.

(Life lesson number one xD lolno

(Sio and I read watched The Search part 2. Also, I would've died of laughter there if I wasn't supposed to be asleep) The first thing Sol noticed when she woke up was how NOT quiet it was. She pulled on a thin morning robe and went downstairs. The house was empty. She knew Dad would've gone grocery shopping, but Nox usually slept in late.. and what was that noise outside? It sounded like a failing car..... engine.... "Oh, no," she groaned, pulling on sandals and running out to the backyard slash garage.

(XD) Zero crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation. "Well....y'see...I found these in the hallway of my apartment." King improvised. Zero thought for a moment, then decided to let it go. "Fine. You can keep them. They're useless anyway." She shrugged. "More importantly, where are we?" She wondered, taking notice of her surroundings. She'd never been in this part of the city before. King thought for a moment. "We could show you the way back." Cosmo offered. Zero took notice of the other boy, especially the eyes. She shivered.

Iris's eyes shot open. She just had a nightmare, but right after waking up, she forgot what it was about. The scent of eggs just barely filled the house. Iris didn't want to get out of bed, but she was hot and sweaty and was in need of a shower. She glanced at the clock. 9:30am. She had only gotten about four hours of sleep, but Iris didn't want to wake up at noon. She slowly and tiredly slipped out of bed and walked to her bathroom and took a quick shower, she also re-bleached her roots which took some more time. After Iris was dressed and all of her hair was snow white again, she dragged herself downstairs to find her mom and brother at the dining table, eating breakfast. "Where's dad?" Iris asked. He almost always joined them for meals. Her mother looked at Zac, Iris's younger brother, then to Iris and said, "he's at the cemetery. He'll be back soon, just join us and eat your breakfast." She told her. Iris was a bit confused. Her mother seemed more stressed than usual... Did dad tell her? She wondered, then began to eat her eggs and bacon in silence with her family.

"What. Are. You. DOING?!" Sol asked. She really couldn't believe her eyes. There was an old Cadillac sitting in the driveway with the hood up, gears and supplies everywhere and it seemed Nox was trying to start the engine. He looked up. "Good morning to you, too. Whaddaya think?" he asked. "What do I think about what?" Sol asked. "The car, genius. I thought you would actually need a car once you get your liscene," Nox said. Sol blinked. She hadn't put that to thought at all, but yeah, she would need a car. "But... why are you doing all this?" she asked, gesturing to the car and supplies. "Because it was a good deal. And there's no way you could afford a new car." Sol sighed and admitted that was true. "But I can afford a paint job. I'm really not liking this dull brown." "Yeah. That and maybe a few new parts," Nox added, stepping out. Sol almost laughed at the sight of him. His dark green shirt had old and grease stains, he had grime on his legs and sneakers, and his hair was even more rumpled than usual. "How long have you BEEN at this?" Sol asked in wonder. Nox shrugged. One or two hours, maybe." Sol sighed. "Well why don't you close up shop and shower, and I'll make breakfast. You need a break. And you can tell me how you became a car genius," she said. Nox smirked. "Yes, ma'am," he said sarcastically. Sol shook her head, then went inside. (That's it for the night for me o.e I neeeeed sleeeeeeep

Zero had sent the two on their way, collapsing on her couch. She noticed a rather fresh looking letter on the coffee table. She sat up and examined it. Four Seasons High. That was the giant elements school, right? It would make sense, with the events happening lately. She opened the envolope, having to reread it to understand what she was seeing. Once she had finished reading, she started jumping up and down excitedly. "Rouge! We're going on a trip!" She said excitedly, still jumping. She had to pack first, she decided. She set out some suitfases, packing clothes in the largest, valuables in the medium, miscellineous in the small. This was going to be fun.

