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ESE

Tiwala seemed surprised that he'd been able to decipher the message. Perhaps it was "brakes" that had given her trouble, not that he could be sure. Kidlat was still smiling as he lowered his arms, but right as he did so, he heard Tiwala mutter something again. Just one quiet word, and she looked so pensive and brooding as she said it. His face darkened. He was starting to get used to all of Tiwala's particular mannerisms, yes. This seemed characteristic of her by now. But that didn't stop it from saddening him a little. She was complex, and it was all too clear that she had moments of self-doubt just as he did.

But then she forced a chuckle to lighten the mood. He mirrored it. "Heh, yeah. Hope she's okay." He supposed caring for Kimi's well-being was the considerate thing to do, after all. Tiwala next suggested they split up to look for firewood, and he nodded his agreement. She could check the interior and perimeter of the hall for any stockpiles of firewood, and he would start to scrounge through the underbrush in case no such stockpile existed. But just as he was starting to turn away, he realized she wasn't done speaking; she pleaded at him to let her go. His facial features widened in surprise. That's right! I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on her so she doesn't pull any more antics. I'd forgotten... The incident she'd caused upon their arrival felt like so long ago. He still didn't really agree with her methods, nor did he think he ever would, but for some reason, he couldn't picture her causing any similar kind of trouble again. Neither did he see any reason for her to run off alone; if she wanted to be alone, she was about to be alone while she went on her search and he remained outside. She gave one last plea, a promise to behave while not under his watch, and he called after her:

"Sounds good. I trust you."

Only after he turned back towards the woods did he fully realize what he'd just said. He trusted her. Tiwala dismissed the notion of trust, but he trusted her, and for some reason, a part of him wanted her to know that.

He began his search. What with this place being on a mountain, evergreen trees made up a good percentage of the forest, and he focused his hunt on the bases of the pine trees. So far the search was proving lucrative. After a few minutes, he had an armful of discarded pine branches of varying levels of dampness. He changed his heading back towards the hall with his findings, thinking as he did so that about half of them would need to be dried in the sun for a while before they would be at all useful in a fire, but at least a few of them would make good kindling. He also found himself thinking about his cloak that he'd left on one of the bunks in the bedroom; although it would most likely be prone to snagging on various things on the forest floor, for some reason he still missed it. It had felt so...him. He decided to return inside and retrieve it as soon as they got their fire started.
 
Good- she agreed about the practicality of it. Again, Bantay relaxed. He hadn't noticed the tension. He needed to work on that. Wasn't that a thing about swordsmen? Being relaxed? Bantay was pretty sure he'd heard at least once that being relaxed is the key to wielding an object. His expert reflections were interrupted as Kimi handed him her discarded petticoats. 'Good thing we kept them. Or that she kept them, rather,' the swordsman appreciated as he picked them up. Bantay took the pieces of fabric and held them up. They looked like normal skirts- dirtied but white, and torn, sure, but normal enough. Which meant that they were baglike enough to use to catch defenseless critters of the woods. Perfect for this.

"Here! Maybe you can knot the waist and use it like a bag. But only catch adults, ok? The uglier the better. No babies, that's just not fair. Um, right. Music. Here goes!"

Bantay laughed. "I'm pretty sure that death doesn't discriminate against ugliness, but I'll see what I can do to start making that exist," he promised. Cute and cuddly and young were to be spared. Mental note made. Bantay let his arms fall, and waited for Kimi to start playing. He only watched out of the corner of her eye, to help put her at ease- some people got serious stage fright, after all. He doubted that this would be the case for Kimi, but hey. You never knew. He saw her pull an instrument out of their journal, and hold it as though it were an unfamiliar toy. "Is something wrong?" he asked, turning to look at her head-on now.

Kimi tossed a smile his way, indicating some apology with it. For what? The clarinet? The delay? "This is the lousiest clarinet I've ever seen. You might want to plug your ears," she explained, and played. Bantay readied himself to run if he had to, or at least cover his ears, but that was evidently unnecessary. The note... Well, Bantay was no musician, but he was fairly confident that was what an instrument would sound like. More notes, and- what was that, a scale? Bantay only had a vague notion of what a scale was, but perhaps that was it. Then the musician turned away- there was the alphabet, and Bantay instinctively sang it in his head; and there was Jaws, which he just grinned at. Then... Well, he couldn't be sure, with her back turned, but Bantay guessed that there was a light right in front of Kimi. What? She played another sequence of notes, up and down, and seemed satisfied. "Ok, now I'm ready to play the Pied Piper. Let's catch some lunch, shall we?"

Without any more prompting, Kimi began to play again. Admittedly. this improved instrument sounded better, even to his novice ears. And what a song- the boy watched her fingers move up and down the instrument. They danced, and he was impressed. Amazing... Oh, right. Critters. Ugly critters. Bantay turned slowly, not wanting to break Kimi's concentration or the effects of her music, and there indeed was a rustling in the debris of autumns and winds past. There were squirrels, and rabbits, and... That one had horns. Yes. There were squirrels and rabbits with horns. 'Probably not edible.' There was also something that looked like a mix between a squirrel and a rabbit- squirrel tail, rabbit ears, squirrel body in a rabbit shape, rabbit nose, but squirrel paws. Some of these aimals had feline or canine features impressions, but Bantay couldn't quite identify what made them so. Either way- it was time for lunch. Maybe, if they had a storeroom, dinner, too.

