The shadows that protected Aiden from being seen by Miyabi fell away, revealing her to the frantic friend. The Bijou looked to Miyabi and before he could speak he was frozen solid as if put under the spell of a medusa. "My children.. my children..." the creatured paced about, mumbling those same two words and over to himself before he was finally ready to pull his hair from his scalp and he stopped, his entire body stiffened as he stared to her, ruby eyes piercing into hers and looking into what troubles she had seen. He raised one hand, a long jeweled finger pointing towards Miyabi. "You might pretend to be a demon, girl.. but your human side will still give into temptation. In your most desperate of times you will sell my children off... so as a trade." The Bijou smirked. "I will care for your precious demon friend.. until you can prove to me that my children will be safe in your greedy hands." Miyabi's body moved with a will not his own... mesmerized by the Bijou's spells, the shadows that had trapped Aiden once before now carrying Miyabi to rest beside the Bijou. His eyes were glazed though sad, pleading for a release from the spell. The bijou moved, taking one of the many gems from the wall and placing it into Aiden's hands. The Gem was small and green in color though inside something resembling that of a fire stirred. "Bring this child to birth... and you can have your friend back." Miyabi sat beside the Bijou like a loyal dog, tranced by the creatures powers. The bijou knew he couldn't have taken Aiden... Miyabi was an easy target though. He was smart and knew his own bargain couldn't be ignored. "A Bijou's egg needs more care than any mortal can give it... this one is my child, my own personal child..." He said as he stared at the gem in Aiden's hands. "...The only one I was able to bare in my life time..."

She looked at Miyabi as she was happy to see him but hurt to see him be pulled into the Bijou's grasp. She wanted to reach out for him but knew better. The Bijou gave her the gem and she looked at it for a few moments. She knew this was an obligation that she could not turn away, this may be their only chance to get out of this cave without a fight. She just wish she didn't have to take this task on alone. It was strange to her that before she could do a task like this an feel no need for a partner to help, but since she met Miyabi there was little she wanted to do without him by her side. Looking up from the gem she wondered how to make it hatch. Did she need to feed it something? Keep it in the dark? Sit on it like some sort of chicken? Plus the question of how long did it take to hatch, she didn't want to be wasting time trying to hatch something if it was going to take months. There was only one way to find out her question.

"Please instruct me, how should I handle it? What do I do to make it hatch? Does it eat? If so, what? Do I need to take it anywhere specific? More importantly, how long does it take to hatch?"

She felt like a book of questions but she had to make sure this child of his wouldn't die. At this point she wasn't sure if the Bijou was playing with her or truly asking her a favor.

The creature laid his hand over the precious jewel of an egg that she kept in her clutches, wishing himself that he could make it hatch.. but only a womans love could do such a thing. "You must nurture it... and keep it on you at all times, the children in these eggs are ready to be free'd but there is no woman here to give them life. You have to love it as one of your own children, give it the warmth that the egg of a chicken or goose might lay." He removed his hand from the egg, turning towards Miyabi. The red haired shifter was brought into the Bijou's arms. "Please... give that child a life... give that child a life and return him to me... that is the only child not afflicted by this curse, the only one born after it was implimented... that child will be able to step into the light and the dark... they will be able to grow up and avenge our race... only that child can save us from complete damnation..." The bijou clutched Miyabi to his chest, holding him like a weeping child his back to Aiden. "Carry it into the light... give it warmth and love, and tell it the worlds stories... give it the love that humans can not." This was his only chance to put his trust in someone... to bring out the savior that would restore his race. Inside that egg lay a very small... but very loved child. The only female of the entire race that survived without the curse and the only one that could carry them on to the future.

She held the egg close to her heart already letting it feel her heart beat through its gem shell. She tried to think courageously about being able to hatch this child of his. If she wasn't successful, Miyabi was done, because of her. She didn't want that to happen, he had too great of a future ahead of him to be stopped now, and this was after all her fault. This being her fault it was her responsibility to restore it. She felt the warm gem upon her breast and knew that this was a great opportunity. By doing this she was restoring a great and proud race that was almost killed off by the useless humans. Aiden's eyes stared at Miyabi feeling sorry she put him in this situation.

"Don't worry Miyabi, I won't let anything happen to you or this egg."

Her eyes shifted back to the Bijou.

"I promise I will hatch this egg and bring back a happy child back to your arms. Please, tell me though before I go further, how long will it take for this egg to hatch? How will I know if I have failed?"

