1x1 with x_fire

"Are you know?" Carlos asked, looking happily shocked. "Well fancy that." Carlos said with a chuckle as he turned down the last street. The wax museum was just after the light Carlos was currently stuck at.
Nick glanced up and nodded softly, taking the bottle from his father as well. Though once he uncapped the bottle, Nick made a face. He could smell how weird the blood was. Like it had been sitting in the bottle for too long. Taking a tentiative sip, Nick sighed; well, it wasn't that bad...though he only drank half the bottle.

"Here we are!" Carlos said as he pulled into the parkinglot, found a decent spot and tossed the truck into park.
Nick glanced around eagerly, unbuckling himself and slidding out of the car, leaving his bottle in the truck. "Cool..." Nick murmured, looking around with wide, fascinated blue eyes.


"Just sore." Maddie said, smiling as Demitri's arm tossed over her shoulder. She rested her head against his side as they walked back to the car, and she climbed in when Demitri unlocked the doors.
"You alright buddy?" Kristen asked softly, helping Zach into the truck and buckle up. She smiled softly at him before climbing into the front with Demitri.
"Oh ok." Kristen murmured with a nod as she pulled her seatbelt across.

Alexi watched the twins pull identical faces.
"Kinda stale?" He asked, as Serena nodded, "It doesn't taste to good" She said, drinking about half the bottle, like Zach. She glanced up, capping the bottle and glancing around as she slid from the car.
"Woah" She murmured, watching her father take Nick's hand, and feeling her Uncle take her's.
"Its huge" She said, eyes wide as they went inside, joining the short line before Alexi was able to buy tickets.

"Here we go" Alexi said, bending to attatch a bracelet to the wrist of each twin, before handing Carlos his, and doing his own up.
"Wow" He murmured, shaking his head, as he took a map, still holding Nick's head.
"Where do you wanna go first?" He asked, there were specific rooms, famous celebrites, public figures, movie characters, etc.
Serena moved closer to her Uncle's leg, looking shy at the amount of people around them as they walked down the short hallway to the first room.

Demitri nodded, "Figured you guys might want something to do tonight, and since you can't drive my car to save your life" He teased, "Nor do the kids fit in my car" He winked, "I can take it" He stretched out, backing the car out of the parking spot at the restaurant, and begins the short drive home.

Nick nodded in agreement to Alexi's question. The blood wasn't bad, it just didn't taste good. Taking his fathers hand, Nick's head seemed to be on a swivel as they entered the museum. He was trying to look at everything at once. Then the noise registered over his excitement. Growling lightly, Nick rubbed his ears before looking at his dad thoughtfully.
"Movie characters!" He voted, loudly since the massive amount of people sounded like a loud rock concert to him

Carlos smiled, seeing that Alexi had Nick, he'd watch over Serena. He took her hand gently and walked inside with her. He sighed, then laughed as he watched Nick's constantly darting eyes and turning head. Yes, the museum was rather large and well decorated. There was a lot to see. Serena was clining to his leg then, preventing him from stepping forward. He chuckled and picked her up effortlessly, resting her on his hip, supported by his arm.
"Don't fancy a crowd deary?" He asked softly.

Kristen rolled her eyes and chuckled, even Maddie laughed quietly in the back seat. "Hmm, if you think that's funny then maybe we shouldn't go rollerskating later..." Kristen said airily with a small shrug. Maddie gasped and looked at her brother in mild shock. Rollerskating? They hadn't gone since Maddie fell and twisted her ankle during her seventh birthday party. She had improved sincee then, and wished they would go more often. Problem usually was that it was in the city, a good drive from the house.

Alexi glanced at Serena, chuckling.
"No, she's not that fond of them" He said, "Movie characters okay with you?" He asked his daughter.
"Yea" She said, nodding and glancing at Nick. Movie characters sounded the most fun. Alexi nodded, holding Nick's hand lightly, and checking the map, leading them towards the area that housed the characters.
"You guys are allowed to touch and pose with the statues, so don't be afraid to touch them" He reassured the kids quickly, entering the large room, and sliding the camera from his bag, in case it was needed.

