Reality is Insanity

Oi! I am sooooooo sorry! It’s been so long since the last time I updated, forgive me T-T College has been kicking my ass and we’re in finals week right now. But after that I’m free from school for a couple months (yay!) Though I’ll still be having to work. (boo!) Also, one of the reasons I haven’t found the will to write is because I finally bought a Nintendo DS and I’ve been obsessed with the new Pokemon Diamond game. Gotta catch them all!!! (Yeah, I’m a poke’geek, wanna make something of it?) So that absorbed my free time that wasn’t spent on school and work ^-^’ But I finally got off my lazy butt and finished this chapter (I was stuck for the longest time at a certain part for some reason -_-) And I promise you it’ll be worth the wait I put you guys through…well, that’s what I’m hoping at least. So onto reviews first!

Aisha: Hehe thank you I was hoping to make it enjoyable, especially with the end >:D And thanks for giving Joshua your support, he’s going to need it.

Jacob Ryder: I’ll update which story I want to mister! -_- And you’re welcome ^-^

ShadowleAngel: Hehe yes, uke molesting is the best XP Well, Juniper is evil to begin with, but when he doesn’t get any for a long time, yeah, he’s pure evil O_o Yay and thank you for saying that about my writing, it’s what I’m working towards. *glomp*

Mino: Yay for you passing exams! *hugs* Though it’s been so long you’ve probably had more exams ^-^’ Yay Kael has another fan!

ZexysBard: lol yay! I’m glad you liked it so much XD And yes, the computer is feeling better, keeps having hiccups, but nothing too serious. Hehe yes, isn’t Lliamy the sweetest little thing ever? I want her t have a bigger part in this, but she keeps getting shoved into the background by the other characters, but she’ll get her moment in the spotlight, I’ll make sure of that. *snickers* Yes, poor Kael, poor Kael indeed >:D

Chixnscratch: Actually it hasn’t quite been that long. You see the last time it recorded an update is when I posted the note of my computer breaking down. When I was able to post another chapter I replaced it with the note, so it logged it as an edit, not an update. So really the last time I updated was in March, not January, but I’m sorry, that’s still way too long. I don’t want you choking to death because of my lack of updating. Don’t die on me! T-T Hehe a bit dramatic, but really, I’ll try not to leave you guys hanging like that again, especially with what’s in this chapter XD

All righty, thank you all for the reviews, I love you all *huggles and glomps* So go onto the chapter already. Lord knows you’ve been waiting long enough for it.

*********************************************

Joshua yawned as he woke up. He was really starting to enjoy these full nights sleep with normal dreams or no dreams at all. Joshua kept his eyes closed as he basked in the wonderful afterglow of his sleep. The boy noticed that he could see light through his eyelids and found that strange, but didn’t really think much of it.

“I can’t believe how much I’ve missed actual sleeping,” the boy murmured groggily with an amused chuckle. The boy stretched from his sprawled position on his back. His brows drew together when he was suddenly aware of a heavy weight on top of him. What the heck? Joshua was perplexed to say the least, but then chuckled as he came to a conclusion. Lliamy isn’t satisfied with just curling up against me she has to lay on top of me? he wondered in amusement. Lliamy really was like the clingy little sister he never had.

“All right, Lliamy, we have a perfectly good mattress you can…lay…on…umm.” Joshua had to blink repeatedly after opening his eyes. His cheek was rested against the pillow, making him look to his side. Right next to him, sleeping soundly in a curled up little ball was Lliamy. Wait a minute…if Lliamy is next to me then who…?

Joshua snapped his head forward and had to close an eye as a furry ear brushed against his cheek. The ear twitched back and forth from the contact, a fluffy tuft tickling Joshua’s skin. The boy’s eyes were wide and his heart felt like it stopped beating as the cold realization hit him.

“Kael!?” Joshua exclaimed and he would have leapt to the ceiling if the feline wasn’t weighing him down.

A groan came from the man and his arms wrapped around Joshua’s lean form and Kael buried his head further into Joshua’s neck.

The movement made Joshua shudder and it dawned on him that he felt skin move against skin, not cloth against cloth. He couldn’t move his head since Kael’s was underneath the boy’s chin so Joshua slowly moved his hand and touched the feline’s side.

“Okay, he’s shirtless for some really creepy reason,” the boy muttered then moved his hand to prod his own side. Joshua thought he was going to shriek at what he felt. “And so am I…” he squeaked. Oh God, oh God, oh God!!! he squealed to himself. How did I not wake up during any of this!?

Joshua’s hand shot out and latched onto Lliamy’s arm. He then began shaking the girl as best as he could.

“Lliamy! Lliamy, wake up!” he demanded urgently, panic making his voice go up an octave.

The girl groaned at the shaking and tried to pull away from it, but Joshua had a vice like grip on her. Finally Lliamy was forced to wake up.

“Joshwa? W’as wrong?” she mumbled groggily.

Seeing she was awake, Joshua stopped shaking her and let go.

“Lliamy, when the hell did he get in here?” he questioned, gesturing to the man on top of him.

The girl used an arm to prop herself up and rubbed at her eyes with the other.

“When did who…” she trailed off when she opened her eyes and saw the scene in front of her. The cat man sprawled on top of Joshua, his arms securely around the boy while nuzzling his neck and their legs were tangled together. They were both half naked and at some point the blanket had been taken off Joshua and pushed around Lliamy. “Um, Kael?” she said questioningly.

“Yes, Kael! When did he get into our room!?” the boy snapped.

The loud demand made Kael groan and Joshua grunted when the man shifted on him, making himself more comfortable. The boy squeaked and reddened when he then felt a hot, moist tongue run along his neck a couple of times.

Lliamy bunched the blanket up in her hands and hid behind it a little at seeing the action. She knew Joshua wasn’t happy and that made her uneasy.

“Um I-I don’t know when he did, I was sleeping all night,” Lliamy told her pinned friend.

“Ugh so was I, so neither of us know, wonderful,” Joshua grumbled. “But I locked the door, I know I did.”

Lliamy looked up to see and raised an eyebrow when she saw the door slightly ajar.

“You must not have locked it good, Joshwa, the door is open,” she informed him.

“He must have broke in somehow then,” Joshua growled. “Just help get him off me,” he said, placing his hands on Kael’s shoulders. Lliamy moved a bit behind the feline and grabbed his upper arms then together the two tried to pry Kael off the boy. They got him up a little when Kael’s face scrunched and he moaned unhappily.