The Bijou looked over his shoulder to her, Miyabi's eyes glistening as they gazed at her. "You will have failed if you can find your way to the mouth of this cave by the end of the day... this child can only be born in the rays of sunshine if she is born in the darkness... she will die. Her heart is not meants to be tainted by the dark. Bring her to the light before the sun disappears and she will be born." The Bijou continued to clutch onto Miyabi, though something about Miyabi's eyes changed as the Bijou spoke and a soft smile came over Miyabi's lips as a reassuring smile to her. 'Don't worry... I am here for you ... Miyabi's thoughts rang clear into Aiden's head. "I will take over his thoughts... but please hurry... his spells grip is not easy to break... but I can combat it with my own... " The Bijou had no idea that Miyabi was capable of communicating with Aiden, nor did he know that Miyabi had made a connection with Aiden that allowed him to do so. "Hurry, the longer you wait the less time that egg has... Hurry before we are all dead." The Bijou spoke with a sense of cruelty to his voice... but it wasn't like him. A long time ago he had been a kind man... nothing special to the Bijou race but he had once had an adoring wife... his closest friend and lover. She had gone mad though... after the birth of their child. The spell taking hold of her and destroying her from the inside out... it was a curse only himself and the eggs endured any longer and he was not positive he wished to endure much longer.. if she failed him... he would have no reason to keep living. Miyabi knew this.. but he did not wish it to happen.

Aiden looked down at the egg one more time before holding it to her chest once more as she turned and headed quickly in the other direction. She really didn't know how hard it would be to find the exit of the cave or if there was many turns and forks that lead to dead ends. Even more troublesome, she didn't know how long before sun down. They had just gotten there around noon and it had only been an hour or so that they had been there trapped in the Bijou's grasp. But still she had to work quickly. Almost as soon as she thought of the possible multiple paths she came to a fork in the road. It was either left or right, without really thinking she took the right path and continued on walking quickly so she would not fall but also not waste time. After about ten minutes of wondering down that path she saw there was a dead end there where she was.

"Ugh! Darn it!"

Aiden kicked the wall and then turned to head back and find the other path. She felt time slipping away from her as she tried to hurry almost tripping a couple of times. She was able to catch herself from falling by grabbing onto the walls. Once she was back at square one she took the path to the left this time. In her heart she hopped and wished that there were no more forks or dead ends. Much to her luck there were. She came upon another split path but this time, it was a three way path. She looked at each path and sighed in frustration. She didn't have time for this, she probably already wasted an hour and who knew how many more hours she had before the sun was going to set. Aiden sat down against the wall and sighed once more. She closed her eyes and began to think to herself as to how to find the way out. Suddenly there was a small sweep of air that ran over her face, and she knew exactly what she needed to do. She opened her eyes and stood to her feet. She went and stood in each tunnel and closed her eyes. She waited for some air flow to sweep over her in each tunnel, because where ever there is an exit, there is air flow. After standing in each tunnel for a few minutes she found that the tunnel to the farthest left was the only one with a current of air streaming from it. Aiden knew this would make her journey much easier on her. Quickly she hurried along until she could see a dim light, it was the end of the tunnel! A smile came upon her face as she rushed to the exit. Right before she could make it to the last 40 feet of the cave she felt her foot slide into a little groove in the floor. After her foot got stuck in the groove there was a rumble and rocks from both sides of the wall began to cave in blocking the exit. Aiden's eyes widened as she knelt down and protected her head from being crushed by any fallen rock. When the earth stopped rumbling she looked up to see the exit was completely blocked off and as she saw the sun before the slide, the sky was starting to turn to evening.

"No!"

Aiden ran to the rocks and began to dig. There were smaller rocks that she was able to move easily then bigger rocks that took forever to move out of the way. There were even some rocks that wouldn't move at all. Aiden worked at the rocks and held the egg with one hand close to her heart. Tears began to swell in her eyes as she attempted to move the rocks out of the way. Her guess for the rock slide was a trap to trap humans in the cave if they tried to escape. The Bijou did not mention anything of it and there was no time to curse him for not doing so. As Aiden worked away at the rock she cracked open a small opening as a beam of light shown in. Excitedly she tore at the rocks and dirt until she could look out. The sun was just touching the horizon, and she knew that she could not dig enough to crawl through before the sun set. Instead she took the egg and held it through the opening and let the sun's beams shine in on the little gem. The gem shone in the light and began to rack. Through a little opening Aiden watched the gem crack open slowly. Her heart raced as she watched the sight. After a few minutes of cracking open a gooey liquid started to seep from the cracks. Then with the gem falling apart the baby girl uncurled herself. She didn't make much noises except for a few baby grunts, but she looked like a small human baby. A smile came to Aiden's face as she watched the child squirm in her palm. Aiden was afraid of bringing her back into the darkness straight away so she tore at a few more rocks and reached through removing the shell. Pulling her empty hand back through she tore a clean part of her clothing and dried the baby off and then took another piece of cloth and wrapped the baby in it. She let the child sun bathe until the sun had almost completely set. Once she felt it was appropriate she pulled the tiny child back through and held her close to her heart with one hand and started to walk back to Miyabi and the Bijou. She walked back casually as she felt nothing to fear now. Miyabi could go free and the Bijou could once more enter into the light.

