The first day on the island was pretty normal. We got there by midday, and I felt as if I'd been tossed around in a washing bin for a while. My stomach refused to be convinced that it was no longer on the water. Meanwhile, Violet, Erastus, and Sebastian all immediately got soaked in the water, along with Tip, while Ava played in the white sand. Lily had brought a picnic basket full of goodies. She also managed to somehow whisk off wine glasses, plates, forks, knives, and spoons without cracking anything. However, she managed to forget an umbrella.

I ended up hiding like a vampire underneath all of the pine trees lined up next to the beach while Lavi and Lily had the time of their lives snacking on jelly desserts in the sunshine. Allen built a massive sandcastle for Ava. Kanda was...well, doing what I was doing, but not because he wanted to stay out of the sun. It was more likely that he was just being antisocial. I don't blame him, considering Erastus and Sebastian were kicking sand at each other, and Violet was dumping seawater on their heads by skating over the waves and causing mini-tsunamis.

It was needless to say, they were eventually pooped. Our reservation had already been made for a nearby resort with separate bungalows for everyone. Thank the Lord on high, because I don't think I would've liked to draw straws to see who would sleep in the same hut as Mr. Constipation. Not that I would like to sleep in the same hut as Lavi either. His...exploits in pranking had already been well versed in the Order. Paired with Erastus and Sebastian, it was a match made in heaven (or hell, depending on which side you were on). After playing several games of charades in which everybody made a fool of themselves, most of us went to sleep. I say most because Lily screamed at midnight when she discovered that the twins had managed to fill her bed with worms. She was forced to sleep with Violet, and I could hear them giggling until two in the morning, so I didn't exactly get my beauty rest either.

Which I didn't know I would need until I heard a knock on my door scarcely two hours later at four 'o clock.

"Mmm. I didn't order room service. Go away. Violet's hut is two doors down. Find the giggling girls, you can't miss 'em," I groaned, flopping over. There was some more rapid knocking, and I groaned louder, pulling the pillow over my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, and I curled up in a ball. Suddenly, the door crashed into the adjacent wall, and I looked up with a groggy, less than happy glare. I made a loud noise of disapproval as the lights were flipped on. I covered my eyes, blinded, and I dove back under the covers.

"Go away! I don't need this kind of torture," I moaned. It was probably Erastus or Sebastian, and I wouldn't have been surprised if it was Violet coming to jump on my bed either. Suddenly, something grabbed my ankle from under the covers, and I was rudely pulled off my mattress. I screamed as I gripped the sheets, astonished beyond comprehension as I fell on the floor. I looked up, my eyes wide, into Kanda's angry, irritated face, and I smiled nervously and did a finger wave.

"Um...hi? Now, could you please tell me what the hell is going on?" I asked in a sweet voice.

Crap, was that him banging on the door? Wait, why would he be banging on the door? Why would he be banging on my door? Was there an attack or something? He dropped my ankle and let out a loud, "Tch."

I stood up hastily, rearranging my clothes considering I wasn't wearing too much. Usually I didn't have to worry about it considering my siblings were the only people around whenever I was asleep. They were used to my frizzy, out of control bedhead and chemises. He headed back towards the door and said over his shoulder in a terse manner, "Get dressed. We're going running."

My jaw nearly smacked the floor.

"But...it's four in the morning. Why are we going running?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Because you're the slowest broad I've ever seen. If I'm working with you, you're going to learn how to haul out of a danger zone. Right now, Komui could probably catch up to you in a foot race, without his caffeine fix of the day."

I felt like crying. I thought this was my vacation. Why does this always happen to me?

"What about Violet and the twins? Ava? Lily?" I asked as I shoved on a pair of actual pants.

He stood in the door way, leaning against the jamb and staring out towards the beach.

Finally, he answered, "Not my problem."

My eye twitched. So it was only me who was going running at four in the morning? Maybe he wouldn't make me run that far. After all, he did say that I was really slow.

"We're running ten kilometers. Bring good shoes and meet me at the beach. Climb back in bed, and I'll drag you in a boat and dump you in the water."

I shivered as he walked off. I didn't doubt that he'd do it, either. I sniffled. Well, great.

