Gypsy Camp
Just across the Milk Run Bridge from Stonebarrow, this flat, clear area has been set aside for travelers and merchants. Two freshwater wells are on site, along with a large map of the area and some bathroom facilities next to the swamp (where nobody will notice the smell). Currently, the area is temporary home to the Shadows Walk gypsy tribe. There colorful wagons are more or less centered on a central bonfire pit, and various lines run between the tops of the wagons to dry clothes or hang blankets to create larger private areas. The smell of various types of cooking keeps the odor of the swamp at bay.

The nap did Olivia a lot of good; she could almost feel her Gunther-Tolerance-O-Meter filling back to its usual level. The food wasn't bad either, if a bit stale. Now refreshed, Olivia has found her way over to the gypsy camp. Instead of the usual dull meanderings of the various tribesfolk, Olivia is greeted with a gaggle of children surrounding Djivan's wagon. Djivan is sitting on the roof and yelling at the kids. "Go avay!" he says as he makes exaggerated shooing motions with his arms.

Olivia casts a somewhat wary eye over the scene around Djivan's wagon, but smooths out the creases in her bright blue skirt and ventures ahead, anyway. Not only has she found the time for a meal and a nap, but she also changed into a prettier outfit for the Skreek's benefit, complete with an off-the-shoulder blouse that she knows he likes. As she approaches the crowd of children, she calls up to the gypsy, "What's happening here – did you rob the kids' candy jars and now they're here to collect?"

"No, a certain bat come up wit' a game called 'pin de tail on de Skreek'. With real pins," Djivan growls at the kids, "Me butt is not a pincushion!" The kids have the biggest sorts of grins as they look back up at Djivan.

Olivia face-palms and laughs! "Well, I have to give Liliana points for creativity, at least!" she calls up to him, grinning.

Amelia pauses behind one of the other wagons, to see how this will play out.

"Oh sure, take her side," Djivan huffs and crosses his arms. "Vou be snoggin' 'er next, I bet! Hmph."

Not to be deterred, the children actually start rocking the wagon!

Olivia just shakes her head, grinning even wider. "You know I don't swing that way, Djivan, so you're going to get no sympathy from me there. And unless you know how to fly, you'd better hope you have on iron underwear," she teases, watching the children try to rock the Skreek off its roof.

"Dey all say that until Lili gets 'er claws into em," Djivan insists! Glowering now, the Skreek somehow disappears from view. Maybe he finally got around to installing that trapdoor in the ceiling. There isn't a whole lot of time to wonder about that, really, as the door bursts open and out jumps a now well armored (in pots) Djivan. He totes several buckets of water. The water flies … and so do the kids in every direction!

Amy sneaks up behind Olivia, and whispers to her, "Seriously, Lili hasn't managed to snog you yet?"

Olivia jumps out of the way as water and kids flow around her. Amazingly, she doesn't get a single drop on her, although she does get shoved around by some of the larger children. She's just about to smooth her skirt out again when Amy suddenly comes up behind her and she starts in surprise! "Oh, hi again, Amy!" she says breathlessly. "I didn't know you were here already. And no, Lili hasn't snogged me. I'd like to keep it that way!"

"She's a vampire," Amy notes. "Just eat lots of stinky cheese beforehand, and she won't be able to go through with it."

"An next time I'll whack yas with the pots, too!" Djivan yells after the children.

And speaking of the bat, she drops down from the branches of a nearby tree and cackles maniacally. "Always said yas vere a pain in de butt," she manages out to Djivan between fits of giggles.

"Where'd you get all those pots from anyway, Djivan?" Amelia asks the rat. "You didn't strike me as the cooking type."

Olivia laughs a little at the suggestion. "I'll… keep that in mind," she says to Amelia. When Liliana appears, she actually draws closer to Djivan's wagon, just in case she has to bolt for the door!

Djivan drops one of the pots onto his head like a makeshift helmet. "Doncha know? I like bein' potted," he deadpans.

"I don't get it," Amy admits to Olivia.

Liliana gets to her feet and dusts herself off. Instead of trying to sneak up on Olivia, though … she starts sneaking up on Amelia. Her wings are spread out and her lips pulled back to bare her fangs. Her fingers even wiggle in a rather 'mwahhahaha' sort of way, too.

The Skeek just rolls her eyes heavenward. "Never mind. You don't want to know, anyway!"

