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Stretching slowly as she sat up from the red sheets, Sere swung her legs over the side of the bed, hopping off of it before grabbing some clothes from the windowsill and making a dash for the bathroom, the balls of her feet making a soft slap slap sound as they hit the carpet. Quickly shutting the door behind her, she idly dropped the floor length skirt and long sleeve shirt she had grabbed, which she had "borrowed" from her mother's dresser. Quickly jumping into the shower, she got her hair wet again like the week before, but instead, once she got out she grabbed the pair of scissors down from the mirror shelf, studying herself in the mirror.

After a minute of contemplation, she pulls a lock of her hair forward, the hair falling to just above her elbow. Her hand just hung in the air, the scissor's blades open and poised around the lock of hair before snipping it neatly off. The gold-blond hair quickly fell to the floor as she commenced snipping and cutting the rest of her hair. Once finished, her hair hung to just below her shoulders since it was still wet.

Ignoring the pile of wet gold locks on the floor, she grabbed the curling iron again, as well as the hairdryer, repeating her actions from the last week, drying and curling all her hair so it was in shiny and bouncy curls and waves, now since dry hanging to just below her chin. Contemplating her new image, she finished drying her body before slipping the long, floor length violet skirt on, the fabric falling to a few inches below her feet if she had been standing on a stool. She then slid on the loose, creamy white under shirt, the collar hanging right below her collarbone, then pulled on the shiny copper over shirt, the creamy little gems and sequins adorning the sleeves and bottom of the shirt winking softly in the light, the collar hanging an inch below the one of the undershirt.

Smiling faintly at her new reflection, she peered warily out the door, before scooping the now dry, cut locks of her hair into the trash can, dropping some tissues in over it so no one would hopefully notice the blond hair inside it. Once finished with that, she quickly snuck out of the bathroom and back to her room, grabbing a winter ski hat and shoving it on over her head so no one would hopefully notice her new hair length before heading down the stairs to the kitchen to eat breafast.

Niko walked slowly up the pathway to her home, her footsteps nearly silent amidst the chirping of the birds and buzzing of the insects. It's been so long... She thought to herself, tugging her violet blindfold down, letting it rest around her neck. Are any of them mad at me...? I wouldn't blame them, but I had to go back, I had to help him...! She shook her head, mulling over the reason she left and what had happened when she did. She had some gotten a message from one of the older goddesses back at Oasis, her homeworld, who told her that her old love, Raphael, was dying. Raphael needed her, and Niko had to go see him before he breahted his last, she loved him so much. So she left, the Oasis goddess providing a temporary way to return to Oasis, where she did what she had to do, meeting up with Raphael. What she wasn't aware of, though, was what had happened after she met up with her love again before he died...((She's pregnant. She doesn't know though xd ))

She shook her head again, quietly opening the front door and peering around, looking for any of her childrens' or friends' heat signatures, or just any blob of living heat. She slid her whole, slim and slender body in through the door frame, only to be tackled a second later by a small red panda. "Ha ha, Red, down, down!" She said, laughing.

Aqua was sitting in the play room, playing with some blocks, when Red, who had been snoozing next to her, suddenly shot her head up, ears pricked forward, before taking off into the main hall. Aqua gace the panda's retreating tail a questioning look, but when she heard a familiar laugh she understood, and clambered up from the carpeted floor. "MOM!" She shrieked, also dashing into the front hall and tackling her mother in a tight, ribcrushing hug.

The shriek of Aqua echoed around the house, immediately piquing(sp?) the interest of most of the other kids that were close enough to hear it(That being pretty much all of them, 'cept Sere, whose in her room listening to music), resulting in Niko being in the center of an enourmas family hug.

"Goddess, leggggooooo! I needa breath at some point!" She said through happy laughter. She gave all of them hugs as Shaia, Ginny, and Feinne stood in the door way, smiling or looking neutral according to their personality. Finally, everyone started asking questions, and she held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "N-no, I don't think any of y'all'll understand, but I had to go back, back, umm, to, to Oasis..." She said nervously, fidgiting.

The three "sitters" all nodded, knowing what she had went back to do, since she had told them before leaving.(No one knows she's pregnant xD) They all either patted Niko on the back, hugged her, or nodded, again according to their temperments.

Zuko smiled at his mother, though after he hugged her, he took a moment to study her face. She looks sad... What happened when she left? I know something important did, since she left us to begin with... But she looks worn out, tired, and older then before, though not by too much... He mulled over this, before smiling again with the rest of the family.

Once all the happy reuniting was over, Niko noticed that Sere wasn't there. With Blackfell resting on her hip[He refused to leave "pretty lady's" side, for fear of her disappearing again], she wended her way around the many children, leaving the task of getting them settled down to Shaia, Ginny, and Feinne, and went up the stairs, opening the door to Sere's room and standing there, waiting for the girl to notice her.