I got dressed, made my hair manageable, and put on some suitable shoes. I walked out onto the beach, noticing that the sun wasn't even up yet. I almost started bawling. It was dark, it was cold, the sea was at high tide, and I was going running with a sociopath who liked to dump sleeping women into the ocean. My day was off to a wonderful start.

We began at a brisk pace along the beach, and it didn't seem like it was too bad...for the first five minutes. An hour later, I was about to drop dead, my chest feeling like someone was shoving coals down into my lungs. After the next hour, I was ready to dig my grave. Thirty minutes after that, I collapsed on the sand, and I said my goodbyes to the world as I closed my eyes and waited for the good ol' Reaper to come and take me away.

I was nudged by something stick-like, and I cracked an eye open. Kanda stood over me, his arms crossed, and his sword in its sheath in his hand. For once, I wasn't afraid of him. In fact, I was mad at him. I was really mad at him! He made me run a full five kilometers in nearly an hour. I hadn't even reached ten yet.

"Leave me alone. Let me die in peace," I groaned, still panting.

He didn't give an answer, and I closed my eyes. I heard the crunch of displaced sand, and I opened an eye again. Kanda was gone, but he was still here somewhere. I scrambled to turn over and get on my knees, though as I looked up, I could see he was sitting on the ground uphill from me.

I blinked and panted, asking, "What are you doing over there? I thought you went back."

Kanda's eyes narrowed as he stared, and the sudden strength I had found in my fury left me. I quaked, and he answered, "I'm waiting for you to get back up."

I dropped to the sand in disappointment. I wasn't getting out of this. I shakily stood back up after getting my legs under me, and I stretched. He stood up and began running again at a quick pace. I followed him, but a sharp pain in my stomach made me stop after about another ten minutes of running.

Very suddenly, I ran towards the water. I started heaving everything there was in my stomach, which luckily wasn't a whole lot. After I started dry-heaving, I washed my face and started heading towards dry land again. I rubbed my face, feeling ill, and I sat down in the sand. Kanda had already stopped, and he was heading back for me. I lay on the sand, not caring that I was getting it into my hair. I couldn't run anymore. If I did, I think my legs would liquefy, and I'd get washed out with the tide.

He stood over me in the predawn light, obvious disapproval on his face. I looked at him wearily, and I threw an arm over my eyes.

"Kill me if you want. I don't really care. I can't run any more as it is," I groaned, still panting.

I coughed, doubling over as I put my arms around my stomach as it attempted to secede from the rest of me via esophagus. After I was done, I could hear the crunch of sand underfoot as he walked past me. I looked up to see that he was headed back the way we'd come. I frowned and attempted to stand, my legs wiggling out of control.

I'd never hated running more in my life. Now, I loathed it with every fiber of my being. He wasn't going to make us run back, was he?

He looked back at me and he said, "We're walking. I don't want you throwing up every couple steps. You won't get anything done. We're done running anyways. We're at nine and a half kilometers at two and a half hours. I expect you to be able to run that in a third of the time by the time I'm done with you."

He continued to walk towards the resort at a clipped walking pace, and I rolled around in the sand while groaning in frustration. A third of that time... He wants me to be able to run ten kilometers in an hour?

I despaired as I thought about it. No way, no how. He wasn't exactly working with clay. More like glue.

After much laboring and walking, I could see the resort ahead. I'd almost caught up with the Japanese Exorcist in front of me. Finally, after running after him a bit, I managed to catch up and fall in step next to him. There were several minutes of awkward silence as we became caught up in our own thoughts, and I cast a quick sidelong glance at him. He really was a mean looking person, his eyebrows furrowed together all the time. Didn't his mother ever tell him that if he kept his face that way it'd stick for the rest of his life? Apparently not, because the only two expressions I'd seen on his face so far was angry and angrier.

When we got back, it was still sort of dark, but at the least, the sun was beginning to rise. The resort workers were bringing out the buffet breakfast over at a separate pavilion, and I salivated, just thinking about eating something, anything. I was close to heading over and see what they had, but Kanda hooked a finger to the back of my collar and dragged me away.