"Oh, is it some perverted Skreek thing then?" Amy asks, narrowing her eyes a bit at Djivan now.

"It means gettin' drunk. For a small town girl, yer awfully clueless," Djivan huffs at Amelia.

"What? No, he just means… Arrgh, it's a joke, Amy!" Olivia says, half-groaning and half-laughing. "And a very bad one, at that!"

Since Amelia has taken no action to try and avoid a Liliana … well, the Kadie suddenly finds herself enveloped in leathery bat wings. The last thing she sees before she discovers herself in a rather fangy lip-lock is the two glowing red eyes of the Eee. Snog!

"Aackthpt!" Amy says from within the cocoon. "I'm gonna start eating cheese!" she threatens once she gets control of her mouth back.

Olivia just keeps backing up until she runs right into Djivan, pots and all! "Better you than me," she says, grinning.

"But if vou did dat, vou vouldn't get Ol' Zahnny to snog yas either," Liliana coos at Amelia with a wickedly playful grin. She lets the Kadie go and just wraps her wings around herself instead. Today Liliana has apparently gone all out with her earrings again; she must literally have a couple of dozen attached to her ears in various ways. They wiggle as she laughs, jingling away like some sort of mutant wind chime.

Djivan drops a pot onto Olivia's head which ends up covering up Olivia's eyes. "An you. Nice of yas to come to my rescue and all," he grumbles.

"I don't understand why you and Djivan ever broke up," Amy grumbles at Lili. "And maybe Zahn likes cheese. It could happen."

"Hey!" Olivia yells… then suddenly discovers that this was a bad idea, since the resulting echo from within the pot is enough to make her head hurt. With a grimace, she pulls the pot off her head and sticks her tongue out at Djivan. "I already came to your rescue when that no-good louse of a father of yours showed up. So I think you owe me one!"

"Cuz it was kinna like dating a brother or somethin'. We grew up together. It jus seem weird, even if it had its fun moments," Liliana comments when she finally quits laughing. "He a good guy an all, me best friend in fact. Jus … not for me in dat way, eh?"

At the mention of his father, Djivan sobers up considerably. He takes back his pot and mutters, "Yeah, vell. Dat vasn't my fault."

Tail twitching, Amy turns to Olivia and asks, "So, should I tell him about the secret romantic otter-proof snogging spot?"

Olivia sighs at the Skreek's quick change in mood. Then she takes off the pot he was wearing as a helmet and tosses it to the ground, followed quickly by the pot he had put on her head. With that, she takes Djivan's face in both her hands and snogs him! When she finally lets go, she pokes his nosetip several times with one forefinger and says, "You. Quit sulking. Now!"

"Why? It gets me more snogs," Djivan mutters as the corners of his lips twitch as he tries desperately not to grin. "Now, vhat brings vou an de incredible black-butt out to me camp today, hmm?"

Olivia nods over her shoulder to Amelia and says, "Amy has a suggestion of where we might go on our next date… but there are certain conditions that you need to be aware of. Can we go into your wagon and talk about it?"

"Vell … I dunno. Dere are certain rules in effect vhen you enter me wagon," Djivan warns as he tries to look thoughtful.

"What… rules?" Olivia asks, looking confused. Apparently, this is the first she ever heard of any.

"I'm not wearing your socks, if that's one of them," Amelia insists.

"Vell, dere's de clothing optional rule for one," Djivan says. "I know Amelia goes clothing optional now an den… "

"I'm done shedding my winter coat, so don't count on it," Amy notes.

"Can't blame a guy fer tryin'," Djivan laments.

The Kadie turns to Lili and asks, "Is that true? We can't blame him?"

"Vell, vou kin try blamin' him, but it never stick," Liliana notes as she saunters over to Olivia and Djivan.

"Hmm, something that won't stick to Djivan, eh?" Amelia muses.

Olivia just groans and says, "For heaven's sake, Djivan, you saw her naked all of one time for about five seconds and you keep harping on it? So… tell me again why I'm snogging you?" she asks, pretending to be seriously hurt by this.

"Because of my irresistible charm, good looks, an money?" Djivan offers and grins.

