Busting Out for the Umpteenth Time

Giles watched her start to realize the seriousness of the situation. As she pulled her hands away he grabbed one and pulled her back to face him again.

"Come on now. You've escaped from the most secured building in the city nearly a hundred times. You've managed to destroy hundreds of thousand dollars worth of technology. You've even discovered a new civilization on your own. Does that sound like someone that can't handle a couple nagging old people? Look, let's go home so I can check on my oven mitts, and then I'll go with you to talk to them. If it doesn't work out, then we'll figure it out then, okay? So... don't be lame...?" This was the best he could do by means of a pep talk. He then gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"So, ready to get some sleep? I don't really trust leaving those two with the vehicle. We'll either come back and there will be another mouth to feed, or they'll fiddle with stuff." He laughed, heading back.

He layed down in the opposite corner and patted for Ako to use his arms as a pillow.

But, that night, something woke them up before they were planning on.

A scratching on the glass.

Ako blinked, caught off guard as she found herself facing Giles again. She certainly hadn't been expecting a pep talk, but it was much appreciated, and she offered him a tentative, sheepish smile in return.

"I'm never lame, just frustrated. Oh man, I hope they aren't boinking in the hovercraft, because I really am ready for a snooze. Ugh, babies with huge noses. I feel sorry for any future daughter they have if she takes after his schnoz. And you need to calm down about your oven mitts." It felt good to be back to their bantering. As long as she focused on the now instead of then, Ako felt that she could continue forward without angsting like Harry Potter.

Following Giles in, Ako had no qualms with settling down at his side to eventually make his arm fall asleep. After all, it wasn't scorching hot in the craft, and for some reason, Giles made her feel unusually warm. She was out like a light in no time, though she felt that she hadn't slept nearly enough when the scratching niggled past her sleep threshold, and, confused, she rolled over and placed her hand on Giles' ear in hopes of stopping the noise.

Nearby, Ichabod's eyes snapped open, his arm tightening around Orion where it had wandered in his sleep. At times, the earth would trigger random cave-ins in their city, and so most everyone learned to sleep lightly, himself included. Removing the tinted goggles from his face, Ichabod glanced down at PJ, discerning that it wasn't the dog before finding himself looking at the windows of the craft for the source of the noise.

Giles blinked when Ako placed a hand over his ear.

"W-What are you doing, weirdo. Stop groping my ear..." He whispered, but as soon as he pulled it away, he heard the noise. He would just ignore it, thinking it was sand being blown against the car or a twig being trapped beneath, but there was something unnatural about this. For starters, PJ was up and growling at the direction of the scratching. And the best evidence of it's abnormality was that the scratching was moving. Scratch by scratch the sound moved horizontally around the vehicle, like it was inspecting all the bumps and groves.

In Giles head, he thought it sounded like it was trying to get in. Holding a finger to his lips and looking at the others, he crawled to the dashboard to see if he could just start the car and scare it off. But once he was there, he noticed that his keys were missing. He must have dropped them outside while walking with Ako.

Orion stirred awake slightly, but was oblivious to what was going on, so she just yawned and curled back up against Ich.

At the sound of the yawn, the scratching stopped.

Giles held his breath and listened to the silence. It last for nearly five minutes. Then is came back with more enthusiasm. The scratching was faster as it clawed frantically at the door. Then there was the noise it made. Like a nocturnal animal's caw, but mixed with the disjointed screams of hundreds of humans.

Ako sucked in a sigh and opened her eyes at Giles' whisper, realizing that the scratching noise wasn't an alarm and Giles wasn't her clock. And PJ was going nuts.

"What's goin' on?" She whispered in reply, sitting up slowly and catching Ichabod's eye. He shook his head at her in response; after all, how was he supposed to know what lurked on the surface if she didn't? Orion seemed to be stirring, but was pleasantly ignorant, and Ichabod stiffened at the silence sparked by her yawn. Even Ako, usually so self-assured, had tensed. She waited through the quiet and opened her mouth to speak and catch Giles' attention, but that was when the clawing had returned with heated fervency. Its scream had her skin breaking out into gooseflesh.

"What...what kind of things do you have living up here?" Ichabod growled, moving into a crouch as he gently moved Orion with him, his free hand coming around his back to feel the reassuring weight of his pick axe. "And why aren't we leaving?" Whatever it was, it sounded eager to get in. Ichabod may have been a mole-person bumpkin on the surface, but he knew better than to sit around and give predators time to sniff out a way to their prey. His gaze went between Giles and Akosua, wanting some sort of cue as to what was going to happen.