Serena was more then relieved when her Uncle picked her up.
"I don't like crowds" She echoed her father, hiding her face against her Uncle for a moment, before surfacing to answer her father's questions. Serena didn't like feeling crowded or blocked in, her mother said it was clausterphobia, she got it really bad at school assemblies.
She glanced up, eyes going wide at the sight of all the characters, with people hanging off them, posing as other people took pictures.
"Woah" She murmured.

Zach glanced up, eyes wide.
"Rollerskating?" He asked, grinning hugely, He remembered going, their dad had come that time though, and Maddie had gotten hurt. He smiled, "Are we really?" He asked, as Demitri arched an eyebrow at Kristen, "Rollerskating? You should ask Vlad to join you, and Alayna"

"Well that's alright." Carlos said as Serena held on to him. "Everybody doesn't like something. I myself can't stand waiting in line." Carlos said with a small smile. "Having to wait for anything, isn't exactly my cup o'tea. I would much rather be done and gone quick as a flash." He said with a small chuckle. He was merely trying to make the little girl feel better. He knew if she had something else to focus on other then the crowd of people, it wouldn't be so bad for her.

"We can touch it?" Nick asked, thinking his father was joking. Didn't museums say you couldn't touch the art? Now they could? That was confusing, and Nick held his head, laughing to himself. As they walked into the movie character section, Nicks smile grew wide, into a grin.
"Wow!" Nick gasped as he let go of his father to walk towards the nearest figure. He didn't recognize the characeter but he still thought it was cool.



Kristen grinned softly, sitting back in her chair. "Mmaaaybbbe." She said with a sly smirk. Turning her head to Demitri, Kristen smiled. "I had planned to. My suv does hold up to eight people love." Kristen said with a small grin. Hearing that Keith wasn't included in Demitri's list, Kristen frowned. "Keith is gone again?" She asked quietly.

Serena glanced at her Uncle, "You sound like Dad, he hates waiting" She said, watching her brother wander towards a wax figure, as Alexi began to snap pictures of him.
She sighed, resting her head on Carlos' shoulder, looking around curiously, she wasn't ready to be set down, though soon enough the little girl would be venturing around, exploring with her twin.

Alexi nodded, "Yea, see all the other people touching them? You just have to be careful" He said, taking a picture of Nick.
"Hey kiddo look, it's spider man" He said, pointing to one of the characters, a small grin on his face.

Demitri nodded, "He's gone for a few days, should be back soon enough though" He murmured, "Well, I'm sure Alayna could use the distraction" He said, smiling lightly.
Zach kicked his feet, grinning, "Cool" He murmured, glancing down at the sprite in his hands and taking another sip.
"Don't get hurt again Maddie" He teased, though he was smiling, to show he was only teasing his sister.

Carlos chuckled. Being impatient seemed to be another shared characteristic amound vampires. "Yes, and your father also doesn't like hieghts." Carlos murmured softly. He held his finger up to his lips then. "Don't tell him I told you though." Carlos whispered with a small wink.

Nick gave the wax firgure a light poke, as if he was still weary about touching. He smirked, blinking as his father snapped a picture. He rubbed his eyes before poking the character agsin. When Alexi called him, Nick gasped and was at his fathers side immediately, eyes wide, mouth slightly agap in amazement.
"It looks just like him! That's so cool!" Nick said, hands on his head as he bounced in his excitement.


Kristen nodded in agreement. "Yea, I'm sure." She murmured, rubbing her lips gently as she looked out the window. They were almost home.
Maddie grinned at her brother. "I wont get hurt again." She said, holding up her head proudly, though she glanced back at Zach with a smirk. Maddie was actually very good on skates. Zach had been little the last time they had gone, and he'd gotten frustrated when he kept falling. Maddie had tried falling on purpose to make Zach feel better, and she had managed to nearly break her ankel in the process.

