[["Man, even I want to go back and kill the guy again. XD"

No law says we can't imagine it over, and over and over, et cetera, in many different ways 8D..with many different... toys.]]

Very slightly, Yuki leaned against Phineas's arm. Making sure that his mother was far enough away, he said in a low voice, "I think mama missed you so much it embarrasses her to say just how much so." He paused for a moment, then continued. "I also think she might feel responsible for what happened to you. She wasn't really herself when she was gone. Mama has always been a bit reclusive, but she was just so quiet, it was really uncomfortable..." He trailed off, and realizing he probably sounded negative, he said something he thought sounded better, at least a little. "I'm sure with you here she's cheered up already... and... um.." Yuki stared fixedly at the ground in front of him, red-faced. "I missed you too..."

Phineas' forced smile disappeared when Yuki leaned on him. It was a strange sort of contact, that of a sibling or close friend, and though the dragon had felt the motherly touch from Shan and the healer's from Ani, there had not yet been a feeling of mutual understanding like this. He listened to Yuki awkwardly word his thoughts, then reached around and hugged him.
You could tell this smile was real, because even though it wasn't as big as the sun, it warmed as if it burned like it.

Not having expecting a hug, Yuki's face turned redder. However, he was not mortified, as he expected himself to be. Rather, he was smiling. He could feel warmth, but it wasn't the kind of warmth that could hurt him, as it usually did.

Not too far away, Shan was watching the two boys intently, and somehow attempting to imprint the image of the two in her head. She knew, though, that they would have to move on now. She had spotted the right direction, and there was no excuse for stalling. At least now she wasn't feeling sour. She went back to the group and announced, "well, now that we're all ready, it will only get harder, so let's move on."

((Where IS everyone?))

(Im sorry, but I work seven days a week, 9-3pm and then I have evening classes from 5-9pm. So whatever time I have I dedicate it to studying since Im so close to the clinical phase of my med program. Whatever leisure time I have, Ill try to come on and post. ^^
xoxo)

Ani smiled as Turtle returned the stick and she scratched his head slightly before arching her arm back and throwing the stick a bit further again. It hit against a tree and fell to the ground, into an unkempt bush. She smiled even brighter as she saw the rest of the troop emerge from the trailer. Phineas and Yuki were on a floating stage and she could understand why it was needed.

Micheal had grown with his impatience and by the time Shan announced that they were finally moving he let out an irritated sigh. They were wasting time to him. He didnt know the rest of the way so deep into the world or else he would of already been gone.

[[School? LOL I'm amazed at how much school eats out of my time now. The only reason my computer is on right now is because I need to start an essay, but I don't want to...]]

Shan glanced at Micheal but said nothing. It's not like it would do any good if she did anyway. Taking a deep breath, she began in the direction she was familiar with. It wouldn't be too long know until they reached the point where she had to turn back the last time she came this way. Things were a little different than before, but the direction was the same, and even the most beautiful of things made her uncomfortable, although it didn't show.

((Funny, work is killing me right now... I got promoted! (yay!) Which means now I have deadlines (boo) and more meetings (boo) and then that darn children's book to work on when I'm not at work... although I should be getting my first test copy in a week, so yay on that! Anyway. Sorry haven't been around...))

Turtle ran haphazardedly after the stick and dove into the bush after it. Confused snuffling sounds followed, and grew more frantic as the dog found that there were... MANY sticks in the bush, and he couldn't find exactly the right one.

Phineas found the floating to be a much more restful mode of travel, insomuch as his body was concerned, but even as he and Yuki sat in companionable silence, he found his mind wracked with nerves at the goings on beneath him... Every time they approached a rough patch of ground he expected a jolt or a crash, and every time nothing bad happened, he forced himself to relax. If he could have, he would have opted for the more controllable vehicle of his own two hands.

[[Hello all.... I've been dying LOL I MISS MY THREAD TT^TT

Shan walked ahead of the group, going over the route in her mind over and over again, pinpointing the place where her own mind had gotten the best of her. It was still far enough so that she could relax for now, focusing on their goal, not her own personal problems.

