Aiden sat up and looked at the meal with sad eyes. Even though it looked delicious and probably tasted so, she felt really guilty for it. She felt like a thief and a slave driver, but Shinta on the other hand dove right into the food. Aiden only picked at it with a fork before she looked up at Miyabi.

"Miyabi... I think we need to set some rules... I appreciate you doing this for me, but I feel guilty for it. I haven't done anything that deserves a meal as fine as this, and I feel like I'm enslaving you. It's just not right. As of right now you are treating me as if I'm above you, but I'm not. As far as the pet thing goes, I don't see you as a pet and I don't expect you to even think of yourself as a pet to me. Not even Shinta is a pet, he is my friend and companion on my journey, I don't set myself above or bellow him. I don't want you to be any different."

Her mouth watered as she stared down at the food in front of her. She felt guilty for even considering eating the meal, at this rate Shinta was going to eat it all if he found the room for it. She continued to pick at the food waiting for his reply to her demands.

(Be back need to restart my computer >.<;;; )

Miyabi's heart pounded hoping that the food was satisfactory but when she would only pick at it his heart sank into the pits of his stomach. He rushed to her side, worried that something was wrong with it though Shinta had no quafs about it he didn't seem to be a picky eater either. He listened with the greatest intent to please her and knelt beside the bed. She didn't want to treat him like an animal... she didn't want him to be a slave to her. In his mind none of that was happening though. For a shape-shifter to be a pet was one of the greatest honors a skin-walker might achieve. It was rare for one to find someone they would want to travel with and devote their lives to learning their story and helping to develop it. "It isn't that... being a pet isn't like being a slave at all.. not to the skin-walkers. Perhaps.. pet is the wrong term for it." He paused trying to think of a better way to explain the situation. "When.. our bond is confirmed it will be more like we are connected by the heart. I will feel when you are hungry, tired, and sad.. It is more like... I will be a guardian than a slave or pet. I am made to tell stories... Yours is one i want to be able to tell. You say you haven't earned a meal like this.. but I know otherwise.. you and Shinta saved me, ontop of that you have been more than kind to me and lent me your thoughts. For as delicious a meal as you've given me I find it only fair to give you one back. If you want... I can turn myself into a snake and coil myself around your shoulders as Shinta does... then you don't have to worry about me getting in your way. There are other forms I could take though as well... " He lifted Shinta up away from the food before the snake ate everything that was on the plate. It felt like the snake had gained ten pounds from before. "So please eat.. I am not a slave, though I with to make your life a little easier whe it comes down to the daily tasks. I still have my own mind, my own body and will. Perhaps when I can seal our bond... you will further understand what I mean..."

Aiden nodded gently to him and looked at the food and took a bite. It was such a savory taste to her that she couldn't help but devour it rather quickly. She also knew Miyabi would want to get to 'sealing the bond' as soon as possible. Shinta struggled to release himself from Miyabi's grip, he wanted to continue eating even though he ate half the food already. Aiden tried to slow down and savor the food but it was too late, before she knew it the food was gone from the plate and her stomach was satisfied. She rubbed the back of her arm across her mouth trying to rub off any gravy or meat that might have stuck to her lips. She licked her lips very satisfied with the meal.

"Thank you, the meal was very delicious."

Aiden popped herself off the bed once more and stood in front of Miyabi. She took Shinta from his grasp and placed him on the bed where he scurried over to the plate to lap up the remaining scraps of gravy and meat bits. Though the snake slithered around Aiden's focus was on Miyabi.

"So this bond thing, I take it you want to seal it now? If so, how do we? What do you need me to do?"

Miyabi was joyed to finally see her eating, letting out a sigh of relief as he stood and nodded. He liked watching the snake slither after the food as well... some how it always seemed starved even though he had known other reptiles that could go weeks without a meal. He looked up at her and stood from the floor so they could talk. "right.. the bond..." He was nervous as it had been a long time since he was taught how to do such a thing.. all shape shifters knew it but it's execution had to be precise. "You don't have to do anything really, normally the person would help with the chant.. but I know you do not speak Guai Keungs tongue..." He moved over to the table where the candle lay and picked it up, moving carefully he dripped the wax onto his wrist, resisting the pain of the burn it would leave as it formed into what looked like a wax bracelet. Setting the candle down once more he let the wax settle against his skin as it seered at his flesh. He took hold of Aiden's hands, gripping both of them between his own as he held her fingers to her lips.