Serena's eyes got wide, "I didn't think Daddy was scared of anything" She whispered, a conspirator's grin on her face.
"I wont say anything" She promised, turning in his arms a bit as she heard her brother's excitment.

"Pretty cool" Alexi agreed, glancing at Carlos and rolling his eyes over the 'hight's statement. He chuckled, snapping a few pictures of Nick, "Go pose with him" He gestured to his son, knowing Maria would want to see the pictures of this for sure. While taking the shots, Alexi was also glancing around for characters that would get Serena away from Carlos and exploring the area.

Zach smirked, to this day he didn't know that Maddie had done that on purpose for his sake, he just enjoyed teasing her about it.
He glanced up, about to ask if the twins could come, before remembering they were gone. He sighed, staring out the window, feet kicking occasionally.
Demitri sighed, pulling into the driveway, "I have to shower and take off, I'm sorry love, but I won't be back until late" He murmured to Kristen, tossing her the SUV keys and racing towards the house.

Carlos winked. "Just goes to show that even the fearless are fearful of something." he explained softly. "So there's nothing wrong with being afraid of something, or disliking something."
He looked at Nick, who was grinning and posing for pictures that Alexi was taking. "So your brother seems to fancy the spider man. What about you?" Carlos asked, looking at Serena curiously.

Nick laughed. "That is so cool." he said before possing like he was spiderman, about to shoot a web out of his hand. As Aexi took the pictures, Nick chuckled before rubbing his eyes gently. Glancing up at the spider-man scupulture, Nick poked it lightly. He was still slightly amazed that they could touch them, but he was afraid that if he did, it would fall over or something. So he merely poked it and walked back to his father.
"What else is there?!" He asked, obviously excited.


"Alright." Kristen sighed, catching the keys as Demitri tossed them to her. She stepped out of the car, followed by Maddie and Zach.
"So when are we gonna go?" Maddie asked curiously, slidding up to her mother's side with a grin on her face.
"As soon as Vlad gets here if he wants to go." Kristen said, knowing Alayna wouldn't mind the sudden change in plans.
"Oh ok." Maddie said with a nod.
"Did you have homework?" Kristen asked suddenly, since Maddie needed to go to school tomorrow. Her daughter looked thoughtful for a moment as they walked into the house and she shook her head.
"No, I did it all yesterday." Maddie said with a soft shrug, heading upstairs to her room. Looking over at Zach, Kristen grinned, tossing an arm over her son's shoulder.
"So how does the roller-rink sound?" Kristen asked curiously.

Serena sighed, "I don't mind spiderman, but I like horses, and stuff like that" She said, smiling lightly. Serena liked the disney princesses, but she preferred the tougher ones, the warrior women and stuff. She glanced around, smiling as she saw a scene from Jurassic Park, "I liked that movie, even though some of it scared me" She murmured, glancing around again, before back at her twin and giggling lightly.
"Nick loves superheros" She said, smirking.

Alexi grinned, "Lots kiddo, there's superman, batman, all of the superheros, plus a lot of movie characters you guys like" He said, gesturing around.
"You can go look around, just don't leave this room, okay?" It wasn't to busy, being a weekday, so he could easily keep an eye on Nick, while making sure to snap pictures.

Zach smiled, "It sounds fun" He said, wishing he had a friend he could invite. Pulling away from his mom, he dashed upstairs, past Alayna, and into his bedroom. He figured he'd wait here until they were leaving.
Demitri slid from the shower, calling a goodbye as he disappeared into the garage and slid into his Aston Martin.

"Horses eh?" Carlos asked curiously. He glanced at Alexi with a soft questioning gaze. He had a ranch in the country side that he was sure Serena would love if she liked horses. "Well since we're in movie characters, what's your favorite movie?" Carlos asked curiously. He was surprised greatly to hear the Serena liked Jurassic Park. "Wow, you're a brave little girl. That's a scary movie." Carlos agreed, smirking slightly at the dinasor.

