Dorian had searched the entire festival for Calli. He'd not really spoken with her at all since the circus, to ashamed for the way he'd acted leading upto it and to scared she would just yell at him again. Dressed in loose black pants and a brown vest, he jogged into the Red Crow camp. A rumor had reached his ears that the girl had been injured in a fall, and it would take a herd of wild moa to hold him away from her kint.

"Calli! Calli?" He called out, puffing, banging on her door. Clocking fool! She'll be resting! The sword swallowing teen stepped back and looked around, finally plonking himself down by the fire, determined to wait till she woke up.

Calli had been curled up asleep when she heard someone hammering on her door. She ignored it for a while, shifting her weight off her sore arm and trying to snuggle back into the blankets.



Calli bolted upright in bed.

"Dorian?" She cried out, legs already slipping out of bed and sliding as they tried to get purchase on the cold wooden floor.

She ran outside in her pyjamas, which currently consisted of a pair of red shorts and a long purple shirt. The first thing she saw was Dorian, the second thing was her father. He did not looked pleased, if the foam coming from his mouth was any indication.

"Da, ne!" Calli cried out, as her dad's hands rose, curved like a set of talons. "This is my friend Dorian, from the circus, it's not like that time when that boy tried to break into Terpi's kint, honest!"

Her father growled, pupils swivelling in his eyes to look upon his daughter. His expression softened, turning him from a rabid grizzly into more of a honey bear.

"Oh, well that's benny sweetheart. Don't stay up too late." He turned one last look at Dorian, hackles raising once more, before turning away.

Calli waved goodbye, laughing nervously. She looked at Dorian and reddened considerably.

"Junta! Been a while..." She said, smiling lopsidedly.

Dorian had a fixed look of absolute fear and horror on his face as he watched Calli's da go. Sort of squeeking, he turned slowly towards Calli.



Taking a few breaths, the boy returned the laugh and relaxed. His eyes picked up the way she held her sore arm.

"Right, it has huh? I kept meaning to come and see you..but...and then...well...I didn't..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn't think you'd wanna see me." Crossing his arms, the brown haired teen kicked at the dirt.

"I heard you fell today. Are you like, okay? Did you get real badly hurt?" He looked at her arm again.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlbB7qt6v_0 )

Calli felt the air escape her lungs in one sudden, surprised breath. She felt guilt bloom and thrum its way around her heart and on her tongue. She had missed him. She'd been angry at the time but it hadn't lasted. She'd just been too stubborn to go look for him and then she'd had to get to Surwood.

"I always wanna see you." She said, arms crossed behind her back, red as a beet. It only helped to emphasise how coltish she was.



The arm in question twinged in response. It was just another testament to her inability to think things through. Her ma always said that she was blessed with sweetness that didn't allow much room for other sense. She normally didn't rue it but she was feeling very sheepish now.

"Nah, s'fine, the kint I landed on got hurt worse than I did." She rubbed her shoulders with her good hand. "Um, do you want to sit by the fire, maybe? It's warmer... W-what have you been up to?"

She wondered if maybe he'd gotten a girlfriend in the meantime and was suddenly disgusted at herself for thinking that way. You couldn't own people, they had to be free to go their own way. She just really wanted his way to go her way, oh please gods he was so dreamy.

Dorian found himself turning about as red as the girl, a small smirk finding the way to the corner of his mouth.



The brown eyed boy shot her a roguish look, before settling by the fire again.

"The kint you landed on? Calli, why?" Grinning, he rested an arm on one bent knee, breaking up a small twig in his hands and throwing the pieces into the fire.

"I haven't been up to much of anything. Taegan is here somewhere, he asked me if I wanted to come chase the girls down by the river, but I told him no. He's taken Clarabelle down there to show off." Sitting quietly for a moment, the young man sighed.

"I really wanna say sorry Calli. For doing all that stuff. I was a kenser. Taegan just, you know, when I am around him I turn into a brainless wonder. And I wasn't following you to be mean, I was worried about you." He cleared his throat uncomfortably, not really sure she would accept his apology, but ready for the backlash.

