The Land of Chaos: Part III

The next morning, Cross and Alice went down to the little breakfast buffet the hotel had, raven hair still damp from his shower. He didn't wear his jacket, allowing for the fact that it would incite too many questions. He'd rebandaged his arm, and was now eating pancakes, while Alice had gotten waffles. She was telling him all about how her and DK and Boreas and Fara had found a park last night and how he should have been there with them. She certainly was a morning person.

Boreas stretched and sat up. Some time in the middle of the night he'd ended up getting warm, and instead of removing his shirt like a normal person would have, he'd ended up frosting himself over. When he'd woken up, he'd found himself glad that Fara had curled up at the end of the bed with her flower's petals having grown long to cover her as a blanket. He too got up and took a shower, his brown hair messy as he headed towards the bathroom.

Hunter also went downstairs after waking up. He'd tried getting Batsu to wake up but the guy was out like s light.The purple haired male took a seat in the lobby as he waited for a familiar face to show up.

Batsu remained sleep. He was too exhausted to do anything more than rest, even if sleep was in unnecessary for him. The grey eyed male didn't even know Hunter had tried to wake him up. All he knew was that he was still in a lot of pain and sleep was making it bearable.

DK was so tired that he had barely been aware of Boreas taking a shower. When he did wake up he yawned and slipped his shorts on. "Morning already?" He slowly started for the bathroom. "I needed clean clothes."

Cross took his time eating. For once, he was feeling pretty good. Even despite his injuries. Alice, on the other hand, was as hyper as ever. She finished her food quickly and then told Cross she was going to see if anyone else was awake. When she got into the lobby and saw Hunter, she smiled and ran over to him. "Good morning," she said happily. "Did you eat anything yet? They have really good waffles here," she told Hunter. "Cross is still eating. You should come sit with us!"

Boreas ended up taking a cold shower. Turned out, he didn't much like anything hot. So when he finished up and turned the water off, there was no steam fogging up the mirror. Grabbing one of the towels, he took his good old time drying himself off. He wasn't in a rush.

DK was in the middle of yawning when he realized that the door was closed. DK frowned. "BOREAS! Come out, I have to pee," he whined. He really did have to pee. He knocked on the door and then started to hop a bit. "BOREAS!!" DK gave a sigh and then ran to the door. Was there a bathroom on this floor? He pulled it open and looked from left to right. "AGH!"

Hunter looked at Alice when she came up. "Morning kiddo," he said with a nod. He stood up when he was asked to come eat with them. "Alright." He slowly headed over to where they were serving breakfast. "Hey Cross," he said as he took a seat. He wasn't too hungry at the moment.

Cross looked up when he heard Hunter say hey, then gave a wave, his emerald eyes bright. "Mornin'," he said, taking another bite of his pancakes. He didn't often eat an actual breakfast, so this was a bit of a treat. He looked up when Alice came over after having poured her own cup of chocolate milk. The milk was sloshing a bit over the sides of her cup, and Cross nearly chuckled. "Cross, look, I did it by myself," she giggled happily, looking to Hunter curiously as she sat down. "Aren't you hungry?"

Boreas blinked when he heard his name being called. He gave a small laugh. "Alright, hold on short stuff." Shaking his head, he dried off a bit more before slipping on his lower wear. He grabbed his shirt and wrapped the towel around his shoulders, walking out of the bathroom so DK could go in. "I'm out," he called when he saw the kid at the hotel room door. Throwing the towel on the bed, he sat down and started drying his hair off.

Hunter blinked. Cross had seemed more of a non people person, but today he seemed a bit more lively. Hunter decided to shrug it off as a one time thing and wouldn't take advantage of it. He tilted his head when Alice asked if he was hungry. "Not really," he said with a yawn. "I'll eat later. I don't wanna force myself," he said. With that he looked towards the entrance. "Is Boreas and DK still in their room," he asked.

DK turned his head when the door opened. He quickly darted into the bathroom and relieved his bladder. He then hoped into the shower and turned the hot water on. Once he was finished he dried off and then went int the bedroom. "Wanna go down to the breakfast bar and eat," he asked. "It'll be fun," he prompted.

Cross fell silent until Hunter asked about DK and Boreas. "Guess so." Alice gave a small nod after she sipped some chocolate milk. Cross had a glass of orange juice, so he took a drink of that. "How's Batsu?" he asked, looking at the brown haired male.

