This is Not a Theme Park [Lucca]

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel shrugged. "Well you know, the rumors about the waste being completely barren. There has to be a few cities or something in there. I mean the Hisstors couldn't come out of nowhere could they?"

She ran her fingers through her hair, "And you know I kind of want to know more about the culture. There has to be a reason why they have obsessions with bones and such. I think it would be nice to see if we can visit at least once."

Glancing back to the Solandrian boy she gave him an inquisitive look. "Besides the Solandrian Glacier, is there any realm you want to go to?"

Meanwhile upstairs Conall was still pouting. He shifted to lay on his side and stare meaningfully at the bed besides him. He was acting like a spoiled brat. It was just some stupid fantasy that he always dreamed about. Something that could never happen in a million years.

He felt Akane hop onto his bed. The bander had been sleeping in the corner of the room the entire time. He let out a small sigh as it edged closer to him, and dropped something over his feet. Her leash.

"I'm not going to walk you. And Castiel is going to get mad because she has to clean the leash up now."

The bander whined.

[Lucca]

Arkady blinked. He hadn't heard any rumors like that...but then, to be honest, he'd never really tried to study the Hisstor Wastes before. He agreed with Castiel, though. They couldn't be completely barren if Cards lived there. There had to be some sort of food and water and shelter to support life. But...Arkady couldn't help but think that just because there was something there, that didn't mean three (well, five) kids could find it. Still...maybe they could find a map or ask someone who had been there? It was at least possible.

He nodded. "There's a reason for everything." Technically he found the bones a bit...strange. It seemed like something his brother would be interested in, considering Yuri always seemed so interested in death and dead things. In fact, maybe he knew something about the wastes? It wouldn't hurt to ask him when they got home. "I'd go with you," he said, somehow not able to meet her eyes, knowing that when he said 'with' he really meant 'for'. Otherwise it was never somewhere he would want to go.

Ark blinked, a bit startled, at her look. "Oh, I...well. Other than Solandria...I haven't...thought about it much..." He gave her an apologetic look. But really...the Glacier was the place he most wanted to see in the world. He felt like it would somehow let him connect with his dead Father in a way nothing else really could.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel grinned. It was wonderful to have such a good friend. At least she knew of two people that she could always go to when she wanted to go on adventures. She glanced out at the sea of people. Torquehelm was a pretty boring realm. Well, perhaps boring wasn't the right word? Everyone just seemed to be gloomy and she understood why her father and grandmother didn't come here that often.

She wrinkled her nose at the thought of potentially running into one of her family members. Eldy didn't frequent Torquehelm either... but there was always a chance of running into her anywhere. She had that magical pop up ability that Grandma had.

"I want to go with you some day, to Solandria. Though I would probably have to wait until I can uh... shift to other forms. And on top of that I would have to bundle up." She wasn't built for the cold in the slightest. And as it was she normally caught head colds in the winter among other things.

The bander continued to bother Conall until the boy finally rolled out of the bed. He snapped on the collar and leash as the bander wiggled and wuffled about.

Akane was a lot like her owner. The boy sighed as he started to walk downstairs. He would have to be the one to take the bander on the walk since he had contaminated the damn leash and collar. So much for trying to take a nap.

[Lucca]

Again, Castiel's smile was contagious, and Arkady found himself grinning to match. She didn't even seem put off by his lack of creativity in coming up with things to do. The way he saw it, she had more than enough creativity for the both of them. He was...really glad that someone like her chose to hang around with someone like him. He always had a bit of trouble making friends due to his quiet nature, but those he had meant a lot to him. Which was why he really didn't want a crush to come between him and Conall.

But...but he didn't want to think about Conall right now, especially as Cas said something wonderful. Something amazing that he'd never expected her to say. His tail started wagging, hard. "Really? You'd really want to go there with me?" Oh, that would just be wonderful. He wanted to go to Solandria with his family of course, but if Cas could come too or he could go another time with her, that would just be perfect. They could look at the northern lights together...run around and play in the snow...and she'd be in her other forms...

"That would be pretty," he sighed, and then realized he wasn't sure whether he was talking about the Glacier or Cas in her other forms. Oops. Hopefully the girl across from him would assume the latter. His tail wagged a little more frantically.

[Kari Muffin]

The little girl was thrilled that her companion was happy at the idea of her going to the realm with him. She really wanted to travel and go to the different realms despite the protest of her father. Her Mom was always more supportive, but that might have something to do with the fact that Mom wasn't an overprotective Heart Queen. She blinked in confusion for a few moments as she turned to the boy. What did he mean by pretty?

She was about to ask when she caught the movement of something pale out of the corner of her eye. When she turned to look she was surprised to see Conall. What was he doing down stairs and---oh crap she had forgotten about Akane! She let out a small sound of dismay as the boy walked towards them. "I'm sorry I forgot to walk her!"

