ESE

[FiliaFlammae]

Tiwala answered him. Her voice sounded dull, and it was easy to tell she was just barely keeping that smile on her face, trying to be nice. She didn't truly mean to say that his tirade was not worth an apology... Perhaps it was excusable to some extent, since he had been upset and had indeed spoken his mind honestly, but that didn't mean he shouldn't apologize. Kidlat had hurt her, and she had every right to feel hurt.

But isn't her excusing me with that smile the exact same thing I do? It's politeness. She's being polite now, just as I would always defend. But it's so sad to watch on her. That's not how I look, is it? He didn't think so, but it caused him to pause.

At least she too apologized. That was something. He wasn't sure what to make of that awkward laugh she kept doing, though. A small part of him that still wanted to be angry at her wanted to interpret her fake smile as her not really feeling the apology, not really being sorry. But his instincts told him this was something else. It seemed more like she was trying to lighten the mood—for his sake?—and failing. She was troubled. He was reminded of the way he'd become aware of her exaggerated cheeriness back in the Guild Hall. Something troubled her, perhaps off and on, and could she really be blamed for putting forth a playful front? He knew he did. The question was how immersed one could get in that cheerful character. He could imagine a person desperately trying to act cheery just as he could imagine a person truly cheering up of their own accord. He typically succeeded with the latter, fortunately. Usually smiles just felt good to wear. But he couldn't honestly say that had been the case every time.

Kidlat was startled from his musings by a key falling on his head. "Aah!" He balked a little late at the sudden contact and made a few very clumsy motions with his hands, bouncing the key between them before he finally managed to catch it a couple of feet above the ground. He straightened up with the key in hand, initially embarrassed by how stupid he'd just looked, but when he looked back up at her, the mood went quiet again. He thought she'd murmured something, but he had missed it, and now he wasn't sure what to say to her next. What he did know was that he felt for her. The dull sting in his chest told him that. Would it be better for him to give her a few minutes to herself or try to talk to her? He looked off into the distance in the same direction her gaze was pointed. It was quiet for several moments. The two of them were alone here until the others returned. They could sit here in silence indefinitely, all too aware of each other, or Kidlat could break the tension.

He stepped a little closer to her and spoke in a low voice. Only a low voice felt appropriate now. "Y'know, if you ever think you'd feel better by talking about something that's bothering you...I'm here. I'll listen. And I promise, anything you say stays between us. You have my word." He looked up to her face at this last sentence, his facial expression solemn but earnest. When Chris gave his word, he meant it.

 

[Ray C]

Nimfa climbed back to the shallows to stretch before beginning her underwater hunt. She kept watching Koero from the corner of her eye until the girl's pink hair disappeared into the trees. Stretching her shoulders suddenly became much easier; she'd become far too tense. It wasn't all gone, but she did feel ready for some intense diving. Nimfa moved away from the beach in search of pools deep enough for the fish to hide in. There were some near to the stream flowing down the mountain, with fish a little longer than Nimfa's hand drifting lazily. Brandishing her trident, Nimfa took one final, deep breath and dove into the water.

Okay, let's get some fish. Stab; miss. There's nothing to say she's a bad person. Stab; miss. We had a nice talk coming up here, right? A bad person wouldn't have said all that. Stab, stab, stab; nothing. Surface; breathe; dive. But are her stated ethics enough to judge that? Stab. What are her grades? Stab. What are her connections? Stab. What are her extracurriculars? STAB. WHY CAN'T I CATCH THESE FISH!?!

Nimfa came up panting for air. She didn't know anything about Koero, and she couldn't catch a single fish. She tried again, diving toward the fish as her thoughts raced around everyone Koero might be: Sally Connors, the detention regular; Veronica Summers, the school councilor's most frequent visitor; or (mercy forbid!) Ashleigh Sage of the hundred boyfriends. Koero didn't seem like any of them, or any other of Aruta High's infamous females. Yet Rebecca couldn't know. Nimfa couldn't spear a single fish.

Frustration was fast turning to anger as Nimfa surfaced once again. She couldn't even prove Koero was a high school student. She couldn't prove Koero wasn't. She couldn't catch any food, and now she was hungry. She had blue hair. The water was frigid. A small breeze was making her shiver. This was all a dream.

"AAAAAAARGH!" It was a scream of outrage. It was a shout of defiance. Nothing was right, nothing was neat and orderly, and nothing made sense. Nimfa channeled all the anger, frustration, and fear inside her into that one drawn-out syllable. With that much emotion backing it, it was inevitable some magic would emerge from the carnage.

A blast of water erupted from Nimfa's trident and shot into the sky. The shock of seeing magic at work stole Nimfa's rage away, at least momentarily. Her shock was compounded when the magical attack connected with a target; a flock of birds had been chased from their perches by her scream, and the water brought two of them crashing to the ground. Nimfa pulled herself out of the water and stumbled to her catch. Both were dead, damp, and undamaged; whatever that spell was, it didn't need to cut in order to hurt.

That was different than Wubber, who couldn't attack because of his aqueous form. Which would be more useful for catching fish, Nimfa wondered. Wubber might be able to lure and trap them, but the water blast might be able to kill them so she could just collect a catch. Then again, the water blast wasn't very precise; in trying to hit a fish, she might destroy an entire nest. Wubber would be safer--so long as he could actually move in water, not just disperse.

Nimfa carried the birds to the bank, leaving them there and slipping into the water once more. The blind rage was gone; cool calculation had replaced it. Instead of a dozen problems with no answers, she faced one problem with two possible solutions. That drove her into focus: she would catch these fish.

Twenty minutes later Nimfa dragged her exhausted body up the bank. Four fish rested beside the pair of fowl, representing the total fruits of her labors. Nimfa felt so utterly drained that she was more than content to simply lay there and wait. For Koero, for sunset, for her to wake up--she didn't know for what, she just gasped for breath and waited.