"Asao cobius... ni maruka. Itrument das exteriment. Salot reute namidas Keung Roiot..."

His eyes though still gold seemed to glow, his entire form taking on an aura as a clear visible form one similar to him seemed to seperate from his body. The ghost like form taking hold of her as it's arms wrapped around her, holding her like a child as it absorbed into her... around it's neck was a red string that returned to Miyabi's chest. His skin seemed to go cold as the spiritual form that seperated from him let go of Aiden, looking into her eyes it pulled on a string that came from her chest... drawing it back to Miyabi as the mythical form returned to him, resting back inside of his body. The two strings twining together as if being braided. Miyabi let go of her hands, falling back onto the bed as he sat there staring up at her, the visibility of the two strings fading. "...You are... a very sad being.." he uttered as if understanding her pain.

She watched as the bond was sealed, her body felt rather weird from the bond but she shook it off as Miyabi sat down and spoke. Aiden too went and sat next to him, not wanting to look at him directly, a bit ashamed of herself for now he knew more about her and she wondered how long it would be before he would regret the bond. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes trying not to focus on her pains of her past.

"I know... I try not to think of it. I apologize if you regret making this bond."

Her eyes opened and she stared straight at the floor like a child who was in trouble with their parents for doing something bad. Aiden never thought that the bond would also make her share her deepest emotions, if she would have known that, she would have advised him against making the bond. She didn't want him to be sad because of her. Once again, she felt like she was burdening him with her being, that's all she ever was to people. Aiden began to fiddle with her fingers nervously unsure of what to do in that situation. She didn't want to think too much because she didn't know what all she shared now.


(Interesting, that kind of reminds me of the Japanese red sting legend/story/thing XD)

(it's kind of where I got the idea)

"It's okay, I don't regret it at all... this only makes me want to protect you more. Which.. I know sounds silly because I am not a strong demon. I am not Guai Keung or a demon lord in the least bit.. but... if I have enough time I can do magic. Sometimes it is magic that can distract people, such as childs play fire crackers or I can summon.." his eyes lit up again as he got an idea and he burst up from the bed, twirling around and clasping his hands together. "Let me show you." He started another chant, as he spoke from the ground rose a long anaconda like snake, that lifted it's self up onto the bed, swaying his head back and forth as he coiled up around Shinta and nuzzled the smaller snake. "A friend for Shinta... though he is only temporary... none of my summons can stay permanant. Or ah..." he reached into one of the small satchels around his waste, throwing a powder up into the air that flitted into small fire flys. "...Lights, to guide you through the darkest of nights." He smiled as he knelt down on the floor looking to his wrist where the dried wax flaked away and he saw the black ring that tattooed it's self onto his skin. Holding out his wrist for Aiden to see. "A ring, it represents an endless bond.. like the uroboros it will continue on and on." He looked at the black ring around his wrist once more and smiled. "It means our bond can not end, not until the ring is broken..." He watched as the summoned snake toyed around with Shinta and he laughed the fireflys buzzing and dancing in the air as they lit up the room. "Do you like them?..." he questioned.

Aiden looked at the little wonders Miyabi created before her. She smiled and watched the huge snake nuzzling Shinta who seemed to be overwhelmed by the huge snake and tried to slither away to Aiden but couldn't because of the snake being coiled around his small body. Aiden held out a hand to one of the fireflies that landed gently on her hand. As she giggled and played with the firefly she looked up at Miyabi. She didn't directly answer his question but her smile should have been a good enough answer to his question.

"This is very nice Miyabi, I just can't believe that you would do all of this for me..."

