Carrick slowly walked down the hallway his feet were sluggish. They hurt still. His whole body hurt. He never shifted that many times in a single day before let alone two. What the hell happened? He was pretty sure his arm was broken. It was black and blue in a few places, was he drunk still? What time was it? The adrenaline was wearing off. He could still taste blood and the pints he drank. Did he want another?

”Hey love.” he nodded to someone passing by not caring to pay any attention to who it was. He was a mutant on a mission. His sunglasses couldn’t fool anyone.

The door opened and he half shut it, he’d deal with it later. Right now he needed to deal with something. He half pointed to the bed, ”Com’ere beautiful.” he staggered to the bed and collapsed face first onto the pillow he tasted blood again. There was also something under one of his legs. It could wait.

”****” turning his head to his side he exhaled and reached into a pocket and produced a beat up flask. ”Cheers, mate.” he took a swig and passed out sunglasses still on.

Carrick was back, and despite the late hour he had managed to make an entrance somehow. By early morning, the news were all over the mansion that the resident winged daredevil had come home all beaten up and bloody. Amethyst, who woke up early, learned from the chatter of some students outside her door, and the first thing she though was good. He deserves it.

Carrick had behaved like a complete monster at the party, and then he up and disappeared, leaving his tracking device. It would have made sense for him to be gone for good. The princess, still angry at him for ruining her party, hoped he would stay gone. Or so she told herself, and everyone who was willing to listen.

But now that he was back somehow, she had to resort to the second best thing.
Revenge.

The room's door slammed open as Amethyst swooped in like a pink-silk-wrapped angel of revenge, pulling the curtains aside.

"RISE AND SHINE, fly boy! We need to talk."

He was at the circus again with all of his old friends. Zek was there too. Everything was on fire. His body ached. He took a bow to the cheering crowd. The shifter’s mismatched colored eyes snapped open. Well one of them. The sunglasses protected him from the light but the loud voice and shrill tone from the unwanted guest made him move.

”Yeah, bout boundaries.” he muttered as he turned his body only to realize that everything hurt again. ”Gotta be kidding me…” his arm throbbed when he moved it. The other hand found the flask and he opened it. ”Just barging in rooms now eh?” he took a swig and then closed it setting it down gently on the bed before grabbing a pillow and holding it over his head.

”Can we do this later. Had a hell of some days. Just shut the curtains and door on yer way out yeah?” he pulled the glasses off his face and set them down next to the flask. He didn’t need them now. He was short on a ton of rest.

Carrick moved. He seemed vaguely conscious. Pulling the curtains open, Amethyst turned to glare at him, and she wanted him to realize she was glaring.

>>”Yeah, bout boundaries. Gotta be kidding me… Just barging in rooms now eh?”

"You know, that's funny, because I distinctly remember you barging into my... WHOA what did you do?"

Carrick looked like death warmed over. Probably drunk too, but more... like someone who had been in a fight.
Definitely drunk.

>>”Can we do this later. Had a hell of some days. Just shut the curtains and door on yer way out yeah?”

"No." the princess folded her arms, stepping closer to the bed "What happened? Someone finally decided to teach you that you are not as amusing as you think you are?"

”Me? Barge into rooms? Of a princess!?! One that could start an international crisis? Doesn’t sound like me does it?” he lied as he kept his eye shut or at least he was pretty sure he was keeping one of them shut. Why was she here right now?

His tail flicked at her in a ‘shoo’ motion. ”****ing tired.” he tried not to smirk but the movement of his lips moving opened up his lip again causing his mouth to taste of blood again. Pillow on his head still he moved his hand to the flask once again and opened it. Lifting his head slightly as the wound was cleaned again from the alcohol.

”Not entirely sure. Figure it was a fight of some kind.” Carrick said trying to be quiet on the details. His head hurt too much to think about at the moment. He remembered several fights. Fans, not the kind he wanted and Zek. **** that guy. ”‘Let’s go to the circus. It’ll be fun!” Carrick said in a mocking tone as he held the pillow tighter to his head.

”What day is it?”