Sere had thick stereo headphones on, and was laying on her stomach on her bed looking through a book of sheet music, singing along with the music softly. She got a niggling feeling in the back of her head, and turned her head to look at the doorway. Her eyes widened when she saw her mom standing there, the fat crow boy on her hip. She sat up, tugging the headphones down around her neck and turning the music down, before folding her arms across her chest. "Well? Mind explaining why you were gone for heaven knows how long? Not that I care, or anything. Just would like to know why I got three loons dumped on me." She glared.

She turned away for a moment, putting 'Fell on the floor as Red clambered around her feet. When Blackfell was occupying himself, she turned back to her most difficult daughter with a sad look. "Would you even care if I explained, Sere...?" She asked softly, knowing the other angel would have to turn the music down more to hear. She shook her head, looking away from her daughter. "H-He needed me... An old friend, from Oasis... You don't know him, no reason why you would. He was dying, and I needed to go and help him. You know I'm an angel, it's my job to ease the passing of those about to die. Raphael, we... We loved each other." She shrugged helplessly, not wanting to elaborate further because of the pain.

Sere's face lost the glare, turning neutral, not a bit of emotion showing; One of the things she had picked up from Feinne. "So, you left your children for some guy? Doesn't seem too responsible to me. But then, I'm just a silly little child, what would I know?" She asked angrily, making a face before glaring again. "If you think some dead guy is more important then eleven kids put into YOUR care, so you suddenly hightail it outta here, then that's your problem. Not ours." She said coldly, though she did feel a small, microscopic pang of pity. She didn't know what it was like to love someone, but she knew what it was like to lose something important.

Niko looked down, not meeting her daughter's eyes, not denying her cold accusation. It's halfway true... I am the guardian of so many children, and I just left them... It wasn't right, but I left capable people to care for them! They did fine! Sere seems to be the only one whose angry about it... She hung her head, before speaking softly again. "If that's the way you feel about it, then fine, pin the blame on me. If there must be a scape goat for whatever wrong, then let it be me. I left, true; To help the man I grew up with and loved. Someday I hope you'll understand that, Sere." She lifted her head up slowly as she spoke, till she finally looked the child in the eye. On the last sentance, she stepped forward quickly, giving her daughter a hug before the girl could flinch back, and quietly left the room, scooping up 'Fell and Red on her way.

The angel froze in surprise at the sudden touch, and frowned at her mother's words after she left. Maybe... Why do I have to live here...? Unreliable guardians, annoying siblings, no one who cares... She vented in her head, feeling a need to punch something for a reason she couldn't explain. Why did I blame her? If I ever felt that way about someone, I'd do the same thing. Wouldn't I...? She asked herself, resting her chin in her arms and laying back down on her belly. I've never felt that way, so can I really blame her as much as I did? Sure, she left us, her kids, but she came back... She shook her head, her head spinning from all being intaken. Turning her music up again, loud enough to drown out her voice, she started singing, shoving and pushing all her emotions into the words, praying that the music drowned out her voice...

Sere was sitting on her bed, her music up loud enough that no one could hear her singing, even though her voice was relatively quiet anyways. She was leaning agaisnt her wall, one knee up against her chest, the other leg flat on her bed, with one elbow resting on the raised knee as she stared at the end of her bed, not paying attention to anything.

She stayed like that for the better part of an hour, letting the whole CD of one of her more preferred bands, Three Days Grace(Awesome!), play through. Once the music fell silent, the abrubt quietness in her room and on the second floor cause the angel to blink, as if waking up. She shook her head, sitting up and running her fingers through her hair, tugging the rebellious knots out. She slid off her bed, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder before shutting off her stereo and heading down the stairs to the front hall. Before anyone could ask, she shouted, very loudly, "I'm going out," and shutting the door with a click.

She stood silently on the front step for a moment, her eyes shut, thinking. Where's the nearest shitty music store...? She asked herself, calling up a fuzzy map in her head. The nearest one was about 5 or 6 blocks away; Damnit to hell, I hate walking! She thought, kicking a nearby bush irritably before striding down the path and out the front gate, before turning down the sidewalk, heading into the more populated section of Barton. Now where the ******** is it again...? She wondered briefly as she shoved her hands in her pockets, wishing she had changed into a pair of pants before leaving the house; She was wearing the double layer, mid-thigh length dress, and she was freezing her a** off! She glared as her breath came out in clouds of white, hunching her shoulders.

After walking for at least half an hour, she turned into an alleyway, smiling triumphantly to herself as she saw the ratty old sign announcing the store. B.C. Rich... Well, they're certainly modest with their name... She thought as she shoved the door open, slamming it shut quickly and leaning agaisnt it, relishing the feeling of warmth; Not much different then outside, but still better. After a moment of hurriedly rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try and warm them, she looked around the dirty shop. Nothing in there was clean, except for the instruments hanging on the walls. Guitars, symbols for drums, bongos, all sorts of things. There was a beatup counter on one side, with a suspicious looking guy sitting behind it, smoking a cigarette and reading the paper. He didn't even look up as the angel came in. Probably doesn't even know I'm a ******** angel... She thought, sneering to herself as her halo bobbed a little, the dim light coming from it making her hair appear more orangey gold.