Sol was at the table, breakfast on their plates and sorting through mail when Nox finally came down from his shower. He had changed into clean clothes, and his hair was still wet and flat, stuck to his face and he kept brushing it out of his eyes. He plopped on the chair across from Sol. "Anything new?" he asked, mouth full with food. Sol sighed in half disgust. "It's all junk.... except..." Sol halted on a fancy-looking letter. No, two of them. Addressed to Sol and Nox. Sol slid Nox's letter to him across the table. They opened it at the same time. "Four Seasons High," Sol murmured. Nox groaned. "Of course it's a school." "Hush. Read the letter. This is different," Sol said, her eyes glued to the paper. Nox looked up at Sol, eyebrow raised, but she didn't reply so he figured he had to read it. It sounded all made-up. He had never heard of the school - not surprisingly, school wasn't his favorite subject at all - but Sol was rereading it and excitement lit up her face. "Nox, you know what this means, right?" she asked. "I won't get to finish my breakfast?" he asked. "No, genius. It means we're BENDERS," Sol said. Nox looked up. "We're WHAT?" "What, you haven't heard the term bender before?" "Um, no, last time I checked, you were the one that did all the research on pointless thing." Sol rolled her eyes. "Okay. Well a bender is someone with a magical ability to control a certain element and bend it to their will," she explained. "Magic," Nox summed up. "You know I don't believe in that stuff." "Nox, when will this get through your thick skull? You ARE 'that stuff' and the proof is on that paper," Sol said exasperated.

Zero hesitated with the framed photo of her mother, smiling and carefree. she wrapped it thickly in news paper, stuffing it in her one shoulder bag. She didn't trust whoever handles bags with her only memory of her mother. she also had some disks and her laptop, all packed into her one-shoulder. She slipped Rouges new collar on. "Saturday is the day." She said excitedly. Two days from now. King shuffled through the mail, surprised by two fancy ones. "Well that's...surprising." He breathed after reading, Cosmo nodding in agreement. Zero stuffed everything in a corner, crashing on the couch. After everything she wouldn't be surprised if she slept through a nuclear war.

(Ah, Sol, Saturday is one day from now. And it's gonna lead into it today, hopefully) Nox groaned. "I don't wanna do this. But I guess we have to see it," he muttered. "Great. So what do we tell Dad?" Sol asked. "Just... Explain it to him, I guess," Nox shrugged. "And it'll be you doing the talking. I'm hoping we can get the car fixed in time because it looks like we'll have to get ourselves to the airport." "You mean YOU get the car fixed," Sol corrected. "Close enough." Nox stood, putting his plate in the sink. "Wait, you're actually gonna waste the whole day working on the car?" Sol asked. "If you wanna go to the school, then yeah," Nox replied, pulling on his sneakers he hadn't bothered washing. "You're insane," Sol muttered under her breath. She turned the hot water on in the sink. She always did the dishes after every meal because otherwise it piled up and she forgot about it because she was out somewhere.
Angelica reread the letter, wondering what she would tell her aunt. Was she going to be happy Angelica was finally leaving? Would she say no because she knew nothing about the school? If she agreed, was she going to drive Angelica to the airport or would Angelica have to find her own way? She still hadn't gotten her driver's license because of her aunt. She groaned, head falling forward onto the table. She wanted to go to this school so badly. Suddenly she thought about Fae. Fae had looked old enough to drive. Maybe she could help? Hmm... Problem was Angelica had no idea where Fae lived, and if she did she guessed Fae wouldn't be home anyway. Maybe she could ask someone.

Fae was stuck inside while her parents discussed about whatever that letter said. They didn't even let her read it, even though it was CLEARLY for her. She groaned and sank lower down on the couch. "You guys done bickering and gonna let me read that now?" she asked. "We'll let you read it when your father realizes how stupid he's being," her mother replied. "Well, can I go out, then?" Fae asked. "No," her father said. No. A one word answer with no explanation. Of course. The constant arguments between her parents were also why Fae was never around.
(Sorry. I was busy, plus I didn't really know where to put Fae oWo she feels kinda more like a secondary character..

