You're on a vacation planet, taking a well-deserved vacation. But do you know where your mismatched set of El Paso's Best Sidekicks are?

They're not sunbathing.

They're not shopping.

They're not swimming or dancing or sleeping.

No, Paco and Brenda are on a mission. A mission to locate a certain other ginger-and-black-haired twosome and take advantage of the entertainment the vacation planet had to offer.

Steve and Miku, you're about to get double-dated!

Pyro was a very busy... pyro.

As soon as he was cut loose from Stacy, he made a bee line for the nearest grocery store. Or whatever the heck passed as a grocery store on this freakyweird alien planet. A chunk of his 'allowance' went towards the following:

-Charcoal
-Matches
-Drinks
-Graham crackers
-Marshmallows
-Chocolate bars
-Kabob skewers
-Ice
-A couple of cheap plastic coolers

After that, he could be found at the nearest shore, gathering as many chunks of dry driftwood he could find and piling them near his coolers of food and drinks. As night fell, he put his master plan into motion. He dug out a nice big hole in the sand with both hands, into which he dumped all the coal. He lit a few matches and tossed them into the pit, and once a nice trail of blue smoke began to rise, he started to arrange the driftwood on top. Each piece was placed quickly but carefully, and almost artistically, like he was assembling a sculpture. It almost seemed a shame that it was all going to go up in flames.

He sat back and watched the fire rise as the sun set. Only once it was roaring did he budge from the spot, and it was only to reach into his supplies for a skewer and a marshmallow. Then he sat back down and started toasting. And whistled a tune to himself.

Nanashi turned, abandoning the food on the table, and began to walk out of the mess hall. She held her head high, and managed to banish the look of pain in her eyes for the most part as she made her way through the living area to the crew quarters.  What gave away her continued distress was that she walked just slow enough so that Katara could keep up without breaking into a jog.

The whole way the pair was silent. Nanashi was trying to figure out how to tell her story the most gently.

When they arrived Nanashi still was not sure how she would even begin. Nanashi unlocked and opened the door so fast that it looked like she didn't move. She motioned Katara into the room, and then closed the door behind them and locked it. It seemed one moment she was by the door, and then she was sitting on he bed, with little more than a blur between.

That was she speed at which she usually moved, and now that it was only her and Katara she need not be either polite nor careful to mimic the humans this ship was filled with.

"I suppose," Her voice cracked and she cleared it, "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

Though he said nothing, she had a sense that Kano was there in his mind smiling at her discomfort.

As soon as they had been released, Red Snout had bolted for the nearest wilderness area. Yes the alien guide had said there was a place where you could go to hunt, but what fun was it to hunt something already caged, already captured. Waiting for you to simply sink your claws into it. Instead Red Snout simply ran, bounding off into the unfamiliar forest and running for the sheer joy of being able to stretch his legs on real soil, over actual ground. It seemed that he had been running forever when he at last forced himself to stop, chest heaving and nostrils flaring as he sucked in breath. Where he was now, he wasn't certain. But he was a raptor. And raptors do not get lost. He could find his way back easily enough. For now...time to see what there was to stalk in this new place. He slipped off into the undergrowth, following the scent of some strange animal in the hopes it would lead him to prey.

How fortunate. After a mere hour or two of stalking, he had come upon a mammalian creature grazing in a clearing. Some sort of oddly colored green-brown deer. If he had known what a deer was. It didn't matter. The point was that it was there and he was going to kill it. He tensed, then at last leaped, legs uncoiling as he hurled himself at his prey, a triumphant screech already ripping from his throat. His claws flexed, tore into flesh. The creature screamed, the sound cut off in the middle as Red Snout lowered his head and neatly snapped the thing's neck with a firm bite and a twist of his head. Red Snout, his mouth and claws dripping with gore, tilted his head back and let out another screech of triumph. He had killed his prey. And now he could eat properly for the first time in many, many passings of a moon.

...is another man's treasure, or so the saying went.

Stephen Valkonan had every intent of putting that saying to the test. While he had a handy hunk of his own cash (and boy had he been surprised at that), he'd spent the first day or so on the planet scrounging. Well. After getting a pair of cargo shorts and a couple of t-shirts and other assorted unmentionables that didn't pulse of their own volition.