Bantay prepared a petticoat, and snagged up a couple of critters as quick as he could. In the first bag went a feline-looking squirrel, and something small with horns. The two had been particularly close. In the other petticoat- Bantay had separated two definitive pieces of fabric- he lunged, and captured a rabbit. It was canine like by the legs, he decided,. The face was covered in the fabric. Satisfied, the swordsman held up his three catches, unsure what to do next as he waited for Kimi's song to finish.
 
By the end of the piece, Kimi felt herself growing faint. Her breaths came raggedly and her fingers trembled over the notes, leaving a very unsatisfactory sound in her ears. The picture in her head started to waver a bit as the tune grew weaker and weaker in its potency. Creatures started questioning the petticoat clouds, wondering if they really were safe to sit next to. Mother cat-squirrel noticed Uncle Clyde had gone missing and one of the clouds was kicking ferociously. Quickly, she rounded her brood into the foliage.

Kimi fought harder to retain the picture, struggling to keep up with the rigorous pace she'd resigned herself to at the start of her performance, but fatigue drifted into her fingers. Why was it so hard to maintain the tempo? She'd played this perfectly at her last concert. Wait, she was thinking! That meant... I'm losing my spell... Her brows furrowed with concentration. Snow White, Snow White, Snow White!

Upon reaching the last note, her pinky slipped from its key and broke the final strands of the enchantment. The animals scattered in a panic. Kimi's consciousness plummeted from her euphoria of being Snow White into her exhausted body, which promptly collapsed on her rump. She slumped over, head bowed until her forehead hit her knees, clarinet clutched tightly as it hung limply between her legs, completely drained of her energy. Such was the price of showing off at only level two.

"Umph!" she grunted. Her curls shifted slightly as she tried to lift her head, but it was too heavy. In a voice muffled by her skirt, she asked, "How did you do?"
 
Koero looked over to Nimfa, but only for a second as most of her attention was caught up by her balancing act between her dress full of berries and the spear she was balancing in-between her finger tips. "Uh.. would you mind?" She asked, struggling to hold out her weapon to the other girl. "At least I could have a potential job as a circus clown" She said with a sacarstic laugh, mostly to herself. The down hill trip back to the guide house was proving to be a bit difficult for Koero as she now used her other hand to hold her skirt up to prevent the berries from falling. "Next time I'm bringing a basket.." She huffed.

Swinging her hair every now and again to remove her pink bangs from her eyes blinking to keep them from swinging into her open eyes. "Hey Nimfa, think this place has stain remover?" She asked jokingly as she watched the dark berries roll around, leaving behind a dark purple stain on the tan cloth. Koero was hunched over to make sure she was still being modest, as raising her skirt to high would be a bit.. showy. Ivy had never been that kind of girl, and rarely ever even worn a skirt or dress. Maybe she could trade it in for a nice pair of shorts and a shirt of some sort. Her mind started to think about what kind of people lived in ESE, what did they have here that wasn't on earth? What were they lacking? A proper toliet for one.. Koero thought as the two girls made their way back to the quant guide house. It must of been a few hours since Nimfa and Koero had gone off exploring. She wondered what the others had been up to, was everyone back yet?

Koreo looked up at the sun as it returned her glare with one of its own. She felt her pale skin burning already. "What I wouldn't do for sme sunscreen or something.." Koero grumbled to herself. Her skin had always been quite pale, which didn't agree with the hot California sun. Ivy never left the house without some kind of sun protection. She hated being burnt, everything hurt. She suspected it wouldn't be much different here in ESE, fighting dark creatures sure wouldn't be much fun if every time she moved her skin ached for the burning sensation.
 
Did he just say that he trusted her? He trusted her? Did he know what trust meant? "And you'll find yourself burned soon" she mumbled without stopping. The forest ran counterwise, seeming a big, confused, green cloud. Alone at last. She stopped before the big doors, looking around to see if, maybe, she could find some wood and something good as a starting point... 'I guess I won't find some paper or dead leaves in spring... right?' Tiwala started looking around and, on the back of the building, she found a sort of covered place for wood stocking or so she guessed as some wood was orderly placed under it. "Now... what to do for something to start the fire...?" she mumbled searching with her gaze for some inspiration. Was that straw she saw behind the wood? Tiwala went to inspect and in fact, there was straw stored. The only problem was "How many fire will we be able to start with this amount?" she sounded worried, and she indeed was. How could they survive and cook without something to start a fire? More than that... her method worked untill the sun shone bright as it did in that moment, but what about dinner, rainy, cloudy days? She decided to cross that bridge when the time came.

Tiwala gathered some straw and wood and brought them in the fireplace then took off the earring and exposed it to the sunlight, the gem worked as a prism creating raimbows on the ground, "It will work out". She took it and directed against the light, focusing it in a single point on the straw, waiting for it to start smoking and, eventually, to give birth to a little dancing flame. She took that flaming nest and put it on the wood, first the littlest ones and little by little the big ones. Tiwala looked satified at the happy fire and threw another piece in it. 'Well done little Ren'.

