ESE

[Lady Alainn]

"Kyla, it's fine! Relax-- come back, won't you?"

That was her name. He'd called her by her name. Kyla, not Kimi. He'd used her name! Confusion slowed Kimi's steps while hope rekindled Kyla's heart. Why would he bother using her name or chase after her if he was upset? Wasn't he annoyed, though? Maybe, perhaps... "...Please?" At that, Kimi paused and placed her hand on a tree trunk. A tremble rippled over her limbs. She drew in a shaky breath and dared a peek at Bantay's face from under the cover of her bangs as he drew closer. He didn't look angry. Far from it, he seemed concerned. Why should he-- Was he concerned about her? "You're--You're not upset with me?" her voice quivered.

 

[Ray C]

Nimfa heard Koero's voice and felt her approaching, but couldn't turn to look. She did manage to crane her neck back to look Koero in the face when she sat down.

"Wow, don't take this the wrong way but you look awful.."

"I feel worse," Nimfa replied, letting her head slump forward again. "But it feels good. The water, the fish, the magic--it feels good." She shut her eyes for a moment, bathing in the afternoon sunlight. The last time she'd pushed herself this hard was... wasn't. The real world had never given her a reason to drive herself to total exhaustion. "I hope I don't wake up. For a long time." It was a silly wish, and Nimfa knew that. But at that moment she didn't care. What are dreams for, if not to dream of happier things than life gives you? A friend, a mountain, and a clear mission; what more could a girl ask for?

Well, she could ask for her dress back. It was back on the beach they'd first come out at, somewhere to Nimfa's right. With tremendous effort and a few small groans, she rolled onto her stomach and raised her head to look at Koero--and her bountiful harvest. "It's probably time to be getting back. I'll let the others know. Can you find some way to carry the fish? Please?" Far different from her parting command earlier, Nimfa's request was not forceful. Maybe she didn't have the energy to put into it; or maybe she wanted to be kind to Koero again. Who could tell?

Letting the thought slip away, Nimfa pulled the book off her necklace and flipped to the page she had received Tiwala and Kidlat's messages on. Drafting a message of her own was as simple as sending an email.

To: Kimi; Bantay; Kidlat; Tiwala; Ako
Koero and I are returning to the Hall. We have two birds, four fish, and several handfuls of berries. Anybody who will be there before us, prep the fire. And sanitize a knife.
Nimfa

Signed and sent. Nimfa pulled herself to her feet, thinking about the trip down. They would go back to the first beach so Nimfa could retrieve her dress, then follow the trail back down the mountain. Downhill would take half the time, if that, so they could be back in as little as forty minutes.

 

[upscalerat]

She stopped, and Bantay was admittedly relieved that it didn't involve tumbling down the mountain again. Instead, Kimi- Kyla?- stood at a tree, looking as though she couldn't find something. "You're--You're not upset with me?" she asked, voice shaking. Upset? Why on earth...? Or, he supposed, why on ESE would he have been upset with her?

"No- no, why would I be?" he asked, making an effort to make his voice soft and gentle. He'd stopped when she had, and now approached her, but slowly, as he might approach a pet that he was trying to gain the trust of. An idea occurred to him. "I didn't mind- I didn't mind you getting close," he tried. It had been what had happened just before she ran off; it was the only thing that he could think she would be scared upset him. "You were excited, yeah? That's okay. Kyla, there's nothing to be upset over," he added. Kyla. It was a nice name, and the sound of it lent itself to the soothing that Bantay- that Neil was going for.

 

[Lady Alainn]

Bantay needn't have worried about Kimi taking off on him again. As wonderful as it was to have the option to flee awkward situations or prance in adulation, it wasn't necessary or beneficial to react that way every time. And in this instance, Kimi realized she'd misinterpreted Bantay. That needed to be fixed if this relationship was going to survive. She drew in a deep breath to calm her flutters and faced him squarely as he inched closer, her one hand still braced against the tree for strength while the other one-- the miscreant responsible for all physical contact with Bantay thus far-- cradled securely against her chest.

"No- no, why would I be?"

"Promise?"

"I didn't mind- I didn't mind you getting close." Her breath released as a smile sneaked onto her face. There was something about the way he said it that sparked a glow inside of her. Like he meant more by that simple statement. He didn't mind her friendship.

