One with earth? So Ani was an earth mage, it made more sense now. Kira didn't mind being in a cave since it was better than being without a roof. She wondered what the core would be like and kept silent for the time being. She rubbed her hands together, seeing what exactly she could use as projectiles. She heard a remark about water and wondered vaguely how it would work with her powers. She shrugged it off, thinking more about drinking it herself. She heard a voice in the distance, though vague. Was it a cry for help or just asking if there was civilization. "Hey, did you guys here that?"

Immediately, as response, two of the group turned to look at him - two whose face resembled each other's. With their age different, Ari speculated that they would be mother and son. Another in the group seemed a little confused, so, letting out a small sigh and gathering his courage, Ari walked up, letting the bottom of his feet scrape purposely against the rocks to make his own presence known. "I think it was me that you heard," he said softly in response to Kira's inquiry with the crooked half-smile that he was so used to giving to everybody. "My name is Ari... may I inquire your names, and where we are? I've been lost here for a very, very long time..."

Shan nodded, keeping her gaze on the boy. "My name is Shan, and this is my son, Yuki," she added, gesturing to her small child of seven. "He's somewhat of an introvert, so if he doesn't respond to you, he hopes you will not be offended."

Kira nodded. "I see, the name's Kira." She was a bit put off by his crooked half-smile, but it was probably only out of habit rather than actual uneasiness. She wondered if he was a traveler and how long he'd been here.

The buckles on Ani's boots made a soft sound as her feet turned her body in the attention of the newcomer. She tilted her head gently, her seagreen eyes glittering in the falling darkness. She listened to his words closely, he was lost, within this terrible place. She instantly felt a pang of sadness from him or for him..she wasnt sure which it was. After Shan had introduced herself and Yuki, she added to the series of introductions, "Im Ani. Its lovely to meet you Ari." She nodded a smile of warmth on her face, mainly for the sadness she was getting from him.

Hot springs? That is interesting, she thought to herself. She then quietly admired Yuki, for she could turn water into ice, but not make hot water any cooler. Her icy eyes glistened for a few more seconds before she heard others talking about hearing the voice.

Demitra didn't exactly hear it as well as the others did, but she was excited to meet the newcomer anyways. "Hello, Ari. My name is Demitra. Pleasure to meet you," she said with a small smile and a nod. She would have asked how or why he came across here, but when she glanced at the now disappearing sun, she decided it might take up too much time.

Shan, Yuki, Kira, Ani, Demitra. Ari silently repeated each of their names within his head, his eyes landing on their face for the briefest moments in turn as the name whispered itself in his mind. "The pleasure is mine." He said in return, as courtesy would demand. Though what he really wanted to say that there was no pleasure in this meeting, considering the kind of place that they were in... But on could never be too picky about their circumstances. "And there is no offense - some children are by nature meant to be shy creatures." He waved off of Shan's apology as he scanned their surroundings.

He noted to himself that none of them answered his second question - where were they? Were they lost, as he was, and had no idea what this place was either? He saw Demitra's anxiety as she glanced to the rapidly disappearing sun. "I suppose that you were going somewhere? I hope you won't mind me joining you." He wasn't sure who was the leader of this group exactly... so he spoke to them all, looking at each in turn except Yuki.

Kira smiled warmly at Ari. He looked a few years older than him and probably a few inches taller as well. She wondered about his past and how he came here, but from experience she knew that a lot of people didn't want to talk about their pasts. She looked at the sun, biting her lip at the sight. She shrugged at Ari and then looked at Shan. She, herself didn't mind having another person in the group.

"I would be quite glad if you joined us,"Shan said, quite honestly. "We are actually in need more people to travel with us." She stopped for a moment. Waited. Continued. "As for where you are... You are stuck in the dream world. No way around it but to follow someone who knows the way out already. However, we are currently not heading out of this world, but deeper into it."

Ari inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he heard Shan's first words. There was comfort to be found when one traveled with a group, even in a place such as this. Shan's next words alarmed him, as he frowned lightly and looked around at the woman's traveling partners. "I assume, then, that you must be the one who knows how to get about - I have questions... but I will ask them once we arrive at wherever you were headed."

It wasn't as if he had a lot of choice in this situation... it was between following them, or getting lost again.

Ani watched the newcomer carefully. She didnt see what choice he had but to join them, or get lost all over again. She crossed her arms slightly, "I dont think youd have too many chances like now to ask your questions." She said softly. "As we get closer to the core, I think we all will be a little preoccupied with trying to stay alive."

Shan nodded in agreement. "We're not exactly headed to the safest place imaginable. Quite the opposite, in fact. Best to ask questions on the way to the cave, so that we can all get a good rest and continue in the morning." She began walking in the direction of the cave. They were close enough. The toughest part would be climbing, and even that was not too difficult. "We best get there before sundown. That will be soon."