Her mind shot back to the boy from her childhood that held his hands over his bleeding eye, he stood there crying and unsure of what to do. Aiden's smile faded from the thoughts, she didn't feel like crying, but she did feel horrible. The guilt from that day still remained in her mind and her heart sunk every time she was reminded of it.

(Have you ever read Gina Biggs' Red String Web Comic?)

(I haven't.. I don't really look into web comics all too much.)

Miyabi smiled, sitting beside her once more. As he sat down the large snake disappeared into a mist that rose into the air, letting Shinta free. Though the fire flies would continue to dance and play until the sun rose again... they were like little light bulbs that fluttered in the night. "...There are other things I can do... summoning isn't that hard. You just have to know the spirit of the creature you wish to summon." He wanted to show her more, to facinate her and aw her with his talents in magic. "Of course I can't let any fireworks fly in a place like this, but I have other tricks that I use when I am really in trouble." He felt the sadness that crept into her heart and gripped onto his chest, closing his eyes. "You shouldn't regret those kinds of things Aiden... everyone makes a mistake. I've made many..." He looked back to Shinta, offering out his hand to the snake. "Magic.. is a dangerous weapon, but it is my only weapon. As transformation is my only defense. Both of them I was born with but they are curses. The more forms I know the stronger my magic becomes... the stronger my magic becomes the less likely I am to hold onto my own sanity. Magic has it's own way of taking over a persons mind... and it is a horrible insanity to drift into. When you regret things though... things that are beyond your control wether you were sane when doing them or not... it only doubles your pain. Life dealt everyone a rotten pair of cards and it was Guai Keung that was the dealer... the river card has yet to be played though... and that card may be everyones jackpot card." He smiled and laid back onto the bed. "...Embrace your pains... they will make you strong... no matter who you have harmed or will harm... everyone is guilty of doing something wrong..." He spoke out of wisdom.. as he'd known mortals, demons, beasts and the like to all be cruel creatures in their own right. Even his kind... perhaps were one of the worst as they stole away the most precious thing to a person.... their memories.

Aiden's eyes closed as she laid back onto the bed as well, her eye lids were heavy and the room was dark. She could feel the cool crisp comforters bellow her, they felt good against her skin. Aiden rolled over onto her side and curled up slightly.

"I've always known that what ever hurts you makes you stronger... But as much as I try, I can never let go of my pains of harming him. Even after I transformed into what I am today, he still wanted to be my friend. Before I transformed he came and played with me in the forest where I met Shinta. He wasn't supposed to be around me because I was cursed, at least that's what the parents always told their children. For a few days he came and we played, I never felt happier... Then the day after I met Shinta, I was completely different. I tried to walk back to the village and people started to throw stuff at me. They said I had completed my demonic form because my hair had turned a silver color and I had patches of snake skin about my body. So I ran back into the forest. I sat there for hours crying, then he came back to play. Even though he probably saw me and everything that had happened, he still came back. I hid my face from him so he could not see the more obvious scales under my one eye. He tried to laugh and shake it off saying it couldn't be that bad. I tried to push him away, but I wasn't completely used to my form yet. My nails had sharpened and I cut his face right over his eye... The boy began to cry and hold his face. It was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. It's that same feeling when you see or do something that is extremely wrong, like killing a baby, or drowning a puppy. I had cut this boy's eye open. I couldn't take it. I found Shinta near by and we left. We traveled a long way and we never seemed to stop. As a child I always got weird looks, but no one ever dared to mess with me because of my demonic appearance. Shinta made sure no one touched me, he always guarded me like I was his own hatchling. I guess in some ways, I am."