"You were excited, yeah?" he continued.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"That's okay. Kyla, there's nothing to be upset over." There he was using her name again. She liked the way he said it. Kimi let go of the tree, letting her hand dangle by her side instead, and took a few hesitant steps towards Bantay to close in the gap.

"Okay... Neil. If you say so. I thought... Well, I can talk a lot-- and when I'm comfortable with someone, it's so much easier to get carried away. Especially here! With all the walking and the poofy dresses and the different people stuck here with me and how the music just.... Oh, the music is just perfect! Being able to play like this! To touch people's hearts like this! And you didn't... I thought..."

She smiled at him and bit her lip as a soft giggle bubbled up. "I'm doing it again, aren't I? Dad teases me something awful when I go off like that. He says--" her brow furrowed as her voice lowered to mimic a prepubescent lad's and adopted a thick Irish brogue to boot. "Little Lhiannan Shee, you're loike balancing a full bucket of water, you are. A paerson moight have de balance paerfect and be lucky wid a dribble, but if dey tip te bucket just a drop d'ere soaked!"

Kimi grinned and stuck out her hand, that same confounded hand. "Friends?"

 

[Adira]

Koero ploped her butt down next to Nimfa, careful not to spill any of the berries that were cradled in her dress. "Well that's good, at least you're getting used to your magic!" Koero said as cheerfully as she could. Koero felt the corners of her lips tug into a smile as she listened to Nimfa wish to never wake up as her breathing slowed into a slow steady breathing pattern. She looked up at the afternoon sun and felt her pale skin soak the suns rays up. She didn't know if she would burn or not, back home her skin fried into a red pepper that ached for days. She had closed her eyes and let her head roll back as she the sun fell over her.

She was content to stay that way until she heard groans coming from Nimfa and opened one of her pink eyes to look down at her. "You're probably right.. I just don't want to leave.. this is the most peaceful I've felt in years." She said calmly as she pushed herself up, watching a few berries fall into the sand under her. She noticed that the girl was covered in sand and only in her under garments. Koero looked away quickly as not to stare at her friend and invade her privacy. "Yeah I'll carry them." Koero said as she pulled out her spear and stabbed all four fish quickly and picked them up, a bit of blood rushed forth from the stab wounds and made Koero cringe. She everted her eyes quickly and began to follow the girl back to the first beach.

So much had happened in such a small period of time that Koero's head was actually spinning just thinking about the day's activities. She wondered what the others were like. Were they calm like Nimfa? Did they live in her city as well? What had they spent the day doing? Exploring like Nimfa and she had, or hunting, or maybe even practicing their powers. Perhaps. Koero pondered these thoughts as her head turned up to the sky and saw the two love birds flying in circles almost into the shining sun.

 

[upscalerat]

She was smiling- good. The sentiment was apparently contagious, as Bantay also smiled. And then she stepped towards him. Apparently he'd been very tense over the whole ordeal, as Bantay could feel his muscles relax and loosen as she did so. And then she called him Neil again; Neil. It sounded good, on such a musical voice, he reflected. Reflected again? He wasn't sure. Maybe. Probably. It was especially true if it was the second time he'd come to that realization.

Now, Kimi- Kyla- was doing an impersonation of her apparently irish father. "Little Lihiannan Shee, you're loike balancing a full bucket of water, you are. A paerson moight have de balance paerfect and be lucky wid a dribble, but if dey tip te bucket just a drop d'ere soaked!" He laughed at that. More of a chuckle in his throat, but Bantay closed his eyes and even threw his head back a little. "Friends?" she asked, and held out the hand that she'd been clutching to her chest since she'd run.

"Friends," Neil agreed, opening his eyes again and taking her hand. He shook it once. "No, no, not too much; it kind of-" would it be weird to say that it reminded him of Maddy?- "of someone I know," he went with. That was good enough. Moving on. "I take it by the impersonation that you've got some more direct, what, Irish? Scottish? In your heritage than a lot of Californians. What made- him? You guys?- come west? My geography isn't great, but I'm pretty sure those bits of Europe are closer to the east coast than the west."

 

[Lady Alainn]

Good, they had that friend business cleared up. And they'd shaken on it, which settled things. Bantay was officially stuck with her at least until the end of the dream, and if it wasn't a dream, maybe Neil would be stuck with Kyla as well. If he came to visit her. She hoped he would. The thought made her pulse flutter.