Yuki quickly followed after his mother. Unwilling to stay apart from her for more than a few minutes unless he absolutely had to.

[[Hm... I need to contact HotaruHoshi DX]]

((.__. I haven't seen her online))
Kira nodded in agreement considering the circumstances. She followed Shan, going in the direction of the cave. Climbing wasn't going to be too hard if she could touch the rocks considering that she could just move them up a bit. She wondered about Ari and whether he had any powers.

((.__. I haven't seen her online))
Kira nodded in agreement considering the circumstances. She followed Shan, going in the direction of the cave. Climbing wasn't going to be too hard if she could touch the rocks considering that she could just move them up a bit. She wondered about Ari and whether he had any powers.

And so the climb began. Shan looked at Yuki once, but still kept on walking upwards. The mountain was not seep, and it was steady enough. Yuki was still a child though, and one who could fall ill if she wasn't careful. If he showed any sign of being tired, she'd pick him up instantly and without asking.

[[oh dear D8; I'll see how it goes for a few days, and if she doesn't come on, I'll put her in a frozen slot DX; ]]

Ani followed behind the rest. She didnt have a problem with climbing at all. The earth would shift under her to make a footrest, a hand grab. A soft wind blew around them. It was cool and light, and could refresh any broken spirit, and cure the sweat between ones brow. She was watching the shadows that was slowing falling. If you looked directly at it all, you wouldnt notice that it was dropping, that certain areas were much darker than the rest. It was like watching a flower blossom. You cant catch it directly, but every time you look, you notice a little more has opened. Ani caught the purplish sky out of the corner of her eye. It was melting slowly into darkness. Stars began appearing, littering the sky, cutting through the blanket of darkness. It was the only sure thing that life was moving on to those trapped in dreams and nightmares.

"Alright then," Ari began his questions as he fell into step with the rest, automatically taking his place at the end of the team as the boy as they began to climb. "Why are you heading to... this Core place? And how did you come to be here? I was lost, and I have wandered for many days... but you seem to have a purpose. And what is this danger that you speak of?" He asked them without pausing. His eyes were half closed in thought as he began to climb, his hands reaching out to seek hold without his consiousness demanding so.

It was when they were already half way done with scaling the cliff did he fully open his eyes to observe the view. Dream world... how did it differ so from reality? He was sensitive to the light and shadows and he realized that they may have less time on time than imagined. "I suppose we should hurry," he said softly to himself under his breath as he look at the slow but sure approach of shadows over the horizon.

Kira pat her hands on the cliff, making sure to streak them with her hands. She then grabbed onto the cliff, placing her fingers on the small increments. She closed her eyes for a second, making the earth shift slightly to make her appear to slide up the cave wall. Though she continued to climb the rest of the way, using parts of the earth to push her upward. She reached up grabbing onto a rock and lifting herself up.

As she climbed, Shan began her explanation. "We are heading to the Core to find the Dreamweaver. She's the reason you've been wandering. She's also a dear friend of mine. Basically, the Dreamweaver is connected to everyone and anyone through their dreams, and is thus able to view and manifest things which are both in their consciousness and subconsciousness into the real world and vice-versa." She remained quiet, leaving an awkward pause for a few minutes. "She lost control of her emotions, and thus, her powers. This caused the dream world to mix with the real world.

" The dream you're wandering is someone's dream about being stuck in an endless sea of mountains, and since it was converted into reality, anyone here remains lost. The dream is reality in absolute. Unless you can find the edges of dreams. We're here." She stood still.

"I suppose we should give you a lookout shift, as we need a lookout at all times during the night, just in case a nightmare finds us. With one more person, the shifts will be shorter. Do you prefer a shift before or after midnight?"


[[EDIT: okay, for some reason, I can't remember how to search for users.. XD;;; Anyone care to enlighten this poor lost fool? ]]

((I am not sure myself how to search for users... XD
But if your looking for Hotaru, she had posted on the first page, and thats how I found her profile))

Ani's boots met with a jutted egde on the cliff. She pulled herself up, her hands not looking for anything, not paying attention to climbing, but more keenly to Shan and her replies. The dirt and rocks shifted themselves, jutting for her feet, and as she left them below, they returned to their previous state. The wind was blowing colder and she actually trembled against it. Her dress was thick with its ruffles, it kept her body warm. But her legs legs were bare, and her shoulders. She momentarily closed her eyes, her body still progressing up the cliff, as she murmured an enchantment. She stopped only to draw something in the dirt in front of her. Her fingers worked quickly, and at the last stage, she wiped it out opening her eyes. She no longer felt the cold wind, only warmth. Comfortable once again, she followed behind the rest of the climbers, and finally reaching the top. With a fluid movement of her arms, she stood up and examined the cave and their resting area.

