A False Pretense.

[cronos]

It's bugging me, grating me,
And twisting me around.
Yeah I'm endlessly caving in,
And turning inside out.

Fingers curled and eyes dulled; Cronos stared across the expanse of the room. Each and every member of his family was present, sadly. Personally he thought they were there just to embarrass him in front of people he barely even knew. The youngest of them at the age of five was Kiri, clinging desperately to his leg. Both her and Amane had been quite showy in their unhappiness of Cronos taking his leave. It could not be helped however so they would just have to deal with it until they could see him once again.

Karen was picking at his hair, laying it this way and that; complaining about how he need to keep it in better shape. He didn't know how much 'better' it could get aside from combing it and that he already did. But he would not question her seeing as how she would just spout off on the topic in a way that could last for ages. Kariem, Toru, and Yoshii would probably make their hastily planned escape somewhere in the middle of her unnecessary rant. He couldn't blame them. No one enjoyed to be the subject of her never-ending rants. They continued for such an annoying amount of time. Even his father would probably try to slip away only to be caught by mother. Alice never did approve of Daiiki leaving at such important times. So he would definitely not get away unharmed.

The fifth Mitsaki child shook his head in exasperation when Karen finally pulled away and left his hair be. The mere action caused his black square-framed spectacles to slide a bit further down his nose. A following pat on the back, which felt more like a punch, from Kariem caused them to slide down even further. To the point where they were just barely resting on the tip of Cronos's nose. With a grumble that sounded suspiciously like 'I will get you for that' he firmly pressed them back up with his middle finger. Of course, he got the same reaction he always did when he did such a thing.

"Mommy! Cronos stuck up the bad finger!" Alice laughed full-heartedly at Amane's comment. Kiri just nodded in agreement but didn't speak a word. She was one of few words for such a young child. Most he met were quite talkative in most instances. However Kiri would rather remain silent, answering with small nods and smiles. One lovely good thing about Kiri was that she never ever told on someone unless they had done something exceedingly bad. Cronos took care of, and loved her, the most. It mostly dealt with the fact that she looked up to him plenty more then Amane did. Amane would rather look up to Karen, sad enough.

Daiiki glanced at his watch and gasped in slight surprise, turning to Cronos. "Well m'boy. It's time for you to hit the road, or in this case, the tracks." Everyone smiled and rolled their eyes at his attempt at a joke. The moment wasn't lost on him of course and he pouted. Cronos shook his head but nodded all the same. Each member of the family in turn hugged him. At least, the females did. Apparently the males thought they were too 'manly' to hug him. But that was perfectly fine. The one that lasted the longest was Kiri but she had also been hanging onto him the entire time as well. She really didn't even want to release him when he had to head off toward the train. Rather she wrapped her little arms tighter around his leg and frowned stubbornly. Ahh, another trait of the small five year old. Stubbornness. Alice assured she would grow it out eventually but Cronos found himself doubting that.

Cronos managed to kneel down on one knee before Kiri released his other leg and latched her arms around his neck. He smiled lightly and returned the favor. He sighed lightly when he felt warm water seep into his shirt. Tears. Apparently she was taking it the hardest out of them all. Then again, she had become to most attached to him. So with another sigh he released her and leaned back as much as he could with her arms around his neck.

"Hey now; I'll be back to visit later. I'm not leaving forever you know." There was a slight teasing tone in his voice and he heard Kiri give a small giggle. He still stuck firmly with his belief that a childs laughter was pure evil... except Kiri's. So yes, Amane's laughter was evil as well. Kiri still wouldn't release him though. Forcefully he removed her arms from their place around his neck. Immediately she let out a small cry and tried to resume the position. "No!" It was a shout from her childish voice, arms stretched out toward him yet he kept a firm grip on her wrists.

"I'll be back. Promise. And then you can hug me all you want. I won't mind, but right now I have to leave or I'll miss the train." Once more he pressed his glasses back up with his middle finger and once more Amane yelled, "Mommy! Cronos stuck up the bad finger!" He sighed lightly and massaged his temples muttering a, 'Shut up', her way. Kiri was still tearing up and shaking her head furiously. So stubborn... Cronos allowed her to hug him again and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be fine..."

With that said, he forced her to back away into the arms of Alice and stood straight. He grasped the handle of his baggage and gave a slight wave to little Kiri, whom was still crying. Alice held her securely though so she couldn't run after Cronos. That wouldn't be the best of ideas taking her age into account and that poor Cronos would probably miss the train should he 'hang out' here any longer. He hurried off to the train with one last 'goodbye' to his youngest sister and carefully boarded, avoiding any other people currently getting on or moving about. It took him but a few moments to find an empty compartment and he collapsed thankfully onto one of the seats nearest the window. Beforehand he placed his baggage in the above racks; perfectionist that he is he even had to make it look straight. Soon he would have to change into his robes though. Ah... Perhaps now would be the best time to change so he wouldn't have to wait until later on.

With that said, he made sure the door was firmly shut before hurriedly changing into his robes; glancing at the door to make sure no one was coming in. He was sure there was another place to change outfits but he didn't necessarily feel like leaving the room at this time. So changing while in the compartment seemed to be the best idea he could come up with at this time. There wasn't exactly any other option that wouldn't involve leaving the small area. His robe was placed on the seat and all he doned were the black slacks, black dress shoes, white button-up shirt, and tie. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to just above his elbows. Once more he pressed his spectiacles up with the same finger as usual.

The start of a new beginning...

If anyone does reply; I don't expect your post to be this long. Just four or five paragraphs would satisy me.

[alexander1992]

Alex sat on his trunk at the station as he pried Ashleigh's youngest sister off his leg. She'd become quite attached to him in the week he had lived with them.

Why'd Ashleigh's family have to come anyway? Ashleighwas already at trio's, so why bother? Alex took off his glasses. He wouldn't need them for the train ride would he? He eventually got Ashleigh's sister back to her mum and hugged the family. They were almost like his own. After all, he'd chosen to be emancipated from his mum. His new family was the Yarwood family. He slipped Lucie's glasses right off her nose, so they hung from her ears. Pushing them back on, she smacked Alex's head, destroying the way he had styled it that morning.

"HEY!!! Do NOT touch my hair! I thought we cleared that up when I first moved in." But Lucie just grinned and pulled it right over his face.

That did it. Alex pretended to tackle Lucie to the ground but instead lifted her up and dumped her in an empty trolley. Ashleigh's dad had put his trunk on the train and all alex had were his two playful kittens, Mischeif and Angel, his wand, his bag with about 15 Galleons and some food in, his guitar and his robes.

He ran onto the train and waved from the window as it left. When the family was out of sight, Alex went in search of a compartment. His kittens, robes and wand in his bag and his guitar in hand, he walked along the corridor. Eventually he found a mostly empty one, apart from 1 boy with glasses.

"'Scuse me? Can I sit here?"