 

[Nay'ar]

Tiwala didn't bother chuckling at his clumsy act with the key and instead started looking in the distance: all she could see were trees, a sea of them. After some moments he said something about talking with him if she ever needed an ear 'But, of course... I'll tell you every little thing bothering me... we'll be best buddies in a blink' she thought sarcastic "Much obliged, Kidlat" she said in a cheerful voice and empty eyes "But I can manage." she added politely. Of course she didn't have anything to say to a stranger in a strange unknown world... who was the one breaking borders now? But she had to keep it like he wanted it: polite and easy-going if she wanted to keep her distance. 'You'll fail' wasn't it refreshing to have such a positive inner voice?

"Now that I think of it... there's something I'm bothered with" she said touching her lower lip with a finger, pensive "You know... we have to eat... but did any of us pick 'cooking' as a skill? I mean... if I can cook in real life... does it mean I can't cook if I don't have that skill?" she giggled... where did that question come out from? Well... not that it wasn't an important one though. 'When will I wake up? I'm starting to get bored of this reality in which I'm so weak' she sighed stealing a glance at the guy still looking at her.

A little Bzzz followed by a gentle vibration from her neck alerted her that someone had answered her message, or so she thought. Tiwala got her Journal out and browsed it to her inbox page: It seemed Kimi had answered At least we don't have to go digging in the woods. I've discovered the difference between upright trees and sideways trees-- only one is a good substitute for brakes. Will report again when I have more news. what the hell did it mean? That they didn't need to sleep in the open? She twitched her eyebrows and tilted the head on a side in genuine confusion "What the--" she said reading the message again.

 

[upscalerat]

Luckily, Bantay's last interruption hadn't been too rude- the girl had giggled, and when he put his journal away, he looked up to see that Kimi was looking at her messages, too. If he had to guess, she also replied to them, given how long it was taking, and the motion of her hands, but his book didn't vibrate again, so clearly he hadn't been looped in on the reply. Reply or fancy reading or not, though, Kimi was finished before long, and smiled up at him. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, and held up his sword. He'd never put it away, and had yet to see if there was some scabbard on his person to store it in. Accessing the journal before a fight might become cumbersome, but he wasn't too concerned with that for the moment.

Holding his sword up to where she wanted, Bantay waited for indication of that being the right spot to cut at. Moving as needed, the swordsman bent down and held the fabric taunt before carefully poking through it, and sawing his way around. When he was done, he stood up with proud: for someone who had never before wielded anything bigger than a kitchen knife, not having ended up cutting off Kimi's legs was pretty good, he thought. "How's that? Want any more off?" he even offered to the girl. "Otherwise, I'd be glad to see how close your tumble took us to the edge of the forest," he added, and peered out through the trees.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

"Much obliged, Kidlat," Tiwala said. "But I can manage."

He could tell she was still being reserved, politely declining his offer. It was perfectly within her rights to do that, and he wasn't really surprised either. "Fair enough," he said, looking away again. He'd respect her decision to keep her thoughts to herself. That was normal. No reason to be pushy, particularly with someone he'd only met that same day. Perhaps he really was overthinking this whole deal.

He perked up when she spoke again, though. Had she changed her mind? Ah, nope, she was just wondering aloud about how their skills worked. He found himself chuckling. "Good point. I guess we won't know until we try." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Had I known this would be more of a survival thing, I'd have chosen a different skill set for sure. Oh well." He punctuated the last sentence with a shrug and looked off into the distance. Hmm, he wondered... Could he use his Escape Artist skill to hunt? If he could hone the control of the ability such that he could teleport right on top of the animal with his knife out... His hand strayed to the dagger at his hip. If he did see any game, it wouldn't be a bad opportunity to practice the skill some more.

Movement in the corner of his vision caught Kidlat's attention. He slipped the weapon back into its sheath—huh, he hadn't realized he'd nearly pulled it all the way out—and looked back up at Tiwala. She'd opened her journal and now had a puzzled expression on her face as she puzzled over one of the pages within. "What's up?" he asked. "Did someone send you something?"

 

[Lady Alainn]

Kimi held perfectly still while Bantay sheared off the superfluous fabric, moving her head just enough to admire his work and her lips just enough to prattle on. The swordsman might as well have "cut" her knee again.

"You really are a master swordsman, aren't you? Couldn't have done it better myself! No really, I couldn't. I'm clumsy enough as it is and probably'd end up lopping off a leg or stabbing a foot and then I really would have been more useful as a mermaid. I wonder if freeing damsels from tangled webs of fabric counts towards levelling up your skill? I think it should. Not just everybody could cut... oh, it bunched up on you. There, that's better. Maybe on my next level up I can pick up sewing and hem the skirt. Or maybe I should pick cooking so we don't starve to death. Then again, I really want to play a stringed instrument... Or dancing! Oh, how I used to love dancing! But then no one else would waste a skill on dancing, would they? And what's the point of dancing if you don't have a partner? Unless the dancing skill ended up being ballet or tap dancing or something. I could go with tap dancing if I had to, but it's still not as fun without a partner. Blah! There are just too many to choose from and I'm sure this dream won't last long enough for me to gain five levels... oh you're done already? That's excellent, thank you. Perfect. Couldn't have done it better myself!"

