Marlix, somehow noting the time but still not aware of his damn pants issue, made his way to the parlor, to await the guests

"No, let go!" Ruko had jumped, quite startled when the loud voice called out behind him. He had almost managed to get away with his breakfast, too! Now he was struggling ineffectively against his brother's sudden show of affection. Truthfully, cared a lot about Romeo, but he sometimes smelled like smoke, and he just couldn't stand that for some reason. Granted, it wasn't always there, but it had made him a bit wary of its return as of late.

"Romeo, now it's all wrinkled..." The smaller brother tugged at his shirt with a quiet protest as soon as he was released, trying to smooth it out again. "I suppose it's not too bad, but I just don't want to look weird." The older brother in question already seemed to be talking to Rex, though, so he quickly picked up his food and gave a quiet "good morning" to the rest as he made his way out to the garden. At least it would be peaceful out there; he needed a bit of time to collect his thoughts.

Zack shook his head at his brothers. They range from quiet and awkward like Ruko to grumpy like Rex. He some how ended up in the middle of the personalities. The nice thing about having so many different personalities was that he always had something to paint. In fact he had the perfect thing to paint today. Without a word he hurried to his studio. His brothers or Val would find him when it was time for introductions.

Rex finished his breakfast, feeling more irritated than before. Kill him first, The Voice pleaded. A dirt nap would do him good.

"Shut up, willya?" Rex muttered under his breath. "He may be a pain in the ass, but Juliette is family. He just needs to stop acting like a dumb ape."

A short drop and a sudden stop would suffice.

"It was so much nicer when it was just me in my head."

Well, tough crap. You're stuck with me, Rexy.

"Bite me," Rex growled, heading out to the garden. He had a love of watching plants grow, especially flowers, fruits, vegetables, and trees.

Kyle made it to the piano room and sighed. He hoped he could get some practice in before their guests arrived. Playing always helped soothe his nerves. As he sat on the bench he placed his book on the seat next to him, then slowly he slid his hands across the ivory keys and started to play. The piano was well tuned, as always, by the staff and the noise reverberated faintly throughout the estate. The longer be played the more he lost himself in the music, and rhythm.

Stepping outside with his breakfast, Ruko noticed the sound of a flute playing from inside the garden already. Was Inigo practicing again? He had certainly gotten good at it. The quieter boy closed his eyes for a moment and let the music wash over him, feeling much calmer already. Perhaps he should practice later as well.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and headed a bit further into the garden, looking for a fairly quiet spot to eat. Though, he wouldn't mind listening to Ingo's flute playing for a bit. Perhaps he shouldn't go too far away after all. There was a nice tree over there he could sit under for now...

Allie raised her hand a bit awkwardly. "Mr. Valtonen? I was wondering if I could ask you a question. I'm sure you've heard rumors about the boys, but I'm not willing to believe in them without proof. You live with them and, well, I was just wondering if I could hear the truth from you."

Rex went back inside, wanting to be by himself. He eventually went into the library, the one place he enjoyed most. True, most libraries were quiet, but he enjoyed listening to music. Rex turned on the phonograph. The Voice snickered.

As much as you love music, you can't play a single instrument, it said in an amused tone. Oh, the irony!

"Can it," Rex growled, opening a book. "I'm a damn good singer, and you know it."

I think you sound like a walrus being strangled.

"And yet, when I snuck out to the town last month, the people loved me before they found out who I was."

Allie said
Allie raised her hand a bit awkwardly. "Mr. Valtonen? I was wondering if I could ask you a question. I'm sure you've heard rumors about the boys, but I'm not willing to believe in them without proof. You live with them and, well, I was just wondering if I could hear the truth from you."

"Ah, the truth about them? Well, I would hate to ruin any illusions that you might have preferred, but if you truly wish to know." Val smiled kindly at the girl. "If I had to describe them, the young masters..."

"...are complete delinquents."

The butler paused for a moment before letting out a laugh. "I'm joking, of course; each one of them is quite capable of being a perfectly reasonable person. Maybe. But every single one of them has some sort of quality to them that makes it difficult to keep up with sometimes. Whether it is an overt one or a concealed one is the real difference. But, mind you, you shouldn't just let them get away with any teasing; they should really know better by now. Really, at their age, and they still make such messes. But, if they didn't, I'd require another job, wouldn't I?" He chuckled lightly, as if all of it were nothing serious at all. "But in all honesty, they should know to behave themselves, so if you receive any disrespect from them, I will gladly speak to them. One's guests should not have to worry about such things."