"I..." Akosua had a hard time keeping her eyes on anyone's face, too preoccupied with that freakish noise. They were lost in the desert, and it was dark, now. There was some sort of...thing out there, and she had no idea what it was. She hadn't even heard gossip about desert monsters, because the desert was so inhospitable that they only had a smattering of reptiles, carrion birds, and some creepy-crawlies here and there. Nothing that should be too dangerous for people.

"Giles? Do you...?" She trailed off, doubting that he knew what was going on, either. "Should I make a portal out?" The fact that she didn't know what to do about that creature frightened her, especially with a devilish caw like that. It sounded like something from hell might.

Orion woke back up at the horrible scream. She moved back where Ich directed her and covered her ears.

"M-Make it stop." She frowned. But when she talked, the scratch quickly moved to the glass above her head. Then when Ako suggested a portal, the scratching moved above hers.

Giles quickly pulled her away.

"Okay, okay, stay calm. It's some sort of animal... or something." He waited for the animal to jump to his voice, but apparently it didn't like the sound of men. Giles expression suddenly changed. "I'm going to go out there and grab the keys so we can leave. Okay? And don't you dare make a portal. It's too risky. Ich, I need you to protect them while I'm out there. If there's any sign that I won't be coming back, lock the doors until morning, okay? And don't let Ako near the dashboard or you're all screwed."

He smiled lightly and gave Ako a kiss on the cheek before moving towards the door and taking a deep breath. The scratching was still on the opposite side where it heard Ako's voice.

"What?! You can't go out there!" Ako's voice rose in pitch as she struggled to keep from raising her voice, far too frightened to be flustered at Giles' sudden affection. If anything, it scared her more that he would go so far. It made her think that he wasn't planning on coming back. Ichabod reached over and grasped her shoulder, tugging her back and catching her hand when she attempted to hit him away.

"Alright. We'll see you shortly." Ich didn't need that woman freaking out, and kept his tone even during the statement, hoping that she would take it to heart as a subliminal message, or something. Ako just looked like she was ready to deck him again for trying to stop her from stopping Giles, so he cut in before she could speak. "Sitting in here altogether is nice, but it won't do anything for us. We need those keys to leave, and I don't have the slightest idea where he might have left them. Neith--"

"But I do! I was there, too!" Ako's face was reddening from frustration, distress pulling her muscles taut as she glared at Ichabod. "And besides, Giles, you're the only one who can pilot this junk without breaking it." Sure, he was still pretty bad at it, but any of the rest of them probably couldn't get it to take off. Akosua just wanted Giles to stay with her so all of them could lock the doors and sit this out until morning. If that was his back up plan, why not...just....use it instead of the stupid one he had now?

When the thing outside heard her screaming it pounced right on the door Giles needed to leave in order to get the keys. Giles held his head.

"You just couldn't let me have this moment, could you?! I swear, it's like the first manly thing I've been given the chance to do since I was five. Uhg, the kiss was to make you quiet, but even now you're talking." He groaned. "I think we all know this door isn't going to last till morning. And I'm not letting you go out there."

He sighed and started pacing.

"Fine... I've got a plan. Orion, you sit as far off to the side as possible to talk and distract it. Ako, you create the best more accurate portal you've ever made in your entire life, without talking, and I'll reach through and grab the keys. Ichabod, you watch my back and let me know if you hear it moving towards me outside. Okay? I swear... you just had to go and make this a team effort." Giles waved them to their positions.

Orion leaned against the back like ordered and held onto PJ to keep him as calm as possible, then she started telling the creature about her day and how she wants to see the ocean and asking him if he's ever been and wondering if he's ever tried oranges before because they are amazing. Sure enough he was suddenly on the opposite side and claws at the glass separating the two of them.

Akosua felt justified in ruining Giles' manly time if she thought it would keep him alive. Still, she felt chided enough to simmer down and listen to what he had to say. This plan was just as nerve-wracking as the last, but for different reasons. It placated her need to make sure she could at least see Giles to make sure he was safe, but it also counted on her portal-making abilities, which were rather poor in accuracy. Despite this, she found herself nodding, and settled herself down in the center of the floor as Ichabod kept a keen ear towards Orion and the creature. Her yammering was soothing in its normalcy, and made him feel a bit better about their failed first plan. That woman...