She walked over to the racks of instruments, her eyes lingering on the guitars. She started sifting through them, looking at all of them. Damnit, no, none of them are good enough, they all look like they'd break if something touched it wrong... She trailed off in her head as her gaze landed on one particular guitar...

If a person could honestly get hearts in their eyes, Sere's would be bugged out like anything. She gingerly lifted the guitar off the rack, sitting on the dirty floor and resting the instrument in her lap. She slowly strummed her fingers across the strings; Soft notes echoed it, sounding fine, though some of the strings looked like they'd need to be replaced soon. s**t, this is what I want... Too bad I can't buy it... She thought sadly, about to stand up and put it back, before a thought froze her. But what if I don't pay for it...? A slow smile spread across her face. She was never the best at acting, but she figured there's a first time for everything, and she'd rather not have to answer any questions from the guy behind the counter, even though she doubted he was paying attention. She hid behind one of the guitar stands, peering cautiously at the guy reading. She reached into her bag, sitting on the floor again, till she pulled out a small bounce ball that Aqua had dropped in there at one point. She smiled slightly, spreading a wing and cupping it in the farthest primary feather. She spread the wing out and as far from her as possible, before chucking the bounce ball towards the cashier, quickly ducking back behind the guitar stand, strumming the strings of the guitar to make it look like she hadn't done anything.

The bounce ball shot through his paper, making a hole in it and hitting him in the nose. She smirked at his sudden stream of profanity, loud enough to burn the ears off an old lady. He immediately got up, stalking to where the ball had come from, which was conveniently six or seven feet away from Sere, since she had scooted some after throwing the ball. She picked up the guitar, standing up quietly but staying down in a crouche position, waiting till the man had moved behinid another rack of guitars before slowly creeping towards the door, holding her new prize by the neck as she opened the door. She let it shut with a soft thunk, before making a mad dash down the alley and around the corner, quick as she could; She heard a shout behind her, as she heard the door open and quick footsteps. Damnit, I think he saw me... Can't identify me though, unfortunate b*****d, only saw my boot most likely... She thought as she hightailed it down the street, making a turn whenever one was available. She was running for at least ten minutes, a stich forming in her side, causing her to breath heavily due to the sudden excercise her limbs were getting.

Finally she stopped running, the guitar still in her hands. She dropped the guitar unceremoniously on a nearby bench, bent double with her hands resting on her knees as she panted heavily. *Huff* Damn, think I *Huff* lost him... *Huff* She thought, falling onto the bench, her arms hanging over the back. Once she caught her breath, she sat up, pulling her new guitar onto her lab, tracing her fingers over the shiny black finish. Hmm, what to say if "mum" asks...? Ah, ******** that, just gonna tell her to bug off... Would rather say something else, but don't wanna get grounded for the rest've my ******** life, now do I? She asked herself, strumming the strings one last time before standing up, fiddling with the strings of her bag for a few minutes till she managed to slide the guitar into the strings, suspending it and causing it to lay flat across her back as she slowly backtracked till she got to familiar streets before heading home...

((Oooh, theif now? Aspiring musician? =O Find out next time, on the next episode! heart rofl ))

Sere was sitting on her bed, one knee tucked close to her chest while her other leg was straight out on the bed, and she was leaning agaisnt the wall where her bed was shoved into the corner. Her guitar was sitting on her lap, while she let her fingers idly pick away at the chords. Someone actually wants to listen to this s**t...? The angel though, remembering her meeting with the green-haired demon-girl a little while ago, when they had went to some random coffee shop across from where other people were playing in the snow. Sighing slightly, she gently laid the guitar on the bed-sheets before reaching under her pillow to pull out her diary. Can't believe I still keep this shitty thing... She thought, making a face while pulling out a pen from behind her ear, from when she had been writing down whatever notes she played.

-Diary-
I can't believe I'm still ******** writing in this... Anyways. Just trying to put together a song, though it probably sounds shitty. And some girl actually wants to listen to them. I met her a while ago, back when there was still snow on the ground, and we went to a coffee shop since the snow was freezing my a** off. Some damned old couple wouldn't stop staring; havn't they seen a ******** angel before? Ah, well. Zuko got to turn the charm on a bunch of kids, the damned *****. And I might have a new groupie. Ha, shouldn't get my hopes up, right?
-Sere-

Sere finished writting with a skrit-skrit of her pen, before she tossed the book into the corner of the room, shifting through the few papers she had written down her semi-decent songs on. Might as well give the other girl, Alida, a run for her money. Ha, as if she's paying... Sere thought sourly, picking up a small folder of papers covered in music staffs and her little, scrawling music notes, and sitting back down on the bed to continue picking away tunes.