Kaylee Borin's Story

Catalina had spent most of the afternoon cooking. She did enjoy sitting outside and getting some sun most days, but it was beginning to get chilly and she could only hope that they would start travelling south for the winter soon. She grew up in Los Angeles where it rarely got lower than 50 degrees in the coldest months. Having spent the last twenty eight years traveling around the country, she had experienced snow and freezing weather, something that she didn't take well to. Luckily though, they normally spent the winter in the south where it was warm, but even the fifty and sixty degree fall weather wasn't Catalina's favorite.

She was cooking one of her favorite meals for tonight: arroz con pollo, or rice and chicken, and empanadas. Her grandmother had taught her how to make them when she was just a young girl and was helping out at the restaurant. Some of Catalina's best memories came from when she was working in the kitchen with her grandmother. After her mother was deported, her grandmother became her maternal figure and continued to support and guide her through life, regardless of the fact that they weren't biologically related. Catalina would come home from school every day, drop her backpack upstairs in the apartment and then spent most of the night down in the restaurant where should would help out in any way possible. Some days she would watch her grandmother cook, and other days she would wait tables or clean dishes. No matter what she was doing, she always felt useful and comfortable in the kitchen and she was glad that she was able to continue it at the carnival.

Since she had been given the task of basically raising Kaylee, she had always included the younger girl when she cooked. As a child, Kaylee had enjoyed it. She liked feeling important and involved, especially since at the time, she had no powers, but as she entered her teen years, she started to become less interested, not only in helping Catalina, but in hanging out with her as much all together. She tried not to take it to heart and constantly had to remind herself that Kaylee wasn't her daughter or even sister, but it did feel like she was. Catalina was the one who would wake up in the middle of the night when she was screaming and crying. She was the one who would feed her, bathe her, play with her and care for her. She played the role of Kaylee's mother more than anyone else had and even though she knew it was normal for a teenager to want to rebel and grow individually, it still bothered her sometimes.

There was some Spanish soap opera playing on the television and although Catalina was never a fan of the melodramatic shows, they reminded her of home. Her grandmother would have them playing constantly on a tiny black and white television in the back of the restaurant and even though the other girls here would pester her about how they wanted to watch something in a language that they could understand, Catalina liked to play it in the background while she cooked. She barely heard a knock on the door but everyone seemed to come in and out of the buses without notice anyway, so she wasn't surprised when Lucas appeared.

"Have you seen Kaylee?" she asked, turning off the stove and sliding the cooked food onto plates before offering one to him. Kaylee had left a few hours earlier and had disregarded her request to return within an hour. Catalina knew that she couldn't get into too much trouble on the carnival grounds, but again, it bothered her that Kaylee was beginning to blatantly disregard her wishes.

After having lunch with Catalina, Kaylee had spent most of the day roaming around the carnival. She wasn't the biggest fan of riding the carnival rides anymore. After playing on them nearly everyday when she was younger, it had lost its charm. Besides, it wasn't fun going on them by yourself and especially since the weekend carnivals always seemed to be flooded with older kids and teenagers, Kaylee tended to feel out of place. She would watch as the packs of obnoxious teenagers joked around, went on the rides and played the carnival games together. Kaylee would try to listen as they spoke, always complaining that their mother wanted them home by an early curfew or how they had gotten detention that week in school. They were all so connected, not just in their small town, mundane lifestyle, but also in age, and Kaylee envied that. She was the youngest one at the carnival and even if some of the others weren't too far from her age appearance wise, they were all really at least ten years older than her.

Although she had promised Catalina that she would only be an hour or so, that one hour ended up turning into five. Kaylee knew that the older girl would be annoyed with her but she didn't hurry as she made her way back to the motor home. In fact, she made an effort to go as slowly as possible and stopped at the cotton candy vendor to get a stick of the fluffy, pink sugar before finally reaching the motor home.

Before she even reached the door, she could smell food and knew that Catalina was cooking. It wasn't shocking- she cooked nearly every real meal that the performers ate and because she was such a good cook, most of them took up the offer for the free meals. It beat eating the greasy burgers that the carnival sold everyday. Although she was hungry for a meal, she assumed that Catalina would be ready to lecture her about being late, eating sweets before dinner, and for the pink streak that Kaylee had changed a section of her hair to be that afternoon. She disliked how useless her power was, so she took advantage of the few uses that it did have and was constantly changing her hair from its natural blonde color, her eyes from their natural blue hue, and the color clothes.

Kaylee continued to pick pieces of cotton candy off of the stick to pop into her mouth as she entered the bus, silently slipping past Catalina and taking a seat at the dining booth. Lucas was already in there and Kaylee spotted Brooke rummaging through some things in the back of the bus. "Hi Luke," she said cheerfully, studying his perfect dark hair before her eyes flashed back to Brooke, his girlfriend. Brooke was always intense and always seemed to be teasing Kaylee about something, but it wasn't in a mean way. However, Kaylee still thought Lucas was too nice for her. That was probably because she had a crush on him herself, but she would never admit that.

Lucas could feel his stomach growling as he entered the bus and the smell of hot food overwhelmed his senses. Luckily, Catalina was quick to put a full plate in his hands and he gave her an appreciative nod and a "thanks" before taking a seat at the table. Although some Spanish television show was playing loudly on the television, he could hear the shower running in the back of the bus. Normally he would have asked Catalina where Brooke was, but he guessed that it was her in the shower, so he just began to eat.

A moment later, Alexa appeared from the bathroom in just a towel. She waved at him but her towel nearly fell off in the process, getting a small chuckle out of Luke. "Hey," he responded, focusing his eyes back on his plate in case she had another towel malfunction. It wasn't necessary though, because she returned to the bathroom, presumably to get dressed.