"Oi'm bote, actually," Kimi continued in her brogue to answer his questions as they worked their way uphill towards the Hall. "Fadder's born and weaned in Oireland. Moved to New York wid his parents as a babe." Then, just as easily as she'd slipped into the Irish, she switched to Scottish. "But me Mutherr is mixed brreed with firre in herr eyes an' frreckles on herr nose." The accent stopped there with a sheepish grin. "Her accent's a little harder to pick up on, just a few words here and there. They met at college in California and well, the rest is history as they say."

Kimi hummed a bit and stole a glance at Bantay. "You will come visit me tomorrow, won't you?" she asked randomly. "I'd... I'd like it a lot. I have lessons from 1:30 to 4:30 at St. John's Music, but I'm free the rest of the day. If you wanted, you could walk me home from work. Maybe meet my father. Then you could see where I get it all from." She laughed to hide the growing pink.

 

[Nay'ar]

Did he really not know what skinship meant? "I dunno... maybe as much as I do...?" she answered making clear she was referring to her origins. "But, yes, my green friend. I'll answer him" she said to the tree "Skinship is a... mmmh... chance to come in contact with another person you really want to be physically closer to... or something like that, I guess..." she stopped and looked at him approaching. What was that playful smile he was wearing...? Why...? Her confusion showed on her face as she tried hard to get his hidden agenda... because he certainly must have had one...

She stepped back as naturally as she could while keeping her gaze on him, a little smile on her face just to mantain the mood and then "Come on Kidlat! I'm the one who wouldn't know some words" she giggled covering her mouth with a finger and made another step back turning on her toes and reaching another tree, slowly walking with her hands behind her back. There, she touched the trunk with her head. The rough bark on her forehead. Her hands still behind her back. Thinking hard 'What does he really want? what, what, what, what? Think Ren, think!'. Then her pendant buzzed. A message... a saving boat... or so she hoped.

Tiwala took off the book with a merry smile on her lips while turning around to face him again "Who knows..." she said browsing her book.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

"I dunno... maybe as much as I do...?"

Ah, of course. Of course Tiwala would constantly feel on edge about proper English word use. Kidlat was in too good a mood to let his sudden, uncomfortable feeling of doubt show as more than a brief flicker across his face, but it was there. He really needed to pay more attention to what spilled out of his mouth with regards to language.

Fortunately it only lasted a second at most before Tiwala returned to jokes. Something about her talking to the tree amused him. She gave him a definition of "skinship," and his thoughts were confirmed...and for some reason, the confirmation caused a little spark to flare up inside him. "I knew it!" he declared, his grin widening. "I knew it was something racey, you naughty little lady! And to think..." ...To think what? He tapered off, taking a couple of slow seconds to slow his pace around the tree, to realize what he was saying...and feeling. His cheeks were warm. Why had this excited him so much? Why was his mind entertaining the notion that this was some sort of rule-less game of chase? He slowed to a stop as she backed away to a different tree. Why was his heart thumping so fast?

"Come on Kidlat! I'm the one who wouldn't know some words."

For half a minute there, he had felt playful, free of all thought of boundaries, spurred on by a peculiar passion. But now his brain was overworking itself again, resulting in a behavioral about-face. "R-right. Uh, sorry." He folded his arms behind his back and looked away from her. "It's inappropriate for me to be greedy about my word knowledge when you're the one who..." Ah, jeez, now he was just embarrassing himself even more. He felt shy. How bizarre! He never felt shy, or at least he hadn't thought he did. But he'd crossed some sort of invisible boundary just then, hadn't he? Even aside from that slip-up of a remark about vocabulary, he'd been acting strange. Forward. He wasn't sure what to think. Was it really just Tiwala who had riled him up like this? He didn't want to know what color his face was right now.

Bvvvv. Bvvvv.

That was his journal buzzing at him. Thank goodness, a distraction. He gratefully plucked the book from his neck and hid his face behind the messaging page. This would give him several seconds for the extra color in his cheeks to dissipate.

Koero and I are returning to the Hall. We have two birds, four fish, and several handfuls of berries. Anybody who will be there before us, prep the fire. And sanitize a knife.​

The message was from Nimfa. Kidlat's brows went up as he nodded in surprise and appreciation. That was a much better haul for lunch than he would have expected. "Sounds like the lunch search was lucrative," he muttered, half to Tiwala and half to himself, as he began to write a reply:

Tiwala and I are still here. We'll get a fire going, and our knives should both still be clean.​

The message was sent off as he signed it, and he clapped the book closed with an air of satisfaction. A smile was back on his face, but rather than being playful, it was more subdued, proud that the group was working together and making progress. This expedition in an unknown forest was going along swimmingly so far, and he did look forward to getting his stomach to shut up for a while. It had growled at him again. The noise was embarrassing.