Allie couldn't help but crack a smile at the way Val spoke of the boys. They sounded like normal guys, ones who sometimes needed chastising, but they certainly didn't sound like the cold-blooded murderers the townspeople had accused them of being. She still wasn't sure if there was anything else about them that she didn't know. However, she was going to let it go. If they had powers or anything of the sort, she was sure she'd get used to them. She was going to be living there. after all. She would go in there with an open mind and heart. She had no reason so far to think of them in an ill way. "Thank you for clearing that up, Val. I'm very curious now to meet them."

Rex soon became bored-- something that happened quite a bit these days. "I had breakfast," he muttered to himself, "showered, went to the library..."

Why not go fishing and take Romeo with? The Voice suggested. Hit him over the head with a big rock, tie said rock to his shoes, and push him in the water!

"You're an ass," Rex sighed. "But fishing does sound good. However we have the guests coming, so no."

D'ya think they're coming to show us a good time?

"Like the town would send hookers," snorted Rex. "Besides, while my brothers are lady killers, I doubt any woman would touch me with a three and a half-meter fishing pole."

What? A handsome fella like you? The Voice asked, its tone sarcastic.

"Shaddup. I always can look uglier."

Zack set up his easel. He wanted to make a new picture. The one he had in mind would go with the other two he had painted for himself. The first one he had painted was one of him and his brothers in their human form. The second one was them in their beast forms. this one would be him and his brothers in human form meeting the girls. And the last one had had planned was the girls meeting the beast. He could only work on half of the next two paintings be ause he didn't know what the girls looked like but he would be able into include them soon enough.

Pulling a watch from his pocket, Val took a quick look at it before placing it back. "I'm sorry madams, but I'm afraid we might be late if we wait for much longer. We may have to finish introductions later after all." Turning back in the direction he had appeared from earlier, he made a motion for the others to follow as he started back into the woods. "Come along, please," he requested cheerfully. "It isn't too far that we have to go, but we simply cannot be late for the afternoon meal. Not after the chefs have worked so hard on it. Any further questions may be asked on the way."

Allie followed behind Val as he began to lead them through the woods. She was starting to feel a bit at ease. The woods were her favorite place to be, besides her cozy little cottage that she was leaving behind. Her stomach rumbled when he mentioned lunch. She thought it was awfully nice that the chefs had worked so hard to prepare a meal just for them.

Nina rose from her bow and put on the jacket around her shoulders. from the sounds of things, her optimistic statement from before might have been right. These boys within the castle weren't murders, or maybe they were and that was where the other disappearances had gone. There was no point in voicing her concerns now, anyway. The girls would do that for her soon enough and she'd have her answers. She hoped that she'd be able to get a nice meal soon, Nina hadn't eaten the whole day, and while she was great at fending off hunger, even she would admit that a freshly cooked dinner sounded appealing.

Kyle finished the song he was playing, then decided he might as well get another song in before the guests arrive. He mulled over which one he should practice, before smiling and beginning to play a piece he was still trying to make perfect, but just hadn't been able to master.

Zack stepped back and looked at the first picture. It was exactly what he had envisioned. He and his brothers in human form. It was perfect. He studied the picture. There should still be room for the girls. He just had to wait for them to arrive. The left that picture to dry as he started working on the second picture.

I watched in silence as the other girls' fearfulness and dread melted away to reveal comfort and relief. Frankly, I couldn't quite understand their sudden merriment. A few soft words from a complete stranger and they were prepared to follow him without a qualm. Of course, we hardly had a choice, but all the same, it irritated me. Hmph. That was hardly saying much. Most things tended to irritate me. At this point, I was somewhat lost for words. My stubbornness seemingly non-existent as I followed the group in silence. The way he spoke of them... it was so fondly. He spoke about them as though they were.. well, ordinary. But until I saw them, met them, and (hopefully) didn't get brutally devoured by them, I wasn't prepared to believe anything.