"As usual, this is really good," he said to Catalina who was still hovering over the stove. She turned to him, asking if he had seen Kaylee at all. He replayed the last few hours in his mind, remembering that he had seen her that morning after their rehearsal, but not since then. "Nope," he said, shaking his head as he stood up and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. Normally he preferred bottled water, but the girls liked to keep theirs in the fridge and cold liquids always irritated his throat. It probably had to do with his power since it had never been a problem before he joined the carnival, but it wasn't a huge thing to have to adapt to. Instead, he filled the glass up with warm tap water and returned to his seat. "I'm sure she's fine. You know, how much trouble can she get into around here?"

After a few more bites, he glanced back over at Catalina, about to ask her if she had seen Brooke when the door opened and she appeared. He raised his eyebrows, surprised that she had been outside on her own will, but returned the smile that she offered him. He watched her gather some of her things and considered making a plate of food for her, but again the bus door opened. This time, Kalyee entered, sporting a hot pink streak in her blonde hair and a pink stick of cotton candy to match. Surprisingly, she didn't acknowledge Catalina and took a seat opposite him at the table, greeting him instead. "You're starting to look like Brooke with those colors in your hair," he commented with a grin as he finished off the rice and chicken on his plate and glanced back over at his girl friend.

He then remembered that there had been talk of two new performers joining today, and Luke assumed that Alexa would know more about it. Lucas had heard that she had been the one to teach Brooke the ropes when she first joined, and Ryder was the one who did the same for him and Ark when they joined. He turned down the volume on the television a bit before calling out, "Alexa, is it true that we've got new people?"

Catalina didn't respond when Luke praised her cooking. She appreciated compliments but didn't need to hear them. Cooking was something that she enjoyed doing. It kept her sane all of these years and allowed her to feel a connection to the real world that she was no longer allowed to be a part of. She made a plate for Kaylee before covering the rest of the food so it would stay hot if any of the others wanted any.

When Lucas confirmed that he hadn't seen Kaylee and commented about how she shouldn't worry about it, Catalina frowned. It was easy for him to say that Kaylee couldn't get into any trouble. He wasn't the one that would have to clean up the mess if she somehow got hurt or hurt someone else. It was Catalina whose head would be on the line when Jade came around, ranting and raving about how she hadn't been watching Kaylee close enough. Besides that, Catalina liked knowing where Kaylee was. Like a mother hen, she always worried about Kaylee and even the newer kids too.

Before she could respond to Luke, Alexa appeared, clad in only a towel but Catalina was glad to see that she had cleaned up. Between rehearsing her act and just messing around, she was constantly covered in blood and although Catalina had gotten used it, she didn't like that anywhere near her kitchen. She disappeared back into the bathroom after spotting Lucas, and a moment later, Brooke entered.

"Eat while it's hot," Catalina said to her, nodding at the food on the stove. She made a small plate for herself and rummaged through the refrigerator, looking for something to drink. She decided on lemonade and as she turned away from the fridge, she noticed that Kaylee had managed to slip inside. She raised an eyebrow, eyeing the girl as she greeted Lucas and snacked on cotton candy. Catalina grilled her on a daily basis over eating candy that would rot her teeth out, especially before dinner, but lately Kaylee seemed to do it on purpose just to piss her off.

Catalina slid the plate of food in front of Kaylee and pulled the cotton candy away, swiftly dropping it into the garbage can. "Where have you been, mija?" she asked in a surprisingly calm tone as she poured a glass of lemonade for herself and then one for Kaylee. Lucas made a comment about the Kaylee's hair, and Catalina quickly directed her attention back at the girl. The pink streak wasn't as bad as some of the other full head of colors that Kaylee had tried out, but again, Catalina felt like she was just doing it to spite her. "You change that back to blonde," Catalina said sternly, before turning to Brooke and commenting, "she's starting to take after you in more ways than just the hair."

When Lucas loudly asked Alexa if they had new people joining the carnival, Catalina's attention was drawn away from Kaylee and she listened for Alexa's response. Honestly, she hoped that it wasn't true. She didn't want some poor new kids to be sucked into this life and she knew that if it was true, Jade would be requesting that she be on hand to make sure the new performers emotions didn't get out of control. Catalina didn't mind manipulating the emotions of the crowds of people that came to the show because they didn't know she was doing it. However, doing it to people that she knew and would be living with was different. She felt like it was unfair and unethical to use her power to control how someone felt when emotions were really the only thing that people could control on their own.

As she was half-way through changing into her clothes Alexa heard the bus door open and close multiple times and so she assumed some of the girls that had left earlier were back and at least one of them was bound to want a shower - it was a very hot and humid day after all. Once she was dressed and had her hair tied up, Alexa was about to exit the bathroom when she hear Luke's voice call to her from the kitchen,"Huh?" she replied instinctively as she then open the door and walked out. Brooke seemed to be on her way to the bathroom as Alexa exited it, so she scooted to the side and let her past, smiling to her before then continuing on to walk back to her bunk. As she got closer to the kitchen she spoke again, retracing what she had heard from Luke the first time, "Oh yeah, the new kids." she smiled, thinking of the two she had been informed about. As she continued to talk Alexa put away her things into the compartment by her bunk and pulled out a few accessories to go with her outfit.