(Dear GODS, man o_o You went insane)
After Sol finished the dishes she put them on the drying rack, picked up her letter, and went up to her room. If they were gonna go, she wanted to pack ahead of time. She pulled her polkadot suitcase from under her bed (she likes polkadots) and unzipped it. It was definitely roomy, lots of side pockets as well. Since airports were now only allowing one suitcase and one carry-on, it limited a lot of people on what to bring. Sol only had one suitcase, so she was fine with that. If anything, she would bring a backpack on the plane. She would pack clothes first and move on to the smaller things. Clearly from the letter, the high school was more like an academy, where you stayed the whole school year and came home for the summer. That meant they had to pack more than one set of clothes -- she would have to make sure Nox didn't do that, as he would be too lazy to pack a lot of things. After looking and decision-making, Sol packed: 7 short sleeves, 5 long sleeves, two hoodies, a jacket, 6 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shorts, a week's supply of underwear - they obviously had washer/drier machines, - a pair of sandals, sneakers, boots, and her small teddy bear. She never wore jewelry, and she didn't have any pictures to pack. The bathroom supplies would be packed the day of - which reminded her, she still had to shower and brush her teeth - and that meant she was ready. She zipped up the suitcase, which required sitting on it in order to squash down everything. Sol sighed. Well, that was that. Now she had to prepare herself for the day, so she headed to the bathroom.

Zero jolted awake, looking at the clock. Good. She had plenty of time. she jumped up and ran to the suitcases in the corner. she chose a casual outfit, brushing her rainbow hair. She decided to take a cab to the airport, since she had a license, but no car. King and Cosmo packed what little items they had, which all fit in one suitcase. Zero watched the usual crowd, looking for an opening. Finally she spotted a cab and waved at it, eventually it stopped and she climbed in. "Winchester airport, please." She said, taking out her headphones and listening to some mixes. She must have fallen asleep, because the giant airport was looming in front of them. Zero payed him plus a tip, skipping out excitedly. The driver had not been happy about Rouge in the back, but the tip was generous enough.

(Derp. Super long post trying to catch up)

Coy opened his eyes, his mouth streaching wide with a yawn. He sat up, careful not to chip off any more sheetrock from the ceiling than he had from whacking his head. "Wake up," he muttered, grabbing his pillow from behind his back and throwing it underneith him. "Okay, okay," came a grumbling response from the lower bunk. Coy threw his legs over the side of the bed, not bothering to use the ladder as he leaped down to the hard oak floor. "I still can't believe that this was the only bed we could afford," he muttered, snatching his pillow back from Zod's arms, who had apparently burrowed under the covers for more sleep. "Well, if you hadn't blown all our money on that stupid hi-tech telescope we might could afford better beds!" came the muffled voice. "It's an X-1200, one of the best telescopes in America! It has 3 duel-anatomy mirrors and adaptive optics!" he argued, yanking the covers off his brother. "Nerd!" Zod yelled, sending Coy reeling backwards with a whack of a pillow. Coy snorted, hurling the pillow back. "Come on, I've got a Yale interview tomorrow. I have to work on my paper, and you have to get to your job." After what seemed like an eternity, Zod finally dragged himself from his den of covers, revealing himself to a Coy that was dressed in a vibrant orange-and-black striped polo shirt, some slighty-faded straight jeans and some Nike tennis-shoes. "What is it with you and always being on time," Zod muttered, pushing past him and heading towards the bathroom. Coy padded out of their bedroom, his black-highlited shoes squeaking on the dark wooden stairs. "Let's see what the ole fridge has for us today," he said, pulling open the white rectangular door. "Pickles, mustard, pizza, waffles, paper?" Coy took out an envelope, slightly stained and tore with a smudged symbol on the front. He shrugged, tossing it over his shoulder and into the trash bin. He glanced over at the oven clock. 7:30. Being pressed for time, he took out the pizza box, slipped four pieces of supreme in the microwave and set it for 1:30 minutes. Whistling cheerfully, he fixed himself a mug of expresso, setting it down on the worn, chipped kitchen table. After plopping two slices of pizza for himself on a plate and two on another for Zod, he set them on the table as well, walking over to the apartment door. The 18-year-old opened the thick wood slab, wandering down the red-carpeted hallway towards the stairway. Ever since Sheere, the kind old lady next door got stuck in the elevator, he prefered to use the stairs. He flopped down the stairs, eventually reaching the lobby. "Morning, Wille," Coy said as he wandered up to the desk. "Mornin', Collain," the elderly man said kindly. "Any mail?" he asked the employee. "Nope, just the paper," he said, handing Coy the daily newspaper. "Thanks!" he said, snatching the paper and charging back up the stairs again. "Anytime, Collain!" As Coy reached the top of the stairs, level 5, he walked back down the hallway towards number 47, their deluxe two-story apartment. He opened the door, finding Zod sitting a chair, devouring the italian pie slices with a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist. "Put some clothes on!" Coy complained, slipping into his chair. "Why? Can't a guy lounge around in his own apartment, eating pizza?" Zod asked, stuffing the second crust into his munching jaws. "Not when this guy is going commando." Coy finished off the first slice, taking a sip of his coffee. "Hey, Coy, what's there to drink?" Zod asked. "There's a half-drunk Pepsi in the fridge," he muttered through the other slice of pizza. "Cool." Zod rummaged around in the fridge, emerging with a Pepsi can in his hand. "Hey, did you get that letter?" he asked, slurping the dark liquid. "Letter? You mean the one in the fridge?" Coy asked, finishing off the crust. "Yeah," Zod asked, crushing the can. "Something about a school?" He flung the can, sending it cluttering into the trash bin. Coy shot up, dashing towards the can. "Damn it, Zod! Why the hell would you put it in the fridge?" he asked, rummaging through the garbage. "Well, I know you make breakfast every morning, so I thought you'd see it in the fridge. Sheesh." Coy emerged from the trash, letter held high in triumph. "Well, what's it say?" Zod asked, leaning against the table casually. "I'm working on it!" Coy huffed in exasperation, fumbling with a kitchen knife as he struggled to open the envelope. With a tearing sound, he successfully pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. "Well?" Zod asked again impatiently. Coy's eyes scanned the the paper, widening with each line. "Holy crap..." he breathed. "Zod, put your pants on and get in the car."

