Welcome to Gaia! ::

[Name] Alexis Gideon, Allie if you're a friend.
[Age] 23
[Gender] Female
[Hair] Choppy brown, one might assume she gives herself haircuts.
[Eyes] Grey-blue

Alexis grew up in a remote area of Northern Canada. When the earthquake that started the Cambrian phenomenon hit, she was sleeping soundly, and didn't hear about the disaster until late in the afternoon that day. One couldn't say she was entirely disintrested in the earthquake or the damage it caused, but at her age and at such a distance away, she really couldn't relate. The discovery of the Cambrians, on the other hand, was intensely enchanting. As children often do, Alexis spent much of the next few years dreaming about one day finding her own pet Cambrian. When it came time to enter university and choose her program, Alexis decided to major in biology, with a special interest in prehistoric fossils. With degree in hand, Alexis decided to pick up and move to California. She told herself repeatedly that it was in pursuit of a job in a new and interesting (and warmer!) environment, but there was always the nagging hope in the back of her mind that her childhood dream would one day become a reality.

Wikipedia Article
Image Source

Since her arrival in Rosewood, Southern California, Alexis Gideon had failed repeatedly to make herself approach Abyss Beach. Every morning she had planned to make the trip, something urgent came up. The first time, she simply had to organize her sock drawer. The second time, she realized that could no longer stand the hideous colours of her apartment and had to repaint immediately. Alexis realized her foolishness, and after her second week in Rosewood spent performing inane tasks, she decided to make the trip. Unfortunately, the day she planned to leave, a member of the infamous Pikaia’s Children movement gave a speech over the radio, decrying the abominable Cambrians and rallying all of their followers to a demonstration on Abyss Beach. Dejected, Alexis decided to make the trip anyways, but instead of the beach proper, went to a small park nearby.

The park was entirely empty on her arrival. Perhaps everyone is at the demonstration, she thought bitterly. The old, worn swings were swaying almost eerily; an appropriate effect for Alexis’ current mood. She sat on the nearest swing and listened to the creaking as she stared out into the water. After sitting in near-silence for fifteen minutes or so, Alexis jumped off the swing and wandered towards the small dock. She stood staring into the entirely unappealing water while listening to the sounds of water lapping against the dock for quite some time before bothering to look down. Her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly chastised herself and bent to investigate. Wrapped around the support beam of the dock was a string of sticky looking eggs.

There’s no way these are Cambrian eggs, Alexis told herself. Though the park was close to Abyss Beach, it didn’t seem like the sort of place that the alien eggs would thrive in. Nevertheless, upon closer inspection the eggs seemed to be giving off a faint golden glow.

“Probably pollen,” scoffed Alexis, sniffing. The smell that filled her nostrils was far from what she had expected. The scent instantly brought to mind the forest near her home that she used to play in as a child. It was the unmistakable smell of trees, of thick forest. Disconcerted, Alexis stood and cleared her nose of the smell. Almost as if in a trance, she removed her water bottle from her backpack and emptied it. It was one of those unbreakable ones, and she thought it would be alright to keep the little eggs safe until she got back home. She filled the bottle with the brackish water of the canal and gently nudged the strand of eggs into the bottle with a stick. She was halfway home before she realized what she was doing.

I’m being silly, she thought to herself. There is absolutely no way these are Cambrian eggs. They’re some poor fish’s eggs that I’ve just stolen. Despite her reservations, Alexis walked the rest of the way home. She unpacked her fish bowl from storage and set up the rocks, plant, and plastic treasure chest. She’d wanted a fish anyways, so if these did turn out to be ordinary eggs, which was most likely, she could probably keep the babies as pets. Unscrewing the lid of the water bottle, she caught the distinct smell of lush greenery, and quickly dumped the contents into the fish bowl.

“Goodnight little eggs,” Alexis whispered as she turned off the light and shut the door. The eggs glowed faintly in response.

It's been an odd few days. The nights must have been odd as well. If you are the type of person that remembers your dreams, you may be remembering some real strange ones. Perhaps you've dreamt of being transported to that forest again. It's hard to tell just what kind of forest it is. The trees are massive, their leaves filtering the sunlight into an indistinct green-gold glow. It seems to be a mix of the redwood forest and something altogether ... different. You aren't the only one dashing through this vertical world, either. From the corners of your eyes you may catch glimpses of bizarre animals, impossible to describe upon wakening.

If you happen to look down at your own body during these dreams, you'll notice that you are a whole lot more colorful than usual. Your hands look familiar, but your feet have changed quite a bit. It's hard to see them clearly through the lens of the dream, but you'll probably notice than they are a lot scalier than normal.