Once she was all dressed up in her white t-shirt, shorts, tasseled waist-coat and accessories Alexa scooted into the seat beside Kaylee, "Me and Ryder are supposed to be looking after them for a bit. They were brought here today, Jade gave 'em the pills a few hours ago so they should be awake anytime soon." Alexa glanced over to Kaylee and was about to lean over and take a bite of her cotton candy before Catalina stole it away from both of the two and threw it in the trash; Alexa pouted at Catalina and gave her the puppy-eyes before returning back to her conversation with Luke, "The girl I'm training is supposed to be able to shape-shift, it sounds so cool" she chimed, returning back to her normal self, despite the lack of cotton-candy,"And I think the boy Ryder has is supposed to be able to turn invisible or something." Alexa glanced over as Catalina served up Kaylee's plate and sat down with her own which reminded her that food was indeed served. Alexa continued to speak out-loud as she stood and took a few steps to reach the kitchen and pick up a plate from the counter, taking a long sniff of it's contents before then walking over to the fridge to open it and pull out a can of coca-cola to then return to her seat beside the pink-striped Kaylee,"Mr.A is really getting adventurous with them powers, huh" she said, now speaking to the whole table rather than just to Luke. Alexa stopped talking for a moment so she was able to scoop up a fork-full of food and shovel it into her mouth, letting out a pleasured "Mmmm.." as she chewed, the flavor invading her taste buds.

Ryder enjoyed the daytime carnival. There was so much going on between the carnival music, moving rides, cheers of people winning prizes and smells of various types of foods. Even though it was the same routine every day, the people were always different and that was what interested him. He would watch as young children tugged their parents towards the different rides and teenage boys tried to impress the girls by winning them a big stuffed bear at the ring toss game. Everyone always seemed so happy with the simple amusements that the carnival offered. It was just a few hour excursion for them and after they got their share of enjoyment, they would return to their everyday lives. Nothing in Ryder's life had ever been spectacular or noteworthy, but sometimes he did miss the "real world". At least back then he was free to do what he pleased. However, he tried not to mull over that too much, for it was clearly useless. Instead, he enjoyed interacting with the carnival goers whenever possible. He was never overbearing or social enough to draw too much attention to himself, but sometimes he would take a turn at The High Striker game, where physical strength was key, and once he won, he'd offer the prize to the kid waiting in line behind him. He would offer directions to people who looked confuse or help a child who had wandered too far find his parents again.

It wasn't unusual for him to spend nearly all of the time between morning rehearsal and the midnight performance roaming around the carnival grounds. He did like his fellow performers (some more than others) but it seemed unnecessary to spend all day hanging out with them. There was only so much trivial conversation that he could handle. However, he had been tasked with introducing a new performer to the carnival lifestyle today.

By the growing crowds, Ryder could tell that it was probably around six at night, so he headed back towards the buses. Jade had given them their first pills that morning, meaning that they would be waking up soon enough. Ryder knew how difficult the first day could be and increased his pace, hoping that Gracen wasn't already looking for him.

Even from outside of the girl's bus, the aroma of Catalina's cooking was apparent and after giving a quick glance over at Jade's bus and not spotting Gracen, Ryder figured that he was still asleep and decided to stop for some food first. As he entered the girls' bus, he saw that along with the four girls, Lucas was also there. It was common for most of them to eat in the girls' bus, probably only because Catalina was cooking. It wasn't like the boys' bus didn't have an oven or table too, it was just that none of them offered to cook for everyone like she did.

He gave a quick wave to the others before helping himself to some of the steaming food that was left on the stove. Rather than sitting at the table, Ryder leaned against the counter and began to eat standing up. Mid-bite, he turned to Alexa, knowing that she was also in charge of helping one of the new performers. "Gracen hasn't shown up yet, yeah?" he asked.

Brooke's smile widened a little as Lucas smiled back at her and then she looked over at Kaylee, her smile turning into a smirk at the pink streak and at Lucas' comment about it. When Catalina mentioned the food she looked over and then back at Cat, her face suddenly emotionless again. It's not like she expected them to remember her preferences, that was something friends did. But she had been a vegetarian for the last 12 years. Was it so much to ask that after living with someone for 9 years, whether they were a bitch or not, that people could remember that she didn't eat meat. Instead of getting upset or pissed off Brooke ignored Cat's comment, shook her head, and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and snapping the lock into place loudly. Turning on the water as hot as she could get it Brooke waited for a moment before undressing and stepping into the scalding hot water. Quickly washing her hair and body Brooke stepped out around 10 minutes later and got dressed inside the bathroom, coming out a black tank top and black-dyed jean shorts. Coming out Brooke saw Ryder come in and head over to grab some food. After wrinkling her nose in distaste she went over to the fridge and pulled out a yogurt before grabbing a spoon and laying across her bed with it still in her hands. At his question Brooke speaks for the first time since practice that morning. "No, the new runt isn't here. And why would he be? He's new. He probably doesn't even know where the busses are."

Kaylee smiled when Lucas noted that she was starting to look like Brooke because of the color in her hair. Even though Brooke wasn't the most attractive person personality-wise, she was obviously pretty enough for Lucas to want to date her, so being compared to her seemed like a good thing. As always, Catalina was there to ruin the moment though and demanded that she return the strand of hair to blonde. With a roll of her eyes and a bit of focus, the pink disappeared from her head. Kaylee knew that Catalina was already upset enough with her for disappearing for so long without notice, so she wasn't going to argue about keeping the color in her hair. Besides, later she would probably just change it back anyway.

Luckily, Catalina's attention was diverted from her when Lucas brought up new people joining the group today. She slowly ate her food, listening intently as the others spoke about the new performers. Alexa said that she and Ryder would be looking after them and that the boy, who Ryder called Gracen, would be able to turn invisible and the girl would be able to shape shift.

"Yeah, he's giving away all of the good powers and then I'm going to be stuck with my stupid power forever," she complained after Alexa commented on how Mr. Aefric was getting "adventurous" with the new powers. It wasn't news that Kaylee was dissatisfied with her color manipulation powers. It had been cool at first. She could change the color of really anything she touched, including her hair and skin - or that of other people, but compared to everyone else's abilities, it seemed insignificant. Brooke could freeze someone to death with the flick of her hand and Luke could set fire to a building in a second. Ryder was strong enough to lift a car with his bare hands and Alexa could survive being terribly mutilated and come out of it without a permanent scratch on her. Ark could move things with his thoughts, Matthaus' body was like taffy with how willingly it stretched and Catalina could manipulate people's feelings at her own will. Now, two strangers were coming in and getting equally cool powers while she was still stuck with hers. It seemed unfair and Kaylee decided that the next time she saw Jade, she would air her complaints.