The cat man pushed against the kids’ attempts and was able to lie back down on Joshua and secure his arms around the boy. No matter how hard Joshua and Lliamy tried to get him up again, Kael just held on tighter.

“Joshwa, this isn’t working,” Lliamy grunted, the foot she had under her to giver her leverage suddenly slipped out and she squeaked as she fell to her rump. With her grip slackened Kael was able to curl against Joshua more.

“Just keep trying,” Joshua told her, trying with all his might to push at Kael’s shoulders. Why the hell does he have to be so big? Lliamy huffed and grabbed onto Kael again and began pulling with more force.

The feline growled in irritation and his tail lashed, almost smacking Lliamy in the head with the bracelet around it. Kael shifted again in his attempts to stay attached to the boy and one of his legs ended up separating Joshua’s legs and going in between them.

Joshua gasped and all the color drained from his face. With one of Lliamy’s yanks it made Kael’s knee move up and rub against his crotch. With each attempt to move the feline it had the same result.

“Lliamy, s-stop!” Joshua told her, the blood coming back full force to his face and going down to a different place.

Lliamy obeyed and moved up to look at him curiously.

“What’s the matter, Joshwa?” she asked.

Joshua didn’t answer right away and took a moment to take some deep breaths to calm his body down. Shut up body, you did not enjoy that, he snapped at himself. He had the crazy impulse to rub against that knee again, but damn if he was going to give into it.

“Get his leg out from between mine,” Joshua said through clenched teeth when he felt he was in control again.

Lliamy looked back and crawled to the end of the bed. She tilted her head as she examined their legs. One of Kael’s was between Joshua’s and the other was on the other side of Joshua’s left one, closest to the wall.

“Which way do you want me to move it?” she asked.

“I don’t care just…” Joshua trailed off as he had a thought. “Wait, move it towards the door, I have an idea,” he instructed.

Lliamy scratched her head, wondering what he was planning, but did as she was told. She grabbed a handful of the cloth from Kael’s pants and heaved it on the other side of Joshua’s leg. The girl released it and let it fall and bounce on the bed.

“Okay, now what?” she asked.

“Now, move his other leg so it’s with the one you just moved,” Joshua told her.

Lliamy looked down at the next leg then grabbed onto it like the other. With many straining grunts she lifted it and tried to move it with the other one. Half way there Lliamy lost her grip and the leg fell in between Joshua’s, hitting his groin none too gently, making the boy grunt and let out an odd whine. Lliamy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

“I-I’m sorry, Joshwa!” she apologized.

“’S okay. Just get it off me,” the boy told her, his voice a little strained.

Lliamy nodded and quickly gripped the leg and pushed it over to its twin.

“Okay, they’re both over there,” she said when she was done.

“Right, now help me try and loosen his grip,” Joshua said, moving his hands down Kael’s arms to get a good hold.

Lliamy took hold of one of Kael’s arms and together they tried to get the feline to let go. But no matter how hard they pulled or struggled Kael held on, not budging a bit.

“Okay, okay, stop. This isn’t working,” Joshua grumbled, giving up. “We’ll just go to the next step.”

“What’s that?” Lliamy asked.

“We’re going to roll him off me and off the bed.”

“Doesn’t that mean he’ll end up on the floor?” the girl asked with a tilt of her head. When she got a confirming nod Lliamy frowned. “But, Joshwa, that’s mean.” The girl almost cowered at the look Joshua shot her.

“I can hardly care at this point if it’s mean or not,” he growled.

“Er, right, rolling off the bed then,” Lliamy agreed sheepishly, placing her hands on Kael’s side. “But aren’t you going to go rolling off with him?” she asked curiously.

“I’m going to brace myself so hopefully while he rolls he’ll let go,” Joshua explained. Hopefully. Doing as he said, Joshua rolled his hips away from the edge of the bed and moved his hands to grip the mattress, hoping it’d be enough to keep him anchored. “Okay, on the count of three,” he said and Lliamy nodded, preparing herself.

“One. Two. Three!”

Lliamy used all her body weight and shoved Kael as hard as she could. The man easily rolled and tumbled off the bed. The only problem was his grip on Joshua didn’t give.

“Whoa!” Joshua yelped as he fell along with Kael, both falling to the floor with a loud thud.

“Joshwa! You okay?” Lliamy asked in concern, peeking over the side of the bed. From what she could see Joshua looked all right. Only now his and Kael’s positions were switched, with the boy on top of the feline.

“Ooookay, didn’t plan that out well enough,” Joshua muttered, though he was happy he had a soft landing. He blinked when the chest underneath him rumbled as Kael groaned. Joshua looked at the feline’s face and saw green eyes flicker open.

“Oh fuck, what the hell was that?” Kael grumbled, putting a hand to his pounding head.

“Oh, sure, now you wake up,” Joshua growled, making Kael lift his head and look at him.

“Uh, Joshua?” he asked in confusion. The feline was quite perplexed why he had an arm around a half naked Joshua, who was currently laying on him.

“Yeah, Joshua,” the boy said, throwing Kael’s arm off him and sitting up so he was straddling the man under him. “What the hell are you doing in our room and why were you on top of me?” Joshua demanded.

All Kael could do was blink at him in confusion, though he rather liked the sight. Joshua’s nice, youthful chest fully exposed to roaming eyes. Hair ruffled and mused in a most delicious way, and the way he was bent over Kael he was in perfect kissing distance, though Kael knew better than to try anything at the moment.

“Um, I don’t know and you’re the one on me,” Kael pointed out.

Joshua just growled and rolled his eyes.

“That’s because Lliamy and I had to roll you off me, but you took me with you,” he muttered. “Now, I’ll ask again. What the hell are you doing in our room?” the boy repeated.

Kael lifted his hands defensively.

“Joshua, really, I have no clue. Last night is a complete blur and the only thing I have to prove anything happened is a skull splitting headache,” the feline explained.

Joshua narrowed his eyes at Kael and decided to use the hangover to his advantage. He grabbed onto one of Kael’s ears and yanked it close to his mouth.

“Well, you deserve it!!!” he bellowed as loud as he could.

Poor Kael stiffened and let out a yowl. It felt like an ice pick had just been driven into one ear, made a passage through his brain, and out the other ear.

“Gah, fuck! What the hell was that for!?” he demanded and shrank away from Joshua when his ear was released.