>>”Me? Barge into rooms? Of a princess!?! One that could start an international crisis? Doesn’t sound like me does it?”

"Party. You barged into my party." she clarified. She had still not forgiven him for that, and the Atlantean ladies were not going to allow her to forget about it any time soon. And then he disappeared for days, and her anger had been simmering. She didn't care if he was hung over, or bruised.

>>”Not entirely sure. Figure it was a fight of some kind. ‘Let’s go to the circus. It’ll be fun!... What day is it?”

"You have been gone for two days." the princess noted, poking at the pillow on his head "I figured you might have run off an joined the circus again. Were you blind drunk or something? You look like you were in some very rough orgy."

”That doesn’t sound like me. Pretty sure yer cousin invited me sides, who has a party but doesn’t invite an entertainer. Sounds like piss pour planning on yer end.” he said knowing Praxi wasn’t her cousin but it didn’t matter who invited him. Because no one did.

"You have been gone for two days."

”Fer **** sakes.” he muttered holding the pillow tighter hoping to smother himself so he didn’t have to deal with what was coming. Carrick wasn’t supposed to be gone that long. An hour or two tops. Not two days. ”Technically I did.” he said as he pushed the pillow off now that he knew it wasn’t gonna kill him. He slowly sat up.

”Didn’t get drunk till after. Needed to. Never shifted that much before. Eh?” he responded ending with a question. ”Is that what orgies are?” there wasn’t enough blood to rush to his face so he just laughed, ”Thought it was a sex thing. Good to know though. I’ll try to avoid those in the future.” he grinned his lip split again and he looked to the princess with a swollen eye. ”Pretty sure I’m still the best looking one in the room.”

Spotting the bracelet he sighed loudly and reached for it showing off his discolored forearm. ”How mad was Pippa?” he asked clamping the thing to his leg as if it solved all his problems.

Whatever Carrick had been doing, he was definitely worse for the wear. Drunk or hung over, sure, but also beaten up. Not that Amethyst felt sorry for him, at all.

>>”Didn’t get drunk till after. Needed to. Never shifted that much before. Eh?... Is that what orgies are? Thought it was a sex thing. Good to know though. I’ll try to avoid those in the future.”

"Sex is usually optional" she clarified. Orgies could be a lot of things, but it was one of those Greek terms that Americans seemed to use with a slightly different meaning. Carrick did not seem like he had been getting laid. Or if he had been, he had some pretty specific tastes. Not that those could be judged.

>>”Pretty sure I’m still the best looking one in the room.”

"You are not."

>>”How mad was Pippa?”

"Who is Pippa?" the princess looked over Carrick again, now that he was sitting up, bleeding lip and all "Is you arm going to fall off? It looks disgusting. Was it the one god people again? Did you...?" turn into a beast an eat them?

Weird he thought the only reason anyone would ever agree to an orgy was sex. Then again he didn’t have first hand experience with it all so he took the princess’s word for it. Now that he thought about it… how many of those had she been apart of. The shifter looked over to her from the bracelet and gave her a once over then shook his head. It wasn’t any of his business and he could feel his ears get warm from the blood. Turned out he did have enough to make him blush.

”Lady friend.“ Carrick said with a little laugh then looked to his arm. It did look bad. He twitched his fingers in a troubleshooting manner then stopped when he made a fist. Forearm must have been broken. Judging by the look in two places. ”Well at least I got two of them.” he waved the other at her. It ached. ”Think it’s just broken.” he muttered and poked the blue spots winching with each poke.

”You have an elephant step on it and see how it looks.” the shifter said his tail revealing the amount of sass in the comment. He wasn’t a real elephant, just could lift like one. Didn’t stop him from stomping on his arm though in a fight.

”No, none of them. Thankfully.” his eyebrow raised as he reached for the flask behind him. ”I didn’t kill anyone…. Least I don’t think I did. I don’t know. Never shifted that much before. Kinda a blur. I remember a lot of fights though. Looks like I won though right?”

>>”Lady friend.“

"Bullsh*t" Amethyst noted, in Greek. Carrick did not have a lady friend. Not that she cared, really, but with how annoying he had been lately, with him going missing for two whole days, she doubted any kind of a lady friend was putting up with that.

