Exhausted and lively

Chao wasn't normally this much of a flirt unless she was stressed. When she's stressed she...played. She messed with people and made them flustered. Her teasing would last a while until...something. Whenever any one of them, even her main four subordinates try to remember a part of their past lives, they just end up with different visions.

Albus and Furvus end up by a seaside with a small hut. The only sounds there are the occasional breeze and the ocean waves. Other than them, they've never seen another living thing there making it almost eerie like the calm before a storm.

Gladys and Bea end up in some snowy mountains with a small cabin. Sometimes it snows gently, but other than that, it's just a winter landscape. Like the other two, they'd never found any sign of living beings besides themselves.

Chao has all the secrets. She's the one who blocked them off after all. She didn't choose the landscapes though. The only thing she did was make sure that they remain static. To prevent them from remembering. To prevent them from breaking. To allow them to grow first. To let them live without inevitable concern - to lessen the concern, she would put a facade to cover the internalization.

"My dears keep my bed warm while I take care of something." Again she sent them into a helpless frenzy. Luna walked straight up to her, pointed and said, "Stop messing with us!"

Giggling, Chao flicked her forehead. "No. Why should I?" Leaving them speechless once again, she sauntered out of the room to the next ones.

"If I don't hit her at least once, I'll go bald!" declared Luna. Noctis glanced his sister over, nodded to the boys, and collectively shook their heads. 'Luna, we guarantee you will not look good bald.'

. . .

Everyone was bustling in excitement. Everywhere they turned, it smelled just like her. Pomegranates and volcanic ash tickled their brain. Such an odd combination could still intoxicate them. "FURVUS! MORE DRINKS! I WANT MORE TO DRINK!" A drunkard by the name of Chao shouted into the air as she lay on her back. "Yes, Lady Chao."

A flushed Furvus walked away from his flushed lover Albus and flushed friends Gladys and Bea. The moon was bright, the sky was clear, and the stars were twinkling as Lawrence came out to play with Chao. "Hey! Have a contest with me! If you win, you get anything. If I win, I get anything."

At once the four broke their necks to glare at the culprit. "No." "Why not?? 0I can do whatever I want anyway. If I wanted, I could roll myself in my blanket and become a hibernating snake for the rest of life." Caligo and Nubis' faces twitched. 'We're about the only children here from what we can see, and the responsible adults decide to drink themselves into oblivion. Yeah. That makes complete sense.' The seven children were currently lazing on the couches in the theater watching *Ghosted Outside.

"What do you think of them though? Ignoring all of that." Tellus turned to Luna expecting a spectacle after Noctis asked.

"They're stupid children in the bodies of adults! More childish than a 5 year old. I say we take their stuff, robbing them blind." It's evident where Noctis got his habits from.

Caligo chimed in ignoring Luna, "Rikki trusted them with us, so I think it's worth staying with them. We can do more than we did before and we'll be better off." Inrigo's eyes went clear as he shouted, "Are you implying that Father couldn't provide for us? Are you saying he wasn't good enough?" Ventus hastily explained, "That's not what any of us are thinking! Calm down! What will you do about your eyes if you get too far off?" Inrigo swept his eyes across everyone before taking a deep breath.

"I think we should stay with them for now. Let this just be a trial run. She still killed Father. If I feel that the benefits are running out, I'm leaving no matter what you all say." Everyone sighed when all of a sudden Inrigo was being pulled towards Chao.

"Look at this cutie."

"Lady Chao, please release the child. He never gave you permission to grab him." Gladys was stern as he lectured Chao, but Chao's answer cracked his calm.

"Do you want little Bea to take his place?"

Bea had happened to walk toward Gladys to lean on him when she heard Chao. "Lady Chao! Don't tease me!"

"Aren't I always serious?"

"That's enough! Bea, go take a nap over there! Lady Chao, if you keep this up, I'll have to ground you. No alcohol. No meat. No fruit. Just grass. I'll have you chewing like the old cow you are!" Luna looked at Gladys in surprise as this calm man turned frosty and harsh.

Chao teared up and let go of both Inrigo and Bea looking at them longingly. "You're so biased Gladys! Go away! Go cuddle your beloved! Leave this oldie alone! Furvus! Get me some carbon tablets! Albus, my dear, would you grab some crackers for me?"

"Yes Lady Chao. Hurry up Furvus!"

"So harsh to me, yet gentle to her. This isn't fair. It's not. I'm her love. Why should I be treated like this?" Furvus grumbled to himself until he beamed at Albus when she glared at him. Again though, as soon as she looked away, he sulked.

When they returned, Chao was hugging herself moving them a bit. She looked a bit like the seductress who'd shed her disguise and exposed her vulnerability. But when Chao looked up, she was back to being a mischievous fox. "When I finish these I'll sing a song for you all."

Albus and Furvus looked at the frowning Gladys and discomforted, sleepy Bea. She felt immense emptiness while she was napping, waking her up, so she thought she would check up on Chao. But just like always, Chao cut them all off before they could even get a grasp. As they were lamenting, Chao finished her mini meal gaining a bit of sobriety.

"AhEm! Gather around everyone! It's time for a story in the form of a song."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and scrambled to find a seat on the floor around her bed where she sat.