Aiden Chuckled softly to herself before going silent, that was all she could really tell for now. Her body started to drift off as her mind did as well. Soon enough she was sound asleep

Miyabi listened to her story, starring at the fire flies as they danced above him. He looked to her understanding now why she was so saddened inside. He didn't want to say anything as he could tell she was falling into a sleep and he stood up from the bed, covering her in the blankets, tucking shinta under the blankets with her. "Rest well the both of you.. I will keep watch through the night." He called for the fire flies to return to them forcing them to disappear as the room grew darker with their absense of light. He knelt by the foot of the bed, watching her carefully as he summoned forth a small mouse directing it to keep watch for intruders that were intending to come harm them. "Shh... it will be okay. Go now my friend..." he whispered as he sent the small mouse on it's way. He curled up at the end of the bed, sitting on the floor he held his knees to his chest, watching the door with the most interest. He had already slept earlier... and despite the long trip and the wounds he had endured as long as she was asleep he would remain awake to defend her or warn her of coming trouble. After several hours... he started drawing designs onto the floor as he waited for dawn. He played with his summons, making small butterflies and other insects that fluttered about the room. He watched as the mouse came back to check on him once in a while relaying what it had seen until it skittered off into the dark again. He laughed shaking his head at some of the things his little summoned creature had seen.

Aiden rolled in her sleep a couple of times through out the night but stayed asleep. She was exhausted from all the excitement she had be having since Miyabi came into her life. Her sleep was mostly dreamless and deep. The moment she woke the next morning the sun was beaming through the window onto her face. Her eyes opened for a few seconds then closed again. She was too comfortable to get up but the sun in her eyes was bugging her. Trying to go back to sleep, Aiden rolled over to her other side and let the sun beam down on more of her back than on her eyes. After about fifteen minutes of simply lying there and knowing she wasn't going back to sleep, Aiden sat up lazily and yawned. She let her feet hang over the side of the bed while she stretched out her still half asleep body. Her gaze fell upon the blanket that Miyabi must have put over her. She lifted the blanket up with her hand and blinked a couple of times then looked around the room for Miyabi. She caught sight of him sitting at the edge of the bed on the floor. She plopped herself down next to him as she could clearly see he was still awake or at least trying to stay awake. She frantically started speaking to him.

"Oh! I'm really sorry, I fell asleep on you and took up the entire bed, I know I should have given you the bed or something to sleep on. I hope you didn't stay up all night because you didn't have a comfortable place to sleep!"

She bowed her head apologizing to him.

Miyabi looked up to Aiden as she sat up out of bed, attempting to ignore the sunlight that was beating into the room. He was still curled there on the floor, watching door like a loyal dog, though his eyes couldn't help but follow her as she came and sat next to him as if worried about something. He smiled something of laughter as she spoke. "If I want a comfortable place to sleep; I would have pushed you aside and shared the bed with you." He chuckled at her concern for his comfort. "I am not tired, so I stayed up and kept watch... after yesterday I don't want to risk one of us being dragged off again. I know we didn't leave much behind for people to go off of but there is still quite a bit of blood back there as well." He placed a hand over his chest remembering where the arrow wounds were and closed his eyes as if contemplating wether they were real or not. The pain of them had subsided but he could still feel the deep cuts in his flesh under the bandages. They were real.. that was for sure. His gaze moved from her to his small summoned mouse that crawled into his hands, looking to him before it vanished into the air. Not long after the mouse the various butterflies and dragonflies he had created followed in it's foot steps. "If I wanted to sleep I very well could have... I had created that little guy to keep watch... he would have woken me had anything gone wrong. All he saw though was so me silly bar maid and a very strange inn keeper... everyone else seemed to be asleep through the night and no one dared to enter unannounced to the inn." He smiled watching the last trails of the mist disappear before he rest his hands back down on his knees and looked at her. "Are you hungry? I don't think they serve breakfast down there so we might have to go elsewhere..." Several strands of his messy pink hued hair fell infront of his eyes and he remembered that he would be shot dead if seen in a town like this. "...I will have to find myself a better disguise then the one I used last night. I certainly can't walk out of here looking like this." He looked up to the ceiling in thought... he could be another snake, but that might make people suspicious of her, or he could become like a great warrior, but the armor might be out-dated... perhaps a horse? But a horse can't just walk out of an inn and would have been tied up all night. "What do you think?..." he questioned.