Liliana passes Olivia and Djivan by. As she goes, she leans over and licks along Djivan's cheek while winking at Olivia. "He all vours. Good luck," she tells the Skeek. With a wiggle of her fingers, the Eeee slinks off to sow more chaos elsewhere. Djivan … well, he wipes his cheek off and makes a futile swipe at his flying friend. "Oh, git outta here," he grumbles.

"Can we go inside now?" Amy asks.

"Yes, please tell me there aren't any more rules," Olivia agrees, while rolling her eyes again at the Skreek.

"Dere is one more," Djiivan says and holds up a finger. "Amelia is required to ask like dis 'Oh, may I enter vour abode, vou paragon of Skreek greatness?"

"I'm not saying anything I don't understand all the words to," Amelia declares.

"Close enough!" Djivan declares. He turns, opens the door, and walks into his wagon. His tail sticks out the door and makes a 'come hither' gesture as he calls out, "Enter, me prospective harem, enter!"

"His what?" Amy asks Olivia. "I thought it was a wagon."

Olivia turns to Amelia and looks at her sympathetically. "I am so sorry for this," is all she can answer. Then she leads the way into the Skreek's wagon, rubbing her forehead vigorously with one hand.

The squirrel follows behind, trying to be prepared for anything. Well, almost anything.

Djivan's junkyard
His wagon is in a much better state of repair than it was several months ago. The roof has been fixed and everything has been given a fresh coat of paint … even the socks stuck on the wall (everyone was afraid to touch them to remove them). But, repaired and painted as it is, it's still full of typical guy clutter. Clothing is tossed in piles and nothing is organized at all.

Amy eyes each and every pile of debris for movement before letting her guard down.

Djivan is lounging on his bed. Well, assuming it's abed under all the dirty clothing. He's laying on his stomach with his feet curled upward, along with his tail. They sway as he idly spreads his toes apart. "So, vhat is up, hmm?" he asks.

Olivia settles herself on a small part of the floor that isn't covered by laundry and looks at Amelia. "Like I said, Amy knows of a place that might do for a date-spot. It's even free of otters! But, er, there are a few things about it that you should know… "

"Dat so? An just vhat are de terms, hmm? An how do I know dis isn't some plot by her t' get rid o' me?" Djivan asks rather bluntly (for him).

"Yeah," Amy says. "Like, in order to keep it free of otters, you have to be blindfolded for part of the way so that you can't reveal the location when you're drunk and gambling with 'em. Secondly, you have to stay in a particular place during the night. And you can't be afraid of heights."

"So, vou're sayin' vou don't trust me?" Djivan asks Amelia.

"Are you saying you don't drink and gamble with otters?" Amy counters.

"I do it responsibly," Djivan counters.

Amelia looks to Olivia to back that claim up or shoot it down.

Olivia tries to hide her smile behind one hand and fails miserably. "Um, then what happened that one night when you had to sneak back into camp naked because Emmett won all your clothes from you?" she asks, all innocence.

"Dat vas a fluke," Djivan says and snorts. "Coul' happen t' anyone."

Olivia gives the Skreek a very knowing stare and mutters, "Uh… huh. Riiiight."

"So… blindfold," Amy checks off on her fingers. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"Are you afraid of Lapis?" Djivan answers the question with a question.

"What? Of course not," Amelia says. "What does that have to do with heights though?"

"Dere's vour answer, den," Djivan says smugly.

Olivia turns to Amelia this time and says, "Now I don't get it."

Amy's tail twitches enough to raise a small dust cloud now. "Fine," she says. "Final condition: No matter what you hear at night, will you be able to stay with Olivia and not try to go investigate?"

"Heh, trus' me, I know vhat ve be hearin' if I be staying de night vit Olivia," Djivan says with another of his trademark playful grins. "Ve'll be occupied."

Aside to Olivia, Amy whispers, "Better bring some rope to tie him down with, just in case."

Olivia manages to blush and throw one of the Skreek's dirty shirts at him at the same time.

Djivan just smiles at Olivia. "Yes?" he asks innocently.

However, the Skeek does look thoughtful at the mention of ropes… but probably not for the same reason. "I'll keep that in mind, too," she says cryptically. Then she smiles back at Djivan. Rather evilly.

"Ooo, scary," Djivan observes and waggles his fingertips at the Skeek. "So, dat all vou vanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, did you want to go to this secret spot then?" Amy asks the rat.

"Coul' be fun. So, vhy not," the Skreek agrees.