Stepping gingerly out of the mound of pink linen, Kimi shook out her much more reasonable length skirt and dipped into a full curtsey. "Thank you, Bantay, Master of the Sword! I am forever in your debt." She paused in her curtsey as her eyes fell on the pieces of fabric and strewn petticoats. "We probably shouldn't litter like that, should we?" Kimi plucked her journal from her necklace and flipped open to the inventory page. "I wonder-- will it?" She set the journal on the ground and gathered the petticoats, slipping them one at a time inside the journal. Each time the ruffled piece of clothing sucked into the book and appeared as a frilly icon, Kimi gasped with delight and eagerly stuffed in the next. One, two, three, four little fluffy petticoats lined up along the top of the page. Then Kimi turned to the linen and crammed that in, too, before closing the book again. Maybe she would pick up sewing next and make capes for everybody or something.

"Ok, let's go!" Kimi scrambled to her feet, brushing her hands on her skirt before skipping over to Bantay. And they were off again, along with Kimi's chatter. As they wandered, the winged one danced her fingers across the bark of nearby trees with one hand while holding out her other arm to balance herself as if she were walking on a beam.

"It's really so beautiful here. The trees are so green and feel so alive. I feel so alive! It's a lot different than Aruta. Even though there are so many people running here and there all day long, it doesn't feel alive, does it? It just is. Though, the park across from where I work is pretty close to feeling alive, I think. Sometimes I sit under the willow by the pond and play music until my fingers are sore." She sighed deeply and slipped her hands into her pockets.

"That's when the magic happens, when everything is alive. But after the final note is played and you can't even imagine it anymore no matter how hard you strain to hear it, the spell's broken and you're sitting in damp grass with people passing by like it never happened. Carrying on with their everyday lives completely unaware of the little piece of paradise they could see if they would just open their eyes. So you pack up, get back in the wheelchair, and roll on home." Her words drifted into silence while her eyes sought Bantay to offer him a mischievous little grin. "If I talk too much, feel free to tell me to shut up. Sometimes it actually works."

The trees began thinning and soon the pair found themselves heading towards a sandy shoreline. Waves rolled up onto the beach, leaving foamy tracks along the sand to mark how much they'd grown since the last bit of water sloshed up on shore. The sun dazzled the waters, reveling in its freedom from the shadowy forest to shine fully onto the land. Kimi clasped her hands to her bosom, her lips parted in wonder as her wide eyes soaked in the scenery.

"Oh!" she breathed. "Oh, it's lovely!"

 

[Enigs]

"Enough!" Looking back for only a moment Chris decided to pick up his pace, and additionally decided to be grateful he wasn't in the room when whoever that was blew their top. He hoped to get enough distance so that if anyone looked for him outside they wouldn't be able to see him from the guild hall, once things settled down he would probably be noticed as missing. Although in truth he wasn't extremely worried about it, after a cursory search they would simply go back their own business leaving him free to do what he came here for. Chris reflected on Aria's words as he walked only slowing down once the guildhall was out of sight. Aria had invited him on the pretense of coming here to explore there was no mention of hounds from Hades in the bargain, and therefor no obligation to worry about them. Let things play out as they may. However she had made a good point concerning testing out his new skills. Chris held up a finger and whistled a low note, conjuring up an errant breeze to slowly revolve around his finger. Delighted Chris whistled a bit more strongly developing a small tune as he brought in more wind and made an orb to hold and toss back and forth between his hands. However he shortly ran out of breath and the orb dissolved, taking with it Chris's levity. He was after all in a strange world on uncharted land and without so much as a compass to guide his way.

He walked quite slowly now taking time to examine his surroundings. Disappointingly if there was any peaceful wildlife nearby his whistling has surely disturbed it and ensured he would remain bereft of company. An examination of the trees nearby proved nothing, though he had not very much expected it to, perhaps because the trees where the same but most certainly because that even if they were different Chris had no basis on which to discern those differences. He reached for his notebook in his back pocket to write down his observations concerning the trees anyways and was further disappointed. Not only did he lack his notebook but even his back pocket. Somewhat disgruntled now Chris kept walking trying to keep an eye out for any squirrels, deer, or any other such animal which would be a useful identifier. Chris pulled open his book flipping over to the items section. While it would probably be difficult to practice alchemy or engineering in the wilderness he did want to have a look at some of his items Aria had gifted him. He chose to first investigate what was labeled as a "Red-marked Vial". Chris pulled it out of the book and was rewarded with a ceramic vial of a size to comfortably fit in the palm of ones hand with a cork in it and a red ring encircling the neck.

Chris looked for a good spot and sat down next to a tree that looked comfortable as he looked over the vial for signs of wear or chipping. Seeing nothing particularly notable he hesitantly pulled out the cork and wafted one hand over it so that the smell would reach his nose without him putting his nose directly over it. The smell seemed half familiar and Chris held the vial out into a ray of sunlight trying to get a good look into it. The drink was a slight tannish-brown color and Chris suddenly knew what it was. Chris knew it was an elixir for boosting energy and reducing fatigue made from Maca root, however along with that knowldge came the knowledge of it's side effects and he quickly corked the vial and put it back into the book. Chris stood, neglecting to brush off some of the detritus that now clung to him, and retrieved a wooden staff from the book looking it over and approving of it as a good walking stick. Beginning his journey once more he laughed a bit to himself, in consideration of the fact he was now in possession of medieval red bull. He had walked only a few steps before his book, now hanging once again from his neck, began a violent buzzing. Chris pulled it out and began reading Tiwala's message finishing it just as the book buzzed once more and he saw Kidlat's message pop up. After reading that one Chris made the first half of a frown. While the group message could be easily dismissed the personal one would require a reply. Though the fact that he had been discovered missing by now was no surprise he resented the fact that he had acquired a self appointed keeper. Looking around once more in the hopes that some form of wild presence would reveal itself and finding nothing, Chris grabbed onto a low hanging branch of a nearby tree and swung up to rest on the branch. Perhaps he would have better luck letting the wildlife find him. Chris opened the book once more and stared at Kidlat's message as he pondered on how to phrase his polite refusal of being anyone else's responsibility.