Calli sat down next to Dorian, leaving a small space between them. She wasn't sure if she should sit closer or if she was supposed to let him do that. Terpi had explained it all too her one day but it had included a lot of information about tripping over things and rolling about. Calli barely ever tripped, her body just wouldn't let her. She'd gotten too confused to remember most of the advice.

"I climbed a tree... The tree didn't approve." She said wryly.



Calli snorted, though in a small and vaguely lady-like way.

"Of course that's what he's doing." She replied, humour and annoyance apparent in her tone.



Calli had been very angry at the time but over a week had passed. She wasn't good at staying angry. She still didn't like that he'd been monitoring her in a proprietary manner, although she didn't have he exact words to discribe his actions that way. She was glad he understood why she'd been upset.

"It's ok." She said, brushing her hair awkwardly away from her face. "I'm sorry I blew up at you, I was just kinda hurt at the time. I'm not angry anymore or anything."

She glanced over sideways at Dorian, glad that Taegan was off chasing chips and that they were alone.

Dorian looked over at her, smiling. She looked real pretty in the firelight, all aglow and kinda dewy. Throwing the last of his twig in the fire, the boy began fumbling in his vest pocket.

"I erm...I have something for you. Winslow showed me how to do this paper folding stuff he learned when he was in Hox. It's not..um..its not really good. But..here." He held out his open hand. In the palm a small pink paper star sat neatly folded, a strong contrast against the boys work calloused hand.

"I know you like pretty things, and I wanted to give you something pretty...like you." His face turned as red as the fire.

Calli laughed, cupping the star in her hands. It was so cute!

"Thank you, Dorian! I love it!" She said happily, it wasn't often that people gave her little things just because. "How did you do it?"



Calli was now roughly the colour of a boiled tomato. She had never been able to understand compliments about her physical appearance. She'd always seen herself as ugly, especially compared to her curvier and more composed sisters. It was a world view that had made it easier when, on the rare occasions that a boy had caught her eye, she'd been turned down. Not that she'd ever asked any of them out... It had just been a given.

She sidled closer to Dorian, put her right hand on his cheek and pressed their lips together. His lips were chapped. It was entirely chaste but hopefully got her point across. She hadn't ever really kissed someone before so she damn well hoped he knew better than she did or this was going to be awkward.

"I really don't know what you see in me..." She said, sitting back a little, confusion obvious. "I'm willing to run with it though."

Dorian made a nervous little chuckle and shrugged.

"Its all a matter of folding it right. Don't ask me for directions, I just did what Winslo-mph!" He let out a suprised noise as Calli kissed him, eyes wide. As she pulled away, he sat stunned for a moment, a little dazed smile on his face.



The boy grinned stupidly now. Turning to sit on his knees, he brushed her hair away from her face and leaned forward, giving her a slower, gentler kiss. Sitting back, he smiled a little less gawkily.

"I see everything. Your a real special girl Calli. And your fun, and exciting, and real pretty." He looked up over the fire and his smile seemed to drain away.

"T..Taegan!?" The blonde boy was standing just outside of the firelight, glaring coldly at Dorian. Clarabelle was nowhere to be seen, thank Alioe. He had his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"So this is why you've been such a soppy, miserable bastard." Taegan said softly, hurt in his voice. Looking at Calli, he chewed on the inside of his cheek. Dorian jumped up and came over to him.

"Tae, its not like that. I just...she...I care about her. She's not just another tail to chase." Taegan lashed out before he had a chance to move, smacking the boy solidly on the jaw with his fist. Dorian dropped like a ton of rocks, holding his face, lip split. The blonde tamer gave Calli a sullen glare, before turning and running off.

Calli was pleased at this development and pleasantly surprised that she didn't feel awkward. She felt like doing cartwheels but she imagined it would have been inappropriate.



Calli followed his gaze and the urge to cartwheel went away.

"Oh... shit." She said, this was almost worse than her father coming out again.