Olivia nods and adds, "And I'm game if you are. I just wanted you to know what was involved first, so you could make up your own mind about going to this place or not."

"Okay then," the Kadie says, clapping her hands together and rubbing them. "Olivia, do you remember how to get to that bunker north of the Gnarly Tree, where we tried to trap Valicross?"

Olivia nods again. "I think so."

"Okay, we can start from there," Amy notes. "Just bring whatever you think you'll need. Do you want to try for overnight, or just a day trip?"

"Well, it sounds like Djivan wants to spend a night there," Olivia points out, quirking an eyebrow at the gypsy.

"I'm game fer a campout," Djivan agrees.

"When do you want to leave then?" Amy asks. It's nearly afternoon now.

"I kin leave vhenever Olivia vants to," Djivan offers. "So, up to Olivia."

"How long of a walk is it?" Olivia wants to know now.

Amelia hmms. "Well, maybe ten minutes blindfolded, and another hour to hit the safe spot and the grotto… "

"So it seems like we could make it to the safe spot before dark," Olivia notes, looking to Djivan to see if this is what he wants to do.

"Hey, don' look at me, I'm gon be de blindfolded an helpless one in dis," Djivan teases. "If vou vant t' go now, ve kin. Vou might need to pack some supplies, though," he does point out.

Amy snaps her fingers, and says, "Oh yeah, almost forgot. There's a swimming hole. So, bring towels."

"I'm sure I will," Olivia answers. "Well, as long as we have time to pack and make it to the safe spot before nightfall, I'm game for going today."

"Alright then, I'll meet you at the bunker after I grab some lunch," Amelia notes, and turns to the door.

"Towels? I kin bring de towels!" Djivan declares. He bends over and fishes under his bead for a bit. In a moment, he pulls out two rather stiff pieces of fabric. "Hmm, dese used t' bend," he comments, "Not like I shoul' have to vash dem, since dey just be used t' dry off after a bath, so deys gots to be clean."

Olivia grimaces at the sight of them, shaking her head violently. "Oh no, I am not drying off with one of those nasty things!" she declares. "You'd better let me bring the towels."

At the sight of the towels, Amelia's tail curves into a question mark as she pauses at the door. "Any questions before I leave you to your packing?" she asks.

"Yeah, vhat is de catch? Vou haven' ever been nice t' me before," Djivan asks pointedly. He tosses the old towels to the side. They fly disturbingly well before hitting the wall with a loud thunk.

"The catch?" Amy ponders as she opens the door. "Oh, I'm doing this for Olivia. And there's the teensiest possibility you could have your head shaved by trolls if you don't stay in the safe spot."

"Hey, dat sounds like fun," Djivan comments with a grin.

Olivia shudders. "Ugh, now there's something I don't need to see – a bald Djivan!"

"Eh, I'd reclaim the hair and use it to help someone truly in need. I mean, you have looked at Amelia's tail, right? It needs some serious help," Djivan says with a smirk.

Olivia cringes and remarks to her obviously brain-damaged boyfriend, "You really are asking to get skewered today, aren't you?"

"Then again, if you don't use some soap, they might mistake you for carrion and eat you," Amy retorts, and hugs her tail to her chest protectively. "And at least Olivia and I don't have naked tails, unlike a certain Skreek."

"Dat be right. I have nothing t'hide," Djivan counters playfully.

"Then why do you wear pants?" Amy asks, then zips out of the door before Djivan can take that as a challenge.

"So I don' make everyone else in town jealous!" Djivan calls after Amelia, then falls into a fit of laughing. "She really fun, vou know?"

Olivia gives the Skreek a piercing glance, then says, "What you really mean is that she's fun for you to tease. Honestly, Djivan, one of these days you'll go too far and she will skewer you on her halberd!"

"Eh, deep down she adore me," Djivan says dismissively. "Everyone adore de Djivan."

Olivia merely hmfs at this, then stands up, too. "And on that note, I think I'll go and pack! Not forgetting the towels… and the rope, of course."

"Whoowhoo," Djivan says as he stretches out. Now laying on his back and looking at Olivia upsidedown, he asks, "So, vou gonna come here t' get me or I come to you inna bit?"

"You can come to me this time," the Skeek says, pausing in the doorway and blowing Djivan a kiss. "Don't be late, or you will get your head shaved by trolls if we have to find our way there in the dark!"