It's now night-time and the camp has quieted down considerably from the day. A few campfires burn here and there, but for the most part people have retreated to their wagons. The gypsy caravan looks a bit more lively, or rather one of the wagons does. Several campfires burn near it and shadows flickering from behind the wagon indicate at least two people are there.

"Ech, you move too stiffly," says the familiar voice of Liliana. "Vou have de moves down, but vou move too rigid. Vou need to relax and let the dances flow … like a river. Vou move more like a fire."

Morgan walks down the side of the road with bottle in hand and hands folded above his tail. He looks, if anything, rather nervous. When he approaches close enough to hear voices he suddenly freezes and starts to fidget. "Must be calm, must be calm," is the mantra he whispers to himself.

"It's hard enough to relax," comes a familiar female voice from behind the wagon. "I keep worrying these handkerchiefs you've got me wearing will tear."

"Pfft. Dey won't tear, don' be silly. Dey is designed to hold up under stress and grabbing. An' dey look good on you; vou have the right body for de look," Liliana tells the other person. "Vou should only vorry vhen you start vearing the jewelry. It's an important part, for sound and reflection. But, dey can break easily."

Morgan's ears do a sort of wilt-and-perk as he simultaneously visualizes the potential of tearing handkerchiefs and then mentally berates himself for it. He blushes, fidgets some more, then looks around as if deciding if he should run or keep moving forward.

"I don't know about the bangles and stuff," Amelia replies. "I still think of this more as exercise than, you know, dancing," the Kadie admits. "And what do you mean by grabbing?"

"Veeeell, drunk and overly excited guys get grabby. So, vou need to be good at dodging," comes Liliana's amused voice. "And really, jus' exercise? Vou have de superb body for de dance. Actually better den mine, but I'll deny I ever said dat. And hmm, speaking of guys, I vonder vere my date is. He late."

The man suddenly blinks. He knows that voice. He ought to have realized it sooner, and he distinctly suspects Liliana does something to his ability to think straight. It's Amelia! "What does she mean by grabbing," Morgan repeats in a whisper to himself. He looks down at the bottle in his hands and suddenly stifles a cough.

"Someone asked you out already?" Amy asks. There's the sound of softly rustling cloth, and then: "How's this? Are my shoulders and tail keeping straight enough?"

"No, I asked someone out," replies Liliana. "Really cute guy named Morgan Nightshade. Came buy earlier to greet us. T'ink I scared him a bit tho. He could barely speak, but am glad he agreed. Been really lonely and glum 'round here lately." A shadow moves and seems to circling the other one. "Yes, dey are. Vou have very good control of vour body already. Good balance. Just' realized vour tail prolly veys close to vhat my vings do. so, dis be easier to teach Kadie than I first t'ought."

"As long as I keep it up high," Amy comments. "Wow, Morgan on a date. Does your Dame Natasha know about this?" the Kadie asks.

Morgan's eyes widen at the mention of his name. He gives the trail one last, and vaguely panicked, look as he realizes there's no getting out of this now. He stands there indecisive for a moment more until Amelia inquires about Dame Natasha – then he's rushing forward. "Hi Liliana!"

"No, I see no reason to tell her about vho I date. Is not like Morgan is some vierd t'ing, no… ? " Liliana starts to say, then spins around. "Oh! Vou made it!" Morgan is greeted to two women rather scantily dressed in brightly colored silks. Liliana is both bejeweled and silken. Amelia is just dressed in silks, folded and tied to make a makeshift, and very short, skirt along with a blouse.

"Hey Morgan!" Amelia calls out, grinning. "Look what I can do!" Holding her arms up over her head and keeping her tail close against her back, the Kadie swivels and rolls her hips while keeping her torso relatively stationary. "Pretty neat, eh?"

Morgan skids to a stop when he comes in to the light and gets a good look at the two women. He looks to Liliana, then Amy, and then seems about to say something when Amelia begins her demonstration. His mouth hangs open for a moment as a bewildered look crosses his face, and then he snaps it shut and simply nods.

"I guess I'll leave you two to your date," Amy says, winding down. "If you have any sores or warts you want to get rid of, be sure to point them out to Morgan, Lily," she adds as she gets her staff and bag of clothing from the side of the wagon. "He can fix you right up!"

"Oh, vou tvo mus' know each other!" Liliana says, grinning fangily as usual. "Is he always so quiet? An … so confused lookin'?"

"Oh, he's not usually this way," Amelia says. "And yeah, we kinda grew up together, and I plan on having some of his kids eventually," she adds.

Liliana blinks. "Oh! Vell. I guess askin' him out vas a bad idea, den. sorry about dat. Didn' know," Liliana apologizes.