"It's going to get cold," Iris's mother said. She'd starting picking at her eggs unknowingly.
"Sorry, mom," Iris began eating again. It was obvious to everyone that the family's loss affected her the most, she had drastically changed right afterwards. Zac, her brother, had always been worried about her ever since, hoping she wouldn't retort to using knives and pens (BVB reference :D).
Their mother got up and put her plate in the soapy sink. "I have something for the both of you, but you really need to finish your breakfast," she sat back down. Iris looked up from her plate to her mom, then to her brother. In a few minutes, both finished and put their plates in the the sink.
"What is it, mom?" Asked Zac, who slowly sat back in his seat. Iris just stood behind her chair. Their mom gathered the mail and fingered through it, then sliding a nice looking envelope to her kids, one for each.
Iris slowly picked it up and looked at the return address, "Four Seasons High? Isn't that where Blythe went?" Her voice trailed off, her mother nodded. Zac looked at both of them and opened his right away, he couldn't hide his excitement. Iris sighed and slowly opened hers, the siblings read it in silence. "Do we have to go?" Iris asked as she finished reading.
"Well, of course. You are benders, and you need to learn how to use it," their mom sighed and pinched the bridger of her nose. "Who knows what might happen in the future? The bending would come in handy."
"Alright, go it." Iris said quickly and went upstairs to her room. Zac just stared at the letter in amazement, but then his smile dropped.
"It'll just be you and dad here, though. Will you guys be okay?"
"Why wouldn't we?" But she knew what he meant. "Don't worry, you guys will be back in the summer," she smiled and turned to the sink and started washing the dishes.

