Chesh could tell something was bothering Aka but decided to not push it for now. If she wanted to talk about it she would more than likely bring it up herself. However if she continued to look so upset he wasn't going to be able to notask her what was wrong. He smiled as she gripped his hand and they both walked into the portal.

It wasn't quite an instant thing to go from one side to the other unlike most times. Once they had stepped inside it felt as if time had stopped. Colors swirled around in the darkness that surrounded them. There was a brighter light coming from the right of them and he guessed that was their exit. "Come over this way Aka, that light must be the exit and if not then we will just keep looking. Oh don't let go of my hand, we might get separated and lost in here forever." He wasn't trying to scare her, it was just a fact.

Shin was helping to move Alice forward when he caught the covert glance Red gave to her arm. She was good but not that good, at least when it came to him. He stopped abruptly. "Let me see your arm." He could tell the bandage needed changing and the wound itself probably needed to be cleaned as well. He stood there with the look on his face that showed he wasn't going anywhere until she showed him her arm. He could be quite stubborn at times.

She probably wasn't going to like it, but he did have some powers of healing when he was in his wolf form, but this would require her to let him lick her wound. It was the fastest way to get the wound to heal but most people didn't like coming near his mouth with all it's sharp teeth when he was in his wolf form. He couldn't really blame them. It was pretty imposing. He wouldn't bite her of course, but other people? Well they might not get so lucky.

Ariel was just about to leave the area when everything came crashing down around her. Hurriedly she put up a barrier of water to deflect any flying objects from hitting her. Everything was in chaos. She looked around at all the others helping out and shook her head. It looked as if she wasn't going to be any good here. It was then that she noticed the portal. "Well this should be interesting."

She walked over to it and stepped through. She found herself at the edge of a pond, a castle looming up just a little ways in the distance. It was late afternoon and the sun glistened off the pond beautifully. Intrigued, she started to look around, slowly making her way towards the castle in a roundabout way.

Red was caught slightly off guard when Shin had abruptly stopped. She almost dropped Alice. Propping Alice's head back up, Red looked over to Shin. He was asking to look at her arm. Red started to protest but thought better. Knowing Shin, he wouldn't give up until she gave in. "I'm fine.. really.." She muttered as she reluctantly stretched her arm towards Shin. She knew of his healing powers and how when he was in his wolf from he could lick any wound and almost instantly heal it. Most were wary to trust Shin when she was a wolf. Red, on the other hand, knew he would never hurt her. She was reluctant for another reason. Red hated to let anyone realize she could be effected by such things like a wound. It was so average. So.. Human.

No.. Don't think of that now. It'll all just consume you if you're not careful. Red knew she had to get her mind focused on something else so she looked up at Shin. Watching him would distract her long enough for Red to clear her mind. At least somewhat.

Knowing that Red would detest letting the others know that she was able to be hurt, Shin motioned for her to set Alice down on the tree in front of them. "I'll be as discreet as possible when I do this, so let me block your body with mine so that the others won't see what I'm doing." Sitting Alice down gently, he shifted into his wolf form.

When he was the wolf, he towered above the others. He was able to bring his size down at will but most of the time it hurt to do that so he stayed the size he was. Moving closer to the tree he sat down, blocking anyone's view of the two girls. IF anyone happened to be looking they would only assume that they were taking a rest break and maybe that they were going to put Alice on top of his back to carry her better. In fact that was a good idea in itself and after Shin had seen to Red's arm, that might be just what they did. After all, Red could ride up there as well to keep Alice from sliding off and this way she would be able to rest as well.

:Les:

Les noticed that his sister was lying, he could always tell because he was always playing games and trained himself to figure out other people, but he didn't say anything. Instead he listened to his sister and nodded gently. At least her words helped clear his head. A part of him was still shocked from the sudden events that had exploded into a giant mess. It was exciting but confusing, hitting at him all at the same rate. He also felt slight disappointment now that he was clearly harmed. Just looking at the giant portal made him want to go. But Gretal was right, he was hurt and he had to stay put. After a gentle sigh he got back on his feet and forced himself to go back to their home that now seemed to be lacking in any sort of fun.


:Aka:

Aka gasped as she went through the portal with Chesh. She forgot all her troubles as she looked around her. It was... amazing. No, not just amazing but it took her breath away. This was something she had never experienced before, but now she wished at she had. The feeling sent a thrill through her core, engulfing her in excitement. She noted Cheshire's warning and kept a hold on his hand as she walked with him. She was already beginning to love it. A part of her wished she could of been able to teleport like this. Then she shuddered as a thought broke her happiness. "You would use it to escape like the coward you are, if you could do this." Aka clutched Cheshire's hand as she shivered. But it was true. She was a coward, even now. "Look at you, pathetically clinging to a man. You just love to run into a man's arms. Remember when you used to be better than that? Remember when you used to kill anyone who dared to mess with you? Now look at you. Pathetically running whenever the memory happens to come by. You are just a pathetic little girl. No, when you run to guys it really just makes you a --" Aka snapped before her thoughts could finish, her whole body shaking. She didn't want Cheshire to see her cry but she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. She shook horribly and held back a sob as she hugged Cheshire and leaned on him. "I'm sorry... I'm so pathetic..."