Yuki couldn't help but smile at Phineas's adverse reactions. "It's strange, isn't it?" He said. He thought of the first time he had used the platform for himself, and how he was nervous about suddenly falling through empty hair, or hitting something quickly and painfully.

((I miss you too! T_T please don't die, thread! Pleaseeee))

"It is very strange." Phineas agreed, bracing himself for another rock that did not hit them. "How do you do it?"

[[Haha. College is killing my time in a painfully slow manner XD;;; *clings*
"White magic", Yuki replied thoughtfully. "Sometimes it's invisible, and sometimes it's just white. It's never in any other color, which is one of the reasons it got its name. They also call it "pure" magic, but I don't completely understand that yet. My brain doesn't go that far.... And um... my other specialty is something they call ice magic, or snow magic, but at the core it's really just water magic..." Realizing that maybe he hadn't answered the question, and instead trailed off, Yuki apologized and remained quietly embarrassed.

Phineas smiled comfortingly. He hadn't really expected a step-by-step guide to making ethereally solid platforms as an answer or anything. "Water magic," he mused. "The... he wanted me to 'breathe fire'." (he said quickly, trying to skirt past the memories of the DreamCatcher) "So does that mean... can you breathe water?"

[[wah, I’m on the front page! XD

And firefox won’t let me type the letters “t” or “c” so I have to copy and paste from word… ._.]]
Yuki mused at the thought of breathing water. “Well, no”, he said. “That’s not quite how it works. It’s more like, it comes out of thin air, almost. I’m not exactly sure how, but the magic flows from my body and into a space close to my fingertips. Like this,” he said, as his eyes became a touch whiter than usual, as it they always did when he used magic. A small bubble of water began to grow above Yuki’s palm, and then began to shift as the child wished.

((CONGRATULATIONS PLATTY!!! XD and wtf firefox?))

Phineas watched in awe as the bubble of water danced in Yuki's hands. His sensitive ears felt music in the little sloshing sounds that it made as it shifted shape. The sight of something natural being manipulated to make something even more beautiful made a little part of his chest ache with an emotion he couldn't identify. It gave him a little shiver and for a moment, watching the water float above Yuki's hands, all Phineas wanted to do was to be the water, to be the one making it float, and to be this exact moment in time, forever suspended, full of the exciting possibilities of what could follow next.

[[Haha, it's fixed now. I don't even know how it broke 8D ]]

Yuki continued to play with the water, now trying to decide what shape he would like to make it. Unable to decide and in need of something more to do besides sitting on a platform, he turned to Phineas. "Is there anything you would like me to shape this into? I'm... at a loss."

"Make... your mother?" Phineas suggested uncertainly, eyes still rapt on the floating waterball. He reached out his fingers tentatively to touch it, but paused with them hovering an inch away from the strangely rippling surface, unsure of the affect his touch might have on the magic.

((lol, this is so constructive to our quest ^_-))

[[haha, yes 8D but I need signs that the others are still alive o.e; I know Fai's busy with college too XD ]]

Yuki glanced at his mother for a moment with a slight smile. This particular task would take more concentration than simply creating a blob of water, but he had done it quite a few times before. In little over a minute, a highly detailed miniature Shan was hovering an inch above his palm, wings and all. He cooled the water, causing it to be in an almost liquid, almost solid state. This way, the figure was easier to control while retaining mobility. Yuki made the small figure wave at the tentative Phineas.

Phineas built up the courage to touch the small watery Shan, but only for a second. As his finger pulled away, the thick water stuck to him slurped off and fell sideways back into the tiny hand, making a small, wet "plink" sound.
"Whooa." he waved back at the little duplicate, then looked through it at Yuki. "That is really amazeful."

