Lori tilted her head to the side, confused. "Rock hunting? what's that for?" She enjoyed the image of she and Dren walking back to her place and was anxious to put that image into play, but she could be patient; it was one of her good qualities, or so others told her.

---

Shane let up a little, but just enough for her to get some air. He was grinning from ear to ear as he asked, "Had enough, or shall I continue?"

Dren had expected the question. After all, his family's tradition was quite an unusual one.
"For as long as my family has existed, we've had a tradition for the deceased. The remaining family members would create statues of the dead's dragon self. Then, it would be placed on the roof of the house. It was said that the spirits of the dead filled the statues and warded off bad luck. In which case, my aunt and her family must have no bad luck at all. When my grandparents died, they gave all the statues they possesed to my aunt. My parents were deathly ill, and I understand their not wanting it to be owned by two orphan brothers."
He sighed, remembering the day the will had been read out. It had not been the best of days.
"Well, when Viero...died, I was so busy wth trying to escape that fact, that I neglected to carve his statue. Now that I've started thinking about it in depth again, I feel the duty to."
He kept to himself the fact that his parents' statues, carved only a year before his leaving, were still at the house he had once lived in. He planned on getting them, but for now, he had other priorities.
I only hope Geva hasn't gotten to them yet. Oh, how'd she love her brother's statue. As for her sister-in-law's...Who knows what she'd do.

~~~

Flara nodded, gasping for breath.
"I'm good..."
She debated on shifting, just to ensure that the tickling wouldn't start again, but she threw out that option. She had promised herself she wouldn't sift unless clas.s required it. And this clas.s had turned into a social time.

((I say that they get there just as clas.s ends, and then Lori and Flara have the next clas.s together, and Dren and Shane are in a different clas.s together. ;D And Shyra can be wherever needed.))

(sound's good to me :3 some girl-talk time eh? XD)

Lori listened, intrigued. Just as they came upon the school, she said,

"My family has some of its own traditions, but nothing like that. Oh hey, we're back. Flara!!!" She waved excitedly.

---

Shane smiled, releasing her. Just then, he heard a voice break through the air. Turning, he saw Lori and Dren walking out of the trees. He sighed, secretly relieved that neither of them looked hurt. He also glanced at his watch; the period was one minute away from being over. "great timing..." he muttered.

----

Shyra had given up on searching for the two that had flown off, losing interest as she found a nice quiet little grove. She accidentally lingered there too long, simply sitting there and enjoying the serenity of it all, when she noticed the time; cla.ss was almost over, not that anyone noticed her absence anyways. Sighing, she made her way back. This had been a pretty boring cla.ss, but she a.ssumed that this wasn't what NORMALLY happened. As she came back to the school, she noticed, with annoyance, that the two runaways had returned. Snorting, she sauntered towards the doors, more than ready to go to her next cla.ss.

(Shyra's going to be in Dren and Shane's cla.ss :3)

((That should be interesting. And hey, starting Thursday, Ima be in Indiana for three weeks. I may be able to get on, but not much. I'll be back the tenth.))

Dren sighed in relief as they finally reached the school. Even though it wasn't as if anything would actually hurt them, they had defence, he felt a weight off of his shoulders. He now shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, the whole clas.s having seen his dragon self, the news would spread like a wildfire. Then he'd be pestered to no end. It was nice to finally shift again, but he'd probably end up slapping people if it got too bad, the pestering. But for now, he was just glad they had gotten back safely and without trouble. He tapped Lori lightly on the shoulder.
"You can tell Flara what I told you. About...Viero. But make her promise not to tell anyone else if you do tell her. I trust you won't say anything to anyone."
He was going to say more, but at that moment, Flara ran up and hugged Lori.
"Oh my gosh, I was so worried. I'm glad you two are okay, though."
She grinned, then glanced over at Dren.
"And you...I hope this doesn't turn into a daily thing. I don't think any of us could handle it if it does."
Dren nodded.
"Me included."

((Joo can time skip if you want. I was thinking Dren, Shyra and Shane be in art, but not sure if your two would like it much. XD))

((Art? Shane isn't into art much, Lori a little more, but SURPRISE SURPRISE, Shyra loves art X3 where would we time skip to? and don't worry about the not being able to get on much bit, you know i can't get on much regardless just because of work, but i AM done with my summer hire in two more weeks X3 so that should be good))

Lori managed to whisper to Dren, just as Flara came into hearing range, "I don't think Flara needs to know from me. If she does, you should probably She then turned to her friend, accepting the hug completely with a crushing one of her own. She smiled and said, "don't worry about it, Flara. If this does become a regular thing, we won't have to worry about combat cla.ss anymore!"

----

Shane shook his head, sighing. Everyone was always so energetic. he gave his friend a simple nod before staring off into empty space. This had been an interesting combat session to say the least. Dren's legendary dragon form finally made an appearance, Flara somehow retained her human form, and Shane nearly confessed his deepest darkest feeling to the one person he didn't want knowing about them. He was losing his self control, and he was losing it fast. it wouldn't be long before everything came crashing down. Glancing at Flara, who was still clinging to Lori, Shane hoped that she woudl be able to handle the impending crash.

((Lol. I was thinking the next clas.s because I'm too lazy to post anything for between them. XD And that's cool. I may be able to get on, so I dunno.))

Dren nodded. But it was likely he wouldn't say anything. At least not yet. One person was enough for today. At this point all he wanted to do was carve Viero's statue and crash. It had been a long day already. And it wasn't even noon yet.

~~

Flara released Lori from her hug and nodded.
"Yeah. But this clas.s is one of my favorites. I wouldn't want to miss it every day."
She got to thinking. If she'd never accidentally injured their teacher, then none of this would've happened. It was odd to think about it, actually.

((Braindead fail post.))

(hmm next cla.ss sounds okay, let's time skip then. all you really need to know is that Lori gossiped with Flara about "how much closer she got to Dren" and that Shyra spent the entire art period glancing in Shane and Dren's direction. I've got plans for her X3)

Stretching after her third period clas.s was over, Lori crooned, "It's lunch time, thank God." she pulled out the leftovers from last night's chinese and spun around, dancing on her heels as she asked Flara, "Want to share? There's plenty."

---

Shane had zoned out sometime during art and was caught off guard when the bell rang for lunch. With a sigh, he rose from his seat, looking at Dren and saying, "Want to find the girls first or grab something to eat before the lines get long?"

---

Shyra shuffled out the door once the bell rang, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do. During all three of her cla.sses, she hadn't made a single friend, probably since she gave off such a wonderful first impression. She groaned in frustration. this was supposed to be a simple year, not a lonely, complicated one. she glanced again in Shane and Dren's direction as that thought ended. Yea, very complicated...

((...Oh...Shyra's starting to creep me out. And of course Lori was gossiping. what else do girls do? XD And yay! You're on! <3))

Dren grinned.
"Food first. If we find them first we'll never get to eat."

((mai gawsh I'm braindead with Dren today. DX *headdesk* I'll probably be able to post more later, when its more interesting.))