Was currently experiencing several kinds of butterflies in her stomach as she concentrated her hardest on the craft keys. With trembling hands, she placed her fingers together in the air, feeling that familiar snag of her power sink in. Keys. Keys. Keys. Not the ocean. Not the monster. Not the rainforest, or anywhere else. Just keys. That's all she was asking for this one little time, was keys to keep her ridiculous servant alive. The portal opened up to her stretching fingers, and cool night air drifted in as a vision of placid sand came to her eyes. Above them, the moon was shining, and as she opened the portal further, she caught the glimmer of metal a short distance off. At the same time, the noises of the creature were far easier to hear, but Akosua didn't say anything. If she did now, they would probably be dead.

Instead, she pointed ahead, looking to Giles fretfully as she heard Ichabod draw his pick axe from behind her.

While Akosua was working her magic, Giles got started on his own. He closed his eyes and a second later two separate projections showed up. This was the most he had ever been able to make, but he figured he owed it to Ako to do his best as well. All three projections slipped out into the cold dark night and started to search for the keys. The problem with this was of course the dark part. It was nearly impossible to see them amongst the sand and rocks.

Then the worst thing that could possibly happen, happened. Giles found the keys, but not with his hands. his foot accidentally kicked them to the side causing a jiggle loud enough that it tore the creatures attention away from Orion's rambling.

Giles moved quick and tossed the keys through the portal, but before he could run himself, something dark blocked his way. It was like a man, and yet very animalistic at the same time. It's body seemed almost normal, like a man's figure in black tattered clothing, but in place of hands and feet there was only dripping dark tar like liquid and the thick stench of congealed blood. On his head was as sack with a noose wrapped around it and more tar dripping from the neck. The tar from the hands was slowly hardening into claws.

The only advantage Giles had was that there were three of him, and all three ran separate directions. The creature's dripping claw sliced through the first project and it disappeared, then it caught the second and that vanished. All the was left was the running butler trying to dive back into the portal. He jumped and landed halfway in.

Then he was starting to be yanked back out.

Of course things couldn't go smoothly, just this once.

Akosua caught the keys quite by accident when Giles threw them in, and froze in place when she saw the creature pursuing him. They needed to go, and Giles needed to make it inside, and the key needed to be in the ignition. Scrambling to her feet, she darted to the console, jamming the key into its proper hole and twisting it to start the engine before sliding back to her portal, heart blasting blood through her veins with enough force for her to feel it thrumming throughout her skull.

"Come on, come on, c'mon, c'mon, hurry!" She seized Giles' hands as he landed, attempting to pull him in. It seemed that the creature had similar ideas, which infuriated her and filled her with trepidation all at once. "Get off of him! Let go!"

"Open the portal wider get ready to grab him and close it." Ichabod's tone was steeled as he gripped his pick axe, and for once, Ako listened One hand clamped onto Giles' own, she used the other to stretch the portal higher, and felt Ichabod's makeshift weapon cut through the air beside her successively. The miner had no idea if he would hit, but he imagined that the creature was right there, and hoped to at least distract it long enough to get Giles in.

Giles was obviously in pain as he winced at the claws digging into his ankles, but he tried not to show it. The last thing he needed was for Ako to freak out and accidentally close the portal.

"G-Great job, Ako. keep it up." He grunted seriously while clenching his teeth. He then braced himself as Ich swung his pick axe. The creature was too fast though and it quickly pulled that hand back, letting go of one ankle, then just as quickly regrabbing it. The creature was still too strong for them to pull Giles all the way in though.

Orion carefully crawled closer.

"Ich, when I count to three, try again, okay?" She whispered. "One, Two, Three."

Right before he moved to swing the pick axe something hit the creature's face and stunned it for a second. It was just enough to slow it's reaction and allow Ich to sever a hand. The hand fell to the ground and melted back to the dark blood tar substance. With only one hand available, the groups strength won over and Giles was thrown inside.

"Close the portal!" He yelled to Ako while crawling to the dash board and quickly taking the hovercraft into the air. He didn't stop until ascending until he felt they were safe, then he set it to auto pilot and groaned. His ankles were clawed up pretty badly, but he didn't make a big deal out of it. "G-Great job guys... I don't know what that was, or what exactly happened, but great job. Orion? What's the matter?"

Orion had been in the back sobbing ever since they took off to the sky.

"P-Phillip... he's gone... He threw himself at the monster to save us... Phillip's deaaaad." She sobbed, hugging PJ tightly. "I failed you, PJ, I'm so sorry, Phillip was a hero..."