"Ah! Ah! I thought we were done?" I asked, trying to worm my way out.

Kanda raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Tch."

I was learning that this was his stock answer for everything. As I walked, I could see that Violet was asleep through her window, Lily knocked out as well in a chair. The twins were up and at 'em, but only because they were practicing some of their wall jumps. They were aspiring to be urban gymnasts, doing flips and jumping up tall buildings. It scared the bejeebus out of me, but they managed to do it with minimal damage to themselves or property, which was more than I could say for Violet. Ava was, of course, asleep in Allen's lap in his hut, seeing as she must've walked over mistaking it for mine. Lavi was leaning against a pole, looking pretty amused as I glared at him.

"Soooo, how was your run?" he asked congenially with a big smile, and I had the urge to attack him.

He knew about this? And he didn't bother telling me? I jabbed a finger in his direction, spluttering, "Why...you little... I should... I'm going to-"

"Disembowel him later. We have work to do," Kanda said, dragging me away for the second time. I was beginning to feel like a dog, and his finger happened to be a leash. I grumbled something under my breath, which prompted him to shoot me a look, and I sullenly looked off in a different direction.

He headed towards the tennis courts, which really weren't much more than two massive patches of grass with a net. He sat on the ground and said, "You're going to do twenty push-ups, twenty pull ups, stretches, and jump this net thirty times."

I groaned as I leaned back and lay in the grass. I was poked with the sword sheath again, and I swatted it away.

"Why am I doing this again?" I asked wearily.

Kanda only answered, "You're my student. Exercise is essential."

After being hit over the head with the sheath, I managed to get back up and start doing what he said. During my first ten push-ups, I heard sniggering, and I looked towards a stand of trees. I frowned, but was suddenly whacked in the back of the head with the sheath.

"Ow! Would you stop doing that?"

"Focus."

I sucked in a breath through my nose and let it out slowly. I did another ten push-ups, and the sniggering happened again. This time I stood up and shouted at the trees, "I hear you!"

I was whacked across the backside by a sword sheath, and I yelped, rubbing my offended hind end. Kanda gave me a dry look, pointing back to the ground.

"I didn't say you were done."

I reluctantly resumed my position on the ground, keeping a wary ear out for any young rubberneckers.

"Oh, yoooooo~hoooooo~!"

I searched for the owner of that voice, seething. Violet and the twins grinned from the trees, dressed in their most comfortable clothes. I frowned. Since when did Violet get up at six in the morning?

I realized that it was probably seven. Oddly, she was holding a badminton racquet. Allen was standing some ways off from her, holding a birdie and another racquet. And the twins were also holding racquets…

They got to play badminton as part of training while I get to slave away like an animal? Well, if that wasn't fair.


Violet laughed as she watched Mag do push-ups. Mag had hardly ever done an athletic thing in her life. She was just too much of a workaholic to actually do anything as demeaning as run around the block a few times. Watching her sweat was oddly entertaining, though Violet felt a spike of pity. She herself wasn't exactly an athlete, either.

She winced as Mag was repeatedly hit in the head with Kanda's scabbard, though each time she did technically deserve it. Violet snickered before something collided with her own head. She was stunned for a moment when something landed at her feet. She looked down and stared at the shuttlecock that had hit her.

"Hey, Violet! Keep your eyes open, 'kay?"

She looked to Allen, who was smiling and waving his racquet. She smirked as she picked up the birdie. She was the beast of badminton. She'd creamed Lily and the twins singlehandedly at one point, and she hadn't let them forget it for months.

She was about to serve it, but the minute it left her hand into the air, it was snatched by a gloved hand. She blinked as Lavi leaned towards her with an evil gleam in his one eye.

"Nah-ah-ah, playing the usual way would be too easy," Lavi sing-songed devilishly.

Violet swallowed, and the twins were visibly backing up, sensing that they were about to be subjected to something less than pleasant. They turned to cut and run, but Allen caught them before they could go anywhere, clotheslining both with an outstretched arm. They landed on their backs, eyes swirling around like pinwheels as proverbial birds fluttered around their heads. Allen pulled back Crown Clown, the bladed fingers clacking as he rubbed his hands maniacally.