>>”Well at least I got two of them. Think it’s just broken. You have an elephant step on it and see how it looks.”

"You were fighting elephants?" Amethyst was confused now. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility, but she wondered if it had been the god people again.

>>”No, none of them. Thankfully. I didn’t kill anyone…. Least I don’t think I did. I don’t know. Never shifted that much before. Kinda a blur. I remember a lot of fights though. Looks like I won though right?”

"Looks like you got trampled" the princess wrinkled her nose "You should go to the healer. Your arm is definitely broken. And your face is purple." she reached out, poking at the bruise. It looked painful, so she didn't poke too much, though.

"So what, you decided that crashing my party was not enough, and went off to what, raid a circus?"

The shifter parroted her word whatever it was. It was either an insult or a curse in her native tongue and Carrick didn’t pass up an opportunity to learn a new word he could find use for. Maybe he would ask the princess for a few more words. Or he could do what he was doing and let them spill out naturally. One was the more entertaining option.

The shifter squinted a little his normal facial expressions were a little different due to his face being swollen in a few spots. ”Technically ‘he’ is as strong as one and might be able to pass for one… a mutant but yeah?” Carrick shrugged then looked at his arm.

She was right, he wouldn’t admit it but she was right on all accounts. The bruising was a pretty good giveaway and his face was swollen even crushing it under the pillow hurt. ”Sounds bout right. Probably should.” he nodded and winced when she touched his face but didn’t shy away from the touch. ”I’m royalty, should be allowed to be purple.” forcing a smirk his eyes focused on the princess’s eyes for a moment. His ears got warm again and he looked elsewhere.

”Again, who throws a party and doesn’t invite the entertainment? Took it personally I wasn’t invited. Almost like yer ashamed of knowing me. Some could argue I’m mythological a legend!” his tail flicked behind him. ”I mean, as far as parties go… been to better.” he snapped his eyes shut and preemptively winced expecting another poke to somewhere that hurt given how close she was.

”Went to go see the circus. Same one I ran with way back before I started school here.” he said trying to smile. ”Not as inviting as I remember.” he said holding up his forearm and showing off the bruising. ”Most of ‘em were in the same boat I was.”

>>”Technically ‘he’ is as strong as one and might be able to pass for one… a mutant but yeah?”

So, he had not been fighting elephants, he had been fighting mutants. Who were strong as elephants. Gorgons, all likely, circus was a gorgon thing, as far as Amethyst could tell. Either way, it left its marks on the griffin.

>>”Sounds bout right. Probably should. I’m royalty, should be allowed to be purple.”

"You are not royalty." she clarified "I have seen your family tree, remember?"

>>”Again, who throws a party and doesn’t invite the entertainment? Took it personally I wasn’t invited. Almost like yer ashamed of knowing me. Some could argue I’m mythological a legend! I mean, as far as parties go… been to better.”

Amethyst blinked. Was she ashamed of knowing him? That sounded wrong. Surely not. He just... didn't belong to the Atlantean party. Different... social circles. "It was not meant to be an open party. It was a social visit for my Atlantean friends. And they are used to different things." she clarified.

>>”Went to go see the circus. Same one I ran with way back before I started school here. Not as inviting as I remember. Most of ‘em were in the same boat I was.”

"The same circus?" she remembered him talking about it before. The information distracted her from the topic of the party. "Why did you fight them?"

”Who said that was the real family tree?” his bushy tail flicked behind him mischievously while he grinned showing less teeth than usual in hopes it prevented his mouth tasting like blood again.

Carrick’s mismatched colored eyes rolled to the flask. ”Yeah,” he took a swig of the flask instead of biting his tongue. He probably should have the amount of sarcasm floated in the air. ”Sorry me form wasn’t pleasing to the ladies of the Atlantean court.” he wasn’t sorry he enjoyed being a pest. They deserved it.

”Aye one and the same.” he started to troubleshoot other parts of his body. His feet swung off the side of the bed and he stretched his ankles then tilted his neck to the side to give off a loud crack.