She felt relieved to find that she had not hogged the bed. She was still trying to get used to the fact that she wasn't traveling alone any more, she had someone bigger than Shinta that she couldn't just lug around. Resting her back against the bed she watched as the little critters disappear one by one. Aiden looked over to Miyabi and tilted her head slightly to the side when he asked what he should disguise himself as. She didn't put much thought into this when she discovered she would be traveling with him. She always put a hood over her head and no one would really notice, but two people with hoods over their heads was quite suspicious. Aiden sat there and thought for a few minutes on what he could disguise himself as. Suddenly a thought struck her.

"Change into any small creature and you can hide under my hood with Shinta. So you won't have to worry about walking or anything. You just sit in the shade and keep Shinta company."

Shinta liked the sound of this since he was already starting to get used to Miyabi. He jumped up from his sleeping 'dead' like state and went over to Miyabi and nuzzled him.

"I will say though, you need to be able to hide yourself in the back of my hood like Shinta, so nothing so heavy that it weighs down my hood and nothing so big that people passing can see you.

(Sorry for the really quick post, I have to get to band here in a little bit. Be back in about 4-5 hours ^^;;;)

(no problem xD)

Miyabi contemplated on his form, wondering what other possibilities there were as being another snake might be too bulky and he didn't want to be eaten by Shinta if he became a mouse or small bird. He tried several other forms from a rat.. which would be too bulky and heavy once more to a spider, but he didn't want to get the urge to weave a web in the back of her hood or start making Shinta into a cacoon. He even attempted to be a lizard but wasn't font of the sticky feet and tongue. Not to mention the ability to lose and regrow a tail was a dangerous asset to him.. he couldn't afford to lose part of his body. He then had an idea. He transformed from the small lizard to a slightly larger reptile, leather wings extending from his back as he shook off the last set of scales from his lizard form, a more rubbery and leather like skin coating his small dragon body. It was perfect.. lighter than a snake or lizard and able to conceal himself in almost any place. He spread out his small leather wings, floating up from the ground to hover infront of her. He couldn't speak other than his small grunts and hisses as he crawled up onto her shoulder, sitting comfortabley there. He figured if she could speak with Shinta she might be able to speak with him, his vocals were similar to a snake after all. "...Will this do? ...I think it will work best. Unfortunatley... many of my smaller snake forms were lost... this small dragon should be a good enough camoflage." His beady golden eyes blinked, three different lids closing over them and disappearing back behind his eyes once more as his small dragon claws gripped her shoulder. He looked at the colors of her outfit his scales glinting into a red and gold so he might blend in even better. "There... now I will not be seen, maybe I could be a strange new necklace or arm guard.." he hissed with laughter and crawled around to her other shoulder, crawling down her left arm and wrapping himself around her wrist, clinging like an elaborate piece of jewlery.

Aiden laughed at the little dragon as she pried him gently from her arm. She hugged him gently to her chest trying not to squeeze him too tightly. She giggled softly and brought him up to her cheek to nuzzle the side of his face.

"Well aren't you the cutest little thing! I could almost keep you like this forever you are just so cute!"

She rubbed her nose against his tiny dragon nose in a loving manner. Shinta slithered around Aiden's neck once again becoming jealous for her attention. Aiden laughed softly as she nuzzled Shinta as well and he almost purred in a weird snake like way. Aiden placed Miyabi on her shoulder as she pulled her hood up over her head. Raising to her feet she gathered her things and made her way to the door.

"Well, lets get out of here before anything goes down boys."

She opened the door and started to walk down the stairs and out into the village square. Aiden looked around in both direction then looked at her sack. She began to wisper softly to the two on her shoulder.

"It seems we have ate a bit, I need to buy us some more food for our journey to the next village. Sorry Shinta, be we need some fruits this time."

There was a soft sinking in the back of her hood, obviously Shinta was not too pleased with this idea. Aiden made a quick round and bought a few pieces of fruit, 3 apples, 4 oranges, 2 kiwis, and a mango. After the quick rounds they made their way out of the village and down the path that they came in on. Aiden kind of wondered if the body of the man was still there, her stomach withdrew and her appetite was lost from the thought.