 

[Nay'ar]

Tiwala was still looking at her message when Kidlat asked her what happened. 'What the hell... and here I thought I knew the language...' she thought helplessly staring at the river of letters opened before her. She loved English but sometimes she couldn't get it's jokes or, as in this case, she couldn't understand it at all. 'What the hell does it mean upright trees and what-not trees?' she looked confused at Kidlat and asked in a shy voice "Would you mind getting up here to help me? It seems I'm not as good as I thought... Kimi's talking about digging up some trees and writing again if she succeeds... or something" she wasn't too sure and looking at the boy she added "I'll make room for you... after all this branch is large enough for two people and you'll see something beautiful from up here." In truth from there she could see a small clearing, bathed in sunlight, bed of beautiful flowers and playground of endless butterflies.

She got on her feet, keeping the Journal open with a hand and balancing herself with the other, stepping aside on the branch. As Tiwala was about to sit down again, a gust of wind unbalanced her, forcing her to make a step on some slippery musk. She tried to keep her balance despite her foot slip, letting go of her book, but it just gave her the last blow as it returned at her neck, adding something more to the pile. "Kyah!" she cried as her last bit of balance vanished. She found herself falling while looking at that big branch "Eh?" 'Good job, Ren... we'll never see that crow again...' was it really the crow the last thing she would think of?

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat pondered Tiwala's reaction for a moment. She seemed confused by her journal. But after a few more seconds, it clicked into place in his head: as a nonnative speaker, she was having difficulty reading Kimi's message. His face lit up. "Oh, sure," he offered quickly. She then informed him that she would scoot along the branch to give him room to join her. He nodded his thanks, stepped toward the trunk, and braced himself on the branch and trunk with his hands, positioning his foot against a lower branch in preparation to heft himself up. But before he could shift his weight, the motion of Tiwala in his peripheral vision caused him to look at her. Her position was precarious. Worry for her suddenly clenched inside him. "Ah, careful...!"

It was too late. Her foot slipped, and just like that, something happened in Kidlat, a rush of adrenaline and a triggered instinct he hadn't realized was in his possession. But he thought of none of that in that precious split second. He lunged forward. In a blink he was right beneath her, not even fully realizing he'd just used his teleportation skill without second thought. She was falling. He only had a fraction of a second to hurry to put his arms in what he hoped were the right places, and then she was upon him.

One of his arms caught the back of her torso and the other caught behind her knees. Unfortunately, he was not ready for her sudden weight. A short, panicked yell of alarm escaped him as he staggered backwards for a second and promptly crashed down into a nearby bush, rear first. His face twisted in pain as branches dug into his back. But...well, at least he had caught her, kind of, and cushioned her second fall. Only then did he realize that he had apparently tried to tilt her in his arms as he fell so that she would line up with his body and be protected from the branches. More specifically, her face was tucked against his chest. When had that happened? Her face's presence there felt nice...

Don't they call this hold a bridal carry?

His cheeks flushed a little at the sudden emotion, but the first and foremost thing to do was get the both of them out of this stupidly painfully poking bush and standing up straight again. "Ow...you okay?" he asked. Her weight on him felt restrictive and pushed him all the more firmly against the branches beneath him, so he really would have liked for her to get off of him as quickly as possible. But he couldn't deny the little thrill in his core from their contact, even from the nature of what he'd just done for her. Or tried to, at least.

 

[Nay'ar]

Tiwala closed her eyes as she fell, saying her goodbyes to the world, preparing for the impact but, instea
d of a hard one she got in a muffled and somewhat softer one. A panicked yell, a bush sound. She breathed heavily and tried to get up... was her head kept by something? More than that... was she still alive? 'Where... how' she thought confused realizing her position: Kidlat had shielded her and was now keeping her head on his chest while hugging her, 'Why did he cover for me? Maybe... no no no no... Ren. No more delusions for today. No more. ' she blinked a couple of times, hearing his accelerated heartbeat and his stiffened arms... was he hurt? "Chris...?" 'Don't you dare call him like that, Ren. Don't you dare' she asked while rising her head. He was on a bush... well maybe in a bush would fit better... the branches were hurting him, trying to stab his back and he made everything he could to avoid her to be hurt "Oh, my... Kidlat... are you alright? Well that's a stupid one isn't it?" she said giggling, jumping backward and slipping on some musk under her boot.

She found herself sat on the ground, hitting her butt, while he still was there, tangled in the bushes 'Don't laugh, you moron... it's not appropriate' she warned herself. And useless was that warn as she started laughing sincerly; after all, it was so hilarious all that sequence of fallings "I'm sorry... I'll help you in a bit" she apologized as she kept on laughing "It's just that... I fall, you save me but then you fall... I get up and fall again... it's just..." she dried some tears from the corner of her eyes and looked at him. How much had it passed since she laughed like that? And it helped relieve the fear too.

She got up getting the dust off her clothes and, after cleaning her boot just so she wouldn't have fallen again, went to help him get up from those poking brances "It must hurt... and I'm heavy too... they must have dug pretty deep in your clothes. I'm sorry, I was reading and missed the musk but I won't get the sniper killed like that. I promise" she smiled at him. Sure of what she said.

 

[upscalerat]

While Kimi played around with putting the mounds of fabric into her journal, Bantay pulled his journal from his neck, and flipped to the inventory. Taking the rapier out had been something like pulling it out of the book, he reasoned, and judging by what his companion was doing, returning things to the inventory would work in a similar way. The swordsman was right; when he touched the tip of the blade to the book, it offered a little resistance, but pushed through like a wall of jello rather than ripping the book apart. It was still a bit disconcerting, but Bantay thought that he was getting the hang of how ESE worked. Only took half a day- not bad, he decided, and inspected the pages allotted towards inventory. 'If I had to guess, there's a limit. Which means that other sort of carrying things could be useful.' After all. the rapier hadn't shown up in his inventory while it was in his hands, so why should other things? But would there even be a chance to buy bags for purposes such as that? Or would they need to make them?