Ako closed up the portal as soon as Giles had cleared it, then fell back onto her butt, adrenaline heightening her senses as her chest heaved from fright. Ichabod dropped his pick axe, relief evident on his face as he looked to Orion, who was sobbing with PJ in her arms. Phillip. That rock. She had loved that rock. Walking to her, Ich sat down, pulling her to him and hugging her despite his past qualms with the action.

"He was very brave. We can...make a memorial for him." Ichabod wasn't quite nutty yet, and was fairly sure that Orion had thrown Phillip herself to save them, but understood that she had been very emotionally attached to Phillip. They owed her their lives. He owed her his life. Paying tribute to a rock was a small price to pay in return, and so he began to rub her back, talking nonsense about Phillip's strength of character and how he wouldn't be forgotten. It wasn't so embarrassing, this time around.

Akosua watched the two for a brief pause before silently approving of big nose, and then she unleashed her full attention on Giles, taking in his bloodied ankles and throwing her arms around him, deciding that it was safe to talk, at long last.

"Do you know how scared I was?! And you wanted to go out there with us locked up in here? Oh, you drive me insane! I thought it was going to eat you! Oh, you piss me off, Giles, so much! So freaking much!" Burrowing her face into his neck, she continued to ramble, squeezing him tightly before pulling away and glaring at him with watery eyes. Her face was flustered and flushed as she held the back of his head, leaning forward and kissing him thoroughly before removing herself from him with a huff.

"And that's for having the audacity to try and shut me up with a kiss! Now where is the first aid kit? I know these things all have at least one..." She dug around until she found it, and set to tending to his wounds, ears bright red.

"He was, wasn't he." Orion sniffled, burying her head against Ich's chest and letting PJ join the group hug. "I think... I think he would like a memorial very much. Thank you, Ich. I know he never said it to you, But I could tell he really liked you. If he didn't, he probably would have killed you years ago when you were weaker."

She sniffled more, but PJ was just confused since he had no real attachment to the rock. He figured the crying was over the fact that he didn't get any orange earlier, and he approved of his owner's tears and gave a little whimper.

"Oh PJ, I know you miss your daddy. But don't worry, Ich will love you very much, won't you Ich?" She looked up at him with wide teary eyes that could not be rejected. "I have the paper work in my pocket."

Apparently she was more prepared for Phillip's death than she realized.

Meanwhile, Giles propped himself up against the chair and yawned, trying to look casual and cool. But it didn't last long becuase Ako tackled him to the ground.

"Woah there. Are you trying to kill me too? Okay Okay, I'm sorry my plan was lame! I didn't see anyone else come up with something better!" But by the time she started nuzzling he could tell she was angry, but not in the way he was used to. This was something he wasn't prepared for. "O-Oh... um... there there, I'm okay."

He tried to awkwardly pat her back. But, before he could feel too guilty about making this invisible girl tear up, the kiss happened.

He sat there a bit dazed with a goofy grin on his face until he realized what a dork he looked like.

"I-I'm mean... um... should I try to shut you up more often? I'm really confused right now." He started hiccuping out of nervousness while she bandaged him.

Finally, when his hiccups subsided, he looked at the others.

"So... I guess now is a good time to tell you that we're lost. Yeah... I mean, I think we're going in the right direction? It just might take us a.... holy shit there it is!" The glass city was in the distance, gleaming as the sun started to rise. "Forget everything I said, I knew exactly where we were..."

"I'm glad to hear that. Of course, yes, of course." Stroking PJ's head for emphasis, Ich felt his thought process falter when Orion mentioned papers. Papers for what? She wanted him to love PJ...didn't she think that the dog was her child with the rock? His face began to heat up at a rapid pace, and he babbled incoherently for a brief moment, meeting her pleading gaze nervously. Sure, he had hugged her, and he was still hugging her, but was he ready for commitment already? They hadn't talked much before just recently. What if she didn't want him later?

"Wouldn't it be better if you and I got to know each other better first? I-I mean, this isn't something you want to rush into... I know you're quick to hug, but I still don't know a lot about you, and I haven't told you much about myself... Is this why you wanted to cook and clean for me so much? Oh, dear, I had no idea." Resembling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Ichabod stammered clumsily about, relieved when Giles announced that they weren't lost, but actually at the city. He was too embarrassed to really look at it too closely, though. He wasn't ready for this!