Kaylee finished her food and got up, dropping her plate in the sink and looked around in boredom. She considered leaving the bus and going back out to the carnival but knew that Catalina would have something to say if she tried to leave, so instead she made her way towards Brooke who had just spoken up about the new boy. Although Brooke was quite intense and unapologetically blunt, Kaylee enjoyed purposely annoying her when she had nothing better to do. Without asking, she sat down on the end of Brooke's bed and ran her hands over the blanket, changing its hue to a light pink. "Pink makes our bus look prettier," she said with a devious smile.

Before she could continue, there was a knock on the door and an unfamiliar girl poked her head into the bus. If Catalina hadn't been standing a few feet away, Kaylee might have told the girl to get lost, but she didn't need any more problems and for all she knew, Jade was standing behind the girl and would hear it too. The girl didn't appear to be too much older than her which did interest Kaylee, but she was in more of a hostile mood than a friendly one.

"Go say hi to her," Kaylee said, prodding Brooke in the leg, although knowing good and well that Brooke was probably the least friendly of the four girls. "You don't want her to think that your heart is as cold as your hands!"

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By the time the door to the bus opened yet again and in came Ryder, her current partner in crime, Alexa had already wolfed down her meal, and was rewarded with a few hiccups which eventually subsided after she took some deep breaths to get rid of them. As she then stood to place her plate and utensils in the sink she gave a smile to Ryder and nudged him slightly with her elbow, "You ready to play big brother?" after saying that she chuckled, she knew Ryder was the caring type so he'd definitely fit the big brother picture. He certainly was almost like a brother to everyone, sweet and charming with just the right amount of humor- everyone at the circus was family of course, but some liked it more than others. If anything, Alexa was grateful to have a family, and a home.

Alexa lent up against the kitchen counter, standing opposite to Ryder with her arms crossed over her chest casually as she watched the others eat - all except Brooke. The others may not know so much about her but after having to practically babysit her for few months once she joined the circus, Alexa knew a fair bit; including her diet. With a hint of a smile, Alexa pushed off from the counter and took a few steps to make it to the fridge, "Yo, Brooke" Alexa called, then opening the fridge and pulling out two whole sandwiches with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Alexa also grabbed a chilled bottle of water before closing the fridge and placing the sandwiches on a clean plate. "Here, I got you somethin'" she began, walking over to Jade's bunk and sitting down by her feet which where propped up. Alexa slid the sandwiches across and offered the bottled water, "I heard Cat was making something with meat tonight so I remember to make you some packed lunch.." in all honest, Alexa didn't expect for Brooke to react positively, heck - she would have been surprised if Brooke even touched the sandwiches - but since she was stuck with the task of taking in another newbie, Alexa thought getting back into the helping-spirit would help.

Before either of them could speak again, Kaylee - now with blonde hair - plopped down into place a few inches from herself on the end of Brooke's bed. Alexa offered her a smile but the girl only seemed focused on turning the blanket pink, Alexa smirked and glanced to Brooke to register her reaction but before she could speak the door to the bus opened again. "Why don't you boys just cook for yourselves?" she said out loud to whoever opened the door, assuming it was one of the men, lured in by the smell of Catalina's cooking; "First Lucas, then the BFG and now who, Ark? Matthaus?" of course she was teasing -and she couldn't help her chuckle -but Alexa tried to sound somewhat annoyed. Personally, she didn't really care about how many people invaded the bus, the more the merrier she would think to herself, but on a especially hot night like this, more people meant more heat.

But to Alexa's surprise, it wasn't one of the guys come for food as she had expected, it was a girl; one she'd never seen before. A mischievous grin spread across Alexa's,"You must be Jace" she called, then standing up from Brooke's bed. A Kaylee's comment, Alexa whipped around with a fake glare and tried to sound motherly, "Don't you go scaring her away" she said, waggling her finger and trying, in her deepest respect, not to sound too much like Catalina. Alexa grinned and chuckled her way to the other end of the bus to pull open the door further, "Jace right, come in" she stepped back a little to let the girl up the steps and into the bus, "Is there a boy with you?" Alexa tried to peer past Jace but could se no-one else, she gave a sideways glance to Ryder and shrugged before closing the door behind Jace once she had stepped in. "I assume you've met Jade already? She's the boss lady" Alexa looked to Jace with an eager smiled, awaiting an answer so she could begin to talk to the girl again. without having to interrupt her.

Lucas nodded as Alexa spoke of the two new performers who she and Ryder would be looking after. Shape shifting and invisibility did sound cool and Lucas couldn't help but to wonder what would happen if he lit the invisible kid on fire. Would it just look like an invisible blob of air was caught on fire or would he return to visible form? It was a question that Luke knew that he wouldn't be able to get an answer to since he would never try it out, but he was still curious about the power.

Brooke spoke up after Ryder entered, snidely commenting on how the new kid probably didn't even know where the buses were. Although she could be rude sometimes, most of the others were used to her attitude, or well, personality. Lucas actually liked her rough exterior because he knew that she wasn't truly cold-hearted on the inside. She was warmer than she appeared but kept up a defensive front and Lucas appreciated how strong and independent she was. It was more attractive to him than a girl who was clingy and an airhead.