"I'm, um, not, er," mumbles Morgan, the slightly confused expression remaining. He fidgets with the hands holding the bottle behind his back. "Y-yes, er, Amelia. Uh." If he was red before, now he's a small fire.

Amy blinks at the Eeee. "What? We aren't a couple or anything," the dark-furred girl says. "He's practically my brother," she notes, patting Morgan on the back. "But he has something special that I want my children to have, that's all."

"Yes, but … dat seems strange. Er, gypsy customs don' vork dat vay," Liliana says now, actually stumbling over her own speech for a change. Her eyeborws arch, noticeably, because her eyes flare up brighter from being opened a bit more.

"I don't care much for customs," Amelia says. "And I've got a few years at least before I'll be ready anyway. Until then, any instruction you can give Morgan to make it more fun later on will be appreciated," she adds, winking at the bat.

Meanwhile Morgan goes through several twitches of ear and tail before he dazedly walks over to the nearest log and plops himself down on it. The bottle is set down, then leaned on heavily. "I, um, well … we … not, usually," he offers unintelligibly. He stares fixedly at the ground.

Picking up her things, Amy heads off into the dark. "Just try not to break him or anything!" she calls back.

"Vou people are strang'. An' people vonder about gypsies. Ve have not'ing on vou all," Liliana says, sounding rather decided on that point. The bat runs her claws through her red and black striped hair. "Didn' know vou vere takin'. Not vith de vay you spoke earlier."

"I'm, uh … ," the male Kadie takes a deep breath, "… not taken." He allows a few more breaths, then looks up. "I didn't know she, uh, felt … er, planned? … that way. Actually," he ruffles his hair absently, " … I thought she didn't like me at all. No one here does. Not that way, not unless it's just … platonic. Or, whatever that would be. Not like you do."

Liliana squats down in front of Morgan. She watches him with glowing eyes for a moment. "Vhy is dat? Do vou hide all th' time or somethin'? Nothing seems vrong vith vou," she asks, sounding genuinely curious. "Sure, vou are a bit shy, but. Dats no reason."

"I … guess you better know now. I'm sorry, but, I didn't want to mention it because I thought your opinion of me would change. I just … really wanted you to see me as you did the day we met, but I'll understand if you hold it against me," the Kadie says. He watches the Eeee for a moment and then looks away guiltily. After another deep breath he admits, "I'm a witch."

"An'?" Liliana asks, sounding rather confused as to why that should bother her. "I'm a vampire. I drin' blood. Can' change what we are. Doesn' mean dats all we are."

"Oh," Morgan says, sounding a bit stunned. "I guess it's nothing then? Really?" He looks up with hope in his eyes. "You're so understanding Liliana. I don't think I've met anyone quite like you."

"Vell, look aroun' you. Ve are de Shadowsvalk. Ve are called de lost. People vithout a real place in de vorld. So, I guess ve know vhat it feels like to be judged, is all," Liliana says and sits down on the log next to Morgan. "Some people are born differen'. Doesn' mean dey shouldn' be treated like everyone else. Look at Natasha, for example. She came' to us vears ago. Before I vas born, but I heard de tales of her. A bedraggled Khatta vho couldn' even speak our language found on a river shore. Ve took her in since she had no place to go. She became part of our family and now she is our leader and protector." The Eeee shrugs and says, "So, vou are a vitch? Vou are also a man. Vou are also a Kadie. Vou are also nice. Vou are a lot of t'ings, an someone I vant to spend time vith." She then reaches over and taps Morgan's nose with a claw, saying and winking, "Jus' don' turn me into a frog, yes?"

Morgan blushes when his nose is tapped, and he giggles. "As long as you don't steal me," he counters teasingly, "and even that I could forgive." He smiles a little too. "I guess I'm just so used to women looking at me like I'm their sister. I mean that's great, it's excellent. Without their trust I couldn't help them as I do. But it gets a little lonely. Amelia is a good example."

"Vell. Have you ever shown dem de other vou?" Liliana asks.

He folds his hands in his lap and stares at his hands as he thinks. "You know, I don't think I ever did. Not strongly. My duties are very involved, and I'm usually very busy learning or helping. It was just … easier to be accepted one way, and it became a habit," Morgan explains.

Liliana turns herself on the log and starts crawling into Morgan's lap a bit. She arches her back forward and looks directly in his eyes. "Vell, den try not to get upset vith dem for not seein' it," she says, then grins in an almost predatory way. "An' all the better for me. Vou are mine now." She winks.