He wasn't sure who the small pickup truck he'd appropriated belonged to, but he was taking as good care of it as he would if it had been his own car he was driving. Better, probably. He wasn't as careful of a driver in Black Sunshine; she could and did take care of herself.

He probably shouldn't be thinking of that.

In any case, he's scrounged up a bunch of metal plates, a handful of screws, and other gadgets, as well as a twisted together bunch of wires. It was a good start on--something.

Eventually he might even get around to having a real vacation on the vacation planet. Maybe.

Javert had been reluctant to leave the relative familiarity of the ship, even for the promise of open air. However, he had had little choice and therefore had descended with the rest of the crew for 'Shore Leave', a concept he had not considered for a very long time.

He kept to the markets, largely considering clothing he wished to aquire, being quite tired of the plantsuit and wanting his old clothing, or some approximation of it. It was unlikely he would find the proper uniform, but some form of clothing appropriate to his era must be available, somewhere.

His largest difficulty with the entire holiday was the masses of people moving to and fro. Pickpockets, thieves, he spotted every one of them and could hardly restrain his urge to collect them. One had even dared to try his pockets; the boy was sent off with a smarting hand and a foul look. This, more than anything, made him miss Paris-- where the vagabonds knew him, and if they did not flee the sight of him, they at least left him well enough alone.

He stood to the side of the thoroughfare, watching the passerby of all shapes and sizes, looking as close as Javert could to being lost.

Vestara turned up the volume on her portable music player she'd picked up at a nearby shop even louder. The noise she'd chosen, very similar to the Keshiri temple choirs she'd grown up with, sounded like screeching female rancors accompanied with drums. She wanted to make sure everyone else sunning on the beach could enjoy it, too.

Ves lazily stretched out and applied more suntanning lotion. She acquired a local fowl at the open-air market and was dissecting it, wanting to know more about the biology of this planet's creatures. The innards were carefully spread around the young apprentice's towel.

She was wearing this green and white bikini.

Most girls, when given the option, would rather go shopping for clothes. Even before she gained her powers, Cassie hadn't been much of a fan of that. Now that she could grow and shrink (sometimes involuntarily) it was just a bad idea. And until she could find any unstable molecules clothing was affordable (which would be never), it just wasn't going to happen. Well, she did buy a cute dress for the very rare occasion she might need one, and to wear if she went out later, but that was it.

But there was one thing she loved shopping for.

High tech, gadgets, the works. It was like candy. Currently she was lusting after staring at a set of magnetic bucky balls and was considering if there was enough tech on Stacy to justify buying it just to fool around with. She was all ready looking at some of the other gadgets with ideas on how to cannibalize them into parts.

But those bucky balls were awfully tempting. And come on, we all know Cassie likes her metal balls.

[This sucker is open to anyone who wants to go gadget shopping, you don't have to tag Cassie (although it'd be nice) if you don't want. I figured some people would want to send their characters over here anyway.]

Kate was dressed in a swim suit for some swimming in a bit. The idea of cool and real water against the skin was a delight. She had already had finished much of the shopping she wished to, and now it was good to relax at the beach. Though before swimming she wanted to do some stretches. Though this turned into going into some of the katas she had learned from her martial arts part of her training. The sand felt good against her feet, as she smoothly turned, and went through the motions and positions.

Out of all the things he didn't expect to find here, a basketball court was up there. But there one was, outdoors, along with courts and fields for several dozen other games. So, of course, he decided to get in a few games.

On the court, Julian was in his element. If anyone ever wanted to know how he got so arrogant to begin with, it all started here. He didn't use his powers for most of the games he played, because 1) it was unfair and 2) he didn't need them to win anyway. The few games in which he could use his powers, he couldn't help but show off. It was like watching a live action version of NBA Jam. He's on fire!

Either way, he dominated most of the afternoon, winning five of seven games, and trash talking the whole way. He also shamelessly took advantage of the opportunity to walk around with his shirt of, preening for the ladies and working on his tan.

Right now he was taking a break, though, trying to decide if he wanted to play some more, or head off for something else.