Akosua, meanwhile, finished tying off the bandages she had drawn around Giles' ankles and closed the med kit up, looking out the window to see her home city. A mixture of dread and glee floated up from her chest at the sight, and she swallowed hard, glancing at Giles a few times before summoning the backbone to keep her eyes on him. He seemed pleased, nervous, confused, and in denial, but she didn't bother to call him out on it. After all, she had already broken the law. She wasn't supposed to be involved with him, since they were both gifted, but...

"Shut me up as often as you'd like, just don't go risking your life all the time..." Akosua may have been impulsive and brash, but she wasn't enough so to try and breach what had just happened any further than she just had. Giles made her chest flutter and her stomach twist, and while she started off thinking that meant that she really, really hated him, she now realized that it wasn't quite the case. She did know, however, that the Elders would slam the ban hammer down on her and try to separate them if they found out.

Orion looked confused at Ich's confusion.

"Ichabod." She pouted. "I know what I want, and I think you want it to. I mean, you agreed to love PJ. That's basically all you have to do. Then I'll do all the rest, okay? He just needs someone to look up to. We can get to know each other later, becuase this is important."

She then pulled out a sheet from her notebook and handed it over. It was just something she scribed down the a pencil that said 'If you love PJ and want to have fun and protect him forever then sign here______'

Then she left him to sign it and deal with his embarrassment as she looked out the windows at the city.

"You guys really live here? It's amazing." She whispered.



"You bet. But don't get too excited, I still have to land this thing, and we all know how good I am at that judging by the hole I left in your town." He slowly brought it into a docking port, scratching the side of the vehicle along the railing, but otherwise it was successful. "You two go ahead, I want to talk to Ako for a minute. Don't wander though."

Orion nodded and skipped out onto the dock, over looking all the buildings in the distance.

"Isn't it amazing, Ichabod?" She whispered in awe. "I bet... You're going to have a really nice room for me to clean."

The thought made her giddy.

Back inside the vehicle, Giles tried to suppress more hiccups.

"Um, I just... you know." He laughed awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just... you know what has to happen once we leave this ship, right? Well... I was just thinking... the elders don't have cameras or anything inside our house. N-Not that I was thinking of anything weird! I just thought... maybe... I can make you dinner sometimes.... though i make you dinner every night... it's just... argh, You know what I mean. Maybe we can hang out or something... "

His cheeks were bright red as he stared at the dashboard, not daring to make eye contact.

"R-really?" It was that simple for her? But...but...oh, dear. What would his parents think? That actually didn't matter at all, now that he was out of the underground. This wasn't an official paper, though. To her it was real, but it wasn't lawful. Ah, but he shouldn't go into this thinking negatively! Wait, he was going into this? When was that decided? Blushing furiously, Ich dug through his pockets, finding a nub of a pencil and hurriedly signing his name before he had time to regret it anymore.

"Oh, dear," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "oh...oh, my." His gaze wandered up and off as he finally noticed the city, and for the time being his embarrassment was deterred, shock and amazement replacing it as he openly stared. Prompting was unnecessary to get him to leave the craft, and he stood with Orion, the paper still clutched in his hand as he looked dazedly around. Their technology exceeded everything he was used to at home, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on some of it to see how each one worked. There was so much he could do with this kind of technology!

"Hm? Room to clean? Oh, yes, right. Um. Here, I signed it. Erm. I hope we don't take things too quickly, though, because we still don't know each other well, and I always sort of wanted to go about things in the non-traditional manner of pursuing the best maid one had. My mother and father were very much in love, and I hope to...well, meet that standard, too. If you don't already, I mean. I'm sure if you give me time, I...you know. You're a lovely looking young woman, and clever, and resourceful, so I really see no problems if you just give me time. Yes." Holding the paper out to her, Ichabod stood a bit straighter, meeting her eyes and hoping he didn't have too much soot on his face, which he did.

Inside the hovercraft, an equal amount of awkwardness was emanating. The men must have synced their 'I'm going to make this uncomfortable and be adorable at the same time'-periods, or something.

Ako listened to Giles with uncharacteristic patience, not bothering to hide her growing grin at his suddenly shy demeanor. Breaking the law secretly sounded fine with her.

"Home-dates sound dandy, Giles, but sooner or later I'm getting you in a photobooth with me. It's inevitable, now." Awkwardly shuffling for a moment herself, she leaned over and gave him a small peck on the lips before waltzing out the door. "We'd better hurry up, before someone kidnaps our mole people!"

Orion gave him a blank stare as she took the paper back.