Joshua simply huffed and crossed his arms. It felt good to hand out rightful justice.

“Like I said, you deserved it,” he said, softer this time. “Because I sure as hell didn’t go to bed like this,” Joshua told him, gesturing to his current attire.

Kael blinked and studied Joshua again, trying to ignore his evil throbbing head.

“Wait, you’re saying…I did that?” he asked. The feline then noticed his own lack of attire. Oh crap, what did I do? he wondered.

“Yes, unless there’s some sort of undressing-and-placing-people-on-top-of-other-people fairy running around,” Joshua snapped at him.

“That’s a long name for a fairy,” Lliamy commented absently from the bed.

Both Joshua and Kael stared at her oddly. Then the boy shook his head and resumed glaring down at the other.

“Besides that, yes, you did this,” he confirmed, getting the conversation back on track.

“Joshua, really, I have absolutely no memory of last night, but I’m really, really sorry. Ya gotta believe me,” Kael said, not wanting the boy to think bad of him.

Joshua crossed his arms and was about to say something when the door suddenly flew open. Everyone turned and saw Juniper standing in the doorway, fully dressed and pulling his gloves onto his hands.

“Hey, kiddies, have either of you seen…” Juniper trailed off as he took in the scene before him. “Oh, well, there you are, Kael,” he said. A grin then curled his lips as he took in Joshua and Kael’s position and appearance. “Oh, Joshua, I’m hurt. You beat me whenever I try to get close to you, but the second my back is turned you jump all over Kael?” he asked dramatically and put the back of his hand to his forehead.

Joshua flushed at the accusation and leapt off Kael and to his feet.

“I did no such thing!” he yelled, less than sympathetic to a cringing Kael and the boy pointed an accusing finger at him. “He’s the one that-” Joshua stopped mid-sentence and everyone stared with wide eyes as his pants fell from his hips and bunched around his knees. The onlookers got a good eyeful of black boxers covered in small smiley faces.

Seconds ticked by before it processed what exactly just happened. When it sunk in Joshua almost jumped out of his skin with a loud eep and quickly struggled to get his pants back up. Lord, strike me down now, Joshua begged, thinking he’d die of embarrassment.

“Well, this is turning out to be a wonderful morning,” Juniper murmured happily, the image burned into his brain and stored for later.

“That was funny looking underwear,” Lliamy said with a tilt of her head, never having seen boxers before.

“You undid my pants too!?!” Joshua roared at a cowering Kael. He wanted nothing better than to stomp the feline into a pancake, but he had to work on zipping and buttoning his pants.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I have no control over myself when I’m drunk!” Kael wailed pathetically and curled up defensively.

“Tsk tsk, Kael, this is why I should keep you on a leash,” Juniper scolded, but he was no doubt amused by all this.

At those words Joshua whirled on him.

“And why weren’t you watching him? This could have been prevented if you were keeping an eye on him!” the boy snapped at him.

Juniper just shrugged as he sauntered into the room.

“I did until he passed out. I thought he would be fine so I went to sleep. How was I supposed to know he was going to wake up, stumble over here and have his way with you?” he asked.

“He did not have his way with me!” Joshua immediately remarked. Or at least I hope to God he didn’t.

“My brain is going to pop soon,” Kael mumbled, all the yelling making him want to sob.

“Good,” Joshua huffed, crossing his arms once more.

“But, Joshwa, how did Kael get in here if you locked the door?” Lliamy asked, curious as to how that was possible.

“Rodent girl brings up a good point,” Juniper agreed.

“Kael told me himself that he’s an expert at picking locks,” Joshua told them, remembering their discussion on the Nisis Express.

“Crap, I did,” Kael said from the floor, also remembering his comment.

“Ah and so he is. But you can’t be too harsh on the drunken fool, Joshua,” Juniper told the boy, defending his friend. “Alcohol is the evil of loose mor…als…Joshua, what is that on your neck?” he suddenly asked, pointing at his own for an example.

“On my neck?” Joshua echoed, placing his hand to his throat. “I dunno,” he said, not feeling anything.

“Um, you might want to go look,” Juniper told him, turning him to the bathroom.

“…something tells me I really don’t want to,” Joshua murmured as he did as he was told and went to the bathroom.

“What was on his neck?” Lliamy and Kael asked in unison, the feline sitting up.

“You’ll see in three. Two. One.” When Juniper got to one a cry of horror came from the bathroom, making the girl and feline jump.

The next second a bar of soap flew out of the doorway and struck Kael directly on the head, making him fall back with a yelp. Joshua stomped out of the bathroom looking ready to kill somebody.

“Hickies!? You left hickies on my neck!?” he shouted, pointing at small, dark bruises on his throat.

Kael’s mouth fell open in shock and he suddenly had the urge to scuttle under the bed. Had he really drunk that much to have done all this? Well…it had happen before, on several occasions actually.

“Joshua, I’m sorry, really!” he apologized though he knew it wasn’t enough by the way Joshua looked about to pounce on and beat the crap out of him.

“All right, all right, let’s end this now,” Juniper said, holding back a homicidal Joshua. “Kael was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing so you should show him some leniency,” Juniper said.

Joshua stopped struggling against Juniper’s restraint, but the anger didn’t leave his features.

“He seemed to be able to do all this damn well for not knowing what he was doing,” he growled.

Kael chuckled sheepishly; happy Juniper was on his side and defending him.

“Er it’s a certain skill I have,” he muttered and cowered when Joshua’s attempts to harm him renewed.

“Joshua, cut it out. Remember today we’re going to go see Trukint, you should be focusing on that,” Juniper said, trying to calm the boy. He was relieved when it seemed to work. Joshua’s body relaxed and he settled for just scowling at Kael.

“Fine, whatever,” he grumbled, pulling away from Juniper. “But if you ever do anything like that ever again I’m cutting off your tail and using it as a belt,” he threatened Kael.

The feline blanched at the thought, but nodded. He was just glad Joshua was letting him slide by.

“All right, you two get ready and we’ll go eat breakfast before heading back over to the tower,” Juniper instructed as he went over to Kael and helped him up.

“Yay breakfast!” Lliamy cheered.

“Sounds fine to me,” Joshua said dully, moving around the bed to try and find his shirt.

Kael frowned and opened his mouth to apologize once more, but found Juniper’s finger on his lips.