Morgan sort of begins to fall over when Liliana crawls into his lap and he leans away in surprise. Either it's the sudden shock or the sudden weakness caused by having a beautiful woman so close, or maybe both, and again he's bright red. "Oh," he mumbles. Then, after he catches himself from falling completely, adds, "How terrible," and grins widely.

"Yes, tis horrible," Liliana agrees and nods sagely. She then reaches down and takes the bottle into her hand. Teasingly, she slinks back to her spot on the log and looks at it. "So, let's see vhat you brought. I expect only de best for greeting visitors," she says playfully.

"Oh it is the best," Morgan tells Liliana with confidence. "Appela was quite willing to help as a returned favor. It's apple wine, a local specialty made by the Apple clan."

"Vine made vith apples?" Liliana says dubiously as she turns over the bottle in her hands. Then, with a shrug, the Eeee starts working on the cork. "Did vou remember glasses?" she asks.

"Er, I guess I did forget something," Morgan admits. He fidgets a little and suggests, "I guess we'll have to just drink out of the bottle. I won't tell if you won't."

"Oh, it's not a problem," Liliana says and then winks toward Morgan as the cork pops loudly. "Tis not like I von't be kissing vou later, eh?" Then without missing a beat, the Eeee sniffs the bottle and takes a sip from it.

Morgan watches curiously, and with a little bit of apprehension. "Oh, well, … yeah," he agrees.

"I'm guessing vou aren't de main vitch of de town. So, vho is? Vour mother, perhaps?" Liliana asks and offers the bottle to Morgan. "And, vou vere right, it's very good."

The man nods reluctantly as he takes the bottle. "Yes, my mother Isolde. I think you may have met her when she went to check on the strange feathered man," he answers. He takes a sip, and he does so a little quickly after talking about mom.

"Oh, ves, her. Traditional sort. She velled at Olivia for letting me pierce her ears," Liliana says and looks at her toes, which she wiggles. "I don' think she'd approve of vou seeing me, yes?"

"Um, no," Morgan agrees slowly. He frowns briefly, takes another sip, then blinks and hands the bottle to Liliana with an apologetic smile. "But you're right: no one will see me as anything else unless I change, and change a lot. The brighter the light the deeper the shadow. Contrast. I'll be wild like Zahnrad or Emmett, you just wait."

Liliana turns and looks at Morgan, one eye wider than the other. "Oh, good. Den I can dye your fur sometime," she says, grinning mischievously. The Eeee takes a long drink, then giggles. "I don' see you as needin' to be wild, just' … more open. I t'ink you hide too much."

Morgan bites his lip in thought briefly before saying, "I don't try to hide. Maybe it's just a witch's way to watch and hide, to speak rarely so that when you do the words carry more weight." He holds a hand out for the bottle. "You think I really should just get out more?"

"As vou are now, probably," Liliana says. The Eeee Hops up and spins, gripping the log with her feet. She leans in close to Morgan, nose to nose. "But, I also expect dat time to be with me, ves?" she says, then winks again … and licks Morgan's nose.

Morgan blushes and grins widely when the bat licks his nose, then giggles. He leans forward and bumps his nose to the woman's lips. "I think you've got a deal, but I think I get the better part of this bargain," he tells her.

Liliana nips Morgan's nose, then sits back down. "Pish," she says and waves her hand. She offers the bottle back to Morgan, saying, "Vou should quit putting vourself down."

The man rubs his nose as he accepts the bottle. He keeps grinning, though. "I thought I was making a romantic compliment," he concedes. After a brief sip he adds, "I guess I need to work on it."

"Oh! Vell, in dat case," Liliana says and reaches over. She hooks her claws into Morgan's shirt and pulls him over firmly and gently. Quickly, the bat kisses Morgan then lets go, saying with a wink, "Compliment accepted."

Morgan almost doesn't catch himself from falling in the bat's lap. "Dah," he gibberishes while grinning like an idiot.

Liliana watches Morgan for a moment. She then just pulls Morgan into her lap since he seems to be teetering that way anyway and then rests her arms on him as if this were an everyday occurrence. "Now, let's see, is dere anything you vant to know about us? I know ze town is probably talkin' a bit about us by now," she asks.

It takes Morgan a moment to recover from being pulled in the pat's lap. His tail, too, makes itself a bother. It's almost half as big as he is and could probably take up a lap of it's own. As he untenses – and manages his tail – he asks, "I know you dance, and that you were born a gypsy – that's right isn't it? – but I'm sure you have other hobbies too. There's a lot to do around here if you have something you really like."

"Ves, dat's right. As for hobbies, managing the other dancers doesn't leave me a lot of free time, no matter vhat Djivan says," Liliana says as she starts absently combing through Morgan's hair with her claws. "I took over for my mother vhen she got too old to dance anymore."