Bvvvv. Bvvvv.

What? Bafflement showed on his face, and it took him another second to pull the book back out and flip to the messaging page again. A reply, so soon?

Your concern is appreciated.​

He pouted down at Ako's words. Even on paper they oozed sarcasm. Well, excuse me for making a considerate gesture. Jeez. He closed the book for good this time and hooked his thumbs on his belt. "Well, I guess we go get a fire going out front," he said, now speaking to Tiwala again. "Shall we?"

 

[upscalerat]

Bantay laughed again, harder than before. Apparently this new place made him giddy- or perhaps Kimi just put him into a really good mood. Either way, he enjoued the result, and enjoyed the impersonation of her parents that Kimi was giving. "Good for them. Gotta ask, though- is it just being in ESE that makes you sound so accentless? Or do you just not have one?"

"You will come visit me tomorrow, won't you?" she asked, and Bantay nodded before thinking. "I'd... I'd like it a lot. I have lessons from 1:30 to 4:30 at St. John's Music, but I'm free the rest of the day. If you wanted, you could walk me home from work. Maybe meet my father. Then you could see where I get it all from."

He grinned. "Perfect opportunity for me to find out. St. John's, where is that? I've never been musically talented myself, and my little brother and sister, they're not into it yet, though maybe I'll push them to be..." He cleared his throat. Now he was the one chattering on, Bantay thought. "But- yeah, I'd love to see you," he said, and smiled at her. Earnestly.

Seeing her tomorrow... Bantay had agreed on impulse, because oh did he want to meet the real Kimi, to make sure that there really was a Kyla- but Neil was now more considerate of his schedule. But 4:30 was late enough in the day that he could find something for Josh and Maddy. Wasn't it? He cuold drop them off at the library. Or the YMCA. Or- he racked his brain. Josh had an art class on Tuesdays, and Maddy had baseball, but neither did anything on Monday. A horrifying thought crossed his mind- their mother could pick up the kids, entertain them. But that idea was asinine; their mother wouldn't know what to do with them. Didn't matter. Neil could find something. Or, worse came to worst, he could always bring them with him.

 

[Lady Alainn]

"Yay!" Kimi skipped ahead a little bit, clapping her hands with glee, but the skipping didn't last for very long this time as going uphill made it more difficult. Her steps slowed and she turned around to walk backwards a little ways to wait for Bantay to catch up again.

"St. John's, it's the old Lutheran chapel downtown. The little one with the tall bell tower and they always had the huge nativity scene out front around Christmastime? You know it? Eddy bought it from the Luth's when they amalgamated with another church a couple years ago and turned it into a music studio. It's the neatest place!" Kimi paused and grinned. "It even had a ramp built-in already so I could still work there after all that... stuff... happened!"

Turning around to walk the right way, she was brought up short by a tree in her way. That was a close one! She skirted around the trunk and cast another little smile towards Bantay. But the lad was obviously thinking about something, rather earnestly, too, for Kimi could almost see the gears churning inside his head. What--? Right. He probably had two little ones he was thinking about.

"Your siblings... I'd love to meet them, too," she ventured. "If you didn't mind bringing them, that is. I love twins. They're so cute! And if you come a little before my lessons let out, Eddy'll have an instrument in their hands in no time!" She blushed. "And maybe one in yours, too," she added hastily before she lost the nerve.

Oh, if only Neil was musical! It would be so much easier to carry on a friendship outside of ESE. Kyla had pretty much confined herself to home, the studio, or the park. Biting her lip, she resolved she would make more of an effort to go places in future. After all, it wasn't like she was so much of an invalid that she couldn't be more adventurous. She just didn't have the motivation to want to be adventurous on her own when it meant possibly running-- er, rolling-- into stairs.

 

[Ray C]

Nimfa brushed the sand off as best she could before pulling on her dress. For a moment she considered using Wubber to clean it off, but trying to summon him again would probably knock her unconscious. She would have to make due with a little discomfort until they made it back to the bath house Tiwala had mentioned. Giving her hair one final shake to dislodge as much sand as she could, Nimfa smiled at Koero--a smile that spoke of contentment with life, or dream life as it were--and lifted her trident. It would serve as her walking stick for the descent.