The girl took the Journal and browsed it on the message page, writing a quick one to Kidlat:
Hey there sir! I found something and the fire is running, alas there's just little of it and we'd really need some more. I'll leave it to you. Byyyyyeeee ^.^.
She, then, sat on the ground, her back on the wall, near the fire. 'And now I'm alone, at long last. Today was just terrible' she thought closing her eyes. If Kidlat arrived about now, he would have thought she was sleeping, as her breath was regular and soft and she didn't move an inch; relaxing at the sound of the fire. 'Come on, this world isn't that bad... well there are people here too, and I'll have to deal with them... but I'll manage. too bad I'll have to go back to the real world sooner or later'.

As she was thinking, she stayed there as if sleeping, waiting for the others to return. At rest but on edge.
 
A distinctive bvvvv, bvvvv against his sternum alerted Kidlat that he had another message. Darn, and right while he was carrying a precarious armful of firewood. He gritted his teeth and took the weight of his findings under one arm with a bit of difficulty so that he could open his book with his newly freed hand.

Hey there sir! I found something and the fire is running, alas there's just little of it and we'd really need some more. I'll leave it to you. Byyyyyeeee ^.^.​

Aside from the brief moment of pleasant surprise that she'd actually managed to start a fire, the tone of this message caused his face to sour again. More false cheeriness. Call it a hunch, but Kidlat seriously doubted Tiwala was in a good mood right now. He wasn't sure why, but he simply couldn't picture her being honestly happy while she was alone at the hall with no one to impress. She was probably brooding over something again. He sighed and clapped the book shut, and once his hand was free, he adjusted his grip on the branches and continued walking.

If nothing else, Chris had always had a reasonably good sense of direction, and it didn't take long for him to make out the hall behind the trees, although he'd apparently veered west at some point. He corrected his trajectory and emerged into the clearing a minute later, grateful to have a break from the cramped underbrush. As much as he liked the woods, he didn't like feeling cramped if he could help it. He never had. But his footsteps slowed as he emerged into the clearing, because his eyes had just found the sight there. Not of the fire Tiwala had started, although that was nice, but the sight of Tiwala herself. She sat against the wall closest to the fire, her eyes closed and her breath slow. She looked to be asleep, and though part of his mind reasoned that she probably could not have fallen asleep in so short a time, she still looked quite peaceful. His features softened as he looked upon her. He wished he knew why. Why? Why did this girl, this single human being, regularly cause this strange swell of heat to grow in his chest and his face to drop its guard?

He tore his gaze away from her after a moment. He crouched carefully and did his best to deposit the wood on the ground as quietly as possible. He did not want to disturb her, not with her looking so peaceful. A minute saw the branches spread over the ground to dry, and he picked up the two driest ones, tiptoed over to the fireplace, and added them to the fire with care. He wiped his hands on his pants and headed inside, intent on retrieving his cloak from the bedroom, but his thoughts were cloudy all the way.
 
At some point in her relax she heard some steps and some strange noise like woods and bushes moving. 'Who has come back? There's just a single type of footstep and it's pretty heavy... Ako? Kidlat? One of them for sure' she thought keeping her eyes shut. The steps came closer and something new reached the fire to feed it. It was Kidlat. No doubt about it. She heard him going inside the hall, why wouldn't he 'wake' her? Maybe he just didn't care what she did. Or maybe he went inside to... she didn't know and she didn't really care 'Sure...?' Tiwala killed that thought before it was even born. She didn't care.

The girl decided to keep on pretending to sleep. 'At least it seems I can have some calm and peace this way'. Snd so, She kept her act. Would he see through it? Would he fall for it? 'I don't know and I don't care' how many times had she thought like that? It wasn't normal and she didn't like it.
 
"Once we've eaten, I'll see if Wubber can clean your dress," Nimfa offered. At the back of her mind, the mention of a basket had snagged on something. She had seen a basket, or something close. A bucket? Yes, Nimfa had seen a bucket somewhere this morning. It had to be in the Guild Hall, then, but where would she have seen it? The building was mostly empty. Near the bucket was... a hose...

...

That just didn't make sense. Nimfa shifted the spear in her left hand, then tightened her hold on the trident in her right. The trident... That was it! "One second!" Nimfa exclaimed, halting their progress. She laid her trident against a tree and pulled her journal off her necklace. Letting it fall open, she found the page she'd pulled the trident from. There were another four items there: a bucket, a garden hose, bandages, and... Nimfa's cheeks burned red. Her last item--no doubt correlated to her Swimming skill--was an athletic swimsuit. She yanked the bucket out of her book and snapped it shut. Koero didn't need to know about the last item. Nobody needed to know about the swim.

"Here," Nimfa stated, holding the bucket out for Koero to take. She kept her face turned away, hoping the blue hair would help hide the embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
 
Nimfa seemed to be pretty smart if you asked Koero. She gratefully took the bucket, watching the girl spin out of her vision. Was she embarrassed or something? "Oh thank goodness" Koero said as she emptied the berries into the bucket. Watching the stained dress fall as she let the cloth go and picked up the bucket. "I could really probably use a shower or something.." Koreo said as she turned to Nimfa.

"What do you think the people of ESE are like..? Do you think they're like us.. or maybe their like midget elf creatures with magical powers!" Koero said excitedly, observing people was kind of her fun. She was blessed with being able to read people by their body language. "I wonder who runs their government.. why did we have to come in.. What part do we play in this..?" She was wondering out loud now and once she figured it out she shut her mouth and looked off a ways.
 