"Mahahahaha!" he laughed, the aura around him seeming to turn dark and fiery.

Violet's eye twitched as she stared at him. What sort of teacher did she have? She gulped slightly before she made a run for it, but Lavi already had her covered. His massive Hammer was in the way, blocking her route of escape next to the shore. She deflated visibly as she looked up at the giant wall, and she looked at Lavi with a pleading look.

"But I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing vacation," she whined.

Lavi laughed, and, stamping her foot, she fumed, "What?!"

Lavi leaned down to her level and said, "There is no such thing as vacation for an Exorcist! You should already know that!"

Violet hmphed, crossing her arms and sitting in the grass like an irate toddler as the twins attempted to get back up on their feet.

"The way we're playing badminton today is with our Innocence. I want to work on accuracy. Now, I know that this birdie is a lot smaller than an Akuma bullet, but that just makes it easier when you come up against the real thing," Allen explained when everyone was done pouting and whining. He took his racquet and patted the birdie into the air.

"I'll be using a racquet because I don't have to block using my glove. I use my cloak instead, but you guys aren't there yet with your Innocence. You'll have to work at both blocking and dodging. Anyone who gets hit by the birdie besides on their Innocence is out! HAI!"

All this time, he'd been bouncing the birdie, but he suddenly smashed it over the net, causing the twins to squeal like girls as it hit one of them in the eye.

Lavi deflated, scratching his face in an embarrassed fashion as he said, "Ne, you're supposed to hit the thing with your Innocence, not your face."

Violet, who'd had enough, took the birdie and threw it in the air. She activated her Innocence, her shoes suddenly growing razor sharp blades underneath as the rest of the Innocence laced up to her knees, and she hit it with a neat thwack over the net. Allen had to fight to get to it as the twins were still lagging behind a bit. However, with the game started, the twins seemed to get their wits about them as they picked up their censers and swung them in circles, ready to swat the birdie over the net. They went back and forth a bit until...

Lavi suddenly took up his hammer, and it grew to about the size of an elephant as he prepared to get at the little white thing. It almost appeared that the thing was quaking as it sailed through the air towards the Bookman Junior, and Allen frowned at Lavi, his shoulders drooping.

"Lavi, that's cheating!"

"No it's not! You said Innocence, and that's what I'm using!"

He hit the birdie so hard into the air, it seemed to disappear. When it didn't come down, they began looking around, wondering if perhaps they'd missed it land somewhere.

"Maybe you hit it all the way to China," Sebastian suggested, shrugging as he said so, completely serious.

Erastus snickered and said, "Yeah, some old lady in China's probably getting hit with a little birdie right no-"

As if from the hand of God, the birdie hit Erastus on the top of his noggin dead center, and he blinked as he realized that he'd been struck.

"OOOOOH, YOU'RE OUT!" Violet cheered, pointing her finger at him. Erastus made a face and grumbled his way off the badminton pitch while both his siblings jeered him away.

Eventually, Violet kicked the birdie back into the air hacky-sack style, and she came close to nailing Sebastian. The other twin let out a loud shout of surprise, and he hit it back. They went back and forth at a lightning fast pace, fueled by sibling rivalry, and Allen shouted, "That's what I'm talking abo- WHOA!"

The bullet whizzed towards him, and he hit the 'bullet' back at them. Then they were at it again, a friendly sibling war.

Or not so friendly. Violet finally won, but only because she bounced the birdie high into the air and tripped Sebastian, causing it to land on his stomach. He groaned as he lay on the ground in defeat, Violet putting one foot on his chest as she flashed a victory sign.

"Oh yeah. Don't mess with the V," she said, and Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Ham."

"You know, you should be more careful about who you insult. You're in no position to be talking."

She deactivated her Innocence, and she shoved her foot down, causing Sebastian to cough. Allen groaned inwardly to himself as they bickered. He'd have to get used to it. He himself had never had siblings to argue with, so he wasn't in the habit of debating over nonsensical things.

Lavi trotted over and said, "Well, so much for that game. What now?"

Allen sighed to himself. They'd passed a good half hour or so. There really wasn't much else to do but turn them loose. Allen knew that he'd have to keep these guys entertained if he wanted to train them at all. Traditional methods probably wouldn't work.