"Hmm." Ari didn't say much after Shan gave him the answers to his questions. They weren't exactly the words that he wanted to hear, but they gave him reasons to ponder their presence here. Each of these individuals... His eyes flicked to the people around him briefly before gazing up into the darkening sky. Why couldn't they have dreamt something far more interesting than ... mountains? Rocks and trees and rivers... The Dreamweaver must be a powerful being, no doubt, but one who clearly needed to learn to control her powers better.

He saw Ani's shiver and paused to watch her, almost offering his jacket but something more interesting happened... The words she was murmuring. He watched her movements keenly before she opened her eyes and turned her head to Shan. "I will take one before midnight," he offered with an easy shrug. "I'm used to staying up in the dark anyways."

Ani had left behind the group to walk a little ways into the cave before them. She examined the inside, her fingers tracing along the walls. It was head height, if she had been a couple inches taller, she would of had to crouch her shoulders to fit. The cave was safe, at least to her knowledge. The earth showed no sign of infestation of any kind, or movement that was recent. Seemed that nothing has stayed for long here. She turned and walked out of the cave, standing by the front. "Lets get settled in." She said with a smile. The mood was so sad, and quiet. She was hoping that resting would make everyone a little more lively. She had picked her spot, it was near the entrance, but off to the right, so that she could see the outside well, but someone standing outside wouldnt notice she was there. She unstrapped the book that was across her shoulders and laid it gently on the ground, sitting next to it. "What kind of fruits do you like to eat?" She asked them all, no one in particular. She was feeling a bit hungry.

Shan turned to Ari first. "I suppose I'll give you my first shift, just to avoid moving things around tonight. It's getting dark." She then turned to Ani. "Red apples have always been among my favorite,"she said with a small smile. "However, I brought a little something different for myself today..."

Yuki looked up at her. Was she carrying what he thought she was carrying. If she was, he'd probably burst out laughing. It would be very like her. And indeed, it was exactly what he thought it would be, for as his mother reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small chocolate, he fought to contain his already audible chuckle.

Under the hood of her cloak, Shan's cheeks burned a bright red. Even though no one but her son knew her age, she felt like they all saw her as a child, and indeed, if they saw her with her hood down, Shan did have a very childish, round face. Not to mention that without her shoes, she hardly stood five feet tall. The need to hide crept into her cheeks, but she had to avoid doing that. How silly would thatbe? She tried to compose herself and without turning to her son she asked, "what fruit would you prefer?"

Yuki contained his laughter and answered. "Peach would be nice." He pursed his lips, fearing that another chuckle might escape. His mother's cheeks were red enough already.

Ani smiled, mostly at seeing Yuki's smiling face. She didnt know what he was smiling at, but it lightened her worryload just a bit. "I like peaches too." She said. "My most favorite fruit would have to be a watermelon. Though I think that now is not a great time to grow one." She said thinking to herself when she was much younger, how the first thing she tried to grow with her newfound unity with the earth was a watermelon. She was busying drawing a circle and writing an ancient language only her and the earth understood. A smile broke across her face at what a mess that first time had been. She couldnt keep it off. Her short hair hung in her face as her head was bowed low. Memories haunted every inch of her, and even though it was sad at times, she had found one that had spread a light happiness within her.
Unable to keep her smile from shining, she bent her head even lower and turned her face towards the empty cave. She spread her hand into the dirt and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt her power, like thin fingers reach into the ground, joined with the earths. The 'fingers' searched wide and far, further and further away from where they were. The nearest peach tree was far far away. After a few minutes, she found one, she opened her eyes and pulled it through. Within seconds, something broke the dirts surface. It was a green leaf, and from it stemmed more. Ani sat back on her heels watching. No matter how many she had done it in the past 500 years, it still always fascinated her. The way the leaves uncurled.
After another few minutes, Ani snapped out of her trance. The tree came about midthigh, and had blossomed several peaches that were rich yellows and reds mixed. She hadnt even realized that she had been in a trance. Standing up she plucked two, and walked towards Shan and Yuki, handing the boy one, "Here. It comes from a very sweet tree." She said.

Yuki watched Ani with interest. When the fruit was offered to him he took it tentatively and bowed. "Thank you very much, miss," he said, and then took a bite."Ooh. Very sweet,"he added with a smile.

As he did, Shan took a bite from her chocolate, feeling her whole body tingle. She remembered the first time she had a piece of chocolate so very clearly. It made her feel nostalgic, but also quite happy. She had been fifteen at that time. Such a long time ago. The world seemed much bigger then.