“Just leave him alone for a bit, he’ll cool off. Trust me,” he whispered to the feline. “All right, we’ll be back in a few minutes,” Juniper then said louder and began guiding Kael out of the room. As the door closed they both heard Lliamy ask something.

“Joshwa, what’s a hickies?”

Juniper gave an amused chuckle and Kael’s lips curved into a half smile. When they went back to their room Kael was shaking his head and running his fingers through his reddish hair.

“I can’t believe I did that. Why must I love getting drunk so much?” Kael questioned himself. The feline winced when Juniper closed the door, rather loudly.

“Because you’re a bumbling fool that’s why,” Juniper answered as he walked over to the bedside table and picked up a glass full of green liquid. “Here, I got you this for your hangover,” he said, holding it out to Kael.

“Oh, thanks buddy, you’re the best,” he said gratefully, recognizing the drink that had been given to Lliamy last night. He took the glass and completely drained it in one gulp. A relieved sigh came from Kael as it felt like tightened gears were being loosened in his head. “Fuck yes, that’s so much better,” he muttered as he set down the glass.

“Good, glad to hear it,” Juniper said. Suddenly the man shook as a low chuckle sounded from him. He had been holding it in as long as he could and now he was almost doubled over in hysterical laughter.

Kael’s brow was raised and he looked at Juniper like he had gone crazy.

“Hey, what the heck is the matter with you?” he asked in confusion.

It took a few moments for Juniper to calm down and collect himself. A few last chuckles came from him as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“I just never expected my plan to work out so well,” he muttered, almost going into another laughing fit.

“…plan?” Kael asked, suspicion immediately springing up.

Juniper smirked wickedly at him as he tossed his hair out of his face.

“Yes, sneaking you into their room and leaving you on top of Joshua was oh so much fun,” he said, his grin widening with the feline’s look of utter shock.

“Wha…you-you put me in there!?” he exclaimed, not believing it.

“Well, duh,” Juniper said, putting his hands on his hips. “Don’t you think I know you well enough to strap you down to anything that’s bolted to the floor while you’re drunk?” he asked.

Kael’s ears drooped and he fiddled with the tuff on the end of his tail.

“Well, yes…but then why? Why would you do something like that!?” he asked, angered at the fact that his so called “friend” had set him up.

“Because, you left me out to dry. That’s why,” Juniper snapped, his smirk replaced by a scowl.

One of the feline’s ears came up and he looked confused.

“What?”

Juniper scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“You don’t even remember…” he muttered. “We were getting hot and heavy last night and you passed out on me!” the man snarled.

“W-We were?” Kael stuttered, not remembering anything of the sort.

“Yes!” Juniper snapped. “Do you know how sexually frustrated I’ve gotten being down in that sorry excuse for a book deposit box with the only company being Righty and Lefty?” he demanded, waving his hands in Kael’s face. “Just when I thought I was going to get some you decide to take that time to pass out! Not only that, but I almost had Joshua around my little finger and you ruined it!” he yelled, his face barely an inch from Kael’s. Juniper then suddenly relaxed and pulled back, looking calm. “So, I thought I had every right for revenge,” he concluded.

Kael stared at the man, his mouth agape. How he had forgotten how scheming Juniper could be when he was pissed, Kael didn’t know.

“But-but why use Joshua?” he finally sputtered out.

“Because, my dear kitty cat,” Juniper said, his mouth curving into a smirk. “You ruined my chances, so I made as sure as hell that you would have zip chances also,” he explained. “An eye for an eye.”

Kael slowly blinked at Juniper, letting the words sink in. Then his ears folded back and the feline scowled.

“You are an evil, evil man,” he growled.

Juniper just laughed and gave a casual shrug.

“I know, it’s what I do best,” he said matter-of-factly as he strolled to the door.

“Wait!” Kael called to him, making the man stop. “How did you get Joshua’s shirt off, unbutton his pants, and leave the hickies on him without him waking up?” the feline asked curiously.

Juniper simply chuckled and shrugged.

“Easy, because I didn’t,” he answered casually.

“Huh?” was Kael’s response.

“All I did was break into their room, took off Joshua’s shirt to add effect and placed you on top of him. That’s it,” Juniper explained as he made his way to the door once more. “The rest of the stuff, you did on your own,” the man said with a smirk as he opened the door and stepped out. “Now you better get dressed and come down for breakfast, we’ll be leaving soon,” Juniper told the other sweetly before closing the door with a snap.

Kael stared after him, his mouth slightly agape and stupefied by what he just learned.

“I did that on my own?” he wondered aloud. “Damn…I really need to stop drinking…”

****************************

“Gah! This is so embarrassing!” Joshua cried out as he pulled up the collar of his shirt to try and cover his neck.

“Oh just get over it, they’ll go away in a few days,” Juniper told him, getting tired of the boy’s bellyaching.

Joshua glared at him and snarled.

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have black holes on the side of your neck!” he yelled at Juniper.

“Hush, you’re drawing attention,” the man quickly quieted the boy with a flick to Joshua’s ear. Many vendors on the sides of the street were watching them curiously because of Joshua’s outbursts.

Joshua calmed down but continued to grumble to himself and pull up his shirt.

Kael watched all this with a frown on his face.

“This is all your fault, I hope you know that,” he whispered to Juniper.

“No, this is all your fault. If you had satisfied me instead of passing out, none of this would have happened,” the man replied with a shrug.

“I can’t control what I do when I’m drunk and you know it whether it be my actions or if I pass out,” Kael snapped. “And getting Joshua pissed at me isn’t going to get you laid any sooner,” he then pointed out.

“Oddly enough I find exacting revenge better than sex,” Juniper rebuked with a smirk.

“…sadist,” Kael muttered.

“Yay, we’re here!” came Lliamy’s excited voice and the girl ran ahead of them to the looming tower.

“I hope he’s there this time,” Joshua mumbled as he tilted his head back to look up at the massive building.

“If he’s not we’ll just break in and wait for him,” Juniper told him with a reassuring smile and a pat to his head.

“And get arrested for breaking and entering? Wonderful,” the boy said sarcastically as he went on ahead to join Lliamy.

“Do you really think that Trukint will be able to help him?” Kael asked as the two men strolled at a slower pace.

“He’s our best hope. If he doesn’t have something then I wouldn’t think anyone does,” Juniper replied, becoming serious.

“Great odds,” the feline muttered.