The bijou had very little confidence that Aiden would be able to get the egg into the light, even as he held the frail shifter in his arms, guarding him from the cursed spirits of the deceased Bijou kin. "It has been quite some time my friend... I believe she~..." the bijou's sentence was cut short as he saw Aiden come around the corner, holding the small bundle of a child in her arms he ran to her, taking the child into his arms and cradling it against his chest. "Zizi kom lelute... Zizi kom lelute!" he exclaimed, it's meaning shrouded in the mysterious language of the ancients that only miyabi could translate. The Bijou held the child over him with a great smile, the little girls hair was as golden and blond as the sun, her eyes as bright and yellow as fields of wheat. Miyabi's eyes opened wide as he felt the spell of the bijou being lifted from him and he ran to Aiden, grabbing onto her as he felt incredibly indebted to her. "You did it... You really did it!" He spun around looking to the new father and his child as she squeeked and squirmed in his arms. He approached the two travelers with a smile, cuddling his dear new-born daughter. He placed the small child to the ground, looking to his own flesh he pulled out one of the saphires that were embeded in his flesh placing the gem into the babies hands. A thick and golden blood oozed from the wound and he winced from the pain of removing his own gemstones. The young babe held onto the gem admiring it so as it begun to glow, sinking into her own skin to become a part of her. Moments after her small body began to radiate a great light as she seemed to grow with amazing speed. Her small and frail legs becoming the slender and delicate legs of a woman, her hair growing down to the dent of her back as she became that of a full and beautiful woman. She stood from the ground, staring to Miyabi and Aiden with a gentle smile... "Thank you, was it not for you... My people would be lost... I will guide them from here.. safely into the light where... we may once again grow into a powerful race." Her voice was that of a sweet bell that chimmed of the harp. Miyabi was sticken by the dane that had become of the fresh born babe, unable to believe that such a small child could grow so quickly into such a golden woman. The father approached both of them, gripping his daughters delicate hand in his own. "If you dare to continue, the fastest route of passage is through the west most tunnel... from there... that will lead you into the deep valley where you will find what you seek. But be careful... as word of the creatures has grown vile... and they grow angry with each day that passes... be careful our saviors. Your story will continue for years on the lips of our people..."

With the Bijou's final words of their story living on in their Race's history, a small smile formed on Aiden's face. The fact that she was able to undo the damage that the humans did made her feel very accomplished even though their journey had only began. She knew, she could not save every race, but in some situations such as the one with the Bijou, she knew she could help. From the beginning Aiden knew that the Bijou couldn't have been as horrid as they played themselves off to be. It would have been a shame to let such a beautiful race rot to nothing mentally and physically. Aiden knew that the Bijou race would blossom from its thorn patch into a beautiful rose like they once were, their dark cold winter was over and their summer was just beginning.

They took the Bijou's advice and went on their way. The image of the baby and the woman lingered in her head. It was amazing to her to see this little child hatch from her egg and then become grown enough to start making her own children. It was a very strange sight indeed. Aiden's eyes scanned up to look at Miyabi who was walking beside her. Her mind wondered as she remembered how he exclaimed happily that she had saved the Bijous. Suddenly she felt her cheeks grow warm and she turned her head away quickly. Was she blushing? It felt awkward to her and she only recalled that feeling only a few times in her life, especially when she was younger and it was only that one boy that could make her cheeks grow warm like that. Aiden began to wonder what was wrong with her? She tried to shake off the feeling and tried to convince herself that she was probably just getting cold. She lifted her hood up over her head and continued to walk beside Miyabi without looking up at him, afraid the warmth would come back to her cheeks.

"So where to now?"

As they left the beautiful golden woman to lead what remained of her people and carry the delicate eggs into the sunlight... Miyabi had a strange feeling. Not from the cave, or the events that they had over come but something was twiddling with the bond he had made between Aiden and himself. It was a warm and comforting feeling, yet also a very curious feeling that he was receiving from her end of the bond. He didn't understand this feeling at all, it wasn't something he'd ever felt before in all of his years of being alive. Miyabi lead her carefully through the dark tunnels of the cave, looking to her as they walked. "...Though the beast... wasn't as I had expected he was still very dangerous. I am glad though... that you were able to bring that egg into the light and let that woman be born. I remember... the race of Bijou from very long ago... they were a very beautiful people. Guai Keungs architects they were called... as they sculpted the earth into something gorgeous. From waterfalls to clouds.. it is all their doing, their creation..." He moved around a large boulder, helping her to traverse the rocky terain as he spied a glint of light coming from the end of their tunnel. "It was when the human discovered greed... that the Bijou... seemed to disappear over night." He shielded his eyes a moment, opening them only to be taken back in disgust. They emerged from the cave into a forest, or what remained of it... as all that was left standing was the charred black trees and singed bodies of creatures and animals that could not escape. "...W-what .... is this?!" He let go of Aiden's hand, running out into the burnt up woodland and falling to his knees beside the corpse of a nymph. He placed his hand to the cold and burned body looking for any sign that it still had life but there was nothing. "Even... the nymphs are dying in this land... and they change and thrive to any condition..." He picked up the small burned body of the woodland nymph placing the corpse against a burned up tree where a few small flames still lapped at the top most branches before they fizzled out. "...This one... was still so young. No older than a few thousand years...a baby of it's kind.." He looked around him seeing more than just the nymphs body... as there were parts of creatures and their corpses all about the incinerated forest. "...This isn't a valley, this is a burial plot... a mass grave..." He spun around several times, seeing the tortured faces of the creatures who did not even have a moment to react. Something had struck fast... and was going to leave no one alive. "Is this what the world has come to?... What kind of power... could do this..." He looked to Aiden, feeling helpless in the wake of all of this death. he peered deeper and deeper into the forest, the thick stentch of death and the sight of burning and flames going on for miles down the mountain side. "This... is not a humans doing... there is no human that posesses this kind of strength, this kind of magic..."