The combing seems to really calm the man down. In short order his muscles have lost their tension and he lays back against the woman with his tail in his hands, and the bottle on his tail. "Wow, you know we kind of have that in common," he comments. "As a witch I am constantly busy. You might be amazed at how often people can hurt themselves in creative ways, especially Akwavi. Otters will jump off anything if there's even a glass of water to catch their fall." He taps his tail against the bottle. "I'll take over for my mother too, eventually."

"It's such a pain, too," Liliana continues, her combing moving hair from one side to the other, then back. "I didn' realize how hard it vas to organize people. I've also apologized to my mother a lot, since I used to act just like de girls act toward me. Bleh." She sticks out her tongue briefly. She then shrugs and sighs, "But, vhat can I do? Ve get the most supplies from our shows. If I quit, ve would be in vorse shape den ve are now. It's been nothing but a string of bad days lately. Every town ve have visited has had something bad happen vhile ve where there. One more problem, and vell, it might be de end of us."

"If that happens I'll find a place for you. I mean, all of you," Morgan says with certainty. "Here, or elsewhere if I have to. I promise." He lifts the bottle, sips, then holds it up so Liliana can sip without moving her hands. "Maybe you can tell your dancers you're seeing a witch. Then they maybe they'll think twice. I can't really tell anyone what to do, and they're not even from around here, and besides that I don't have the hat on – but you'd be surprised how much weight that carries."

"What? De hat is heavy? Is day why de Kadie are all so short?" Liliana asks and stifles a giggle.

Morgan giggles at that even as he tries to look quite stern. "The hat," he begins in a quasi-lecturing tone "is the symbol of a witch's authority, and has been for generations." In a more normal tone he offers, "Kadies are short because … we fit better in the lap of beautiful Eeee that way?"

Liliana rubs her chin in a mock imitation of serious thought over that. "Okay, I suppose vou get a point for dat one," she remarks with a grin, then taps Morgan's nose again. "Get enough points and vou get a prize, of course."

"I like prizes," Morgan says as he looks cross-eyed at his nose. He smiles then, and rolls his head to look back at the bat behind him. "This is the best time I've had in a long time, and that's saying a lot with the Frog Prince invasion."

Liliana looks down. "Frog Prince invasion? Vou have a kingdom of frogs? De frogs have princes?" she says, looking quite skeptical. "If de princes are frogs, den whoo, I don' see why someone hadn' grabbed vou by now! Frog, bleh!"

Morgan bursts out laughing. "Ha, no, no. You see a local legend suggests the Frog Prince, or maybe it was King, comes to find a bride every so often. Well to everyone's surprise he really did come and really did demand a bride. It turns out he was just lonely. I can sympathize now, poor guy." He smiles. "Now he comes around every year during the Frog Festival. That's when we nominate our Frog Princess by the way."

"Are vou pulling my ving?" Liliana asks, brows raised. "Vell, at least tell me he didn' wear a little crown? Did he croak?" Liliana tries really hard to hold a straight face after that statement.

"Wellll," the witch-man wiggles to roll where he can see the bat better, "he's a giant frog, I think he's allowed to croak."

Liliana leans over Morgan, looking in his face upside-down like. "Is dis better?" she asks and grins. Her ears wiggle a bit, then wag back and forth … just to see how long it is before Morgan laughs.

"Yes." The man then suddenly leans up to kiss the bat's nose and laughs lightly. "Much better." He tries to wiggle his ears around too, then makes a silly face.

Liliana giggles, then tsks. "Oooo, I have a lot to teach vou, yes," she muses and grins evilly. "Vou should do it more like dis… " she says, then tilts her head to the side and kisses Morgan again. She then sits back up and goes on as if nothing happened. "Vell, aside from beeg croaking frogs, vhat else goes on around here, hm?"

The question doesn't seem to have registered. Morgan looks like he needs some time to catch up, really, as he's still lost in the kiss a few seconds ago. It gives him a wide-eyed, blushing, happy sort of stunned look.

"Oooh, vou must have lots of silence dat goes on here, very fascinating," Liliana says and nods her head sagely.

Morgan licks his lips as he seems to snap out of it. "What? Oh, uh … What else do we do? Well there's our dances which are rather popular. We have a number of holidays and festivals, too, which we celebrate. There are the hot springs in the woods which are very popular in the winter time. We also have one of the few dams to be found in these parts, annnd if you're the adventurous sort there's the old barrow and the ruins around the city," he answers.