Their pace was slow moving down the mountain. Though she was gradually improving, Nimfa was still too tired to walk quickly. Meanwhile, Koero was working on a balancing act with their provisions. Two hands wasn't adequate for all that, so Nimfa offered to help. "Can I carry the spear?" That would mean both her hands were filled, but Koero would be free to worry only about the berries in her skirts. It was a hassle not having some way to carry all of this; next time she went fishing, Nimfa would have to remember a bag or satchel or something.

 

[Nay'ar]

'Great... they're coming back...' again sarcasm spilled in her mind. She looked at the message and nodded at Kidlat "And it seems you'll have a lot to eat, provided no one burns the food... or you can have sushi!" she laughed a bit flanking the guy "Then again... trout sushi can't be eaten... Oh, and Kidlat..." she said giggling and getting hesitantly a lock of his hair behind his ear (they were getting dry in a weird way... it was almost hilarious) "Don't worry, I'm not that touchy you know?" and continued giggling "I mean... about the languages. Truth be told... the others don't really need to know either" she concluded putting another one of his loks back in position frowning "Are they this rebellious in real life? How can you keep them? They're drying as they want!" 'Just as...' 'Don't say it'.

She backed down and started walking backward toward the Guild so that she could face him 'Shall we...? We can shall alone' "Sooo" she started after a minute of silence during which she looked at the gem on her wrist "I think I know how to start a fire, the real question is... where do we find dry wood and leaves in spring?" she remembered having seen somewhere how to light a fire with a prism... and her gems could be just the prism she needed, but how to start it without dry materials? 'I need some fire too... and being friendly is always the best choice, you can do whatever you want while the others eat.' she nodded and turned on her toes again to give him her back, skipping lightly and humming something randomly. 'And there's always that thing Kimi sent...' "Ooooh..." she said stopping suddently, raising a finger before browsing her Journal "And I didn't get Kimi message... will you please...?" she said, turning for the third time and showing him the message.

 

[upscalerat]

Smiling, Bantay noticed that Kimi had skipped then returned back down for him. He took strides as long as he could to try and reduce how much backtracking she had to do- but wasn't it sweet that she was willing to do that? Neil usually saw people at school wait for friends, but it was rare for him to see someone actually go back for their friends. Perhaps that was different for new friends.

"St. John's, it's the old Lutheran chapel downtown. The little one that always had the huge nativity scene outside around Christmastime and the tall bell tower? You know it? Eddy bought it from the Luth's when they amalgamated with another church about three years back and turned it into a music studio. It's the neatest place!" she informed him, and grinned. A Lutheran chapel, downtown? He could vaguely recall there being something of the sort, but that wasn't an area that he visited a whole lot. "It even had a ramp already for me when all that... that stuff happened!"

"I think I know where that is," he said. Bantay didn't address that addendum. It wasn't something he was really comfortable addressing- it may have been something that happened to Kyla, but it definitely made the young man feel a bit awkward. He wasn't sure if he could really say anything without becoming another fountain of pity, and he decided the best tactic was to just avoid the subject entirely.

"Your siblings... I'd love to meet them, too. If you didn't mind bringing them, that is. I love twins. They're so cute! And if you come a little before my lessons let out, Eddy'll have an instrument in their hands in no time! And maybe one in yours, too," Kimi added. Ah- she must have read his mind. It certainly took a load off of Neil's shoulders, at any rates. Much as Neil would have liked to gotten to known Kyla without Hosh and Maddy running around, at least at first, the teenager was thankful for the protection that they offered. Nine year olds prevented those in the older crowd from getting too weird most of the time, and if this wasn't that instance, Neil could take them and leave.

He jumped up a few stones, and grinned at her. "4:30, you said? I can have them and be there by then, but I think your man will have more trouble getting them to sit still long enough to get them to play anything," he differed, and felt that buzz on his neck again. This time, however, he ignored it; they were already on their way back. Anyways, they could check it when they were back on the top of the hill. Somehow, Bantay suspected that reading while walking up a hill as treacherous as this wouldn't end well.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat chuckled as Tiwala said something about sushi. He did like sushi, but raw slabs of fish without any rice or other garnishes weren't something he wanted to try in the middle of the wilderness. Mm, she sounded like she was still in a pretty good mood. She stepped toward him and...