It reminded the swordsman of what Kimi had said about cooking skills. He hadn't commented before, as he was focused on cutting only her dress and not her legs, but now that the present task was much less dangerous, it might be good to continue that thought. But she was talking again- not that he could fault her; Kimi had been interrupted enough times just previously by Bantay himself to warrant a bit of chattering herself. And anyways, she seemed to be enjoying herself, talking about the magic in Aruta... Aruta. Neil didn't see any magic there. Anything but. To be honest? Neil probably would have been quite annoyed by the chattering Kimi. He likely would have have appreciated that strange Tiwala a bit more, as well. (Perhaps that was pushing it.) But Bantay didn't have two nine year olds and college to worry about; Bantay had a vague impending doom on his shoulders, but that meant nothing to him currently, and he found that he could appreciate Kimi much more now.

Kimi- or, whoever she was in Aruta- and her magic music. He grinned as she talked. Melodies did a lot for her, which was understandable. You lost a lot, Bantay figured, when you lost your legs. But music? You could lose marching band, sure, the pedals on a piano, and that one drum with your foot- but for the most part, you could make music, if you had the determination, the time, the instrument, and the hands for it, from what he could tell. And if music brought the park alive for Kimi, then all the better, wasn't it? And- oh, there was his window of opportunity to talk.

"I would never," he promised, and made a face in mock offense to her offer to tell her to shut up. "You're too lovely to do such a thing to." Wait, no, that sounded a bit like flirting, didn't it? Kimi was sweet, but that was a bit fast for Bantay's- for Neil's- tastes. "Actually," he continued, not giving either of them any more than the second to consider it, "it makes me a bit homesick. My brother is nine, and he talks in that same sort of fashion, though he doesn't appreciate how much the music makes the trees come to life as much, admittedly," Bantay said, and grinned. He was about to mention her comment about skills again- he'd had an idea, regarding that- but they had, as Kimi had speculated, come to the end of the forest. And as she pointed out, the view was lovely.

"Your music may bring the park to life in Aruta," Bantay said, after an appreciative moment, "but it doesn't look like ESE needs the help to live."

 

[Lady Alainn]

A sigh escaped her lips as she stood there with Bantay, listening to the sound of the waves breaking. It seemed so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. It reminded her of the lullaby her grandmother used to sing to her when she was a wee one. Before Kimi realized it, the words lept off her tongue.

"Kilmeny, Kilmeny where have you been?
To a land that no mortal has ever seen..."

The winged minstrel's voice trailed off for a moment, unsure of whether or not she should test Bantay's patience with another song so soon. The last thing she wanted to do was alienate the lad. He may be a hothead, but he was an endearing hothead whom Kimi saw as a sanctuary where she could lay down her weary burdens for a while and be comfortable. Okay, maybe that was a bit premature in their friendship to determine, but be that as it may she liked Bantay. He mentioned mermaids, he had twin siblings whom he clearly loved, and had just promised never to tell her to shut up.

But does that include singing?

The view, it evoked something beautiful inside her soul and the sensation swelled within her breast until it physically hurt to hold it in any longer. Kimi bit her lip. Perhaps...perhaps instead of merely singing this time she could use whatever skill she'd used before to convey herself to Bantay. Maybe it would open herself up enough to give him a glimpse inside. It was an intimate notion and one Kyla certainly would never give a person she didn't know, let alone a non music-lover, but dreams are made for breaking rules and right now Kimi felt a little rebellious.

Just one stanza. He can't get too annoyed if it's only one stanza... Breathing in deeply, Kimi closed her eyes and began humming the tune. A picture of her grandmother tucking her into bed entered her mind, the old woman's quivering voice vanquishing the monsters under the bed and bidding the nightlight to glow bright enough to keep nightmares away. Her gentle, wrinkled hand stroked away the fears of little Kyla. Kimi opened her picture a little wider to include Bantay--no, what had he said his name was? Neil. You vanquish their monsters, Neil. The words tumbled from her lips in a clear, lilting voice. You keep the nightmares at bay. Moistness crept in under her eyelids but her voice did not waver. This is where we escape while you battle the harshness of life alone. Her song spun through the air and danced upon the waves.

"Kilmeny had been where the cock never crew,
Where rain never fell, and the wind never blew.
It seemed as the harp of the sky had rung,
And the airs of the heavens played round her tongue.
She spoke of a lovely form she had seen,
And a land where sin had never been;
A land of love and a land of light,
Withouten sun, nor moon, nor night;
The river swa'd a living stream,
And the light of a pure and cloudless beam;
A land of vision, it would seem,
A still, an everlasting dream."

This, ESE, was her dream land of years long past. Maybe not exactly, if this really was real, but it still held life and the monsters and nightmares of yesteryear threatened to destroy it. Be strong, Neil, but remember it's all right to be vulnerable sometimes... With that final thought, the song ended and her picture closed. Opening her eyes again, Kimi turned to Bantay and said in a serious tone, "ESE may not need help living, but it needs our help to live. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, would we?"

 

[FiliaFlammae]

"Chris...?"

Tiwala had said she would not call him that. She had quite clearly told him that Kidlat was enough. And yet his real name had just dropped from her lips, and it elicited a strong fluttering sensation that began deep in his chest and spread outward. She had just called him Chris. She had actually just called him Chris.

