Gem: Credit for the title goes to Kaira Fire-Demon. I can't think up titles to save my life. I also own nothing but my own characters and the plot line. I'm sorry for all the lost reviews but there's really no way for me to save them. I shall be upset if I don't get reviews.

"Come back here. I'm not done with you, you worthless piece of crap."

He'd been running from both the pain and the guy who caused it. He knew he had to get away before anything worse happened. Stumbling around blindly and trying not to cry out in pain, he knew he had to get out of there.

"Just because I'm almost blind, doesn't give you the right to completely destroy my sight," he thought.

He woke up in a sweat and panting from the nightmare. This particular nightmare hadn't bothered him in a little over nine years. He was afraid he might have woken someone up again; it pained him every time he did so. A voice spoke and startled him from his thoughts.

"Are you all right? You're sweating hard."

He turned his head towards the other boy's voice and heard the slight swishing of the other's extra appendage.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's still night, isn't it?" He asked a slight mixture of confusion and curiosity laced in his voice.

"Yes, it is." Came the simple but patient reply. They were always patient with him no matter what his mood. He never fully understood why though.

"Then why are you up?" In all honesty it was a fair question. Even if he knew that would warrant the other to volley the question back in his face.

"Too much to drink before I went to bed." His companion replied easily, as if speaking of relieving himself was as common as the weather.

"Makes sense especially since you have a small bladder." He joked groggily.

The banter helped. He could feel the nightmare slipping away even as he teased the other boy.

"Both of you, shut up. There are people here who want to sleep," said a second voice. "Another dream, Bro?"

He nodded. The dreams were painful in and of themselves and talking about them increased the pain. Apparently he had yelled out louder than he normally did in his sleep.

"What's going on?" asked a third voice that was a lot groggier than his own.

"Dreams and my bladder size," replied the first voice.

"Will ya darlins shut up? Boss'll wake up from all this chatter," came a fourth and surprisingly female voice from the doorway.

He knew who all these voices belonged to and was glad that they were there to comfort him in his time of need. His family understood and wouldn't bother him until he was ready to talk. "You ready to tell us about those dreams, Bro?" Though they seemed to be slightly psychic.

"Darn you all," he thought. Aloud he replied, "In the morning. I think I'm finally ready to tell."

"All right then hun. G'night darlins."

He woke up several hours later to sunlight streaming across his bed. Despite being unable to see it, he could still feel the warmth that comes as May fades into June. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, Blank got up and stretched. Feeling around a bit, he realized that everyone had already left the room. Today was the day; he finally felt ready. After finding where he had tossed his clothes the night before and pulling them on, he headed into the main room.

"How're ya darlin'?"

"G'morning to you, Ruby. What's cooking?"

Ruby was the only female of the group and at times seemed somewhere between a sister and a mother. Even without being able to see her, he knew that she was smiling. They all seemed to overdo their actions and expressions to make sure he didn't miss out; he supposed that it also came in handy while on stage.

"Whatever Cinna's makin'. You gonna talk?"

"Once everyone's up."

The two of them were currently in the main room. There was a table in the center of the room. A raised platform was off to one side and held two beds. Ruby generally slept out here during the hotter months claiming that it was cooler than her room in the attic.

"What is takin' Cinna so long to make food?" whined Zidane, as his golden tail stretched and curled itself a bit above the floor.

Zidane normally wasn't as lethargic as he sounded. A lot of the time it was hard to get him to sit still. From what Blank had been told, Zidane had messy blond hair and a tail of the same color. Blank knew very well not to touch the tail in any way, shape, or form.

"Good mornin' to ya all. Cinna, what's takin so long?" asked Marcus. "Bro, you seem distant."

It seemed that somehow Marcus's and Zidane's morning personalities had switched. Normally Marcus moved really slowly until he had his morning cup of coffee or even some juice. But this morning he was bouncing more than Zidane on half a cup of coffee.

"You all right darlin?" Ruby asked.

"I'm somewhat nervous, I haven't told anyone about this before." He was nervous. They all had some clue into his past but as for the actual truth, his family had never learned it. They didn't bother him about it but he knew that they wanted to know.

Ruby, Blank, Marcus, and Zidane sat down at the table to wait until breakfast was ready. Past experience had taught them all to stay outside when Cinna cooked anything.

"Breakfast!" yelled Cinna.

"Finally," said Marcus.

"Where'd you get all this food?" asked Zidane.

"Stole it."

"When? Last night?"

Cinna nodded and then added, "Yeah, the nobles' will be mad though. But their house was empty at the time."

There was a ton of food. Eggs, several types of meat, potatoes, zucchini bread, other types of bread, coffee, and juice.

Halfway through breakfast, Ruby looked over at Blank and started to ask him a question.

"I'm ready," was his response to the unasked question.