Allen suddenly blanched completely white and shivered, sweating bullets as he remembered his own training. Cross... could be vicious... he didn't even bother to teach him! He just threw him into battle and ordered him to stay alive!

"Ne, Allen? You okay?" Lavi asked, seeing the stricken look on his face.

Violet approached the two Exorcists and asked, "So, what now? Do we get to go out on the beach, or what?"

Allen snapped out of his little personal nightmare before blinking at her in response.

He finally said, "O-oh! Um, I was thinking we could try some trust exercises."

Violet's smile grew wide as she echoed, "Trust exercises?"

"Sounds like fun!" Erastus shouted from the sidelines as he jogged towards them.


"Allen, this doesn't sound like fun!" Erastus shouted. He was facing towards a high cliff, and he could hear waves crashing underneath him against the rocks. He gulped as he realized that he probably wasn't too far away from the sea... and, invariably, several pointy, sharp, horribly painful-looking rocks. The blindfold did nothing to help his sudden anxiety. He put his hands out in front of him, and he grabbed the nearest thing. Of course, the nearest thing happened to be Violet's-

"Pig!"

Slap.

Erastus was now turned back around towards a path that led down a slope that ran its course out towards a small finger of the island. His twin, Sebastian, was also blindfolded next to him. Both looked ridiculously concerned as Allen explained this next training 'game.'

"Okay, you guys have to learn how to trust each other without thinking about what the other person says. If you take too long in following another person's directions, there's a good likelihood that you could be shot or worse. So, what I'm going to do is tell you where to go. Lavi and Violet will be right behind you, and if either of you end up falling over the edge, they'll pull you back over. I can do the same with Crown Clown, okay?" Allen asked.

His white hair ruffled from the sea wind, and he winced as spray got into his eyes. He glanced at Lavi and Violet, and both rambunctious teenagers were ready with a cocky salute each. Allen sighed to himself, hoping to the Good Lord that this actually worked. He'd hate to have to explain to Magnolia that her twin brothers were both somewhere out to sea with a couple of broken bones while swimming out into water that was notorious for having sharks, and not the small kind either.

"Now, we're going to see who can get to the checkpoint first. There's a flag down there, and the first to get it wins. You can't take off your blindfolds. Violet, you're with Sebastian. Lavi, you take Erastus. When I say 'go-'"

Both twins were off like a rocket down the path. Allen slapped his forehead. He hadn't actually said 'go' yet, but at least they'd gone. As they raced down the path, he could hear them stumbling and cursing. He followed close behind.

"Go left! Now right! Watch out for that branch!" Allen ordered as he raced behind them.

Suddenly, Erastus went head over heels, slamming into a tree. He groaned as he went to lift up his blindfold and see what he'd hit, but Lavi gave him a knock over the head with his hammer.

"Hey! No peeking."

Sebastian had a good lead, but he kept tripping over his feet. Violet was already shouting at him for going in the wrong direction.

"Go back! You dope, you were supposed to turn left, not right."

"Like I don't know that!"

Sebastian suddenly stopped, realizing that Allen hadn't said anything in a while. He wondered what was taking the white-haired fellow so long.

Violet asked, "What are you waiting for? Keep going!"

Sebastian shook his head, his black shaggy mop of hair swinging as he did so. He held up a finger and said, "Shhhh! I'm listening!"

Violet rolled her eyes. Of course, she was more the type to run into something and to hell with the consequences, so she didn't much care for directions. She got enough of them from Mag. Finally, the white-haired boy walked out of the forest, having found Sebastian, and he stopped in his tracks.

Allen suddenly choked out, "Whatever you do, don't ...move."

Violet frowned, and she asked, "Um... why?"

Allen grimaced hard as he said, "Don't panic, but there's a tarantula on-"

Sebastian immediately screamed girlishly as he tried to get the aforementioned arachnid off of his person. Violet deadpanned as she watched her sibling run through the brush and rocks before tripping and face-planting. Well, where ever the spider was now, it was gone.

"Kraaaawk, Erastus fell over. Kraaaawk, the twins're idiots."