Her eyes narrowed at the horrible sight that was before them, everything burned to a cinder. Some things were a bit too much for her to look at so she tried to just look at the burnt vegetation. She knelt down and took some ash into her hand and rubbed it between her fingers. The soft flakes crushed to nothing and stuck to her finger tips. Aiden pat her hand against her thigh rubbing the gray substance off her hands. Standing back up she cleared her throat.

"What do you think may have caused this much damage?"

At this time she didn't feel as much hatred toward humans, times like this it just made humans look ignorant and some demons look evil. Because what ever did all this had a purpose compared to humans who just did what they could to fill their needs. If they needed the land they would have cleared it out and not left anything behind. For someone to leave the forest in the shape it was, this had to be a warning or a threat. In deed Aiden felt threatened, but it made her want to strike at who ever did this. Her blood rushed through her veins in bitter anger and her jaw tightened. She herself could no determine what exactly could have destroyed the forest so she looked to Miyabi for an answer.

"Could it have been some sort of wizard?"

She spoke out not even truly sure if wizards really existed. It was highly possible but she had never met one in all the years that she had traveled the lands.

Suddenly there was a gust of wind the swept over the forest sweeping ash into the air. Aiden coughed a couple times before putting her hand over her nose and mouth. She reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of cloths and placed one over her mouth and handed the other to Miyabi.

"We better keep these over our mouths or else we might inhale too much ash. Can't risk taking in these toxins, not good for the lungs."

At this rate, after being in the musky old cave and now entering into a forest full of contaminated air, Aiden couldn't wait to be in an area where there was fresh water and clean air.

Miyabi held the cloth over his nose and mouth, as he proceeded deeper into the burn woods, the trees creaking and crying for someone to take away their pain. Miyabi didn't know how to mend the wounds that had been inflicted to this woodland. "This was no wizard... it was perhaps the same type of magic that one might use. But ... a wizards magic always has a point of start... normally where he is standing. This area... has no starting point... it's like... it just all went up at once all at the same time.. as if this is the starting point for something." He emerged through the broken and burned forest, starring out into the valley which was as green and beautiful as he could ever remember it being. Yet behind him stood the remnants of the burned out forest and cursed cave... what kind of magic was keeping the darkness that seeped from this burned woodland and tormented cave from seeping into the valley. "This, hasn't changed at all..." He removed the cloth from over his face and gave a smile of relief. "This journey is far from over, but it is turning out better than I could imagine... We have much to find though... I want to know what kind of creature, what kind of magic could have destroyed these woods, and ruined the lives of all of these creatures." He knelt down feeling the soft grass between his fingers, seeing how half of one blade was burned and the other half not... it was as if the fire had been encased into a dome and extinguished before spreading further. "There is definantly a strong presence of magic though... something very, very powerful." He turned towards Aiden with a bit of concern. "This valley is the only remaining place where humans and creatures can live in peace together... something is disrupting that though... something is trying to undo everything that has been done here. It is the creature that keeps the peace here... that I need the form of... he must be the one that stopped this fire from continuing into the valley the one that makes these binds of rest keep tight... we have to find this creature... though he can be anywhere in the valley..." unfortunately the valley was very large, and there were many places to search. Ontop of that.. it was already dark out and the stars were shinning with the dimmest of lights this night.

Aiden moved closer to Miyabi not sure herself what was lurking around. Something about the area they were in didn't feel right, and this time she wasn't going to leave Miyabi alone. She wanted to get a little bit of distance between them and the cindered area so they could rest for the night. In the morning they could come back and try to figure out what was going on with the forest, but right now, they needed fresh air and water. Aiden could feel Shinta restlessly moving around in her blouse and knew he wanted her to settle down for the night so he could rest peacefully.

"Lets... Try to find a place to rest for tonight..."

She grabbed a hold of his hand and gently tugged him along away from the burnt forest. She stopped at a little stream that seemed clean enough to drink from, which surprised her since they weren't too far from the burnt forest, just out of sight. She knelt down and placed her hand into the water and felt the cool streams work their way around her hand. She took in a deep breath letting the cool fresh air sink into her lungs. She coughed softly as she still had a little bit of ash floating around in her air system. Covering her mouth while coughing she took her other hand and scooped up some water and let it drizzle into her mouth. The second time she used both hands and sipped the cool crisp water. She sat back and sighed softly looking up at the stars.