The moment ended soon after that, sadly. She reverted to calling him Kidlat once again. But she sounded genuinely apologetic for having inconvenienced him, which was nice. She giggled at her own question and hefted herself off of him, but the moment she did, her foot slipped and she tumbled backwards to the ground. Strangely, the action only caused her to laugh all the more. This was honest, mirthful laughter, and he couldn't deny that the sight made his own chest feel lighter. She was genuinely happy. It was a good look on her. Very cute. He didn't even realize he was smiling. "Good," he said. "Wouldn't do to lose you so soon."

Anyway, now to get him back on his feet. He was suspended high enough that his hands could not reach the ground from this position to push himself up, at least not without plunging them through the bush, which he had no desire to do. He tried rocking his weight forward, but he was tilted too far backwards to simply heft himself up that way. His face soured in irritation and embarrassment, but the scowl was a little playful too, as his mood was still light. "Right. Um. As much of a blow to my pride as it is, I must admit that I am stuck. Assistance would be appreciated." He raised one hand towards her, hoping she'd grasp it once she stood up and help him regain his footing.

 

[Nay'ar]

"Good, wouldn't do to lose you so soon." he said peaceful. She knew it already... why did it sting so hard? 'You're like this the very first day? If so, you should have gone like Ako...' and her inner voice wasn't really in the wrong...

She listened to his plead and with melodrammatic emphasis answered "My... Oh my... Is it Sir Kidlat, stuck there? It isn't my mind playing with me, is it? My, oh my." she said touching her forehead with the back of her hand. "And... here I am, saving him from that fiend bush which got him as he protected me. My, oh my... what sadness, what tragedy! A tragedy indeed" she continued as she grabbed his hand and pulled to get him on his feet again. Her voice playfull and jokingly drammatic. Once he stood again, she left his hand and went toward the tree touching its trunk with her hand "Oh, my friend tell me... why did he ask for help?" she asked the tree "Why did he put away his pride when he could have freed himself in a much cooler way with his teleport?" she turned toward him and winked "What, my friend? It was for the skinship you say?" her voice a bit lower as if talking only to the tree. It wasn't her first joke on that topic and she felt more sure she could manage such a setting like that anyway.

She stared at him as she got cover on the other side of the tree, awaiting whatever response... after all they had to wait for the others to come back and a bit of hilarity couldn't hurt... at least not too much... "My, oh my..."

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat tried and failed to look indignant at Tiwala's teasing, his amusement betrayed by the way the corner of his mouth twitched. He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet fairly easily. His lower back thanked him. He tried to feel his back with his hands as best he could, wondering if the vest had gotten badly scuffed anywhere. It was hard to tell. But as Tiwala turned away, she rhetorically asked why he hadn't teleported. He was surprised and embarrassed to hear this, and it showed on his face, because the thought of just teleporting himself upwards hadn't even crossed his mind. It was a new ability he only had here in ESE, after all, and this seemed like such a trivial use for it. She winked at him as she said it, driving the matter home, and then muttered something about "skinship."

Skinship? He had no idea what that was, but his confused mind combined the idea of sensual skin exposure or contact with the term 'shipping,' leaving his half-formed mental image as something to do with flirting or intimacy. Now half of him felt miffed that he was in the dark about something, while the other half felt strangely pleased that she would make an innuendo regarding the two of them. If that even was an innuendo. It sounded like one, but that didn't change the fact that he had simply never heard the word before.

She slipped around the tree then, as if playfully keeping away from him. "Hey!" he said, making firm strides toward her to catch up with her. The amused smirk played at his mouth again, and this time it was far too difficult to fight. "Come back here, you can't just leave a comment like that when I don't even know what 'skinship' means! Do you have any idea how much it irks me when I don't know a word?" His pace quickened as he rounded the far side of the tree trunk. Childish as the notion was, he couldn't help but feel like this was gearing up to be a game of chase around the tree and the immediate vicinity. He felt playful now. Heavens knew why, but he did.

 

[upscalerat]

And like that, she was singing again. Bantay smiled; he hadn't realized that that was something that people actually did. Neil had read pieces in English classes that mentioned strong emotions moving people to song. He'd even gone and seen The Hobbit for the holiday season the last two years, and the dwarves in the first part broke out into song twice they were so emotional. But it had been an event that he assumed to be purely fictitious; yet here in front of him was a girl who actually started singing upon seeing a pretty sight. A very pretty sight, admittedly- but it left no wonder for why Kimi was a minstrel.

He leaned against a tree- and evidently just in time, for suddenly something washed over him, and he couldn't explain why, but suddenly he felt very powerful. He didn't feel like a man who had just been given a sword- no, he felt like a man who wielded a sword. He fought whatever evils there were. But not just that- no, he fought against the struggles of life, as well as against the monsters of ESE. He was vaguely aware that Kimi was singing again, and it sounded lovely, but this feeling of strength was a surprise, and it consumed his thoughts until Kimi was finished singing.

Then, the feeling was- well, not so much gone as it was no longer pressing itself to him. The idea had come seemingly spontaneously, but it had left its mark and wouldn't leave as quickly. "ESE may not need help living, but it needs our help to live. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, would we?" Kimi asked him, in a serious tone. The swordsman shook his head to clear his thoughts, and considered what the girl had said. Did the word need their help to live? He thought back to what Aria had told the seven of them just a few hours earlier. It seemed so far away now, like a week had passed since then.

She had described it as a darkness that they needed to stop. Could that darkness prevent the world from living? What exactly was the darkness,m anyways? Questions were starting to bubble, questions that hadn't reared their heads before. "It needs our help to do something, certainly," he then agreed, if only to say something back to Kimi. The questions were pressing enough to not be forgotten. Like how they would stop this darkness. Everything else in this world seemed like a video game- it only made sense then, too, that it involved whatever form of this darkness that they would fight being more of a side effect than the cause of the problem. Which meant that there was something more that they had to stop to truly put an end to this. "But, us.... Wonder why it was us that she chose." That question seemed pointless to ponder, though. The only way to know would be to get a truthful answer from Aria, which Bantay would be assured in the near future.