Calli saw Dorian fall as if in slow motion. She could even see a small trail of blood go through the air, like a stream of petals only redder, wetter and horrible. Calli was an incredibly loyal person and she'd never been fond of seeing people she loved hurt. Except for that one time with her brother and even then she'd kicked a lot of people afterwards.

What happened next didn't surprise her. Except it sort of did.

Calli shrieked like a harpy and dive-tackled Taegan into the dirt.

Dorian sat up as Calli launched herself at the receding figure, regaining his vision and shaking of the stars dancing in front of his eyes. Blood had spilled onto his lips and chin, and he looked a mess. Groggily, he stood up and made his way over to the two wrestling figures. Taegan was trying to hold Calli off with one hand, babbling obscenities at her in the process and attempting to gain his footing. The sword swallower reached down and took Calli by the waist, lifting her off the tamer. Scrambling to his feet, disheveled, bloodied and dusty, Taegan panted. His eyes were filled with tears and after a moment's pause, he turned and left, disappearing into the night. Dorian watched him go then squeezed the struggling girl in his arms.

"Let it be Calli. He's mad, and I don't blame him. He has a funny, stupid way of showing it, but he really liked you. And I'm a terrible friend." He stared into the night with a sad face, before looking down at the blonde.

"But I had to let you know. I've been miserable sitting back and letting him try and win you over, then watching him make a fool of himself." He sucked at his lip, trying to stop the blood from getting everywhere. It wasn't a dreadful split, but it wasn't pretty either.

"Oh, I really hate blood. Can we sit down?" The boy looked altogether pale and unwell.

Calli had the rage. It was a strange state of being that only happened to her once or twice before. It removed all her usual urges to smile and skip and generally just be happy.

"If you don't like it, I'll fight you for him!" She screamed, loudly enough that her parent's kint issued forth her father once more. "I will kick your tsuter teeth in!"

Her father watched for a moment before wiping a tear from his eye and going back inside.



"Bastard, punch him!" She growled, currently beyond caring about Taegan's tender emotions. "Punch him... bastard!"

Dorian was Taegan's friend, you didn't do that shit with your friends where she was from. She'd made it fairly obvious that she was sweet on Dorian from the beginning. Tomorrow she would likely feel guilty as all Vita but tonight she was firmly lodged in a feeling of righteousness. Taegan had hit her boyfriend (well, maybe she hadn't discussed that with him yet but as far as she was concerned the claim had been staked) and she was going to bite his face off.



Calli took a deep breath and forcefully relaxed. The anger was still simmering but the edge was dulled by the sight of blood on Dorian's face. She frowned, grabbing a clean hanky from her pocket and dipping it in the water pot they kept near the fire.

"Yes, let me look at that." She said, sitting down on the log again, getting ready to wash the blood away. "I'm a pretty cruddy wick but I can get the swelling down if you want."

Great, the moment was gone. Her first ever moment and Taegan had punched it in the face. Dickhead.

Hal rounded a kint (as he now understood them) and headed toward the fire. He raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Ca--lli."

He hesitated when he saw Dorian. But he appeared a bit worse for wear. "Dorian," he nodded awkwardly. His mouth twitched in a half-smile when he saw the split lip, "What'd you do t'yerself? Getcher head kicked? It'd seem about time with this circus stuff."

Dorian sat beside her, shaking his head a little.

"No thanks Calli. I've never been magicked on before, I don't need to start now. It'll heal itself." He looked down at the fire as she dabbed his face, feeling altogether foul. Taegan, why was he such a dolt! Her soft, delicate hand on his face was a sweet distraction though, and he couldn't help but let his eyes roam back to her face. He was going to smile, but it hurt too much.



Dorian shot Hal a look that spoke volumes. He was not the type of person the brown haired boy wanted to see right now. He pulled away from Calli and turned to spit a mouthful of blood on the ground.

"Get off it Hal, aint none of your business anyway." His brown eyes glared up at the youth.

Calli dabbed away and blushed when she saw Dorian looking at her again. He looked like he was trying to smile but not quite able to get there. She wanted to kick Taegan in the goolies.

"Alright, if you're sure..." She said, not sounding altogether convinced. "We should still put something cold on it so the swelling goes down."



