Shoot for the Moon (Nuri)

[NURI]

Was he crying? Dying? She really hadn't meant to break the bat. Besides, it wasn't /completely/ her fault. It was the speed of the ball too! It totally wasn't completely her fault. It was his fast ball, and her heave swing, and the world's most sucking bat. She was about to defend herself when he started...laughing? He was laughing. Did that mean it wasn't important?

And couldn't help it. The moment he started laughing, she started laughing too. She had no idea if she had broken something important, no idea if she had just destroyed his childhood or something, but who couldn't laugh when he did? His laughs sounded like he was going to die or was having an asthma attack or something. Who even laughed like that? Her laugh was just as airy as her voice, but seemed to have more substance. "I thought I broke something important." She admitted between laughs, offering him what was left of his bat. "I didn't think that shit would break. Steal a better bat next time." She was such a great influence. But that wasn't the important thing. In a way, she was asking him to play with her eventually. And, honestly? She did want to play with him again. It had been fun, even if they had been ripping into each other the whole time.

Actually, that was what /made/ it fun. She smiled and took a step back, looking around to try and calm down. "That was pretty cool, wasn't it." She chuckled and undid her bun so she could run her hand through her dark brown hair. It was just about pitch black, when undone reaching just below her shoulders. Sure she talked a lot, but when she actually did something amazing she was actually pretty shy. And then she started laughing again. "I don't think you're getting your ball back either."

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Lyric watched the two laugh uncontrollably over something that seemed really small. Sure, it was amusing, but... Cyril hasn't really ever acted like that before. Whenever he embarrassed someone he never really made a big deal out of it. He sort of just chuckled to 'keep his cool'. Laughing hysterically wasn't something he really did, which made this situation all the more odd to the parasite. Never the less he kept his mouth shut and just let Cyril enjoy himself as he latched onto his shoulders, much like the leech he considered himself to be.

Cyril laughed even more when the girl joined in with him. He calmed himself down a bit though as he watched her find relief in the situation. He ran a hand through his now dry hair that naturally went in all sorts of directions. "Pft, I couldn't give a rat's *ss about the well being of that stick. Maybe it's a good thing it broke. I should return it to my neighbor and see how he deals with it." He pondered half-mindedly. At her second suggestion he shrugged with a small chuckle. "Dude who owns it has like fifteen of em. Only one was in both mine and his arm range. Musta knocked his *ss so hard it weakened it. Heh, almost like a two for one. I got to beat him, and I got to see you nearly sh*t your pants." He couldn't be non-sarcastic for long, could he? He took back his broken bat and contemplated the end of it. Still made for a nice jabbing utensil.

With a small, actually genuine smile he nodded once. "Yeah... I mean, props, haven't managed to do that before." He mumbled to her, dispersing the fragments with an unstable leg. When he looked back up she had taken her bun out, allowing hair that was an even darker brown than his. And... It looked kind of nice. Well... A lot of her seemed kind of nice. Cyril was silent for a few seconds until he almost physically tensed to try to stop the thoughts he was having. Why did he care all of the sudden? Ew, he didn't. He shouldn't. He brushed off his silence mentally as he felt anger for himself swell up inside of him. Ugh, worst feeling ever."Pft, stole that one too." He remarked back to her with another chuckle.

[NURI]

He as silent for about three seconds, and that was honestly what caught Aira's attention. She was very quickly learning to tune most of what he said out, the words registering without any real attention given. If asked she could tell the basic summery, but that was about it. And, honestly, had he expected her full attention?

But he went silent and she was suddenly focused on him. He had been watching her and tensed up. Had he just realized she was a girl? A thousand and one snappy comments rushed through her head, her tongue near vibrating, but she didn't say a single thing. Not about that at least. Instead she looked away, doing her hair up again. It was back to a messy bun, and the moment she got nervous again she'd probably take it down. Or play with the escaped bangs. Or nearly anything that had to do with her hair.

Though, if he reacted like that to her hair being down, made she'd do it just to mess with him.

"Do you own /anything/ that wasn't stolen?" she asked with a laugh, now untieing her dress so it once more fell about mid thigh. Now it was all wrinkly at the bottom, but oh well. She could deal with it. They were probably going to go back to Circo now... And she couldn't follow. But maybe he'd come back! With a new bat, and she was almost certain she could find the ball again. Of course, that was if she could stay physical like that. No one had ever heard her before. Not only did he hear her, but he could see her too. She had felt normal for awhile, and it was nice. The problem was she didn't know /how/ she had done it.

She twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger. She was unaware of it, but her form was starting to flicker around the edges, a slight blur like morning sleepiness or when eyes became unfocused. "I guess you're gonna go back to Circo now?" And what if he didn't come back? She didn't care. Her smile returned and she relaxed, letting the strand go. "Or do you want to look for the ball? I bet I could find it before you."

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Cyril had pushed his mind past that weird feeling that formed in his stomach. Maybe he had gas. He hoped not. Well, whatever the case was, he felt relieved that the feeling was gone. What was it? It was sort of ironic to see that the 'adult-minded' boy couldn't wrap his mind around simple emotions. Perhaps it was because of his simple mind. Probably. Cyril knew himself that he was very dense. He couldn't even tell that the girl was the least bit shy. She had shown off a confident demeanor, and that was enough for him.

"Yeah. Everything I felt like paying for." He answered in a snarky tone, a smug grin on his face. He spun the broken bat in his hand blandly as he waited for the girl to finish setting herself up. Women. Always taking the time to make themselves pretty. Well, she wasn't fooling him. "Geez lady, and I thought I had a hair problem." He looked up to her with a cocky smile. The smile only stayed for a slip second as he realized she had just flickered. His eyes somewhat widened, his finger raising barely to point to her arm. "What the hell was that?" He asked, backing a foot away just to see if he was seeing things. He looked to his brother who had seemed to be in equal shock and they both rubbed their eyes. He would have pushed this aside and followed her decent suggestions, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Okay. You gotta be from where I'm from. I'm not gonna name the place for confidential reasons or what the hell ever that guy told me, but seriously. You know what I am. It's obvious what's wrong with me. So tell me this, what are you? Okay, maybe that's not the best question. Let me try this again-What's up with you?"

[NURI]

"I don't have a hair problem. It was giving me a headache so I-" She didn't even get to defend herself. Suddenly he was acting like she was a spider, even going so far as to back up and point at her. She didn't even bother looking at herself, she wouldn't saw what they did. But she could guess. Flickering, blurring, like a lens that was out of focus. What had she done different? Mention Circo? Was she not even allowed to talk about it now? And why did they have to start losing sight of her /now/? Why not earlier, when she wasn't sure if she liked the asshat? He wasn't her friend by any means, but he was fun.

"I know where you come from, if you're talking about the circus. Circo Phntasia, home of the freaks and wackos. I used to live there." Used. Now she couldn't come close to the place. But was she going to admit that? No, of course not. If she did they would start asking questions, and she really didn't want to answer them. She wanted to have friends.

Though, if whatever the hell made her 'real' stopped working, that wouldn't really matter. They'd be just like everyone else, unable to hear her and walking right through her. No wonder she had such a fiery personality. She had to let everything loose when someone could hear her, otherwise she'd go mad.

Now, how to explain without explaining. She smiled and twirled the hair around her finger again. "I don't really know what's up with me. One moment everyone can see and hear me, like you, the next I'm just-" She made a little explosion imitation. "Poof. Like I don't exist. And I guess I'm fixing to go poof again." She could have gone into a long and drawn out explanation, but what was the point? He wouldn't have really paid attention.

Unless he really was interested. In that case, she needed a little distance. Yet, as she focused on him, she seemed to come back into focus. She no longer flickered or blurred, looking just like she had moments ago. "And I'm completely unaware when it happens."

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Both Cyril and his brother were officially weary about this girl. It was obvious she was a freak like them, but for what they didn't know. Cyril learned quickly from other freaks that he shouldn't underestimate anybody. This girl was now included in that assumption. Was she secretly some fifty foot tall monster that could breathe fire and flickered before she transformed? God, there was just no chance in telling.

At least she could relate to where he originated from. So she was one of them... But what happened? Used to? What was that supposed to mean? "What the hell happened? Did you get kicked out or something?" Cyril asked warily with a raised eyebrow. He still kept his distance unknowingly. He wasn't afraid of her, but he obviously couldn't get too comfortable. "Yeah, we joined there not too long ago..." He mumbled to her, softly taking another step back.