“Well, there’s no note this time.” They heard Lliamy say as they reached the other two.

“Yeah, but the doors locked,” Joshua said as he tried to turn the door knob, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Here, step aside,” Juniper told them and as he went up to the door. The man knocked and waited for a few moments. When there was no reply he knocked again. When once again there was no reply Juniper began banging on the door. “Trukint! Open up! We need to talk to you!!!” Juniper yelled over his banging.

“He’s gonna go crazy again, isn’t he?” Joshua muttered as the other three watched him.

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Kael answered.

“The poor door,” Lliamy said with a shake of her head.

“Stop that ruckus!” a voice suddenly shouted from inside. Juniper immediately stopped and the others watched on expectantly. “What the hell do you want?” the same voice demanded.

“We want to come inside, you crusty old man!” Juniper snarled.

There was a short pause from the other side.

“Was that Juniper?” a new voice suddenly asked.

“It sure sounded like that hot headed oaf,” the other replied.

“Oi, he’s going to hurt us again. I don’t want to be used as a toothpick. Let’s just pretend we’re not here.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Kael, Joshua, and Lliamy all looked at each other oddly as Juniper sighed. He leaned against the door as he listened to the people on the other side mutter to each other.

“You know, you’re door isn’t that thick. I can hear every word you’re saying,” Juniper said.

There was another pause and suddenly there were sounds of various locks being undone. Juniper stepped back as the door swung open.

“Juniper! My old friend, how are you?” said a voice happily as a man stepped out.

“That’s Trukint?” Joshua asked with a tilt of his head.

“The one and only,” Kael told him with a smile.

Trukint was a very odd looking man. He was hunched over, his back making a perfect slope. To help him walk he held a long, twisted and gnarled wooden staff in one hand. Trukint was dressed in gold and red robes and Joshua couldn’t see anything of his face. He had a very bushy white mustache and eyebrows and a white beard that was about an inch from brushing the ground. A long, crooked nose was the only thing to be seen amongst the hair.

“He may not look it, but Trukint is the best Treasure Hunter there is,” the feline told the other two, with a secret grin.

“You’ve gotta be kidding…” Joshua muttered, thinking it a miracle the man was able to hobble out of his home.

“So good to see you, so good to see you,” Trukint went on, grabbing Juniper’s hand and shaking it. “It’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen you at my door. What can I do for you?” he asked.

Juniper rolled his eyes, seeing through the cheerful act. He simply by stepped the little old man and went into the tower.

“We’ll talk inside,” he called back. “Come on guys!”

“That’s our queue,” Kael said, nudging the kids forward.

“Huh? Huh?” Trukint looked around, appearing to be confused. “Always so impatient, so impatient. Barging into my home without permission,” he muttered. He then turned as the others approached. “And who be this? Juniper bringing guests is he? What does he think my home is? A party place?” he asked, but it didn’t seem to be to the others.

“Hey, Trukint. Sorry to be intruding like this,” Kael said as he pushed Joshua and Lliamy passed him and inside.

“No worries, giant cat Kael,” Trukint said as he followed them. Before he closed the door he looked warily around outside. “I be used to it by now.” With that he closed the door.

“Wooooow,” Lliamy and Joshua muttered in awe as they looked around. The room they had been brought to had wall to wall knick knacks and various items that were unidentifiable.

“I’ve never seen so much stuff,” Lliamy whispered as she reached out to touch something that looked like a ball made of gold and sapphire.

“No touching,” Juniper said, smacking her hand away. “You don’t know what any of this stuff can do.”

“And here I thought your place was messy,” Joshua said as Lliamy and Juniper had a glaring contest.

“I didn’t know I’d be having guests. So pretend the mess is not here,” Trukint told him as he entered the room.

“That’s kind of hard when it’s everywhere, Trukint,” Kael chuckled as he found a chair miraculously free of stuff to plant himself in.

The man, Trukint, ignored his comment and shuffled right up to Joshua.

“So, why does Juniper come here and bring such an odd, scraggly looking boy with him?” he asked and poked the boy with his staff.

“Who are you calling odd and scraggly?” Joshua shot back, taking a step away from the old man.

“He’s calling you that. Are you dumb?” a voice suddenly asked. Joshua looked up when he realized it came from the direction of the staff.

“Ahhh!!!” he yelled and fell back in surprise. He hadn’t noticed before, but the end of the staff was in the shape of a face and it was the staff that had spoken.

“Oi, noisy kid, isn’t he?” the staff asked. “What? Never seen a talking staff before?” it asked him. Joshua slowly shook his head and would have shuffled back if he wasn’t paralyzed in shock.

“Now, now, Staff, be good to the guest,” Trukint, chided it.

Juniper stepped forward and bent down to pull Joshua to his feet. Once the boy was dealt with he turned to their host.

“All right, knock it off, Trukint. Enough with the old man act and take off the disguise,” he demanded.

Joshua peeked out from behind him with a raised eyebrow.

“Act?” he questioned.

“Disguise?” Lliamy asked, drawing closer.

A laugh rose from Trukint, making his old body shake. Only now the laugh no longer had the scratchy sound his voice had. It sounded sultry and full of mirth. A hand came from beneath the robes and took hold of his nose. The skin of his hand was not wrinkled and old like one would expect, but flawless and smooth.

Joshua’s eyes widened and he instinctually grabbed onto Juniper in surprise when Trukint pulled his nose upward and his head came right off. Suddenly his meager height grew several feet as his robes fell away and he stood up.

“You always wreck my fun, Juniper,” Trukint said, as he pulled his “head” all the way off and held it in the crook of his arm.

“Uda…wha?” was all Joshua was able to get out as he beheld the real Trukint.

Trukint was of average height, an inch or two shorter than Juniper. Long locks of pure white spilled down his back, ending near the small of his back. Bright amethyst eyes gazed behind fans of ivory lashes. His ears were pointed, but curled at the ends, giving him a fairy like appearance. Trukint’s body was lean and not defined with muscle, which was made clear by the tight sleeveless red shirt he wore that was short enough to show off his firm belly. From the waist down he wore what could only be described as a robe like skirt of fine red and gold material. Trailing a couple feet behind Trukint was a length made of white fur. Joshua thought it was an accessory to his skirt, but realized it was in fact a tail when it twitched and swished. In all, even Joshua had to admit the man was…beautiful.

“Wow…you’re really pretty,” Lliamy said, walking up to Trukint.

