"The Beast Lives..."

[Nicoli]

Nicoli waltzed into the club, and admired it. Even in the middle of the day, Cass seemed to be able to pull inn a decent crowd. He approached the bar, and the bartender looked astonished. He hadn't seen Nicoli in almost... What was it, two years?

"Nicoli! By the Gods it's good to see you!" They shook hands and exchanged a few words, and the tender set him up with a beer and a shot. Just like the old days.

Where was Cassiel? Or Tamuril? He'd heard they were back in town, and he wanted to see them more then anything. He and Kiya. Kez was still back at the house, fussing over Tsjata and Mia and getting situated. Nicoli laughed at that. Two years he'd been a father. And he still didn't know a damn thing.

"Cass! Where are you?!" He bellowed happily above the music.

[lilyrose]

Lily came out from the backroom and into the club. It was a bit early for her shift, but she was feeling fidgety and just a bit down, so she thought she'd start early and have a chat with some of the regulars. She heard someone yelling and looked around for who it might be. The only strange face was a man leaning on the bar. Which Cass did he want? she wondered. She didn't know where Cassandra was. She had a vague memory of meeting in the back room with Cass and Kaden and Narym and some others. But she couldn't remember what happened next. She hadn't seen Cass or Kaden, Merlin or Fiona since. She'd spotted Cassiel from a distance earlier and guessed Eli wouldn't be far away. She frowned. What had happened? Why couldn't she remember? She was becoming worried about Cassandra. She had sat up with Narym into the early hours, talking about it. Her friend had the same problem. Even Fallow was vague about it. She sighed, put on her happy face, slipped behind the bar and moved over to serve him.
" Hi," she said. " Which Cass do you want?"

[Skyler Canaan]

"Probably the original," Skyler said, popping up from under the bar, after tracking down the bowl of peanuts he dropped. "Cassiel. I haven't seen her much in a while, but I know Eli is around, so she has to be somewhere."

[lilyrose]

" Oh, hi!" Lily said, startled by the sudden appearance of the youth. " Where did you come from?" She frowned slightly. Wasn't he too young to be in here?
She turned her attention back to the rather unusual looking man she had been serving. A mohican haircut! It had been awhile since she had seen one quite that magnificent!
" Er, Cassiel? I saw her earlier today, coming out of her shop." She took his glass and held it under the tap. "Another?"

[Skyler Canaan]

"I came from getting the peanut bowl I dropped. They stopped serving me alcohol here, but at least they didn't kick me out for good. Besides, good peanuts are hard to find in this town." Skyler looked at the floor. "But sadly, I have just fed some to the floor."

[lilyrose]

Lily pulled a pint for her customer while she contemplated the youth.
" I'm surprised they served you in the first place, " she said to him. She reached up to pull a bag of nuts from the rack and gave them to him. " But why did they stop?" She looked at him suspiciously. " What did you do?"

[Cassiel]

Cassiel walked into the club. It had been a long time since she'd darkened these doorways, but something made her come here tonight. As she looked around the room, it was like a blast from the past. Different characters of course, but same story. There was Skyler talking to Lily, Nic chatting with the bartender, things were so much the way they used to be.

Cassiel's head snapped back to where she saw Nic. It just couldn't be him, it must be someone else with a mohawk. She rushed over to him, and was shocked to see that she was right the first time. "Holy hell," she said, "when did you get back?"

[Skyler Canaan]

"They didn't serve me, I served myself," Skyler said, semi-proudly. "But then I got real drunk and passed out then bad things started happening."

[lilyrose]

Lily beckoned the youth down to the end of the bar. " First off," she said, regarding him with mock severity, " no booze! Peanuts yes, but booze no!"
She handed him another pack of peanuts. " Second, if you want your supply of nuts guaranteed, I want to know who you are, where you're living and what you did." She regarded him with something akin to affection.
" How can someone so short get in so much trouble that they're banned from a bar before they're old enough to drink!"
She shook her head and poured him a soft drink.
" So, dish!"

[Skyler Canaan]

"I know no booze, I learned that lesson already. And to know who I am, it's easier to ask everyone else than me. I just know that I do cool fire tricks and was crazy," he said, forming a ball of fire into a bird then extinguishing it. "I say was because somehow I ended up in an asylum, where they tried to fix whatever was in my head making my fire unpredictable, as well as quite a few other things I wasn't equipped to deal with emotionally. I currently live where ever someone will take me, which is the inn for now, but I have lived in the barn and stayed a while in Kane's temple. I'm famous, or infamous, around these parts." He took a drink of soda and ate a few peanuts. "And this is way better than getting drunk."

[Nicoli]

Nic laughed as Cas ran towards him, awestruck. "CASS!" He hugged her, laughing and trying not to cry at the same time. "We just got back into town not a few days ago! Kiya's at home with the kids getting settled and what not."

He looked her up and down, smiling. "By the gods. You haven't changed a bit."

[lilyrose]

Lily was distracted for a moment by Cassiels re-union with the guy with the the striking hair. Old friends obviously, and good ones too. She smiled and then turned her attention back to the young lad eating nuts like he was starving.
" Ah, YOU'RE the infamous Skyler! " she said. " I've heard tell about a young 'en that starts fires." She studied him more closely. He was so small and thin. Living on the streets does that to you, she thought. And an asylum! So young to have been through that. But how could he afford to stay in the inn?
" Why aren't you at home, hon? she asked gently. " Where do your parents live?"
She had another customer. " Wait there," she said, " I'll be right back."

[Skyler Canaan]

Skyler thought it over as Lily went to serve the other customer. It was easy, in his mind, but more difficult to put to words and have people understand. He didn't like having to tell people, as they became more sympathetic or regarded him as more of a child. He took a drink of his soda and stared off into space, not even noticing he set his glass down a little too close to the edge of the bar and it falling off.

[Cassiel]

Cassiel laughed, "Neither have you. So how is everyone? Goodness, Mia was just born when you left here, she must be so big. And Tasjata, Damien has been dying for her to come back, or call or write or something. He's missed her. So have I, all of you." Cassiel bit her lip, shocked that she was getting a little choked up.

"But enough about that, I will be at the house, as soon as you give word. If you want help unpacking, or getting the kids out of your hair, I'm your woman."

[Nicoli]

"No, no, no, we're already done un-packing, but if you want to grab Damien and Eli after a few drinks Kiya would be ecstatic to see you." In truth, he was over joyed to see her. And seeing Eli again would bring back old memories. Good memories.

"Where's everyone else? Kaden, Rezo, Tate... They all take off too?"