"Do you think this will be an ok place to stop for the night?"

Miyabi dipped his hand into the stream before without a thought of wether it might be offensive to her if he removed his clothing as he stripped off his jacket, reaching into the water once more and dribbling the cool liquid over himself. He always had a deep love for a good cold back it was refreshing to his skin and when he felt it run over him and he felt himself want to float away in it's waves. He removed the rest of his clothing as he crawled into the gentle and cool stream, small fish swimming past his feet and under his arched knees and he smiled as they let him graze his hands over their backs. They were brightly colored golden fish with long whiskers; whiskers that were longer than their own bodies. He sunk his head under water so get some of the filth out of his hair and he felt the fish swim over his chest as he lay in the water, moving further and further down stream with the current until he ancored himself to a tree root that grappled at the water. His sunny eyes looking up the dark and starry sky as he smiled. "...No matter what happens in this world..." He tilted his head back in the water looking to Aiden. "There is no greater joy than to be able to stare up at the sky... because up there... are all of the memories and lost thoughts of this world..." His eyes wandered back up to the sky as he thought about the burnt forest. "That magic back there... the magic that stopped the fire from spreading into the valley or further up the mountain... that was a powerful containment magic... there is very little that can stop the natural power of fire or water... the only thing that can stop forces of nature like that are things that work within the limitless boundries of nature..." He watched as a small golden fish with the long whiskers nibbled at his finger, tasting his naked skin until he ran his finger over the fishes head sending it skittering into the depths of the stream. "These fish are so cute... I wonder what kind they are. I can't seem to access their thoughts... it is as if they don't have them..."

As Miyabi undressed Aiden turned her gaze else where. Once more her cheeks grew warm, only this time the warmth was almost burning. She had never seen someone undress in front of her before. She really didn't know how to react to this action and she didn't want to offend him by saying anything. She wasn't sure if she really minded, but she didn't feel right even glancing in his direction. She focused her attention on a couple of rocks in the opposite direction of Miyabi. She watched the streams of water glide around the rough mossy surface of the rocks. When he mentioned the sky she looked up at the stars herself. As she was drawn into the beauty of the stars her lips parted slightly and let out a soft sigh.

"Wouldn't it be a wonder to be up there? Among the stars and the mysteries that they hold. That would be amazing."

Her cheeks started to return to their cool state as she had almost forgotten that Miyabi was still bare. She pulled her hood up over her head as she felt the cool fall wind settling in. Her thought went back to Miyabi's comment about a cool bath. She wondered how he could stand the water being that cold all over his body. She shuddered at the thought of how cold the water must have been. Having snake DNA in her system, she would probably die if she were to get in that water and attempt to bathe. Aiden looked around at the close by trees. Her thoughts were to make a fire, because with all the thought of being cold has made her feel cold even beneath the Liam fur. She rose to her feet and strolled around the trees looking for dead limbs and brush she could use for her fire. Finding a nice arms full of wood she drug it back near the stream still adverting her gaze in any direction except Miyabi's. She settled the wood into a neat pile and reached into her bag for lighting materials. Finding the materials she attempted to light the fire, it took three times to light brush before it spread to the wood. She could hear from her spot Miyabi speaking of the fish that were playing with him.

"Seems you made some friends, it's interesting though that you can't find a trace of thought or memory"

As if the valley couldn't get any stranger, first the fire, now there seemed to be creatures in the area without thoughts or memories.

"If I was to be with the stars..." He let his head fall back into the water, the liquid rising over his eyes as the fish nibbled and cleaned his ruby pink hair. "Well.. what is the point in dreaming of such a thing? There is no way to be with the stars as they are the lost and departed thoughts and souls of all that has lived... even my own thoughts dwell there..." He rolled over in the water, kneeling in the cool stream as he let the small fish swim between his fingers before catching one in his hand. Miyabi lifted it from the water, examining it with his golden eyes as it flopped in his palm until it finally flailed and dropped back into the water. "What a strange creature these fish are... they are swimming down stream and only stopping to examine me. It is as if they are small protectors..." Miyabi's eyes widened as he came to a realization about how the fire had been stopped. These fish were only summoned to stop the flames, and by the number that were continuing to come down from the top of the mountain there was a powerful magic that was used to bring these creatures to life to stop that fire... with this many needed that fire had to be powerful as well. He stood up from the water, going over to his pile of clothes, now that he was clean and holding them up to see the dirt. He laid out his clothes into the water, weighing them down with rocks so the cool stream and fish could clean the dirt off of them. "It will be much better in the morning... when everything is clean and renewed..." He flopped back into the grass and let out a deep sigh. "... This valley is strange... and the creature that watches over it... is bringing me more and more fear with each moment..."