Conall didn't look much better. He hadn't been upstairs for very long when the bander had decided to bother him. "It's fine, I'll walk her. I already touched her leash." He said with a dismissive wave. "Can you just see if they have soda? I might want to order some when I get back." He sighed and glanced to Arkady. He looked so... happy. What had they been talking about?

Castiel nodded, "Will do! Thanks so much!" She gave the boy an emphatic wave as he started to walk towards the door. The girl drooped a little. He still didn't look very good. She looked to Arkady, "What do you think about the Mid-Range?"

She would order the soda in a minute She currently had an idea.

[Lucca]

Arkady felt his face get even hotter at that confused look. Oh...oh dear, what could he tell her about that? He felt very awkward, suddenly, and he had to stop himself from letting out a small whine. He -never- said things without thinking before! Why did Cas make him feel so...so...different? But then...something distracted her, and Ark leaned over to look and was thoroughly surprised to see Conall. He gave him a cheerful wave before he remembered that the other boy was mad at him.

His paw slowly fell back to the seat and his tail wagged hopefully. Maybe Conall was feeling better? But no...he still looked really grumpy and put out. Ark cowered a little at the look he was given. But he still gave him another wave as he walked over with the Bander. Of course, his attention returned to Castiel the moment she asked him another question. He blinked in confusion for a moment, but then shrugged. "Oh, uh...it's pretty cool. They make weapons and it's in the mountains..." He grinned a bit, warming to the idea. Did Cas want to go there, too? It might be nice and cold, considering it was high in the mountains. There might even be snow! "Did you want to visit that too?"

[Kari Muffin]

She nodded emphatically. "Yes! I think it would be a good safe place for all of us to go. And I don't think our parents would have any objections." She grinned widely. "Plus I want to see if I can find the person who originally made my sword before a Corvie modified it."

The girl could have danced right on the spot. Instead she waved over one of the waitresses and popped quizzed her about potentially getting a soda for Conall and something a little special for her and Arkady. The woman was more than willing to help as she scurried off to what Castiel could only assume was the kitchen.

"Want to share an Ice Cream Soda with me?" she asked after the fact. The woman would be bringing out a rather large glass with two straws for them regardless of the boy's answer. Castiel could probably polish the entire thing off on her own anyway.

[Lucca]

Arkady nodded. "Yeah, that does sound fun!" He blinked, remembering the sword that Castiel had pulled out earlier. He hadn't gotten a really good look at it, since they'd been more focused on getting through the creepy forest, and then on getting out of it and fighting that weird Tulgey that attacked them. "So that's a real Mid-Range sword? They're supposed to be the best," Ark commented, remembering what he'd read about Mid-Range steel in the past. Maybe he could get a weapon too? Although having only his Animal form, it would be a lot harder to handle anything like that.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked this idea. And it would certainly be better than going to Hisstor considering his thick fur might actually be of use in the mountains. He was only half paying attention when she ordered from one of the waitresses, busy dreaming about the hypothetical journey, so when she spoke to him again he blinked at her. "Oh! Sure," he said instantly, and then realized what she'd just offered. They were going to share an ice cream soda. The same ice cream soda. Wasn't that something couples did? Not that Ark pretended to know anything about that. The blush that had gone away somewhat before came back full force.

[Kari Muffin]

"Yep! It's a real Mid-Range blade though it's been modified by a mechanical Corvie. It wasn't what my Dad intended to get me, but I like it better the way it is." She said cheerfully. The only reason her father had gotten her the weapon was because the girl insisted time and time again to learn how to defend herself over the years. After being properly tutored for years her father had finally caved giving her a weapon.

The soda arrived fairly quickly, the waitress setting it down between them before scurrying back to the customers. The girl made a cheery little sound as she picked up her straw and took a sip of the sugary mixture. It was pretty good actually. In all honesty she would have shared the drink for Conall as well if it weren't for the horrible incompatibilities.

Meanwhile Conall was being tugged around the dark streets of Tulgey with the little red monster.

[Lucca]

The amazed look on Arkady's face showed what he thought about that. For some reason, he thought he'd really like to see Castiel practicing with the sword. If he had hands he would have even offered to spar with her or something...heh. He was half tempted to ask her to show him her sword again, now that they weren't running for their lives, but he didn't think that would be a very good thing to do in an Inn full of Cards. They might take it as a bad sign of their good will.

And then, of course...the soda arrived. Two straws. One soda. Ark thought he'd never be rid of this blush. "Wow, this looks really...sweet." He met her eyes for just a moment longer than he normally would have dared and then looked quickly down at the table as he took a few sips. Heh, it was very sweet...though not compared to the girl sitting across from him. If he'd had a bit more courage, he might have -said- that, but as it was...he sipped the drink in silence.