Miyabi looked to Shinta as the snake grew jealous and he stretched out his long neck, flicking his tongue towards Shinta to try to give him attention as well. He folded his leathery wings in close to his body as he huddled behind Aiden's neck, his whip like tail flicking against her skin as he watched her browse through the fruits. Miyabi had taken the time he was tucked away in her hood to take a small nap. He had been up all night and though he wasn't necisarilly tired he just knew there was going to be a long trip ahead of them and wanted to have that extra energy in case the trip turned out to be longer than predicted. As they made it out of town he scrambled from out behind her hood, down her front and down her leg, moving like a sand gecko as he transformed back into his human form, stretching his arms over his head. "I don't know how Shinta can do that all the time!" The rubbery skin faded away from his own revealing his soft skin once more and he turned around to smile at her. "Shinta must be quite the lazy snack if he can stay cooped up there all the time, all i did was take a nap and I feel like i've been trapped up in a cage for days." He adjusted his jacket over his shoulders, fixing his butterfly decored collar. Brushing the pink strands of hair out of his face. "I'll have to be careful around the farms around here... pitchforks tend to hurt when a farmer is angry."

(i'm sorry if it's short but i've had a really long day and my brain is kind of... bleh oO;...)

Aiden laughed softly as she pulled her hood off her head. Her long silver hair cascaded down her back and Shinta slithered forward.

"Well, Shinta has been doing it much longer than you, plus, he loves the warmth of my neck."

Shinta nodded excitedly as he nestled himself up against the soft flesh of her neck. Placing the bag down on the ground Aiden withdrew a map of the area. She pin pointed their spot and looked to see there were a few choices on which way they could go. She bit her lower lip indecisively and held the map up to Miyabi.

"Where would you like to go? Anywhere you want, it is your choice."

She smiled brightly at him sure that she wanted him to choose the destination for them to travel.

(Understood, same here. Lol.)

(yeah, I just found out that my favorite manager is moving to north carolina to take over a theater there, and he offered me a job as his assisstant manager today. I have no money to get there though >.< )

Miyabi looked to the map, figuring out where they were and he examined the landscape of the map carefully before he made his decision. "If it isn't too much trouble... i'd like it if we followed this route." He pointed to a long trail that would lead them through the deep caves of the mountains and into a lost area of the map. "There is supposed to be a creature there... one of great power. I know i have yet to obtain it's form and I need it greatly..." He looked to her for the okay as he held onto the map, showing her the exact route he'd like to take. "This creature is supposed to be magnificent, a child decendent of Guai Keung himself... one born from the womb of a beautiful sea maiden and the loins of Guai Keung." He smiled at the thought of how wonderful it would be to be a child of the great Guai Keung. "If we cut through the mountains.. it would take no time at all, but I hear there is another beast of legend that resides in the darkness of these mountains a beast that takes the form the night it's self and creates illusions and dreams to those who pass by it." He knew many of the legends of the lands, many of the stories that had been passed between the mortals. "It will be dangerous... but with you and Shinta I feel like we could make the journey. Both of you are very strong so neither of these beasts should be of any trouble for you. The beast of the mountains.. I might be able to keep at bay with my fireflies. I have heard it shys away from the light but it is only a rumor... I suppose if one can over come their dreams though, than his magic of illusions won't work so well and will be easier to defeat. Perhaps I can steal a thought from it as well..."

Aiden pondered on the thought of the travel then nodded in approval.

"Sure, we can go that way, you're the only one amongst us who has a purpose in this life so where ever you want to go."

She smiled lightly at him as she rolled up the map and tucked it neatly back into her bag. It was true though, Miyabi was the only one who had a purpose in life. Aiden on the other hand was traveling just to travel. She had no destination and before Miyabi came into her life she was nothing but a loner of course with the exception of Shinta. The journey for Aiden seemed quite exciting, she wasn't used to adventure after adventure. Most of her travels were long and boring. The only times she really had any excitement was when there was a riot or something in the town she was visiting at.

Aiden looked at Miyabi and thought to herself...
Will he be ok to go this path? I mean it sounds dangerous and he's so fragile it seems. Well, I guess I will have to play the bronze as he plays the brain. Such a strange switch around in gender roles... At least no one will be able to take us lightly.

