**The Color Cyan**

[Serenla the Cat]

Rain's eyes widened at the sudden fire.

"You are going to burn the house down some day. I don't want you practicing inside until you are a professional, understand?" she said, then got an idea. She may be the most irresponsible parent...

"but I'll pay you ten bucks to light your fathers head on fire if you see him
Before you get back..." she muttered, and hoped he didn't hear her sarcastic comment.  

[Fadedepic]

Richard liked the sound of money. It always seemed to make mommy happy when there was more of it. "Okay!" He said eagerly.

Blood managed to stop Martini at the door. "Stay out here for, like, five minutes and calm down. If not for Rain, then for your children." Martini rolled his eye. "Fiiine. But she gets no mercy from me afterwards!" Blood sighed, opening the door. "Exactly why I'm taking the children out for ICE CREAM!" He said, yelling the last two words as Martini walked over to the side of the house to stay incognito.  

[Serenla the Cat]

Rain blinked, and patted her son on the head.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, and you're going to pretend there is no money involved. Or mommy, even," she said quietly to him. She gave Min a look that said it applied to her, too. She took a deep breath, and led them downstairs. She opened the door, holding them behind her slightly.

"Well... Hi," she said, a bit at a loss for words. She wasn't quite sure what to say, so she stepped aside for him to come in. He'd want to see them a bit first before they left, she figured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minlea looked up at him, curious. He didn't look too terrible, but mommy was...scared of him? It wasn't his appearance. Sometimes, she'd seen her mothers nightmares when she was young, and what she saw usually gave her bad dreams for weeks. He was nothing next to that. But something...she was hiding it from Min, but she was scared, and that fear involved them somehow. She stepped toward him, and accidentally spoke her thoughts.

"What's so scary about you?" She asked, but looked startled when she realized she'd spoken.  

[Fadedepic]

Richard rushed down the stairs to see Zombie-dad. He smiled before engulfing his head with a loud BOMF!

Martini's head drew back from sudden surprise, but he kept talking to Minlea, even with his head flaming. "Maybe it's because I can't feel as much pain as others. Mommy's always had problems with feeling things."

Blood began to herd the twins. "Come, come now children. Let's get us some ice cream. I heard the travelling Circus is in town."

Richard beamed at the thought. Circus meant clowns. Clowns meant fire-eaters. Fire-eaters meant FIRE!  

[Serenla the Cat]

Rain covered a small grin by her head. How did he not even care? With that light, it must be impossible to see...She sighed, and waved her hand in the direction of the sink, and pulled some water out, making a bubble around his head. No need to spread the fire. She watched as her children hopped around excitedly, ready to go already. For as upset he had seemed, he didn't care so much that his own children were standing right there.

However, her face was still red from Min's comment, and his response. She knew Min realized it had nothing to do with appearance, but it shouldn't worry her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minlea stepped away from his flaming head, but jumped up at the mention of the circus. Then stopped. She'd been to a circus. It was so much fun, until the clowns came out to perform. Masked, so you never saw their faces. Their fun dances and acts could have entertained her for hours, but their thoughts, though confusing, were dark and scary. She shrunk back, hoping he was wrong. But still, ICECREAM!  

[Fadedepic]

((So, are we going to roleplay Blood & kids at the circus? Or can I just adlib that in after they come back? Because I have material for either.))

Blood left with the kids holding his hands, ready for ice cream and sad clowns.

Martini popped the water bublle. "So, I'm guessing we talk now?" He asked bitterly, stepping inside and closing the door. "Where do I even start?" He asked, his voice lined in steel. "When were you going to tell me you were pregnant with my children?"  

[Serenla the Cat]

((yeah, we can deal with the kids later...))

Rain was caught off guard. She hardly ever thought of that bit; how he'd left before she worked up the courage to tell him. So she told the total truth.