Nick gave a small yelp of enjoyment, hearing about all the other super heros that were here, and that he could go off to look for them. He eagerliy ran off once he got the okay from his father. Some other characters he stopped at now and then just to poke them, but once he caught sight of superman, he made a be-line straight for him.
"Wow!!" Nick gasped, grinning at his favorite superhero. "Dad! Look, look, look!" Nick called, bouncing in place from his excitement.


Alayna looked up curiously as Zach whizzed past her. There was a sketch book in her hand, a pen in her hair that looked to be holding half of the wavy locks in a bun. Another pencil was twirling between her fingers.
"I see someones busy." Kristen said with a small tired grin. She glanced up and nodded to Demitri, watching him leave with a small sigh. After a few minutes though, Kristen had to sit down. Demitri had been going to the office more and more often, but that hadn't made anything easier as far as Kristen was concerned.
"It's just a few extras." Alayna murmured with a shrug. "What was Zach talking about?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, we were going to head to the roller-rink. Wanna come?" Kristen asked.
Alayna smirked, sitting down across from her friend. "That'd be fun." Alayna agreed with a nod.

Serena nodded, "Mom and Dad said I could have a horse at our summer house, when I'm a bit older" She nodded, glancing up as he mentioned Jurassic park was scary.
"I like the opening part, where they're flying into the island, and the music and stuff, I don't like when all the dinosaurs get loose and start attacking everyone' She shuddered, "But overall, I liked it" She glanced up as she herd Nick.
"Oh look" She pointed, watching her father shoot off to see what Nick was yelling about.

Alexi caught Carlos' look.
"We were thinking you guys could do that" He nodded, "Maria and I try to spend time with each twin, we were considering taking Nick somewhere special tomorrow, if you wanna take her" He muttered, low enough that only Carlos would hear.
"What?" He called, hearing Nick and rushing off.
"Oh wow" He grinned, "Pose kiddo, Your mom's gonna be impressed" He said, taking some pics of Nick with Superman.

Zach eventually came back downstairs, carrying a small lego set he and Nick had been working on.
He scrambled into his mother's lap, as car tires were heard outside.
"Hello?" Vlad called out, stepping inside. "Sorry I haven't been around, been working a lot" He said, smiling at Alayna, Kristen and Zach.

"Well of course you'll have to be older. Taking care of a horse is an extremely large responsibility." Carlos mused wisely, looking around as Serena pointed. He managed to look over in enough time to see Nick posing like the Superman firgure, chest puffed out and fists at his hips. Carlos laughed, reminded of Maria instantly. He shook his head as he walked over to Nick and Alexi.

Nick grinned, glancing up at Superman before posing as the hero was for his Dad to take a pictures. It was beyond cool for the little vampire. And it was something he probably wouldn't ever forget.
He looked up at Serena for a moment, grinning at his twin before back at the camera as Alexi took another picked. He growled lightly at the light, laughing as he rubbed his eyes.
"I think it's Serena's turn for pictures." Nick grumbled, though he was mostly joking.


Kristen nodded as Alayna went to go change. She rubbed her forehead gently, figuring she could stay as she was in jeans and a tank top. Her eyes opened as Zach crawled into her lap.
"Whoa buddy, you were really quiet just now." Kristen murmured, midly surprised that she hadn't heard her son. She sat up straighter, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his head. "Whatcha got there?" Kristen asked softly.
She glanced up at Vlad walked in, and she smiled gently. "Hey! Come on in." she nodded as Alayna came back, wearing black pants and a longsleeved white shirt that had a low cut, a black tank top beneath it.
"Hey Vlad." Alayna said with a smile.
"It's alright, we knew." Kristen said with a nod, glancing up as Maddie's door peeked open. "You can come out." Kristen called.
Maddie smiled as she opened the door. She'd changed into loose jeans, a blue tanktop, and a black overshirt. Her sneakers clicked softly as she walked down the stairs. "Hi." she said, looking up at Vlad curiously for a moment before bitting her lip softly and glancing back at her mom.
"Did you ask him yet?" she asked softly, bouncing in excitement, looking at her morhter, then brother with a soft grin.