When Sol finally got out of the shower, she heard the running of a car engine. "Well, whaddaya know, he actually fixed it," Sol muttered. She dried off and put on a polkadot cat tee and jean shorts, then half ran downstairs, pulled sandals on and went outside, not caring for her dripping wet hair - that sort of ran in the family. "Part two complete," Nox announced, getting out of the car. "Wait, part two?" Sol asked. "Yeah. This car thing has... four parts. One, buy the car, two, fix it, three, take it to the body shop, four, get new gears and a paint job," Nox listed. "Well before you go anywhere, you'll need another shower." Nox shrugged. "I'll just wash off. By the way, I've been thinking. Before your test you WILL need someone to teach you. And.... Dad isn't home very often, so.." "Oh, no, you are NOT teaching me how to drive." Sol shook her head. "No thank you." "Oh come on, what's the problem?" Nox complained. "Hmm. Let me see here." Sol held up her hand and counted off on her fingers. "You're a reckless driver, you mainly drive your motorcycle, you hit a fence last time you tried to pull a stupid trick in a CAR - which I really can't believe you would even think of that - and this is a stick shift." "For your information, I know how to drive stick otherwise this thing wouldn't be here, the trick was a dare, the motorcycle is more comfortable, and I'm not THAT reckless," Nox countered. Sol rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just like you're not reckless with everything else," she said sarcastically. "Come on. Driving a whole different level," Nox said. "And that's exactly why you are NOT teaching me," Sol said firmly. Nox folded his hands across his chest. "Then I won't fix the rest of your car," he declared. "Oh, NOW you're just being unfair," Sol said. "Just because YOU'RE being unfair. I got here in one piece. The car was already broken, that wasn't my fault," Nox said. "So you're saying I'm unreasonable," Sol summed up. "YES!" Nox spread his hands out. "When will you get it? I'm trying to HELP, here." Sol shook her head. "You won't be teaching me how to drive." "So you want this junk just sitting here." "I can ask Dad to move it." "Dad doesn't drive stick." "I can have a friend do it." "Oh, yeah, sure. Like one of your girly little friends is gonna get into something like this." "OKAY I GIVE UP!" Sol threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "You win. But if anything happens, I'm blaming YOU," she warned. "And get that smug look of your face." Nox grinned. "Why? It's not every day I get to win a discussion with you. I should be able to enjoy this moment." "If I wasn't a violent person, I would slap you right now," Sol growled. Nox laughed. "Exactly why I'm rubbing it in your face." "Yeah, now you can stop and go inside and wash the oil or whatever that is, off." "I think it would be wise if I clean this up first." "Well, finally, you're thinking for yourself. It's a miracle." Nox smirked. "Your day's already full of miracles and it isn't even noon." "Yeah, let's just hope the luck lasts," Sol said. "Ha, right, good luck with that." Sol waved him off and went back inside. Although she was hiding it, she was actually bursting with excitement. Finally, she was going to learn how to drive. She remembered sitting on her Dad's lap in his car, pretending to drive, before he went into the long work hours. Sol sighed. Those days had been fun. Of course, she wasn't saying these days WEREN'T fun. Nox was just a completely different level of "fun" which included annoying. She wrung her hair out. Well, there was time, so she could actually dry it and brush it out for once. She headed back upstairs, pulling her blow dryer and brush out of the bathroom cabinet. Then she sat down in her room in front of her desk and put up a small mirror. She brushed through her thick hair, getting the tangles out before she dried it. She had learned that her hair did not work well with a brush after being blow dried when still tangled. The ironic thing about her hair was that even though it was thick and still sopping wet, it dried surprisingly fast. Five-minute fast, which also was apparently how long it had taken Nox to clear up the mess in the driveway and was now cleaning up himself. Sol drummed her fingers on her desk, and figured she could mess with her hair since she had time. She had never actually given much attention to her hair except for washing it every day. She always left it naturally straight. Hmm.. She eyed the curler sitting in the corner. She had only used it once, when her friends invaded her house. She pulled it out now. Since there were lots of changes happening, her hair was also due for a change. She plugged the curler into the socket and pulled out her notebook while waiting for it to heat up. She opened the flip side. It was used for random real-life stories, almost like a diary. That's what she would use it for in this moment. Pulling out a pen - yes, polkadots again - she summed up all the changes so far: the new car, Nox teaching her how to drive, the new school, and now her hair. That gave the curler enough time to become burning when touched, which Sol unfortunately learned on accident when her thumb touched the metal. She winced, holding her thumb in her mouth. "Crap, that's hot," she muttered. Yeah, no duh, genius, she thought to herself. "Ah dear. Nox's speech is rubbing off on me," she muttered to herself, picking up the curler properly this time. She pulled a somewhat thin bunch of hair and curled it around the iron, holding it down for five long seconds before releasing. Hmm. It was nice. Not too extreme curly, just twisted. Yeah, she was definitely liking this change as well. She went along curling the rest of her hair. When she was done she unplugged the curler then examined her hair properly. It looked weird for a moment, and it was a lot bouncier that usual, but she was satisfied. Now, what would Nox think? Sol laughed. Oh, he was gonna get a kick out of this. Conveniently, Nox was coming to her room. When he saw her, he backed up two steps and said, "Oh god. What did you DO?!" Sol burst out laughing. "Your face...... the expression.... it's priceless," she said, having to hold onto the wall to make sure she didn't collapse. Nox had an expression of utter shock. Sol took a deep breath, calming herself, letting a bit more laughter out before composing herself. "I decided, since we're changing things around here, I could do with a new look," Sol said. Nox closed his eyes, shaking his head. "You're crazy. But, okay. As long as I don't have to do anything to MY hair," he said. Sol giggled. "What if you dyed it?" "Ah, yeah, sure. No. I like my hair how it is and you're not touching it. Anyway, before this monstrosity, I was gonna ask if you're ready to go, I'm gonna give the car a real test drive and you're gonna choose a new coat for it." "Yeah. Lemme just get my sweater, I was cold outside." Nox shrugged. "Kay. I'll be waiting for you in the car." He turned and went back downstairs, and Sol heard the door open and close. She sighed. She would be Nox wouldn't be cold if he had no shirt on in winter. Well, she was sensitive to cold. "We're all different," she muttered, pulling on a red sweater, proper sneakers, and went outside. Nox had already started the engine. "Hop in," he said. Sol walked around to the shotgun seat and sat down. "It... smells weird," she commented. Nox shrugged. "You can get car fresheners while we're there," he said. Sol watched him switch gears and ride out of the driveway. She actually hadn't seen a proper stick shift up close, since basically everyone rode auto now. "This is actually smoother than I thought," she murmured. Nox glanced at her, a smirk on his face. "You underestimate me, dear sister." Sol rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. Just don't do anything rash." "You mean, like this?" Nox suddenly slammed the gas, the car jolting forward. Sol grabbed the door pocket tightly. "Yes, EXACTLY like that!" she said, momentary fear making her yell. Nox laughed. "Sorry. I had to." Sol elbowed him. "Well don't do that okay." "Yes, ma'am," Nox said sarcastically.