"Ooooh, hot springs and dark ruins, hmm? Very romantic, those places," Liliana says as she taps her chin and grins. "I expect vou to give me a tour of both. An' I'm sure our tribe can' help out vith the festivals. It vould give us t'ings to look forward to.""

Morgan butts his nose against the finger affectionately. "I'll be glad to. I don't think anyone has explored all of the ruins, either, so there's always something new to see. I've traveled quite a ways around the town and they seem almost endless," he agrees, then he tilts his head. "I can write a list of all our holidays and festivals so you know when to arrive."

Liliana goes back to combing Morgan's hair with her claws. "Ves, dat would be good. Not sure vhen ve'll actually be leaving, tho. Ve aren't in shape to travel right now," Liliana says. She blinks then continues, "Wai', you mentioned vou had a dam here, ves? Dat reminds me of somet'ing Natasha mentioned recently. She said she had a vision of some'ting bad happening dere soon. Said she saw someone die there. Don' know if it's true, or just somet'ing random she saw. She's been under a lot of strain lately."

Morgan begins to sit up. "Die?" The smile drains form his face to be replaced by worry. "My mother told me Lady Natasha has the gift, and I'm inclined to believe her," he says. He searches the bat's face as he asks, "Did she mention when? Or how? Any clues?"

"No' much. Not to me, anyway. T'ink she told more to vour friend Amelia about it. I vouldn't vorry so much about it jus' yet. Madame Natasha always says de future is hard to see. Many possibilities, interconnected by de threads of fate. It shifts as the threads are plucked, one by one. Jus' that's how t'ings aligned now, but dey may change," Liliana says and shrugs lightly. "Vish I understood Natasha better. She is … can be kind … but, she's very quiet. Always seems sad."

Slowly Morgan eases back down, but the concerned expression remains on his face. Absently his hand slides from around the bottle to pat the bat's leg comfortingly. If it's the bat, himself, or perhaps both he comforts, maybe not even he understands. "Leadership and mysticism seem like they are often lonely paths. We have to seem different – apart and higher – from others in order to form trust and confidence, but at the same time it means we have to often be on the outside looking in. Sometimes we just need someone to break the barriers we make for ourselves. Of course, anyone who tries does so at some risk," he considers aloud. Then he smiles again. "I think I'm defeated though, so don't worry about me."

"Oh, one t'ing she did mention, and vhy she told vour friend about it … the one who was in de vision said her name," Liliana says, then shrugs again. She takes Morgan's hand into hers, her thumb rubbing the back of it lightly. "I t'ink something really bad happened to Natasha once. But, never felt comfortable askin' her about it," she says, glancing toward what is probably Natasha's wagon. Her head shakes then she says, "Pish, dis is a date, no' a sulk festival. Dey really stink, you know. Everyon' walkin' around with dere lips all pouty."

"But I like your pouty lips," Morgan offers with a smile, and then he leans up to kiss the bat. "How's that? If you stay gloomy I might never recover."

Liliana blinks. The corners of her mouth twitch into a grin. "Okay, dat be point two," she remarks, turning her head to look down at the Kadie. "Pish, what will people t'ink? Vou flirtin' with an evil creature of de night. One dat might lead vou astray an' even bite you," she says teasingly and winks.

Morgan makes a exaggerated gasp. "A creature of the night are you? Well, I am a witch, and your Lady Natasha isn't the only one who can manage creatures of the night. Why, I have you right where I want you even." He wiggles a little, then lays back in an even more exaggerated look-how-comfortable-I-am pose. He does blink a bit belatedly though. "Bite me?"

Liliana grins very fangily. "Ves, I might find myself hungry and needing a snack some night… " she says, trying to sound both spooky and goofy at the same time.

Playing along Morgan hugs his tail and leans away in mock terror. "Why, I would be at your mercy. How terrible," he moans teasingly. "I've heard stories where the bitten were forced to do all that the vampire said, and, why, the vampire even displayed mind control. Ah, ha! That's why you make me stammer! I am under your spell."

"Oh, good. It vorked. Den dis will be easier den I thought," Liliana says as she plays along. She reaches down to hook her claw into Morgan's shirt. "Since it be gettin' late and kind of cold out here, I t'ink we shoul' retire to my vagon. Ve have lots of vine left, and I be afraid vou not leavin' until daybreak." She nods sagely. "I promis'd to show vou ze dances, afterall."

Even though he's been showing signs of losing some of his shyness Morgan seriously blushes at the suggestion. "Oh," he stammers. "Well … Like I said, I'm under your spell." He swallows. I just hope I can survive until daybreak! I bet it would be a nice way to go, though. Morgan grins. "I'm all yours."