"Wow, you sound really committed to this. Well, I'm sure PJ will love it, but I don't really follow the rest of what you said. You want PJ to help you fall in love someday? Well, I guess he has been studying psychology the past year or so, but honestly, I don't know if he's ready to put his training in effect. I guess we'll find out! I wish you all the luck and support in your journey's ichabod, and if you wait long enough, PJ should have his priesthood certificate to conduct the ceremony." Orion smiled and saluted her new found friend. But then she got anxious and peeked inside the craft to see the quick kiss. She then backed away and blushed. "Ichabod... they're going to make babies soon. It's just a matter of time before they find the magic baby clay and create the child they want, then the child breaks out of the clay on it's first birthday and you have to dance around it for it to grow healthy and smart. It's super serious."

She gave him a nod, then held his hand while waiting for the others. Some guards were off at a distance, staring at the bright pale skin of the newbies.

Giles was still recovering from the second unexpected kiss as he stumbled out into the smoggy yet warm air. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"S-So, we're right this way." He led them to the tallest building where they had an entire floor to themselves with nearly 10 different bedroom, most of which were not being used. "Take your pick I guess."

Trying to be smooth, Giles attempted to wrap his pinky around Ako's without looking, but he ended up catching Ich's. With a slight girly scream he jumped away and went to go check on his oven mitts.

Wait, they weren't talking about the same thing, were they? Then what was she talking about? Expression aghast from his blunder, Ichabod fell into silence, staring ahead in order to keep from looking at Orion until she spoke up. Wait, what were they doing in there?! That was so indecent! They definitely needed to be married for baby-mak...maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought if Orion had no clue about baby-making. He found himself staring at her, trying to figure out if she was being serious before she startled him and took his hand. They had better be married right now, but he honestly had no idea what he had signed anymore.

It was a relief to see Giles come out, Ako trailing after him warily as she glanced to the guards. She really didn't want to have to see the Elders anytime soon, but she was sure that someone would notify them of her return, and those thoughts were confirmed when one guard took notice of her and left his partner after an exchange of words. Great. At least they didn't see her getting cozy with Giles on the craft.

Walking home with her little troupe, Ako was disturbed from her almost-beeline to a bath by a girlish yelp from Giles, who was rushing away from a scandalized-looking Ichabod. She wasn't going to ask. Well, if he had gone, then it was up to her to settle the moles in, wasn't it?

"Orion, do you want a room next to mine? Hm, and you both could use a good scrubbing, so I'll show you to the bathrooms, too. And we'll have to do laundry." She looked pointedly at Ichabod's layers of clothing as she said this, for they were as sooty and black as the rest of him.

"Laundry? Oh! I can do that!" Orion started prying off Ich's shirt and other layers until Giles shouted from the other room.

"Don't you touch what belongs to me!" He yelled, then peaked into the hall and gasped. "N-Not him! I'm talking about the washing machine! Ako! Tell them I'm not gay!"

He then quickly ducked back into the kitchen where he was cooking and hugging his oven mitts. Suddenly being back home was making him weird.

Orion just blinked, looking confused. Then she leaned over and smelled Ich, becuase that's normal.

"You smell like Dirt." She smiled, apparently thinking that was a good thing. Then Orion ran off and claimed her room. "Ah! I have a bed! Ahhhh! Am I allowed to sleep here?! or... am I supposed to sleep under it? That sounds really nice too. So many options. Should I start boiling water for the bath? I'll wash your hair Ichabod!"

Then there was a knock on the door.

Ichabod shrank back in terror as Orion began to strip him, stammering something about her wanting to move too quickly as he attempted to find a balance between keeping his clothes on and not accidentally harming her. It was an incredibly daunting task, but his horror cubed as Giles became defensive, demanding that he not be touched, then claiming he wasn't talking about Ich at all, but the washing machine. If it were possible, Ichabod would have become even more pale-faced, but the large man had to settle for blushing profusely instead. Shifting uncomfortably as Orion sniffed him, he began putting his clothing back on, but paused when Ako glared at him.

"Hey, laundry, hello? Take off as much as you can and set it over there; Giles will get it. No one is allowed to touch the washing machine but him, and especially not me, because it's an electronic. The only rooms that aren't free are those two...and the one Orion just ran in, I guess." Gesturing loosely about her, Ako looked at him expectantly, refusing to avert her eyes until he began to comply to her wishes. At the least, his face was no longer red, though he did look irritated with her. That was alright in her book.