“Awe, why thank you sweetness,” the man said and placed his hand on her head. “You’re a cutie yourself. I’m sure you’ll be drop dead gorgeous when you get older,” he complimented with a wink. Lliamy giggled and blushed.

“Uh, what’s with the old man getup?” Joshua asked, coming out from behind Juniper. “Seems like an odd thing to wear around.” The hair on the back of his neck prickled as Trukint’s piercing eyes turned to him.

“Simple, little boy, it’s easier to snatch treasure from under people’s noses when they think you’re old and feeble,” Trukint replied. Little boy? Joshua thought, bristling a bit.

“So, what brings you here, Juniper, old friend?” Trukint asked, taking his attention off the boy and looking to the other man. “If memory recalls last time you came to see me you said you’d rather gouge out your eyes and eat them rather than be in my presence,” he said, tossing the old man mask and letting it land on a pile of items.

“No, I think he said he’d make you eat them,” the staff corrected him that was oddly enough standing on its own now.

“Whatever, either way, Juniper, you made it quite clear you didn’t want to come around here anymore,” Trukint said, stepping past Joshua and circling the other man.

“Well, in fact, this odd and scraggly boy is the reason all of us are here,” Juniper replied, moving away from Trukint and taking a place behind Joshua.

Trukint looked from Juniper to Joshua. He raised a white brow, obviously not understanding.

“And why’s that? He looks like an average, run-of-the-mill boy…albeit dressed funny,” the man said, looking Joshua over. Okay, this guy is asking for it, the boy growled to himself. He stiffened as Juniper put his hands on Joshua’s shoulders.

“For being a Treasure Seeker, your powers of observation is oddly lacking,” Juniper said with a grin.

Trukint pouted at the comment.

“Oh? How so?” he asked, placing a hand on his hip.

“Because, this isn’t any average, run-of-the-mile boy,” Juniper told him and ran his fingers through Joshua’s hair, revealing the boy’s ear. “Quite the contrary.”

Trukint’s mouth fell open and his eyes widened. He took a tentative step forward, not believing what he was seeing.

“A-A human? No way!” he exclaimed, now stepping straight up to Joshua. “There hasn’t been a record of a human sighting in-in ages!” he said excitedly, tracing the boy’s ear with curious fingers.

By this time Joshua was twitching in irritation. He was sandwiched between the two men, who were fondling his ears and it was not making him happy.

“All right! Enough with the ear touching!!!” Joshua yelled, scrambling away from them both. But before he could get far Trukint grabbed his arm and spun the boy to him, so he was behind Joshua. Trukint then went back to his inspection.

“Not so fast you,” Trukint said. “I’m not letting this opportunity pass me by, so stay still,” he ordered. Joshua grumbled and fidgeted, but didn’t move away.

“You have to get used to it, Joshua. People around here aren’t used to seeing humans, so it’s natural they’ll be a little…enthusiastic to see you,” Kael said with a smile, crossing his legs as he leaned his staff beside the chair.

“Shut it you,” Joshua snapped, trying hard not to smack Trukint’s hands away as they ran through his hair.

“Oh, what’s this I see?” Trukint asked and pressed a finger against the dark bruises on Joshua’s neck. “Someone’s been having a little fun,” he snickered and turned to Juniper. “You still like them young, don’t you, ya pedophile?” the man asked teasingly.

“I am not a pedophile,” Juniper growled at him.

“And it wasn’t him, it was Mr. Fluffy over there,” Joshua piped up, jerking his thumb in Kael’s direction. “Though Lord knows Juniper has been trying,” he then muttered.

“Joshua, for the hundredth time I’m sorry!” the feline exclaimed and glared at Juniper when the man smirked.

Trukint looked over to Kael with a surprised look then pouted.

“Kaelikins, you’ve been cheating on me?” he asked, feigning hurt. Trukint then slinked over to Kael and plopped down in the feline’s lap. “How could you?”

Kael smiled and wrapped his arms around Trukint’s thin waist.

“Of course not, Dearest, I got drunk last night and “stumbled” into Joshua’s room,” he explained, shooting Juniper another look. Trukint smiled and hooked his arms around Kael’s neck and nuzzled his face into the feline’s skin.

“Good, I was going to be devastated if you had,” he murmured happily.

The onlookers watched this scene with odd looks. Joshua turned to Juniper and pointed at the two.

“Are they…an item?” he asked uncertainly.

“No, of course not,” Juniper replied with a roll of his eyes. “They just like acting mushy around each other.”

“It keeps them entertained,” the staff added as it hopped over to Joshua and Juniper. Lliamy approached the staff with a curious look.

“What’s your name?” she asked, forgetting what Trukint had called it. The staff turned to her and seemed to puff itself out with importance.

“I am Staff, Trukint’s loyal and faithful helper,” it introduced itself.

Joshua raised an eyebrow.

“Staff?” He then looked at Juniper. “Staff. Bird. You and Trukint aren’t very creative when it comes to naming your…helper’s, are you?” he asked.

Staff hopped closer to the boy and scowled at him.

“I named myself, thank you very much,” it said icily.

“…oh. Sorry,” Joshua said and chuckled sheepishly.

“Don’t worry, I think it’s a dumb name too,” Trukint said from his spot in Kael’s lap. “I wanted to name him Twigilton the fourth!” he told them with a grin.

Everyone stared at Trukint like he had just grown another head. Joshua turned to Staff with an understanding look.

“Good call,” he said with a nod.

“I thought so,” Staff said.

Trukint pouted as he spun around so he could place his feet on the ground, but he stayed seated.

“Well, besides insulting my name choices, why are you all here? I’m sure you didn’t come to show me the first human I’ve seen in years,” he said.

“And you’re quite right,” Juniper told him. “We came because we need help that I believe only you can give us.”

“We’re trying to get Joshwa home,” Lliamy butted in, earning her a scowl from Juniper.

Trukint raised an eyebrow, becoming intrigued. He looked to Joshua with a tilt of his head.

“Home? And where exactly would home be?” he asked.

“A world called Earth,” Juniper answered. “Right?” he then asked Joshua for confirmation.

“Right.”

Trukint’s brows furrowed and his tail swished, almost brushing against Kael’s face. He stared at Joshua oddly, examining him again.