Boreas dried off the rest of the way, putting his shirt on as he heard DK get in the shower. He was hungry. Getting up, he stretched and looked over to Fara. "Hey little lady. I didn't make ya cold last night, did I?" he asked. He was glad to see Fara shake her head in confusion. "I froze myself over by accident," he explained, slipping his gloves on so he could pick her up. "Did you have fun yesterday?" he asked with a smile, sitting back on the bed as he waited for DK. Fara nodded. "Good," he said happily. He looked at the purple haired boy as he came out of the bathroom. At first he'd thought to order something, because going down to eat in a room filled with humans didn't sound so appealing to him. "I think I'll order something to come up here..." he said, looking off to the side.

Hunter looked to Cross when the winged male asked about Batsu. What did he mean by how was he? "Um, he left last night, but I didn't see or hear him come back in, so it must have been pretty late when he got back. I tried waking him up this morning, but he's out cold." He shrugged. What he wanted to ask was had something happened the reason Cross was inquiring about the other male.

DK frowned when Boreas said he'd just get room service to bring him something. "Hmph, no! You're coming downstairs with me. I don't wanna go by myself." He ran over to the ice specialist and pulled him towards the door. "Come onnnnn," he begged. "What if I get kidnapped or someone asks where my parents are at? You have to come downstairs with me, pleaseeeee."

Cross nodded lightly when Hunter said that Batsu was outcold. At least he was getting rest. Seriously, the guy wouldn't be any use in that condition though. He wished the guy would at least go to the hospital, which Cross was a hundred percent positive Batsu hadn't done. Alice just sat there quietly drinking her chocolate milk, until the silence became too much and she had to talk. "Hey, hey Hunter, me and Boreas and DK and Fara found a playground yesterday," she said with a smile.

Boreas had went to grab the menu, but DK came over and grabbed his arm and started dragging him. "Hey, kid, l-let me go. I don't wanna go down there. I'll be sick staying in a room like that," he protested. "You can turn into a giant dragon for Pete's sake, you'll be fine." He really didn't want to go down, which showed when he refused to move out of the room, despite the fact that DK was pulling on his arm.

DK frowned. "So, what if they have an amulet that prevents me from turning into my giant dragon form. Then what? It'll be your fault that I get kidnapped!" The little dragon's eyes began to water when Boreas refused to go. "Pleaseee, I'm scared to go down by myself. I've never been in the outside world as a human," he said with a frown. "Come on, I'll promise not to bother ya for the rest of the day."

Hunter looked to Alice when she spoke. "Really now, did you all have fun," he asked. He was surprised that Boreas of all people had tagged along. If that wasn't strange then he didn't know what was. The purple eyed male then looked to Cross. "What are we going to do until Batsu wakes up, if I recall correctly we were all supposed to meet this morning in order to figure out the game plan."

Boreas rolled his eyes. "Now you're just stretching," he grumbled. "Look, I don't wanna go down there," he complained. "The place is going to be swamped with humans because it's so earl-are you tearing up?" he asked, his orange eyes a bit wide in surprise. Was DK actually going to cry? "...yes you have, you told Alice so yesterday..." he protested. Oh god, what was he going to do if this kid actually started crying? After a moment, Boreas frowned and gave an over exaggerated sigh. "God damn it, fine, fine! But I'm only staying until we find someone else from the group, you hear me?" he said in annoyance. "And I'm taking the stairs down."

Alice nodded excitedly at Hunter's question. "Sure did! I wish everyone coulda been there though, the park looks really neat at night, and the stars were out and everything," she chirped with a smile.

Cross turned his gaze to the purple eyed male right before he was about to take up his cup of orange juice. "I can always scope out the surrounding areas and see if there's anything infected in the area," he suggested, taking a drink. He'd probably wear his jacket when he went out, if he flew around. It got chilly up there in the air.

DK smiled when Boreas agreed to go down with him. "Yay!" Of course he wouldn't have cried, but crocodile tears always came in handy. The purple haired child ran towards the stairs once he was sure that the brown haired male was following. As he hit the stairs he slowed down. "Thanks Boreas."