When Lucas finished his food, he got up and refilled his plate with seconds. Even though Brooke refused to eat meat and had opted for yogurt tonight, Lucas couldn't turn down any of Catalina's food. His mother had been a vegan and even then, when he had such a strong influence in his life to turn away from animal-based products, Lucas still ate meat. He appreciated Alexa bringing Brooke a sandwich but was unsure if she would eat it or not. He only hoped that she would just politely thank Alexa for it and throw it out discretely later on if she didn't want it.

By the time he had returned to the table with his newly filled plate, Kaylee had gotten up and was sitting on Brooke's bed with Alexa. He cringed as he watch Brooke's comforter turn pink but before he could give Brooke a 'don't freak out' look, there was a knock at the door and a younger girl appeared, asking if she could come in. Alexa welcomed her in and Luke gave her a small wave. "Welcome to the team," he offered. "I'm Luke." He wondered whether the girl knew of her powers, or any of theirs, yet but knowing Jade, he figured that she probably just shipped her off blindly and expected Alexa to reveal the news to her.

Jace was welcomed warmly it seemed by everyone, which relaxed her greatly as she slide inside and closed the door behind her. Tucking her hair behind an ear she smiled softly at everyone as she scoped out the place and people as well. No one really seemed very scary although she could feel that there was a little something going on off a little ways from her, but if you live with people long enough it can happen. She went to shake the hands of the two who talked to her, answering each as she did, maintaining a small smile for each. Thur wus a boy when ah woke up, but ah might have lost him when ah wus lookin 'round for y'all. But ah have met Jade, she seems purdy nice! Ah am so glad ta meet ya though, and ah am glad ta work with y'all!

Her accent was a fairly thick southern one when she spoke to both Alexa and Luke, although Jace had gotten over how it clashed with others a long time ago. Her head was starting to kill her as she took a step back from the two, waiting for someone to tell her what was to be done. Jade had explained her new job but if she thought about it, she really didnt have any idea what she was suppose to do at all. The smell of the delicious food inside and her stomach isn't really helping her think either, all she could do was hope she didnt look spaced out.

This was not good, not in the slightest. Getting lost in a strange place wasn't exactly something Gracen was a stranger to, in fact it happened almost on a regular basis. What wasn't good was that he hadn't heard a single thing the woman - Jade? He thinks thats her name - had been saying to him when he first woke up. It wasn't his fault that first thing after waking up he isn't very attentive...in fact he isn't all that attentive any other time either. But now he's lost and maybe having just a bit of a existential crisis because he can't honestly think of anything else to do besides freak out.

"Okay, so I'm supposed to find some person called Ryder..." He says to himself, remembering perhaps the only thing that Jade had told him earlier. He wondered vaguely if the girl , Jace, had got around alright. "If I had followed her I probably wouldn't be in this situation." Gracen mumbles to himself, peering around wearily.

In the usual Gracen manner the moment he was left alone with Jace he had spaced out and ended up letting her drift from his field of view. Spacing out happened on a daily basis too, it usually went hand in hand with getting lost.

He feels strange too, stranger than usual and that makes him nervous. What if he's allergic to the pills? He hadn't even thought to ask what was in them. "Oh god," He scratches his head and comes to a stop, just to check his surroundings again.

He catches sight of a bus, and with a sigh of relief he began walking towards it. Now he could ask directions and find this Ryder person, though he was a little apprehensive of actually meeting anybody. The thought of having to endure being around another person for any period of time made him feel anxious, his palms starting to get sweaty and the tell-tale itch of a panic attack flaring up under his skin. He promised himself he would get better about this, but so far all of his attempts had led to more panic and a general annoyance towards himself.

He chews his lip nervously as he nears the bus, moving for the door and holding his breath as he brings his fist up to knock. Gracen hoped he didn't pass out or anything, though he figures that will be the least of his worries if there's anything to be said about his apparent lack of people skills.

Laying out across the large bed Brooke went to say something to Lucas but stopped and chuckled when he went to get seconds. Though she was a vegan she didn't mind that he ate meat, just never having preferred it herself. As she felt someone sit on the bed next to her Brooke looked up, expecting it to be Kaylee since she often liked to hang out on the larger bed. Brooke didn't mind this either though she did give the younger girl a hard time about it. Finding Alexa sitting at her feet Brooke twisted and sat up. Setting down the yogurt Brooke took the plate and water and, seeing that the other girl had even gone as far as toasting the bread the way Brooke liked it, she quickly looked back at Alexa surprised. "Oh... Thanks Lex." Setting the water down Broke picked up the sandwich and took a bite, smiling a little as she chewed.

As Kaylee sat and her black comforter turned pink Brooke smirked and swallowed. "You know, I don't really agree...." Brooke trailed of when there was a knock at the door and as a brunette popped her head through the door Brooke turned back to Kaylee. Listening to Kaylee's comment and then Alexa's 'warning' Brooke narrowed her eyes and went to kick the blonde girl but seeing Lucas' look she sighed and stopped. A moment later she smirked as she placed a foot against Kaylee's back and pushed her just hard enough for her to fall off the bed. Taking another bite of her sandwich Brooke tried not to laugh and gave the new chick a nod in greeting. Finishing her mouthful of food she looked over at Cat. "Can you have your kid change my blanket back?"

Suddenly she stopped and listened and jumped up from her spot. "Matt is outside! If he asks, I'm still out!" Leaping towards the bathroom Brooke slammed the door shut and turned on the shower, remembering that she had taken something from his kit without asking and had forgotten to put it back. Her and Matt had a rough relationship, often mad at each other for some prank or another but this time she hadn't meant to piss him off and had genuinely meant to put it back. Ever since her and Lucas had gotten together she had somewhat been trying to fix her relationships with the others without looking like she actually cared. It was hard, she didn't know why, but it was. Having anybody know that she cared for them felt like someone was asking her to shoot herself but she did care for her little family even if it was in a different way than most people.