“World? Earth?” All at once Trukint’s eyes widened and he leapt to his feet. “You don’t mean-”

“Yes, Trukint, he’s an Other Worlder,” Juniper finished for him, smirking at the other man’s reaction.

“My word…this is turning out to be an interesting day,” Staff said before bouncing to an open doorway. “I’m going to go put on tea. Something tells me they’ll be here for awhile,” he announced before disappearing into the next room.

Trukint didn’t hear Staff as he continued to stare at Joshua. It all made sense now. Being human, the funny clothes, and Juniper wouldn’t have dragged himself out of his hole for just anybody. How had he not put it together before?

“Juniper…he’s creeping me out,” Joshua whispered, getting uneasy about the intense gaze.

“Trukint, snap out of it,” Juniper said, snapping his fingers in front of the other man’s face.

Trukint jumped slightly and shook his head, coming out of his racing thoughts.

“Forgive me,” he apologized with a chuckle. “But it’s been a long while since I’ve met an Other Worlder. So…what do you need my help with?” he asked.

“Like Lliamy said, we’re trying to get Joshua home,” Kael told him, standing up.

“So you want to see if one of my items can do so?” Trukint guessed.

“Close,” Juniper answered. “That will be the next step.”

“Next step? What’s the first?”

“Joshua, why don’t you tell Trukint how you got here?” Juniper said, turning to the boy.

“I was hit by a truck,” Joshua said bluntly.

“….ouch.”

“You’re telling me,” the boy huffed, crossing his arms.

“So we need to first find out if it’s even possible to send him back,” Juniper explained. “Which means we have to discover if he’s dead or not in his world.”

“Hmmm I see what you mean,” Trukint said. He placed his hands behind his back and began pacing around the cluttered room. “What you’re asking might be a bit tricky, if I don’t have the right item,” he muttered, looking from pile to pile. He stopped when he suddenly felt a tug on his robe. Trukint looked down right into a pair of pleading violet eyes.

“Please, you have to help Joshwa. He…he really misses his family,” Lliamy told him in a soft voice. Trukint stared at her, seeing she really wanted someway for him to help. Suddenly he was hit with an idea and his head snapped up.

“Wait, you have family you can talk to back in your world, right?” he asked.

Joshua raised an eyebrow and seemed perplexed by the odd question.

“Of course, if I didn’t there’d be no real urgency for me to get home,” he said.

“Good, then there may be a way we can do this,” Trukint said, patting Lliamy on the head and coaxing her to let go. The man began to pace again as he thought out his idea. “I acquired an item a few years back, a rather powerful item.” Trukint came to a stop in front of Joshua and the two held eye contact. “It may be able to let you talk with your family and you can ask them yourself if you’re dead or not.”

Joshua’s mouth fell open and he stared at Trukint with disbelief. His body went numb and everything around him felt surreal. Talk with them? I can talk to my family again?

“Please! Please you have to let me use it! I have to let them know I’m okay and if there’s any possible chance I’m alive I have to know!” Joshua pleaded desperately.

Suddenly Trukint gave a very devilish smile and placed a finger under the boy’s chin to tilt his head up.

“Oh it’s not that simple, dear boy,” he said. “In order to use one of my items, and a rare one nonetheless, it’s going to cost you,” Trukint purred. Joshua gulped.

“Cost me?” he asked. After being around Juniper and Kael for awhile his mind immediately went to a dirty place.

“Yes, it’ll be a hefty fee.” Trukint lifted his other hand and rubbed his fingers together. “It’s gonna cost you a lot of cil,” he said with a wide grin. Oh he wants money, Joshua thought, feeling very relieved. Hey, wait a minute, he’s putting a price on me going home!? Anger immediately swelled up in him at the audacity.

Suddenly Trukint’s wrist was grabbed and he was yanked away from the boy. He was spun around faced with a less than happy looking Juniper. The other man then smirked at the Treasure Seeker.

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Juniper said silkily. Trukint narrowed his eyes at him.

“Oh…and why’s that? I do have to make a living, Juniper,” he said.

“I know you do,” Juniper said in understanding, “but I believe you’re going to be giving Joshua here a freeby.”

Trukint yanked his hand free and crossed his arms.

“And why on Nisis would I do that?” he asked.

Juniper saddled up next to the man and slipped an arm around Trukint’s shoulders, his arm giving a squeeze that was tighter than necessary.

“I seem to recall a favor I did for you a good few years ago,” he said. “Back in, what was it, Haldiant City?” the man asked. Trukint’s eyes widened and his face became as white as his hair. “What do you say you do this for Joshua and we’ll call it even?” Juniper bargained.

Trukint gulped then hastily pulled away from Juniper and turned to Joshua. A nervous smile was on his face as he addressed the boy.

“Of course! Of course, anything to help a friend of an old friend,” he said with an odd chuckle. “We’ll just get you situated and ready to talk to your family.”

Joshua blinked at him, surprised by the switch. He then looked at Juniper with a smile.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully. Juniper smiled back and ruffled his hair.

“No problem.” He then bent down so he could whisper in Joshua’s ear. “You can repay me later.”

The boy stepped away from him and rolled his eyes.

“Not in the way your thinking.”

Trukint then took hold of Joshua’s shoulder and directed him towards Kael and did the same with Lliamy.

“Kael, my lovely ball of fur, can you open the door that’s behind you and show these two through it?” he asked sweetly.

Kael grinned and gave a little bow.

“Of course, my money hungry sweetness,” he said before turning around and going to the wall directed behind him. Joshua and Lliamy watched this curiously.


“Door? What door? It’s a solid wall of…stuff,” Joshua said, not able to give a name to all the items Trukint had.

“Ah, here’s the knob,” Kael announced and a second later a section of the wall, items and all, swung out, revealing a doorway.

“Whoa! I didn’t think anything like that was there,” Lliamy said in awe. Trukint simply chuckled.

“My place holds many secrets you can’t find unless you’re looking for them. Now, if you’ll all go this way we’ll see about having Joshua using my precious treasure,” he directed, holding his hand out for everyone to go ahead of him.

Kael let the young ones go ahead of them and they all made there way into the doorway.

“I suppose we’ll want to get you home soon anyways or else Emperor Deilus is going to be all over you kid,” Trukint suddenly commented.

Joshua stopped just inside the next room and turned to him with a perplexed look.

“Emperor Deilus? Who’s that?” he asked in confusion.

All the others stopped with him and Trukint shared his perplexed look.