His tension clear within his shoulders soon eased with her playful explanation. Well, she wasn't dangerous. Maybe. He stepped forward again with a stutter in his step. Well, if her ability wasn't terrifying it was certainly tragic. None of the past events between them could have happened if there wasn't a 'miracle'. Maybe... Maybe this meant something. Was it fate? Who knows. "Oh..." Cyril mouthed as he tried to think of a proper reaction. "Dude that really sucks *ss." He assured casually with a laid back yet sympathetic tone. He thought of the predicament, and for some odd reason, he felt like he needed to make it better for her... But how?

Cyril then halfway chuckled as he wrapped his arms around the base of his brother and hoisted him upwards to bring comfort to the both of them. "Guess you're lucky you stumbled upon me, huh?" He teased with a small devious chuckle.

[NURI]

She could make up this whole story about how she got kicked out, but what good would that do? It would earn his respect for about five minutes or so, until he asked the staff about it and found out she had lied. She was pretty sure that lying was one thing he would not tolerate. "I left." True to an extent, but was it enough for him? "Circo life just wasn't the right fit for me."

She chuckled a little and pushed the hair from her face again. "It's not too bad, really. Normally the people around here aren't worth sh-t." Was Cyril worth anything? Well, if nothing else, he was entertaining. And he could actually see and hear her, for now.

What was he going to do when she vanished? Wander around with his hands outstretched to find her? He'd just end up walking right through her. As funny as it would be, watching him try to find her, she really didn't want that weird--ss sensation of his essence passing through hers.

Was she happy that he could see her though? Of course. "Actually, yeah. I guess I am lucky that I found you." Though there was no telling how long she'd get to know him. For all she knew she was going to vanish any second and she'd never get to hang out with him again.

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Well, at least the girl was honest. He couldn't see why she would leave a place that provided free protection and food, even though she had a viewpoint he could agree with. He snorted a bit with her statement. "Ain't that the damned truth." He agreed while chuckling. Did she just live out here then? Why? She could have drifted to somewhere like Hawaii or something if she wanted to... Or could she?

Whatever the case was, Cyril had met his match in mentality and lived up an interesting afternoon. Dinner was probably going to be served soon, and to be honest if Cyril were to return home he didn't want to drag the girl that no one could see or hear. The last thing he needed was to be accused of being off his rocker. Even though he had this mindset, he couldn't help but to feel... Well, guilty about it. She couldn't help who she was. He couldn't either, so why discriminate? Plus, it must have been awful lonely out here.

It seemed that Cyril was just going to have to be a humanitarian for just a bit longer. "Well, duh. You just needed a bit of me in your day. It'll perk up anyone." He grinned a bit with another snort of laughter. With his wit returning, so did his fighting spirit. The thought of what he could do next with this girl raced through his head as he ultimately decided on something that could probably entertain the both of them. In just a few seconds he knew exactly what to do.

"Well, we've had enough chitchat. C'mon, I gotta redeem myself after your little feat." A challenging look came into his eyes as he raised a finger to the horizon, finally onto a lone-standing oak tree a few dozen yards away. He looked back at her with a devious smile and a cocky aura. "Betcha I can make it there faster than you."

[NURI]

A race to the tree? Was he serious? There was no possible way he could beat her. His body was all kinds of twisted up and he walked like a zombie with a broken knee. Maybe he was challenging her to something he knew she'd win at to make her feel better? While incredibly stupid, it was kind of sweet. Given the whole baseball thing, she hadn't known he could be sweet. Maybe... she'd like him as a friend.

But the tree was too close to Circo. For some reason she couldn't get close to the place called home. Every once in awhile people would hear her out here, but there? She was always invisible to everyone. Sometimes even the animals weren't aware she was there. But he was being so nice... if she called it off would he take offence? Maybe not if she explained it, but still. She didn't want to risk it.

"Okay." She said softly, grinning. In a few steps she was even with him, ready to race. "I'll even let you say go. Just don't throw a fit when I win." She needed to put money on this or something. There was absolutely no way she could lose. Even in a dress there was no way. Speaking of, she tied it up again so she could move freely.

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Cyril couldn't help it. He was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. His wild brown hair blew in the wind between each of its spikes as he drew his foot in a solid line in front of the two contenders. He lined his feet up with the make shift start line as he looked to the girl smugly. "Girl, you obviously don't know what brand of fire you're messin' with. Who knows? Maybe I'll get an even more priceless reaction out of you when I totally kick your *ss." Cyril winked before taking a starting position. Before he could give himself the chance to start the countdown, a devious thought came into his head. "Let's raise the stakes, huh? Loser has to do whatever the winner says for the rest of the day? Deal? Deal." There was no time for mutual agreement! He knew she would agree anyway. Having a slave for a day? Who wouldn't want that?