"You sleep on the bed, Orion, and yes, it's yours now. And you don't need to boil water, because we have water heaters and other fancy junk that makes bathing fantastic. I'll come show you how it works in a sec." Ignoring Ichabod as he pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment, Ako took his coats before depositing them in the laundry room. As she made her way back towards Orion, however, she heard the door knocking and frowned immediately. "Hush up, guys," she murmured, ushering Ichabod into the nearest bedroom and shutting the door before bouncing to the entrance of her home. She was still grimy from the underground, and really didn't want to answer the door, but she had to get caught sooner or later, so twisting the handle, she pulled the door open a crack, peeking around with a slight smile.

"Yes?"

Outside the door was the butler from the floor below them. He was the attendant to a woman in her 80's so he liked to hang out a lot with Giles to remember what it's like to be young. Liam was only 25 after all.

"Oh, Miss Akosua. Is Giles home? Well, I will tell you if you will permit me. The guards are downstairs waiting for you. And... what is that?" He asked, pointing down at PJ who was sticking his head through the opening and licking Liam's shoes. "Giles told me you weren't allowed to have a pet becuase you would probably step on it by accident..."

"AHH, what he means is you would accidentally... love it too much?" Giles yelled from down the hall, hurrying over. "Hey Liam. Can you tell the guards we'll be down in a minute? and poker night might have a new player."

The gave each other thumbs up, then Giles closed the door.

"Ako, go clean up. They'll take us to see the elders and I don't want them to think I let you roll around in the dirt outside." He shooed her to the bathroom. "And try to pretend I'm not exceedingly attractive when we're there. I know it'll be hard, but do your best."

He then let the others out of their rooms.

"We have an errand to run. feel free to use the guest bathroom. There should be some food in the fridge if you get hungry. Just try not to make a mess or lets anyone else know you're here, okay?"

orion saluted and tried to pull Ich to the bath tub.

"Oh, hey Liam. Giles is fondling his oven mitts in the kitchen, I think." Opening the door wider to accomodate him, she stuck her thumb back behind her, pausing at the news. "Go on...ugh. Figures. Um. That's PJ, the dog..." As Giles approached, she glared at him before swatting his shoulder. "Don't make me step on you, smart-mouth." Still, she didn't fight him as he shooed her away, her desire to be clean outweighing her desire to chew Giles out. "Sure, Giles, how about I focus on how attractive the other butlers are, instead?" And with that, she locked herself in the bathroom, the sound of running water soon following.

Ichabod watched the exchange with little interest, easily coaxed from his new mole nest by Giles, despite the fact that sometimes the man came off as an extremely gay and interested man. He nodded neatly to the new information, and silently hoped that Orion wouldn't cause a disaster scene. He still didn't know if they were married, and now Giles and his awful woman were going to leave the two of them alone. This did not bode well.

"We should be fine," he attempted, trying to convince himself moreso than Giles. Then Orion had to go and prove him wrong. "Wh-where are we going?" he grunted, coming along with her despite not really wanting to. When he saw the bathtub, he decided that this was an awful idea and picked her up to save himself from her wanting to see him naked.

"You can bathe first," he urged, setting her down in the bathroom before blushing profusely and closing the door. "I'll...watch PJ." Swallowing thickly, he made his way back down the hall, cut off by Ako, who was only wearing a towel.

"Hey, watch it, honkers, I'm hurrying, here." Her tongue stuck out to greet him as she dashed into her room, soon exiting in her normal scant attire. Ichabod was mortified. He had just looked at a woman who was damp and nude save for a towel, and not only were they not married, but he might have been maybe married to Orion. Then again, mistresses were very popular underground...but she was an awful, atrocious, despicable woman who didn't wear enough clothing ever. Gathering PJ up once he found the pooch, Ich sat down in a heavy armchair, petting the dog with a haggard sigh.

"Let's go, Giles!" Ako demanded, ruffling his hair as she passed him on her way to and through the door. She wasn't excited to see the Elders, but the sooner she got this over with, the better. Plus, maybe she could make Giles jealous in the process. He deserved it for being so mitt-fixated, or something like that.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Giles hurried to clean up and then hurried over to open the door, looking rather snazzy in his uniform.



"okay, remember, you have to do all the talking unless you order me to say something to them." He whispered, hurrying her downstairs where the guards were waiting. They were escorted into a special elevator outside the went directly sideways and up to the highest floor in the highest building. When they got out, the guards didn't follow. It was just the two of them alone down the long dark hallway until it opened up into a huge circular room. seated in large crested chairs, several older woman stared at Ako. The president wasn't there. She was hardly seen anywhere other than large events.