“You don’t know? He’s only the most-Ghgkk!!!” Trukint suddenly yelped and his body went completely stiff as his face contorted in pain.

Juniper gave a hearty laugh as he put an arm around the shorter man.

“Don’t pay him any attention,” he said, waving his other hand dismissively. “Emperor Deilus is just an old legend used to scare kids,” Juniper explained. “Shame on you for trying to do so, Trukint,” he chided. His only reply was a strained whimper.

Joshua stared at him strangely, feeling like there was more to it. He glanced at Lliamy, for some sort of confirmation, but saw she looked just as confused.

“Now, Kael, take them in, will you? I have to discuss something with Trukint really quick,” Juniper requested.

Kael nodded, knowing the man was being completely serious under his smile. The feline had recognized the name and unlike Joshua and Lliamy, knew what it was about.

“Right, come on kids, we can go check out more of Trukint’s stuff,” he said with his own grin. He then began herding the two into the next room.

Joshua shot one last suspicious glance at the other two before letting himself be guided away.

Kael also gave one last look, and after receiving an imploring look from Juniper, went in after the others and closed the door behind him.

When Juniper was sure they were gone he stepped away from the other man. In the process he took his foot off Trukint’s tail that he had been grinding into with his heel.

“Ow!!! You fucking bastard!!! What the hell was that for!?!” Trukint screeched as he took hold of his tail and tried to soothe the ache pulsing through it.

His eyes widened as Juniper grabbed what he could of the man’s tight shirt and yanked Trukint to him.

“Listen to me,” Juniper hissed. “You are not to say one word to Joshua about Emperor Deilus.”

“What? Why?” Trukint asked in confusion.

“Because he does not need to know about that bratty little worm,” Juniper snapped.

“But, Juniper, you know as well as I do that the second Deilus catches wind about the boy he’ll come after him. The boy being an Other Worlder and all,” Trukint said. Juniper scoffed and let the other man go with a little shove.

“Of course I know that. And he doesn’t need to catch wind of Joshua since Deilus is the reason he’s here in the first place,” the man muttered, turning away from the other.

“What? Deilus brought him here?” Trukint asked, flabbergasted by the news. “Then-Then that means he’ll send his little minions after all of you to get him.”

“You’re a little slow on the uptake, Trukint. Iaol has been following the boy since the second he got here.”

Trukint gasped and his mouth fell open.

“Iaol!? Are you serious? Deilus never sends him out to do collecting jobs,” he said in shock.

“Does it look like I’m kidding?” Juniper asked, turning back to Trukint. “And it is rather annoying knowing that prick is skulking around in the shadows,” he added in a mutter.

“And the boy doesn’t know any of this? Juniper, are you insane!? Why are you not telling him about the danger he’s in?” Trukint demanded, not understanding why the man would do something like that.

“Because he doesn’t need to know,” Juniper growled, getting right up in Trukint’s face.

“Doesn’t need to know?” the other repeated, standing his ground. “I think it’d be well within his right to know.”

Juniper rolled his eyes and shook his head as he turned away from Trukint and walked a few steps away from him.

“Look, Joshua is already stressing out about coming here and not knowing if he can get home,” Juniper said, keeping his back to Trukint. “If he were to know about Deilus and what that brat plans to do with him, he’d be freaking out. And we both know what would happen if he becomes overwhelmed by his emotions,” the man said gravely, turning to the other.

Trukint stared at him, his throat going dry as he licked his lips.

“The boy would tu-”

“Yes,” Juniper interrupted him. “Just like all the others,” he said, stepping towards Trukint. “Then nothing will stop Deilus from being on Joshua in a second. So we have to keep Joshua calm and prolong the inevitable as long as we can,” Juniper told him. “So that means not letting him worry about snot-nosed little punks like Deilus.” The man stepped past Trukint and went towards the hidden doorway.

“But Juniper,” Trukint said, spinning to face the silver haired man. “What if Joshua is dead in his world? If there is no way to send him back then it will be impossible to hold off the change and Deilus will come for him. You can’t protect him forever.”

Juniper shrugged before opening the door.

“You’re asking me like I should know.” He turned his head enough to smirk at his friend. “I’m making this up as I go along,” he said then went to go into the next room.

“Wait, Juniper!” Trukint called out, making Juniper halt. “Why do you care so much? It’s not like you. You hardly know this boy. Why are you risking your neck for him?” Trukint asked.

Juniper didn’t turn towards the other, but looked off into space, seeing something Trukint couldn’t. A memory from long ago locked away in his mind.

“I already failed once to save someone from Deilus,” he said softly, almost a whisper. “I’m not going to let it happen again.”

And with that he left the room, leaving behind a confused Trukint. Questions filled the man about that last statement. Questions he knew Juniper would never give him answers to.

========================Ch. 8 End

Well, how’s that for leaving you on the edge of your seats? ^-^ The depths of the plot has been dipped into more and poor Joshua has no idea what’s going on around him. What could Emperor Deilus possibly want with him? And there were others before him? And who is it that Juniper was talking about that even Trukint doesn’t know? The iceberg is being chipped away, but we’ve hardly dug past the surface.

And speaking of Trukint *kicks him across the room* Damn you, you sneaky man!!! Grrr when I originally created him he was the way he was first introduced. An old, wrinkled little man with an extremely long nose. But noooooooo, Trukint decided to make himself a hot and sexy beast. It happens every time I try to make an old and/or ugly character! Damn you people!!! *shakes fist at characters* Okay I’m done know ^-^ Heh and how was the beginning for you? Juniper is an evil bastard, do not scorn him!!! Okay so that is all I have for now, you’ll have to wait till next time to see if Joshua successfully makes contact with his family with whatever Trukint has hiding in the back. And I promise I won’t make you guys wait that long again. Till next time and please review!

Oh and one more thing, I'm going to do a quick pronunciation key, because I've already heard once that some names were hard to pronounce. Joshua, Juniper and Kael are pretty straightforward, so I won’t go into those ones.

Lliamy = (Lee-am-e)

Deilus = (Day-lus)

Trukint = (True-kent)

I believe that’s it. If in the future you have trouble with a characters name, don’t be afraid to ask how to pronounce it ^-^ Till next time!

EDIT: Gah I can't believe I forgot Iaol!!! Thanks for pointing that out Beth. Here's his

Iaol = (E-ol) Kinda like how you'd say Ian, but with ol at the end instead of the N