~~~

Flara shrugged.
"I really don't mind. Not too hungry today, actually. Probably because I'm used to the appetite of a dragon."
She groaned. They were only halfway through the day. She was going to go insane.

((Wow. Braindead here, too.))

((hmmm only on for another 30 min or so, sowiiie))

Shane grinned in return, slapping dren on the shoulder as he said,

"Then we'd better hurry up else we'll lose our chance either way." he broke into a jog, glaring balefully at those hwo were rushing to the foodcourt on dragon wings or legs. he was half tempted to do the same but didn't want to put any pressure on Dren who had gone through one traumatic experience today already.

---

Lori already had a mouthful of chinese when she said,

"Vu fuld eet." This loosely translated to "You should eat."

(hihi im imagining Lori with a stuffed face X3))

((Aw. And lol. I am too. XD))

Flara nodded.
"I should. But I'm not. I'll probably eat something later. I could sneak something into History. Better to eat than sleep. Not like Mr. Bayler will notice."
She found it a miracle that she pas.sed history. She never paid attention and fell asleep a great deal of the time.

~~

Dren kept up nicely with Shane, and caught his glares at the shifted students. He didn't say anything, it was a daily thing, but usually, Shane never minded. He sighed. One shift and everything changed.

She waggled her fork at Flara, saying, "It's because I give you all of my notes to study! Don't act like it's some kind of big mystery, geez! Why do you sleep all the time anyways? You never do anything at home, why don't you sleep then?"

---

Shane was only slightly winded by the time they reached the line to the food court. He glanced at the menu, "Oooh, they have spagetti today.. and garlic bread! We're in luck!" He threw a thumbs up at Dren, saying, "Better hope Flara doesn't steal your bread like last time, it was really good."

Dren smiled.
"Yeah, but this time, I have a valid threat."
He didn't mind joking about it at this point. He already saw the shocked looks he was getting from other kids, most not in his combat clas.s. Man, the rumor was spread faster than a cold. Before long, it would be over-exaggerated. Then he'd have to start being rude again and set it all straight. He hated rumors for this reason.

~~

Flara sighed.
"Well, at my house, its too loud to sleep during the day. And sometimes, even at night. I have bad neighbors. Up all night having parties. I've called the cops on them 3 times already this month. I'm not going to do that again. Last time, I got a frustrated sigh as an answer to my call."

Lori munched on a fried egg as she mumbled, "That sucks. I would invite you to stay at my place, but.. you know...." She loved Flara as much as a best friend ever could, but she had been waiting for this opportunity with Dren for a very long time. not even friendship would stop her.

-----

Shane took note of the rumors and grinned, loudly saying,

"What threat? oh that you'll turn into your dragon form and eat her? Haha! That would be epic!"

Despite his teasing, he made sure to send a sweeping glare out to everyone. his was famous in school for being overprotective sometimes.... sometimes.

Flara shrugged. She didn't really mind.
"Eh. I'll live. Its not like I don't ever sleep. And anyways, I've dealt with it a few times on my own. I'm not a flameless shifter, you know. And they never know its me. Because, by time they come, I'm asleep with a perfect alibi. I'm not proud of it, but, all the same...they shouldn't be partying until 5 in the morning with a student living next door."
Though she was touched by Lori's 'offer' she knew how much it meant for her that Dren was going to be staying with her. Despite this she said nothing. Just smiled.

~~~

Dren hit him jokingly on the shoulder.
"Shut up! Not everyone knew yet. I'd like to stay unnoticed as long as possible, if possible at all."
Personally, he didn't mind everyone knowing, as long as he was left alone, which was highly possible due to the rumor that he'dkilled before. But, the rumor was false. It said that he'd killed on purpose. Which he hadn't.

Lori smiled, saying, "That's so like you, Flara. and don't say you don't like scaring them. Deep down, you know it's fun." Unlike Flara, Lori was a flameless dragon. On the other hand, though, Lori was much more adept in the air than many dragons that did have flames.

---

Shane snickered, picking up a bowl of spagetti and stuffing a piece of garlic bread in his mouth while piling three more on top of his bowl, earning him a sour look from the lunch lady. Luckily, she knew him and let him go. after swallowing the mouthful he had, he said, "Hurry up, Dren. Lori's going to be depressed if you're not there." He loved jabbing at Dren like that. From anyone else it probably would hurt, but Shane knew how to play it cool, stirring Dren up just enough to get him flustered and giving the mischevious dragon some entertainment.