Kidlat's cloak was right where he remembered leaving it: on top of the top bunk in the far left corner of the bedroom. He walked towards it, but by this point, he was aware of his heavy footfalls and his slow pace. He wasn't really sure why he was in here. Yes, he'd decided he wanted his cloak back, but he wasn't completely sure why. Perhaps he'd just run with that half-formed desire to give himself something to do while they waited for the others to return. It was an excuse to walk around. He reached for the garment and slipped it off of the top of the mattress. His movements were slow. He bundled the garment close to him and held it against his chest as his gaze dropped. He was alone with his thoughts now. His head felt heavy, but it was whirring and churning inside.

Of what else could his thoughts be but his companion? Tiwala was an enigma. He thought of all they'd been through this morning, all he had witnessed and learned. He thought of her cold grey eyes, her long black hair, her edgy leather outfit that probably revealed the most warm, smooth skin out of anyone's on the team. Tiwala was...odd. Confident. Cold. Carefree, in a sad way. False...arguably pitiably so. Kind of sort of really irritating when she went holier-than-thou on him and the other guildmates. Cruel, cocky. But fragile. Guarded. Complicated. A little tap away from cracking at any time, collapsing under the weight of her haphazardly built exterior that alternated between bubbly and cynical, ready to let out torrents of hot tears and desperate, unintelligible words. His heart stung in his chest beneath his hands as he held the cloak there. Tiwala the weirdo, the martyr, the everything he should not have liked, if it weren't for how sorry he felt for her...

I'm crushing on her. I'm crushing on her bad.

He let his forehead hit the frame of the bunk bed with a defeated-sounding clunk. He couldn't deny it anymore, couldn't hide from what he had a feeling he'd known all along. Heh. 'Overthinking it,' indeed. What he felt was what he felt. That entailed no judgment on how right it was to feel that way. But he knew what it was. Even though he'd never felt it before, he knew. It was different from the little playful thrill he got from making a flirty remark to a female acquaintance, different from knowing he could turn a few girls' heads with his looks and charm. No, this wasn't a feeling of satisfaction, but a feeling of helplessness, a feeling of having no choice but to watch his wits, his fluency, his mask, his self-serving sensibilities crumble in his hands. There was no room for them. Not with this heat that swelled inside him against his will at every opportune moment. For once, he was not the cultivator of love, but rather its hapless victim.

It took him several minutes to wrench himself from that spot in the bedroom. He still felt heavy. He swung his cloak over his shoulders and fastened it below his neck as he walked back outside, but none of his motions were particularly fast. How to speak to her now? He kept his head down as he reemerged into the clearing. She probably wasn't really asleep, not while sitting up like that. But that didn't mean he couldn't leave her in peace, and besides, what did he even have to say to her? They were stuck here watching the fire until the others came back with food. He'd wait until then, when he could ignore Tiwala for a while... Yes, the others would prove a welcome distraction. They could prepare food, talk about what they'd found, the wood stockpile and the bathhouse...

...Wait a minute. He spun around and peeked his head back inside the hall. The hook on which the bathhouse key had been hanging was empty. His hands went to his hips, but after patting around, they found no pockets. He didn't have it. Tiwala didn't have it. "Frick, the key!" he uttered, spinning back around and heading outside at a brisk trot. "I think I know where I dropped it. Be right back!" He rounded the corner, the cloak now billowing behind him in a way that was strangely satisfying. His intended destination was the tree out of which Tiwala had fallen earlier; he seemed to remember her passing him the key before inviting him up onto the branch, but he hadn't had it when he caught her.
 
Luckily, Bantay made his catches while the song still sounded good. As it progressed, Kimi was evidently getting winded- was that a pun?- by the song, and seemed to just barely make that last note. Then she promptly fell into a sitting position, and the remaining critters ran away. The ones that Bantay held got to be more frisky in the petticoats, but he had knotted them up to resemble bags. The animals couldn't escape now. "How did you do?" she asked from where she sat, head know in her knees.

"Not quite a banquet," Bantay replied cautiously, approaching his friend, "but definitely a lunch, particularly if we can find some nuts and berries," he admitted. "Hey- are you feeling okay?" Hopefully this wave of exhaustion would be done with soon. The young man felt a twinge of guilt; he had, after all, been the one to first suggest this plan. Successful as it may have been, it had evidently taken its toll on Kimi, and he worried for her well being. Perhaps it was nothing more than faux brotherly affection, but Bantay was concerned nontheless.

"Maybe that wasn't the best idea... Maybe it'd be better when we're- you're- a bit stronger... Sorry about that." With a frown, Bantay crouched onto the falls of his feet- well, of one foot. The other was closer to flat, pushing against a rock that was baked into the earth at this point, but still poked a corner up to the air. "Maybe after lunch, or tomorrow, or something, we practice some more, so this doesn't happen again..." he mumbled. Tomorrow? He was starting to lose the notion that this was a dream, but it was still something else. And anyways- there was now to be worried about. Kimi didn't seem to be in any danger, but Bantay wasn't sure if he was strong enough to carry her back to the guild. However, leaving her wasn't an option, either- and the hope that she'd be feeling strong again soon visited again.
 
