Conley Brothers

Spectra laughed lightly "I'll pass the compliments to Mimic" she said before opening her arms to the boys "good news, Vlad said I can ride with you today" she smiled fondly at them
 
"Really?? Yay!" they shrieked, hugging her tight. "You are fun to travel with! Almost as much as Uncle Kazimir!"

"Speaking of Kazimir, I wonder where he is. The twins said they were racing him. Looks like he got lost. Again," Vlad sighed.
 
Spectra hid the wince with a bright smile "almost as fun? Well that will never do. I will have to top that" she said before looking up to Vlad "he can't of gone far.."
 
"He once got lost from the caravan and after three days of searching, we found him in a barn trying to talk a cow into laying eggs like a chicken," Vlad said dryly. "He hadn't even realized that days had passed and he was a good six hours from the caravan."
 
Vlad hesitated, thinking. "I am... Oh, there he is."

Kazimir came wandering toward them eating what looked like a giant corndog with a cotton candy stick in the other hand. He smiled brightly and waved with his cotton candy. "Hi! Did you know this place has fun food? It is like... carnival!"
 
Spectra smiled "well it is in essence a carnival" she said, amused "now come, we're about to leave. I'm riding with you the next leg" she said cheerfully
 
Vlad started to ask where and how Kazimir had gotten the food when everything should have been closed then thought better of it. "Time to head out, let's go!"

"Yay! With Spectra and Kazimir, things will be so much more fun!" the twins cheered, dancing around them merrily.

Vlad just climbed up onto the driver's bench. The bench was large enough for three people. Normally it was just him and the twins, but they could easily walk if they wanted to, and often did to burn off energy.
 
"Where would you like us Vlad?" Spectra asked. Not all of them.would fit up there

Poor Star was getting no sleep. So much noise and movement
 
"Wherever you would like," Vlad smiled.

"I want to walk," stated one twin.

"The lovely lady should ride," Kazimir offered, gesturing for Spectra to climb up.
 
Spectra smiled "very well then" she said before climbing up to ride with Vlad, she was there to be a buffer and entertain right?
 
As the wagons headed off, Vlad focused on driving at first. The unicorns were excited about going now, and he had to keep a firm hand for a bit. Meanwhile, the twins and Kazimir romped around on either side, enjoying the trip.

As the caravan settled into the rhythm of traveling along the road, Vlad relaxed and glanced at Spectra. "And we are off again," he said cheerfully.
 
Spectra nodded "so we are" she glanced over to watch the twins and Kaz for a moment.

"So....when are you going to tell me about Kazmir?"
 
Vlad shifted uncomfortably and traded the reins from one hand to the other. "About him? What do you mean?" he asked in an uncharacteristically clumsy attempt at stalling. "There is nothing to tell, really."

Kazimir and the twins were pretending to march or perhaps dance? As they easily kept up with the wagon. Their giggles and laughter rang out joyfully with every step.
 
Spectra raised a brow at him "come now Vlad. I am happy to help keep an eye om him and assist but I'd like to know why..and why you have never spoken of family before" she prompted "I wouldn't normally press you know that but The situation requires some explanation"
 
Vlad sighed and pulled a hand through his unevenly cut red hair. "I suppose you have a point," he agreed reluctantly. "I never spoke of my family because it is complicated and unhappy. We are Romani, what others would call 'Gypsies.' It is not easy. Here, I allow the confusion that I am Russian to thrive because better to be Russian and an enemy of America than Romani and the enemy of everyone. People speak of the Jewish people as being everyone's dog to kick, and they do not have it easy at all, but there are a few people who trust and like the Jews. No one trusts or likes a Romani, not even the Jews. We truly are the lowest of the pecking order, and that is how it always has been.

"My family came here to America years ago to escape the Germans. The Americans despise us, but at least they will not try to kill us immediately. So here we flourish doing sideshows and tricks and illusions, but..." He hesitated. "Back in Russia, before we left, my family tried to fight back against those that would have us culled from humanity. We fought and we lost because they were far superior to us in numbers and power, but in our attempts, we dabbled in some very dark arts. Dark arts... they promise much and take even more. Our very attempts to save ourselves destroyed us. Our family was forty-seven strong when we started, and five years later, we were reduced to eight. Myself, Kazimir, my sister, my mother, an uncle and aunt, and two cousins. We fled to America after that, but they did not fully release their grasp on the darkness. Not even me. It was like an addiction."

He paused in his story, pain flickering in his eyes as he remembered those he'd lost.
 
Spectra quietly listened to his story "I am truly sorry for you loss" she said softly and sincerely. She understood well that pain though hers was much longer ago.
 
Vlad took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I saw how that addiction was still killing my family, how we could not seem to stop even after all we had lost. So I left. I left behind any possibility of being able to use those skills I had learned even if I wanted to - and there were many times in the coming years I desperately wanted to - and I learned again to rely only on the talents and magics I held naturally. I did not speak of my family or tell anyone because I was afraid. I was afraid of the memories, and I was afraid of being tempted back. I am not tempted any longer, but I supposed I am still afraid of pain."

Then he glanced back at Kazimir. "Kazimir... part of why I dislike him so is not so noble as desiring to stay away from the past. No, I just find him annoying, and when we were children, I was always his keeper even though he is the elder." Vlad gave a sheepish shrug. "It is not very honorable, I know."
 
Spectra reached over and gently touched his shoulder "I do understand the draw of dark magic" she said "the price is high...nothing good comes of it" she said knowingly. She understood the struggle very well.

She looked back at Kaz "it is not shameful to seek your freedom. Sometimes the burden of family stifles who you are" she looked back at Vlad "you will find no judgement from me"
 
Vlad smiled at Spectra. "Thank you. It is good to speak to someone who-" He stopped himself as Kazimir climbed up and edged onto the seat on the other side of Spectra. "Kazimir, a little warning, please? It is rude to scoot a lady off her seat."

"Oh, yes, I am sorry." Kazimir gave Spectra a wide-eyed look. "I am terribly sorry, pretty lady. If you were my mother, she would have bopped the top of my head with her slipper."
 
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