As Ryder and Kaylee finished their food, Catalina instinctively set down her plate and began to wash theirs. Although they had washing machines for clothes in the bus, there wasn't a dishwasher. Cleaning wasn't something that she minded doing though. Busy work was always somewhat therapeutic for her and being able to feel like she had a purpose, whether it was as simple as cleaning up after the others, kept her feeling useful. That didn't mean that she did it without making sure the others recognized that she was picking up their slack, though. "¿Soy la criada en esta casa?" she muttered, shaking her head as she put the clean plates back in the cabinet above the stove.

She returned to eating her food, looking up only to watch Lucas fill his plate with seconds and when Kaylee sat down with Brooke. Catalina could tell that Kaylee was in disobedient mood today so when she looked back up from her plate again to see that Brooke's black bedding had suddenly turned pink, she wasn't surprised. Alexa was sitting with them so Catalina figured that she would deal with any problems and continued to eat until a girl walked in. She was a pretty girl, probably seventeen or eighteen and judging by her accent, had lived in the south for some time. Catalina pitied her when she said that she thought Jade seemed nice and she wondered how long it would take for that opinion to change.

"I'm Catalina," she said, smiling at the girl after Lucas introduced himself. She saw the girl eyeing the food and quickly turned, piling some food onto a plate and pushing it into the girl's hands. "Eat, love," she continued, pointing to an empty seat at the table. Catalina was going to make sure that the girl was alright and comfortable, guessing that she had only woken up from the effects of the pills a little while ago, when her attention was pulled back to Brooke and Kaylee. Kaylee was on the floor and judging by Brooke's smirk, Catalina assumed that she had something to do with it but she remembered the blanket issue and knew that Kaylee probably deserved it.

"Excuse me for a second," Catalina said to the girl, her expression turning from sweet to annoyed as she turned to face Kaylee. Brooke had disappeared into the bathroom, requesting that they tell Matthaus- who Catalina assumed was the one who just knocked -that she wasn't there. It probably had something to do with their ongoing prank war so Catalina only nodded in response. She wasn't a fan of Matthaus in the slightest bit so lying to him wouldn't be a problem.

"Black," Catalina stated sharply, grabbing Kaylee's hand and holding it to Brooke's blanket. She didn't think to consider that Jace might not be aware of their powers and that a blanket magically changing colors at the touch of a hand might be alarming.

---

---

Alexa had only glanced away to watch as Brooke pushed Kaylee onto the floor - which made her chuckle - before she turned back to see that Catalina had already adopted the newbie and shoved a plateful into her hand. Alexa chuckled again and patted Jace on the shoulder before she heard a knock at the trailer door. Upon opening it, Alexa discovered a young-ish looking boy; she grinned and without a word took hold of the boys hand and pulled him into the trailer, "Hey Ryder, I found him!" Alexa passed the boy to Ryder as if he was an object and peered out the door again to see Matthuas with somee kind of fabric draped over his arm, "Come to see the newbies?" she smiled to the man, leaving the door opened for him to enter the trailer if he wished.

Once sticking her head back inside, Alexa noticed that Catalina was no longer in the kitchen, and had infact moved on to the bedroom, where Kaylee still was on the floor. Catalina looked pretty angry, which meant something was certain to happen. It seemed as though today was full of reasons to grin and chuckle, everybody seemed so entertaining - or at least they were to Alexa.
"Hey, watch this" Alexa tapped Gracen and Jace on their shoulders and pointed toward the angry looking Catalina and the slightly flustered Kaylee, "THIS is what we do here" Alexa smiled but behind that smile she had her finger crossed in the hope that Kaylee would actually do as Catalina said so that she'd be able to give an example to the two new preformers.

Kaylee crossed her arms over her chest as Alexa scolded her for her comment, but before she could argue that she wasn't being mean, Alexa was walking towards the girl at the front of the bus. Kaylee could hear Alexa and the other talking to her but was surprised to hear a thick southern accent when the new girl, Jace, started speaking. After spending the past fifteen years traveling the country, Kaylee had heard accents like that many times but it still sounded strange and out of place.

When Brooke disagreed about the blanket looking better pink, Kaylee gave her a cheeky grin and a shrug, having no plans to return it to its original color. It still didn't seem fair that Brooke got to have the big bed and Kaylee had complained to Catalina numerous times about it. She reasoned that she had been here longer than both Alexa and Brooke but always ended up getting the short end of the stick.

Just as she turned back around to watch the new girl though, a quick shove pushed her off of the bed and onto the floor. Kaylee yelped in surprise and scowled at Brooke who had a smug grin on her face. If the older girl hadn't leaped up, shouting something about Matthaus being outside, Kaylee would have kicked her back, but Brooke disappeared and Kaylee sat back down on the bed triumphantly.

Deciding that she was bored with Jace already, she turned her attention to her fingernails. Catalina disliked it when she changed her hair color, but Kaylee wanted to have some pink on her, so she quickly turned her nails to a magenta hue. She hadn't noticed Catalina approaching until she grabbed her hand and pressed it to Brooke's blanket, demanding that she turn it back to the black color that it had started at.

After a quick examination of Catalina's facial expression, Kaylee decided not to argue with her and after an exasperated sigh, she turned the blanket back to black. She made a point to do it slowly, watching as the black spread from the area right around her hand until it encompassed the entire blanket. "Happy?" she asked, wiggling free from Catalina's grasp as she stood up and glanced around. A new boy was also now in the trailer and although Kaylee was more interested in him than the girl, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic, even in such a big trailer.