Hunter nodded. That would work. "And what about Batsu?" The purple eyed male frowned. He had a feeling that Cross knew why the guy was out cold. He had his suspicions for two reasons. One Batsu had made it clear that he didn't need sleep and two Cross had asked about the guy as if something had happened.

Boreas frowned when DK gave a cheer. God damned kid. He followed the purple haired boy to the stairs. Last night he'd been too tired to care about taking the elevator, but today he was actively avoiding the thing. After all, what happened if it broke down with them stuck in it, or the wires above it snapped all of the sudden? Didn't humans ever think anything through? He blinked when DK thanked him and looked off to the side. "Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, starting down the stairs at a moderate pace. He wasn't a fan of being played like an instrument, and that kid had done just that, he was sure of it.

Cross was quiet when Hunter asked about Batsu. In his opinion, Batsu should stay at the hotel today and rest, but the guy was stubborn. Either that or he just seriously didn't like the raven haired male. To that question, he merely shrugged. He didn't know what to do with the guy.

Hunter shrugged back when Cross shrugged it off. Okay, whatever. He didn't care, he just wanted to know what was going on, but there was no point in asking. He turned his head when he heard rather than saw DK's high pitched squeal of excitement. "Everyone a morning bird around here?"

DK walked next to Boreas until they reached the edge of the stairs and then he took off. "Boreas, look! Everyone's already down here," he said with a smile. "There's Alice, and Cross, and Hunter too! Wait a minute, where's Batsu?" He ran up to the others. "Good morning!"

Boreas glanced around with a frown once they exited the stairwell. He'd been right, there were quite a few humans lurking about. He clenched his jaw as he walked, glancing at DK when the kid gave a squeal. "Good, since they're already down here, I don't have to be," he said, turning on his heel. He hoped since DK was already on his way over to the table, he'd let him go.

Cross looked up from his food at the noise. He gave the purple haired kid a small wave. "Good morning," he said simply. Alice, on the other hand, was much more excited to see the boy. "Good morning!" she chirped happily. "Did you sleep oka-hey, where's Boreas going?"

DK smiled when he saw Fara come and sit on his shoulder. "Hey there," he greeted happily. The older child shook his head when Alice assumed that Boreas had forgotten something. "Nopes, he doesn't like humans." He shrugged and dug into his waffle. "Oh, did you want food too?"  He took off a tiny piece of waffle and handed it to her. "Here ya go." He then looked to Hunter as the guy came back. "Hi."

Hunter gave a small wave before digging into his meal. It was really good and he'd give Alice props for that. The former shinobi gave the others a small look when he saw that Boreas hadn't joined that group. He decided not to ask. It was good company without him.

Batsu woke up after what felt like only seconds of sleep. Deciding that it would be smart to get new clothes he headed downstairs and without so much as a glance towards the breakfast bar, he moved on out the door. He stopped only to ask directions and count the money Jasper had given him. It was enough to get himself a new shirt as well as DK. Tired to the bone he stumbled down the road.

Alice blinked, but then nodded in understanding. "Oh yeah...he did say that..." She hadn't thought that it had bothered him so much that he couldn't be around them though. She frowned lightly and sipped her chocolate milk until Hunter came back, at which point she gave him a smile. Cross had finished eating, but at this point was kind of staring off into space. He had his chin propped on his hand and was looking off to the side, towards the large open window that was facing away from the front door. Which meant, he didn't see Batsu like Alice did when he left the hotel. He looked kinda down. "I'll be right back," she said, putting her chocolate milk onto the table and running out of the front door. Once she found and caught up to the red haired male, she started walking next to him, looking up at him. "Good morning Batsu," she said with a smile. He didn't look so good this morning, though, and that made her fairly curious as to why.

Fara smiled wide and clapped her hands a couple times when DK handed her piece of the waffle, holding the stem of her flower in the crevice of her elbow as she ate it. When Hunter came back, she gave him a cheerful wave. Unlike her friend, the little grey haired fairy loved humans, even if she was shy around them.

Batsu kept walking until he heard the tiny footsteps of Alice following near him. When the child made herself known Batsu nodded. "Morning." He wondered why she wasn't pestering Cross like she usually did. Speaking of, had the guy ever made it back? Batsu didn't quite care. For him the Madness had for the most part seeped into his system, so he was all good. The only indication that it was bothering him was the occasional feather that fell from his wing. Of course Batsu didn't mind too much, they would grow back. Eyes focused on the road ahead he looked for a nearby shop. He wondered what sized shirt DK wore.