She continued to listen to his thoughts and statements while avoiding looking at his figure. Aiden stared into the flames until she heard him say something about everything being cleaned and renewed in the morning. She glanced over for a second to see him cleaning his clothes. Her eyes darted back to the flames and felt a deeper warmth in her cheeks than even the heat from the fire. Was he going to sleep like that? She knew if he did she would have to stay on the completely opposite end of the fire from him and turned in such a way so she would not see his bare body. She tried to keep focus on the conversation they were having but it was rather hard to with the distraction. Aiden cleared her throat and spoke softly.

"What if you could be among the stars? What if it were possible?"

Her eyes didn't leave the flames as they examined the many different colors in the blazing heat. Every time she glanced up everything was much darker since her eyes were becoming used to the bright colors of the flames. The colors of the fire danced around her skin and in her dark eyes. After over coming the thoughts of Miyabi standing by nude her mind wondered off into deep thought. What if someone could be among the stars? What would they find? Would they find the answers to the universe up in the vast abyss? So many questions ran through her mind, as soon as one entered her mind, three followed after it. Aiden laid back onto the grass staring up at the stars. In her mind she came to a conclusion....

We will find the answer one day, and Miyabi will be able to touch those stars and forgotten thoughts and memories...

Miyabi laid in the grass, staring up at the bright lights that illuminated the sky, they were the guardians to the night time travelers and the voices of ease to those who lay rest under their gentle glow. "For me... to be among the stars, for me to live up there among the beautiful stars..." His voice drifted off into something of a dream as he could only imagine waht the world of the stars looked like. "...I can not go up there. Even if it was possible.. my mission here is too important and the lands of the gods the keepers of the memories and thoughts... the keepers of the stars... a creature like me would never be allowed to enter such a realm." He sat up leaning on his knees as he stared into the water watching the water wash his clothes. "I feel once... my mission is over and i've restored Guai Keung... I will not be welcomed into his kingdom. Many of the things i've done to try and restore him to his glory and throne are taboo... and illegal under his law. Even as I gather the most important forms to return him to the heavens... none of this will earn me mercy when I am judged by his law. I knew this a long time ago though... i've known this forever. My fate is to be as far from the heavens as possible when he is restored." His eyes went somber... staring into the depths of the water. "There is no returning him to life, if one is not given..." he fell back into the grass once more, laying on his stomach as he closed his eyes with his head resting on his arms. "Don't worry about it though... I am sure, that someone as mystifying as you will catch his interest... when he was alive. Guai Keung always had an interest in creatures that defied his own creationism. Ones that became more than what he made them to be... you will be welcomed to his kingdom with wide arms." Miyabi knew... that there was no other creature in the world that could do what he was doing though, none other that remembered what he remembered and knew how to restore Guai Keung to his throne so he could bring the world peace and restore it to a glory that was lost. "...There is just one thing this world will lack.. once Guai Keung is king again... and that is it's story tellers... I am the last of them, the others have given up and bled themself free of all memories and knowledge... if they haven't already killed themselves. I'm the only one that is holding onto the remnants of the old world. Unfortunately... everything I know will be lost with Guai Keungs return... a minor sacrafice though."

Aiden wanted to turn and look at him, but she knew she couldn't. Her heart sank down into her stomach at the thought of Miyabi not being accepted into the heavens. She couldn't even think of herself being accepted without him. She had grown quite an attachment to him and couldn't imagine going on without him.

"Where would you go then?"

Her mind tried to imagine what it would be like for Miyabi to be somewhere far off and alone, blind and clueless to the past, even the present. She herself didn't want to be forgotten and she didn't want to see Miyabi miserable and alone. Her heart sank more and more into her stomach, she began to wonder how much deeper it could sink. She knew what Miyabi was doing was honorable and needed to be done, but now she kind of dreaded the thought of it being accomplished. She wanted life to go back to how it was originally, but she also wanted Miyabi to be by her side through it all. She began to wonder if there could possibly be a way around it all, so Miyabi could stay. She knew her thoughts were impure and she could never bring them up to Miyabi, she really felt embarrassed to think such things and she really didn't want him to be disappointed in her either. Some way though, she wanted to help save Guai Keung and Miyabi.

(Sorry if the post sounds weird at all, I'm trying to get back on track with my RPing.)

"Where will I go?..." He was counting the blades of the grass that tickled his nose; he didn't wish to answer that question... he didn't wish to even think about his fate after Guai Keung is restored. He knew it though... one that carried as many stories and knowledge of the world as he did knew all of Guai Keungs rules and laws. "I will be left here... on earth. Guai Keung will judge me on his rise to the throne and as he examines my mind and the life i've lived he will make the determination that despite my goodness and intentions..." He turned his head from facing towards her to hide the fact that there were crystal clear tears strolling over his cheeks as he bit back the tightening feeling in his throat. "He will determine that I am unfit for the new kingdom... as I know I am and I will condemned here to live as a mortal man... to walk with the humans and die as they do." He gripped at the grass beneath him, ready to pull it out by it's roots. "My memories... of ever having been a shapeshifter, of ever having known Guai Keung... everything I know now will be lost and replaced by false memories and illusions of a life i've never actually lived. Stories to explain away my scars... fake parents and siblings that are all dead for some reason or another..." He hoped that she could not hear his attempts to hold back his tears. It hurt him to think that all of this... all he had done... he would not remember. It hurt him more... to think that he would forget Aiden... "I am sorry... please you should get some rest we both should. When the time comes... I will have no fear and do what I know is right. Guai Keung must be restored." He could hear Guai Keungs words in his head... the world he told him when the shape shifters had been created. 'Is you my children of all that will be the light of the world, the thread that binds all of the worldly things and wonders together... weave your stories my delightful children... weave your stories and never speak false of your tales. It is you my children of all... that will always bring this world back together'