Calli smiled, pulling the rag away from Dorian's face. "Hi Hal."



Calli frowned.

"Hal!" She said, short and hard, reprimanding.



Calli shot Dorian a look of her own.

"Be nice to him." She whispered. "He got me home today after I fell out of that tree."

She continued at a normal tone. "It's nothing, Hal, how are you feeling?"

"What?!" he said reflexively. He crossed his arms.



Hal preened momentarily when she told Dorian to shut his face, but Calli's tone wasn't right. She was trying too hard to sound normal.

"Calli," he asked seriously, glancing between her and Dorian (with a mild glare to the latter), "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

He eyed Dorian again.

Calli rolled her eyes.

"Dorian had one of those... altercations." She said, mouth tripping over the last word. "It wasn't his fault."

She glared at the ground, trying to avoid saying that it was Taegan's fault entirely and she could like who she pleased without everyone else getting into a spat over it.

Dorian dropped his gaze to the fire, trying to respect Calli's wishes. He didn't like Hal - at all - but he wasn't going to hurt her feelings by reveling in it.



The brown haired youth realised Calli was being put on the spot here. It was like Taegan, and honestly, he didn't feel like being in another fisty-cuff just yet. Not until the bleeding stopped completely at least. It was just seeping now, but it was still disgusting.



He could see it in her face, and this was really a joke now. Standing up, he crossed his arms.

"Look, I'm courting Calli, okay? May as well be out with it now, rather than you getting up me later. Feel free to get mad, yell, punch whatever. But get it over now, because in the end, it won't change anything. Between you, me and Taegan she's been like a rag doll. Now, I don't want to fight with anyone. All I care about are her feelings. Even Taegan..." He spat again.

"Even he can go and jump in a lake." The youth looked sad, but he meant it. Standing with legs slightly apart, he held his arms out in no defense.

"So, if your gonna hit me, then hit me. Leave Calli out of it. You can be as mad at me as you want, but get mad at her and I will kick your erse."

Hal's ears started ringing. He didn't hear anything else. His eyes locked on Calli, who didn't appear to be denying anything. His chest felt hollowed out. He had no esophagus, so as much as he wanted to hurl, he couldn't. He had no lungs, because he couldn't breathe. He had no heart; it had been given to Calli, and now he didn't know where it was. He couldn't feel it beating. He was numb. He lurched to his feet, which felt leaden. He stood stock still for a moment, vaguely aware that Dorian was speaking. His brain seemed to lock, and he stared at Calli... and turned and ran. He couldn't be there. Not now.

A smile bloomed upon Calli's face. Courting. Taegan jumping into a lake. Feelings. Hers. Well, the part about erses was less romantic but overall it was quite sweet. She was almost braindead from happiness.



The feeling did not last.

"Hal!" Calli cried, standing up, feeling very confused and lost all of a sudden.

She supposed it should have been obvious that he felt that way. She'd assumed he viewed her like an older sister, she'd just been wrong. After all, she'd had crushes on older kovs before, when they'd shown her any attention at all. She turned back to Dorian, now slightly teary eyed and looking as though she'd just done something unintentionally hurtful. Which she had, in some respects.

"What just happened?" She asked, shoulders slumping. "I just... What the clock?"

She stretched her arms out a little, as though appealing to the gods.

Dorian stood with arms outstretched, watching the youth run off. He sighed heavily and turned to Calli. How could one pretty girl hold so many hearts? He knew how, by being Calli.



Walking over to her, he took her hands and bent his knees a little so he could look in her eyes.

"You didn't do anything wrong Calli, okay. It'll be fine. They'll be fine. You can't be expected to make everyone happy all the time. You need to be happy too."

Calli shook Dorian's hands off and put her arms around him. She always felt better after a hug and she had been wanting to see what it felt like to have her arms around him. It felt nice.

"I'd like to get to the point where we can laugh about this, now." She said, voice wobbling a little.

Dorian enveloped her and squeezed, sighing slightly.

"Give it time Calli. Just, give it time."