"Maybe that wasn't the best idea."

Kimi inwardly cringed. She already felt the fool, did he have to rub it in like that?

"Maybe it'd be better when we're-- you're-- a bit stronger."

This time her shoulders tucked in as if to ward off a blow. She didn't miss the poignant sting of the emphasized "you're." How many times had she heard that phrase? Over and over and over. "When you're a bit stronger." "You can't do that now." "Let me help you with that." "You can't do that anymore." No! her thoughts cried in anguish. You aren't supposed to be like that, Bantay! Her fingers curled into a fist against her knee. This isn't supposed to happen here! Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip until she could taste blood. I'm NOT helpless! I'm NOT. I CAN do it! I can do ANYTHING.

And then came the clincher-- "Sorry about that" --as if it was all his fault because she was too weak to take the blame. As if she couldn't think for herself and choose whether or not she wanted to play for their dinner. As if she was the poor little invalid girl he had to cater to because...well...decorum. Suddenly, the whole brotherly vibe she'd been getting from Bantay turned sour in her mouth. Who was he to assign himself as her keeper? Who did he think he was to coddle her like a babe? I'm a WOMAN, damnú ort! Anger pinched her lips into a thin line. If she hadn't just played herself silly, she was pretty sure she'd be screaming instead.

See? Words still bother you.

Kimi hugged her arms tighter around her legs, burying her face deeper within the folds of her skirt. "No!" she whispered vehemently.

You haven't really come to terms with it, have you?

Kyla fiercely shoved the little voice into the back of her mind, but didn't have enough energy to slam the door.

Pushing me away won't solve anything, you know. Acting like it's all okay will only go so far when it isn't.

"Go away!" Kimi said, barely above a whisper this time.

You'll have to answer me someday. Why not make it today?

"I'm FINE!" On the last word, an inkling of magic leaked out with the shout. With her head buried in her skirt and her resources depleted, the daze didn't have nearly the same effect as it had on Tiwala earlier. It merely succeeded in blowing her skirt and drawing her out of her thoughts. Bantay was still crouching beside her, obviously worried. Do I care? ...yes. I do. Keeping her head bowed, Kimi rocked herself onto the balls of her feet and shakily stood up. The hand from which her clarinet dangled hugged tightly to her side, her other arm crossed her chest so her hand latched securely to the elbow, drawing the arm even closer to her body.

"We need to get back," she said quietly.
 
Tiwala heard him curse a bit and then run off somewhere... did he drop the key somewhere? 'Well done Kidlat... really, well done' she thought before hearing his promise to return. 'Be back when you want...' she thought opening her eyes. Kidlat's cape was again on his shoulders and flew beautifully in the wind as the boy ran. 'It's cool... the cape... how it flies... I think I want one too'. By then his back was far away "And yet it doesn't really suit me the cape-feel" she giggled at her useless chatter.

Tiwala listened to the birds tweets and nature's sounds. "You talk way different from my world" she said with a sweet gaze at some strane birds "And you look way different too". A new desire grew in her. She wanted to observe those so different animals, she wanted to interact with them... well maybe her last one wouldn't be as easy. But she could do something about the first one.

Tiwala took a deep breath and activated her Chameleon skill, to erase her presence and observe the little creatures with more calm. As the minutes passed by, some of them grew the courage to come down and take a look around the fire. They seemed something between a sparrow and a pheasant: it was pretty small but it's feathers were beautifully colored, it almost seemed a paint, those vivid shades of green and blue, and that oddly white beak... they were so cute and strong looking... 'What the--' thught the girl as one of them got near the fire 'Oh well... he'll cook himself good...' she thought a little worried. What she didn't thought about though, was the possibility that (as different as they were from the birds she was used to) they could have something peculiar about them; in this case, these 'Phearrow' were fire resistant. Not like a phoenix, more like those strange fakirs walking on the charcoal.

The girl decided to manain that ability on for as much as she could... she had to learn. 'Knowledge is strength' she said, waiting for the others to arrive to see the effect of that skill on teammates.
 
Kidlat's pace slowed as he approached the fateful tree. He combed through his memory, trying to determine exactly when, and thus approximately where, he had lost the key. He'd definitely had it right after she'd dropped it down to him; he remembered just barely catching it before it hit the ground. But he couldn't remember how long he'd been holding it, only that his hands had definitely been empty when he'd caught her and crash landed in that bush. He supposed that the most likely moment for him to have dropped it would have been when he dashed over to her when she was falling, leaving the key to potentially be anywhere on the ground between the tree trunk and the bush. How irritating. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the ground below him. Key, key, where are you...

He spent a few minutes like this. He paced slowly from the tree to the bush, found nothing, turned around, paced back, realized he was getting frustrated, turned back in a huff... He felt something beneath his boot, and at the very same moment, something near that boot twinkled in the light as it moved. That was it, half-under his foot. "Aha!" He stooped to retrieve it, now smiling in relief. It wouldn't do for him to lose something that was guild property, particularly not on the first day. He clasped the key securely in his hand before hooking his thumbs on his belt loops again—hey, it was the closest he could get to stuffing his hands in his nonexistent pockets—and heading back to the front yard.