Miyabi understood that the connection between him and Aiden was more one sided, as she had most likely never experienced the kind of magic that he was using to bind them. He could feel her hesitation towards their destination and her thrill of excitment. "Don't be worried... I am almost positive that you won't have any trouble with the beasts... the mountain caves are not a hard treck, but a wrong turn could lead us into trouble. As long as we have the fire flies though.. it shouldn't be an issue to find the right path." He smiled as he patted the pouch of dust that hung at his waste. "After this trip though.. I will need to gather more of this, otherwise we may not be able to make the return trip." He looked out to the far distance where the peaks of the cascading mountains were visible. They seemed close but in reality they were a long trip away. "Perhaps I do have a purpose..." he said as his vision seemed dazed towards the horizon. "...But perhaps your purpose is to help me with mine. Which means you too.. have a purpose in life." His lips pursed into a smile as he reached his hand out for hers. "Let's go, we should make it through the forest before nightfall.. there are many other beasts that reside there, many I don't think we want to run into either..." He shivered at the thought of them. Not all forest creatures were horrible, from the unicorns to pixies it was the large creatures that made him fear long journies. He was scared of the beasts they were destined to meet, but he didn't wish to meet his end on the way there...

Aiden followed Miyabi into the forest, every now and then looking at the map to see where they were. Her mind began to wonder often as they made their trip through the forest. Even though they were walking to a destination, it seemed as if they were walking around aimlessly, not to mention she thought she saw that tree before. To her it felt like they were walking in circles and the map wasn't of too much help. At this point she wished she had a compass, but even then the forest felt like the Bermuda Triangle. For now, she was going to ignore the thought and keep her mind set on the possible creatures they would meet if they didn't get out of here before night fall. Aiden stopped for a few seconds to catch a breath and get some water. Shinta even seemed tired even though he hadn't moved from around Aiden's shoulders. She took in a nice breath of air and felt a cool breeze swept over her face. She new it was getting close to sun down and she didn't know how much further they needed to go before they were out of the forest. Once again images of possible creatures popped up in her mind, creatures with long nails, thousands of teeth, and even some with burning red eyes. Some of the creatures in her mind had black slick bodies and some had wings. The thoughts started to make her uneasy when thinking about it. She turned to Miyabi and leaned up against a tree, trying not to seem in any way uncomfortable.

"Hey Miyabi? What kind of creatures live in this forest?"

(guess i outta post huh? lol )

Miyabi crawled through the thickening underbrush and between the trees, trying to lead her to freedom before the forest swallowed them whole. "I don't think we will make it out of here before dark.. the trees have barely begun to acend into the foot hills before the mountains... and there still is a very long trip ahead." He looked back towards Aiden and smiled trying not to worry her as he could sense her un-ease about the situation. "The Creatures here... the most annoying and sometimes even the most dangerous are small ones... such as the small crocotta pups or dragon offspring. Though the Dragons shouldn't be mating at this time of year so I don't worry about them right now. My biggest fear are the Lamia..." He quivered at the very thought of meeting with those creatures. "I had met a tribe of Lamia once long ago... they are the shapeshifters rivals of sorts. I had stolen ones thoughts and they hunted me to no end until I fooled them by becoming one of them..." He quivered again as he held onto a tree and attempted to regain his composure. "They are much like centaur, though their bodies are of lions, and their personalities are much more vicious... the centar are docile compared to a Lamia. I would much rather take on a herd of frightened Centaur then to deal with a tribe of angry Lamia... they only see red and that red is the blood of everyone." He laughed just slight as he qualled his fear. "Though pixies are horrible too, the little things travel in packs of over 100 and love! to play tricks on you... I dealt with those little guys once and they are no fun at all. In order to get on the pixies good side you have to trick them into something which is very, very hard to do." He squeezed himself between several trees, finally stepping out into a small clearing of trees where a camp fire had been made previously. It was well built with stones surrounding it... someone had already been here, a hunter perhaps or a smart group of creatures. "The problem with the Lamia is they steal your intelligence, not just your thoughts... they want to make people stupid."