Alice looked up at Batsu curiously as he walked, but didn't hesitate to take his hand and walk next to him. "You should have had breakfast with us," she smiled. "The waffles were really good." The small girl's free hand swung by her side, but the hand holding Batsu's didn't move all so much because she didn't want to bother him with it. She didn't know where Batsu was going, and she didn't ask. She was too focused on wishing for him to feel better, and she was afraid his response might not have been a happy one. She'd learned something about humans while she'd been out of the Unknown, and it was that they weren't always happy like her. And Batsu seemed to have human-like emotions. Boreas too, which was why she didn't understand why he hated humans so much. He had a lot in common with the humans. He even looked like a human now.

Batsu merely shook his head when Alice told him he should have eaten breakfast with the others. "I have a lot to do this morning," he spoke. "And I don't very much like the things that humans eat," he said. Batsu honestly preferred meat over anything, and of course the occasional soul. The winged male wasn't sure why, but he didn't mind Alice holding his hand all that much. Maybe it was because he knew she was odd enough to do things like that, or maybe he just didn't care. Another thing was that the pain in his back was slowly ebbing away. He glance to Alice. Did she have something to do with that? "Why aren't you with the others?"

Alice looked up curiously when Batsu said he didn't like people food. That was weird, because people food was yummy. She'd even seen Boreas eating people food yesterday. She remembered then. "Oh, we never got to eat together at the festival," she pointed out, a bit sadly. She'd wanted to share the meat that she'd got with him that day. She looked back in front of them for a moment before smiling at Batsu's question. "I saw you by yourself and thought you might be lonely. Besides, I already ate," she told him, her black eyes shining. Are you feeling better yet mister? I hope so...

(She is adorable.)

Batsu didn't care to explain when Alice gave him that curious look. Saying he only ate meat would be proving Cross's point about him and his old ways. . Batsu was still upset about that, but he wouldn't show it. "I'll eat dinner with you," he replied. "Just come get me from my room when you're ready. I'm on the first floor, room one hundred and three." He flicked his wings and was surprised when they didn't ache. When Alice said she thought he might be lonely he actually smiled. "Maybe just a little," he said with a nod. "Thanks for coming with me." Batsu really did like the company of others. Being alone wasn't his forte. "I'm going to go get a shirt for me and DK," he said. "Will Cross be okay with you coming with me?"

(^_^)

Alice smiled happily when Batsu said he'd eat dinner with her. "Really?? Yay!" she cheered, giving a small bounce. She liked this dress, it fluttered when she bounced, so it was way funner than her last one. "Room one hundred and three, got it," she said with a resolute nod. She'd probably forget it later...When Batsu thanked her, she gave a big smile. "No problem mister." She was glad she could make him feel not lonely. "I think so," she nodded. "He's usually okay with me going places, so long as I don't wander too far from him, like out of the village or anything," she told him with a smile. She didn't mind it. Cross was trying to keep her safe, after all. "He doesn't like it when I go outside villages by myself," she said with a nod.

Batsu didn't understand how anyone could be so happy. Not saying he wasn't, but Alice was a bit overboard. The grey eyed male gave a small nod when Alice explained that Cross didn't like her going outside the village. That was completely understandable. Once at the shop he held the door open for her. "You have a new dress," he commented. He searched for the kids clothes and found it at the back of the store. He found a nice black and gold shirt for the younger male and then he moved on to find himself a long sleeve black shirt like the one he let DK borrow. He looked to Alice. "Do you want anything."

Alice nodded with a smile. "Mmhm, Cross bought it for me yesterday. Isn't it pretty?" she giggled happily, playing with the sides of it before letting it go and following the red haired male. She looked around the store as they walked through it. She had a new dress, so she didn't want anything else. However, when the store employee smiled at her, she smiled back and gave him a wave. She looked to Batsu when he spoke to her, her onyx eyes shining. "No thank you," she said, skipping over to the counter. She looked down as she went, as if she was trying to catch glimpses of her feet as she skipped forward. Because of it she very nearly ran into the counter, giving an embarrassed giggle when the employee chuckled.