Serena nodded, "Thats what mom said" She said with a small smile, before looking at her twin.
"But I don't like Superman that much" She grumbled, though she slid from her Uncle's arms, to go and stand next to her twin as her father snapped a pciture.
"There" She said going back to stand next to her Uncle, holding his hand while she glanced around at all the movie characters.
"Oh look" She gasped, pointing at Jack Sparrow, her and Nick both adored Pirates of the Carribean. She let go of her Uncle, grabbing her twin's hand and dragging him towards the statues.

Alexi grinned, "Maria wants to get her a pony for her next birthday" He murmured to Carlos as they followed the twins leasiurly.
"She's done a few riding lessons at the local stable, she's a natural, even the horses like her, and normally they
like her and normally they're not to fond of our kind" He said, taking pictures of the twins with Jack Sparrow.

Zach smiled, "Some legos me and Nick were working on" He said, glancing up as his Uncle came in.
"Hi Uncle Vlad" He said, glancing at Maddie.
"Hey kiddo" Vlad said, glancing at Maddie. "Ask me what?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
"To go roller-skating with us" Zach pipped up, smiling.
"Oh.." He teased, "No, no one's asked me" He teased Maddie, though he grinned. "But, if I am invited, I suppose I can go" He said, winking at Kristen.

"Well, Superman is more of an American thing anyway." Carlos said with a soft shurg as Serena slid out of his arms. He watched with a small smirk as she posed for a picture anyway, and then came back to him once it was over.
"Ah, now, was that so painful?" Carlos teased, pushing Serena's hair back as he took her hand. He laughed as her attention was quickly caught again and she wandered away from him.

Nick raised an eyebrow as Serena grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "What?" he asked, half skipping to catch up with his sister who was half yanking him down the hallway. Seeing Jack Sparrow when his sister stopped, Nick's jaw dropped.
"Captian Jack Sparrow!" Nick said, grinning at his sister.
"Her neck birthday huh?" Carlos asked. "She'll be roughly six or seven? Good age." Carlos said in thoughtful voice, nodding gently. "I could take her out tomorrow to the ranch...though will she want to part from her brother?" Carlos asked, half teasing, half seriously, looking at the twins who were holding hands and talking curiously about the firgure.

Maddie grinned. "Do you wanna come?" she asked grabbing his hand, almost pleading. "It'll be fun." Maddie enticed, bouncing in her excitement.
Kristen laughed softly, looking down at Zach. "We'll work on your legos when we get home alright? Go put your shoes on." she murmured softly.
Alayna smirked, braiding her long hair gently as Maddie begged for Vlad to tag along, and laughing as Maddie grinned when Vlad agreed.
"We gonna go then?" Maddie asked and Kristen nodded, standing up and spinning the SUV keys in her hands.
"You don't mind sitting in the back with the kids do you Vlad?" Kristen asked with a small teasing smirk. "Unless you want to follow us. Whichever." Kristen said with a shrug.

Alexi nodded, "Maria wants her to be a horse kid, she's already planning out her riding career" He teased, "She'll be seven" He murmured, "Twins are six right now, they aged six years in the span of a year, but according to Sven, they've slowed right down" He said, watching Nick and Serena 'oooh and ahh' over their idol. He nodded, "She'll be fine, provided you distract her sufficently" He murmured, grinning a bit.

Serena glanced up as her dad began to snap pictures of her and Nick.
"Its the whole cast" She murmured, seeing Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner, along with the whole crew from the Flying Dutchmen and Davey Jones. She grinned, going over to pose with the creepy sea creature men, laughing.