Cyril waited in an antsy fashion as the girl lined up next to him. His grin relieved itself for a second for him to take a good few breaths to ready himself. His brother almost instinctively moved to his own starting position, tucking behind his brother the best he could while wrapping his both of his arms around Cyril's shoulders/neck pack-strap style. His mellow expression hinted at some wondrous excitement as he hovered a few inches from his brother's more determined one creating a direct contrast. Cyril reared up as he proceeded on with the countdown.

"5... 4... 3..." A sudden turn to her before an abrupt shout ensued after the anticipation-seeking countdown. "GO!!!"

The instant the word was shouted was the exact moment Cyril bolted off an an overwhelming capability. His crippled legs had absolutely no power over him when he sprinted, in fact it was quite apparent by their now brimming muscles that they were more than what meets the eye. Cyril cackled to particularly no one as he exclaimed to the girl "Don't judge a book by its cover, dammit!".

[NURI]

Why was he moving so fast? One moment she had felt warm and amused. He was being so cute and sweet, challenging her to something he knew he couldn't win. It was clearly how he was going to say sorry for freaking out on her. Aira lined up, even chuckling a little as he continued to talk sh-t. "Of course." Slave for the rest of the day. Useless for her, but still amusing.

Then her sweet broken-legged zombie turned into a professional-grade sprinter. After a dumbstruck second she darted after him. She threw everything into her run, rough gasps of air escaping her like a train every other step. She couldn't let him win. She just couldn't.

She was so intent on winning that the rest of the world was completely ignored. Seizing the opportunity, a sticker plant seemed to come out of nowhere and grab her tender foot. With a cry she jerked away from the plant and took a tumble, then seemed to vanish from existance. Unseen and unheard she curled up, tenderly reaching back to pull the sticker-filled shoe off her foot. Stupid scrap of cloth. Only when she had thrown it as far as possible did she sit up, looking around to find Cyril.

She'd watch him win, curse his very existance, then check herself over for wounds.

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Despite Cyril's insistence that he was just like everybody else, he loved nothing more than to show off people who underestimated him. It was great, really, that the girl had thought that she was in for an easy win by a seemingly handicapped guy. Well, she couldn't have been more humiliatingly wrong.

Cyril stopped for nothing until he got to the finish line. While most of his attention was focused towards the grand tree, he did keep an ear out for her certainly impending footsteps. Unbeknownst to him, they were not hot on his trail. Lyric, as he had no involvement in this race, looked back to see if she was alright. Unfortunately, a cloud of dust kicked up from the arid ground, which rendered his eyes useless. He could only hope that she would make it back safely.

In a few large final strides, he had made it to the finish line with a slam of his hand on the tree trunk. After taking a few desperate inhales for oxygen, Cyril spun around his heels to look at his and presumably her trail. Where was she? At the time being, Cyril didn't see that something could have been wrong. He just assumed she was slow as hell.

"Damn! I beat you by a landslide! Serves you right for underestimating me!" Cyril laughed boisterously as he leaned back against the trunk with a crossed arms. To be honest, he expected this race to be neck-to-neck. Where the hell was she? After a few seconds of standing there, he tried to mask his sudden concern as he marched out to hopefully find her and see that she was alright. While walking back in his normal shattered stride he glanced to the circus, which was only two hundred or so feet away. Still, like usual, it seemed like a ghost town with the exception of a few stragglers. He rolled his eyes at the boring old place as he glanced back to his trail. Inadvertently, he walked right through the now invisible /undetectable girl like she was air itself, before turning around and walking a few paces the other way.

"Hey, where the hell are you? Don't p*ssy out now cuz you have to be my slave for the rest of the day." He called out to a her, now looking in all directions. He wouldn't have thought that she disappeared, why would she? Cyril honestly took pride that he and his brother were the only ones that could see her. Did the distance from the circus trigger something?

"Dude, hey. Either you're really slow or you ditched me. I sure as hell know you didn't ditch me, cuz otherwise... Well, you wouldn't want to know the otherwise."

[NURI]

Why...? Oh. He couldn't see her anymore. It was kinda funny to watch him go from victorious to mildly worried, but Aira wasn't in a funny mood. Even his walking through her, no less sickening when he did it, couldn't calm her down.