Zero and Rouge boarded the airplane, having to pay extra because Rouge wouldn't fit in a kennel. She turned on her headphones and fell asleep to the mixes, awoken by a bratty kid kicking her seat. HE/she could not be identified due to shrill voice. The other passengers were quite annoyed as well. Finally she took her headphones off and turned around. It was a boy all right. "Can you please calm your child?" She asked patiently. "I'm trying but he won't hush!" The mother said, looking rather stressed. Zero sighed turned back, unbuckling her belt. "Try this." She suggested, watching them go to the back. The other passengers seemed releived. She finally managed to fall back asleep, and wasn't disturbed until the attendant told them they had reached their destination.

Zod’s eyes widened. “What’s so important that you need me to put my pants on for?” Coy rose from his crouch, giving his brother a forceful shove. “Hey!” Zod cried, flailing his arms as he crashed backwards into the trash bin, knocking it over. “What’s so important is that we got a letter from The Four Seasons!” Coy’s chocolaty eyes were wide, gleaming with excitement. “What’s so great about a school?” Zod complained. Coy reached forward, Zod grasping his hand as he pulled his brother off  the oak floor. “it’s a special school for benders, like us,” Coy said with a wild grin. Zod rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, last time I checked I dropped out, remember?” He reached down, loosening the fluffy white towel around his waist. “Ugh! Don’t do that in the kitchen!” Coy cried, shielding his eyes and turning away from his brother with a grimace of disgust. “What?” Zod asked, re-wrapping the thick, plush sheet around himself. “I was just tightening it.” Coy huffed in frustration. “Whatever. But seriously, this is a huge deal. We can’t miss this opportunity!” Zod bent down, tipping the trash bin right side up once more. “So? It’s a school, big whoop. Why do I have to go, anyhow?” He picked up the crushed Pepsi can, tossing it into the basket. “Because, without me, you’d be living alone, working a dead-end job for the rest of your life with no wife, kids, or retirement fund.” A paper-towel roll thumped into the bottom of the bin. “And your point is?” Coy sighed, his shoulder’s slouching. “You wouldn’t have anyone to make you breakfast.” Zod popped up, his towel nearly falling off again. “Well, don’t just stand there, let’s get packed!” he exclaimed, charging up the stairs. “Hey, wait! At least pick up the trash!”