"I'll follow" Vlad murmured to Kristen, "I don't know how long I can stay, so its better if I have access to my vehicle" He glanced at Maddie.
"Wanna ride along with me?" He offered, looking at the little girl curiously as Zach scampered off to put his does on.
"Okay mom" Zach murmured, putting the Lego aside and running off to get ready.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "That is Maria for you." he murmured, shaking his head. "Always feels she needs to be three steps ahead." He laughed at the children, who seemed to be amused with the wax firgures.
"Ah, how are your other brothers farring?" Carlos asked at the mention of Sven. "I saw Vlad at the begining of the month, but he seemed a bit out of sorts. Shaye was particullarly worried about him. Was something happening in your part of the world?"

Nick laughed. "En garde!" He said, pretending he had a sword and pointed to towards Serena with a sharp look in his eyes. Though he was only playing, which was always fun. He laughed as Alexi snapped another photo of them and we went to pose by Will Turner, who was his favorite character out of all the Pirate movies.

Maddie glanced up at Vlad and nodded in agreement, winding her fingers silently with his. She smiled lightly at him before looking up as Zach ran to get ready. Alayna had just finished her braid, and Kristen was nodding.
"Sounds good." Kristen said, swinging her keys again. She walked out of the livingroom, waiting patiently for Zach. Alayna sighed softly, tossing her braid over her shoulder lightly, rubbing her neck. Kristen frowned at her for a moment, and Alayna quickly straightened, as if she didn't want to show how she really felt.
"I'm alright." Alayna murmured.
Once Zach came back down, Kristen smiled, taking her son's hand and heading outside to the car. She unlocked the car and waited for Vlad and Maddie to walk out of the house before locking the door behind them.

Serena laughed, pretending to sword fight with her brother. She glanced up, watching him pose with Will Turner as she looked around from her pose with Davey Jones.
"Daddy" She laughed as he snapped more pictures of the twins.

"Yea, Maria's got their lives planned out, but I don't think Serena cares, she adores horses" He said, smiling softly and shaking his head.
"Ah, life on our end? It's fairly hectic, Vlad's a lot better, there was a bit of drama going on, but besides that, everything's good" He said, smiling lightly.
"Demitri's as busy as ever, Zach and Maddie are fantastic, Sven's been working overseas in America, trying to figure out some cure for some disease that the humans keep getting" He shrugged lightly.

Zach took his mother's hand, watching Vlad and Maddie head towards Vlad's car, before he went with Alayna and slid into the backseat.
"How far is it?" He asked, looking from his mother to Alayna, whom he considered to be an Aunt almost.
Vlad helped Maddie into the front seat of his car, a small smile on his face.
"You gonna fake fall this time?" He asked her, remembering Maddie's birthday party where she had faked fall over to make her brother feel better.

Nick chuckled as his father took another picture of Serena and Davy Jones. "I think he's going to be doing that all day." Nick mumbeld, putting his hands on his hips as he looked up at Jack Sparrow for a moment. He laughed before pretending to lunge at Serena again, as if he had a sword.
"Ha. Got ya." Nick said with a grin before ducking away from his sister with a laugh.

Carlos nodded gently. "Maria has that one fault." he murmured with a shrug. "Though, it's better that she's forming it around what Serena loves."
He paused, looking at Alexi with a raised eyebrow. Though, since Alexi didn't give too much detail, Carlos didn't push.
"Ah well, that's always lovely to hear everything is in top notch." Carlos said, looking up as Nick gave a triumphant laugh and ducked towards them.


"Not far at all sweetie." Alayna said. "About as far as the school I think." she said, looking at Kristen as she buckled herself up. Kristen nodded, turning on the car and waiting for Vlad to back down since he was blocking her, before pulling from the driveway herself and heading down the street.
Maddie sighed contently as Vlad buckled her into the front seat. She looked up with wide eyes when Vlad got in the driver seat and asked if she would fall again.
"How did you know I faked it?" Maddie asked softly. She hadn't told anyone that she had tried to fall on purpose. She had just side her skate wheel got stuck and she'd tripped.