Was she playing with his hair? He felt stunned warmth bloom in his chest again at her proximity. Girl. Pretty girl he'd only known for a few hours. Playing with his hair. He could tell he was still blushing, but he bit his lower lip for a moment as he tried his hardest to fight the arresting feeling away. It would do him no good to keep being so shocked. This was what Tiwala did. She got close, because she didn't care. And who was he not to enjoy such pleasing attention? It took several seconds, but he smiled, and the smile looked just a little bit smug. Yeah...I could get used to this, he thought. I could get used to Tiwala. It was admittedly comforting to know that she wasn't too sensitive about English being her second language, actually. That was one less thing for Kidlat to worry about. He nodded in understanding when she requested he not go spilling that she was Japanese to the others. And one last comment about his hair caused him to laugh, and this time it was stronger than a chuckle. It was a rather happy laugh, in fact. Maybe it was because he could still feel that giddy warmth in his cheeks. "Well, I usually have a brush and a hair dryer on hand!" he said. "You'd be amazed what you can do. I don't use gel or anything, I'm not that vain." He did know full well he was at least a little bit vain, at least in that he was rather attached to the way he wore his hair, but no, he didn't use any products in his hair save for standard shampoo and conditioner. He normally didn't tuck it behind his ears the way Tiwala was intent on doing, either. He wondered how it would look. The action was cute at least...

They were on their way back to the clearing in front of the hall. After a minute, his partner raised a very good point about firewood, causing his mood to turn serious once again. "That's a really good question," he muttered, looking around. "Well, that doesn't apply as much to evergreen trees, right? They don't follow the seasons, they just drop stuff whenever." Not that pine needles would last very long as fuel for a fire, but he wasn't ready to give up. Surely there had to be some dead pine branches lying around if they looked hard enough. "If the wood's too damp we could leave it here in the sun for a while..." He indicated the clearing, which was still receiving a good bit of sunlight.

Just then, though, Tiwala remembered the message she'd been about to ask Kidlat about earlier, before she'd taken that tumble out of the tree. "Oh, of course," he said. He trotted over to her and looked over her shoulder at the message.

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. ​

Brakes? He pondered this for a couple of seconds, soon coming up with a mental image of Kimi moving like a runaway truck, which presumably would only happen if she were tripping and tumbling town a hill. He snickered at the thought. "I think it means she took a little spill," he said. "We are on a mountain, after all. If the tree's horizontal, she'd be able to grab it." He demonstrated the theory by holding one arm out in front of him and latching onto the middle of his arm with the opposite hand.

 

[Nay'ar]

She listened to his explanation and read the message again, then frowned "How did you even get it...? No... wait... I don't want to know" she said smiling. So they were the same height... and if he was under 18... well maybe 'And why do you care?' right... why did she care? 'Knowledge is power' she said to herself glancing him with her side vision. How green could his eyes be? Ok he was a 'fictional' (?) character of his mind... and he was probably pretty different in the real world, after all, she had short curly light brown hair and here she had long black straight ones... it made sense... still she liked that shade. Then again she didn't really make a secret of liking strange eye colors... at least in real life... Would there be that crow in the morning? Would her dad be home? Would her feeling of emptyness still be there, in her room, next to her bow and violin? Would she ever be able to "...change...?" she said in a low voice without noticing. Her smile turning sad once again. 'Since when am I so utterly inconstant? Decide! You can be gloomy or you can be cheerfull but don't bother other people with your problems'.

He was still there, hanging a hand on his arm to explain her Kimi's message and she found herself chuckling, not an heartfelt one, but at least it was a chuckle... better than nothing. Tiwala closed her Journal "Poor Kimi... It must have been scary..." she said as it resized and went back on her neck. "We need wood... let's search for it... I'll go back at the Guild, maybe there was already some in stock, one can never know... you go search for some, just in case". That was a great plan. She could be alone for a bit, settle down her emotions and go back to her facade with ease, without strange guys disrupting everything every three minutes.

Then it occurred to her: she was still under surveillance... she wasn't free to do what she wanted, nor was she free to act or suggest anything 'It seems the story of my life...' "I swear I won't do anything bad, nor will I try to escape." she said in a whimper 'For how much I'd want to' she added in her mind. Being alone brought nothing but good. No one could betray you and if you ever end up hurt it's due to your stupidity or lack in ability and not for the one of someone else.

