Author's Note: I really don't understand about half of this chapter, so I can't say more about it.

Chapter Twenty

Silent Ketchup

ON THE BUS

Legolas glared at Sara, who returned it.

"At least she let you keep the shirt," Kurama told him.

"Yeah…"

"Faythe, what's the name of the hotel?" Sara asked.

"We didn't book one yet…"

"Don't you ever prepare?" Taro asked Kurama.

Kurama smiled. "No. We go with the flow."

Faythe leaned back and put her feet on the seat in front of her. "Yep. We flow-go."

Haldir chuckled. "I like that. That's clever." He chuckled more. "Flow-go."

Lee-lee started crying. Aragorn turned in his seat and saw that she'd set her blanket on fire. Again. He ran back to put it out. "This has to stop! I can't handle the demon-baby thing!"

Faythe smiled. "Aww, she's so cute."

"She belches fire! Literally!" Aragorn exclaimed.

Faythe got up and took over. "Stop it. You're being hysterical."

Hiei frowned. "Your daughter's a fire demon? Why? I thought your family's all-"

"I already made the joke, Hiei," Faythe replied. "My family's all mutted-up. I'm like ketchup." She grinned. "Heinz's 57."

Haldir sighed. "You're an embarrassment to the Elves."

Faythe snorted. "The Elves are an embarrassment to me."

"How did we start talking about this?" Sara asked, irritated. "We need to book a hotel, like, now! We're only a day and a half out of Kenya!"

"Ooh, ooh, can we go on safari?" Legolas asked eagerly.

Sara shuddered. "Safaris really don't turn out for us the way we want to." Everyone thought back to the Disney World experience. Well, Hiei, Aragorn, Legolas, Sara, and Faythe thought back to then.

Jake, who was driving, frowned. "Why are you all so pensive? What happened?"

Faythe shook herself out of it and smiled. "I'll tell you when you're older, Jake," she replied.

"Whatever."

They drove and the sky darkened. Suddenly, a thought struck Sara. "Where are we going to sleep tonight?"

Faythe, whose job it was to book hotels, grinned sheepishly. "Oops."

"Baka. Someone get online and book a hotel."

Kurama, who was on top of things like always, frowned. "There aren't any around here. Not until we get to Kenya."

Sara glared at Faythe, who cringed against Aragorn.

"I said I was sorry!"

Sara was about to respond when thunder clapped overhead. The babies started to cry. Faythe got up and tried to soothe them, but they didn't stop.

"Shut them up!" Haldir shouted, causing the others to glare at him.

Sara and Taro had a whispered conversation before nodding. "Let me try," Taro said, so quietly Faythe barely heard him. He took the kids before Faythe could protest. Making a small cut on his finger, he let a drop of blood fall in each baby's mouth. Instantly, they fell asleep.

"Oh my God!" Aragorn shouted. "What did you do! I told Faythe we couldn't trust you!"

Taro stared at him, head tilted to the side. This was why he tended to avoid humans…

"They're fine," he said, his quiet voice seeming to boom over the thunder and now pouring rain. He had an air of authority no one had noticed before. Handing the kids back to Faythe, he climbed off the bus, muttering about humans and the problems they caused.

"This isn't a freaking horror movie," Sara said a little too calmly. "They're just asleep. They'll wake up after the storm. Of course…this is the rainy season. The storm might not let up for a while…"

"What!"

Sara regarded Aragorn for a moment. "Don't you ever watch the Discovery Channel?"

"No!"

Sara just shook her head sadly before opening the doors. "Taro! Get back in here. And, Azazel, if you can hear me, nice job!"

Taro climbed in, soaked to the bone and Faythe automatically switched to "Mother Hen Mode." She immediately started drying him off.

TWO HOURS LATER

Taro was finally beginning to dry off. Sara's ear twitched as she mixed some herbs in a bowl that had magically appeared. The stuff flashed red and she handed it to him. "Drink."

Taro didn't argue.

"So," Jake said. "Why haven't we fallen asleep?" A clap of thunder resonated off the walls, causing him to flinch. "Oh, yeah."

"When did you stop driving?" Haldir asked.

The others stared at him.

"Hours ago. Where've you been?"

Haldir didn't answer.