From above, Allen could hear Parley squawking insults about both twins, some of which seemed too imaginative to be mere repetition. Violet looked down the island, and saw that Erastus had recovered and was now making his way to the checkpoint with Lavi's instructions.

Incensed, she grabbed Sebastian and put him on his feet, shouting, "Get moving, idiot, he's gonna beat us!"

As both of them disappeared amid the brush and the rocks, Allen realized that he was no longer the one giving directions; Lavi and Violet were. Well, at least he didn't have to follow both of them everywhere.

In a photo finish, both boys collided with the flag. They scrambled for it blindfolded until finally, Erastus took hold of the little triangle of cloth. He ripped off his blindfold to let out a loud 'haha!' only to scream and drop the 'flag' as he realized that he'd, instead, grabbed one of Mag's panties. Sebastian took off his own blindfold and stared at the pair of undershorts before laughing.

"How'd those get there?"

"Well, it helps that you guys are really slow."

All five teenagers looked up to see Mag leaning against a tree with the flag in hand. Her own blindfold was hung around her neck, and Kanda wasn't far off behind her in the shadows, looking very ominous as he looked off towards the ocean. Mag came out from underneath the shade of the tree to wave the flag and say, "Beat'cha."

Violet and the twins groaned as they realized that she was probably going to gloat for a few days about this. They didn't even know they were competing with her!

"How did you even manage to get here in the first place?" Erastus asked, crossing his arms.

Mag pursed her lips and rolled her eyes heavenward as if to find the answer there. She 'hmmmed' before saying, "Well, let's just say that if I didn't run fast enough, I'd probably end up with a sword in my back."

All eyes suddenly turned to Kanda, looking wide and horrified. Even Lavi let out a low whistle. Kanda only muttered 'tch' before returning to watching the sea.

"So...how'd we do?" Violet asked regardless.

Allen scratched the back of his head as he sheepishly vacillated, "Well, Sebastian kinda did disobey me... and Erastus tried to cheat..."

"Kraawwwk, and Lavi carried him half way. Kraaawk."

Allen blinked as he looked up at the parrot, who looked at Allen with a cocked head.

"Kraaaawk, swab the deck."

Allen turned to squint at the redhead, who was trying to sneak off unnoticed...

"Lavi, did you seriously carry Erastus?" Allen asked.

Mag lifted an eyebrow at both boys. They looked at each other with guilty expressions before disappearing into the underbrush.

Violet nearly had steam shooting out of her ears. She shouted after them, "Come back here, I'm going to make sure you regret ever being born!"

She disappeared as well, and Sebastian sighed as he muttered, "I'll go and make sure she doesn't kill him."

And then there were three. Allen, Magnolia, and Kanda watched the goings-on with equal parts amusement, denigration, and disinterest.

Allen turned sharply to both Exorcists and asked, "All right, how did you actually do it?"

Mag grinned wide as she walked over to the edge of the rocks, pointing to a little dinghy with paddles. She had actually been surprised when Kanda agreed to the little prank, seeing as she hadn't pegged him for the type to actually do something quite that... mischievous. Still, he said that if she was going to do it, she was the one paddling. He was just along for the ride.

"So, you wanna head back to the hotel, get a bite to eat, something like that?" Mag asked nonchalantly. Allen cast a glance at the boat.

He asked hesitantly, "But, what about the-"

"We'll take the boat there. It's a lot faster, especially if Kanda's helping with the rowing. Am I right?"

She cast a twitchy-eyed glance at the samurai, who let out a burst of annoyed air, causing part of his bangs to fly up for a moment.

He looked off and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, I'll row."

Mag smiled triumphantly. Allen frowned as he let his gaze flicker between the two. Behind him, the sounds of conflict got a little louder as Violet suddenly ran across an open patch of rocks after a screaming Erastus.

"I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB."

"I didn't mean it, I swear! Your feet are beautiful, I was kidding! Don't hurt me!"

Allen turned his attention away from the chase and back to Mag.

"How did you-"

Kanda answered before he could finish his question.

"She bet me. She won. I row. Enough said."