He closed his eyes. This was too much, too much when lunch was on the line. "We should probably..." he started, but stopped. It was an arbitrary thought, but it did suddenly occur to Bantay that his feeling of strength could have been something induced. After all, earlier Kimi had diffused the tension by playing her flute and calming everyone down. This time, she sang, and Bantay felt strong. She was a minstrel, after all- music would be her main did, wouldn't it? "Did you do that, before?" That made no sense. "When you were singing- did you make me feel that?" That should be clear enough, if she did do it. If not, then she didn't really need to know about the sudden boost of confidence that he'd gotten, or how little he looked forward to it completely dissipating.

 

[Adira]

Koero was hunting around for berries, fruits, bus, anything that the two could eat. Stumbling around the strange forrest, she managed to find a bush with something that looked like berries. Her dress was still sopping wet so she decided to wait a bit for the cloth to dry before she collected the berries. Surprisingly the sunlight felt real here, and often times Koero had to remind herself that this was only a dream. Was it? Was it not? Koero preferred not to think about that fact, not yet at least. Instead her mind wandered to Nimfa, the fact that she was in her town.. possibly in her school. Did they sit next to each other, were they perfect strangers or had their eyes met before in the halls or the streets? Her heart raced and her mind was pounding just from thinking so hard about the strange girl who actually talked to Koero.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of beautiful love birds as they fluttered around her. The birds would sway in the soft breeze as they collected small twigs and leaves, obviously for a nest of some sort. The forrest around her was actually beautiful and the foliage and trees that dotted the cozy forrest were breath taking. Koero wondered if many other creatures lived in the forrest and if they were the same as the ones on earth. That made her wonder about the people of ESE. Where they short or tall or big or strong or did they have pointy ears or did they look like her? Her eyes never left the pair of love birds as they were content in their search for supplies.

Suddenly a loud scream echoed though the forrest and frightened both Koero and the pair of birds. She sat up quickly and looked around as the birds scattered and flew away into the sun. As her heart beat went back to normal Koero clutched her spear in her left hand as she made her way cautiously back to the bush. She quickly began to pick the berries one by one off the bush. She had watched a squirrel eat the berries before running back up the tree, which made Koero believe they were safe to eat. She would have to make sure but for right now this was all she could contribute to Nimfa's food search. Nimfa... Koero hoped she was ok at the lake by herself and she assured herself that she was. She quickened her picking pace to make sure she could get back to Nimfa quicker. While picking she tore open a few layers of her skin and blood rushed out of her finger. "Ouch!" She said softly as she pulled her hand way to examine the wound. Nothing big, just a prick in fact. She sucked the blood off her finger with her lips and shuddered at the rust like taste in her mouth. She looked down at the berries in her dress and decided that was enough for now. She hurried away and found her way back to the lake's shore and found Nimfa collapsed on the beach.

As she approached she looked concerned at Nimfa. "Nimfa? are you okay?" She asked as she took a seat next to the girl. Noticing the birds and fish that lay dead next to her. "Wow, don't take this the wrong way but you look awful.." She said softly as she looked over the girl, hoping to notice a little detail that would tell her who Nimfa really was.

 

[Lady Alainn]

Bantay stood silently. Kimi couldn't tell if the music had affected him one way or another. Had opening herself up like that all been in vain? But, at the guild hall, it had worked then. Why wouldn't it work now? She studied his face, trying to discern what the far away look in his eyes might suggest. Then he spoke. "It needs our help to do something, certainly. But, us.... Wonder why it was us that she chose."

Kimi's face fell. He hadn't experienced the magic. This wounded her greatly, almost to the point of feeling he may as well have spurned her. She had so wanted to give him a taste! Lowering her gaze to her fidgeting hands, Kimi made to hike back to the guild hall, her heart heavy in her chest. Even her never-ending supply of words felt like lead weights in her throat and not one could she muster to make a reply. Perhaps, perhaps Bantay-- Neil-- was too far hardened by his circumstances to bend to the magic of music. "No!" she whispered fiercely. She blinked rapidly to keep the brimming tears at bay. She couldn't help them, really. Her heart ached for the lad.

"Did you do that, before? When you were singing- did you make me feel that?"

Immediately Kimi's eyes were up and locked onto his. Slowly, her hurt dissipated into a growing excitement as she comprehended the meaning of his words. He'd felt it-- whatever "it" was? Like a light-switch, Kimi flipped from dark to light. He'd responded! Relief flooded her body. Kimi had to clamp her hands to her mouth to keep from squealing with glee. Had Bantay actually felt what she was feeling? Had he seen what she'd seen? Or was it something else? Her thoughts hadn't exactly coincided with the wave of feelings in her breast, but they had felt... appropriate. How had the music spoken to him? More questions bubbled in her mind like a frothy fountain, but one had yet to prove itself victor and spill from her mouth.

"Yes! I- I think so." She took a couple steps closer, her eyes shining into his. "I-I don't think I can actually make you feel anything, just like a composer can't make you respond a certain way to a piece he's written. It's always up to the interpretation of the listener. Though, some suggestions are stronger than others and other suggestions give clearer images than others and like minds do think alike." Another step brought her close enough to feel his warmth radiating from his body and his breath on her up-turned face, but she was oblivious. Dream Kyla didn't have the same ingrained social restraints Real Kyla did when she gushed about her passion.