(Make people stupid eh...? Sounds like public schools... ANYWAYS XD )

Aiden didn't like the thought of having to face off against something like a Lamia. She was all up for the physical component of fighting a creature but she had no clue as to how to keep her intelligence from being stolen, that was a bit much for her at the time. She couldn't help but scoot closer to Miyabi, maybe being closer to him would help prevent her from having her intelligence erased. A shudder suddenly came over her, part of it was because of her thoughts, the other part was because it was starting to get cold. Shinta started to get uncomfortable with the cold and slithered down into Aiden's shirt for warmth. She looked down at the little snake in her shirt and blinked a couple times as she never felt so violated before. She began to mutter to herself little soft curses at the snake then got into her back. She withdrew a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders as another shiver crept over her body. Aiden knew they would have to stop soon and build a fire, because one thing that was in her blood that could kill her like any other snake was the cold.

"Um... Miyabi... I hate say this, but I really believe we need to stop..."

She began to rub her arms and hands underneath the blanket. She could also feel the tip of her nose and cheeks growing cold. Shinta himself was curled up ontop of her chest moving every few minutes to find a warmer spot.

Miyabi looked back to Aiden with a nod understanding why they must stop, though staying in the forest for the night worried him to no end. This place was notorious for pixie robbers and he really didn't want to lose anything of value to him.. not that he carried much. It was possible that pixies could steal Shinta away and that would cause a whole new set of disasters for them as snake as much a part of their menu as venison or beef. He moved closer towards the well built fire pit, looking to the charred cinders that remained as he rolled over a few of the half burnt logs to check their scarring. "...This place wasn't used all too recently, this fire pit has been through a few storms.. perhaps why it had been put out and the settlers had moved on." He traveled to the edge of the clearing where a stock pile of dried branches and leafs had been storred for future use he presumed. Who ever had stayed here had planned to stay a while... and obviously didn't. He gathered up some of the dried brush, placing it under the half burnt logs. "Now, here is where I will come in handy..." his body took the shape of a small bird, no bigger than a robin though it looked to be made of flames as he fluttered ontop of the stones and hopped into the brush that lay under the logs, setting the whole fire into a blaze as the flames rose high into the sky dispersing like an elaborate firework as they took the shape of a great pheonix in flight, the flames taking off towards the heavens as the fire burned on. The small fire bird he had become hopped out as nothing more than the charred ashes as he transformed himself back into his more human form and warmed his hands over the white hot fire. "This should keep everyone plenty warm..." He smiled watching the fire bird acend into the sky before it burst into the red lotus petals and fell down around them. "...It's a trick i picked up along my travels... it can be quite scary to some but children love it."

Aiden watched in awe as Miyabi lit the camp fire. Though the performance was beautiful, she couldn't help but wonder if that may have brought attention upon themselves. She already started to feel unwanted eyes upon her as she scooted closer to Miyabi and the fire. Aiden felt a wind gust through the area as she couldn't help but nuzzle up to Miyabi, besides the fire he was the only thing that could keep her warm unlike Shinta who had the luck of having a person 10 times his size to keep him warm all the time. Tonight seemed so much cooler to her though, it was probably getting close to fall and she knew what that meant, hibernation. She didn't want to tell Miyabi straight away because she wanted to get through this journey with him to make sure he would be ok, but she didn't know what she was going to do when ever winter came and she is sleepy most of the day and can barely stand the cold. She really didn't know how she was going to be able to stand where they were going, because as far as she figured, they were going through a mountain pass where there will be cold and snow. She shuddered at the thought of snow, never liked the stuff, probably never will. Her mind continued to wonder as she looked into the flames of the fire. Finally she looked at Miyabi and tilted her head slightly.

"Um... Miyabi...? Is it possible that we drew attention to ourselves by lighting the camp fire in the manner that we did?"

(REALLY sorry for such a late reply, This week has been crazy. x_x;;; )