Red watched as Shin made the transition from human to wolf. It always fascinated her. A hint of a smile played across her lips as she thought of what it might be like if she was able to do the same. Hunting would be forever changed for her. She would be even more in tune with the forest than she was now, though that was nearly impossible. Red had always felt more at home in the forest versus her little "cozy" cottage here in Never After. In fact, she rarely ever used the thing. Red preferred to lurk in the forest during the nights and sleep in a tree during the day. Come to think of it, Red was way off her schedule. She better not get so tired that it interferes with her hunting abilities. She would never be able to just sit back and let the others fight if something came up. That was her thing. Red liked to think she was the best fighter in all of Never After. Sure, the others might have advantages, but Red figured that even without her magical abilities--which she rarely uses-- she could beat a majority of them in a one on one fight.

Reta started to protest when Les forced himself to get up and head back home. She knew that he was disappointed which caused her to frown. I wonder if he knows that I lied. Another voice in her head told her, 'Of course silly. You can't ever hide anything from him. He can see right through you and that ridiculous facade that you put on. You're anything, but sweet and innocent. All you do is hurt those you care about. You are weak.' Really she wanted to go explore the world within the portal, but she couldn’t leave Hansel. She gave a last look at the portal before finally getting to her feet. The girl ignored Odessa who was walking towards her, but gave Piper a glare when she passed him. She had totally forgotten about her dagger that was left within the remains of the town hall which was probably for the better. Quietly Reta followed after her brother heading towards their home, but she couldn’t shake the uneasiness that she was still feeling.

Chesh didn't dare stop while in the portal. He could feel the poor girl shaking and wanted to stop and comfort her but knew if they stopped they could get lost in here forever. The exit was just up ahead. He grabbed Aka's hand more firmly and pulled her with him as they plunged through the end of the portal. It sounded like the ripping of fabric as they tumbled out the other side.

Apparently they had come out a little ways above the ground and fell as they came through. Chesh held on to Aka so that she wouldn't get hurt and somehow they both ended up in a heap on the cool grass. It looked as if they had landed in a massive courtyard. Turning to her he softly brushed the tears away from her face. "Don't cry beautiful one. You are not pathetic in the least my dear."


Shin completed his transformation and stood still for a moment. He was going to have to concentrate if he was going to be able to help Red. Looking around, he didn't see anyone paying attention to what he was doing. Quickly he pulled back the make shift bandage on Red's arm and gently licked it with his warm broad tongue before any one noticed that they had stopped. His eyes glowed a strange silver color as he focused on healing her wound.

After what seemed like an hour, yet had only been seconds, he pulled his tongue away from her arm and shifted back into human form. "Well that should help. I think we may make better time if we put the both of you up on my back in my wolf form. This way we can conserve our strength for whatever lies beyond the portal. What do you think?"

:Aka:

Aka wanted to stay in his arms forever, but she knew that she had to moved. She forced herself to walk beside Cheshire until they finally reached the end. Then without expecting a thing she fell out with him and tumbled ontop of him. The surprise caused her to look around and she soon realised they were in a beautiful courtyard. Then she realised she was ontop of Cheshire and blushed darkly as she quickly moved off.

Once she had recollected herself, Aka took care of her tears and stood tall. She looked around once more and then at Cheshire. "I wonder where the others landed, and how far they are. I just hope we... don't bump into the troublesome ones." Aka spoke colder as she thought of the Mayor. She had sort of wished the man hadn't come along, but now she knew she had to be on the look out for him. She still had a bad feeling the man who find out her secret, and she was too stubborn to ever let him discover it. She took Cheshire's hand and tugged at his hand playfully. "Come on Chesh."

Odessa removed Gretel’s dagger from the rubble. Maybe she could return it to the girl and cheer her up somehow. At least that is what the doll thought before Piper grabbed her wrist. A smirk was on Piper’s lips as he took the dagger from his beloved. “Now, now my dearest, I know what you’re thinking. I’ll get the girl for you so we can stay together. I might even get the boy as well. Come we have work to do.” Odessa stayed silent. It was clear to her that Piper had slipped back into his madness. The pair swiftly followed after the girl. Piper hid behind a tree and took out his flute. He began to play a haunting melody, as he played the doll moved to behind Gretel holding the dagger against her throat. “I’m sorry, but you need to come with us love,” the doll told Gretel. Gretel tried to resist, but the magic of Piper’s flute had taken effect. She was no longer in control of her own body. She wanted nothing more than to cry out to her dear brother for help, but she found herself without a voice.

Piper moved out from behind the tree and headed back towards the portal. He figured that the boy wouldn’t follow them there since he was injured. Odessa took Gretel’s hand and they followed Piper to the portal. Once the trio arrived at the portal they disappeared into it. Piper still playing his flute.

:Les:

Hansel could feel that something was wrong in his mind. His body ached but that wasn't it. He felt a deep urge forcing him up. His sister was gone, but he could hear a faint melody of a flute playing. Glaring, he forced himself to run back to the portal. "Piper.... I should of known he might come when my guard was down." He growled to himself and quickly jumped through the portal. He wasn't about to lose his dear sister to the monster of a man.