"I know I can't place anything inside," she continued. "That's not the way music works. It has to grow from what's already there." Her hand rose of its own accord as her fingertips brushed against his chest. "It has to live in here, first." Her fingers pressed into his shirt gently to aide in making her point. "Music only amplifies what's already hidden inside. You are strong, Neil!" Then, as if snapped out of a trance, Kimi suddenly became aware of herself. Of how close she was standing to Bantay. Of where her hand had wandered. Her lips parted in shock. Her eyes widened in horror. Quickly, she snatched her hand away and took a couple steps back, holding the offending hand against her chest with the other. What would Bantay think of her now? She knew what it looked like. What he probably was thinking. Hadn't she already annoyed him enough? And now this... She grew deathly pale, then reddened like a steamed lobster in embarrassment from the tip of her hairline, down her neck, and even splotched down her legs to disappear into her slippers. "I'm---I-" Blonde curls swirled as she darted from his side, towards the shelter of the trees.

"It's a dream, just a dream!" she cried. "Wake up, Kyla, wake up! Oh dear God, please let this be just a dream!"

 

[Enigs]

Chris looked at his message one last time. It had taken him longer to write than he had anticipated, then again he was somewhat proud of himself that he had restrained himself to the degree of politeness required when writing it. Besides his intention was to wait for a bit anyways so it was hardly a problem. Chris selected to send his message "Your concern is appreciated." to Kidlat. Ideally he would be able to infer the second half of that message easily enough. Closing his book and his thoughts on the matter Chris looked around a bit more attentively, hoping that something had decided to pay him a visit while he was waiting. Once again however he seemed to be alone. Chris frowned and dropped his staff to the ground before lowering himself out of the tree and reclaiming it. Nothing to do but keep moving, perhaps a bit more quietly now. As he began moving he noticed a pang in his stomach, actually how long had it been since he had last eaten? Deciding to keep an eye out for anything edible he looked at the sun trying to gauge the time. Chris decided to turn around and go back towards the guild hall. He preferred to get back a bit early rather than late anyways. As he began his walk back he heard a distinctive call from the east, with renewed vigor Chris changed course to try and locate the animal.

Chris slowed and made every attempt at stealth, feeble though he was at it, as he approached. Judging by the call it was a bobwhite, Chris's eyes scanned the ground as he recalled what he knew on them. He spotted them and counted himself doubly lucky. They were picking berries off of a bush which should mean the berries were fairly safe. Having found them now Chris stopped and considered the next course of action. If he got any closer they would all fly off leaving him without specimens and, arguably as important at this point, food. Chris smiled however when he remembered his practice with wind magics. whistling sharply he conjured a dome trapping a couple of the birds which were close together before they could fly off. He concentrated on his keeping his catch instead of being greedy and made no attempt to strike down the ones escaping as he emerged from hiding and approached the trapped birds. Whistling again but much softer this time he modified the hastily crafted dome and split up the birds into each their own dome and both small enough to restrain the birds movement.

He did not want to waste time to examine them just yet, he was worried about arriving late. Considering whether to just do a quick examination and then be on his way he decided instead to test out his engineering skill. Chris went about his business quickly breaking down fairly slim branches from nearby trees and weaving them into an impromptu spherical cage for the birds. He released the magic on one bird as he scooped towards it with the open end of the cage and caught it, continuing with the motion towards the next bird as he prepared to release the magic on it. However the magic dissipated early and Chris lunged barely catching the last bird as it tried to escape. Chris shoved the birds back as they tried to escape while he finished up the cage and closed the gap, earning himself a few pecks from the birds in the process. Finished he set the cage down a little bloodied but happily ignoring it in relishing his victory. He grabbed a few berries to munch on the way home and carried the cage under one arm, counting on his clothes to take the brunt of any pecks he may receive, and walking as fast as he could sustain set off back towards where he though he could find the guild hall.

 

[upscalerat]

Whether or not that feeling of strength had actually been Kimi's doing, she was excited that it might have been, Bantay determined. She'd looked up at him and a look- was that... Disappointment?- melted into excitement, and Bantay felt a skewed sense of pride, as though he'd done something right. "Yes! I- I think so," she stammered, and stepped closer. The swordsman caught something of her giddiness, and also took a step in his companion's direction.

Kimi explained how exactly she thought her power worked, that the music gave the listener something more to ponder, something they could ignore, more than anything. Bantay wondered about that- after all, earlier, her flute had made all of them calm, which was something that he himself would have certainly ignored had he been able to. Being calm wasn't something within him then. Perhaps her voice could only make those suggestions, and the flute could really plant them, and he opened his mouth to say as much- but suddenly, he could smell her, and when he tilted his head down to look Kimi in the eye, it occurred to Bantay just how close they were to each other. When did that happen? The thought distracted him from speaking.

"It has to live here, first," Kimi was saying, and her fingertips prodded his shirt. Then she grew excited as she made her next conclusion: "You are strong, Neil!" That certainly wasn't something that he heard every day. And he couldn't lie- there was a warm feeling in his chest now, from hearing that. Or maybe from the excitement of having a pretty not-quite-a-stranger so close, but the young man decided to assume the former to be true. He opened his mouth again, ready to deny this accusation of being strong, however- after all, he frankly just did what he needed to, nothing more- but suddenly, Kimi seemed to recognize how close she was. Evidently, it was abnormal behavior for her- of course, wheelchairs wouldn't allow one to get that close if they wanted to, but Bantay had forgotten about that- and the young woman stepped back and held the hand that had touched him far away.

"No, it's fi-" Bantay started, as Kimi stammered. No, they were making such progress, too! There was definitely a friendship there, a friendship that maybe could have been continued in Aruta, and Neil may have just ruined it, because he didn't- well, he didn't do something. Hold her shoulder, perhaps, or something of that manner, that he obviously should have done. But again, she had run off.

The swordsman didn't wait this time, and started after her immediately. He heard her say Kyla, and given the context, assumed it to be her name. "Kyla," he called, "it's fine! Relax- come back, won't you?" He must have sounded like he was pleading, like he was desperate, but maybe he was. "Please?"