"Tell us, Miss Akosua. Where have you been?" The oldest asked.

-------------------

Meanwhile. Orion let Ichbod stay confused with PJ at his side as she figured out how the bathing machine worked. After about an hour of fiddling with it, she was able to wash up. The only clothes available were Ako's and Giles. Orion saw Ako's and assumed they were underthings due to their skimpiness so she chose one of Giles' outfits instead.

Obviously they didn't fit either. So, she wore his button down shirt as a dress and kept Ako's short shorts on underneath for decency.

"Ichabod, the bathing machine is free now." She said, walking out to see them. She then gasped with glee when she saw how cute PJ and Ich looked together. "Oh you two are adorable! PJ? Let your new papa take you to get a bath as well, becuase you are stinky, okay?"

PJ barked and started licking the floor.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ako sighed, running her fingers through her still-wet hair in agitation. The Elders were the crankiest old women she had ever met, and Ako certainly didn't want to become one of them when she was a wrinkled prune. She fidgeted uncomfortably during the elevator trip, but seemed to pull herself together as she walked with Giles down the dark corridor, her normal cocky stride returning to her step as she entered the Elders' presence with her chin held high.

"I was exploring the desert and became lost, Elders." She stood primly, wishing that they would accept that as an answer and knowing full well that they wouldn't. One of the other Elders, a wispy willow of a woman, peered down at Akosua through her thick-rimmed spectacles, a flicker of blue light flitting over her eyes from the lenses.

"For days, Miss Akosua? How did you manage to last that long in the desert without returning home? And why did you walk such a distance that you could not find your way home, hm?"

Resisting the urge to search for assistance in Giles, Ako shifted her weight, wondering how much impact the truth would have on the Elders and the society of mole people that she had discovered. Somehow, Ako felt that it would be wrong of her to bring those people up, especially since their societies were built so differently. They would never get along if her relationship with goose beak was any indication, and she thought he was more willing than most other men down there.

"I ran away. I had provisions, and they ran out, but my servant tracked me down and brought me home." She gestured to Giles coolly, waiting for the scolding to commence.

-----

Ichabod was enjoying his quiet time with PJ, pleased with the simplicity of the dog's mindset, and had relaxed considerably by the time Orion returned. He glanced over his shoulder at her as she approached and swallowed thickly, feeling that relaxation slip between his fingers at her choice of attire. It wasn't decent for her to be wearing Giles' clothing, though there wasn't much to do about it, since neither of them had spare clothing.

"Guess that means you're coming with me." he told PJ, picking the dog up and carrying him to the bathroom. It didn't take him terribly long to figure out the controls, since he was used to looking at objects on base of function, and not aesthetics, and he found himself filling the tub partially for PJ. Recalling what he had heard back in the underground from the few dog-owners he had spoken to, or their shared servants, Ich took off his shirt and pants, setting them on the other side of the room in hopes of not getting them soaked. Clad in boxers, he crouched next to the tub, setting PJ in and preparing for the fight of his life.

Surprisingly, the elders did not begin to scold.

"We see. Now, more importantly, we have been alerted to the guests you've brought into the city." The oldest woman nodded at the others then turned back to Ako. "You will be allowed to keep them in your home, but we have several demands in return for this freedom. First, your friends much claim to be siblings. If anyone asks where they are from, you will state that they are from this city but they have abnormal genes and have been kept under our care until this time. Second, you must never mention the town you visited. It will only cause panic and destruction. We will tell the people when it is the right moment. And lastly, you must travel and deliver a message for us, since you already know of one city, it should be fine to alert you to another. Do you understand? If you don't agree to these terms, other measures will be taken."

-----------------

Normal dogs hate bathes. Or at least dislike them. Luckily PJ was special. When he saw the water, he barked at his reflection then fell in to say hello. He stood up in the shallow water and shook the excess from his fur while wagging his tail happily, thinking this was a rather awesome game, and he think he just won whatever it is.

Then Orion burst in. She apparently had no issues with privacy, but she did have to fight back a giggle at seeing Ichabod in his boxers.

"PJ... hehehe... PJ needs.... ehehehhee... his bath toy." She whispered, inching over and putting a small wooden boat in the water. Then Orion reached over and touched Ich's bare back before giggling and and running back out the door.