[[I just got done with watching a video (in class) about "Hell House" which is a horror house in Halloween, and I'm kinda pissed off because it explicitly showed that if one is homosexual, then they're doomed. What I don't get is that there are people who are BORN that way. Does that mean that god doesn't accept them from the beginning, even though he supposedly MADE EVERYONE???

(sorry to you religious people. This kind of think is why I parted from Catholicism. ANYWHO.)]]

"Th-thank you..." Yuki stammered, more flattered than he would admit. "I've um.. done this figure many times," he said, moving the figure into a more comfortable position (sitting with her left leg over her right, leaning back against Yuki's curled fingers). "Even if she's not the real thing, it's somehow reassuring to have something like this close by, especially when she is not around."

((That is one of the huge qualms I have with religion and republican politics as well. SO. STUPID. People only explicitly translate the bible and stuff when it's convenient for them. If they want to say homosexuality is bad because "it says so" in a really convoluted way, then everything in the book should be held to the same standards. Plus the bible we have today is an over-edited, politicized document in the first place, pieced together from only the parts they wanted and the originals destroyed, it is not the MANUAL for how to live, it's more like guidelines, and basically all they really want you to do is treat people well, don't go around doing bad stuff just cause you can, and live and let live... Yargh.))

"Has she ever seen it?" Phineas asked, curious as to how Shan would react to a little doppleganger of herself. He himself felt more overjoyed by the miniature than he would have imagined himself being. The small details and fine movements of the figure were of the quality that he would have traded all his gold just to possess the tiny water creature. The dragon found himself a bit confused by this sudden change of priorities.

((And now we find out Phineas is totally into little miniatures, even I didn't know that. They probably make him feel big and dragon-y. XD ))

[[Funny thing is, I keep running into a lot of gay-related things for some reason]]

"Only once," Yuki answered. "She looked surprised, but she said she liked it." He curled his hand towards Phineas and watched as the miniature seemed to decide that it wanted Phineas's shoulder as its new couch. "I could make one for you, if you'd like,"he said, noticing the young dragon's fascination with the figure. "It would take a few days of magic for the spell to set permanently though... "

Shan listened to the conversation between the two boys silently, keeping her steady pace. She had seen the little replica of herself, and thought it was remarkably well-made (bias of a mother put aside). At least those two had something entertaining to keep them occupied.
[[LOL as long as he doesn't eat it.. XD;]]

((But dragons store everything that they love as close to their hearts as possible. Ain't my fault that means the stomach! XD j/k))

Phineas giggled involuntarily at the tickling of the tiny little water feet on his shoulder. One of the mini-Shan's wings brushed his cheek and left a smudge of wetness that almost immediately slurped sideways back into her, defying gravity. He thought seriously about Yuki's offer, watching the water being on his shoulder out of the corner of his eye.
"I will love to have one." He replied after a moment, "but if it takes a few days, we should keep your energy in case of something bad happening." He was thinking of how tired Yuki usually was after doing lots of magic. He imagined him after a few days of working on the same spell and was worried about him being exhausted while they were traveling in unknown territory...

[[A man's heart through his stomach? LOL ]]

Yuki smiled. "Maybe when we come home, then?" he said tentatively. He didn't know if Phineas wanted to stay around, but he was hopeful. The house was large, and it could be lonely, even with his mother around. Sometimes she wasn't at her best, and sometimes he wasn't either.

Phineas caught on to the tentativeness in Yuki's voice and was thoughtful for a long time before answering. He almost looked as if he'd fallen asleep.
"Yes..." he said, after the pause, "After. At home." And he smiled.

Yuki smiled broadly. There was a relief that was brought in by Phineas's statement. More relief than he expected, and he was glad for that. "I wonder if I should make a figurine of everyone," he said. He thought of what Micheal would think if he saw a miniature of himself, and then shook the thought. It was not completely pleasant.

Unknowingly, Shan thought about the very same thing. A miniature set could be very entertaining. But her mind was more focused on home than anything. Her first words to a certain young dragon had been something along the lines of home. She thought about the homes of the others, and the places she had encountered them for the first time. They were all very interesting people.