She didn't really know why she did it. She was just completely infuriated. She finally had a friend, and now... She was up in seconds and raised her fist, actually going to hit the boy when he turned back.

Luckily for him, the last step he took had saved him. Aira's fist landed not on his mutated body, but seemingly solid air. In an instant her anger drained away. Unknown to her, as her fist uncurled against the invisable wall, she flickered back into view. She looked...sad. Maybe even broken.

And why wouldn't she be? They were so close to the Circus. So close to the home she couldn't return to. Aira sighed and looked away. "I can't follow you..."

[CYRIL AND LYRIC SULLIVAN]

Cyril's concern grew even more when she didn't answer even after a few seconds of searching. Cyril had shaded his eyes to look across the blazing horizon but to no avail. She wasn't there. He once thought that maybe she had really disappeared, but knew that couldn't be true with how he was 'special' and all. Of course, his insistence was proven false as soon as he turned around.

There, balled and restrained by a few centimeters, was her fist rearing to strike. "Jesus Christ!" Cyril yelped as both he and his brother leaped back. His expression, rather than lost, was now arguably enraged. His shoulders tensed as a snarl rippled across his face. "You almost gave me a f*ckin heart attack! What the hell is your problem?! I outta-" Before Cyril could screech the rest of his angered puzzlement, he quickly saw the look of pure sorrow on her face. Cyril eased his shoulders gradually, his icy gray eyes melting into a eased pewter. Cyril was a bit taken back at her sudden depression, and, despite being a dense person, knew it wasn't because she lost. But what was it then? Cyril took a few seconds of silent pondering as he attempted to wrap his mind around hers.

Well, the most obvious fact was that she had disappeared... But how? He saw her this entire time, why was she gone now? As soon as he thought about this, he glanced over to the circus. They were pretty close... What about that place really set her off? Why was she non-existent to the world there when she was just as much as a human being as Cyril? He really didn't understand, and the thoughts of her... Somehow, these thoughts truly did do something to his stubborn mindset. He was feeling something that wasn't so accustomed to him. He cared about her welfare, something he didn't do quite often. Cyril was feeling something called empathy.

"Hey, um... Sorry for yelling at you... I guess, y'know, you scared me is all." He mumbled while sheepishly running a hand through his hair. He didn't apologize for his actions all that often, so it was easy to see his hesitance through his words. He watched in dismay as she turned around, his mind now growing with a sort of anxiety. His eyes traced to his brother's identical ones, who had witnessed the whole scenario. A conversation was practically exchanged through their worried glances. Lyric nudged his brother's elbow towards the girl, which, in both of their minds, meant that Cyril needed to comfort her. So, in a few steps, Cyril limped to her side and took a good few breaths.

"We... We don't have to go to Circo, if you don't want." Was that the base of her woe? He hoped. Girls were hard to figure out. "I don't have to be anywhere anytime soon... I mean, screw the rules and all..." God, was he even helping? Probably not. All he wanted to do was make her not as... Blah anymore. Why did not following him hurt her so much? Gah, everything was making his head hurt! "Here, um... We can just stay out here for the rest of the day... I um... If it makes you feel better, you're um... Fun to hang out with... So yeah, if you're lonely I could stay out here whenever you want me to... I um... Yeah, dude, your oddity blows."

[NURI]

For about five seconds it seemed like he was going to beat /her/ with the broken bat. Did she really care though? Of course not. If he actually did hit her, there was a fifty fifty chance what he hit her with would pass right through her. Of course, he'd probably freak out and completely leave her. Then she'd be all alone again. She refused to care.

"It's not my Oddity that keeps me away from the circus." It was, but why admit that? Why would she admit that? It would freak him out more. He could see her again. She'd vanished from his view but could clearly see her again. What wouldn't she give to see herself as everyone else did? She'd see how she was currently in view, but flickering every so slightly.

So she lied. It wasn't like Cyril would ever know she was lieing. "Ever since I left Circo I haven't been able to come close to Circo. It's like the air gets really really thick. It's like I'm trying to walk through jello or something." And it was near impossible to walk through.

She looked at him, her own gray eyes scanning both twin's faces. "You've been out here forever. You're both probably hungry. And Circo likes their rules. Go have dinner and return the bat, and if you want I'll wait for you out here. We could play more before curfew, or something." Maybe she'd find the ball while they were gone.