But when he rounded the corner, he froze. Tiwala was nowhere to be seen. There was a small handful of cool-looking birds making the place their home, but no Tiwala. As his eyes darted around the clearing, he felt his stomach go cold and sink into his boots. She was gone. It was his sole job to keep an eye on her! He slid his free hand up into his hair and gripped his scalp, clearly agitated. He had trusted her not to leave, and he still couldn't see why she would have... Had she left just to prove him wrong, teach him a lesson? He had no idea where to look for her. His eyes roved back to the spot by the wall where she had been sitting. Wait... Couldn't Tiwala turn invisible? Or cloak herself, rather? That was right, that was her special skill. She could very well still be sitting here in the clearing, staying deathly still so that she would be perfectly camouflaged. The question was why she would do such a thing. He could think of two options. One, she was messing with him. He wouldn't put it past her to do something like this, really. Two, she was trying to better observe these birds.

He looked back to the fowl, taking care to lower his hand slowly so as not to startle them. He hadn't thought of that. It seemed entirely within her character to be a friendly-with-animals kind of person, and out of deference to this newly imagined wish of hers to observe the creatures, he too watched them in silence for several moments. They were pretty, he had to admit. A very nice color. And how curious that they could poke their heads into the fire without being harmed! He wondered if the birds' feathers were flame-retardant or if the birds themselves were inherently resistant to heat. In the case of the former, harvesting the feathers might be useful for something... And they were trying to catch lunch, weren't they? His fingers strayed to the hilt of his dagger before he was aware of it, his eyes narrowing just a little bit. This still moment would be such the opportune time for him to try out that hunting method he'd imagined. If he could just position the blade so, and blink forward ever so carefully...yes, the knife would plunge so easily into that helpless critter's side unawares...

He faltered, blinked, and released the hilt. His face dropped its look of fierceness in favor of surprise. What was he thinking? If Nimfa was to believed, plenty of food was on its way, and who here had any idea how to use feathers for anything? Besides, he might have been able to kill one of the birds at best; he would surely scare the rest away, and that seemed such a shame. He folded his arms behind his back and bit his lip. Who knew his fingers were itching to use his blade that badly?

This is a game. You're supposed to kill enemies. And imagine how realistic it'll be! Why haven't I been able to sink this knife into any hot, yielding, delicious flesh yet?

He bit harder on his lip and shook his head from side to side. No. He was no depraved animal...

Ugh, and Tiwala had probably been watching him this whole time. He probably looked stupid, making all these motions in silence. But if that were the case, there wasn't much he could do about it now. He looked back towards the place where she'd been sitting. "You're still there, aren't you?" he asked the air, keeping his voice hushed so as not to startle the birds. He supposed there was no harm in saying it. After all, if he were wrong, that only meant she wasn't even there to hear him be wrong.
 
Perhaps Bantay didn't need to hope that Kimi felt better soon. "No! Go away!" she'd whispered, which troubled the young man. Go away? Why? She wasn't blaming him for her fatigue, was sh-

"I'm FINE!"

Anger and resentment hit Bantay like the slaps that he'd received earlier that day. Not from him- or at least, if it was, it certainly wasn't directed towards Kimi, or even the food-to-be in their makeshift bags- but rather, just in general. Something was wrong. There'd been an offense. It made him mad, it unsettled him, and that just made him more mad. Except, it didn't. Bantay definitely felt these, if only for a second, but they weren't his feelings.

They were Kimi's. That was the only thing that would really make sense, wasn't it? Bantay leaned away as he thought, but Kimi was hiding in her skirts again after that shout. Kimi's? But why would she be mad? Bantay was baffled. What could have possibly made her so angry? Surely, someone such as she wouldn't be upset by being all tired after that exercise, would they? Kyla was obviously very profound with instruments. Could she have been upset that she as Kimi was rather out of breath by the end there? Upset by being low leveled? That didn't seem right. It didn't warrant... This.

What else could it have been? She was perfectly happy before playing, so it couldn't be that. If it wasn't the song, that meant that it had to be something after the song.

"We need to get back," Kimi said. Bantay nodded and mumbled an agreement, then pushed himself up from the rock. He considered offering a hand, and started to lift it, but after the shouting he wasn't really sure if Kyla wanted him around.

After the song? Nothing had happened. She'd fallen, he'd gotten concerned about her. Which meant that she had gotten angry... Because of his concern? 'Maybe that wasn't the best idea... Maybe it'd be better when we're- you're- a bit stronger... Sorry about that.' Bantay felt he could safely say that Kimi wouldn't get angry over the quality of the idea; after all, they had caught quite a bit, leaving only the matter of strength.

Strength? Why-

Oh. Maybe, then... "Kyla..." He was already walking on thin ice, but pursuing it was probably stepping even further away from safety. But Neil just hated to leave things unresolved. "I, uh... Hey, I didn't mean to.. To make you mad, or imply anything... I just meant, since, you know, we're all, well, low leveled, and so..." His voice, which had started off quiet, trailed off into nothing. Swallowing the saliva in his mouth, Bantay watched Kimi carefully. He hadn't completely misinterpreted, had he?