"I was scared. So many ways you could have reacted, so much I has to deal with. I was just trying to figure things out, and manage. And I didn't know what was going to happen. I tried working my way towards it, talking for a while then telling you, but it always was either cut short or led to other things. Oddly enough, I was just going to come out and tell you, but you didn't seem to hear a word I said. I didn't actually tell you before you just left, and by then, I wasn't thinking about that. Now tell me this; why do you care? You obviously didn't care about me," she said, but it was more her trying to defend herself.  

[Fadedepic]

Martini ran a hand over his sooty face. "Because I'd care about the kids." He said, his anger turning into burning compassion. "You know that if you told me you were carrying my child I wouldn't have left you like that, no matter how crazy you drove me!" He sat down,burying his face in his hands. "I've spent an entire year contemplating my life choices... Not having kids was a big one. You don't know how this feels. I'm overjoyed for having children, pissed because I wasn't told, and betrayed because we're just now beginning to talk things out between us.  

[Serenla the Cat]

Rain shook her head. She was just... She drove him crazy?

"No. If I really drove you crazy, which, first off, you never even tried to talk to me about, you still would've left. Even if you didn't, you'd leave soon and try to take one of them if not both of them from me. I couldn't take that risk. How could you expect me to know exactly what to do? I could hardly even think straight, especially after you left. I didn't know what to do, and I could never find you again, even to tell you," she said, but her voice was unsteady and soft by the end. It drove her insane that even after all these years, it still hurt.  

[Ryuzki Hygaea]

Spyke starts to head to Dust's Tavern to well get drunk. "Lets see Marty is back in town..so ummm Rain is going to have her hands full. River might be at home and probably horny though that is just me."  

[Fadedepic]

"I DID!" Martini nearly shouted. "I always tried to talk to you about the stress, but you were always distracted! I can read minds, but you can't expect me to pick up EVERYTHING about you that way! You practically kicked me out of the house, Rain. I didn't leave!"  

[Serenla the Cat]

Everything seemed to crash down on her at once, how much she'd screwed up. distracted... Focusing on anything but the children, even if it left me confused and distracted and with a headache... I ruined everything... More thoughts ran through, and though she was still hurt, she felt more and more guilty for it. She cod clearly remember how scared and confused she'd been. Lost, and she always felt like she was alone. She could only ever seem to recall the feelings, and blamed them on him. But the blur around that time became clearer. There was nothing she could do.

"So... Are we going to keep arguing about this... Or are we going to talk about our children," she said, though her voice was trembling terribly with the threat of tears. He would want them, of course. But he wouldn't want her around. He would probably hate her. But she couldn't lose them, not after just getting them back.  

[Fadedepic]

"No Rain..." Martini began. "I don't want the children. I don't want to be around them while I'm like this." He said, motioning with his skeletal hands. "I just wish you'd have told me. I could've stayed, and we could've been one big happy family... Like a normal person..." He said quietly.  

[Serenla the Cat]

Rain shook her head, whether in wonder or in disbelief, she didn't know.

"You... You wanted to raise a family... With me? I always... I never thought you... Oh, god... I'm so sorry... I really have ruined everything, haven't I?" she said miserably. But it was no time to feel sorry for herself. At his stupid idea, though, she was pissed.

"You think it matters to them what you look like? Come on, I raised them better than that. Besides... You have no idea how much they've wanted a father. It almost tore my heart up, that day when they figured something out and came home from pre school... And asked me where their daddy was," she said, suddenly ready to melt into a mess of tears and fur if she didn't stop herself.

Oddly enough, she found herself wanting to do what she used to. She wanted to curl up in his arms, and feel safe. Feel.... Loved. But despite what he may have wanted, she couldn't let herself start hoping that he would still even have feelings for her.  

[Fadedepic]

Martini felt like crying, but tears never came. Tough as nails, as always. "Rain... I can't stand this. I can't stand my life being ruffled always! It tears me down! I'm DEAD, Rain! I'm a skeleton monk who controls his hunger for brains by pure WILLPOWER, and you think I can handle children? It would break me." He got up and hugged Rain. "I'm sorry, but not now. Not while I'm still trying to figure things out for myself."