"I'll bring Jade dinner!" she offered, quickly darting away from Catalina and carelessly piling some food onto a plate before making her way passed the others and out the door. "Hi Matthaus!" she managed to say as she exited. Kaylee was really going to bring Jade food but that wasn't really the motive for her going to visit their boss. She needed to make another request that Jade give her a real, good power, especially now that these new people got some. Although Kaylee was a little bit too brazen for her own good when it came to dealing with Jade, she knew better than to barge into her trailer. Mr. Aefric could be in there and for a reason unknown to her and the other performers, no one was able to see him ever. It was odd but had become a normal thing after fifteen years. So, Kaylee knocked on the bus door and waited, hoping that Jade was inside and wasn't out monitoring the carnival activities.

Ryder disregarded Brooke's snippy response about Gracen not being there, and watched as the new girl, Jace arrived. She seemed friendly and in good spirits which was a plus, but Gracen was still unaccounted for. Ryder wanted to ask Jace where he had went, guessing that the two of them had to have been together earlier, but between everyone introducing themselves and then Kaylee and Brooke causing a commotion, he couldn't get a word in.

Relief set in when there was a knock at the door and Gracen appeared, but standing behind him was Matthaus and Ryder didn't think that could be a good sign. It wasn't like he had any beef with Matthaus, but it wasn't a secret that the blond was pretty out there and the last thing that Ryder wanted was for him to scare the younger boy off when he had only just gotten here.

"Hey Gracen," Ryder said, stepping forward and giving him a firm handshake. "I'm Ryder. I guess Jade told you that I'd be helping you learn the ropes around here," he said, offering him a friendly smile. Ryder had been a part of the carnival for over seventeen years but he could still remember his first day. He had spent the three previous days hitchhiking across the Midwest when he stumbled upon the carnival. Hours before, he had spent his last ten dollars on a bottle of rum and was pretty drunk by the time that he was wandering through the crowded carnival grounds. Honestly, he couldn't even remember how the series of events played out, but the next day he woke up in a trailer with the ultimatum to either accept a job at the carnival or be arrested for criminal trespassing. He needed a job anyway, so it all worked out, but even though he wanted to be a part of the carnival, the days following his change of life were a bit scary. He met new performers, including Matthaus and Catalina, and learned about the supernatural abilities that the performers possessed, as well as the superhuman strength that he had been gifted with.

When Alexa directed their attention back to Kaylee, who was now being held to the bed by Catalina, Ryder turned to watch Gracen's expression. A little bit of color manipulation was probably the best introduction to what they were about. It got to the point of them being "different", but wasn't as intimidating as Lucas trying to incinerate one of them.

"That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things," he explained as the youngest of the bunch changed the blanket from pink to black and then bolted out of the trailer, shouting something about bringing food to Jade. His eyes followed her until she disappeared out the bus door. Ryder figured that it might be easier and less overwhelming to talk to Gracen away from everyone else, so he took a few steps towards the bus door and nodded for Gracen to follow. "I'll show you around," he suggested, walking around the others and out of the bus. As he moved passed by Matthaus, he muttered, "The ice queen is in the bathroom," and continued on his way. Brooke normally wasn't much of a disturbance in Ryder's life but earlier that week he had slipped on a strip of ice conveniently placed right outside the guy's bus. Being that it was still fall, it was obviously part of one of Brooke's pranks, probably against Matthaus or something. Even if it wasn't intended for him, Ryder figured that a little payback by selling her hiding spot out to Matthaus couldn't hurt.

"So, where are you from?" Ryder asked Gracen, hoping to show the boy that he was friendly and also trying to avoid any awkward silence.

" Well hello there." Gracen startles visibly, but recovers quickly enough and turns to look at the.. er man? or maybe woman who happened to be speaking to him at that moment. " What's a fine lad like you roaming this part of the carnival?" Gracen tries really hard not to stare or anything like that, but he can't help feeling just slightly confused.

"I uh - I...What?" He answers at last, head starting to hurt a little bit. Honestly, he didn't know if this situation could get any more awkward...But apparently it could.

"You don't happen to be one of the new recruits are you?" Asks the person. Instead of floundering for words again Gracen nods so he doesn't seem like a complete fool. he figures this person must be one of his new co-workers so he'll have to actually interact with them more than once.

"Erm, my name is Gracen?" He says it like a question more than a statement, which would be strange enough if it weren't being stuttered out while Gracen tried his best not to fidget constantly. Gracen was only a little shocked as the door flung open and a girl began pulling him in. If he hadn't been utterly scared before there was no doubt to him being scared now. But it didn't seem as if anyone had the intention of attacking or possibly harming him so he tries to quell the rising tide of panic and listen to the girl.

"Hey Gracen," A man who Gracen hopes is Ryder steps forward to shake his hand, and Gracen holds back his panic. "I'm Ryder. I guess Jade told you that I'd be helping you learn the ropes around here," Gracen simply nods dumbly, trying to formulate words but unable to say them.

"Hey, watch this" Gracen felt a tap on his shoulder and was directed to look towards another, younger girl who was doing something with a blanket, "THIS is what we do here." Right before his eyes the girl began to change the blankets color to black. Gracen imagines that if he were drinking anything in that moment he would probably do a spit take, how did she do that? He wonders to himself, mouth falling open in surprise. To the best of his knowledge nobody could just manipulate color like that. "Wha...." He begins, but doesn't finish as Ryder says, "That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things."

Obviously things weren't what they seemed to be here, and Gracen just knew somewhere in his mind that this wasn't going to be the only shocking thing he would be hearing. Ryder began leading him away and Gracen was glad to be back in the open. "I'll show you around," Ryder says. Gracen is grateful, nodding and following alongside him. He knew this wouldn't be easy for him but he hadn't thought it would be so overwhelming from the get go.

"So, where are you from?" Ryder asks.

Right, I figured this was coming sooner or later... He isn't a stranger to being in new places so talking about himself and attempting small talk isn't new either. Its just the act of it that makes him nervous, and shaky. Chewing his bottom lip and fidgeting nervously with his hands. He's silent for a long time, but knows he can't drag out the silence for very long.