((I'm sorry if it's short D: i just got home from work not that long ago so i'm rather tired ._. ))

She didn't like the tone of his voice. Her heart was now to the point of exploding in pain. Though her blood normally ran cold in her veins she felt the blood burn beneath her flesh. Aiden never recalled having feelings light this, she took a deep breath and silently released it. She was hoping for an answer that would put her heart at ease, but it only made things worse. Her mind kept repeating itself over and over like a broken record player. I don't want him to disappear...She couldn't help but glance over at Miyabi despite his current nude condition. How could he lay there so calm even though his heart was more than likely screaming? How long exactly has his mind been tortured by these thoughts? She began to wonder if there could be anything at all that she could do to help him.
A cool wind swept through the area and sent shivers up and down her spine. Her eyes were still on Miyabi and knew he had to be cold. She reached into her bag and pulled out her blanket which she walked over and spread over him. She stood there and stared down at him for a few seconds despite knowing that he was probably still awake. Aiden sank to her knees for a few minutes next to him then sat down fully with her knees close to her chest. She continued to sit there and watch him sleep or at least attempt to sleep. She really didn't know what to think or say to him in that moment. She wanted to say everything would be ok, but she knew that was a lie. Unless she knew a way to help him, she could never say everything will be ok.

(Ya... My post isn't any better, really short post. x.x;;; )

He felt the blanket being drapped over him, wondering if something he had said had brought on her bout of silence. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this night to end up like this... not a clear and beautiful night like this." He sat up with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders to keep him warm, from the corner of his eyes he looked to her.. maybe she wouldn't notice. "Aiden..." He exhalled a breath that was whisped away in the cool breeze and he lost the words that he wanted to speak. "You should cover up..." his eyes looked terribly sad and his voice was choked up. He didn't know what to do.. he wanted to reach out and console her as he could see she was worried for him but he didn't know how to. He had never tried to devote his heart and his time to anyone but himself, his race, and Guai Keung... he could imagine the chill of the wind was not helping her keep warm and he knew she would be needing the blanket more than him. He took it from over his shoulders, throwing it over her own and wrapping it around the front of her. "...Don't worry the cold does not affect me as much as it does you. This breeze is nothing." He sat there is with his knees pulled to his chest and his head resting on his knees, holding his feet close to himself so he could use the natural heat of his body like a blanket. "...I haven't felt this free... for a very long time...when I close my eyes I don't see anything, I don't hear anyone... the stories do not play inside of my mind and I have no worries... it is a time like this that I believe things will turn out alright. Even though I know in the back of my mind I will walk this earth as a human one day forgetting all that i've done or said... it is on a night like this I don't worry about such things..." His eyelids came to close quietly as he waited for a response from her, though he wasn't really expecting one... he listend to leafs rustle and the way the water flowed over the rocks. He could hear small rodents scurry between trees to avoid being captured by the birds of the night... and he listend to the pop of the fire as it was burning... all of it he wondered if he would ever find it so magical as a human, as he did tonight. His heart... hurt a million times worse than as if it had been stabbed, his mind could feel the pain and do nothing for it. Even as he slept his tears would not stop and he was not sure he was sleeping at all... He knew... he could not share what his heart desired with Aiden, it would only destroy her own in the end. '...Do I...love her?...' His mind asked him and he could only agree to it even in his dreams. He could not allow himself to say it though... not to her. His fate was to be a cursed mortal... something she despised... and he... would not remember her after his judgement day with Guai Keung. 'I am sorry...'

She watched him sit up suddenly and her body tensed. She couldn't really see his face well because of his hair, but the fact that his head was turned from her made her heart feel empty. She knew he was upset about something. He spoke her name and Aiden couldn't help but lean forward slightly to listen to what he had to say. When he merely said she needed the blanket more than he did, her body sank back to the ground. She listened tentatively to him and understood what he meant. She also came to her own conclusions.

"You know... Despite how much I dislike humans... They have such a curse. They are born ignorant, and live their lives to pursue knowledge only to find in the end the knowledge they know is just a little drop of water in a huge bucket of knowledge. So they technically die ignorant as well. They only have so much time to seek knowledge and it is a race against the clock."

She looked at him to watch his reaction to her words.

"Really, it is scary to die, and to die without knowledge of why makes it even more scary. I don't believe in how, why, or what they think, but I can understand where they come from..."