"I promise. If I find some wood I'll text you." She said just before running back to the Guild.

 

[Lady Alainn]

"4:30, you said? I can have them and be there by then, but I think your man will have more trouble getting them to sit still long enough to get them to play anything,"

Kimi giggled and pursed her lips together in a mischievous look, glancing side-long at Bantay. "We'll see about that." Her hands returned to their habitual spot, clasped loosely behind her back, and her bouncing stride slowed down to a comfortable walking pace to keep her abreast with Bantay. A deep feeling of contentment washed over her as a companionable silence lingered between them. So much had been accomplished in such a short time! She'd made a new friend, they'd explored down to the coast, Kimi had discovered pockets in her skirt, and tomorrow at 4:30 she'd find out if this strange place called ESE actually existed or not. They hadn't exactly been picking on trees, which was part of the original agenda, but that could be accomplished on the way back or after lunch.

Lunch... that reminded Kimi of something. Her stomach let out a little growl as if to confirm that she had indeed forgotten something. But what? She furrowed her brow as she thought back over recent events, a subtle blush pinking her cheeks again as she skimmed past the brush with Bantay by the shore. Something buzzed on her neck. Another message? Suddenly light bulbs started turning on in Kimi's head. Right! They'd gotten messages before asking about lunch. Something about... Nuts and berries! Kimi halted and examined the surrounding trees and bushes. She stooped over one bush in particular which showcased large, brown nuts.

Tilting her head just enough to catch Bantay in the corner of her eye, she inquired, "Are these edible, do you think?"

 

[Enigs]

Chris was growing increasingly concerned. Looking around another time more out of hope than expectation of spotting a familiar landmark Chris resigned himself to the fact that he was lost. Eating his last berry he looked for a good climbable tree, walking only a little ways further before he spotted one that was fairly tall and had a large number of thick grouped branches. He put down his staff and the bird cage after looking over the cage worryingly, it was not holding together exceptionally well. Perhaps he should figure out some kind of binding agent should he have occasion to make a similar cage again, either way as it was now he could hold it together with stop-gap magic long enough to get back to the guild if no longer. His fears somewhat assuaged he began climbing the tree working carefully. When he was near to getting as high as he was going to, the scarcity of branches in the upper levels becoming an increasingly severe problem, His book buzzed once more on his necklace. Ignoring it for the moment Chris completed his climb and looked out over the landscape. He pulled out his book and ignored the message going immediately to his items pulling out what was necessary at this instant, a crude pair of binoculars. Chris examined them disgustedly for a moment. Made of beaten metal and with lenses that were far from identical, and he had no doubt far from optimal. If this was an indicator of the level of technology found here then he would have some serious work to do.

Using the binoculars nonetheless Chris scanned the forest more slowly and spotted the Guild Hall. A quick check of the sun position and some figuring and Chris realized that it was to the east, He had over compensated to the west and over-shot it. Putting away the binoculars and looking in the direction of the Guild Hall once more to cement its relative position in his mind he began climbing down the tree. Reaching the bottom he brushed himself off quickly, more because it seemed appropriate after getting a hard job done than because of clinging filth, and checked on his message in the journal.

Koero and I are returning to the Hall. We have two birds, four fish, and several handfuls of berries. Anybody who will be there before us, prep the fire. And sanitize a knife.

Chris felt a quick sharp pain in his chest. They had specimens. Chris put the book away sharply, somewhat angrily. As he resumed his journey, picking up the birdcage and walking staff as he drew nearer to them. His mind worked quickly as he rejected scenarios for examining the catch they had collected. Unfortunately there was no way around it, he did not know Nimfa well enough to make a reasonable request to examine their specimens. That would also mean he would likely have to ask everyone else to wait to begin cooking them as well, a prospect none would be particularly thrilled about if they were as hungry as he was. Thinking on his stomach caused it to resume its complaints about the current treatment it was getting, putting Chris in an even fouler mood. Their specimens were probably mangled by inexpert handling anyways he consoled himself. Besides he realized, he may just have his hands full keeping the others from his own catch. Chris walked as fast as possible towards the Guild Hall. There was too much to do and not enough daylight to do it all in.

 

[upscalerat]

Evidently, Kimi must have gotten the message, too, for she had picked up some nuts. "Are these edible, do you think?" she asked. Bantay leaned close and inspected them, but neither Neil nor Bantay had the skill to distinguish what was edible more than once or not.