Serena gasped, "Nick" She yelped, lunging back at him, and chasing after him as he took off.
"Don't you dare hide behind Dad" She called, lunging after him, careful not to go to fast however. She skidded to a half, almost plowing into her Uncle and Father, trying to get at Nick who was hiding behind Alexi. Her brown eyes were flashing, though it was all in play.

Alexi nodded, "Yea well, Serena's got a mind of her own, I seriousy doubt that Maria could even convince her to do something she didn't want to do" He chuckled, looking at Serena, laughing gently.
"What did he do this time?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at his daughter.

Zach nodded, "Oh, okay" He said, grinning lightly. "Do you like skating Layna?" He asked, having picked up Maddie's nickname for the human.
Vlad chuckled, "I guessed" He said with a small grin. "You were skating fine all day, but you also saw Nick falling all over the place, I saw you watching him. You also saw him getting more and more frusturated, and I figure your little fall was an attempt to make him feel better, even if you almost broke your ankle' He said, shifting gears and heading towards the skating rink.

Nick laughed and ducked behind their father. Carlos just happened to step to the side, looking back at Nick, and managed to block Serena entirely. Nick chuckled and giggled, peeking out at his sister while he shifted between standing behind Carlos and Nick.

"I think he one the match." Carlos said, looking up at Alexi with a small smirk. "You should put these two in fencing; they'll be naturals." Carlos said with a chuckle.
"Fences?" Nick murmured in confusion, looking up at Carlos.

Alayna chuckled. "Yea I like it." Alayna said with a soft nod. "I think it's fun." she glanced back at Zach with a smile.
"I think your going to do better this time." Alayna said with a small wink.

Maddie chewed her lip softly to hide a smile, though she looked up at Vlad while he shifted. She tilted her head curiously. She could hear the engine reveeing, and could hear the difference before, and after Vlad shifted. Suddenly, she was curious about what was under the hood. She'd seen Demitri working on his car occassionally, but had never stopped to look at it.
Sighing, Maddie rubbed her eyes. "Yea, so I tried to fall and make him feel better." Maddie admitted with a small smile. "I didn't think anyone else had realized it." she murmured, rubbing her sore hand gently as she turned her gaze out the window.

Serena stuck her tounge out at her brother. "Meanie" She teased, glancing up at her Uncle.
"What's that?" She asked, stepping away from her Uncle and her Father and glancing up.
"What else is there to see?" She asked, "Well, there's a whole room for cartoon characters" Alexi said, taking Nick's hand, and letting Carlos take Serena again, since the little girl seemed to really like him.

"I personally doubt Maria would ever let them near swords even if they were fencing ones" Alexi said, smiling down at Nick.
"So wanna go see some cartoon characters?" He asked, arching his eyebrow at his son.

Zach shrugged, "Maybe" He said softly, he didn't think he'd be very good, but he didn't really care. He glanced at his mom and Alayna, "How long's Dad gonna be gone?" He asked softly.


"Well, it wasn't obvious kiddo, but you're nice enough to do something like that" He said with a small smile. He glanced down at his niece, "You like cars?" He asked, he could tell she was curious, and that would overjoy Demitri, who was a car buff.

"It's a water-downed version of your father's old job." Carlos muttered quickly with a small teasing glance at Alexi. However, Nick was completely confused by his uncle's quick ramble.
"Huh?" Nick asked as Alexi took his hand. "Cartoons?" Nick echoed with a chin, and the fencing subject was quickly lost as Alexi led them on towards the next section of the museum.

"So now on to the cartoons." Carlos said, picking Serena up with a small grin. "Do you have a favorite cartoon movie?" Carlos asked curiousy as he followed Alexi.

Kristen sighed gently as she turned off the main highway towards the city. "Not until late Zach." she said softly. "You'll see him in the morning." she said gently with a smile before focusing back on the road.