In the moment, the swordsman considered the other disagreements he'd been in that morning. One with Tiwala, which had no concerns for misunderstanding, and which Bantay still felt justified about. It was with a crazy stranger. One with Nimfa, as well, which Bantay had definitely misinterpreted. He still wasn't sure what that had been about- but more willing to consider that he was indeed at fault. But this? Though closer to the spat with Nimfa in nature, this... Thing with Kimi was concerning to Bantay. He'd most definitely made a friend this morning, but he may have just lost her as well. Damn. Should have followed Ako's example and left when things were still calm.
 
"Kyla... I, uh... Hey, I didn't mean to.. To make you mad, or imply anything... I just meant, since, you know, we're all, well, low leveled, and so..."

Bantay's voice seemed so very far away. She could hardly hear his words above the ringing in her ears. No, it wasn't so much ringing as it was a vacuum sucking all sound from around her as if she were trapped inside a corked glass bottle and tossed into a stormy sea. His voice? It was the wind. Though it may whip and wail above the waves, in her prison all was silence. How had she spiraled into her depression so quickly? Did it really catch her that off guard that Bantay, just like everyone else, didn't understand? That she still didn't understand? How often did she think this raging storm inside had vanished, only to find no matter how many illusions and musical blankets she threw over it to cover it, she was still trapped inside her little bottle? Refusing to spend any longer in this frightening prison of hers, Kyla reached out for one of those musical blankets now...

When you're weary, feeling small... she was tired, and oh so small, but Kyla fought through the crowding thoughts to latch herself onto the soft lyrics breezing by. When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all... she couldn't give in now, for to give in is to admit defeat. I'm on your side when times get rough... she breathed in deeply as the sun began to shine on her once more. And friends just can't be found... Bantay's words had been coincidentally, not deliberately, hurtful.

"Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down," she sang softly, anchored safely once more in the eye of the tempest within. After depositing the clarinet inside her journal, Kimi raised her head to look Bantay in the eye.

"I'm not helpless here," she said firmly. To prove her point, she marched over to the bundled animals and picked up one petticoat bag in each hand, holding out the one with two trapped inside to Bantay. She didn't mention the incident, make excuses for her strange behaviour, nor acknowledge Bantay's apologetic manner. It was best to pick up and move on, not to dwell on the unpleasant. Her habitual smile peeked from the corners of her lips as her cheery self re-emerged. "Let's get going before we lose our catch, shall we?"
 
The boy came back sooner than expected, a satified expression on his face, his thumbs hooked in his belt and the key hanging from them. She was used to that habit of his, the one of hooking his thumbs, he should have been used to have pokets or something like that. On the contrary, she remained silent and still so as not to scare the birds and, in all truth, to see what his reaction would be. Would he have thought that the archer was gone? That he was now in trouble with the others because he let her run away? It seemed she wasn't that wrong, his jolly eyes, scanning the area in search of her, gradually turning wide and scared as the awareness of the archer absence grew in his mind. He slid his hand in his black hair, a nervous look on his face 'Here it comes... he'll scare the birds, freak out and won't remember I can hide my presence... And everything will be for nothing... moreover he'll yell at me... doesn't he have anything better to do?' his face turned pensive: was he about to surprise her again? Would he turn his back and run around in search of her? Was that... a glint of light she saw in his eyes? How many expressions could he make in such a short time? What was he... a child?

'I guess I'm not in his thoughts anymore... I mean... he is focusing on the birds' she thought gazing at him as he made it so that the birds wouldn't be scared. His eyes said: Would they be tasty? Could we use them for something? How curious their ability to poke into fire. Well... she thought so too... but she never thought about killing them to find out as... wait... was he taking out his blade? He KNEW they had food coming didn't he? He KNEW it wasn't necessary... right? 'Shadows that engulf the night...' she thought activating her black crystal: if he wanted to hurt them she would have stopped him. No matter what.

She was about to release her chains when his expression changed again: surprise? Fear? She couldn't understand but his bloodlust seemed to have subsided... maybe... she couldn't be so sure. He seemed still in a sort of limbo... was it really just a game for him? Those creatures were as alive as any of them and still... he thought about killing them with those cold gaze. She closed her eyes and breathed as one of the birds approached her, so they knew all along? She looked into the little one's eyes, those ember like eyes, glowing and twinkling red. It could obviously see her 'Magic bird uh? I like you all the more' she smiled and it jumped on her knee.

"You're still there, aren't you?" he asked in a low voice. Tiwala decided to break her stealth mode. There wasn't a real reason to keep it on anyway. The air around her trembled a bit and she regained her colors... or so it seemed from the outside. The little bird twitted in a strange way as if saying something like: 'It was about time, you stupid human'. Tiwala smiled again at it and then glanced at the boy. "They can see through my skill." She said in a cold voice ignoring his question. She had overstimated him for he still seemed to care not about life and death. Tiwala knew she had to kill in order to eat, but food was on its way and his bloodlust was totally uncalled for.

Her knee was warm. Those birds were warmer than Earth ones... well the ones living on Earth couldn't touch fire either... Anyway, he twitted again and flew on a near branch, dismissing the other birds near the fire. "Are you that hungry, Mr. Hunter?" she asked looking at the fluffy red feathers balls on the tree and waving at them with a calm smile then she tilted a bit her head and glared at him with an icy side-glance "Or was it just bloodlust?"
 