"I was born in New Jersey...but I had a lot of homes so I didn't stay there very long," He comments, feeling a little awkward about it. He never put too much thought into his origins himself, his parents home wasn't his, but neither were the multitude of foster homes he spent most of his childhood in.

"Um, what about you?" He retaliates, trying to make it not seem obvious that he's mapping out the place in his mind.

Jace accepts the food graciously, her stomach starting to twist from hunger as she sits down at the table to eat. It smelled so good and it had been a long time since she had had a home cooked meal that was actually warm and not just microwaved. She noticed that the nice person that had given her the food was now pressing a girls hand to a pink bed spread. Her attention was drawn by the door opening once again and the boy who had signed a contract just like she had was there as well. A new person was there as well, but Jace had a bit of trouble attempting to figure out if the person was a girl or a boy. The cheekbones said boy but the person was fairly feminine to be to a boy, she would have to say hello after she was done eating.

Something catching her eye she turned her head back to the bed, the blanket was now black but the two girls hadnt moved from the position they were in just a moment ago. Now tha's jus werd. She put down her utensil as she stared at it then the girls, before scanning the rest of the people in there. Jace was extremely confused and now a little suspicious about what the hell she got herself into. "That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things." Well thats something alright but what did that have to do with what is going on around her? Then again if that was all the girl could do Jace really didnt see there being anything that bad, probably just things to look cool performance wise. With a nod as if to finalize that thought, and an attempt to ignore if they did something to her as well, she went back to eating.

Matthaus' eyes flicked across the young boy, skimming him in a circular pattern. The boy was awfully fidgetty, and Matthaus would even dare to say he trembled at the sight of him. Which was a little strange, even for his standards. He's had every reaction one could possibly imagine. But Matthaus could have sworn that the lad was down right scared of him.

Despite this however, Matthaus gave a toothy grin and a light chuckle,"Well it's a pleasure to m-" Instictively, the blonde's head snapped to look at the door that almost flung open and hit him. He took a quick side step, letting the door swing open, only to see Gracen dragged up into the trailer. The man couldn't help but laugh at Alexa's energy. She always appeared to have an abundance of it. "Hey!" He said through his laughter.

Climbing into the trailer with ease and briefly seeing who was also present, Matthaus finished,"I was talking to the boy, Alexa." He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Can't just steal people from conversations like that."

His blue eyes went around the trailer again. There was Kaylee, Ryder, Catalina, Alexa, Lucas, and another stranger. Probably the other new member to their lovely crew. "Ooooh!" Matthaus exhaggerated, raising yet another eyebrow. "Another new performer I see." Matthaus closed the door behind him. The camper was crowded. As big as they were, there just seemed to be no more space to sit. Luckily Matthaus never had a problem with small spaces.

Weaving around Gracen and Alexa with a curvy turn, Matthaus found himself in front of the counter. The smell of chicken and rice overwhelming his nose. "Ah!" Matthaus reveled in the pleasure of the smell. "Do you have enough food for one more Kitty?" His grin spread from ear to ear. But before Catalina could responde, his lanky fingers already grasped a plate and served himself a plateful. "Thank you Cat!"

Around this time, a lot of the people within the trailer were moving about. Kaylee decided to take Jade a place, Matthaus giving a cheery hello as she passed. Ryder decided to show Gracen around, also passing by Matthaus to leave. But his greeting wasn't so joyful. Instead of saying hello at all, Ryder gavee Matthaus a vitale piece of information.

Brooke's location.

Matthaus' eyes grew wide and his mysterious, signature grin spread across his face once more.

Matthaus has been at the carnival for quite some time. He grew a very intricate web of relationships since he was here, yet, out of all those strings and threads, Brooke was one of the only people who liked toying with it. Sometimes it was humerous, other times it was just a plain annoyance. So whenevr things went missing, or things were not they way he left it, or if a costume or supply was sabotaged, Brooke was the most probably answer.

Now, Matthaus knew that Brooke wasn't the cause of all of this misfortunes. But there was probably a reason for Ryder to give away her location. She obviously did something to deserve it. So he figured the missing thread was her doing once again. So it would be a shame if he let this oppertunity come to waste.

Slipping past the remainder of the being aboard the vessel, Matthaus balanced his food in his hand, making his way towards the bathroom. He leaned against the wall for a few seconds in thought, but looke ddown at his food. "Oh. I forgot my fork." Simple fix. Instead of weaving around the group again Matthaus simply raised his hand in the air, allowing his arm to run along teh ceiling until it hunng over the counter once more. He quick reached for a fork, his fingers carefully grasping it before his arm returned to him. "There we go."

With a eyes wide from his raging appitite, he took a big mouthful of the food, wanting to moan from the delectable taste. "This is so good." He managed to say with his mouth half full, but making sure to cover his mouth with his wrist. "Marvelous cooking, as always Cat."

As much as Matthaus wanted to finish his food within the minute, there was work to do.

His ears listened to the sound of the shower head. His eyes looked at the ceiling as his lips curled into themselves. So many things he could do. But Matthaus eventually let his arm hang down, now rolling along the ground. It wasn't too hard for Matthaus to slip into tight spaces, but it did take a few seconds of thought as he did so. So as his fingers started to slid under the door, Matthaus closed his eyes. Relaxing was an important aspect of his ability. Relaxing certain parts of his body allowed him to move in the ways he did, and it was no different when it it came to sliding under things.

But then again, Matthaus had been training himself to do this for years. Thirty was it? About? Somewhere around there. He wasn't sure exactly but it was a decent amount of time. So his fingers and arm started to slid slowly under the door, crawling up the other side to reach for the handle.