"Yea, I guess so." Maddie murmured, rubbing her cheeks gently at the mild praise from Vlad. She giggled softly before her eyes darted to the car.
"I can hear the difference." Maddie said, nodding as Vlad shifted gears again. "Mom's truck does the same, only it's quieter, and she doesn't have to do that." Maddie said, pointing to the shifter. "I think that's cool." Maddie said with a small shrug, though her expression completely showed her curiousity. She fiddled with her shirt for a moment, looking thoughtful and then nervous.
"What if...I was to do something nice...for you." Maddie asked, quietly, softly, shyly as she looked up at Vlad with curious eyes.

Alexi smiled, "Tell you what, I'll explain fencing to you later, okay?" He murmured to Nick, nodding his head.
"Yupp, Cartoons, like Shrek, Princess and the Frog, maybe some Wall-E stuff" He told his son, letting Nick tug him down the bright blue hallway. He smiled, glancing back at Carlos as he scooped up Serena.
"Man, you're gonna have to come visit, she'll be devestated" He murmured, teasing Carlos lightly.

Serena sighed, hugging her Uncle as he picked her up.
"Me? I like Princess and the Frog, and Spirit" She said, pressing her face into his shoulder.
"Do you like cartoons?" She asked curiously.

Zach sighed, "Oh" He hated when his father left for the whole night.
"Do I have school tomorrow?" He asked his mom, wondering if he was going back yet, or if he had to wait a few more days.

Vlad nodded, "That's because the engine in this car is a lot more powerful then the engine in your mom's car" He smiled lightly, "And this thing, is called a gear shift. This car is a manual, which means you need this to change gears, like you do on your bike. Your mom's car, is an automatic, which means you don't need to change gears to make it go faster or slower" He said, grinning a bit.
"What do you mean?" He asked her, frowning suddenly at what she was saying. He was sure Maddie had some sort of scheme going and he didn't know what to think.

"Oh cool!" Nick said, tugging Alexi along in his excitement, hearing that some of his favorite cartoon characters were just down the hallway.
Carlos chuckled. "I guess so." he murmured softly as Serena wrapped around him almost instantly. He smiled as he listened to the characters that Serena liked just as they walked into the section.
'Hmm, you mean like her?" Carlos asked, pointing to the newest firgurines in the musuem; Tiana, and Navine from Princess and the Frog.

Kristen sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yes you will." she said. "Your principle told us today, that you have been moved into a new class and Taylor is being punished for what happened. You shouldn't have any more problems." Kristen said softly, slowing down at a red light.

Maddie's eyes darted to everything Vlad talked about. She sat up slightly, listening to the enginge as Vlad shifted through the gears smoothily. She grinned, watching in amazement.
"So you have eight gears to shift through?" Maddie asked, noticing the number of different slots. "And the higher gear, the faster the car travels." Maddie murmured in her soft voice that answered in years of wisedom. "That's really cool." Maddie said before lasping back into silence as Vlad questions her. This was what she had been working up to all week.

"I...I've been working with another empath..." Maddie murmured, quickly explaining her change in grade-level and meeting Geramiah. "I asked him if I could block another person from sensing my emotions, my pain. He told me how, and I've been working on it all week. He said my gift works like a werid net. I have different strings attacthed to the people I know. I have to pull my ties in, break them off from everyone so I can't sense anything, and work it into a thicker net against the person who can sense everything." Maddie explained softly, looking up at Vlad with a small but sad smile.
"Mom and Dad are always saying I use my powers too much. Now they won't have to worry. I won't be able to sense anyone elses pain or emotions. And...I know it'll be hard for you to be bonded to me. Putting up the net...you won't feel anything from me while your away."
Maddie said, turning to look away then, letting Vlad think it over. She wouldn't tell him anything else. That was all he really needed to know about it to decide if he wanted Maddie to do that. And for him, she would.