Who: Giles and Circe
When: Late Evening
Where: Circe's forest cottage
What: Giles leaves a naughty gift to see if he's still got his favorite cottage buddy and gets caught!
Warning: It's Giles and considering the gift..*cough*

When you are so caught up in your own crap, you don't take the time to care about other peoples crap. Especially if you are Giles. It was pathetically sad that he had forgotten about his most prized neighbor. The neighbor that not only didn't care that he was spying on her in the nude, but actually took no offense to his natural turn of the switch to acclaim a woman's funbags and ass if impressive to him. Where did she go? Was she okay? If a woman was willing to be that patient with him and even enjoyed bantering with him? Yeah, he was going to check up on her. Of course he was concerned as well for her own well being and not for his own benefit. Sometimes he saw her pacing around (sadly only through her curtain, he had to play the guessing game if she was nude of not) and it concerned him that he never saw her running anymore. Hell, it was hard work getting up early for a free show.

He truly did have to be serious. So, he better have a reason to be concerned. If not a reason then maybe come over with a gift. What? Hell no. He wasn't turning into some sap because he was a 'father'. He was still going to pull a stunt he would have a few weeks ago before a gigantic 'life sucks' tag was placed on his ass.

So, he went to that punk rock, bitchy little vampire named Kento, Kasunki, whatever and asked him for a favor. Though he fought him tooth and nail, Giles eventually got his way. Kazuki, yes that was his name, finally gave him his little gift.

( Strolling towards her house with a smile on his face, he couldn't help but wonder if he could run fast enough. )

Who: Emily and Circe
When: late morning
Where: by the forest cottages
What: Meditation and meetings. [Sorry it took so long!]

Once the teenagers had left the forest cottage, Emily decided to do something she'd never done before but always wanted to do. So many years of housework and taking care of her daughter never left much time for her to pursue any interests and it was about time. At thirteen, Echo was so independant now that Emily often found herself with loads of free time. Right then. She left the cottage and shut the door behind her, heading towards the clearing not too far away and placed a mat on the ground. This was the perfect area to do some late morning exercises. With her hair pulled back in a braid, she wore a simple long sleeved top and leggings and her bare feet felt the cool texture of the mat beneath her.

She stretched her arms above her head for a minute before switching to her legs. Though she didn't have much experience with yoga or any gymnastics, it was probably good that she started for health's sake. Being flexible was also a benefit for various purposes. Once she finished stretching, Emily leaned forward to reach for her toes. It was more difficult than she thought - was she getting too old for this? She decided to do a cartwheel, then, which was a bit childish but it had been one of her favorite moves when she was a child. The cartwheel went without a hitch and, infused with confidence, Emily tried a headstand.

Ow. She had trouble staying up more than a couple of seconds and fell to the grass. No doubt she'd have more luck next time. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes to listen to the sounds of nature around her. There was nothing more relaxing than white noise like this and she appreciated the sound of chirping birds. Yes, she definitely needed to do this more considering how the tension simply flowed from her. Maybe Emily could make Echo do this as well so she'd lose some of her rambunctiousness.

Who: Circe and Giles
When: 7AM
Where: Circe's Cottage
What: Two people with two very different views on how to enjoy the rain.

The night had been strange, Circe had tossed and turned until she'd finally given up on sleep at 2AM. It was strange because she'd never had trouble sleeping through a thunderstorm before. In fact, she always had her best nights sleep when the skies were raging. But there were thoughts running through her head, feelings flooding her heart, and it was all so frustrating. So she'd managed to read two of her old books on Archaeological Sites of the World and at 6AM, despite the rain, she'd gone for a run. Running in the rain always felt good, and running away from what was left of civilisation was always a good idea. Besides, through the rain there was an odd smell coming from that direction. In fact it smelled bad from her front door so she'd escaped out the back.

Escaping was a good way to put it.

With her legs up against the open window, Circe relaxed in the warmth of her bath as she watched the rain continue to fall. It was all so beautiful, so perfect. It reminded her of her home. The number of times she'd pushed open her windows as a child and let the rain in, just so she could breathe in the freshness of it all. There was something beautiful about watching the rain fall in Wales. It had never been as nice after they'd left. It was still beautiful in Scotland, but it wasn't the same. Then, of course, rain was never a good thing at a dig. Finding her thoughts lingering on her family, she abruptly climbed out of the bath and grabbed her towel. The mirror, her greatest foe, drew her attention and she turned willingly.  "I hate you, and I'm never going to stop hating you." She growled at the scars in her reflection.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she bent down and unplugged the bath. As she waited for it to drain she look out the window one last time. It took a moment before she noticed him and she couldn't help but scream, almost losing her towel completely as she jumped away from the window. "Oh my God!" She tightened her towel and turned back to the window, "what the hell are you doing?"

WHO: Open to All (more than one character invited to join!)
WHEN: Just after sunrise
WHERE: On the road to Helicharis
WHAT: Finding dead things

Sunrise brought many things to the land, but one did not expect that death would be amongst them. And yet it was there in the middle of the gravel road that led straight into town. The scent of blood and dead flesh attracted flies and carrion crows alike. They hovered over the dead animal, buzzing around frantically as they searched for a place to land. Occasionally they would scatter when the dark birds would swoop in, picking through the ashen fur to get to the meat, while others simply went for remains of the organs that were spilled upon the ground. They cawed loudly at one another, fighting over the animal that lay there with passive, grey eyes that still looked out upon the world.

It was not a pretty sight. One could tell that this animal used to be a beautiful creature when it was filled with life. The reddish-grey fur held dark, black spots all over its body. The lifeless eyes peered out from what seemed to be a sweet face. The same reddish-grey color here was marked with black lines instead of spots streaking outward from the nose. Black tufts decorated the tips of its ears while the fur around its neck ruffed out like a collar. The animal's paws were huge and heavily padded and one could imagine that this animal was a stealthy hunter, one that could tread the forests without being seen or heard.

And yet somehow it was lying in the middle of the road. Dead, the victim of something that was either much bigger, or much stronger than it was. It had no chance of survival though it was obvious that it had put up quite a fight. The claws of the predatory cat were covered in blood and there were slight remnants of fur — or was it fabric? — still clinging to them. The cat itself had suffered from slashes from its opponent as well before it had fallen. A victim of a broken neck, obvious by the position of the head, or perhaps it had bled to death from the puncture wounds in its neck? Even more likely was the large slice across its belly that spilled its innards. Most of the larger organs were gone now, scattered along the way as it was dragged across the land, but for the most part the sinewy remains of the intestines, both large and small, were hanging limply from its body.

Nevertheless it was dead and out in the open for all to see. The question was whether or not anyone would take notice before the carrion carried away the body one piece at a time.