He got into the boat, impatiently staring at the other two. Allen quickly hopped in. It wasn't every day someone got to make Kanda do their bidding. He guessed it must have something to do with a woman's charm as Mag sat across from him and picked up the other paddle.


Ava swung her feet as she lay on her stomach, overlooking a good view of the fishing boats out at sea. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, and she looked behind her. The little brunette was suddenly aware that there was a crown of flowers on her head, and she strained to see who had put them there. Lily towered over her, though that wasn't very surprising considering Lily was a lot taller. There was a smile on Lily's face as she leaned forwards, and Ava gave a small, clumsy wave with one pudgy hand. Lily sat in the grass next to her, folding her legs underneath her as she looked out over the sea.

"So. What do you think about going to training?" Lily asked.

She always talked plainly with Ava, same as with Mag. Ava had above-average intelligence for such a little young person. It was a shame she didn't ever speak. Still, she managed communication by roundabout means as she cocked her head to the side, her face never changing in expression. She looked out to sea, and she moved her hands in a sort of weighing motion.

Lily nodded and said, "So-so? Yeah, me too. I mean, I love Mag, but..."

Ava made the motion of putting one thing here, and another thing over there. Lily nodded.

Both of them were quiet as they listened to the wind before Lily asked, "Are you going to miss Mag? Or the Twins? Violet?"

Ava thought about it for a little while...

And then she held up her first finger, meaning Mag. First finger always meant Maggie. She hesitantly nodded before stopping and holding still, signifying indecision. She held up the two fingers on her other hand, meaning the twins. She shook her head enthusiastically, and Lily laughed. Even though Ava could understand what they said very well, it didn't mean that she also thought that way, either. Her picture of the future was very two dimensional. She didn't take into account anything she may miss about the Twins, or the fact that she may miss them. She only saw the shallowest layer. As she grew up, Lily had no doubt she'd probably understand the other layers much better. Lily's serious train of thought vanished as if by magic when Ava lifted her fourth finger, signifying Violet. Ava nodded very, very slowly, showing she was hesitant to answer, but she was pretty sure that was what she meant.

Lily wasn't surprised. Ava looked up to Violet after all, considering she was brash and bold. Ava trailed after Vi a lot, merely for the fact that Ava figured that was where all the action was. Ava turned back to the ocean, ending the 'conversation.' Lily knew that she'd ignore her for a little while, just like she always did after a long period of answering.

Though she didn't show it, Ava was very easy to be irritate, but it may have just been her four-year-old nature to be so. Lily pulled out her flute, and she played a small tune before trilling between two notes. A bird flew through the trees to come to a hover over them before landing in front of Lily. She smiled as she played another series of notes, and the bird hopped one way, and then hopped the other. Several more birds joined, and several more after that. Lily soon saw that she had a veritable flock in front of her, and her eyebrows flew upwards as she realized she wasn't sure what to do now. She played another tune, ascending a scale. All of the birds flapped their wings, and feathers flew.

Ava winced as she waved her hands in the air to bat away the feathers, and she turned her eyes towards Lily, showing discontent. Her little hands balled up into fists, and Lily quickly played a very low, very quiet trill, and the birds stopped.

"Sorry," she said, and the birds suddenly flew away all at once in a raucous cacophony. Some of them stayed behind to peck at Lily's hair and clothes in annoyance for being controlled, however briefly, and Lily swatted them away with girlish sounds of fright. She huffed as they flew off, and she started to head back towards the resort. Ava continued to look out at sea, and her eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked out.

Suddenly, her eyes turned gold, her pupils elongating to slits as she invoked her Innocence. Mag had told her to quit doing this, but... she enjoyed both eavesdropping and spying. Ava could see that there were lights somewhere in the distance, on another part of the island far from their own. She frowned to herself as she realized that the bursts of light looked awfully familiar, but she couldn't place why. Her memory only went back so far.

"Ava! It's time to go! Come on, it's going to get dark! Whoa!"

There was the sound of crashing brush, and Ava looked back dully. She could guess what had happened. Ava got up unsteadily before toddling off after the sounds of a spluttering Lily. Had she listened hard, the lights would've flashed again along with the high, small sounds of people screaming from far away.