Apparently Kidlat's hunch was correct. One of the birds had approached the area he currently eyed as well, as if there were someone there, and soon jumped up on top of some invisible shape. A moment later Tiwala's cloak melted away, revealing that the bird had settled on her knee. "They can see through my skill," she commented. So it would seem.

The strange birds took their leave. He watched them flap away into a nearby tree, seemingly done with the clearing, the fire, and the two humans. It was a little sad to see them go, but he did feel some relief that he could speak comfortably at a fuller volume again and not have to worry about making subdued motions.

"Are you that hungry, Mr. Hunter?" Her words seemed to cut through the air. She too watched the birds for a moment before turning to look back at him. Her gaze was ice, drilling mercilessly into his own. "Or was it just bloodlust?"

His eyes widened again, looking suddenly vulnerable. Something inside him lurched and then began to curl tight in shame. Behind his back, his hands clenched his opposite elbows a little more tightly as he swung his gaze away from her. He was too readable. He usually didn't mind being expressive, as he liked to think it helped with his natural charm, but who knew his thoughts could be so easily read when he thought he was alone with no one to impress. His brows furrowed in dismay after several seconds, and when he finally spoke again, his voice sounded strained. "I don't know," he said. "But whatever it is..." He gritted his teeth for a moment before continuing. "Rest assured, I do not wish to entertain such...uncouth urges." He dared meet her eyes again. "I know full well we've got lunch coming. I'm not desperate." He walked toward her until he stood a few feet away from her along the wall, slumped his back against it, and slid down along the wall until he was in a crouch. It caused his cloak to bunch up against his back, but he didn't have the heart to correct it now. His gaze was distant again, looking at the trees but not really seeing them. His arms now rested halfheartedly on his legs.

Those birds didn't deserve death. They didn't even need to die without deserving it, because he and the others would soon be fed by other helpless animals that had made that sacrifice. If anything deserved to die, he supposed it was the imminent Darkness Beasts...if even that. But if there was anything—or rather, anyone—he wanted to kill...

Faces surfaced in his mind's eye. The faces of children, their expressions jeering and cruel. The faces of distant adults who had not reached out to him...or maybe who had but had been shut down by his own pride. He couldn't know for sure.

His fists clenched in his lap. No. No, Chris. Stop. Stop that right now. You are better than that.

"I'm messed up," he whispered to no one. Or maybe it was a plea.
 
Nimfa was surprised at how quickly she recovered. It simply wasn't natural. Koero's questions had driven both of them into silent pondering; then by the time they were near the Hall, Nimfa realized she was striding down the mountain without the tiniest trace of a limp. She wasn't leaning on her trident anymore, she was carrying it. Nimfa tucked the weapon into her journal and gripped Koero's fish-laden spear with both hands. "You know..." she began to tear the quiet. "Maybe we're here because the elf midgets can't fight on their own. The need us, the Wonderful Witches of ESE, to lead them." Nimfa giggled lightly, then let it fade into a smile. "Or maybe we're just here to play a game together. While we have the chance."

Nimfa left that thought there. The Guild Hall was in sight now, with a thin plume of smoke rising above it. Nimfa hailed whomever was tending the fire as the returning hikers broke the treeline. "We're back! And we have some food. Is the knife..." Nimfa faltered when she saw Tiwala and Kidlat slouched against the wall. There was a nearly palpable tension surrounding them. "...ready?" she finished cautiously. Nimfa skirted around the pair, choosing to settle on the opposite side of the fire where the air was clear--of smoke and of half-suppressed emotion.
 
Tiwala thought about what Kidlat said. Was he the messed up one? In terms of messed up, she could probably say she was in a far worse situation than his, but did she really want to comfort him? Letting him know her point of view? The last time she did it, he almost blew up... did she really want to bear with his temper again? The girl gazed upon him, he seemed so fragile now, almost broken... as if this world was a curse more than a second chance... wait, second chance? Did she really think here could be different? Every world is the same. You trust, you're betrayed, you trust again to fill the void and then you're betrayed in a worse way. That's why she decided not to trust anyone anymore. Not sharing the others point of view but supporting their choices if asked. That's why she decided on Void magic, here in ESE. It could give her the illusion of being able to control that void, that deep, deep void she felt in a not-so-deep-anymore place in her heart. Did she want to try and comfort him? Yes. Why? Because it was the right thing to do, it was more than enough for her alone to bear that type of pain.

"We're all messed up, Chris. Or we wouldn't be here" that was clearly Ren speaking, her voice low and sweet but somewhat hard and sharp. And that thought was dancing in her head from a while back... what if everyone of them wanted somehow to change their way of living or their life completely? Of course it was just an idea, but seeing as both she and Chris were like that... what if ESE was... "We're back! And we have some food. Is the knife... ready?" Her thought was cut before even finding a path, by Nimfa's words. Tiwala wore an apologetic smile "We forgot... I'm sorry, Nimfa, it's my fault... I lost myself looking at some pretty birds when Kidlat scared them and felt all guilty about it... and then you arrived" she acted perfectly... if the boy would have followed her lead, the others wouldn't catch the deep meaning of the tension or, maybe, they would have misunderstood it in a lighter way... at least she hoped so. "Come on Kidlat... get your blade out, it's smaller than mine and it's shape is more... regular... I guess. Anyway it's better than mine in these cases" she concluded getting up and shaking some dust from her clothes.
 
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