If you keep a close eye on your fish bowl, you'll see that the funny smell isn't the only thing green about the eggs. By the time they begin to hatch, some of them have grown a faint green dusting of algae. What emerges from the eggs isn't all that plant-like though. The largest egg splits, its occupant swiftly wriggling free. The little guy chows down on his own egg before turning to his siblings and chomping them too. Ouch. He must be hungry.



Mazel Tov! It's a fish.

Several days after the birth of her new pet fish, Alexis found her new career as a fish-sitter as both mind-numbingly boring and oddly enthralling. To keep herself from going poor, she took a job at the corner store down the street, which allowed her to run home on breaks to check on her new “baby”. She found, surprisingly, that this little bundle of joy could be oddly expressive. She knew when he was hungry and could see on his face curiosity when she flashed new objects by the bowl or loneliness when she was gone for a particularly long time. Alexis decided to name her strange pet Eclipse, partially because she’s always been enchanted by the stellar phenomenon, but also because that was the brand of keyboard she owned, and she was terribly unoriginal with names.

One day, Alexis found herself wandering around a commercial area of Rosewood and decided to hit up the nearest pet store for some treats for Eclipse. Considering how expressive and intelligent the tiny fish was, she felt guilty feeding it such disinteresting pellets day after day. Perhaps some live brine shrimp would be a more enjoyable meal, Alexis thought, wandering through the aisles.

“Hi there, can I help you with something?” The male voice directly over Alexis’ shoulder startled her, causing her to drop the air pump she’d been fiddling with.

“Oh! Um, hi, I’m just looking for some supplies for my fish,” Alexis placed the pump back on the shelf and shifted the toys and treats she had in her arms. The sales associate had that slimy look that orientation videos drill into all salesmen, but something about him caused Alexis to stand on guard.

“What sort of fish are you buying for? If it’s a betta, we have a series of bowls with lids to prevent jumping. I don’t know if you’re aware, but bettas don’t require air pumps, regular water changes will do just fine. Now if you’re looking to spoil the little guy, we have a line of special betta treats in the next aisle over,” the man, named Julien as his little plastic nametag indicated, herded Alexis towards the fish supplies. He was very pushy and Alexis didn’t like it.

“You know what? I think I’m pretty good with what I have. Besides, I don’t know what kind of fish it is,” Alexis stood her ground and frowned at Julien, maliciously taking note of the acne scars covering his cheeks and chin.

“You don’t know what kind of fish it is?” Julien’s voice rose sharply. “Where did you get it from? What sort of pet store would sell a fish to such an irresponsible person that obviously had no interest in the sort of specialized care different breeds require?” He snorted, contempt dripping from every pore.

Alexis could feel the heat on her face and opened her mouth without thinking. “I didn’t buy him anywhere. I found him. He probably would have dried up on that beach if I hadn’t rescued him. So don’t give me this bullshit about irresponsibility.”

The man grabbed her arm suddenly, causing her to drop everything she’d been carrying. “What did you say? What beach?” he shook her slightly and his grip tightened, the look in his eyes frightening.

Alexis tore her arm free and started backing towards the door. “I’m done here,” she whispered. The last thing she saw before she left was Julien, if that was his real name, reaching for the telephone. And she still hadn’t bought Eclipse his treats.

The focus of the dream flits from person to person. Upon waking, it will be impossible to remember any specific personalities, any real plot to it all. The threads are there, but the story jumps around so quickly that they must surely unravel.

A few impressions remain:

Descending from the great tree-villages to walk the earth for the very first time. Feet not made for ground sink into it as you struggle for balance. You've never been without a great and lethal drop to all sides, and when you look up at the trees above you feel vertigo for the first time in your life. You feel as though you might fall into the sky. Your great-toes rip into the earth as you try to anchor yourself. Losing balance completely, you pitch forward --

Now, ascension. You have reached the top of the canopy. With watery eyes, you gaze into the pure, unfiltered sunlight. Fierce gales of wind rip at your feathers and sting your bare face into numbness. The tree beneath you groans and shudders as it dances in the wind. Down below you could never hear the creaking of the trees' miles-long trunks in motion. Up here the sound fills the world. It seems like it should be broiling hot with all the sunlight, but you're too far up now. The air is thin and freezing. The sky is a dark and featureless blue. You've seen something that few have seen, but it's time to go back down. Regretfully, you turn and began the long journey down into the canopy and finally the understory. Home.

As you wake, you may feel a slight shortness of breath. Even compared to that fine rare atmosphere above the forest, Earth's sea-level air is lacking. The air is richer over there.

When you check on Eclipse's fish bowl, you'll see that he has grown.