He shrugged. "Let's take them, maybe someone else picked a skill that's good for figuring that out," he suggested. "I think it'll be easiest if we store them in our journals..." The nuts had reminded Bantay of why they were heading back to the guild. Food. They had been tasked with finding some, hadn't they? "Hey, I don't know how you feel about eating animals, but do you think..." This was probably risky, not knowing what her view on consuming the small and likely cute animals they would find nearby. Oh well. He plunged on, more or less in one breath.

"Your music can do lots of things, do you think it could lure out whatever animals are nearby? With all of these trees, there's gotta be some squirrels, or something squirrel-like around here, and I don't think I could catch one on my own, but if we worked together we could bring back something we know isn't poisonous," he exhaled, and breathed in. "That is. If you're comfortable, using your powers like that," he added, worried that he might have offended Kimi. She was really sweet, and he didn't know how she would take to that idea. Maddy wouldn't eat meat for a month when she learned about the consciousness of animals, but eventually gave that up when pizza and broccili just weren't cutting it any more.

 

[Lady Alainn]

Kimi's large eyes grew wider and wider the longer Bantay talked. "That's-- that's a really good idea," she said, almost surprised. The thought hadn't even occurred to her. "I wonder if my music works on animals. It should, right? Since it presumably works on darkness beasts?" Pulling out her journal to access her selection of wind instruments, she flicked through the icons until a clarinet appeared. If she was going to go out on a limb here, she'd prefer to do it with her specialty. Also, she was quite curious if her proficiency on the instrument had carried over from Earth. She hoped so. A big part of her reeeeally wanted to show off. But then... petticoats caught her eye. Yes! Bantay could use the petticoats to trap the animals! Kimi reached in, pulled out two petticoats, and handed them to Bantay with a grin.

"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!"

Kimi proceeded to extract the worst wooden clarinet she had ever seen. A small frown pulled at her lips. It was ugly. Hideous. The big blue bow wrapped around the neck made it even more so. She sniffed it. Was that... fir? How did that even.... Shaking her head, Kimi decided to forgo the how's and stick with the doing. If she could make sound come out of that flute earlier, she could make a sound out of this... wooden tube. She licked the reed to wet it and positioned her fingers over the keys. Oh right, the non-musician would have no idea how ridiculous this was. Casting a quick glance in Bantay's direction, she offered him a little apologetic grin. "This is the lousiest clarinet I've ever seen. You might want to plug your ears."

Taking a deep breath, she slipped the mouthpiece between her lips and blew. It didn't sound half-bad! That is to say, it sounded a million times worse than her beautiful African blackwood clarinet back home but better than a plastic clarinet with a plastic reed played by a tone-deaf beginner. Barely. Gaining confidence, Kimi ran her fingers fluidly over the keys and holes. It seemed she retained her dexterity. She ran a chromatic scale. Yup, she could play all the notes, too! But it still sounded pathetic. Maybe she could level it up really quick? Turning her back to Bantay, she ran her fingers over Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Nothing happened, though her ears were ringing with displeasure. What a cacophony! Next she tried out the theme from Jaws. If her tone was going to butcher her ears, she figured she might as well. When she finished that horrendous piece, her clarinet began glowing and vibrated on its own accord. As the shimmers faded, a better looking pear wood clarinet sat in her hands. She played a scale. Much better!

"Ok, now I'm ready to play the Pied Piper. Let's catch some lunch, shall we?"

Without waiting for a reply from Bantay, Kimi began focusing on a scene. It was a lot more difficult this time, as she didn't have a specific target in mind. Snow White could gather forest critters just by singing. Snow White... that was good. Kimi closed her eyes and drew on that picture, the scampering squirrels and twittering birds, a bunny rabbit or two, the deer, the foxes, and then brought her mouthpiece to her lips again. Carnival of Venice sprang from her nimble fingers as all else faded from her thoughts. Skittering squirrels, scampering rabbits, squeaking mice. Her fingers flew faster on the keys. She pulled that scene from Snow White into the foreground of her thoughts, careful to picture only ugly, cranky adults answering her call. Shimmy down from the trees! Bound right on over. Come to me, come to me. She painted the clouds in her vision into petticoat shapes. Fluffy little clouds, no need to be shy.

In the underbrush around them, creatures started popping their heads up.