The Animals

Ashton stepped off the bottom peg of the ladder and turned around to see how beautiful the night was tonight, the full moon above reflecting the leftover puddles from the rain earlier, the wild flowers sprinkled about, all of the tremendous trees and their large shadows from the surprisingly large amount of light the moon was reflecting from the sun. "Katio was right, it is a beautiful night." Ash whispered softly to herself. She had heard his thoughts without trying while in her sleep, she didn't like listening in on his thoughts or any of their friends for that matter, but she couldn't help but hear them sometimes. She got up to the well and filled the bottles full and began heading back to the house.

Hushabye entered the kitchen and eagerly grabbed almost everything in the fridge and the cupboards. There was a fair amount of food to take with them on their trip, and she made sure to throw as much as possible into their bag that they used when going out to explore.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow morning, and was nearly jumping for joy at the thought of finally leaving the house and doing stuff.

Ashy popped back up into the house, "Hey hey hey! I'm back!" She said cheerfully. She was really excited for tomorrows adventure. She was also a bit fearful of how the townspeople would act with them in town, hopefully no one would do anything that caused them to pull an act of self-defense.

"Hey, Ashton. Got the water?" Katio asked rather half-heartedly as he snapped out of his deep and intermost thoughts. Hushabye came back into the living room after cramming the bag packed with food into the fridge. "Food's ready for tomorrow"

"Yupp!" She replied and went and put them into the fridge to keep them cold, "We should all probably go to sleep soon so we can get up early to prepare." Ash suggested.

"Yup," Kuro replied, getting up from the couch. "It's about that time. G'night, gang," he said, already going up the stairs to his bedroom.

Katio leaned back on the couch. Oddly enough, he didn't feel tired. He bid Kuro goodnight as the other ascended up the stairs. Hushabye, however, simply nodded her head and hurried back up the stairs after Kuro to her bedroom. Although she didn't show it, she was rather tired from staying up late from the previous night.

"There's not much we need to prepare for; all we have to do is eat, grab our supplies, and head out," Katio said to Ashton. A few moments later, a soft voice came from the very top of the stairwell.

"What was with the commotion earlier?" Kurai questioned to the two remaining occupants in the living room as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes wearily.

"Well I was thinking we could practice using our powers in case we need them tomorrow, you know... just in case..." Ashton said. When Kurai came down she looked over but didn't answer for some reason.

Kuro was in his bedroom, fast asleep in his bed. The light was turned out. He wouldn't wake until morning.

Katio nodded at Ashton's suggestion. "Maybe we could have a little competition to get the adrenalin rushing before we go," he offered with a grin.

He turned from his spot on the couch to see Kurai after he asked. He looked at Ashy for a moment as though expecting her to respond. He sighed at her lack of response, and turned back to the other male. "We're... going out tomorrow. All of us," he added the last part more firmly than he usually would.

"Yeah a competition sounds like a great idea! Whoever wins can have the last chocolate chip muffin! It'll be great!" Ash said, then turned back to Kurai, "Hi Kurai, how have you been this evening?"

The door to Kuro's bedroom seemed to be cracked. Kuro could hear what was going on but decided to ignore it; he was really tired.

Katio grinned at Ashton and nodded in agreement to the idea. He loved muffins, and he wasn't allowed to eat them very often. The very thought of winning it made his mouth water.

"Fine; same as every night," Kurai replied to Ashton, trying to mask his mounting annoyance and hostility. He got rather cranky when he didn't get much sleep, which seemed to be every night. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"We're all going into the town to see what's there since none of us have really been there probably since we were little. And to adventure and have fun!" Ashton said almost too enthusiastically.

Sounds could be heard coming into Kuro's bedroom. Kuro was still tired, and still had thoughts about tomorrow's plans.

Kurai's pale eyes that stood out against the dark rings around them sharpened, and his face darkened considerably upon hearing this news from Ashton. He felt like strangling the girl right then and there, but knew that that would be a horrible thing to do. Although he wasn't too opposed to the idea...

The bat-boy turned to Katio with a scrutinizing and cruel gaze. "And you authorized this?" he almost screamed, albeit through gritted teeth. He was absolutely seething; his body was trembling with the negative emotions and his fists were clenched. Katio had averted his eyes to the floor, and he didn't seem very keen on looking back up.

"Yes," the neko replied, trying to control his growing anger. Kurai had a horrid temper at times, and it was best not to drive him to the limit during these "episodes". "And we're all going. And it's going to be fun," he stated in a slightly commanding tone.

Kurai frowned, and his blue-grey eyes narrowed for a moment. "Very well," he gave in slowly, the anger and hatred still held within him. He knew it was useless to try and stay home because Katio would never allow it.

Ash was taken back by Kurai's anger and just of looked down at her feet, not sure what to say in this extremely awkward situation.

Kuro was still asleep, and could still hear the sounds coming into his bedroom. He was too tired to hear or care.

Kurai and Katio locked eyes for a moment, their glares cold and analyzing. Finally, the bat-boy gave a slight nod of his head before hurrying wordlessly back to his room. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Katio sighed heavily, leaning back and rubbing the temple of his forehead. Dealing with that guy could be draining after some time. Of course, his name did mean doom and gloom, and it seemed as though the younger could drain anyone of all happiness.

"We'd better get to bed," the male neko said to Ashton after a moment of silence. He felt more than a little tired now.

"Yeah." Ashton said while yawning, she was really tired, she had been busy basically all day doing work in their yard. She headed to her room decorated with random things her mom had given her before passing away.

Katio headed to his room as well, which was rather bland to say the least. He had a few posters every here and there, and a small mahogany bed and dresser. He collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

-MORNING-

Ash was awoken by her alarm clock at 5 a.m. It was finally time to prepare for their day, she was so excited she got dressed in her favorite outfit: a black shirt, ocean blue jeacket, and skinny jeans, and ran downstairs to see who else (if anyone) was up.

Hushabye was already up, laying lazily down on the couch. She had her knives with her, and she was sharpening one knife with the other. She always brought those wherever she went, just in case her powers weren't enough or she was too weak to use them.

She looked up when she saw Ashton entering, and the naga seemed rather alarmed at first. But then she grew more relaxed and offered Ash a smile. "Mornin'"

"Morning, Hushabye! You ready for today?" Ash asked enthusiastically as she got the cold waters out of the refrigerator and put them into separate backpacks for everyone, Ash liked to take care of her friends, it gave her a sense of importance and she liked that.

Hushabye pocketed the knives and moved away from the couch. She stretched her arms high above her head, and a small smile flickered on her lips.

"Yep. I anyone else up? Everyone will need to be ready to go soon," the naga asked the neko as she watched the other place the waters into different backpacks. "Oh, and I've got the food," she said cheerfully, and she slithered into the kitchen. "Should we break it into portions?"