She fell silent after this statement. Aiden started replaying the conversation over in her mind and wondered if it all fit or if she was just speaking thoughts that came to mind that really had nothing to do with the conversation. In a way she felt it might help Miyabi understand a little bit more on what a human feels through out life. Though she had DNA of a snake in her, she was still part human herself. To her, dieing without knowledge of her purpose was scary, she herself wanted to seek who she was to the world. Aiden took in a deep breath and rose slightly to her feet going over to Miaybi's side as she knelt down next to him and hugged him around his shoulders as he was still curled up with his feet against his chest. She studied many things about humans that she never grew up knowing. One was, that when one human seemed down, they always hugged one another as if it would make things better. Besides the thought stealing Miyabi had done before, this was the first time she ever really recalled hugging someone. She held onto him tightly hoping that the hug would help in some way and for a few seconds she rested her head against his shoulder. Then she softly whispered to him.

"If you need any help or comfort, I'm here and I will be as long as you need me."

By now Miyabi was fast asleep letting his mind wander into the deepest crevices of his heart as he sat there curled up with his knees to his chest, by the fire. Soon the sun would be rising again if only in a few mesely hours and he would be up shaking out his clothes and letting them dry after being washed by the stream all night. He would be up, pretending nothing had happened last night, that this was all just a fairytale a made up story that in his aging mind he was making up. As much as he hated to even think about such things, to think about what was to become of him... he knew the words that Aiden spoke to him were true... mortals deserved to be pitied as hated as they were they deserved to be pitied. To live ignorant of the world around them, to the magic and wonder that passed by their eyes every day.... He truthfully only looked forward to living that kind of life because he knew it would mean Guai Keung had been revived. That his master had taken over his throne once more... and was mending the world of it's problems. As the morning approached for him, he opened his eyes, the rays of sunlight trickling over him and he could feel their brilliant warmth as he stood and returned to the stream, pulling his clothing from the river and laying them out to dry in the sunlight. He rung them out of most of their moisture and it wouldn't take long for the fabrics to dry out completly as they lay by the fire that was still burning. He looked into the river once more, seeing that there were no real edible fish other than a few small catfish that lay at the bottom, sucking up the algie and other small creatures that happened to float by. 'Those won't taste good... there isn't even enough meat for Shinta to enjoy it...' He went back to the flame, feeling his clothes as he started to dress himself in the drier pieces. He stared into the dying blaze remembering their conversation from last night. 'The stars... where so many have escaped to. Is not where I belong' He stood up, gathering together the few things he had to carry as he looked out towards where the sun was still rising over the horizon. 'This creature... who keeps the peace here, and stops all evil at this valleys gate. How can it be so powerful and yet so discreate that it is nearly undetectable?' He remembered back to the burned out forest that looked as if it had a bubble put over it and was extinguished by a great force of water, and he remembered the small golden fish, they were summoning fish and there were so many they were practically falling over each other as they swam. 'Someone who can control that many summoned creatures, put out such an intense blaze... as if they just capped it off and then to leave no trace of themselves.. unless...they were nowhere near the blaze to begin with.' His golden eyes enlarged like saucers as he scurried further down the mountain, following the river downwards until he came to the edge of a cliff where the river dropped off completly into an endless fall. It was a massive hole int he earth, one created by a whirlpool of water that had since stopped whirling... all of the water falling into an endless pit, along the side of the crater was a ledge with a large stone arch that looked to be man made. "...It lives no with everything, but below everything..." He smirked... proud that his knowledge of the world and it's creatures was able to pay off once more. "I must show Aiden..."

Aiden woke slowly as the sun started to rise. She tried to block the sun from her eyes with her forearm while wrapping it around the side of her head as a kind of pillow. After several minutes of lying there trying to fall back asleep she gave up on slumber land and decided to join the real world. Aiden sat up gently and took a hazy look around the camp site. The fire was still blazing, the stream, still flowing, but Miyabi was nowhere to be found. She jumped to her feet quickly and turned all around looking for any trace of him. He and his clothes were gone. She began to wonder if he had maybe deserted her after last nights conversation. She bit her lower lip and began to think of where he could have gone.

"Did I scare him off after talking to him last night? Maybe I'm too much to handle now. Ugh! Why did I even open my mouth!"

She flopped down onto the ground frustrated at herself. Aiden gazed down at the flames of the now dieing fire and replayed in her head all that had been said the night before. Some statements were more clear and crisp in her mind than others, but her final words before she fell asleep stuck out the most in her head.

"If you need any help or comfort, I'm here and I will be as long as you need me."

"As long as you need me...?"

Aiden's heart sank into her stomach. Maybe Miyabi didn't need her any more to weigh him down on his journey. These thoughts tormented her as she sat there staring at the fire trying to hold back her tears. She felt nauseated from the thought that Miyabi may have left her there, but she also wanted to laugh at herself for becoming so attached to someone after being on her own for so long, now she couldn't see her journey any other way than with him by her side.