”Didn’t do it by choice, love.” his wings opened a little then stretched outward revealing his normally manicured wings had been neglected a few feathers were missing. He shook his head disappointed he wasn’t more concerned with it while he was captive. ”Didn’t even give me much time to groom. I shifted… a lot. Both faces… I don’t remember too much of what happened. Time ran a bit different for me.” he shrugged. [

color=DAA000]”Lots of fighting, some fires, fried food, that weird song and the fans. Love, they worshiped me.”[/color] he reflected back pushing himself up from the bed wincing with the motion and trying to cover he asked, ”So, I’m gone fer two days and ya great me with a wakeup call?” his eyes looked over the princess, was she in her pajamas? ”Wait… did… did ya miss me? Awww.

Carrick was in a bad shape, but apparently not so bad that he could not make jokes about it. He stuck to his claims of royalty despite the obvious. Amethyst rolled her eyes. Royalty seemed like such an appealing thing to everyone who was not royal.

>>”Yeah. Sorry me form wasn’t pleasing to the ladies of the Atlantean court.”

It wasn't his form, it was hit attitude. Surely. The ladies were not used to gorgons talking to them like that. And if they would have seen him now, beaten up as he was... the princess noted the wobble as he stood up and stretched his wings. The wings had always fascinated her somewhat, and she immediately noticed the ruffled and missing feathers.

>>”Aye one and the same. Didn’t do it by choice, love... Didn’t even give me much time to groom. I shifted… a lot. Both faces… I don’t remember too much of what happened. Time ran a bit different for me. Lots of fighting, some fires, fried food, that weird song and the fans. Love, they worshiped me.”

It sounded like... quite the adventure. Or mess, rather, with the... singing?... and fighting. Amethyst was still not sure what all had happened to him, but from what he was saying, he was probably not sure either. From the looks of it, and the lot of shifting, it probably took a toll on the griffin.

>>”So, I’m gone fer two days and ya great me with a wakeup call? Wait… did… did ya miss me? Awww.

"I didn't miss you" she princess huffed, stepping aside in case he keeled over. The outstetched wings limited her space by the bed, so she absent-mindedly poked at the feathers that were out of place "I've been waiting for you to come back so I can give you a piece of my mind about you being a prick at my party. But I figured you might not come back at all, just go on some kind of a rogue adventure and go seek your fortune elsewhere. Fly free or whatever." she shrugged, tucking some of the feathers back into place.

>>> "I didn't miss you"

His tail drooped slightly when she said she didn’t miss him he wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to say in response to him but for some reason that stung a little bit. Did he miss her? He was gone for two days, shifted a lot and by the end of it was bloodied and bruised and drunk. During those times the times he remembered there was the occasional thought of her.

The wings moved slightly from her touch. Very rarely he liked people touching his wings without permission however at some point he must have given it to her because when she poked his wings didn’t move away.

>>>I've been waiting for you to come back so I can give you a piece of my mind about you being a prick at my party. But I figured you might not come back at all, just go on some kind of a rogue adventure and go seek your fortune elsewhere. Fly free or whatever."

Carrick’s tail started flicking as he tried to fight the smile that was forming. She called him a prick for what he did at her party. In Carrick’s opinion all he did was try to be entertaining. Praxi at least thought he was. Or at least he thought that was the case or he would have been… a uninvited guest. ”Could have just called.” he said before realizing he still didn’t have his phone. Did Zek have it? There must have been a dozen messages waiting for him.

The shifter started to purr when she started to groom him. She might have not known she was doing it but his body thought she knew. ”Figured or hoped? Don’t think I could leave ya alone here.” a little blood rushed to his face and he looked anywhere but at her. ”You’d probably die of boredom without me. Couldn’t leave my biggest fan.” this time he smirked.

”Care to escort me to the infirmary?” his legs shook slightly but he managed continue to stand. Waiting till she was done with his wings he slowly closed them back up. ”You can tell me more how’ve been waiting on me and I’ll have someone to lean on if my legs decide to give.” his eyes managed to lock back onto hers.